flat screen

[85_blazer 10+ year member]

hey im thinking about buying a flat screen but dont rlly know what specs are really important i most likly would buy from wallmart or bestbuy....i found a 40 inch 60000 to 1 contrast ratio and 1080p for 750 is that good?

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[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

brand? and the specs don't mean shit if YOU don't like the picture.. quality/warranty is all that is important for specs.. everything else is opinion..

 

[kpozr2 10+ year member]

this

http://dealnews.com/Panasonic-VIERA-42-1080-p-Widescreen-LCD-HDTV-for-750-free-shipping/318821.html

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Samsung LCD > all others, from what Ive heard, read, and seen.

 

[Digital Designs 10+ year member]

Its all up to what you like. I personally like my Vizio more than any others they had at Wal-Mart. Just go to Best Buy or Wal-Mart or whatever, and see which one looks the best to you.

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

thishttp://dealnews.com/Panasonic-VIERA-42-1080-p-Widescreen-LCD-HDTV-for-750-free-shipping/318821.html

horrible!

 

[kpozr2 10+ year member]

LED pwns

 

[da box king 10+ year member]

ill be tryin to score one on black friday

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

LED pwns

someone has no idea what they're talking about. Plasma has the best picture quality as well as fast motion clarity. to be completely honest with the OP, you more than likely can't see most of the differences between the two types of screen unless they are pointed out to you and you're looking for it.

things to look for in a quality TV:

actual contrast ration not dynamic (anything over 12k is ideal)

illumination speed (atleast .04 ms or faster)

refresh rate of atleast 120hz (not artificially enhanced)

true HDMI input (accepts video and 5.1 audio) with a digital audio output

1080p at atleast 24 frames/sec (60 frames/sec is ideal)

also getting your TV picture tuned helps out drastically. don't let BB do it b/c they use Spyder 2 and the calibrations on spiders are done by a computer. for me personally I recommend you get an HDTV picture disc like one that Avia has and tune it yourself. it'll be a fraction of the price with the better results.

 

[power-fanatic07 5,000+ posts]

someone has no idea what they're talking about. Plasma has the best picture quality as well as fast motion clarity. to be completely honest with the OP, you more than likely can't see most of the differences between the two types of screen unless they are pointed out to you and you're looking for it.
things to look for in a quality TV:

actual contrast ration not dynamic (anything over 12k is ideal)

illumination speed (atleast .04 ms or faster)

refresh rate of atleast 120hz (not artificially enhanced)

true HDMI input (accepts video and 5.1 audio) with a digital audio output

1080p at atleast 24 frames/sec (60 frames/sec is ideal)

also getting your TV picture tuned helps out drastically. don't let BB do it b/c they use Spyder 2 and the calibrations on spiders are done by a computer. for me personally I recommend you get an HDTV picture disc like one that Avia has and tune it yourself. it'll be a fraction of the price with the better results.

i was just going to use my dmm //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

i dislike vizio, as mine died after 1 year...samsung makes some sick tvs, as does aquos...LED is the future, but they cost an arm and a leg now...

 

[I Like Waffle]

Plasma is a better overall TV. From what ive heard the only disadvantages to plasmas are the non glare resistant screen, and weight.

 

[blazeplacid 10+ year member]

contrast ratio is not measure the same withing the industry

like a zapco amp rated at 100rms vs a legacy amp rated at 100 watts max

pretty much any tv will look decent.

Budget? I figured under $1000 beign your price is $750?

Also, I wouldnt buy a warranty with a tv, hardly anything goes wrong with them.

I really like my mitsubishi, was a bit more than $750..... Samsungs have always been great even in CRT days

I also like vizio, they surprise alot of people.

Also remember your picture is only as good as the sorce. If you are gonna watch DVDS remember they wont be as sharp as Blu ray.

Even satellite in HD leaves me wanting more

 

[rippinitup7 10+ year member]

i've had my fair share of tv's and samsung has kept me the happiest (52b750 series right now). IF.....i was on budget i would look at vizio. for the money they make nice sets. i didn't say the best, but for what you pay for it it would be hard to complain.

my brother in law picked up a 42in vizio 1080p for $598 at walmart when they were running a special about a month ago...see what i'm saying?

 

[tRidiot 10+ year member]

Just spent 3 months doing the research on this shit before buying mine.

1. Plasma has better color accuracy

2. Plasma has much better off-axis viewing.

3. Plasma has faster response time (i.e., nanoseconds vs. milliseconds for LCD/LED)

4. Plasma is usually cheaper, inch-for-inch, feature for feature.

5. LCD is available below 40" (plasma is not)

6. LCD/LED is better in extremely bright viewing environments, i.e., if your living room has lots of windows full of sun and you can't block it very well with curtains, blinds, etc.

7. LCD/LED sells better because people notice the brighter picture better in insanely-bright showrooms at the big box stores... which are nothing like your home viewing environment, most likely.

8. Plasma has better absolute black levels (yes, even than LEDs... it's a limitation of the technology used in LCDs/LEDs)

9. Plasma has better native contrast ratio (note - as mentioned above, dynamic contrast ratio means exactly shit - they CANNOT display blacks and whites at that contrast ratio side-by-side simultaneously, thus making them useless specs.

10. LCD/LED are lighter, on avg about 10-15%, more when buying the extremely high-end LEDs.

Those are some of the things I learned in all my research. Some of them mattered to me, some of them didn't. It all depends on your particular application.

And as for the whole "burn-in" issue with plasmas, it's not a thing of the past, but with some common sense and new technology, it is much much MUCH better than it used to be. It's also very brand-dependent. Cheaper lower-quality manufacturers have higher burn-in problems and higher failure rates.

Also look at customer service ratings.... Samsung has one of the worst reputations in that regard. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif