Mrs. Homie and I are getting an HDTV in the 40-42" range for ourselves for Christmas. We’re a little unclear on the LCD vs. Plasma and the 720p vs. 1080p vs. 1080i issues. I’ll lay out my preferences, and maybe one of you kind Dopers can help a brother out.
Sports: I plan to watch or record just about every Cubs game and Bears game, but other than that I’m not much of a sports fan at all, so any possible artefacting or other sports-broadcasting-related concerns are not a major concern of mine.
Gaming: I plan to buy a Wii in the next few weeks and make pretty good use of it, but I’m not by any means an obsessive gamer, and I plan to have my TV mostly for, you know, watching TV.
Movies: I want my movie-watching experience to be as magnificent as possible, within reason. I plan to buy a Blu-Ray in the next six months or so (is the Wii Blu-Ray compatible?).
Viewing Angle: Not a concern at all. We both watch from the sofa, pretty much directly in front of the TV.
Ambient Light: Not much of a concern. 90% of our TV viewing is done at night.
HDTV Programming: As far as I know, I already have it. My local cable provider (Comcast) has hooked me up with their “Digital TV” package, and I know that my low-numbered channels (100 or lower) have HD equivalents higher on the dial (700-800), and I already receive those channels on my current SD set. Do I need to do anything more?
With all this said, what are the Dope’s recommendations?
With your request for Blu-Ray, you will want 1080p resolution. Blu-Ray will play 720p and 1080i resolution (which are hi-def but lower res than 1080p), but if you are going to spend the money on Blu-Ray, it’s pointless not to max out it’s capability.
I own several HDTVs. I have both a plasma 50" and an LCD 52" (and a couple of smaller LCDs for the bedrooms). In my personal opinion the LCD rocks. The plasma is fine, an excellent TV – but the LCD is much crisper and clearer. If you can afford it I would suggest the high end Samsungs. Just beautiful screens.
Also, remember that plasma can have “burn in”. So if you leave a static screen on the image can burn into the screen.
I watch some sports, mostly high def college football and the experience is amazing. It feels like they’re jumping out of the screen.
Plasma and LCD are comparable in picture quality these days. Some swear plasma has deeper blacks; I don’t see it. YMMV. Plasma uses more power, and runs hotter than LCD. But, really, both are fine. Pick a set you think looks nice.
When shopping in the store, realize that all the sets are turned on to fully! bright! neon! color! settings. Don’t just look for the brightest set in the row, they’ll all give you sunburn if you leave them on those settings, and you’ll probably want to dim things down a bit at home, and it’ll look great. Look for picture clarity, sharpness, dim spots on the screen (some LCD panels are lit unevenly; they’re basically big flourescent lights), that sort of thing.
1080p is the new 720p. Most sets are 1080p now. If you really don’t care (and you only would with Blu-ray, all HD broadcasts are 720p), keep an eye out for a 720p set that’s a bargain. These will probably not be around much longer.
A second vote for the Samsung 1080p LCD. I would go for 120hz if money is no object, and you will be watching blu-ray dvds. I think you’d be happy with a 60hz model though.
With a 60hz LCD, you get 3:2 Pulldown. It’s not noticeable to me on my 37" 60hz Samsung LCD, but it might be worth the extra cash if you can swing it. I would recommend this LCD. With Comcast, you will need to get an HD Cable box. I would also recommend their DVR service. Tivo is probably better, but it is more expensive because you have to buy their box, and pay an equivalent amount for monthly service. Also, don’t get tricked into paying more than a few bucks for HDMI cables. You can buy them online for much cheaper than in the store.
I definitely did notice 3:2 pulldown. That is one of the reasons I bought a newer model Samsung.
I have to say I really like the 24 frames mode : It is a lot easier on the eyes and things look just more smooth.
I always noticed jerky movements, even on regular DVDs, but now BluRay looks absolutely amazing.
Unfortunately my BluRay player has been giving me a lot of grieve, but that is another issue.
It’s likely that your current Comcast box does not support HD and you will probably need to upgrade your box and service to include HD channels. Give then a call and ask.
It does support HD. I tuned into one of the HD channels (on my SD TV) and got a live signal. It had some weird effects, but that’s probably because of an HD signal being received by an SD TV.
How far do you plan to sit from your TV? If you are sitting more than 7-8 feet away, and want to be able to see all the resolution that HDTV can provide, you’ll want a very large set - 65" if possible, or larger. A big mistake people get is to buy a small HDTV for their living rooms, and then sit 10’ away from it. A 37" HDTV from 10’ isn’t going to look much better than a 36" regular TV, because your eye can’t resolve the details from that distance.
With HDTV the rule is, buy the biggest set you can possibly afford. Bigger is king. I run a front projector with a 106" diagonal screen and sit 11’ back, and it’s just about right.
Speaking of that - if you really want an immersive, theater-like experience, front projection is the only way to go. front projectors are cheap these days - you can get a very good quality front projector for around $1000.
Really, watching a front projection system vs even a large-ish HDTV is like night and day. It’s the difference between watching pictures inside a box and feeling like you’re at a movie theater.
The key to front projection is light control. The room has to be very dark.
If you’re going to sit more than 6 feet away from a 42" screen (the largest size you list) then there may not be a real point in getting an expensive TV, as you likely won’t notice the difference between 720 and 1080 (p or i).
I agree with the Samsung LCD. I just got the LN40A750 from Fry’s a few weeks ago and it’s an amazing TV. I chose it over the LN40A650 linked to above for the built-in sub-woofer (I don’t have external speakers), extra features, and better build quality based on online reviews. One of the things I like most about it is that it handles SD content really well, better than any Sony’s I’ve seen in the same price range. It’s also easy to setup and calibrate, and has special modes like Game and Sports that work extremely well. And as others have said, you might have digital cable, but not HD content. You’ll need to upgrade your cable box to the HD version.
Yes, this is definitely what I think is happening. I can tell an immediate difference - the signal only occupies the middle of the screen, rather than the whole thing.