...plasma generates a helluva a lot of heat!
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...plasma generates a helluva a lot of heat!
I'm an asshole! What's your excuse?
Do they still make DLP's?
Olevia 32" LCD 780p. Very satisfied. Compare with Vizio price-point. $599.95 at Circuit City a year ago.
If you are looking for a good tv, without the price, look at Olevia. I bought a 32" 2 yrs ago ($499 Black Friday), and a 42" 1 yr ago ($699 Black Friday). Sony and Sharp have a better picture when you compare in the store, but by itself the Olevia looks great. One word of caution about the Olevia---The remote is terrible.
When I was selling TV's, DLP meant "Digital Like Picture". It was a step above analog TV, but not HD quality.Originally Posted by Bigdog13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DLP
Unless you work for TI and need to support the company (or get a great deal), just say "no" to DLP (Digital Light Processing, I believe). The DLP TVs (a.k.a. Rear Projection -- "DLP" is actually just the chipset inside most rear projection TVs now) are very large, but I really don't think the picture is all that great. You can judge that for yourself pretty quickly in a store. Just make sure you stand at the right angle and distance. (Yes, BTW, they are still made)
I have a Samsung 42" 720p plasma that I've had a few years now, and don't regret it for a minute. Having said that, if I were doing it with today's price points and technology, I would probably go for a similarly sized LCD with 1080p, probably another Samsung -- the contrast ratios have really improved on LCDs in the past few years. Plasma TVs use an awful lot of power; my (quite large) backup battery will only run my TV for about 30 seconds.
Measure the distance from where you intend to put the TV in your house to where you usually sit, and go to the store and stand about that far from the TV. That should give you an idea of how different sized TVs will work for you. My wife would be quick to remind you that if you're going to put it in an entertainment center, you'll want to measure it first. Your eyes can quickly outgrow your location in the house with some of the stuff available now (or at least mine can).
I would recommend checking out reviews on C|Net before you buy (probably before you go to the store, just so you know what's out there). As far as brands go, as someone above mentioned, many of them are assembled by the same people now, anyway. I really am not that impressed with Sony for the cost. If you want to spend the $$$, I think Pioneer's have the best picture at the normal consumer level. Sony, Samsung, and Sharp and some Panasonics all are pretty close behind. Some of the Vizios/Olevias are pretty good bang for the buck. You'll have about as many opinions on this as people, though. Go see what you like best...
Good luck, and have fun!
Last edited by dawgcrazy; 03-21-2008 at 09:53 AM.
I can't find my last consumer reports magazine, but before any purchase like that, I research it from them. You can go to the website and join the online version and research anythig you want. I trust them for any major purchase on anything.
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"Bring back the rotary phone so we don't have to press 1 for English."
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For 42 inches, I would go LCD and definitely get 1080P. How much are you willing to spend? I would recommend checking out www.avsforums.com for good information. I have a Sharp Aquos 46D62U and couldn't be happier with it.
Jordan Mills on choosing Tech:
“It’s a great experience seeing them play. It was a good atmosphere. The fans stood up the whole game and never sat down. They have a great fan base.”
Olevia, yes indeed! wound up having a great picture at such a good price... glad you like yours too!!! One word about the remote. I use my Direct TV remote for everything, except to turn it on and off...and the volume...because Olevia is not yet on the list of many tv companies that DirectTV has to program so far. When I bought the TV, it was relatively a new brand. but it had some amazing comsumer reports on how good it was. You were one of the few and lucky to get one on Black Friday. You must have gotten to the store really early to get one of the limited on hand. I bought mine around March so I missed the chance on black friday. When I'm ready to get a little bigger one with full hd, I might try to be so brave the day after thanksgiving. Definitely good buys for the early bird on that one day. Congrats on yours!!
One more thing. DO NOT BUY THE EXPENSIVE CABLES AT THE ELECTRONICS STORE. You can get them for 1/5th the price at www.monoprice.com
Jordan Mills on choosing Tech:
“It’s a great experience seeing them play. It was a good atmosphere. The fans stood up the whole game and never sat down. They have a great fan base.”
My uncle does... and I told him that I'd never buy his products because that little girl from the commercials freaks me out!!
Actually... newegg was almost half the price on a DVI-D Dual cable.
Last edited by DocMarvin362; 03-22-2008 at 01:13 AM.
I got my Sony 60" LCD projection less than a year ago. I got a really good price for it since Sony is discontinuing the projection models. The word I got was that they weren't making any money on those sets. The rear projection LCDs have a very bright picture which is important if you have a room with a lot of ambient light. The screen is not glossy like the plasma models which I find quite distracting. The 1080p resolution makes a great deal of difference even though the cable HD channels don't have the 1080p but 1080i as their highest standard. My neighbor has a 720p plasma and the difference is significant. Definitely visit the AVforum someone posted above as you will get more than a casual take on each TV you are considering. The posts on my set went into great detail on green globs etc. which I have not found to be a problem. Look at the size of you room and where people will be seated when watching the TV. The older projections had a problem with viewing from the side, but I have found no such problem with this set. You don't have to spend a lot on a console for the TV. I went to Circuit City and got a "U put it together" unit that looks great for not a lot of $. The plasma TVs are quit heavy but the projection I got is very light. It also does not produce a lot of heat like I hear that the plasmas do. The post on getting cables somewhere other than the store you buy it from is right on. The HDMI cable that Best Buy trys to get you to buy is outrageously expensive. If you are using Cable, make sure you select upconvert 2 in the setup for the HD cable box. It makes digital channels look almost HD quality. I got that tip from an installer who has been doing this for several years. You might have some problems with closed caption as the sound standards are still in flux between the TV and cable and DVD devices.
To sum it up, I look at the Sunday ads and haven't found a deal better than what I got. I haven't seen a TV with a better picture anywhere. I am more than pleased with this TV. Now if I could get Time Warner to show more Tech games, I would be in heaven.
WWDog
La Tech
Region and hyphen free since 1894!
Flagship of the University of Louisiana System
It does have a shorter life, but for most people this is not an issue. In order for the plasma TV to lose half of it's brightness, it would have to be on continuously for 4.5 years. If you have the TV on for 4 hours a day, it will lose half of its brightness in 30 years.
This is definitely true. Since TVs are sold in brightly lit stores with fluorescent lighting, LCDs always look better there. In low light situations, plasmas have historically tested much better. (It's not as clear cut as it used to be with advancements in LCD tech)
This is correct as well. Plasmas generate more heat (use more electricity) and the TVs are substantially heavier than LCDs.
Burning pixels in place is not an issue like it used to be. Most plasma TVs now have a technology that randomly changes pixels in a way that is undetectable to the viewer but virtually eliminates burn-in.
Also, Do not go with 1080p because it is the best. Consumer Reports, the TWiT panel, etc... all say that the best tested TVs are 720p and that the difference between 720p and 1080i/p is undetectable in any normal viewing scenario.
I have a magnavox 42" 1080p plasma which I purchased for $750. Plasma was fine since it is in a room with 2 tiny windows. LCD would have been fine too. I just waited around for 6 months until a TV got put on clearance to the price I wanted to pay, then jumped on it. Most big screen TVs are great regardless of the specs if you stay away from brands like Insignia.
Also true. Never buy in to cable hype. The big box stores will try to pass "Monster" brand cables when you buy. Don't. They actually test worse than the cheapies.
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