At the time I got my calibration through Best Buy it costs $200 and haven't had problems with it. No idea how it compares price-wise but I'm happy with it.
Break in (not burn in waaaay wrong terminology) is nice. Really the first 100 will break in a TV, but those images will probably be a better way of getting the TV to really flash the color spectrum.
Optimal settings off AVS are pretty decent from everything I've read. Professional calibration is the big chhange.
Ah, yeah I know. I had just got off work and was brain dead. I might spring for professional calibrations once I get the light levels controlled in the room (i.e. better curtains).
I have yet to read a professional calibration review that said "no, it wasn't worth it". But yes, make sure your room is how it is going to stay before you get it done.
Also, go with an independent guy, not Best Buy.
You've got a new TV, you want to use it. Run the break in stuff over night and while you're at work.
What's wrong with Best Buy's calibration? I'm pretty satisfied with it.
From what I've heard, Best Buy's calibrators are not ISF certified, and use only menus that are available to the user. Consequently, they generally don't live up to a 'real' calibration, though the extent to which they don't live up will vary based on your TV and possibly your location.
On a side note, glad to see I'm not the only probability theorist on the forum.
From what I've heard, Best Buy's calibrators are not ISF certified, and use only menus that are available to the user. Consequently, they generally don't live up to a 'real' calibration, though the extent to which they don't live up will vary based on your TV and possibly your location.
I see. Not to be a dick, but is there a source you can provide? I'd really like to know what it is I paid for.
On a side note, glad to see I'm not the only probability theorist on the forum.
Hey now, don't get carried away I'm just starting my first semester of probability theory. Check back 11 months from now and if I passed my phd qualifier you can call me whatever you want :P
If it turns out I fail the quals I will blame you for jinxing me and I will cut you!
I think this thread needs to be re-made. I spend half my work day on the internet and even I don't have time to read 30 pages of discussing console games on hdtv's.
I disagree. When I remade this thread it was out of date on all techonologies and terminologies. I remade it as a guide to define what one is actually seeing when they look at the specifications of a TV. However, what you want done is pretty much impossible, mostly due to the subjectiveness of PQ. Here's why:
1 - This isn't a timeless guide, some specifics would be helpful, such as: rough price of screens in sizes/types and maybe a recommendation or two. So within LCD there must be a range of $300-500 = you can expect these features, this one appears to be the best etc. I understand you werent looking to write a 10 page article or do tons and tons of research in markets you're not interested in but it seems like some recommendations would appear from the ruminations of the crowd.
Actually, the guide is timeless because it doesn't do this. The second I start updating the OP with recommendations, I have to keep it up to date. TV prices are extremely volatile, particularly in this rough economy where retailers find themselves frequently cutting prices to try to move product. On top of that, many people aren't comfortable buying TVs online, so I would have to recommend prices both at the online level and the more-expensive retailers. AND keep these up-to-date. And I am just talking about the US here...Canadian prices are different, and when we start talking about European forumers we're talking about completely different TVs based towards their television sources. There is a second problem here...how do I decide what to recommend? The tl;dr of the below is, you can't:
You want different price ranges for different "features". Probably like the computer build thread I'm assuming? Unfortunately, TVs don't work this way. For one, 95% of anyone reading this thread couldn't give a fuck less about "features" as far as extras like internet connectivity, etc...all most people care about in their TV is Picture Quality (PQ) and reliability. So the only features that matter are in reference to these. How do we measure PQ? In the computer thread, they can make an OP with recommendations like "you spend this money on this part and you can expect this kind of fps on crysis." In here, I can say you spend this money and your picture is going to be better than this other TV. But then I have the people that jump in here and say "well thats BS i spent X dollars on my off-brand Dynex and it looks exactly the same as that top-end Sony that costs $3000 more." What can anyone say to that? "No, you're a moron who must be blind"? In many cases, these TVs might even list the same "features" because no set standard exists for measuring PQ. Reviewers can calibrate their TV and use professional equipment to measure color accuracy and such, but I doubt anyone in this thread has the time and reliability to review TVs.
