First Plasma/LCD TV purchase ever - a few questions please ...

TRADERXFAN · « **Reply #20 on:** 9 Apr 2009, 08:58 pm »

Have you priced them out on Amazon?
Earlier this year I bought a s52" Samsung lcd off of amazon (and specifically from Amazon, not a reseller) and it was a great price, about 400 under best buy. The delivery was free and good experience. No sales tax collected. I was very happy with this choice. Although I must have timed it just right because I haven't seen the price down the experience. Something to think about.

I really like the LCD too. I thought I wanted a plasma but this was great. I do suspect they need a break in time though, like speakers. It was wierd, my wife and I both thought it was a bit off for about 2 days. But now it looks great.

-Tony

Dan_ed · « **Reply #21 on:** 10 Apr 2009, 12:47 pm »

Please let us know what you end up with. My wife wants a smaller set for the bedroom. The prices are right these days.

tvyankee · « **Reply #22 on:** 10 Apr 2009, 02:23 pm »

hello

i would go with plasma unless you are in a room with light that is not controllerable. if you do go with plasma go with Panasonic, if LCD samsung and make sure it is 120 refresh rate.

there is a ton of reading over at avsforum.com

good luck.

toobluvr · « **Reply #23 on:** 10 Apr 2009, 05:06 pm »

When I started shopping for a flat screen, I was leaning towards LCD. But after doing the research and shopping and actually looking at many many sets, I decided to go with plasma. It just looked better to me.......warmer and more organic, while LCD looked coolish, bright and sharp.

To use a film analogy, Plasma is 35mm while LCD is video.

To use an audio analogy, Plasma is tubes while LCD is solid state.

At least to me. But my needs are only for viewing TV and movies. No gaming, no computer, ever! For those that do lots of that, I hear that LCD might be preferred.

For mainly TV and movies, and if you don't have problems with bright light and glare, I would go with Plasma.

zybar · « **Reply #24 on:** 11 Apr 2009, 12:02 am »

Quote from: toobluvr on 9 Apr 2009, 07:48 pm

Quote from: zybar on 9 Apr 2009, 07:39 pm

You might like what you did more than a professional calibration, but you can't actually do a better job.

The pro's use equipment for a reason...your eyes can't set greyscale, geometry, and colors perfectly - equipment can.

George

If it looks better to your eye, you have done a better job!

Do the measurements / numbers really matter if it doesn't look as good?
Is some theoretically correct setting what is strived for?

That's like saying you would buy an amp simply because it measures better on the bench, despite another sounding better.

I don't think most would do that, and I know you would not George!

John,

Unlike audio where almost everything is subjective, video has published standards that we can go by.

Given that there are industry standards, anything less than meeting those standards translates into something less than the creator of the content wanted. My point above is that while you may think you self-calibration is "better", technically it can't be better than a professional calibration done properly with the required equipment.

In my experience, if you are not used to a properly performed professional calibration, you might initially think it is a little off and not as bright or sharp as what you are used to. This is because most people are used to seeing a picture with incorrect color temperature and much too high contrast and sharpness settings. What people believe is extra detail or pop, is actually artificial artifacts, color over-saturation, and distortion. Once you get used to seeing a properly calibrated picture, I don't know of a single person who thought it wasn't better.

I don't think the amp analogy is necessarily correct in this case John.

A better analogy is using tools to help measure my speakers to optimize my bass performance and EQ settings of the 5A's. While I can get them sounding very good by ear (similar to a self-calibration), the best way to have them sound their best is to use measurement tools (professional calibration).

Hope this helps put my comments in a better context. I liked what I wrote the other day better and wish that it had posted properly, but I think my point is solid.

George

toobluvr · « **Reply #25 on:** 11 Apr 2009, 12:45 am »

I defer to the experts.
Admittedly, I am a babe in the woods in this arena, and might be talking out of my ass.

It's completely possible that maybe I don't even fully understand what a professional calibration actually is. Is he somehow making adjustments that we are not able to make by going thru the menus with the remote?

Or is it just that he makes the adjustments the same way, but has technical and specialized equipment that tells him when the settings are correct?

I know, I know....I'm showing my ignorance here.
But I'm not proud!

zybar · « **Reply #26 on:** 11 Apr 2009, 01:02 am »

Bob,

Sorry to cause you some work, but if nobody objects, can you pull out the posts that pertain to calibration and start a separate thread?

Thanks,

George

geezer · « **Reply #27 on:** 11 Apr 2009, 01:58 am »

I'm a newie too, planning to buy sometime in the next few months, once I'm comfortable with the level of my knowledge. I find the discussion of calibration useful.

Question: Don't plasmas have burn-in problems anymore?

zybar · « **Reply #28 on:** 11 Apr 2009, 02:00 am »

Quote from: geezer on 11 Apr 2009, 01:58 am

I'm a newie too, planning to buy sometime in the next few months, once I'm comfortable with the level of my knowledge. I find the discussion of calibration useful.

Question: Don't plasmas have burn-in problems anymore?

