I've been shopping around for a new TV. This won't be the primary TV, so I don't want to go crazy with the spending; $750 is about the most I'm willing to pay, pre-tax. I know that sort of limits me, but it doesn't make sense to me to buy a $1000+ TV and then stick it in the basement. It will be used mostly for gaming (Xbox 360--no HDMI) and occasional movies (HD DVD add-on) and TV (no cable box). 1080p would be nice for future-proofing, but it's not a requirement. I want something in the 37-42 inch range. Any smaller and I'll probably be too far away (10-12 feet, for reference); any larger and I'll have to rearrange furniture. I've considered plasma, but burn-in concerns me, and (more importantly) the basement has overhead flourescent lights, and I don't want to see the reflection. So LCD seems to be the way to go.
This Toshiba is on sale at Best Buy this week. I'm sitting on $105 worth of gift cards and reward zone money, so that makes Best Buy attractive. Plus, it's like 10 minutes from my house.
On the other hand, I can get the same TV for $700, shipped, through Amazon. I'm guessing Best Buy won't be too keen on dropping the price any further, but it can't hurt to try.l
If anyone has any thoughts on this TV, or suitable alternatives, I'm all ears.
Best Buy will often price match. Print the thing out from Amazon and bring it in. Even better, see if Best Buys website has a different price.
This won't work. The very first condition on Best Buy's price matching policy is that it has to be a "local retail competitor". Amazon is not local, and I don't think it's even considered retail in the sense that Best Buy is. As an example, the way the policy works, even if you found a TV on sale at Circuit City, if you don't have a Circuit City in the same area as Best Buy in your city, you can't pricematch it. You would have to go to a Best Buy near a Circuit City.
But if you show the employee that you can buy it from somewhere else for cheaper, odds are in your favor that he will give you not only a discount, but some other incentive. As long as you don't mention having those gift cards you should be able to get them to work with you. Hell, they want the sale, they know how easy it is to get something from Amazon.
It's not like you get arrested for trying.
Improvolone on
Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
I had a BB manager lie to me and say Fry's was out of stock and therefore they couldn't match on the TV I was interested in. So I bought it a BB's price.
I called Fry's twice on my way home and was told by two different people that they had "plenty" in stock.
Went to return it unopened the next day, but the chick at customer service was cool and gave me the price match price plus 10%. In the end it worked out, but the sales staff is gonna try to squeeze you for ever last penny.
Never buying another big item from BB.
Well, honestly, it's not BB's responsibility to know Fry's stocking levels. BUT - that's not how their price match works.
It's off the advertised price, not whether or not the TV is in stock at that price.
No, they said they only price match if the local competitor has it in stock. They said they called and we're told it was out of stock so they wouldn't price match.
Well, honestly, it's not BB's responsibility to know Fry's stocking levels. BUT - that's not how their price match works.
It's off the advertised price, not whether or not the TV is in stock at that price.
No, they said they only price match if the local competitor has it in stock. They said they called and we're told it was out of stock so they wouldn't price match.
I get that, but unless policy changed in the last 3 months, Best Buy doesn't worry about stock levels - as long as it meets the advertised price, it's fine. If I were you, I'd have gotten on the phone to Fry's myself.
Also, you do the price match at the customer service counter.
Guys, you can't price match Amazon. You can't pricematch if something is out of stock. Go to bestbuy.com.
Does Best Buy match prices of Internet retailers?
If you made your purchase in a Best Buy store, and you find an Internet retailer with a local retail store honoring its own online prices, we'll match their price, plus 10% of the difference. Internet-only retailers are exempt from our price matching program, as well as Web-exclusive offers. Eligible items must be the same brand and model, and currently in stock at the competitor's store. For purchases made online at BestBuy.com, please refer to the Online Price Guarantee on BestBuy.com.
What if the competitor does not have the item in stock or has limited quantities of the product?
Sometimes a retailer will advertise a very low price for a product but have only limited quantities in stock. If the item is out of stock or the competitor has limited quantities of an item, it is not eligible for price matching. Likewise, if Best Buy has a product that is advertised as being limited in quantity it will not be eligible for price matching.
Basically, if you come up with a lower price on a good, BB will come up with a reason why it doesn't qualify.
ElJeffe on
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
Basically, if you come up with a lower price on a good, BB will come up with a reason why it doesn't qualify.
