HD 1080P Plasma or LCD Screen

[verticalzero]

Has anyone bought one of these screens in their house..?

 

What are they like for picture quality as HD is only beginning in the UK.

 

What do you want to be the standard format HD DD or Blue-ray..?

[Meteornotes]

I don't have either, but I do have a Mitsubishi HDTV that I absolutely love.

 

My advice for anyone thinking of buying any sort of HD television is to head over toThe AVS Forum. This place is packed with television/home theater professionals, and there's a topic for pretty much every TV out there. You will learn a ton of information, and will get lots of good advice on the good/bad of any television or related equipment. I used this forum a lot when buying my first HD television a few years ago, and it was a big help.

 

dt

[Erik Johnson]

I have an older Panasonic 47 inch rear projection HDTV (1080i is the max resolution on it). I think I have had it now for around 4 years and it seems to keep working great for me. Just remember only a handful of HDTV's have a full 1080p projection. As Dave said, the AVS forum is really great to do your research. It seems the standard is still 720p (in which you can still show 1080i). So make 100% sure that it can do 1080p. Regular DVD will be the standard for a few more years though I am an early adopter of HD-DVD and I have been really impressed with it. Wait until you see and hear Batman Begins...woot! I know that there is a format war right now between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, so that will probably keep a lot of people away until the dust settles. I honestly think both formats will be around for a while as many early adopters seem to be more impressed with HD-DVD at the moment.

[CoasterFanatic]

Haven't made the jump to HD yet, but Mitsubishi is the shizznit! I would recommend them to anyone purchasing ANY type of large display.

[Real]

And Blue -Ray, while it has all this insane space and blah blah blah, its too many years ahead. I dont think itll catch on like HD-DVD will because of the insane price that Blue-Ray is requiring. Sure, itll go down, but at the same pace of HD-DVD?

 

And with the economy not really supporting people going out and buying these insanely priced players and systems to get the most out of it, I dont think Blue-Ray catches on for awhile - if ever. Especially for Video Games but thats a completely different story.

 

 

Ill probably be looking into a HD TV but not for awhile. Just, stay away from the bottom brands and READ THE REVIEWS.

[RCoasterny]

And Blue -Ray, while it has all this insane space and blah blah blah, its too many years ahead. I dont think itll catch on like HD-DVD will because of the insane price that Blue-Ray is requiring. Sure, itll go down, but at the same pace of HD-DVD?

 

And with the economy not really supporting people going out and buying these insanely priced players and systems to get the most out of it, I dont think Blue-Ray catches on for awhile - if ever. Especially for Video Games but thats a completely different story.

 

Yeah, history would repeat itself.. Remember the VHS / Beta wars of the 80's? VHS=HD-DVD and Beta=Blu-Ray.

[mcjaco]

What's your guys take on plasma, LCD, DLP. My wife's parents picked up a Samsung DLP, which I'm not real impressed with. The picture is just so-so. I actually think my Panasonic Tau flat screen (tube) has a better picture.

[Meteornotes]

When it comes to HD televisions, the best thing you can do is use your own eyes. Get out to stores, stand back a bit from all the giant TVs, and see which ones look best to you. Do this at different stores (including some higher end home theater places), as most of the TVs you'll see in a place like Best Buy are not going to be set up correctly. Use this method to narrow down the type/manufacturer of TV that you're interested in, then do some research from there.

 

Don't be afraid of specialty stores. When we were shopping for our HD television, we visited a bunch of different places, and ended up buying the set from a local home theater store. This place ended up being cheaper than anyone else, and would actually bring the TV into the house (Best Buy, for example, told us the best they could do was set it on our front porch). The other advantage to these types of stores is they'll let you bring in DVDs you're familiar with to watch in the store. Using stuff you've listened to/watched before will help you get a better idea of the sound/picture quality. There's also the fun of blasting something like Ocean Machine in one of the showrooms of a home theater place, but perhaps this only entertains me...

 

As far as the DLP vs Plasma vs LCD debate goes, there are pros and cons to every technology. We have a Mitsubishi Projection HD set, which I absolutely love. If I was buying a new TV today, I'd take a good, long look at DLP. Some people see a "shimmering" in the images on these sets, so it's a good idea to spend some time looking at one before purchasing (advice I'd give when shopping for ANY HD television).

 

dt

[mcjaco]

Thanks Dave,

 

The Panasonic Tau I bought five years ago was cutting edge when I bought it. My wife thought I was mental, I went to at least seven stores multiple times looking at TVs comparing prices and picture quality. It drove me nuts when they'd have high end TV's plugged into an aerial antenna...yeah, that's going to move a lot of product.

 

We're no where near getting an HD set, until the old TV in the bedroom kicks it. That stupid thing just keeps on hanging in there taunting me....

[Wes]

One thing people need to consider is what their picture quality will be on standard channels. If you walk into Best Buy, they're only going to be playing great looking HD footage. Once you get it home and check out a regular channel like CNN or Comedy Central, the quality might really suck.

 

My parents bought a DLP that looked AWESOME with anything HD, but regular channels were really really awful, with a lot of distortion, fragmenting, etc. They returned it and got another model that made it look a little better.

[mcjaco]

Another good point. If you don't have an HD cable box, it's gonna look terrible.

[darklingscribe]

There are some differences between LCD and Plasma.

 

LCD screens get worse when viewing them at an angle, for example the little LCD screen in my kitchen looks really dark when you look down at it, it has to be viewed at eye level to see a regular picture. Most LCDs are getting better about the viewing angle stuff but the cheaper ones still are hard to make out if not viewed directly in front.

 

Plasma screens do not have any of the viewing angle problems of LCD screens and they tend to have richer, brighter colors than LCD, their only downside is that they are more expencive and much more fragile. Plasma screens can be ruined if you place them flat on the ground (don't quote me on this but I think it can displace the gas inside the glass panels). Plasmas must always be standing virtically. Remember that commercial about the guy who installs the plasma screen above his bed? You can't do that in real life.