Need Help Tv Selection

[OILFIELDTRASH]

My hdtv currently is a 42" Toshiba regza lcd tv 60hz. I use it as my primary computer screen and use it for blu ray watching and some pc gaming. I'm looking into a 55" samsung led tv or maybe a plasma. Ive heard plasma probably wouldn't be a good pick for me because of the picture retention. How would a led tv do for my purposes? Any input?

 

[sivart]

Look at them in person and see which is best.

Other than using it as a PC, what else do you do? Watch movies?
How far away do you sit?
How bright is the room? (I.e. do you have a 20 foot wall of windows?)
What is your budget?

My choice for pure TV watching would be:

1) Plasma
2) LED backlit LCD (no such thing as a LED TV, yet)
3) LCD 120Hz

 

[smitbret]

If you want the best possible picture, go plasma, unless you're in a room where glare will be a problem. Burn-in isn't the issue that it used to be. If you break the tv in properly for the first 100 hours and don't leave static images up on it for hours on end, you'll have no issue with burn-in. Plus, plasma lends itself to action and movement better than LCD/LED, it's just cleaner and crisper. LED is merely a better LCD tv that uses edge lit LEDs instead of a standard lamp for a backlight so you get better contrast. Still not as good as plasma, especially comparing $ to $. In my opinion 120Hz LCD tvs are overrated. There might be something to the 240Hz, but other than an abnormally smooth picture that i find disconcerting, there's nothing that 120Hz LCD tvs offer over a 60Hz.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Thanks guys. I was looking at frys and they had this exact tv and it was the one me and the wife kept going back to. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16889102303
Im just afraid using it as my primary pc monitor with taskbar on the bottom at all times I'm gonna get some burn in.

 

[smitbret]

Nice!!!! How far are you sitting from that monster? How long will it be sitting on with the Windows Taskbar being displayed? If you are using it as your primary computer display and you'll be spending hour after hour on the comp, I might suggest LCD just to make sure you're safe from burn-in and also because the power consumption will be a little lower with the LCD.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'm about 12 ft sitting back from the tv. And it's for a 100% computer monitor. I guess I'll have to find the best possible LCD. Is the led worth the price difference over regular LCD?

 

[sivart]

If it is 100% computer monitor, LED backlight probably won't give you any advantages unless you are playing a lot of Blu-rays. Most internet video doesn't have good contrast to start with. Garbage in = garbage out.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Originally posted by: sivart
If it is 100% computer monitor, LED backlight probably won't give you any advantages unless you are playing a lot of Blu-rays. Most internet video doesn't have good contrast to start with. Garbage in = garbage out.

Its a computer monitor but I have a blu ray/ hd dvd player I use to watch movies and I do some 1080p computer gaming.

 

[Wuzup101]

I'd stear clear of plasma if you are using for a dedicated / primary computer display. While plasma technology has come a long way, and you wouldn't have to worry about burn in from normal media usage on a modern set (varried gaming / dvd / BR / etc...) I still wouldn't recomend it if you plan on having a desktop on there for a long time. Things like the start menu probably will burn in long term...

Take the above with a grain of salt. If you know that you won't be spending a lot of time on the desktop, and will be varrying the content, then a plasma might make a great display for you. It certainly would be my choice for gaming / movie watching / etc... (actually I just bought a 63" plasma). There are a lot of things that plasmas do VERY well; however, I would stear clear of them if you are planning on using the set for a primary monitor (secondary monitor to game / watch media on would be another story).

What is your budget? Is form factor a concern (IE: do you need one of the new 1.2" thick moddels?). Vizio just came out with a new 55" LCD with local dimming the VF551XVT. The model that it superseeds (the 550) is a very nice set for the price, and the newer set packs a hell of a lot of tech into the price point (though it will be replaced by another model 552 fairly soon). Samsung's edge lit 8000 series have a pretty nice picture and great black levels for an LCD; however, the few that I have seen in person did seem like they had some banding (and they aren't cheap sets). For a standard computer monitor, I would assume that ccf backlit would be more than sufficient (but again, the led based displays generally are going to have the edge as far as blacks are concerned for gaming / blue ray / etc...).

If you do decided to go for a plasma, the panasonic 54V10 would be a nice choice in a similar size... I just bought a samsung 63b590 myself... and I like the set...