Let's talk televisions

[kyzen]

Just got a raise and tax returns all at once, and I figured I'd celebrate by ditching my 3 year old Sony Wega 27" CRT SDTV for an LCD HDTV.

I use my TV mostly for gaming (360) and movies. I don't see the need in spending a ton of money on a top-end TV considering that a) the crappiest HDTV on the market would be better than my current TV and b) I don't spend *that* much time watching the thing.

So my budget is, at most, $1000.

At Best Buy I've been eyeing their Westinghouse TVs. Namely a 720p 37" for $1000, or a 42" 720p for $1000. I think 37" is as small as I'm willing to go, and 42" is as big as I'd be willing to go.

Now in addition to these TVs I've seen models from companies like ViewSonic, Olevia, Sceptre, and so on, for even less money at times, sometimes online

What kind of quality can I expect from these other brands?

Also, are dead pixels on TVs the same problem they are on LCD monitors? I'm hesitant to order an LCD TV online for fear of getting a dead pixel and being unable to return it.

Finally, any suggestions on brands/stores to look at or deathly avoid?

 

[psteng19]

Stretch your budget and get a Sharp AQUOS.

/end thread

 

[LeiZaK]

you could put a little more with that and get 1080p... which you would benefit from seeing as how you have a 360.

 

[kyzen]

Originally posted by: LeiZaK
you could put a little more with that and get 1080p... which you would benefit from seeing as how you have a 360.

I considered that - going for a 37" 1080p, which if I waited for the right time, I could still get within my price range.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: psteng19
Stretch your budget and get a Samsung or Sony

/end thread

fixed

 

[kyzen]

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: psteng19
Stretch your budget and get a Samsung or Sony

/end thread

fixed

Not going to stretch my budget that much for something I use less than my computer; I'd rather snag a nice 24" LCD and an 8800 with the extra money.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: kyzen

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: psteng19
Stretch your budget and get a Samsung or Sony

/end thread

fixed

Not going to stretch my budget that much for something I use less than my computer; I'd rather snag a nice 24" LCD and an 8800 with the extra money.

Alright, just realize that you say the crappiest HDTV will be better then your current TV. If you don't have HD and want a Westinghouse, Olevia, Sceptre, etc., SD quality will suffer GREATLY. SD doesn't look good on any TV, but a crappy HDTV on SD channels will look significantly worse then any current tube, especially a Sony.

 

[kyzen]

Alright, just realize that you say the crappiest HDTV will be better then your current TV. If you don't have HD and want a Westinghouse, Olevia, Sceptre, etc., SD quality will suffer GREATLY. SD doesn't look good on any TV, but a crappy HDTV on SD channels will look significantly worse then any current tube, especially a Sony.

Hm, didn't know that... why is that the case?

I don't really watch TV in the first place, but I might eventually want to hook this up to cable.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: kyzen

Alright, just realize that you say the crappiest HDTV will be better then your current TV. If you don't have HD and want a Westinghouse, Olevia, Sceptre, etc., SD quality will suffer GREATLY. SD doesn't look good on any TV, but a crappy HDTV on SD channels will look significantly worse then any current tube, especially a Sony.

Hm, didn't know that... why is that the case?

I don't really watch TV in the first place, but I might eventually want to hook this up to cable.

Take a .mpg/.avi/.mov on your computer and increase it's size on the screen by 200%. How grainy/washed out does it look?

Same concept with watching SD content on an HD TV.

 

[kyzen]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: kyzen

Alright, just realize that you say the crappiest HDTV will be better then your current TV. If you don't have HD and want a Westinghouse, Olevia, Sceptre, etc., SD quality will suffer GREATLY. SD doesn't look good on any TV, but a crappy HDTV on SD channels will look significantly worse then any current tube, especially a Sony.

Hm, didn't know that... why is that the case?

I don't really watch TV in the first place, but I might eventually want to hook this up to cable.

Take a .mpg/.avi/.mov on your computer and increase it's size on the screen by 200%. How grainy/washed out does it look?

Same concept with watching SD content on an HD TV.

Interesting.... good to know I guess. So what is it that the higher-end TVs have in them that makes the picture more viewable that these lower end brands don't include?

And would the quality be any better if I routed the picture through a computer, and used a DVI/HDMI/VGA hookup to the tv?

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: kyzen

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: kyzen

Alright, just realize that you say the crappiest HDTV will be better then your current TV. If you don't have HD and want a Westinghouse, Olevia, Sceptre, etc., SD quality will suffer GREATLY. SD doesn't look good on any TV, but a crappy HDTV on SD channels will look significantly worse then any current tube, especially a Sony.

Hm, didn't know that... why is that the case?

I don't really watch TV in the first place, but I might eventually want to hook this up to cable.

Take a .mpg/.avi/.mov on your computer and increase it's size on the screen by 200%. How grainy/washed out does it look?

Same concept with watching SD content on an HD TV.

