Buy lasertv?

[erida]

I was thinking about buying a plasma screen but i was on a website www.lsrtv.com wich is about lasertv. It looks like this is gonna be a big hit. Maybe wayt with buying plasma or is this lasertv going to be a Flop?

[admin]

It's too soon to tell I think. First of all, there are no commercially available Laser TVs on the market at the moment, just prototypes and early models that companies use to show off new technology.

If you are not in a hurry for HDTV, then there's no harm in waiting for this and other technologies (or even the evolution of existing ones - LCD and plasmas will get even better as time goes on). But if you already need a HDTV (and if you have access to HDTV broadcasts, Blu-ray/HD DVD or Xbox 360/PS3, then you *really* do need to experience these on a proper HD panel), then you should buy whichever one that catches your eye now, and don't bother waiting for future tech.

Here is a short list of things to look out for when deciding what to buy (LCD/Plasma) in the shops:

• Native resolution, 1080 lines is the best at the moment and you should try and get a panel that supports this if you can afford it - Xbox 360, PS3, Blu-ray and HD DVD will only show their best at this resolution
• Viewing angle on LCDs
• Motion refresh/blurring on LCDs
• Motion judder on plasmas
• HDMI connections, the more the merrier (1.3/1.3b is the latest version of HDMI - you should get a TV with this type of connector if possible) - all HD devices, including the Xbox 360/PS3, will benefit from having these (or in the case of the PS3, need it for Blu-ray playback)
• (If you panel is 1080 lines) Ability to accept 1080/24p (1080 lines progressive, 24 frames per second) content (and display at 72 Hz for a judder free film experience), which will come in handy for Blu-ray/HD DVD

And of course, looking at which panel has the best picture, price and even the look/styling of the TV itself, these are best to compare in store.

[RFBurns]

Watch out....here comes.....SUPER HD!

This "in development" system is the next step for high def television. This system takes today's 1080p and doubles the resolution out to 2160p, perfect for the IMAX format, which is twice the screen width and hight of the 16:9 aspect ratio.

This system should begin to be deployed within the next 5 to 10 years. It could be sooner depending on which way the markets lean. Today's electronics markets are a fast paced and consistantly changing scene.

So waiting for the newest thing before leaping into the HD world might be benificial depending on your circumstances. But for now, and since the prices of these current LCD and Plasma units are going down while screen size goes up, it might be a good idea to go ahead and get on the bandwagon of the HD world now.

As with any new gadget, prices are high at first, then they drop off as the market becomes saturated with the technology.

[admin]

I think we will all need an eyeball upgrade to fully appreciate Super HD

[erida]

Thanks

Thank you guys for the clear answer. Great forum

[toomanycats]

Plasma's are already on their way out.

[admin]

I wouldn't really say that though - you still can't really beat the quality of a proper plasma panel - it may not be as bright as LCDs, but the color reproduction and life-likeness is excellent, as well as the unmatched viewing angle (horizontal and vertical). Cheap plasmas are no match for cheap LCDs, that's for sure.

Both plamas and LCD will be eventually replaced by something like Laser TV, SED or whatever, but at the moment, your best bet for a 50" screen is plasma (I would recommend Pioneer, it's support for 3:3 pulldown, playback of 24 fps films at 72 Hz, is a must for Blu-ray/HD DVD).

[toomanycats]

Your best bet for 50" is a 3 panel LCD projector (New Sanyo Z series). I don't agree about the viewing angle, have you seen the latest Sony's, that isn't even an issue. With the 4ms latency they can't be beat. The Plama's don't last long. The use of high voltage in any TV set will be it's downfall. Plasma do not have the clarity of LCD's. I don't blame Sony for bailing out on plasma's, they saw the writing on the wall. Viewing angle problems do not exist for projectors. My Sanyo will do a picture from 30' to 220'. I still have many connections in the repair industry, I would never buy a plasma TV, they do not last. I would get the smaller Sony over Pioneer as Pioneer has a horrible service record. I know many people who purchased Pioneer Plasma's and felt like they threw their money away. They look good on paper but LG and SANYO and SONY have the best all around liability. Of course that is just my opinion after fixing these (and other TV's ) for 10 years. I would also never purchase anything that says Magnavox on it. The new Sony are available for viewing at your local Sears store. The artifacts that you say on the Blu-Ray discs played are from the production of the movies. The Pirates of the Carri bean shows many CGI type errors which are clearly viewable on the Sony's and LG (which co-productetheir LCD panels). The fuzzy Plasmas do not have the definition for the type of discerning.

[admin]

Projectors are another things, because you will need a suitable room for that, and for example, my "media" room has 2 huge windows, and is wider than it is deep, which means using a projector is not possible. They are best for watching movies, but might not be the best for some casual TV while lounging on the couch.

The Sony LCDs are quality indeed, and definitely worth considering when doing your shopping, but I would still opt for a plasma panel at the moment. Also watch out for the latest Panasonic ones. I would say that if you want 1080p now, you should seriously considering one of these sets (more on that later).

