Long story short, me and my brother want to get a new hdtv for 360 and ps3. We went to best buy the other day and we were impressed by the Sony XBR4 40 inch. My brother was thinking getting a 46 inch model but heard rumor that there is some kind of ghosting program with the xbr4. If that is the case, can anyone recommand a TV that is similiar price but at the same or better quality?
Best hdtv to get for around 2grand?
- Thread starter Xellos2099
- Start date
I'd say either a Pioneer Kuro (like the 5080 zinfamous mentioned) or a Sony SXRD (A3000 series). I have a Sony SXRD. It rocks. And you can get a 60" one for under $2k.
I think the SXRD's look better than Sony's XBR4 line. They're rear projection, though.
The Pioneer Kuro (plasma) is pretty much the best consumer TV out there. At least that's what I hear. When I was looking for a TV, I wanted either a Kuro or an SXRD. Kuro was too expensive so I got an SXRD.
I think the SXRD's look better than Sony's XBR4 line. They're rear projection, though.
The Pioneer Kuro (plasma) is pretty much the best consumer TV out there. At least that's what I hear. When I was looking for a TV, I wanted either a Kuro or an SXRD. Kuro was too expensive so I got an SXRD.
The Kuro is neat, but 720p. Fanboys will insist you won't notice, but YMMV, especially at console gaming distance.
Also dealing with IR issues with gaming on a plasma may not be your thing.
Also dealing with IR issues with gaming on a plasma may not be your thing.
There are 1080p Kuros... I'm not sure what you're talking about. EDIT: Okay. That Kuro in particular is 720p. Fair enough. Resolution isn't the only thing. The insane black levels and overall picture quality offset the slight resolution loss, in my opinion.
Xellos2099,
I'm not too familiar with LCD's because their black levels aren't as good as plasma or rear projection. Are you set on getting an LCD?
LCD rear projection looks better a real LCD..from the same company no less? I find that extremely hard to believe.
Any chance the fact that you own a SXRD plays into your opinion?
That cost twice the OP's budget, sure. The one recommended above was the 5080 (which is STILL too expensive).
No. There were some issues with the "Auto Motion" mode, but newer firmware seems to have fixed that.
It's not LCD rear projection. It's an SXRD, which is Sony's version of LCoS. Liquid Crystal on Silicon. It's very highly regarded to provide a really good picture. The SXRD line is different from their LCD rear projection line (which is certainly inferior to both LCD and SXRD).
It's the other way around
. I have an SXRD because I really like the picture it provides. I heavily researched TV's before I bought one.So OP, are you set on a flat panel? LCD in particular?
Well, we are just looking for something thin, around 40-46 inch. It also need to offer really good game and tv experience.
Something thin probably rules out rear projection. While plasma along with DLP and LCoS/SXRD give better pictures (in my opinion), LCD's are by far the most convenient of the new technologies. LCD's don't have any image retention (though IR isn't really a problem anymore) and is better with the lights on. Additionally, their brightness doesn't go down over time like plasmas.
You probably couldn't go wrong with the XBR4 or the Samsung s44 pointed out. Pretty much any decent HDTV (and with your price range you'll be able to get a decent one for sure) will give you a good game and TV experience. Unfortunately I can't tell you about any ghosting problems as I'm not really familiar with those sets. Both of those are 120Hz, which your PS3 will be able to take advantage of with blu-ray movies. That's well worth it.
All that said, if you can find the Pioneer 5080 for around $2k, I'd seriously look into it. It just looks that good. It may not be 1080p, but there are other things that affect picture quality just as much if not more than resolution. And no I'm not a fanboy.
As for that sure plasma will dim over time, but the half life of the 5080 is 60,000 HOURS. Yeah like 10+ years of 16 hrs/day and you will be at 50% of brightness.
I just bought the Kuro 5080 yesterday at BB for $1999. I have been looking for about 2 months every day doing research and such. I even went up to BB with my tablet PC and hooked it up to various HDTV's I was looking at, and the Kuro by far looked the best with the test being the same for all of the tv's (a 720p show, some dvd quailty shows, and booted up a game as well) and the Kuro blew them all away. I looked at the sammy 69/71 series, the XBR's, and panny plasma's. The Kuro won every test I threw at it. Had about 8 different friends through out the process go up to BB with me and I just pointed at the ones I was looking at (without letting them know which one I wanted). They all picked the Kuro.