So basically, there's no way to reliably create different "entry", "midrange", "enthusiast" TVs, because there's no objective way to define those categories. Plus the whole LCD vs Plasma debate would almost require two different recommendation lists.
It seems most people are getting the advice they need by posting a budget, what they intend on using the TV for, and how much they really care about nuances in quality ('i don't give a shit' versus 'i don't want a pos but i can tell a crappy tv' versus 'im a huge snob'). People can then help them find their best fit with prices at the time.
2. You seem to come back to plasma burn in a lot. Does this really continue to be the issue you're making it out to be? From the (small) reading I've done on the issue plasmas have made huge strides in reducing or just about eliminating burn in.
I know this is going to piss off some people in here, but I think you'll find in general that 90% of people with experience on plasmas in the last year or two will tell you burn-in is no problem, and 10% will say it's the worst kind of TV ever. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on that. In the worst case you might have image retention that goes away, but I rarely ever hear about that anymore either.
Yeah there is a reason that there is so little info on monitors and even cases in the computer thread, all that stuff becomes subjective pretty quickly.
lowlylowlycook on
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
0
EshTending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles.Portland, ORRegistered Userregular
edited September 2009
Is it normal when you get up close to a plasma for things to look slightly fuzzy and almost pixelated? I'm watching Kill Bill Vol. 2 on my new 50" G10 and it just looks weird up close. I thought it would crisp from any distance. Now I'm questioning myself as to whether it looks optimal from the couch at 10'. Like I have some setting wrong or something.
EDIT: The scenes where Uma Thurman is training with Pai Mei are really grainy even from a distance. Is this just part of the film? What's a good movie that is crisp and clean all the way through that I could order? Something to REALLY show off the TV and Blu-Ray player?
Something new and digital should be super crisp, like Iron Man.
The closer you get the blurier it will get, thats why there is a DON"T SIT HERE zone in the chart in the OP.
Improvolone on
Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
Is it normal when you get up close to a plasma for things to look slightly fuzzy and almost pixelated? I'm watching Kill Bill Vol. 2 on my new 50" G10 and it just looks weird up close. I thought it would crisp from any distance. Now I'm questioning myself as to whether it looks optimal from the couch at 10'. Like I have some setting wrong or something.
EDIT: The scenes where Uma Thurman is training with Pai Mei are really grainy even from a distance. Is this just part of the film? What's a good movie that is crisp and clean all the way through that I could order? Something to REALLY show off the TV and Blu-Ray player?
Tarantino movies are going to have a mix of sharp scenes and fuzzy, grainy scenes, because that's how he films. Both Kill Bill films are excellent transfers, but they're excellent transfers of often grainy or soft film.
Like Improv said, anything new and effects-laden like Iron Man or Dark Knight will look great. Anything CG will be gorgeous.
ElJeffe on
Maddie: "I named my feet. The left one is flip and the right one is flop. Oh, and also I named my flip-flops."
Ok guys, I bought my 56" samsung 1080p dlp a couple years ago and I still love it. Now I'm in the market for another, smaller tv.
I'm thinking probably around a 40" lcd. I'm thinking cheap. I don't need 1080p, but I don't want to buy some piece of shit that's going to bust. I've heard Westinghouse makes good stuff for the money, but I'd like to be around $600.
Generally, cheap TVs are not going to just break. They will just look like shit. Do you care about picture quality at all, or is this just something to watch while you're running on your treadmill, or something?
ElJeffe on
Maddie: "I named my feet. The left one is flip and the right one is flop. Oh, and also I named my flip-flops."
Generally, cheap TVs are not going to just break. They will just look like shit. Do you care about picture quality at all, or is this just something to watch while you're running on your treadmill, or something?
I'll probably hook my 360 up to it sometimes, so I care about quality. Basically what is the best bang for buck under $600?
I'd prefer to get up to 40", but if that's just too big for that much let's move it down?
From what I've heard, Best Buy's calibrators are not ISF certified, and use only menus that are available to the user. Consequently, they generally don't live up to a 'real' calibration, though the extent to which they don't live up will vary based on your TV and possibly your location.
