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The TV Thread: Holiday 2010 has ALREADY begun!

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  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Unless you go my route and get a DLP. Then you want to look at Mitsubishi.

    Burtletoy on
  • chasmchasm Ill-tempered Texan Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Up until a few months ago, I was the Electronics department manager of my local Walmart for a few years. When I'm quoting return rates, it IS anecdotal, but every return I've seen on a Sanyo was legit. Their plasmas are shit while their LCDs are fairly solid. I still wouldn't buy one, though. It's worth saving up for another few months to get a higher-quality TV.

    chasm on
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  • LednehLedneh shinesquawk Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Planning to get a ~46" plasma today to make a proper game room. One of the things I plan to do is hook up my gaming-only PC to it, if possible. However, I was told a couple years ago that hooking a PC to a TV was bad juju, due to reasons of colorspace and resolution mismatches.

    Is this still the case? Do HDTVs tend to handle computer connections badly still, or has it improved such that I can play ME2 or TF2 on forty six glorious inches without resorting to a console?

    Ledneh on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    New plasma? Good brand? You're fine.

    Improvolone on
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  • LednehLedneh shinesquawk Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Hooray! I'm going to Best Buy and Fry's to look around today. I'll stick to the makes described above.

    Ledneh on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Panasonic is pretty much the leader in Plasmas

    Improvolone on
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  • LednehLedneh shinesquawk Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Based on the above I went and got a Panasonic ... GT25 oh cripes I can't remember model numbers for dick, but it came well recommended by the internet at large.

    so awesome

    Ledneh on
  • ScrubletScrublet Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Ledneh wrote: »
    Planning to get a ~46" plasma today to make a proper game room. One of the things I plan to do is hook up my gaming-only PC to it, if possible. However, I was told a couple years ago that hooking a PC to a TV was bad juju, due to reasons of colorspace and resolution mismatches.

    Is this still the case? Do HDTVs tend to handle computer connections badly still, or has it improved such that I can play ME2 or TF2 on forty six glorious inches without resorting to a console?

    This used to be a major problem. I'm not sure how much of the fault was the TV, but a good chunk of the blame definitely fell on driver support. And this one was equally shared between AMD and Nvidia. I couldn't tell you when, but at some point this got handled. I can't speak to the colorspace issues, but the real thing used to be overscan...your TV would display standard resolutions from the computer (say 1280x720, 1920x1080, etc) bigger than the actual screen, resulting in the border of the image being hidden. In games this usually meant part of your HUD. The typical fix used to be underscanning...you would go into your driver setup and shrink your resolution, resulting in nonstandard values that at least fit your screen. There were two problems with this...the scaling didn't always work, and games that didn't pull resolutions from Windows or allow custom resolutions couldn't support this fix.

    On my current TV with my 5870, I'm not even underscanning and I'm not noticing any missing images on the screen. So I think this is all resolved now.

    Scrublet on
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  • LednehLedneh shinesquawk Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I can say it is almost entirely resolved. The only issue I'm having on this TV is a tiny amount of underscan, so a wee bit of letter and pillarboxing. Nothing to write home about, and one of these days I'll get around to fixing it, or maybe not. :o

    Ledneh on
  • shadowaneshadowane Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    shadowane wrote: »
    I'm probably going to be buying a 50" tv soon and was wondering if people have experience ordering from Amazon? I bought my last tv from a local place in case I had to return it but paid the price for that. What do people think at this point?

    Figured I'd ask again since it's been a couple days and no one answered. Anyone have experience with buying online for big tvs?

    shadowane on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I bought a 32 from Newegg last year. I felt comfortable because of their return service and excellent customer service. Unless YOU NEED A TV TOMORROW or don't have a safe place to ship stuff too, I don't see why you wouldn't buy on-line.

    Improvolone on
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  • chasmchasm Ill-tempered Texan Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Bought my LG 42LBX from TigerDirect/Amazon with no issues whatsoever. Just make sure to inspect the box extremely well before officially taking delivery and you should be fine. I trust the freight guys and UPS way more than Walmart.

    chasm on
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  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I bought my tv online and had a shit ton of problems, but in the end it worked out great and I would do it again in a second.

    But I also buy everything that isn't groceries online.

    Burtletoy on
  • MannyTheManateeMannyTheManatee Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Can anyone recommend any good gaming Plasmas?

    I'm considering the 2011 Panasonic line but there's quality reviews to go on yet.

    3D not important, just want decent black levels and a good picture.

    Any help would be great!

    MannyTheManatee on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I would be floored if Panasonic's 2011 plasmas turn out to be pieces of shit. Its pretty much not going to happen baring some weird defect.

    Improvolone on
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  • MannyTheManateeMannyTheManatee Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Yeah me too but I like to read Cnet's TV reviews and they haven't reviewed it yet.

    They just reviewed the new Sony's and they seemed kinda shitty.

    MannyTheManatee on
  • ScrubletScrublet Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Yeah me too but I like to read Cnet's TV reviews and they haven't reviewed it yet.

    That's because they're not out yet. The TVs are announced at CES in January but they typically don't hit market until way later. I forget when they started being released last year but I don't think it was until May at the earliest. For example, Panasonic's GT25 line didn't go live until August.

