Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
Just to clarify, I checked out all of the TVs in person at Sears. I really liked the 120Hz sets because the motion was incredibly fluid and lifelike and the image was exceedingly crisp. I could see the movie actors as real people, blemishes and all. The movie was Iron Man.
I don't think regular 60Hz sets are smooth at all. I don't think movies projected in an actual movie theater are smooth either. I would need to go look at a plasma to compare, but I'm not sure if I'm prepared for the disadvantages of plasma - higher power bill, burn in, and I heard someone say that they die if tilted more than 20 degrees off axis?
But if plasma is playing a 24fps movie at 24fps.... it won't be smooth to my eyes.
Look at some reviews on TVs that you're looking at to see what the calibrated power usage is. I know that CNET does this, but I'm not sure of any others. Plasmas in general use more electricity, but it'll likely amount to something like $20/year rather than some exhorbitant amount.
Burn-in is a non issue for ~99% of the users out there. The affected users would be at places like airports that run CSPAN 24/7 with that ticker at the bottom of the screen.
What you heard about tilting is false. Most tilt mounts tilt the screen up or down 15 degrees, and plasmas do fine with that. They also make ceiling plasma mounts, which would put it at WAY more than 20 degrees off axis.
Film is 24fps. Playing it true to the source will result in the fewest artifacts and problems as possible. I've heard of a lot of problems with the motion interpolation, so be sure to look up info on the model you're looking at.
I'm not going to say there's something wrong with you choosing the TV that looks best to your eyes. However, for the sake of the other readers on here, playing the film true to source is the correct way to do it. Liking the motion interpolation more is much like when someone's had their TV on "torch" mode for years, which displays horrible black levels and incredibly innacurate colors, and then they have it calibrated and hate the true-to-source image that's displayed on their screen. Most of these people change the correct settings that they just paid several hundred dollars for so that their colors "pop" (i.e. are displayed blazingly bright, totally inaccurate, and cartoonish) like they did before. It's just something to think about.
Another thing to note is that the best-looking torch-mode TV in the super-bright big-box stores will most likely not be the best-looking TV in your darker home with the TV settings tweaked. Try to view some TVs in a darker setting like the Magnolia Theater at Best Buy. Also, get some settings off of CNET, avsforum, or some other review site and try to get a hold of the TV remote at the store and change the settings. At the very least change it from dynamic (i.e. "torch" mode) to movie. That will give you a better idea of which TV will look best in your home.
I will say that plasmas typically look dull next to LCDs in a bright store, because LCDs can get much brighter. However, you won't want it nearly that bright at home. If you keep a high brightness, then your blacks will be grays, and your contrast ratio will stink. My avsforum-calibrated plasma lights up the room but plays absolutely incredible blacks. I've never noticed any non-smooth picture. It extracts 24fps from BD and has a jaw-dropping picture.
I don't like to tell people what they should get. I like to provide people with as much info as possible though. That's how I like to be treated, so I'm just trying to practice the Golden Rule.
Good luck!
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