Is there a sweet spot brand or technology for 55-60" TVs?

[glen]

It is so hard to keep up with the latest technology. I need to get a 55" to 60" TV for my house. I generally like CRT, but I don't think they make them that large, and I don't think they can be hung on the wall. I have never really been impressed with projectors, unless they were in a dedicated room. I guess that leaves LED, LCD, and Plasma. I would even say plasma is out because I hate glare, but apparently they do so much better with blacks, and motion that they must be considered. So, what is the current AndandTech forums position on this?

 

[alkemyst]

depends on budget more than anything.

Blacks on LCD have come a long way. I do like the look of plasmas though. The newest LED's seem to be getting closer.

 

[zerocool84]

You have Projector, DLP, LCD, and Plasma. LED is LCD just with different backlights so it's still LCD. Plasma's and DLP's are going to be cheaper at those sizes.

 

[Gibson486]

I'd get plasma just because of the price. LCD's 50" and below are getting lower in price though.

 

[sivart]

My plasma has no more glare than my CRT, so I wouldn't rule it out for that reason. Some of the new plasma's actually have anti-glare screens.

Funny how on TV's we (general public) want no glare, but on a computer monitor, the more the better (I.e. shiny screens are all the rage)

 

[RKS]

Here Is what I am picking up this week

$1800 in the store:

Visio 55"
LED Backlit (not just edge)
Wi-Fi connection.

It is big and bulky for an LCD but I was never planning to wall mount it.

 

[Anubis]

My plasma has no more glare than my CRT, so I wouldn't rule it out for that reason. Some of the new plasma's actually have anti-glare screens.

Funny how on TV's we (general public) want no glare, but on a computer monitor, the more the better (I.e. shiny screens are all the rage)

my plasma has less glare then my CRT did, its really not that bad if you get one of the ones that has an AR coating on it. Some can be really bad but there are many that are fine

 

[Anubis]

Here Is what I am picking up this week

$1800 in the store:

Visio 55"
LED Backlit (not just edge)
Wi-Fi connection.

It is big and bulky for an LCD but I was never planning to wall mount it.

heh the remote on that has a slide out keyboard, thats actually pretty cool

 

[thomsbrain]

I got the 55" Vizio LCD for $1050 at Costco last November. It's not the latest or greatest, but for the money it's awesome. I see people paying that much for TVs that are far smaller with worse image quality. Hard to beat Costco for TV prices.

 

[mmntech]

It is so hard to keep up with the latest technology. I need to get a 55" to 60" TV for my house. I generally like CRT, but I don't think they make them that large, and I don't think they can be hung on the wall. I have never really been impressed with projectors, unless they were in a dedicated room. I guess that leaves LED, LCD, and Plasma. I would even say plasma is out because I hate glare, but apparently they do so much better with blacks, and motion that they must be considered. So, what is the current AndandTech forums position on this?

CRT has been dead for some time now. Vary few HD capable sets were released.

Plasma is the closest technology today to matching CRT's fast response time and black levels. Typical refresh rates are 600hz. Meaning they're capable of displaying video at both 29.97fps and 24fps for film. The sets are also relatively cheap. Plasma is still power hungry though. Not as much as it used to be but still worse than LCD. Burn-in is almost gone but after images are still a problem.

LED is basically just a different back lighting method for LCD screens. It produces better images with less glare IMO. It can achieve deeper blacks as well. Sets are crazy thin but cost more.

For large screens, I'd personally go with plasma unless it's going to be hooked up to a computer.

 

[glen]

What brand of Plasma?
Samsung?
Panasonic?

 

[manimal]

For that much you can get a 65 plasma from panny or samsung. FYI most large LCDs now have glossy screens too unless you go with the sony's.

 

[glen]

Any more opinions out there?

 

[kalrith]

What's your viewing distance? If it's great enough, you might even want to look into a 65" plasma like manimal mentioned. What's your budget?

The absolute best 60" TV would be a Pioneer Kuro if you can still find one. Even though they're a couple years old now, nothing's taken the TV crown from them. Assuming that's unavailable I would still go with plasma. As already mentioned, they handle glare better than a CRT does, and a lot of LCDs have a glossy screen anyways, so it's not like those diffuse glare really well either.

I recommend reading some reviews. I would stick with Panasonic or Samsung, but which one depends on a lot of things. Read some reviews. If you find a TV that you like, you can mention it on here or you can look up the owners' thread at www.avsforum.com. There's a thread for virtually every popular TV out there.

 

[drwho01]

there is a pod cast and a website devoted to home theater look up this week in tech both lcd and plasmas are good depending on the enviorment lcd is better in brighter rooms led is the newest and are very thin

 

[glen]

I got a Panasonic Plasma 50"
It has a fantastic picture.
Wow, until I got it home, I had no idea how good they had gotten.

 

[JackBurton]

I'd go for a Panasonic VT series or Samsung 7000 or 8000 series plasma.

 

[thegimp03]

I'd go for a Panasonic VT series or Samsung 7000 or 8000 series plasma.

Agreed. Plasmas that size are super cheap. You won't get anywhere near that price/performance with an LED. You'd probably have to spend another $1k.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Is everyone opposed to the Mitsubishi DLP TVs? They aren't slim like the plasmas/leds, but they aren't as large as the old projection TV's by any means, and they go up to 83" 1920x1080 and 3D ready. They have really nice pictures too. (I guess there's that whole rainbow thing, but I've never noticed it). You can get the 65-73" relatively cheap.

 

[zerocool84]

Is everyone opposed to the Mitsubishi DLP TVs? They aren't slim like the plasmas/leds, but they aren't as large as the old projection TV's by any means, and they go up to 83" 1920x1080 and 3D ready. They have really nice pictures too. (I guess there's that whole rainbow thing, but I've never noticed it). You can get the 65-73" relatively cheap.

Oh yea definitely and I was really looking at them but unfortunately their viewing angles really suck. Even more so than LCD's and viewing angles are important to me cus of the way the couches are set-up.

 

[IcePickFreak]

I went with a 50" Samsung plasma about 3 years ago now and haven't regretted it since. You really need to go take a look at some TV's to see what you like. Everyone is different IMO. I have friends with some very nice LCD's, but to me I still prefer the look of my plasma. Keep in mind if it's at a place like Best Buy with fluorescent lighting etc. Some places will have the lighting dimmed and it gives a better representation of what it will look like in your living room. I was even more wowed once I got mine all set at home lol.