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Buying a HDTV
Raggaholic
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, my father wants to get a HDTV and he's come to me for help. The problem is I don't know nearly enough about them to help in any grand way. All he's told me is he wants to spend between $500-$1000, would like something around 37", and wants to be able to wall-mount it.
I now turn to you, my Penny-Arcade brethren. I don't know what's better between LCD and Plasma. I don't know about black depths. I don't know if the HD Channels he's planning on getting will look the same on a 720p or 1080i screen. Help, help, help.
I now turn to you, my Penny-Arcade brethren. I don't know what's better between LCD and Plasma. I don't know about black depths. I don't know if the HD Channels he's planning on getting will look the same on a 720p or 1080i screen. Help, help, help.
Raggaholic on
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Does the graph make sense to you?
Plasma: Kick out alot of heat
LCD: Generally a better picture
Both rock. I would honestly ignore LCD vs Plasma at this moment and find the best TVs in your price range. Then we can help you figure out which would work better.
With a $1000 high end you can get a decent set, but it won't be the high end sets. I suggest checking out www.cnet.com for some initial ideas, cross reference it all on www.avsforum.com (some of us are memebrs there and can help), and going through www.froogle.com to find the best price.
Does he want surround sound?
Wall mounting NICELY will require running cables through the wall. The only way to run a power cable through the wall legally/within code/safely is to run it through metal conduit which can easily be gotten for cheap at home depot. Also, wall mounting a heavy TV is not as easy as a picture frame. The wall mount should be screwed into two studs. Chances are, the wall mount won't be able to span the distance between two studs, so a 2x4 will have to be cut and put between the studs, and then you screw to that.
The better the contrast, the deeper the blacks, the more accurate the colors.
Buy all of your cables from www.monoprice.com
LCD's are much lighter than plasmas, as well.
As well, 720p/1080i are essentially the same thing. I don't know the nitty gritty specifics, but I know my Parent's 720p TV supported my XBox 360 at 1080i when I brought my XBox360 over.
My General rules when looking at TV's:
Brands: Sony, Sharp (Aquos line, especially), and Samsung are usually what I focus on. Not saying others are not good, but I find those 3 makes are really good.
Contrast Ratio: X:1. The higher X is, the better the picture quality
Refresh Rate/Respones time: Xms. The lower X is, the better. the higher you get the more... blur effect you get with action scenes/motion, etc.
Brightness: X cd/m2. Higher the better. Pretty straightforward.
Other things like Viewing angle come into play, but I find the LCD's are better for viewing angle not being blurred when you move to the sides.
As well, having a fair number of HDMI/Component inputs is good as well. My Samsung has 3 HDMI inputs which is fantastic. If you've got a Surround Sound system that has multiple inputs and outputs Video, then this isn't such a big deal because you can use your receiver as the component that you plug everything into instead of the TV.
Anywho, just some general ideas for what to look for.