Well yeah, they're not going to PM with an online store (way lower overhead=lower prices and there is the shipping/waiting cost) and they're not going to PM if you can't actually buy the product at the other store. However, I have never had a customer service person at Best Buy call the other store to confirm that they have the product in stock.
My problem is that I don't get a Sunday newspaper so I don't get the ads - and places like Circuit City, Target, etc. have changed the way they display their weekly ads online so its hard to print them out and be able to see the product (on CC's ad it comes out way pixelated) or see that it's a weekly ad and not an online price. Part of me thinks they are doing this to prevent people from PMing at other stores.
They might not price match Amazon, but the sales people have the right to lower the price and provide other incentives (cables, warranties, etc).
Sure as shit, nothing is guaranteed. You could probably get different results in the same store from two different sales people.
Improvolone on
Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
Update on my 37LG50 TV:
I called a LG support center and explained my problem. They said that it sounded like an internal problem with the HDMI board. I returned the tv to bestbuy and got the same model. I brought the tv home and it worked right away. The font when the tv was connecting to the HDMI input was different. This could be due to a difference in software. This tv was manufactured in December 08. Love this TV for the price.
Update on my 37LG50 TV:
I called a LG support center and explained my problem. They said that it sounded like an internal problem with the HDMI board. I returned the tv to bestbuy and got the same model. I brought the tv home and it worked right away. The font when the tv was connecting to the HDMI input was different. This could be due to a difference in software. This tv was manufactured in December 08. Love this TV for the price.
I was quite pleased with getting mine for $699 (open box, but barely used by all observations). It's good that you were able to get your problem corrected--I own no HDMI devices (I don't see what all the fuss is about), but in the event that my Xbox 360 should ever die, or if I finally get around to buying a PS3, it would be nice to have the option.
So, I convinced a friend of mine to let me borrow his Xbox 360 briefly and test out the HDMI...seemed to work, thankfully, on all ports. If something had been wrong, it might have been months before I caught on.
There was a deal on Dell's site offering the 32 inch Sharp Aquos for $550. I picked one up and it should be arriving some time this week. Though I have had 1080i and 1080p supporting monitors, this is my first real HD TV. The reviews were generally very good for it. I can't wait to give it is try. My old CRT has been on it's last leg for a while now. I have to fiddle with the component connectors to even get a picture and when I turn it off all settings are lost.
Woot. This weekend was nice with my new TV. The contrast ratio is awesome. I can easily tell the blacks from the other dark colors. Having so many inputs on it is a god-send. I am able to have my 360, Wii, XBawks, Game Cube, Dreamcast, N64, Genisis AND SNES hooked up all at the same time. The Genisis and the SNES are dasy-chained via RF, but still. This is the first TV I could hook everything up to. The digital noise reduction is works really well too. SD TV looks much better with it on. Now I just need to get a Logitech Harmony remote and a good 2.1 system. I wish I had enough room for another 5.1 system, but my computer already claims the space.
What TV is right for me?
That one is going to greatly depend on budget. There are 2 mail categories of TVs to choose from these days. HD and Non-HD. Though both have their advantages there are a few things to keep in mind when choosing.
Cost
Keep in mind HD TVs are going to be pricey at best. You can sometimes find good deals, but the general rule of thumb is the bigger and flatter it is, the more it will cost.
Size
This will depend entirely on how much space you have. You do not want to get a 42in Rear Projection if you are living in a shoe-box of an apartment. CRTs will generally be quite large per square inch of screen size. Same goes for rear projection. DLP will be smaller, but still not good for a smaller place. LCD and Plasma tend to be the best choice for size. They tend to be flat, and take up the least amount of space.
Performance
It is really going to be a trade off here. All of the high end models have good performance, but there is going to be higher cost associated with said performance. Strictly speaking CRT is going to have the blackest blacks and the whitest whites. Higher end DLPs, LCDs, and Plasmas will look as good, though, especially at HD resolutions.
Resolution
It will all depend on budget here. You have 3 major resolutions to choose from. Wikipedia has a great comparison of the resolutions. Keep in mind the higher the resolution the more the cost.
Where can I shop?
Most of the "Big Box" retailers have a nice selection of TVs and most of them should have knowledgeable staff that can answer all of your questions. If you have a question about the TVs they can not answer, look elsewhere. AmazonNewEgg have a great selection at fair prices.
The Deals
If you are in the market for a new TV, keep an eye out on SlickDeals and TechBargains. They tend to catch the best deals for the TV you are looking for.
