plasma or lcd

[RFBurns]

It wont be long before LCD will surpass the Plasma in picture quality for given size (above 42"). The reason....better materials used to make the LCD emitter elements, smaller, and can cram more of them into the overall screen.

The BIG dis-advantage to Plasma above 42" is the fact that it becomes very heavy. And the average home with average sized hallways and doorways makes it very difficult to manuver even an 80" set through a hallway, around corners and through doorways. When mounting them onto a wall, you need very strong wall studs to hold these things in place, or good wall of brick contstruction to withstand the weight of not only the tv itself, but its very stout mounting bracket assemblies. At that point its better to consider a wall/screen projection system. Heat is also another factor with Plasma above 42". Just as it is with the old CRT, the bigger it is, the more voltage and current required to run it, thus it produces more heat.

I am waiting to run into one of those salespeople that would tell me "oh the Plasma set can be refilled when the gas runs out"...ROFLMAO!!!! Hmm...would a customer then think or ask.."what is the going price for a gallon of Plasma gas?!!!"

[nwg]

It wont be long before LCD will surpass the Plasma in picture quality for given size (above 42"). The reason....better materials used to make the LCD emitter elements, smaller, and can cram more of them into the overall screen.

That would be good and hopefully a lot cheaper.

The plasmas I have seen (up to 60" I think) were monsters and I dread to think how heavy they were. The biggest 42" LCD I have seen was over 40kg.

I still use a Sony 28" CRT widescreen and is only coming up to seven years now. When it goes I will get a LCD but only 32" as I use it just for TV and use my projector for films. I should get quite a bit of space back as the TV is large and weighs over 20kg.

I have seen a Samsung slimfit TV and it was impressive after it was calibrated properly. It was a HD Ready CRT and had a LCD shaped flat front. If you look at the front only, it looks like a LCD and it is cheap. A 32" model is under £400. I paid £1000 for my CRT widescreen.

Samsung TV

[RFBurns]

It would not surprise me if your CRT widescreen unit lasts at least another 3 years. Those units have an excellent history record. And they do produce awsome high-def pictures!


Sony will display their new 70" industrial prototype LCD flat pannel at the 2007 NAB convention in Las Vegas. These will have the latest LCD emitter elements that are aprox 1/2 the size of the current LCD emitters!

The consumer model will be slated for store shelves in late 2007.

[nwg]

MY CRT is not HD. I don't have anything HD at the moment and don't plan to get into it for several years. By the time I get into HD. I will get a small LCD for general TV viewing with my current Sony DVD player on component and a HD projector (maybe a 1080p one if they are affordable by then) with a HDMI DVD player. I plan to upscale my current DVD's and get new films in whatever HD format is the preferred one.

My brother, has just got a HD Ready LCD (he wanted a flatscreen) and doesn't even own a DVD player top go with it. He is using it with built in digital TV (called Freeview in the UK).

[TNT]

Sony will display their new 70" industrial prototype LCD flat pannel at the 2007 NAB convention in Las Vegas. These will have the latest LCD emitter elements that are aprox 1/2 the size of the current LCD emitters!

The consumer model will be slated for store shelves in late 2007.

Good to know. I had my eyes on the XBR3, but if it's going to have better picture quality, maybe I should wait. RFB, I liked your analogy with the audio cassette and CD. I'm an audiophile and can attest: garbage in, garbage out. When I first listened to my high end system, I found out that I couldn't listen to half the music I had because of the noise and distortion.

[camj979]

What about DLP monitors?? Are they basiclly LCD tv's with different technology?? Or are they totally different??
I gotta say, I have a 27' JVS flat screen CRT monitor, it only does 480I..but the HD channels look great to me. I can't see myself spending thousands of dollars on a new TV that runs 1080P cause my eyes probably won't even see the improvement (or maybe a slight improvement, but it's still not worth it.)

[toomanycats]

You aren't going to see much improvement on something that is 32" diagnal as far as resolution. You may see a lot more color depth which some people mistake as resolution but is just as important. That is why Sony TV's always looked better than most TV's of equal size. The ability of Sony's to reproduce color IMHO was and is unsurpassed. That (color) may be the best reason to get a HD LCd of a smaller size. At 40" inches or more then it (resolution) will matter more porportionately. If you search RFBurns posts on the subject matter you will get a far better explanation than I could give you but the basic answer is no. DLP have smaller emitters and the structure of the emitters allows for greater off center viewing.

[nwg]

The improvement with HD at 720p can be easily seen with a 32" and even a 26" LCD. It just depends on how far back you sit. If you watch a 32" at around 6-8 feet, you would have to be blind not to see the difference with HD.

I played some HD trailers in 720 quicktime and WMV via VGA from a laptop and the quality was jaw dropping.

To see the difference with 1080, the screen would have to be much larger. I probably wouldn't see the difference on anything less than with a projector or maybe a 50" TV (the biggest TV I have seen).

