OT - Televisions
Help me Mgoboard, you're my only hope. I am in the market for a new television. It looks like everything is 1080P anymore. I don't really care about 3D or Smart TV. All I really want is a 60 inch screen at a good price. So what recommendations do you have? Is it ok to get plasma now? Suggestions? I look to the wisdom of the hive mind.
Yes, they are dwindling and consume more power (really not much of a cost difference if you really analyze it) but they offer a much better picture than LCD, especially for sports or fast moving action.
Plasma is your best bang for the buck.
Just worry about the frame refresh rate. You'll need at least a refresh rate of 120 but for that large of a screen, I would recommend a 240.
I have a 46" Samsung LCD which I LOVE the picture - Refresh rate is 120 and it's the sharpest picture i've ever seen, even for sports and action movies.
Also have a 40" Samsung LED -
Samsung makes a good TV, but for a larger screen (60" or larger), there might be a better brand option. Do a lot of research and don't believe what you see at Best Buy. I've been told that they pick and choose what TV's they want to look best on display.
Not to dog on Best Buy, but I've also heard that they get cheaper panels in some of their tv's than other distributors. I.e., some Sharp tv's have Pioneer panels at other retailers while BB's with the same model number will have a lesser panel.
Obligatory grain of salt required here; I heard this from one of those other retailers.
The old Pioneer Kuro's were still the best picture quality TVs around even six years after they stopped making them, until like last year. But your point is still correct, although it's not just limited to Best Buy. Among certain TV models, they sometimes have different panels from different factories, especially at the lower to lower-mid level range. This is a bigger deal with warehouse models that they sell in a Costco or a Sam's Club, as often those TVs are either rebrands of a previous model (often good deals) or have a totally different panel, which sometimes works out for the better and sometimes doesn't.
120 is usually enough, it'll more depend on the quality of the panel and processing as for how much it blurs. 240 was more of a marketing gimmick that everyone picked up. Possibly worth it for gaming.
I just recently heard this, but you do not want a refresh rate of 240 Hz. Most TV and Movies are filmed with a shutter speed of 1/48 - 1/60 which is 24 fps. A 60 Hz to 120 Hz refresh rate is about what you need for watching TV, any higher and your picture starts to look like a cheap movie where the TV starts to fill in the blanks because it is working faster than what you are watching. If you will only be using your TV for Video Games than a higher refresh rate is better, but for most uses of a TV this is actually a problem.
Refresh rate is a very misunderstood TV feature, where people think higher is better.
Plasmas are the cheepest and refresh at 500Hz as oposed to LED/LCD which can only hit 180. Plasmas are by far the top TV for watching sports. They are also the cheepest of the three because plasma screens can only be made 32" or so and up. This limits the TV manufacturer to only being able to create TV's instead of Phone screens, computer screens, navigation screens. This is why they are cheeper.Only downside is if you are in a room with a ton of natural light, specifically directly behind you, shows like Game of Thrones becomes unwatchable because of all the black. Plasmas dont burnout quickly anymore. That issue has been ironed out years ago. Panasonic is also the best. I know all of this because a MSU grad at best Best Buy knew what he was talking about and after having a 53" for 6 months, I agree with everything he had to say.
Duces
Short version: Refresh rate on a plasma doesn't matter because it doesn't suffer from motion blur anyway
heh.
I don't know if having an address as a user name and posting about looking to purchase a new television is a good mix.
Any MGoCriminals out there agree?
Signed up 4 years ago... Student house location... Shopping for a $1500+ TV... He doesn't live there anymore.
EDIT:Guess I should add something. Owner of 2 plasmas. Panasonic most recently.
I'm a bit of a videophile.
Yes, plasma is the way to go. Cheaper, better black levels, and less motion blur. Only reason not to get it is if you put the TV in a room that gets a lot of glare. Plasmas are great for basements, but not for windowed rooms that get a lot of sun (for the most part).
As far as brands, Panasonic has a pretty good lineup of plasmas. Samsung tends to have a little lower picture quality per price point, but their TVs are often available for better deals like more pairs of 3D glasses, etc.
I'm on an iPhone, I'll edit this with more specific info in a bit. CNET does some great reviews, definitely check those out.
weird. Plasmas I would check out: Panasonic: ST60 and S60 series. S is a little cheaper, ST pricier and higher quality, although it's debatable on how much of a difference there really is. At just over $1000, the 60-inch S series is an absolute steal. There's also the VT series which runs over $2000 if you want to go higher. Samsung: F series is real top end, E series is probably a better value but less features. I have a Samsung D series, 51" plasma in my basement that's about a year old. Excellent quality after calibration. Those are the only two main companies that make plasmas right now. For whatever reason, LCD was pushed on consumers, and it squeezed plasma out of the market. Plasma gives you better quality against all but the high end LCDs, and less motion-blur makes it better for sports too. LCDs have gotten much better at it, but it takes a lot of processing and panels with faster refresh rates, so it adds to the cost. Downsides of plasma is that occasionally, if you sit in a certain spot you'll hear a little buzz, but it's faint and only noticeable if there's no sound from whatever you are viewing, and it's only in that one spot. Electricity usage is another, you can calculate the difference in energy cost online somewhere. Screen burn in is NOT an issue. Don't let anybody tell you not to get a plasma because of screen burn in. If you need an LCD, the Sharp LE series TVs are really they only LCDs that come over 60". Vizio might make one or two, you could probably grab them from Costco to get the extra warranty. Other suggestions: CNET does the most thorough reviews of TVs. Tend to be the most accurate, and they review the most of them. Saving a little money on TV cost and spending it on surround sound is cool, obviously adds extra cost though. Sound from TV speakers is kinda weak. If you really want to use your TV to it's full potential, only Blu-ray will do that, so a Blu-ray player is nice. Problem is, how to find blu-rays to watch. I always just get them from a local Redbox. It's also cheaper to do Netflix or Pandora or whatever streaming through the Blu-ray player than to buy a SmartTV, unless you do it all through a laptop or something anyway. Good luck shopping! Getting a new shiny TV is always fun.
