Technology People: TV info needed

[AudiOn19s]

I need some current info on what's what in technology when it comes to TV's. It's been 4 years now since I purchased a television and it's time for an upgrade. However I'm somewhat confused on where the technology has gone. I guess what I'm missing the most is what has happened to the "DLP" projection units in these last few years. When I purchased my TV 4 years ago I went with a DLP unit because it was the most band for the buck you could get back then. Plasma was the thing in those days and LCD was just up and coming.

 

In looking at the market for what's available now it seems as though the majority of the TV's now are LCD units with less Plasma's out there and DLP projection televisions being almost non-existant.

 

So...give me the pros and cons of the technology currently. I don't need a Television that can hang on the wall. the way our living room is setup there's no need for a flat panel and based on criteria I used several years ago I'd still go with another projection unit, but I'm scared that top companies like Sony and Philips don't even make these units any longer. Has LCD technology gotten soo much better than the other two that that's the way to go right now despite still being the most expensive?

 

If I do go with another DLP projection TV what brand should I be looking at. As stated the two brands I'm the most loyal to (Sony and Philips) don't even make projection TV's any longer.

 

Andy

[Mr. Jones]

Get a Panasonic or Pioneer plasma. You won't regret it. For the most part "burn in" and the other "plasma scares" are a thing of the past. You'll fall in love the first time you watch a movie.

[Mr. Jones]

PS: Been using my Pioneer plasma for a couple years now trouble free. No burn in or problems.

[Mitch]

Plasma burn in is a misnomer. You will have that plasma for ten years before you notice a difference. Enjoy the bluray difference, when it lasts.

[RedRocket1647545505]

Don't they make DVDs to 'break-in' new plasma TVs or is that a thing of the past as well?

[HAOLE]

I have a 50" Samsung plasma, 42" vizo and a 32"vizio. the Vizio are pretty good for the price. The Samsung has a great picture, no burn in problems, and I watch a lot of news with the ticker at the bottom.

 

The new LCD's have good refresh rate now, so you don't have the trails anymore.

[Mr. Jones]

The new LCD's have better refresh rate now, so you don't have most of the trails anymore.

 

Fixed

 

I'm not being an LCD hater, but I've yet to see even a newer 120hz sammy or otherwise that looks as good as a panny or pioneer in a high motion /highly contrasted scene.

 

Another big PLUS for buying a Panny/Pioneer is they both have fantastic upscalers. And while alot of your programming may be in HD, some still is not and will look like garbage on the wrong set.

 

Alot of stores you can switch channels to analog on and see what they look like on non-hd feeds.

[Mr. Jones]

Don't they make DVDs to 'break-in' new plasma TVs or is that a thing of the past as well?

 

 

Those DVD's are still very much in use by a few. However, you can do just as good to drop the picture/brightness settings and let discovery channel HD run for a couple days.

 

With all of the new pixel-shifting and other trickery burn-in is pretty much eliminated all together.

[944s2]

I have a 24" TOC Samsung monitor for my pc and a 56" Samsung DLP for the TV, (computer is hooked to both via a Nvidia 8800GT)

I love Samsung, Great HD, great prices (especially on the DLP's)

No issues with mine so far, the 56" is an Ultra Slim with a 10000:1 contrast ratio with full 1080p HD

The new DLP's have LED's that elmninate the Lamp so there is never a bulb to replace, but when I bought mine this technology was brand new and I didn't wanna buy a 1st gen product. I got mine for $1500 via Best Buys employee discount but at the time (1 year ago) it retailed for $2400 now you can find the 56" online for as low as $1100.

What size are you looking for?

[Skinner]

Fixed

 

I'm not being an LCD hater, but I've yet to see even a newer 120hz sammy or otherwise that looks as good as a panny or pioneer in a high motion /highly contrasted scene.

 

Another big PLUS for buying a Panny/Pioneer is they both have fantastic upscalers. And while alot of your programming may be in HD, some still is not and will look like garbage on the wrong set.

 

Alot of stores you can switch channels to analog on and see what they look like on non-hd feeds.

 

my 42 doesn't trail at all. only complaint I have is when it switches to HD or back to analog it looks ugly for a sec. Upscale is great and analog looks as good as a tube.

[Draco-REX]

I think DLP has shifted towards the larger sizes because of its cost effectiveness. I have a 65" DLP and I love it. I've never been a fan of plasma. The picture quality has always looked a little.. off.. to me. If you're looking for a big TV, I definately recommend DLP.

[ODoyle]

sony makes an LCD projection called a 3LCD or an SXRD depending on how much you want to spend. They are both great units.

[thorne]

My take.

I use my tv mostly as a gigantic monitor for my HTPC. From my testing I found that the plasma though having a better black did not look as good when hooked up to my laptop.( I was testting at a friends).

 

Plasma has came a long way that being said I still prefer LCD for my use.