    For what you're looking for, for what almost anyone is looking for, the better deal is going to be to grab a 2010 model on sale rather than wait for the 2011 models. I will be very surprised if the quality improvement is substantial enough to justify skipping out on this ridiculous TV that is still half off for who knows what reason.

    I really don't mean to sound like a broken record or a Panasonic shill but seriously if you are willing to spend $1000 and are happy with a 50" size there really isn't a single other TV to look at unless you're a business looking for a demo set that is going to be on 24/7.

    Scrublet on
    subedii wrote: »
    I hear PC gaming is huge off the coast of Somalia right now.

    PSN: TheScrublet
  • LednehLedneh shinesquawk Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    That is the TV I got at Costco for $850 this weekend and I love that damn thing <3

    Ledneh on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Holy crap, 850?!
    Fucking wow.

    Improvolone on
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  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    The 50" GT has been ~$800 for the past 3 weeks now.

    Edit: $800 being the lowest it's been, but it has been hovering around there for a while now.

    http://slickdeals.net/sdsearch.php?forumchoice[]=9&search=viera&mode=forum&showposts=0&sdsearch_archive=0&firstpost=1

    Burtletoy on
  • MannyTheManateeMannyTheManatee Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    The Best Buy down the street has the Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT20 for $1599

    I guess the TC-P50VT20 is a Best Buy only model but it's identical to the TC-P50VT25.

    cnet and ZDnet both give it great reviews.

    I think I'm going to pick it up.

    Any have any experience with it?

    MannyTheManatee on
  • ScrubletScrublet Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    The Best Buy down the street has the Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT20 for $1599

    I guess the TC-P50VT20 is a Best Buy only model but it's identical to the TC-P50VT25.

    cnet and ZDnet both give it great reviews.

    I think I'm going to pick it up.

    Any have any experience with it?

    Personally, no. But I have extensive experience with the GT25, and the VT is another step up. It was roundly reviewed as the top TV of 2010. I usually don't mention it because most people are more concerned about price than top quality but if $1600 doesn't bother you than absolutely pick it up.

    Scrublet on
    subedii wrote: »
    I hear PC gaming is huge off the coast of Somalia right now.

    PSN: TheScrublet
  • MannyTheManateeMannyTheManatee Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Only thing that worries me is the burn is and possible fading blacks that cnet reported.

    Any word on either?

    MannyTheManatee on
  • krapst78krapst78 Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Burn in is no longer an issue on most modern plasmas. What you are probably talking about is image retention, which also shouldn't be a problem on that Panasonic. The fading blacks for the 2010 VT series was much improved from the 2009 debacle, and that set will still net you the best black measurements after rise, when compared to any other 2010 plasma. Pretty much, when it comes to image quality, the VT25 is THE tv to beat from last year's lineup. Pretty much, the only TV from last year that might rival the VT25 in 2D image quality is the full array local dimming LED backlit LG LX9500 which will costs almost double for a smaller screen size. If 3D is factored in, the VT25 handily beats the LG.

    krapst78 on
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  • MannyTheManateeMannyTheManatee Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Thanks for the info.

    Gonna sleep on it and most likely pick it up tomorrow.

    I'm kinda nervous since my current TV is a 27 inch Panasonic that I've had for about 9 years now so this is going to be quite the upgrade for me.

    I'm going to need a new stand for it as well since my current one is about as old as the TV too, haha.

    MannyTheManatee on
  • chasmchasm Ill-tempered Texan Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    So one of my buddies has gotten bored with [url=http://www.amazon.com/LG-60PK540-Class-Full-HD-Plasma/dp/B004GLGL2A/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1301028120&sr=8-5[/url]this[/url] and is offering to sell it to me for $650. I'm not sure what to think.

    chasm on
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  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    ...bored?
    How good of a friend is this? As in, how likely is he to screw you over?

    Improvolone on
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  • chasmchasm Ill-tempered Texan Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Really good friend whose house is filled with really high-end home theater equipment. Like, $100k+ of it, since he used to work for a HT specialist shop that used to do installs for casinos and night clubs and his house was used for demos. Then again, I don't really need the TV and since Vizio announced pricing for their Cinema 3D TVs, I'm a lot less interested. Though the idea of a 60" TV in my bedroom does give me a nerd boner.

    chasm on
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  • MannyTheManateeMannyTheManatee Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    TV GET:

    46' Panasonic GT25 3D HDTV and Stand

    2eus9ir.jpg

    Blurays look great, I'm going to start using my DVDs as coasters now.

    =3

    MannyTheManatee on
  • PirusuPirusu Pierce Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I know this is the TV thread, but this seemed the best place for it: Just picked up a Pioneer Elite VSX-30, and two Definitive Technology BP-8020 STs.

    We've had our Samsung Plasma for close to two years now, and wow. It's amazing what a good set of speakers does.

    Pirusu on
  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Well, we did end up going with the Sanyo - we're going to give it a shot and hope for the best. It fit our price range and more importantly was available locally - otherwise we were going to have to have something shipped to us which seemed to get costly pretty quickly. It's beautiful - although I will admit 50" is bigger than I thought it was going to look. The colors and quality just seem way beyond our current set, it's really nice.

    Sign of having a kid - first thing shown on the new 50" Plasma - Pokemon Black and White.

    Now, quick question - we're going to buy Blu Ray for it mostly because my 360 is going into our game room so we need a Netflix device. Any advice on a $150ish Blu Ray player/brand?

    Lindsay Lohan on
  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    You can probably get a use PS3 from craigslist for right around that price range.

    Which, last I'd heard, is one of the best blu ray players on the market.

    Burtletoy on
  • Skoal CatSkoal Cat Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Samsung has some nice Netflix enabled Blu-Rays.

    Skoal Cat on
  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I just went out and grabbed a Samsung actually. Now tonight I get to go in the basement and hide some wiring. We just moved so I need to get the rear speakers, cable tv and now ethernet to run under the living room. Then I'll be all set.

    Lindsay Lohan on
  • Skoal CatSkoal Cat Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    I hope you own your place. I hate running wire just to move and pull it out.

    Skoal Cat on
  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Skoal Cat wrote: »
    I hope you own your place. I hate running wire just to move and pull it out.

    Nope, rent. Fortunately the living room already has some predrilled holes under the rug in the corners from the prior tenant's DirecTV installation. The landlord is totally ok with an extra hole if needed too (which I think I'll need for the Ethernet.

    Now the scary part, my wife and 6 year old son are out buying our first Blu Ray discs. I'm kind of worried what they're going to end up with!

    Lindsay Lohan on
  • jimb213jimb213 Registered User regular
    edited March 2011
    Haha... A filmmaker's blog I read just had a post about why motion smoothing is pretty much objectively bad (for movies), and why shopping for a tv in a store isn't a good idea either.

    jimb213 on
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    I agree that motion smoothing is the fucking devil and that every time I see it turned on it transforms a movie into some sort of tawdry soap opera, but although I'm not exactly a film expert or something, claims like this:
    Filmmakers were not content to make movies with video cameras until those cameras could shoot 24p, because video, with its many-frames-per-second, looks like reality, like the evening news, like a live broadcast or a daytime soap opera; whereas 24p film, by showing us less, looks somehow larger than life, like a dream, like a story being told rather than an event being documented. This seemingly technical issue turns out to have an enoumous emotional effect on the viewer.

    seem false. I want 24fps because that's how movies have always looked and because that's what the filmmaker intended. I associate smoothness with soap operas, but I don't see why movies couldn't have been (or cannot in the future be) smooth like butter.

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • jimb213jimb213 Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    I agree that motion smoothing is the fucking devil and that every time I see it turned on it transforms a movie into some sort of tawdry soap opera, but although I'm not exactly a film expert or something, claims like this:
    Filmmakers were not content to make movies with video cameras until those cameras could shoot 24p, because video, with its many-frames-per-second, looks like reality, like the evening news, like a live broadcast or a daytime soap opera; whereas 24p film, by showing us less, looks somehow larger than life, like a dream, like a story being told rather than an event being documented. This seemingly technical issue turns out to have an enoumous emotional effect on the viewer.

    seem false. I want 24fps because that's how movies have always looked and because that's what the filmmaker intended. I associate smoothness with soap operas, but I don't see why movies couldn't have been (or cannot in the future be) smooth like butter.

    Yeah, that bit is a little over the top with liking the smell of his own (and other filmmakers') farts, but I think it's because we've had 100 years of training that 24fps = movies = storytelling/fiction = fantastical, and 30p/60i = news/soaps/documentary/home movie = reality (well, except for the soaps), so his statement is more the end result of the way things are, rather than reason for the way things are.

    And I don't really see major motion pictures moving away from 24 fps any time soon, for a few technical reasons. A big one is special effects. A lot of the stuff from ILM and Weta and the others take many hours per frame to render; if Transformers was shot in 30p, there would be 6 more frames per second of footage to render; if each frame takes 8 hours to render (not an uncommon amount of time for those kinds of movies), that's an additional 2 days per second of footage to render. That would add weeks or potentially months to production time. Also, the motion blur inherent to 24p with a 180 degree shutter helps blend SFX into shots. With the right motion blur, Harry Potter swooping around Hogwarts during the quidditch match looks fine; motion smoothed, the same scene doesn't look any better than a video game.

    Now you're right, as we move to 100% digital production & distribution, there's nothing stopping filmmakers from using different fps for shooting & playback (60p can actually look kinda cool), but it'll be an artistic choice to create a certain look and feel, and to get a certain response from the viewer, all of which is based on the years of precedent with movies at 24p and video at 60i.

    And it'll suck if our TVs try to jack with that.

    jimb213 on
  • LoveIsUnityLoveIsUnity Registered User regular
    edited April 2011
    Does anyone know of a good (or even decent) LCD tv in the 50-55" range that goes for around 1200? I am currently rocking a nice Panasonic Viera, but it's a plasma, and that won't work for my father who has the brightest living room ever. I don't know a ton about LCD stuff, which is why I came to you fine folks.

    LoveIsUnity on
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