Brands
For the price, Viewsonc tends to be a great choice for all your HDTV needs. The price/performance ratio is sick. For best picture quality, look at Sony.
Resolution-Distance Chart
Lets try to keep all questions to this thread.
I really enjoyed this. where can I find more info about this. email me..
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
i've been trying to narrow down my options with little luck the last few months on just what type of tv i want to pick up. i'd like to get a few opinions on these tv's and on my impressions as well, as every time i take my wife to check one out she doesn't seem to be very impressed.
i had thought of going the plasma direction with the kuro 5020 or the vierra 58" 800u. the first time i saw the kuro i thought that it was the greatest picture i had ever seen, but the next time i came by it was next to a samsung 120hz lcd that made the kuro obscenely dark looking. now the panny looks too dark to me as well, even though i realize that lcd's are always going to have a brightness advantage.
it's like the plasma sets were so set on producing a great black that it makes the whites very dull? maybe in the right room without any other light you wouldn't even notice something like this? conversely the lcd had a brilliant white but something bothered me about them that i can't quite put my finger on. i did pick up on the screen door, but i think that would go away if i scooted back far enough. still something else was off.
i'm sure there's someone on here that went through the same mental hurdles to get a tv, hopefully...
so i guess a summary would be something like this:
is it just me or is the...
kuro way too dark, even the white?
vierra also crazy dark?
samsung lcd picture quality not on par with plasma?
Showroom displays are never set properly. There is something to be said for what you see in a store, but what professional reviewers and calibrators say should hold a lot of weight for your decision.
Improvolone on
Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
Showroom displays are never set properly. There is something to be said for what you see in a store, but what professional reviewers and calibrators say should hold a lot of weight for your decision.
This. I read my reviews and impressions, and knew not to completely trust what I saw in the store. The TV I bought looked much less awesome than the lesser set of the same brand it was sitting next to and it completely took me by surprise - until I peaked behind and noticed it was hooked up via composite while the other one had a component hookup. The stores can adjust the TVs however they want, and what they WANT to do is convince you to buy the unit with the best profit margin. The TV I bought was $140 under MSRP and they almost certainly LOST money on; the 'better' looking lesser set was $49 ABOVE MSRP - and if all you had to go on was walking into the store and looking at them side by side, you'd think I was nuts for buying the set I did (and in fact I did get some strange looks from another customer).
hmm i didn't quite go as far as to check out the hookups, but i had the sets tuned to a hd feed of a live football game. no motion blur, pictures seemed clear. i set all the settings to default and messed with the brightness/color settings but i still couldn't get past the dark looking white.
like if you took a glossy photo paper and compared it to a regular piece of paper, that was the difference between the whites. it almost like the bulbs in the plasma sets were on their last legs or something(perhaps intentionally? but i'm sure plasmas make the most profit for them). reviews of the sets say great things about each of them so it's almost subjective at this point.
any plasma owners around to say that what i'm seeing is an anomaly, or that's what i'm suppose to being seeing? or would a correctly tuned lcd reduce the contrast to a similar level?
Plasma TVs have much better contrast than LCDs, and better black levels. LCDs can be plenty bright, though usually plasmas are still better. What you saw was likely either:
- The plasma bulb is running down
- The brightness was turned way down on the plasma, or cranked up too high on the LCD
- Someone hit you in the head and your vision is all wonky.
ElJeffe on
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
Also, if you ever want to check out a TV in-store (and you should), try to find it outside a big-box store. Upscale A/V stores will actually bother to properly calibrate their goods, because their clientele knows what to look for.
ElJeffe on
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
that's exactly the input i was looking for, thanks.
i'll try to find myself a local highend a/v store to try and find some well configured plasmas. i was pretty positive the first time i saw the kuro it was a lot brighter than the second time, so maybe the bulb did die.
@ noweat: there's a lot of debate about this TV versus that TV. However, the one consensus I've found at looking at tons of sources is that the Kuro is the best TV on the market. The Kuro Elite is the top end TV from Pioneer, but the lower one you were looking at is almost exactly the same panel with fewer calibration options. Even the newer $7,000 laser TVs from Mitsubishi haven't been able to take on the black levels of the Kuro, and it took that much money to beat its colors. If you have the money for a Kuro, it is probably the best purchase you can make. Just be careful during the first couple hundred hours or so...not playing games or watching things with static images the first hundred hours or so is supposed to greatly reduce burn-in possibilities.