Not really.

satfrat · « **Reply #29 on:** 11 Apr 2009, 02:09 am »

Quote from: Mike Dzurko on 9 Apr 2009, 08:16 pm

I saved about $1500 dollars on my 60" Pio Plasma by buying online over BB. Even a floor model at BB 6 months later was still about $700 higher.

On a 20" saved about $100 online vs. BB.

I would personally not go with the extended warranty for a variety of reasons.

I would say with a little work, and perhaps homework on the particular set you buy, you can do a pretty respectable self calibration, it might not be perfect, but as long as you buy a set with the picture you like, you should be able to get it looking darn good on your own. I think calibration makes sense for a really big picture in a dedicated theater kind of setup with really good audio, etc . . .

I gotta disagree Mike, I feel an ISF calibration (techs w/Optical Comparator & color analyzer) is a must for anyone who wants the best possible picture from their display device. In my mind there's no difference between being an audiophile and a videophile, both want the best possible performance with the gear that they own. I'm also guilty as charged. aa

Cheers,
Robin

bummrush · « **Reply #30 on:** 11 Apr 2009, 03:33 am »

I bought a Hitachi plasma,already a couple yrs old,still love it,saw some Sony lcd lately and still liked my picture better,lcd didnt have any thing over the Hitachi ,still i feel plasma much better pic, much better pic for plasma if youre off axis viewing .

toobluvr · « **Reply #31 on:** 11 Apr 2009, 02:15 pm »

Quote from: bummrush on 11 Apr 2009, 03:33 am

I bought a Hitachi plasma,already a couple yrs old,still love it,saw some Sony lcd lately and still liked my picture better,lcd didnt have any thing over the Hitachi ,still i feel plasma much better pic, much better pic for plasma if youre off axis viewing .

Summer of 2007 I too bought a Hitachi 42 inch plasma. Great price, and I think the picture is incredible. Even better than all the big name Panasonics, Samsungs, etc .......both plasma and LCD.....that I saw in the stores and in people's homes.

Picture looks accurate and natural to me. Easy to adjust and stays locked in. I haven't fiddled with the settings since I did them on the first day.

sdeen · « **Reply #32 on:** 13 Apr 2009, 08:20 am »

Bought a 32" Samsung Series 4 tv last month and so far I have no regrets. Picture quality is good and you can swivel the screen according to your position. Also, look at LCD TV ratings before taking the plunge.

rockadanny · « **Reply #33 on:** 13 Apr 2009, 02:45 pm »

Thank you all for giving me much to think about. I never thought about buying on-line - great prices! Still undecided as to what type and brand. Almost pulled the trigger on a Panasonic plasma on sale at Sears, but then noticed a Sony LCD also on sale. Now I'm undecided again.

BTW, watching the Masters seems a great way to evaluate picture quality.

sdeen · « **Reply #34 on:** 21 Apr 2009, 07:46 am »

Ok. Good luck.

mksimith2 · « **Reply #35 on:** 27 Apr 2009, 07:30 am »

I bought 42" Samsung plasma!

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #36 on:** 28 Apr 2009, 10:09 pm »

IMO, calibration gets the fundamentals right (don't know why the factory can't do this, but), the best the TV is capable of. That doesn't stop guys from messing with things further using their remote controls with mixed results, however. My brother in law's plasma is dark as all get out. LCD's that are challenging for the best picture are out of your price range, I think, tho maybe not so much for smaller screens. You know their picture fades away a few feet off axis. There are places where you can read reviews by make and model done by experienced cats. CNET, for example.

rockadanny · « **Reply #37 on:** 29 Apr 2009, 11:27 am »

Thanks Jim! Yeah, CNET is great.
I saw a Samsung LED TV the other day ...

Wow, what a picture. Nearly three dimensional images.
Unfortunately I've had to abort my search for financial reasons.

Perhaps some day I'll be able to replace the ol' tube.

ctviggen · « **Reply #38 on:** 29 Apr 2009, 04:01 pm »

Quote from: TRADERXFAN on 9 Apr 2009, 08:58 pm

Have you priced them out on Amazon?
Earlier this year I bought a s52" Samsung lcd off of amazon (and specifically from Amazon, not a reseller) and it was a great price, about 400 under best buy. The delivery was free and good experience. No sales tax collected.

But many states that have sales taxes also have "use tax" laws that would apply to this transaction, meaning that you should pay taxes on the purchase. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_tax

TRADERXFAN · « **Reply #39 on:** 29 Apr 2009, 06:03 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen on 29 Apr 2009, 04:01 pm

Quote from: TRADERXFAN on 9 Apr 2009, 08:58 pm
Have you priced them out on Amazon?
Earlier this year I bought a s52" Samsung lcd off of amazon (and specifically from Amazon, not a reseller) and it was a great price, about 400 under best buy. The delivery was free and good experience. No sales tax collected.

But many states that have sales taxes also have "use tax" laws that would apply to this transaction, meaning that you should pay taxes on the purchase. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_tax

Good point, but that's exactly why I put "collected". It was technically still owed, depending on your state.

-Tony