Interesting.... good to know I guess. So what is it that the higher-end TVs have in them that makes the picture more viewable that these lower end brands don't include?

And would the quality be any better if I routed the picture through a computer, and used a DVI/HDMI/VGA hookup to the tv?

Better internal processors/scalers inside the TV, that'll clean up the image quite a bit. To make it simple, think of it like a graphics card. The lower-end TV's have the lower end cards, with the better TV's having the higher end cards. If you don't think it makes much of a difference, go to Best Buy and switch the Westinghouse/HP LCD's over to a non-HD station. Do the same to the Samsung's. You'll see a difference.

 

[So]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...ATT=N82E16889234001&CMP=AFC-C8Junction

I'm actually looking for a 1080p TV on a $1k budget. This thing tempts me, but IDK if it's really decent. Thoughts guys?

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: kyzen

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: kyzen

Alright, just realize that you say the crappiest HDTV will be better then your current TV. If you don't have HD and want a Westinghouse, Olevia, Sceptre, etc., SD quality will suffer GREATLY. SD doesn't look good on any TV, but a crappy HDTV on SD channels will look significantly worse then any current tube, especially a Sony.

Hm, didn't know that... why is that the case?

I don't really watch TV in the first place, but I might eventually want to hook this up to cable.

Take a .mpg/.avi/.mov on your computer and increase it's size on the screen by 200%. How grainy/washed out does it look?

Same concept with watching SD content on an HD TV.

Interesting.... good to know I guess. So what is it that the higher-end TVs have in them that makes the picture more viewable that these lower end brands don't include?

And would the quality be any better if I routed the picture through a computer, and used a DVI/HDMI/VGA hookup to the tv?

Better internal processors/scalers inside the TV, that'll clean up the image quite a bit. To make it simple, think of it like a graphics card. The lower-end TV's have the lower end cards, with the better TV's having the higher end cards. If you don't think it makes much of a difference, go to Best Buy and switch the Westinghouse/HP LCD's over to a non-HD station. Do the same to the Samsung's. You'll see a difference.

You also have to take the "garbage in ='s garbage out" factor into equation. If you have a crappy SD source in the first place, the fanciest scaler in the world isn't going to help it. It's just going to make that poor source look even worse.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: So
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...ATT=N82E16889234001&CMP=AFC-C8Junction

I'm actually looking for a 1080p TV on a $1k budget. This thing tempts me, but IDK if it's really decent. Thoughts guys?

It's okay. Let's be realistic. A Westinghouse, next to a Sony or Samsung, will NOT look very good. However, no one is comparing TV's while watching, which is a pretty important situation. I own a 32" Westinghouse LCD hooked up to HDTV, as well as a 63" Fujitsu plasma hooked up to HD. Watching the 32" Westinghouse is great in HD, but if I go and look at the Fujistu right after, it's night and day. If I'm watching something in SD, I don't even turn on the Westinghouse, and go right for the Fujitsu.

It really depends on what you watch. If you're not doing much SD watching, the Westinghouse is fine. The colors won't be as realistic, blacks will be grey, and it'll be bright for the sake of being bright, but it $999.

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: kyzen

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: kyzen

Alright, just realize that you say the crappiest HDTV will be better then your current TV. If you don't have HD and want a Westinghouse, Olevia, Sceptre, etc., SD quality will suffer GREATLY. SD doesn't look good on any TV, but a crappy HDTV on SD channels will look significantly worse then any current tube, especially a Sony.

Hm, didn't know that... why is that the case?

I don't really watch TV in the first place, but I might eventually want to hook this up to cable.

Take a .mpg/.avi/.mov on your computer and increase it's size on the screen by 200%. How grainy/washed out does it look?

Same concept with watching SD content on an HD TV.

Interesting.... good to know I guess. So what is it that the higher-end TVs have in them that makes the picture more viewable that these lower end brands don't include?

And would the quality be any better if I routed the picture through a computer, and used a DVI/HDMI/VGA hookup to the tv?

Better internal processors/scalers inside the TV, that'll clean up the image quite a bit. To make it simple, think of it like a graphics card. The lower-end TV's have the lower end cards, with the better TV's having the higher end cards. If you don't think it makes much of a difference, go to Best Buy and switch the Westinghouse/HP LCD's over to a non-HD station. Do the same to the Samsung's. You'll see a difference.

You also have to take the "garbage in ='s garbage out" factor into equation. If you have a crappy SD source in the first place, the fanciest scaler in the world isn't going to help it. It's just going to make that poor source look even worse.

True, to an extent. The Fujitsu's, which are known as having the best internal scalers of any TV, do an excellent job, even on poor analog cable sources. Comcast Digital Cable only comes in digital on channels 100+, and 1-99 generally look poor on a HDTV. On a high end TV with a good scaler, like the Fujitsu it's very decent, and depending on the content, approaches the quality of digital. While garbage in = garbage out is an important consideration, it is NOT an endall, be all.