[toomanycats]

An appropriate statement. If you view a 32" TV at 6 to 8 feet you will be blind. That is way to close. If you quote me something about THX certification I would recomend you base you judgement of data from health officials, not electronic retailers. I wouldn't recomend anybody set closer than 10 feet from a 32" TV and 12 feet from 40" inches and greater. If you need to sit closer you should get your eyes checked out. It is different if you use a projector as that light is reflected and has a diffeent impact on your eyes. So sure, you could see the difference if your right on top of it. If you take out your vernier calipers you could measure the pixels too, but I wouldn't recomend it, not with the TV on anyway. I would venture your viewing experience on a Laptop has much to do with different issues not related to HD viewing. Some people think IPODS sound good too. I repaired TV's for 10 years and have my eyes checked regularly. I have seen most of the high def stuff available to the general public and if your viewing anything under 40" inches I wouldn't worry too much about high def if your sitting the proper distance for it. If you have money to burn,then go for it. 6 to 8 feet is too close and no child should be allowed to sit that close to a TV, and we haven't even touched on the proper lighting in the viewing area which is needed to offset the light emitting fom the TV.

[nwg]

I was being generous with 6 to 8 feet. Many people sit closer as they don't see the point in a big TV and then sit so far away from it (I can see the point). It defeats the purpose of the "big TV" to most people. They just want big and flat with LCD TV's (like my brother).

There are kids that sit 2 to 3 feet away from TV's when playing computer games!!

My 7 year old 28" WS is 6.5 feet away and I would have no problems watching a 32" (can't sit further back as I am against a wall). I watch a 80" projector image at 8 feet. I sit in the same place as when I watch the TV but the screen is another 1.5 feet further back as it is above the TV.

[toomanycats]

I understand your reasoning but being too close is bad for your eyes. The projector is really a non- issue because the light is reflected. These kids that sit 2 or 3 feet away will pay a price when they get older. Unless the have a heavy duty light behind them they are burning their eyes out. Don't take my word for research it yourself. I agree that is why most people get a big screen TV. In reality they would for the most part be better served with a projector. I am not sure about the light output from LCD's as opposed as all the naughty things that come out of CRT's but light is light and a certain amount of decibels exceeds that which is safe for your eyes. I don't let my 7 year old spend more that 15 minutes on the computer and I have a generous amount of light so his eyes don't fatigue. I purposely used a 13 inch TV when I used to repair VCR's as I was concerned about the radiation and X-rays that CRT's emitted. Yes, X-rays, our state required certain tests to determine if the TV's were in "spec". We sit 13 feet from our 36" Toshiba ( I just measured it) and the same distance from our LCD Projector screen (80" Inches diagonal).

[nwg]

I understand your reasoning but being too close is bad for your eyes.

I agree but I don't think 6 to 8 feet for a 32" widescreen is too close. I remember reading about working out a recommended distance is to divide the screen size by 5 and the result is in feet. So a 32" equals 6.5 feet.

I find people sit closer with widescreen as there is a reduce height than with 4:3 TV's. I wouldnt sit that close to a 30" plus 4:3 TV. They are big.

I found this link which is close to what I think (just the largest optimal distance as the smallest is way to close).

A 30" WS comes up as 7.6 feet.

http://www.bigsandysuperstore.com/allabout/tvs_size.shtml

If you didn't realise I was talking aboiut SD quality not HD. With HD, it is possible to sit further back as the resolution is higher (and preferable). I agree that you don't want to sit too close with HD as you probably won't appreciate the extra resolution.

[toomanycats]

When I was in the business the recomendation for a 32" TV was 7 to 12 feet. If you have the room I think10 feet would serve most people adequately. If you have to sit closer I would make sure I had the contrast/brightness turned down and have sufficient light to offset the viewing source. Most people leave their TV's at the default level, some tv's revert to that if they are unplugged. It is amazing how many TV's I adjust for people and then they say"Wow, I didn't know it was so bright!!". I don't think the newer TV's suffer from the maladies that affected the old ones but the problem is "only time will tell". Knowing that you own a projector, don't you wonder how people can spend so much on TV's when they could get a projector for a lot less and get so much more?

[TNT]

Knowing that you own a projector, don't you wonder how people can spend so much on TV's when they could get a projector for a lot less and get so much more?

In one word: Lighting. If you have the means for a dedicated home cinema, projectors are great. But what if you have lots of windows and don't want to hang heavy drapes or be bothered to close the curtains each time you want to watch TV? My wife would kill me if we had to darken the room each time we wanted to watch something. Also projectors are logistically difficult in small rooms.

Also, I know that there are "formulas" for figuring out seating distance, but in my experience, it boils down to individual preference. When you go to the theaters, you will notice that some sit all the way up front, while others stay in the back and most stay in the middle. I believe that the best way to determine the size that's right for you is to determine your viewing distance at home, and bring a tape measure to the store and stand at that distance and see which size is most comfortable for you and your family.

[toomanycats]

Preference in seating is definately objective. I was addressing minimal distance. I think 6 feet on anything over 20" inches is questionable. I can and do use my projector in the day time. I do have shades but there is a surprising amount of ambient light and on the newer projectors it is less of an issue. Anything at 1500 lumens or more should be adequate for most viewing experiences. My wife had a bit of a "tude" when I first set up my system but quickly overcame it when I played some of those "animal" shows that she likes. If you put on and sufffer the "chick" movies it pays off in the long run. There is nothing like "messing around" in front of your own threatre screen when the kid is asleep (enduring some of those chick movies has other benefits too!!).