Lcd, Dlp Or Plasma Looking For Big Screen Advice

[toowide]

Looking into getting a big screen tv. 50 inch or bigger. I hear plasma doesnt last as long as lcd but then i hear the dlp is the way to go. too many choices. any help would be appreciated. I would like something that will last a while.

[ong45]

I bought a sony dlp a year ago, seemed like the sweet spot price wise. The picture is not quite as good as plasma , but plasma cost a ton more and is not 3x better imho.

[JakeMartens]

Plasma Has the best picture, but it does have a shelf life. Most TV's are rated at 35,000-60,000 hours.

Basically the easiest way to explain what that means is that about every 3 years your TV pictures will be about 33% of what it was new.

DLP is the next closest as picture goes, if it is a good quality TV. However DLP has the most moving parts and the highest failure ratings because of this.

LCD has been around a long time and there are several good ones on the market. Check out Samsung

I bought a rear projection LCD, a Sony 42 inch. It was the right size for my room. The rear projection is about a simple as they get, has a very good picture and will just need the bulb replaced in about 3-4 years (which is really simple as well)

[Paul B]

Just this weekend compared plasma and LCD side by side in 42 and 50 inch models. Can't really see a difference in quality. In fact in some models (particularly Sony) the LCD had the better picture. All viewing was from 6 to 10 feet away and all were broadcasting the same HDTV satelite feed. I sure would not waste the extra $1K (or more) for plasma. Specially considering there will be a new better thing in 18 months to 2 years anyway.

[Shawn Knight]

I got a Samsung DLP for $1800 and it is frickin cool. This is coming from a guy that has owned nothing but 27" tvs his whole life so go to the store and check them out. I have mine set up with a computer, a digital cable box with HD TV, and an HD DVD player, and I have to say the HD stuff is very nice. you can tell the difference right away!

[toowide]

I got a Samsung DLP for $1800 and it is frickin cool. This is coming from a guy that has owned nothing but 27" tvs his whole life so go to the store and check them out. I have mine set up with a computer, a digital cable box with HD TV, and an HD DVD player, and I have to say the HD stuff is very nice. you can tell the difference right away!

What? No XBox? My biggest set has been a 32". I saw a 61" samsung dlp at sears for about 1900. it is a closeout. may have to drag out the old Sears card.

[George]

The big difference between LCD and Plasma displays is angle of viewing. Walk around a Plasma in an arc and the brightness and color will remain constant. Do the same with an LCD and you will see issues outside a narrow viewing angle.

That said, the LCD display will last a whole lot longer than the Plasma. If you want picture quality right now, get a Plasma, if you want longevity, get an LCD display.

BTW, I am discussing direct viewing displays here, not projection based systems. Projection based systems are a whole 'nother story and have issues with brightness in sunlit rooms and brightness falloff when viewing off axis just like current production direct view LCD displays do.

The best direct view displays available at the moment are Plasma's. Wait 1-2 years and the LCD will have taken over this position, but for the moment the Plasma's rule the roost in direct display technology.

[JakeMartens]

Yeah don't forgot to shop Sear's when looking for these. Now I am biased as I am a Store Manager for Sear's, but we are very competived priced with our selection.

I will tell you that whatever sales associates you get they will hit you with the dreaded protection agreement sale. And yes it is expensive, but here is what I tell customers, since december I have replaced 11 TV's because of the customer having the protection agreement, why, parts were not available. Right now all the manufacturers are at max capacity building the TV's in what they expect will be the big year for all the styles. Replacement bulbs are 6-8 weeks out. On LCD tv's if a LCD burns out it cannot be replaced, on a Plasma it a plasma pixel burns out, it cannot be replaced.

Under the manufacturers warranty these are considered consumable parts, but under a Protection agreement we cover wear and tear. Just something to consider.

[ima45dv8]

I looked at all 3 and wound up going with a Sony 55" LCD for several reasons. It's less expensive than the other 2, Plasma life expectency is way too short for the investment, and cost of repair for the DLPs is too high. My LCD (and most others, I suspect) have a user-serviceable lamp. It costs around $150, but there's no service call fee to be paid.

Picture is beautiful. Colors, including black, are sharp and vibrant. Granted, it's not a Plasma, but I can live with the difference.

[toowide]

Is there any difference in their quality with game platforms like xbox or playstation?

[Shawn Knight]

What? No XBox? My biggest set has been a 32". I saw a 61" samsung dlp at sears for about 1900. it is a closeout. may have to drag out the old Sears card.

Why yes I almost forgot. there is an Xbox as well. I have it set to wide screen and it looks great as well.

