Posted on 11/22/2005 7:11:30 PM PST by Dont_Tread_On_Me_888
Please offer your expertise and research into the "State of the High Definition TV".
Is plasma or LCD the way to go?
I heard that most of the makers bring out new models in the April-May period next year. Will prices for 2005 models plunge then after New Year's?
What manufacturers offer superior quality?
Should one wait a year or two due to rapid change in technology?
When will the technology advancement in HD TV slow?
Best Buy has a 42 inch plasma from Panasonic for about $2900. What types of prices are you seeing out there for various size LCDs and plasma?
Why would anyone buy a rear projection DLP?
What regualtory changes are happening re the government involvement over spectrum and HDTV standards?
For those of you in the industry, please offer your expertise on these and other questions one should consider before purchasing.
For others not in the industry, please offer your research into these andother need to know issues re HDTV.
I would go LCD becuase it is much less than Plasma which means you can get more TV for your buck.
I bought a 23 inch LCD HDTV for our master bedroom. I looked at Sony, Panasonic, Zenith, LG and Toshiba and the Samsung I bought had the best picture quality of all of them. Nice TV with great sound for about $800 at Sams Club which is part of the most hated Wal-Mart corporation.
I think I saved a lot of money on the early color set editions that were not yet technically ready and durable and also still premium priced. I think the same about the current state of the wide format HDTV pretenders. If you have to have home theater, get a DLP projector and a big screen and have cinema, otherwise wait another year, IMHO.
Plasma falls victim to the image burn problem on screens that have station logos placed in the viewing area that never change, like CNN for example, or MSNBC, or any other station that uses a logo on the screen at all times during a program. LCD doesn't have that problem.
See www.dlp.com for more info on the technology.
I like DLPs because you can hook up a media device, like a Mac mini, and not worry about screen burn-in or convergence problems. The lifespan of DLP projectors should be excellent, with only a single-bulb replacement required periodically.
Stay clear of Plasma. It has to many downfalls to be worth money. I you do get it, get a extended warranty for it. Get LCD and probably the company providing the best value for your buck is LG.
If it is true that DLP relies on tiny moving parts, I'd steer clear of it.
Darn my f button keeps skipping on me.
I thought DLP was a chip.
I love my LCD screen.
Great picture. Everything and it's probably going to end up lasting longer and being cheaper than any plasma screen will.
LCD is the only way to go.
I heard about that, but I understand some makers are now compensating for that by having a image that floats in a very small, imperceptible way but enough to prevent image burn. I am sure that the next generation will all have that image burn problem solved.
Hey, I heard about that. I mentioned that in post #15. I would like to know more about that. I am wondering if this will be unique to Sony or if it is a big enough advancement that other makers will adopt it as a standard.
Who out there knows what we are talking about? It is supposed to be another leap forward in image quality technology.
We also debated the plasma vs. LCD purchase 3 or 4 years ago. At that time, only plasmas were over 30 inches and LCDs were in the < 20" range but were much cheaper. We were looking for something larger than 20" so we nearly went ahead and shelled out $5000 for a Sony 37" plasma. We decided to wait and then we ended up buying a Sharp Aquos 30" LCD for $3400 about 2 years ago. Now, they sell for a lot less.
What convinced us to go with the LCD instead of plasma was the hours of use factor (50K hours vs. 200k) and the burn factor previously mentioned. We love the LCD and the High Definition is amazing.
Based on my observations in various retailers, plasmas look better but cost considerably more. Within plasma, the Panasonics I've seen impress me as the best bang for the buck. That said, I've seen a Pioneer Elite plasma that's simply breathtaking in picture quality, but it's double the cost of many plasmas. I've also seen Sony's new high end and it's a thing of beauty, as well.
Back in the mid-80s, I was one of the first stocking dealers for Pioneer big screens in the South. When they first released their 40" RPTV, nobody else came close, and they've kept products in the top quality range since then.
