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It's 2010, and I am confused: Buying an HDTV

J

JACKHAMMER

Platinum Member
So I just sold my aging 52" rear-projection on craigslist as I will be moving in a few weeks, and didn't want to be lugging the old beast with me. I also have a few year old Samsung LCD that replaced a Plasma that died prematurely. So I have experience with both plasmas and LCD's, and prefer plasma but the room that the new TV will be going in will be pretty bright.

So what I am looking for:
46" LCD or LED
Price less than $1000
Uses: Hooked to whatever cable/dish I decide and a PS3, which will be used to play games


I checked avsforums, but there is a ton of information and no clear recommendations I can see. There is a large number of options out there, but I am worried about picture quality and input lag. It seems all the interpolation on the 120/240hz sets add a unhealthy dose lag which is something that I know will bug me, and using a external receiver for sound I am worried about lip sync issues.

So anybody done this recently that could give me a clif notes version of what you bought and why? Any recommendations?
 
I'd probably go with with a plasma set if you're worried about lag. They run at 600hz native. They're also around the same price as LCDs.
 
If you're concerned about lag, go with a Plasma.

You can get a really nice 50" plasma for well under $1000.

I would recommend the Panasonic TC-P50S2 in that price range.
 
What bugs me with LCD is the angles. If they are viewed at the angle they are advertise, the colors will not be uniformed compared to viewing at the sweet spot or at straight in the center. I suggest test out LCD based on angles that you are going to be viewing in your room and do not worry about 120 Hz or 240 Hz feature because this feature mainly uses TN panels which have the worst viewing angles. Also do not worry about TV that feature 3D. I suggest find TV that do not have a glossy finish although this can be fixed by putting matte or anti-glare film. Some TV have a feature to sense the brightness of its surroundings and adjusts its brightness to compensate. This feature from what I read works and does not work well, but mostly it does not work well. TV that have a 10-bit panel can handle 30-bit of color depth compared to 24-bit color depth or photographic. If you like plasmas displays, go with the 10-bit panel based TV. Do not compare based on contrast ratios because the methods that brands uses varies from brand to brand. Sticking to a reviewer site that has stated their measurement system and stays consistent will be better if you are comparing based on contrast ratio.

All TV will have a lip sync issue, so there is nothing you can to stop this. There are devices like a surround sound processor or AV receiver that feature lip sync to minimize this problem. You have to manually adjust it.

I do not suggest buying extras that include the ability to show pictures or play sound from your computer that is connected to your network. A HTPC or a media center player works just fine for that. Extras like upgrading speakers is the worst upgrade because TV manufactures does not know sound.

Probably Sharp has the best LCD panels and Sony has the best optics. I think Sony's latest TV models has Sharp panels that are based on ASV. ASV panels are as fast as TN and should have the viewing performance of IPS. Like choosing speakers, it is best to see the TV in action before making a final choice. Though be careful comparing TV that are being showcase because the TV will not be calibrated.
 
Viewing distance will be around 6ft, so I think 46" will be big enough. I see many people are recommending plasma, but I know they have problems with image retention - a problem I saw on my Panny plasma a few years ago. Has the pixel shifting tech got good enough that this is no longer a problem? As this will be used for gaming.
 
JACKHAMMER said:
Viewing distance will be around 6ft, so I think 46" will be big enough. I see many people are recommending plasma, but I know they have problems with image retention - a problem I saw on my Panny plasma a few years ago. Has the pixel shifting tech got good enough that this is no longer a problem? As this will be used for gaming.
Click to expand...

IR is not a problem on todays plasmas. I use both a plasma, and an LCD for gaming, and prefer the plasma. If you are in a really bright room, you may prefer an LCD.
 
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