Also the DLPs are lighter mine only weighs about 70lbs. I think my old 27" weighs the same.

Edited September 6, 2006 by theknightoflight

[toowide]

Yeah don't forgot to shop Sear's when looking for these. Now I am biased as I am a Store Manager for Sear's, but we are very competived priced with our selection.

I will tell you that whatever sales associates you get they will hit you with the dreaded protection agreement sale. And yes it is expensive, but here is what I tell customers, since december I have replaced 11 TV's because of the customer having the protection agreement, why, parts were not available. Right now all the manufacturers are at max capacity building the TV's in what they expect will be the big year for all the styles. Replacement bulbs are 6-8 weeks out. On LCD tv's if a LCD burns out it cannot be replaced, on a Plasma it a plasma pixel burns out, it cannot be replaced.

Under the manufacturers warranty these are considered consumable parts, but under a Protection agreement we cover wear and tear. Just something to consider.

Any secret code words I can use to get a better discount?

[George]

If the display looks good with video, it will look also good with games and even your computer (although not all displays will take computer inputs). Video is video, no matter the source.

My video rental company supplied all the displays for an NVIDIA sponsored gamer event last year. We supplied several 20 foot wide screens using DLP projection for the main rooms and 20+ 50" plasma's for the gamer rooms. All the source/program monitors at video control were 17" LCD displays. No matter where I went, everything looked just as good as it did on any other display. Basically, if the video signal is not messed up, any "decent quality" display of any type of display technology will look just about the same as long as it is properly adjusted and you are viewing from inside the sweet spot of it's viewing angle.

[Shawn Knight]

I was lucky mine had a computer in connector.

[JakeMartens]

There is no secrete code words. Shop around, found the best price, go there, and negotiate a deal (Stand, Protection Agreement, Cables) depends on who you get to deal with but in my store we never walk a reasonable deal, especially if they are interested in the higher profit items like the cables, protection agreement, DISH network) It is about the bottom line. TV's on sale have about a 5%-8% markup. PA's, cables, stands are 35-50% mark up.

[rtr]

You may want to consider a front projection system (ie a projector on one side of the room and a screen on the other, with an attached sound system).

For around $1000 you can get a pretty impressive projector (I have an Infocus SP4805), and a huge image (depending on the size of the room, in my 12" or so wide room the screen is around 90"). The downside of front projection systems is that you have to be able to control ambient light well in the room. The other downside is that the bulbs wear out, but that takes years, the good news is once you replace the bulb the picture is like the projector was new again.

www.avsforum.com has good info on all sorts of home video and audio.

Edited September 6, 2006 by rtr

[Putty]

HDMI Compliant.

[George]

Agreed that projection is the best way to get a huge image with fantastic image quality for a reasonable price. The light issues can be dealt with as long as there is no sunlight entering the room.

BTW, if anyone in the San Francisco Bay Area is interested, my rental company has 3-4 older Sony CRT video projectors that will handle SD & HD video signals and Computer signals up to XGA and SXGA and we will give them away "FREE" to anyone wanting one. We have (2) VPH-1252Q's and at least one VPH-1272Q. These are 800 Lumen CRT projectors that can be floor or ceiling mounted (I think we might have a couple ceiling brackets left and will sell them real cheap if you take a projector).

They are big, heavy and not as bright as modern LCD/DLP projection systems, but they have awesome chroma saturation and are prized projectors for home theater. These beasties have many thousands of hours on the CRT's, but they still run and should still be good for many thousands of hours more (the CRT's can go 10,000 hours plus, or at least as long as the power supply's hold out).

First come, first served. FOB our warehouse in San Francisco. PM me to get in line.

[George]

Here is a PDF chart of all the common (and some uncommon) display connectors and signal types kickin' around out there at the moment:

video_connector_chart.pdf

For more information on video signal properties, look here:

http://www.maxim-ic.com/appnotes.cfm/appnote_number/1184

and here:

http://www.inlineinc.com/tech/notes/

Here is a list of good info options on the what and why of home theater display choices and the technologies involved:

http://hometheater.about.com/od/televisionbasics/

[EricW]

OK, I'm thinking hard about dropping the dime on an LCD TV. How the heck do I get a DVD player that has the same output resolution as the TV? I was looking around Costco tonight, and it appears that the DVD players output less pixels than the TV screen is wide. Is that the way it is, or am I missing something.

Also, is one brand of LCD TV more reliable than the others? I'm looking between Sony, Philips, and Sharp (because Costco has a killer warranty and that's what they sell).

Thanks!