 

My setup

Samsung 52inch LCD

My media pc micro atx / core 2 duo / 2gig ram - 1080p no frame drops

pioneer 5.1

[TTQ B4U]

Andy, I'm biased on Panasonic but then I worked for them and know them very well. Best set out there for the money. Pioneer is very nice of course, but the premium is very steep $$.

 

I'm not a DLP fan at all for a number of reasons, but if price is a concern then I suppose it can be considered. LCD's are better, but they still don't match up to color and grey levels to the best Plasma's. Backlights in them will fail and over time will degrade way faster too. They handle motion better, but if you get a good 24fps BlueRay, the Plasma will show itself (if capable) more so and you'll fall in love instantly.

 

You know how to reach me if needed....

 

I need some current info on what's what in technology when it comes to TV's. It's been 4 years now since I purchased a television and it's time for an upgrade. However I'm somewhat confused on where the technology has gone. I guess what I'm missing the most is what has happened to the "DLP" projection units in these last few years. When I purchased my TV 4 years ago I went with a DLP unit because it was the most band for the buck you could get back then. Plasma was the thing in those days and LCD was just up and coming.

 

In looking at the market for what's available now it seems as though the majority of the TV's now are LCD units with less Plasma's out there and DLP projection televisions being almost non-existant.

 

So...give me the pros and cons of the technology currently. I don't need a Television that can hang on the wall. the way our living room is setup there's no need for a flat panel and based on criteria I used several years ago I'd still go with another projection unit, but I'm scared that top companies like Sony and Philips don't even make these units any longer. Has LCD technology gotten soo much better than the other two that that's the way to go right now despite still being the most expensive?

 

If I do go with another DLP projection TV what brand should I be looking at. As stated the two brands I'm the most loyal to (Sony and Philips) don't even make projection TV's any longer.

 

Andy

[AudiOn19s]

Great info in this post. I had actually ruled out Plasma because as I understand it they all have glass screens which will cause reflective issues in our bright room? Now I may need to have another look. Burn-in really isn't a concern for me but the reflective screen could be a major killer for me.

 

It's weird (and probably a show of how little I actually know on this topic) that it would appear as though LCD is the technology that everyone is headed towards despite the blurring issues with motion and the poor grey/ black performance even on the latest and greatest sets. I'm guessing that's because of the rapidly dropping cost for the LCD panels themselves making this the most affordable to produce and buy in the near future? I'm not doubting that it's an outstanding product but it seems like you have go make sure you get the latest 120hz processers and backlighting technologies in the LCD's to really get the full benefits. This makes the LCD's comparably much more expensive than the others.

 

The DLP's seem on their way out but seem to still have the most advantages for what I'm doing right now. I don't even own any HD media other than cable so I highly doubt I'm taking full advantage of the current technolgy for any of the sets. Price always being part of the equation makes the DLP's more attractive too. But with a 60" DLP unit being the smallest you can find I almost think it's too big for the space it will be going in. That and DLP pictures seem to be hit and miss for me. I swear my old 780p Sony unit has a better picture than the current Mitsubishi units. Samsung is the only other supplier of DLP units any more and I'm just not blown away however I do like the fact that they've solved the bulb issues by moving to LED's for light sources. If Sony still made a DLP TV this discussion would probably be over...

 

for now...more research needed.

 

Andy

[87GT]

I say go with plasma if you can afford if but I never can. If not get the largest LCD that will fit in your living room. HD-DVD on my LCD screen looks great. I don't know about blueray since I haven't watched one yet.

[SpaceGhost]

Yep all Apple's New LCD displays are now LED Backlit and look amazing. There is a rumor of Apple Dropping the AppleTV and actually Making a Large LED backlit LCD HDTV with an AppleTV built into the HD TV. If you have ever looked at an Apple cinema display they are gorgeous, I couldn't imagine an Apple product in this area not looking fantastic.

[TTQ B4U]

Great info in this post. I had actually ruled out Plasma because as I understand it they all have glass screens which will cause reflective issues in our bright room? Now I may need to have another look. Burn-in really isn't a concern for me but the reflective screen could be a major killer for me.

 

Nope...all the new Panny's have a non-reflective screen. Looking at them off you'd swear it was a matt finish glass. Not sure if you remember mine....we have one in our great room with two big windows just to the left of it and a wall of windows along the back and no glare. Even at night there's a light directly behind a couch that would shine clear as day in our old Tube TV. Can't see or notice it at all with the Plasma. Come over and you'll see.

[TTQ B4U]

Have to agree on the Cinema Display as I use a 30" for my photo editing

 

Yep all Apple's New LCD displays are now LED Backlit and look amazing. There is a rumor of Apple Dropping the AppleTV and actually Making a Large LED backlit LCD HDTV with an AppleTV built into the HD TV. If you have ever looked at an Apple cinema display they are gorgeous, I couldn't imagine an Apple product in this area not looking fantastic.

[evan9381]

ive got a mitsubishi rear projection LCD 60" (only about 14" deep), and it has DLP. i got it for like 1300$ at circuit city. very happy with it