You are spot on DH16....plasmas are the way to go for the reasons you noted, and Panasonic, for my money makes the best plasma panels around. I have two 60 inch Pioneer Elite 141FD's, which I bought about three years ago...still considered the best plasma set made due to its black level, and a couple of Panasonics, which are good.
There is at least one LCD display that is excellent, that being the Sharp Elite, the "Elite" name being bought from Pioneer if I remember correctly. The Sharp has a very good LED light source, but the sets cost a small fortune.
3D is an option built in to many sets and it is up to you if you choose to use it. I personally don't like it, nor do I like most 3D movies I see at the theater. It still seems gimmicky and a way for movies to make more money from the glass rental charge many theaters add to their ticket prices.
Panasonic makes some very nice 65" displays. I would suggest you go to AVS forum at
and do some reading on both plasma and LCD displays. Spend an afternoon reading about the differences and you will be much more educated about your buying choice.
Ultimately, both formats will be replaced by OLED's, which are starting to be available in large size sets, but the prices are incredibly high and outset the range most buyers can afford.
Today is probably the definition of a slow day on the Blog.
My two cents on plasma:
I have had LCD TV's in the past but my current TV is a Panasonic plasma that I bought about 4 years ago and that sucker heats up the room (approx. 15' x 12') like a furnace. Never had that problem with my LCDs. I don't know if there have been improvements in reducing the heat generating effect but I would not purchase another plasma again after this experience.
SAMSUNG LED
Everything else is 2nd rate. FACT
Is that the setting that makes everything look like it's a home video? Removes all the movie-looking-ness from it?
So many people buy new TVs and leave the reduced motion blur setting on for everything. It looks great for sports, but I can't stand it with regular TV and movies.
I've always been a fan of Samsung products. In the living room, I have a 42" Samsung Plasma 720p that I've had for 4 years now. Most would say it's dated at this point, but I still find the picture to be of top-notch quality. I occasionally look at TVs just for kicks, and I haven't seen anything that makes me think I need to upgrade. It's perfect for the room it's in.
By comparison, I bought a smaller (26") Vizio 1080p LED-LCD that I use dually in my bedroom as a computer monitor and TV. It serves its purpose, and I bought cuz it was cheap. Wishing I'd gone with Samsung in that case, too... but it was $100 more. And the Vizio remote sucks.
If you want something that big I would seriously consider either waiting for the 4K UHD displays, or getting something inexpensive that you won't mind replacing. UHD displays are just starting to become available at the very high end, but the speed at which things are moving means they'll be common within a few years. And I wouldn't be all that surprised if extended range sRGB color space (or something similar) is available then too.
It's a similar argument to th 720p vs 1080p TVs that used to go around. For example, at a 10ft viewing distance of a standard 40-some inch TV, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p TVs if they were the same set (in a double blind trial, to prevent bias). They just don't make any 720p TV's anymore because nobody was buying them because they thought they were getting an inferior product, when realistically they probably didn't need the extra pixels. Here's an awesome chart: http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/01/27/resolution_chart.jpg Basically, 4K would really only be worth it for your 60" TV if you sit less than 6 feet from your TV. I remember an article saying you'd need like a 150" TV to tell a noticeable difference. The true benefits for 4K are for massive TVs, think of the huge Sharps that push 80" you seen hanging on walls in stores. If you got 4K in those, you could sit close and have it feel like an IMAX. Can't wait till the price drops for that.
If you're looking exclusively at video images and the like I agree that resolution isn't nearly as important (although extended gamut is very noticeable, but the availability of that is complete speculation on my part). However if you are, for example, using your panel as an external display for your laptop you'll find that 1080p, even at a "normal viewing distance" doesn't look all that great.
Still, if all you're looking for is something to watch broadcast television on you'll be fine at 1080p.
My parents have several Samsungs and I think they are fantastic. I have a Panasonic and some other brand and I think the Samsung picture is better than both.
I agree with most posters on here.
If you have a light controlled area, go with a Panasonic plasma.
If you have an area that has a decent amount of light, get a Samsung LCD or LED/LCD. Preferrably one with a matte finish to reduce glare.
These aren't the ONLY options, but if you don't want to do a ton of research on your own, you probably won't go wrong with these choices, at least in the mid to upper range models. I don't know much about the budget models.
I have a 42" Panasonic Plasma Viera on my wall right now. Bought it ~5 years ago. Very happy.
My brother-in-law used to install TV's and home theatres in some high-end places in the Detroit area. No, I'm not going to name-drop. But let's just say he knows what is good and what is junk. He also has a Panasonic Viera 50" in his living room, and he's also happy.
Samsung and Panasonic appear to be give the best bang for the buck.