[Putty]

OK, I'm thinking hard about dropping the dime on an LCD TV. How the heck do I get a DVD player that has the same output resolution as the TV? I was looking around Costco tonight, and it appears that the DVD players output less pixels than the TV screen is wide. Is that the way it is, or am I missing something.

Also, is one brand of LCD TV more reliable than the others? I'm looking between Sony, Philips, and Sharp (because Costco has a killer warranty and that's what they sell).

Thanks!

Toshiba makes a 1080p HD DVD player ($450-$700 bones) or your other option is blu-ray (lowest price is a samsung for $700) although there is not alot of dvd's out that support blu ray.

I gave alot of consideration between the sharp and the samsung. The sharp displays more reds or flesh tones better and Geoff L. makes a great arguement for their quality. I like the blues and cool tones of the Samsung and have been very happy.

HDMI connections suck and I have better pic quality with the monster component connections based on Springers advice. Get a juicy player and no probs for signal quality.

[George]

Best connection if you want all the pixels is DVI, but almost no DVD players support that and very few LCD/Plasma displays do either. HDMI doth truly suck unless it's an exact pixel pitch match and as EricW notes, it's a jungle out there.

The best way really is with the Y, Pb, Pr RCA jacks on the progressive players. This signal format, even though it is analog has killer capability when passed to the display on quality RG-59 coaxial cable with phono connectors (as opposed to audio grade RCA Phono cable).

PM me for more tech details, video engineering and high def display rentals are what I do for a living ;-)

[Loves2Shoot]

Above 50" DLP or JVC's HDILA (the 60" 1080 JVC is a really nice set) unless price is no option. If you want to drop 7-10K DWIN makes a beautiful plasma, they are not even in the same league as the stuff you see in the average store.

Eric,

Out of that list, Sharp Aquos, hands down IMO. They have a nice 46" LCD.

I'm not big on SONY, and HDMI isn't "as advertised" most thing look better over good component cables. really good cables will get you a lot. Kimber Cable and Synergistic Research have some cables that are pretty awesome.

Best connection if you want all the pixels is DVI, but almost no DVD players support that and very few LCD/Plasma displays do either.

DWIN uses a DVI from the scaler to the Projector/Plasma and it really is so much better you can't really even describe it. When most folks see it they are blown away about how much better a picture can be.

Edited May 16, 2007 by Loves2Shoot

[George]

BTW, the easiest way to beat the crap outa' the Monster Cable method of scalping the consumer on high grade analog video connections (Y, Pb, Pr is analog video) is to go to a good electronics store and buy 30' of Belden 8221, or similar grade RG-59 coax with a solid copper core. Get some Switchcraft all steel, solder on type RCA phono connectors and using a 25 to 30 watt soldering iron and fine gauge rosin core solder, make your own cable!

A solid core coax will sweep to at least a gigahertz and that is way over what 1080p needs to traverse a 15' or less cable with negligible signal loss, or pixel/waveform distortion. The braid and foil shields on a Belden BeldFoil type coax is even better and will give you almost 99% shielding on the run. This kind of home-made cable will out-sweep the high bux folks products every single day of the week, leap years included.

Cost will be under 10 bux per 10' cable ifn'ya got the soldering gack already :-)

Here is the cable we have switched to using in the field for component video anything over XGA resolution (1024x768): http://www.conceptorg.com/infofiles/vs52000/vs52000_full.pdf

[George]

We run 100 meter signal path's to our 16 and 25k DLP auditorium projectors from native 1080P switching systems with DVD-D outputs. We do this on fiber-optic link cables from a company named Pure-Link. DVI is the way to really see your pixels, but almost no consumer gear has it and most of the devices that do, can't hack much over SXGA+ (1440x1050). Only expensive stuff can deal in 1080p on DVI, the cheap stuff doesn't get in the door here. HDMI is supposed to be the poor mans way to simulate 1080p on DVI, Hah!

The projectors we use (Barco XLM & R+ series) have native DVI paths to the DLP valves and they are stunning to the initiated, let alone the un-initiated. We routinely do 30' plus images at true 2048x1024 resolution at projection throws up to 250'.

Here is a 32' foot image at 1080p we did recently for Adobe at one of their sales meetings. The projectors are 25,000+ lumens and weigh in at 385 lbs each. They were double converged at this event to increase brightness to un-heard of levels:

http://www.conceptorg.com/gallery/index.ph...xlmh25-tech.jpg

http://www.conceptorg.com/gallery/index.ph...=adobe-2006.jpg

Folsom Encore high resolution swiutcher system, 100 meter fiber optic DVI path, Barco XLM-H25 projectors.

Here is a link to our tech library where manuals on most of this stuff can be found:

http://www.conceptorg.com/techlibrary/