How does the Kuro 5080 hold up when fed less than reference quality material (SD digital tv or standard dvds)?
Disgruntled Virus,
Yeah the half-life is really really long, but it's there. I'm with you though. If I could afford it, I would have gotten a Kuro, too. It's an amazing set. But it isn't AS convenient as an LCD. I just wanted to point that out to the OP. I'm not sure how much he values convenience over quality and such.
Yeah the half-life is really really long, but it's there. I'm with you though. If I could afford it, I would have gotten a Kuro, too. It's an amazing set. But it isn't AS convenient as an LCD. I just wanted to point that out to the OP. I'm not sure how much he values convenience over quality and such.
True a LCD is a bit more convenient then a plasma, as well as being cheaper in <46 inch.
A LCD will be lighter as well, however not quite as good blacks as a plasma. Generally speaking plasmas>lcd in Picture Quality, but it depends on the LCD (the XBR's and 71/81 series are regarded as being about the best LCD blacks out there).
Also a LCD you can use right out of the box, a plasma you should let play a "break in" dvd for the first 50+ hours (more like 100+ if possible). LCD's have some very attractive aspects to them, but I am a fan of plasma personally.
Second that you should look at sony's 1080p SXRD line in the 55" range. Unless you're sitting really close to the TV.
zinfamous
No Lifer
- Jul 12, 2006
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EDIT: late-night rant deleted
...LOL..I confused "went to Best Buy" with "BEST TV at 2k" in the OP. the only answer for the latter question, of course...is the 5080....hence my initial post
If you're looking for a little more "value" at that price, then your choices may indeed widen.
Still...If I knew that I was burning around 2k on a TV today, I wouldn't consider anything but the "low-end" Kuro
zinfamous
No Lifer
- Jul 12, 2006
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I couldn't tell ya...but I'd guess it's at least as poor as any other HDTV?
standard DVD can still put out some really good quality though, as long as the transfer is top-notch. I do have a handful of DVDs that I can tolerate
btw...I do not own a 5080. my Plasma is a 42" Sammy, and I'm quite happy with it.
I paid about 1k about 1 year ago, and even so....I'd be happy to trade it in + $500-600 for the baby Kuro.
A 720p screen won a 720p test? You don't say!
Seriously, though, it looks like you avoided testing the one area where the 5080 has the disadvantage -- Blu-Ray movies at 1080p/24.
Quite well. It's processing of SD is probably the best I've seen. Panny plasmas come close, but I've not seen a flat panel LCD that does as well.
If your viewing distance is 10 ft. or more on a 50" set, you will not notice much difference, except for maybe text. For reference check here.
I do have one complaint about Pioneer / my 5080. Their quality control for fit / finish leaves much to be desired. I went through three units to find one that did not have a "trashed" bezel. MAJOR scuffing/scratching, but even worse, they came with some sort of chemical wash residue that does not come off.
A majority of my watching is from content along those lines, but I did test stuff running off a 1080p source (blu-ray actually) at a home theatre store near me. At BB I just played what most of my content currently is, then since I know I will be going to Blu-ray I was at the home theatre store looking at speakers and had them play a Blu-ray disc on it. I couldn't compare directly to the 71/69, but I could compare it to the XBR and the Panny plasma's. The Kuro won IMO as for PQ, yeah maybe not as much detail at <5 feet away but I am sitting 9-10 ft away meaning my vision won't even be able to resolve 1080p (maybe some very subtle things if I look side by side with a 1080p, but not at home).
Besides as I have previously mentioned I have about 250 DVD movies, along with many TV shows on DVD. Because of this I needed a TV with good processing, which the Kuro has, and that could play Blu-ray disc's and look great. The Kuro did both.
PS. When I first started looking at HDTV's I was first drawn to the Samsung 71 series. I didn't even take a look at the Kuro or plasma until I started researching HDTV's more.
perhaps a disadvantage if your nose is touching the screen. on superbowl sunday, 2 of my neighbors brought their 1080ps over (1 samsung lcd, 52", and one panny plasma 50") to compare to my Kuro 5080, with each using their own ps3 as input with aeon flux as the source, as well as fitfh element and planet earth, and everyone agreed the kuro won hands down.
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