I see. Not to be a dick, but is there a source you can provide? I'd really like to know what it is I paid for.
On a side note, glad to see I'm not the only probability theorist on the forum.
Hey now, don't get carried away I'm just starting my first semester of probability theory. Check back 11 months from now and if I passed my phd qualifier you can call me whatever you want :P
If it turns out I fail the quals I will blame you for jinxing me and I will cut you!
I read that on avsforum a while back when I was looking for calibrators, but I didn't bookmark it or anything, sorry.
And, I haven't passed quals yet either.. doesn't stop me from calling myself a probability theorist
Ok guys, I bought my 56" samsung 1080p dlp a couple years ago and I still love it. Now I'm in the market for another, smaller tv.
I'm thinking probably around a 40" lcd. I'm thinking cheap. I don't need 1080p, but I don't want to buy some piece of shit that's going to bust. I've heard Westinghouse makes good stuff for the money, but I'd like to be around $600.
Any thoughts?
I bought a 37" Westinghouse, and after breaking within the first week of having it, it was eventually replaced like 4 months later with a working 42" Westinghouse.
Just a heads up. Don't buy the 37" as it has a very high % with faulty wiring.
So guys, looking at getting something in the $700 dollar range. $700-$800. As big and as sexy as possible.
Panasonic 42" S1 @ $800. Though I recommend buying a TV right now less and less as we move closer and closer to Black Friday and a holiday season with yesterday's indisputable report that consumer confidence is down.
Depends on how big you go. The chart in the OP may say yes or no, but your eyes are your eyes and you should see if you can't find a nice home theatre store to check it out for yourself. I suggest a proper store over a Best Buy for a dozen reasons.
Improvolone on
Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
We are looking at 42" models for the most part. So it looks like we might. It will be good to be able to show that chart to the fiancee.
And yeah, I know to avoid Best Buy and similar places. I used to work computer sales at Best Buy, I know how little training their employees get >.<
EDIT: I was talking with a fellow here in the office for a bit. He said something about there being a difference between the actual life of a plasma screen and the effective life of a plasma screen. He said that over time the gas would eventually start to lose it's effectiveness leading to a degraded picture.
We are looking at 42" models for the most part. So it looks like we might. It will be good to be able to show that chart to the fiancee.
And yeah, I know to avoid Best Buy and similar places. I used to work computer sales at Best Buy, I know how little training their employees get >.<
EDIT: I was talking with a fellow here in the office for a bit. He said something about there being a difference between the actual life of a plasma screen and the effective life of a plasma screen. He said that over time the gas would eventually start to lose it's effectiveness leading to a degraded picture.
Any truth to that?
No, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Your TV will be capable of half the brightness it used to be after eight years or so of constant use. And I mean constant, unrealistically heavy TV use. Like, if you spent more time on your TV than a full-time job. And this lifespan is no different than the lifespans that LCD manufacturers will give for their TVs. One thing though...this is a compelling argument for avoiding open-box floor deals at BestBuy. Typically speaking, they turn over their floor models faster than this, but if you got a floor model that'd been on from 10AM-9PM 7 days/week for a year then this might be more relevant. But I question anyone's intelligence buying open-box items from BestBuy because the discounts are usually marginal, and far exceeded by online discounts of brand-new TVs.
As you debate between 720p and 1080p, pay attention to actual screen quality. A solid 720p will look better than a crappy 1080p at 42".
We are looking at 42" models for the most part. So it looks like we might. It will be good to be able to show that chart to the fiancee.
And yeah, I know to avoid Best Buy and similar places. I used to work computer sales at Best Buy, I know how little training their employees get >.<
EDIT: I was talking with a fellow here in the office for a bit. He said something about there being a difference between the actual life of a plasma screen and the effective life of a plasma screen. He said that over time the gas would eventually start to lose it's effectiveness leading to a degraded picture.
Any truth to that?
No, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Your TV will be capable of half the brightness it used to be after eight years or so of constant use. And I mean constant, unrealistically heavy TV use. Like, if you spent more time on your TV than a full-time job. And this lifespan is no different than the lifespans that LCD manufacturers will give for their TVs. One thing though...this is a compelling argument for avoiding open-box floor deals at BestBuy. Typically speaking, they turn over their floor models faster than this, but if you got a floor model that'd been on from 10AM-9PM 7 days/week for a year then this might be more relevant. But I question anyone's intelligence buying open-box items from BestBuy because the discounts are usually marginal, and far exceeded by online discounts of brand-new TVs.
As you debate between 720p and 1080p, pay attention to actual screen quality. A solid 720p will look better than a crappy 1080p at 42".
More or less. Technically plasmas have a finite lifespan. If you want to buy a TV that you can use for the next 20 years, a plasma probably won't be it - at least not with current technology. Dropping to half-brightness is a huge difference - if dropping by a third would be pretty noticeable. Go into the picture settings, find "Brightness", and drop it to half of whatever it currently is - that will be your TV when it drops to half brightness.
A plasma will last at least five years under normal viewing habits before it suffers any noticeable drop in brightness. Probably longer. But it sure as hell won't last forever, like CRTs do. But like Scrublet said, LCDs aren't any better.
ElJeffe on
Maddie: "I named my feet. The left one is flip and the right one is flop. Oh, and also I named my flip-flops."
I don't know anything about Philips. I can't give you much more of a recommendation for your size and price range than I already have, unless you are set on LCD. In which case I would direct you here. But an LCD without 120Hz is not something I'd buy. And I see that Philips doesn't seem to have it either...
I don't know anything about Philips. I can't give you much more of a recommendation for your size and price range than I already have, unless you are set on LCD. In which case I would direct you here. But an LCD without 120Hz is not something I'd buy. And I see that Philips doesn't seem to have it either...
It's not mentioned on the Amazon page but it is mentioned on the documentation on the Philips site, so it does have 120Hz.
Guess I'll just have to see what it looks like when I go see it on Saturday.
Also, what's the usual price for ok HDMI cables? The average price on Newegg seems to be $9.99 but Amazon has some brands priced to less than a dollar for a 6 foot cable.
Also, what's the usual price for ok HDMI cables? The average price on Newegg seems to be $9.99 but Amazon has some brands priced to less than a dollar for a 6 foot cable.
So I'm finally making the jump to an HDTV. I don't have a lot of money, but my SD Tv is finally to the point that I can't deal with it anymore. I don't have cable, so my only source of entertainment is my 360. I use it to strem video, and play games. Well - games are more and more becoming just unplayable. I just got NHL10 and can't read most of the menus. Penny Arcade Adventures games are unreadable. Forget dead rising.
So I need an HDTV that's cheap, but I obviously want something nice while understanding my limits. I just want to finally be able to play these games again. I would like to get a 32", but Im staying at my parents for the weekend, and can't get over how amazing it is to READ TRANSACTIONS on NHL10, and they only have a 22".
My budget is about $450. Ugh
mxmarks on
PSN: mxmarks - WiiU: mxmarks - twitter: @ MikesPS4 - twitch.tv/mxmarks - "Yes, mxmarks is the King of Queens" - Unbreakable Vow
0
EshTending bar. FFXIV. Motorcycles.Portland, ORRegistered Userregular
So I'm finally making the jump to an HDTV. I don't have a lot of money, but my SD Tv is finally to the point that I can't deal with it anymore. I don't have cable, so my only source of entertainment is my 360. I use it to strem video, and play games. Well - games are more and more becoming just unplayable. I just got NHL10 and can't read most of the menus. Penny Arcade Adventures games are unreadable. Forget dead rising.
So I need an HDTV that's cheap, but I obviously want something nice while understanding my limits. I just want to finally be able to play these games again. I would like to get a 32", but Im staying at my parents for the weekend, and can't get over how amazing it is to READ TRANSACTIONS on NHL10, and they only have a 22".
My budget is about $450. Ugh
Keep an eye on Craigslist. At that pricepoint it's your best bet.