My Pioneer has been running perfectly (I use it about 6 to 8 hours a day), and it has a 5 year factory warranty with on site repairs, which is unmatched by any other set (it's the main reason I bought it). The model I bought won quite a few design awards, and subsequent models also won awards too (http://www.eisa-awards.org/history/2005-2006/video.html). I have also heard good things about the Panasonic Viera range. I have not experienced any burn-ins, or any other problems associated with plasmas as yet (fingers crossed), and these panels are designed to last 25+ years, so there are no issue with longevity. I've certainly had better luck with my plasma than with my previous set, an Loewe CRT, which has died twice due to a faulty high voltage transformer (Loewe CRTs look great, but at a cost).

As mentioned before, many large screen LCDs are 1080p resolution, where as many plasmas are still 720p, so that's why there is a difference. You would need to compare the 1080p LCD to a 1080p plasma, but these are just coming out and are quite more expensive than their LCD counterpart. Personally, I think to fully enjoy 1080p, you need a screen much larger than 50" ... 50" is just about right for 720p. To really decide between LCD and plasma, it depends on your personal taste, and it also depends a lot on your viewing conditions, so it's very hard to compare even in shops, but that may be the best way to do it. Certainly LCDs look more spectacular in stores because they are brighter and can better withstand the harsh in-store lighting conditions - just note that these sets will perform completely differently in your home.

Haven't heard anything about Pioneer's quality problems, but I know that LG is notorious (at least in Australia) for shoddy quality (I went through 3 different LG HDTV set top boxes, all unopened boxed sets and all broken, and there's the infamous LG rear projection set recall a year or so ago). We have a nick name for LG here in Australia, "Lucky it Goes"

The Sanyo brand here is strictly budget stuff (only K-Mart here seems to sell them, and I'm talking about real bottom of the shelf stuff like $50 DVD players and such). It's been a few years, but my parents owned a repair store, and LG/Samsung/Sanyo were frequent customers (and also Philips VCRs from a few years back - they were the worst).

[admin]

This thread might be relevant to Laser TV vs LCD vs Plasma:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=879501

There are lots of posts on avsforum.com about LCD vs Plasma (the Pioneer still seems to be very popular), but their owners seem to prefer their own sets (what else is new ). I would say the best way is to buy both sets, take it home, tune it properly, and then compare over a month - then you will find what's the best *for you* (and your viewing habits/conditions), but unfortunately that's not really feasible.

If you want 50" or below, get LCD. If you want above 50", wait a bit until there are more sets available, and also look into projection (if you have the right lighting conditions). If you have a bright room, get a LCD. For 1080p, get LCD for now - 1080p plasmas are fantastic but too expensive right now. For all other conditions, it's going to be really tough to decide.

[toomanycats]

Sanyo is one of the largest manufacturers of LCD projectors. Many projectors are "Sanyo's" inside. The reason Sanyo's are in stores such as K-Mart and Walmart is that they offer huge discounts to theses stores and smaller stores do not carry them as they cannot compete with the prices. That is the reason Circuit City and Sears do not carry Sanyo. In my 10 years of repair Sanyo TV's were one of the most reliable and Sony's, which have the best pictures needed constant tuner and cold solder repairs. repairs. The newer projectors do not have the difficulty playing in the daytime that usd to affect the older models. There is no latency issue that is found on plasma's and lcd TV's because the small panels can generate the image fast enough to there is virtually no latency. The lower priced Sanyo Lcd's still have a high latency to them, tis true. I never liked Panasonic products. There TV's suffered from much "staircasing" on the images and fom a design point of view (back in the day) they offered little protection inside when a circuit would blow. A blow horizontal amplifier would take out the whole circuit right back the the flyback transformer. That would never happen on a Sony. Anybody wanting 50' inches and above should really consider an LCD Projector. It is the most bang for the back. They can be placed anywhere. They have the most to offer as far as the size of the picture (most go from 30" to 200" inches) and for about $2000 you can get a picture that no LCD or Plasma TV can offer. www.projectorpeople.com is a good outfit to deal with and look for comparative evaluation.

[RFBurns]

As the article mentions regarding the laser tv emitters, the intensity levels required to produce equal emitter levels is a work in progress.

It seems to be the only thing standing in the way of the laser tv from becoming available, that is if the emitters are capable of the extremely fast switching requirements and being capable of emitting the required light level of each color during the "on" state and the speed and depth of the "off" state without too much front and back porch "ramp" during the cycles. If the switching times are not fast enough, the image produced will be very smeared looking and black levels will be less than black..or at most "grey", similar to the early LCD units that could not produce pure black levels.

3 watts of laser emission is not your typical laser pointer power level or optic block level like in a CD or DVD drive. Those laser output levels are in the mW range, even the "burn" levels are still well under the 1w level. There is a safety issue here when using 3 laser emitters at the 3 watt level. The deflection or scan system would also have to be thoroughly tested so that none of the emitters would end up focusing all of their 3 watts of energy into a single point. That would become a problem, a very serious problem.

Unlike LCD and Plasma and even the old CRT, the laser tv would incorporate interlock systems and probably optic sensors to monitor emission level and kill the emitters if any one of the 3 lasers ends up outside of their intended operating parameters. I certianly would not want to be looking at a screen lit up by millions of these 3 watt lasers and the control processor locks up and focuses several of the 3 watt lasers units onto a single point. Tho chances of that happening will be next to impossible, it still is a possibility.

100 mW of laser energy is enough to burn the optic nerve in the eye. 3 W of laser energy....well one can just imagine what kind of damage that can do to the eye.