Speaking of burn-in, we have a shitty plasma at work that displays alarms pretty much all day long. The burn in was horrible (we occasionally use it to watch TV), but recently it was off for three days then used exclusively as a television, and we noticed that the burn-in was all but gone. So there's some hope of clearing up that problem and in this case it was pretty extreme. Definitely wouldn't try to reproduce it, but I think there's a little more to be said about the tech.
i had just one problem with the set i saw, in that it was unnaturally dark. it was hard to reconcile that with my first impressions when i had first saw it, so i posted here to see if anyone else had seen that as an issue. in my prior posts i was watching one of the bowl games but even the field and the white lines were darker than i thought they should be.
i still need to make my way to a high end store to hopefully see some sets that working/configured correctly.
It's worth pointing out that a lot of people have gotten used to a set that is excessively bright, such that when they see one that's reduced to "proper" levels, it seems too dark. When I got my first HDTV and set it up, it definitely seemed dim, even though I knew that upping the brightness would kill the black levels or obscure some of the high-end/low-end detail.
Not saying that's what you're seeing, but keep it in mind as a possibility. It'll definitely help to see some properly configured sets, even if they're not of TVs you plan to buy, just so you know what "right" feels like.
And all that said, it ultimately it's a function of what you like. Maybe you'll decide that the proper settings, which may be somewhat dim, are to your liking. Maybe you prefer the brightness cranked up and the contrast maxed out. Hey, it's your TV, whatever floats your boat.
ElJeffe on
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
Plasma TVs have much better contrast than LCDs, and better black levels. LCDs can be plenty bright, though usually plasmas are still better. What you saw was likely either:
- The plasma bulb is running down
- The brightness was turned way down on the plasma, or cranked up too high on the LCD
- Someone hit you in the head and your vision is all wonky.
My understanding is that LCDs are typically capable of a higher brightness than plasmas. But the plasmas can be bright enough. The other thing to consider here is the screen surface...which TV is going to have more of a glare? I thought I'd read some things suggesting that in a room with more light the LCD may produce less reflection on the screen, whereas the plasma may be more apt to turn into a mirror. This may also be influencing your perception of the darker screen. But I can't find the reference to back that up...
I have a Philips 42PFL7403D/27E that claims to be 120hz. I know that it's most specifically for those crazy 24 fps videos, but is the 120hz not available for any resolution on say a PC? I can't find anything or set it to be above 60hz on any resolution at all.
And, even though the TV says it supports it, I can't get 640 x 480 resolution to work on my PC + TV at all. I'm guessing it may be a limitation on my video card perhaps, but the card says it supports 640 x 480, so I'm at a total loss here
My understanding is that LCDs are typically capable of a higher brightness than plasmas. But the plasmas can be bright enough. The other thing to consider here is the screen surface...which TV is going to have more of a glare? I thought I'd read some things suggesting that in a room with more light the LCD may produce less reflection on the screen, whereas the plasma may be more apt to turn into a mirror. This may also be influencing your perception of the darker screen. But I can't find the reference to back that up...
I prefer LCD to plasma for other reasons, but plasma definitely has a brightness edge over pretty much all other technologies.
ElJeffe on
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
My understanding is that LCDs are typically capable of a higher brightness than plasmas. But the plasmas can be bright enough. The other thing to consider here is the screen surface...which TV is going to have more of a glare? I thought I'd read some things suggesting that in a room with more light the LCD may produce less reflection on the screen, whereas the plasma may be more apt to turn into a mirror. This may also be influencing your perception of the darker screen. But I can't find the reference to back that up...
I prefer LCD to plasma for other reasons, but plasma definitely has a brightness edge over pretty much all other technologies.
I tried to go after that link because I couldn't verify its age and it seemed cheaply worded. However, I found just as many articles supporting LCDs being brighter as I did Plasmas being brighter. So I'll concede that. But EVERY article seemed to agree that plasmas are better in controlled-light environments. LCDs do better in higher-light environments.
Personally, if I had my ideal situation, I'd have a high quality bright 1080p projector in a basement. Hopefully in a few years...
The wife and I were at bestbuy. We need a new 42 inch TV, and there were 2 LG 1080p models, one 120hz, other 60hz, right next to each other. They were looping some HD previews, and the 120 looked too real. After standing at a distance for about 5 minutes, I started to get used to it. The wife didn't like it too much.