You can get LG screens for around that price, in the 32" range.
More options if you stick to 720p, but googling shows some people are selling 1080p 32" for around that much. I've never used an LG tv, but their computer monitors have always been decent.
So what's it mean when a LCD looks a little grainy/flickery in dim scenes? Is that just the LCD being shitty at handling blacks? Once it's back to a bright and or light scene it looks fine. It just happens when there are very low levels of light.
Shorn Scrotum Man on
0
pyromaniac221this just might bean interestin YTRegistered Userregular
edited October 2009
So I think it's time to get a new TV. I'm thinking 42 inches, 1080p, and I heard that 120 hz is a good idea. Does anyone have any suggestions for something around 1000 dollars?
So I think it's time to get a new TV. I'm thinking 42 inches, 1080p, and I heard that 120 hz is a good idea. Does anyone have any suggestions for something around 1000 dollars?
120Hz only applies to LCDs. At your price point you might be able to get more for your dollar with a plasma. Take a look at the OP and see what applies to you (i.e. light in the room, distance & angle from the tv, etc). Are you dead set on an lcd?
pyromaniac221this just might bean interestin YTRegistered Userregular
edited October 2009
Just looked through it, and really, it does seem like a plasma would be more fitting. It would be placed slightly higher than me so I would be looking up at it, I can control the light levels in my house, and I don't generally watch things with long instances of static images. I am concerned about burn-in though.
Speaking personally, my plasma hasn't had any burn-in issues ever. My plasma is a panasonic, but I can't speak for other brands' plasmas. Once you think you have a tv you like picked out, research the shit out of it online. If there's an obvious problem, that information is somewhere on the internet.
So what's it mean when a LCD looks a little grainy/flickery in dim scenes? Is that just the LCD being shitty at handling blacks? Once it's back to a bright and or light scene it looks fine. It just happens when there are very low levels of light.
Could it be a very compressed source (ie, bad cable TV or a DVD in a not-particularly-good player)? Compression artifacts tend to be most visible in dark areas of a scene and generally fit your description pretty well.
Video source is a blu-ray disc in my PS3. I'll have some more HDMI cables here in a couple of days to test with.
You don't need to waste your time here. The HDMI cables aren't going to make much of a difference. Unlike speaker cable, the signals coming over your HDMI cable are digital. They either get to the TV, or they don't. There is no graceful degredation...if your cable is bad, it is going to look awful. Ever get questionable reception on your old analog TV signals, where it gets slightly static-y? Ever seen what happens with questionable reception on a digital TV signal? Once you have, you'll understand why HDMI cables either work great or not at all.
It's not my intention here to shit on your purchase, but it sounds like you went ahead and got that Philips LCD. If you're buying an LCD at that size and price, you're probably gonna get questionable black levels. The only thing I'm not clear on is what you mean by "flickering", cause that's not generally a word I'd see used to describe poor black levels.
You don't need to waste your time here. The HDMI cables aren't going to make much of a difference. Unlike speaker cable, the signals coming over your HDMI cable are digital. They either get to the TV, or they don't. There is no graceful degredation...if your cable is bad, it is going to look awful. Ever get questionable reception on your old analog TV signals, where it gets slightly static-y? Ever seen what happens with questionable reception on a digital TV signal? Once you have, you'll understand why HDMI cables either work great or not at all.
It's not my intention here to shit on your purchase, but it sounds like you went ahead and got that Philips LCD. If you're buying an LCD at that size and price, you're probably gonna get questionable black levels. The only thing I'm not clear on is what you mean by "flickering", cause that's not generally a word I'd see used to describe poor black levels.
We ended up with the 42" model, not the 47". I'm fine with it having shitty black levels (most of my movies are brightly lit), I kinda expected it with the deal we were getting, I just wanted to check for sure that that's what the problem was and that it wasn't something wrong with the tv hardware-wise.
I only really noticed it in scenes where it was not only black but also dim, if that makes any sense. Like if it's a night scene but the characters are well lit? No issues at all. If the entire scene is dim? Yeah, crappy blacks.
