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Post by BK Dodgers GM (Man) on Nov 20, 2009 11:21:07 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Nov 21, 2009 2:34:28 GMT -5
we are actually in the market for a new TV, i want to get one on Black Friday, but we have to wait for our tax return  looks like i wont be watching the Vikings win the superbowl in Hi Def 1080p on a 55" LED with Bose surround sound |
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Post by BK Dodgers GM (Man) on Nov 21, 2009 8:21:37 GMT -5
Wait until January. You'll generally find the best deals during that month for a good quality big set. Leave the BF doorbusters to the few folks who actually manage to step on top of and beat up the rampaging crowd at 4am to get them -- and they are usually *not* particularly great quality sets anyway. I actually bought a 61" Samsung LED-based DLP RPTV back in January from Crutchfield at a price I couldn't resist -- too bad they don't make those kinds anymore. ;D Sweet picture -- and love the Blu-rays on it.  If I had a sizeable room w/ good light control (ie. no windows to let in stray light), I might've sprung for a good 1080p likely-DLP front projector setup (w/ 100" screen) instead. ;D Now *THAT* would be *AWESOME*! |
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Post by BK Dodgers GM (Man) on Nov 21, 2009 8:36:42 GMT -5
FWIW, here are a few tips for anyone actually shopping for a TV in the next few months. Do *NOT* buy into the 1080p hype too much unless you plan on getting a particularly big set and sit close enough for the 1080p resolution to matter (vs 720p). Here's an article that offers good guideline for detemining whether you should choose 1080p over 720p: carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matterAlso, plasma is better than LCD for actual picture quality in your home environment (vs a brightly lit showroom floor w/ mediocre setup at best). The only downsides to plasma (vs LCD) is the higher power consumption and the possibility for image retention/burn. For the latter, as long as you don't plan to use the set for loads and loads of computer use or video games, black bars, etc, you should be ok once you adjust the set to reasonable in-home picture settings and follow the initial ~100-hour burn-in recommendation -- a little bit of computer use, some casual video gaming and a reasonable amount of movies/TV-programming w/ black bars should be fine. Don't buy into the hype of hanging the TV on your wall. It just moves it farther away from you (and make it look smaller w/ details harder to see). It also tends to put the TV in a less-than-ideal viewing angle for best results. There is likely little to no real space savings in practice since you're still likely to have some sort of cabinet sticking out from the wall below it -- or maybe your audio system will be sticking out from the wall near by. And if you plan to place it above a fireplace, don't do that or you'll seriously risk damaging/ruining the set. Also, although you may not see a real diff between 1080p and 720p (for a TV set), that does *NOT* mean you won't see a significant quality jump going from DVD to Blu-ray. There's more to that diff than just the absolute resolution jump. Happy shopping! |
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Post by Former Reds GM (Patrick) on Nov 21, 2009 22:28:14 GMT -5
Thanks, Man. Im actually in the market for a HD TV after the New Year. I'm going LCD (love the gaming) unless I can find a good deal on a projector. I currently live in a daylight basement (meaning there are windows, but pretty small and at shoulder level or higher, so it would be really easy to 'blackout'.
If you watch Blu-Ray on 720 vs 1080, you're saying there isn't a substantial difference on sets smaller than, say, 50"?
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Post by BK Dodgers GM (Man) on Nov 22, 2009 6:08:51 GMT -5
Hey, Patrick. The main thing for determining the 720p vs 1080p diff is screen size to viewing distance ratio. For that ratio, you can check out this chart from that article link above:  Basically, if you have a 50", you'll need to be closer than 10ft away (eyes-to-screen) to see a diff between 720p vs 1080p -- the green line marks where the diff begins to be visible at all (for someone w/ 20/20 vision). If you have a 40", you'll need to be closer than ~7.5ft to see a diff. I have my HT set up for a viewing distance of ~8.5-9ft from a 61" screen -- and the view is kinda like being roughly 2/3-3/4 back in a good quality movie theater in NYC (and better than most of the smaller screens used for the final run of most smaller films or in arthouse theaters). And the PQ of quality Blu-rays -- yeah, there are occasional clunkers -- is generally comparable to opening night in a very good theater. The new Star Trek movie, for instance, looks (and sounds) awesome! And you can even see R2D2 in floating by -- yes, R2 had a cameo(!) -- in that one scene/shot when they come out of warp!  ;D I could even use the setup for (very) occasional web browsing via my PS3 -- it has a rather crude web browser (and comes w/ WiFi for networking), but works ok enough for simple things like looking up IMDB or a little sports news (kinda like using a very large iPhone or iPod Touch). I don't play games on it myself, but the family plays something on the PS3 (and Xbox) on occasion. The PS3 is an excellent all-in-one kinda media device though I generally only use it for movies myself -- some folks like to use it to stream audio/video from their regular computers, to display photo albums, etc. Anyway, if you can block out all stray light (and like to watch movies in the dark), then a quality 1080p front projector w/ say an 80-100" screen would awesome. I'm not sure how the prices are for a quality 1080p FP now -- they were still above $2K when I looked a year ago -- but I know they've been coming down a good deal this past year. Just keep using the old TV for very casual uses, eg. news and such, and flip on the big FP for movies, sports events, etc. Have a blast! |
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Post by BK Dodgers GM (Man) on Nov 22, 2009 6:48:01 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Nov 23, 2009 1:22:39 GMT -5
the wife said we can buy 2 TV's
we saw a deal for a Proscan 40" LED 1080p for $499 at Costco, any links to like a consumer reports on brand ratings?
we only will use this tv for watching tv and dvd's, im not a brand name guy, but never really heard of Proscan before
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Post by BK Dodgers GM (Man) on Nov 23, 2009 5:57:18 GMT -5
No pro reviews for it, but sounds like the picture is ok enough for the price, if you want it as a 2nd set for more casual viewing in a well lit room. However, there are some complaints of a high-pitch hum when the TV is turned *OFF* that's audible in a quiet setting, eg. late at night when it's really quiet. www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1150074&page=4If you plan to pick it up from Costco yourself (and avoid whatever shipping charges), you might want to give it a try and see if you like it (and not have the high-pitch hum problem). Costco offers a 90-day(?) no-questions-asked return policy, so that's plenty of time to give one a good trial in your own home. With big TVs, there's really nothing like getting it home in your own normal setting to try out for yourself. One thing. That's almost certainly just a regular LCD TV, not LED-based LCD. An LED-based one would likely cost a lot more -- and I really doubt you'll find one at the budget/entry level so soon. RE: the brand name, it *USED* to be the high-end brand for the Thompson conglomerate, which also made RCA at the lower end. They *USED* to make some of the very best, reference quality, big CRTs before the HiDef era -- they also made some decent audio gear way back when too. But nowadays, they're no longer the same actual company and are probably not much better than the Westinghouse brand that you also see hitting the LCD TV market  -- might be marginally better than W, but does not really compare to the big boys. |
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Post by Admin on Nov 23, 2009 12:02:31 GMT -5
youre right, it is a LCD tv, but none the less the price is right for the size and its just for early morning news or late night viewing. we spend more time in other rooms, but since the room is big, i cant even read the channel bar without wearing contacs or glasses on our current tv.
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;D
-- might be marginally better than W, but does not really compare to the big boys.