Anyone else feel the same? Never thought I would think HD looked too crisp/clear.
Yeah thats definetely an effect I've noticed with our 120hz Bravia, at certain points when watching blu rays, everything can look too real to the point of being fake.
Posts
This Toshiba is on sale at Best Buy this week. I'm sitting on $105 worth of gift cards and reward zone money, so that makes Best Buy attractive. Plus, it's like 10 minutes from my house.
On the other hand, I can get the same TV for $700, shipped, through Amazon. I'm guessing Best Buy won't be too keen on dropping the price any further, but it can't hurt to try.l
If anyone has any thoughts on this TV, or suitable alternatives, I'm all ears.
This won't work. The very first condition on Best Buy's price matching policy is that it has to be a "local retail competitor". Amazon is not local, and I don't think it's even considered retail in the sense that Best Buy is. As an example, the way the policy works, even if you found a TV on sale at Circuit City, if you don't have a Circuit City in the same area as Best Buy in your city, you can't pricematch it. You would have to go to a Best Buy near a Circuit City.
PSN: TheScrublet
It's not like you get arrested for trying.
I called Fry's twice on my way home and was told by two different people that they had "plenty" in stock.
Went to return it unopened the next day, but the chick at customer service was cool and gave me the price match price plus 10%. In the end it worked out, but the sales staff is gonna try to squeeze you for ever last penny.
Never buying another big item from BB.
Steam ID: Good Life
It's off the advertised price, not whether or not the TV is in stock at that price.
No, they said they only price match if the local competitor has it in stock. They said they called and we're told it was out of stock so they wouldn't price match.
Steam ID: Good Life
Also, you do the price match at the customer service counter.
PSN: TheScrublet
Well yeah, they're not going to PM with an online store (way lower overhead=lower prices and there is the shipping/waiting cost) and they're not going to PM if you can't actually buy the product at the other store. However, I have never had a customer service person at Best Buy call the other store to confirm that they have the product in stock.
My problem is that I don't get a Sunday newspaper so I don't get the ads - and places like Circuit City, Target, etc. have changed the way they display their weekly ads online so its hard to print them out and be able to see the product (on CC's ad it comes out way pixelated) or see that it's a weekly ad and not an online price. Part of me thinks they are doing this to prevent people from PMing at other stores.
Sure as shit, nothing is guaranteed. You could probably get different results in the same store from two different sales people.
I called a LG support center and explained my problem. They said that it sounded like an internal problem with the HDMI board. I returned the tv to bestbuy and got the same model. I brought the tv home and it worked right away. The font when the tv was connecting to the HDMI input was different. This could be due to a difference in software. This tv was manufactured in December 08. Love this TV for the price.
I was quite pleased with getting mine for $699 (open box, but barely used by all observations). It's good that you were able to get your problem corrected--I own no HDMI devices (I don't see what all the fuss is about), but in the event that my Xbox 360 should ever die, or if I finally get around to buying a PS3, it would be nice to have the option.
So, I convinced a friend of mine to let me borrow his Xbox 360 briefly and test out the HDMI...seemed to work, thankfully, on all ports. If something had been wrong, it might have been months before I caught on.
Oh and it's a digital signal rather than analogue, giving a more accurate picture that's less susceptible to interference.
In short it's pretty great if you want to get the best from your TV.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Woot. This weekend was nice with my new TV. The contrast ratio is awesome. I can easily tell the blacks from the other dark colors. Having so many inputs on it is a god-send. I am able to have my 360, Wii, XBawks, Game Cube, Dreamcast, N64, Genisis AND SNES hooked up all at the same time. The Genisis and the SNES are dasy-chained via RF, but still. This is the first TV I could hook everything up to. The digital noise reduction is works really well too. SD TV looks much better with it on. Now I just need to get a Logitech Harmony remote and a good 2.1 system. I wish I had enough room for another 5.1 system, but my computer already claims the space.
Oh, I know that. What I meant was I wasn't going to spend $250 to purchase a new Xbox 360 for HDMI.