Posts
From what I've heard, Best Buy's calibrators are not ISF certified, and use only menus that are available to the user. Consequently, they generally don't live up to a 'real' calibration, though the extent to which they don't live up will vary based on your TV and possibly your location.
On a side note, glad to see I'm not the only probability theorist on the forum.
Hey now, don't get carried away I'm just starting my first semester of probability theory. Check back 11 months from now and if I passed my phd qualifier you can call me whatever you want :P
I disagree. When I remade this thread it was out of date on all techonologies and terminologies. I remade it as a guide to define what one is actually seeing when they look at the specifications of a TV. However, what you want done is pretty much impossible, mostly due to the subjectiveness of PQ. Here's why:
Actually, the guide is timeless because it doesn't do this. The second I start updating the OP with recommendations, I have to keep it up to date. TV prices are extremely volatile, particularly in this rough economy where retailers find themselves frequently cutting prices to try to move product. On top of that, many people aren't comfortable buying TVs online, so I would have to recommend prices both at the online level and the more-expensive retailers. AND keep these up-to-date. And I am just talking about the US here...Canadian prices are different, and when we start talking about European forumers we're talking about completely different TVs based towards their television sources. There is a second problem here...how do I decide what to recommend? The tl;dr of the below is, you can't:
So basically, there's no way to reliably create different "entry", "midrange", "enthusiast" TVs, because there's no objective way to define those categories. Plus the whole LCD vs Plasma debate would almost require two different recommendation lists.
I know this is going to piss off some people in here, but I think you'll find in general that 90% of people with experience on plasmas in the last year or two will tell you burn-in is no problem, and 10% will say it's the worst kind of TV ever. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on that. In the worst case you might have image retention that goes away, but I rarely ever hear about that anymore either.
PSN: TheScrublet
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
EDIT: The scenes where Uma Thurman is training with Pai Mei are really grainy even from a distance. Is this just part of the film? What's a good movie that is crisp and clean all the way through that I could order? Something to REALLY show off the TV and Blu-Ray player?
The closer you get the blurier it will get, thats why there is a DON"T SIT HERE zone in the chart in the OP.
Tarantino movies are going to have a mix of sharp scenes and fuzzy, grainy scenes, because that's how he films. Both Kill Bill films are excellent transfers, but they're excellent transfers of often grainy or soft film.
Like Improv said, anything new and effects-laden like Iron Man or Dark Knight will look great. Anything CG will be gorgeous.
I'm thinking probably around a 40" lcd. I'm thinking cheap. I don't need 1080p, but I don't want to buy some piece of shit that's going to bust. I've heard Westinghouse makes good stuff for the money, but I'd like to be around $600.
Any thoughts?
I'll probably hook my 360 up to it sometimes, so I care about quality. Basically what is the best bang for buck under $600?
I'd prefer to get up to 40", but if that's just too big for that much let's move it down?
I read that on avsforum a while back when I was looking for calibrators, but I didn't bookmark it or anything, sorry.
And, I haven't passed quals yet either.. doesn't stop me from calling myself a probability theorist
I bought a 37" Westinghouse, and after breaking within the first week of having it, it was eventually replaced like 4 months later with a working 42" Westinghouse.
Just a heads up. Don't buy the 37" as it has a very high % with faulty wiring.
And their customer service sucks ass.
Panasonic 42" S1 @ $800. Though I recommend buying a TV right now less and less as we move closer and closer to Black Friday and a holiday season with yesterday's indisputable report that consumer confidence is down.
PSN: TheScrublet
We are going to be seated anywhere between 4-7 feet from the tv. Will we notice the difference between 720p and the 1080's?
And yeah, I know to avoid Best Buy and similar places. I used to work computer sales at Best Buy, I know how little training their employees get >.<
EDIT: I was talking with a fellow here in the office for a bit. He said something about there being a difference between the actual life of a plasma screen and the effective life of a plasma screen. He said that over time the gas would eventually start to lose it's effectiveness leading to a degraded picture.
Any truth to that?
No, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Your TV will be capable of half the brightness it used to be after eight years or so of constant use. And I mean constant, unrealistically heavy TV use. Like, if you spent more time on your TV than a full-time job. And this lifespan is no different than the lifespans that LCD manufacturers will give for their TVs. One thing though...this is a compelling argument for avoiding open-box floor deals at BestBuy. Typically speaking, they turn over their floor models faster than this, but if you got a floor model that'd been on from 10AM-9PM 7 days/week for a year then this might be more relevant. But I question anyone's intelligence buying open-box items from BestBuy because the discounts are usually marginal, and far exceeded by online discounts of brand-new TVs.
As you debate between 720p and 1080p, pay attention to actual screen quality. A solid 720p will look better than a crappy 1080p at 42".
PSN: TheScrublet
More or less. Technically plasmas have a finite lifespan. If you want to buy a TV that you can use for the next 20 years, a plasma probably won't be it - at least not with current technology. Dropping to half-brightness is a huge difference - if dropping by a third would be pretty noticeable. Go into the picture settings, find "Brightness", and drop it to half of whatever it currently is - that will be your TV when it drops to half brightness.
A plasma will last at least five years under normal viewing habits before it suffers any noticeable drop in brightness. Probably longer. But it sure as hell won't last forever, like CRTs do. But like Scrublet said, LCDs aren't any better.
PSN: TheScrublet
It's not mentioned on the Amazon page but it is mentioned on the documentation on the Philips site, so it does have 120Hz.
Product info is here: http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/4/47pfl5704d_f7/47pfl5704d_f7_pss_aen.pdf
Guess I'll just have to see what it looks like when I go see it on Saturday.
Also, what's the usual price for ok HDMI cables? The average price on Newegg seems to be $9.99 but Amazon has some brands priced to less than a dollar for a 6 foot cable.
monoprice.com
So I need an HDTV that's cheap, but I obviously want something nice while understanding my limits. I just want to finally be able to play these games again. I would like to get a 32", but Im staying at my parents for the weekend, and can't get over how amazing it is to READ TRANSACTIONS on NHL10, and they only have a 22".
My budget is about $450. Ugh
Keep an eye on Craigslist. At that pricepoint it's your best bet.
More options if you stick to 720p, but googling shows some people are selling 1080p 32" for around that much. I've never used an LG tv, but their computer monitors have always been decent.
120Hz only applies to LCDs. At your price point you might be able to get more for your dollar with a plasma. Take a look at the OP and see what applies to you (i.e. light in the room, distance & angle from the tv, etc). Are you dead set on an lcd?
Could it be a very compressed source (ie, bad cable TV or a DVD in a not-particularly-good player)? Compression artifacts tend to be most visible in dark areas of a scene and generally fit your description pretty well.
You don't need to waste your time here. The HDMI cables aren't going to make much of a difference. Unlike speaker cable, the signals coming over your HDMI cable are digital. They either get to the TV, or they don't. There is no graceful degredation...if your cable is bad, it is going to look awful. Ever get questionable reception on your old analog TV signals, where it gets slightly static-y? Ever seen what happens with questionable reception on a digital TV signal? Once you have, you'll understand why HDMI cables either work great or not at all.
It's not my intention here to shit on your purchase, but it sounds like you went ahead and got that Philips LCD. If you're buying an LCD at that size and price, you're probably gonna get questionable black levels. The only thing I'm not clear on is what you mean by "flickering", cause that's not generally a word I'd see used to describe poor black levels.
PSN: TheScrublet
Here.
FYI the TV all by itself is about $20 more than that on Amazon.
PSN: TheScrublet
That's what I suspected, but good to know.
We ended up with the 42" model, not the 47". I'm fine with it having shitty black levels (most of my movies are brightly lit), I kinda expected it with the deal we were getting, I just wanted to check for sure that that's what the problem was and that it wasn't something wrong with the tv hardware-wise.
I only really noticed it in scenes where it was not only black but also dim, if that makes any sense. Like if it's a night scene but the characters are well lit? No issues at all. If the entire scene is dim? Yeah, crappy blacks.