I really enjoyed this. where can I find more info about this. email me..
uh, www.avsforum.com I guess.
i had thought of going the plasma direction with the kuro 5020 or the vierra 58" 800u. the first time i saw the kuro i thought that it was the greatest picture i had ever seen, but the next time i came by it was next to a samsung 120hz lcd that made the kuro obscenely dark looking. now the panny looks too dark to me as well, even though i realize that lcd's are always going to have a brightness advantage.
it's like the plasma sets were so set on producing a great black that it makes the whites very dull? maybe in the right room without any other light you wouldn't even notice something like this? conversely the lcd had a brilliant white but something bothered me about them that i can't quite put my finger on. i did pick up on the screen door, but i think that would go away if i scooted back far enough. still something else was off.
i'm sure there's someone on here that went through the same mental hurdles to get a tv, hopefully...
so i guess a summary would be something like this:
is it just me or is the...
kuro way too dark, even the white?
vierra also crazy dark?
samsung lcd picture quality not on par with plasma?
This. I read my reviews and impressions, and knew not to completely trust what I saw in the store. The TV I bought looked much less awesome than the lesser set of the same brand it was sitting next to and it completely took me by surprise - until I peaked behind and noticed it was hooked up via composite while the other one had a component hookup. The stores can adjust the TVs however they want, and what they WANT to do is convince you to buy the unit with the best profit margin. The TV I bought was $140 under MSRP and they almost certainly LOST money on; the 'better' looking lesser set was $49 ABOVE MSRP - and if all you had to go on was walking into the store and looking at them side by side, you'd think I was nuts for buying the set I did (and in fact I did get some strange looks from another customer).
like if you took a glossy photo paper and compared it to a regular piece of paper, that was the difference between the whites. it almost like the bulbs in the plasma sets were on their last legs or something(perhaps intentionally? but i'm sure plasmas make the most profit for them). reviews of the sets say great things about each of them so it's almost subjective at this point.
any plasma owners around to say that what i'm seeing is an anomaly, or that's what i'm suppose to being seeing? or would a correctly tuned lcd reduce the contrast to a similar level?
- The plasma bulb is running down
- The brightness was turned way down on the plasma, or cranked up too high on the LCD
- Someone hit you in the head and your vision is all wonky.
i'll try to find myself a local highend a/v store to try and find some well configured plasmas. i was pretty positive the first time i saw the kuro it was a lot brighter than the second time, so maybe the bulb did die.
PSN: TheScrublet
i hear you, or read rather...
i had just one problem with the set i saw, in that it was unnaturally dark. it was hard to reconcile that with my first impressions when i had first saw it, so i posted here to see if anyone else had seen that as an issue. in my prior posts i was watching one of the bowl games but even the field and the white lines were darker than i thought they should be.
i still need to make my way to a high end store to hopefully see some sets that working/configured correctly.
Not saying that's what you're seeing, but keep it in mind as a possibility. It'll definitely help to see some properly configured sets, even if they're not of TVs you plan to buy, just so you know what "right" feels like.
And all that said, it ultimately it's a function of what you like. Maybe you'll decide that the proper settings, which may be somewhat dim, are to your liking. Maybe you prefer the brightness cranked up and the contrast maxed out. Hey, it's your TV, whatever floats your boat.
My understanding is that LCDs are typically capable of a higher brightness than plasmas. But the plasmas can be bright enough. The other thing to consider here is the screen surface...which TV is going to have more of a glare? I thought I'd read some things suggesting that in a room with more light the LCD may produce less reflection on the screen, whereas the plasma may be more apt to turn into a mirror. This may also be influencing your perception of the darker screen. But I can't find the reference to back that up...
PSN: TheScrublet
And, even though the TV says it supports it, I can't get 640 x 480 resolution to work on my PC + TV at all. I'm guessing it may be a limitation on my video card perhaps, but the card says it supports 640 x 480, so I'm at a total loss here
Nope, plasmas win the Brightness War.
I prefer LCD to plasma for other reasons, but plasma definitely has a brightness edge over pretty much all other technologies.
I tried to go after that link because I couldn't verify its age and it seemed cheaply worded. However, I found just as many articles supporting LCDs being brighter as I did Plasmas being brighter. So I'll concede that. But EVERY article seemed to agree that plasmas are better in controlled-light environments. LCDs do better in higher-light environments.
Personally, if I had my ideal situation, I'd have a high quality bright 1080p projector in a basement. Hopefully in a few years...
PSN: TheScrublet
The wife and I were at bestbuy. We need a new 42 inch TV, and there were 2 LG 1080p models, one 120hz, other 60hz, right next to each other. They were looping some HD previews, and the 120 looked too real. After standing at a distance for about 5 minutes, I started to get used to it. The wife didn't like it too much.
Anyone else feel the same? Never thought I would think HD looked too crisp/clear.