I'm waiting a bit longer myself. I have a Mitsubishi Diamond Series 65" RP HD that has an incredible picture. In fact, I recently bought a 30" flat-tube Samsung HDTV with a great picture, for an apartment, and when I got home I was surprised to realize that the 65" Mits has a picture that's superior to the 30" in every way, including detail.
MM
We've had a 37" Sharp Aquos LCD for the past year, mounted on wall with a Bose surround sound. Priced about $1500 above comparable sized plasma, but we understand that the longevity, plus the picture quality is well worth it.
Check the on-line prices. Saved about $600 including shipping, and no sales tax - two day FedEx delivery.
Highly recommmend Sharp.
When you've narrowed down your choices, check epinions.com.
I recently purchased a 56" Samsung DLP at Best Buy for $2400. So far so good. I have Dish network and watching "Rome" on HBOHD has been wonderful. Football is great in HD too!
For small screens, and if one already has an LCD for their computer, I found a TV tuner video modulator for the LCD @ 100$. Thinking about using it with a monitor switch to share between the computer and TV, so instead of two screens in the room there would only be one, saving a lot of space.
Or one could trade up their small computer 19” LCD for a bigger one , and attach the modulator to the old flat screen for an extra TV for the kitchen or elsewhere. Flat screens are versatile on where to mount,,,very cool!
Hey, I heard about that. I would like to know more about that.
LCOS. Liquid Crystal on Silicon. Similar in concept to a 3-chip DLP.
I am wondering if this will be unique to Sony or if it is a big enough advancement that other makers will adopt it as a standard.
JVC also uses its own implementation of LCOS, called D-ILA.
LCOS is uses a more complicated chip than the Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) of DLP systems. Intel planned to get into the LCOS market, but couldn't make it work, and bailed out. So there is no powerhouse behind LCOS the way Texas Instruments is behind DLP.
LCOS has none of the drawbacks to single-chip DLP (no spinning color wheel, therefore no rainbow effect). Also, LCOS is based on an LCD chip, so the chip is not a moving technology like DLP's DMD.
LCOS is a reflective technology like DLP, so it does not have the screen door effect of LCD rear projection, and has like DLP, has deeper blacks than LCD rear projection.
LCOS is not subject to burn-in like plasma.
LCOS is cheaper than flat panel LCD.
Unfortunately, because it such a good technology, has a limited supply, and is well suited for very large projection systems, LCOS is being positioned as a premium rear projection technology in very large screen sizes (60 inches and greater).
There's another non-solid-state (i.e. moving) part of DLP displays: the color wheel. (Simplified explanation follows:) The DLP chip flashes the red frame, the blue frame, and then the green frame for each full-color frame that you see on the screen. Since it does it very rapidly, most people's eyeballs merge each component scene into the full color scene. (Some don't quite fully, leading to DLP's infamous "rainbow" effect. This is most easily seen on black and white films.)
In order to have the red scene on the DLP chip get to the display screen as red, you have to obviously shine a red light on it. Same with the blue, and then the green scene. Rather than have separate bulbs for each component color (all flashing on and off), one constant illumination bulb is used, and a spinning color filter is put in front of it, coordinated with what is showing on the DLP. This spinning wheel will make some noise, and may (so I've heard) occasionally need oiling.
I'm sure it will, although I have come to realize that the longer life of the LCD over plasma may be unimportant, since if you get 7-8 years out of a plasma, you will probably just as soon upgrade to whatever newer technology will be available at that time. If the LCD lasts five years longer than that, who woudld still have that TV with outdated technology that old?
That is fine thinking for just one TV, but I have a need for three and I hate to think I will be replacing 3 TVs X $3,000 bucks each or so every 7-8 years if I keep going for the latest technology.
What would be really cool is to have a 12-14 foot wide screen for a home theatre, surround sound. Some day, the price/technology will be there to do that.
LCD rocks.
I like DLPs because you can hook up a media device, like a Mac mini, and not worry about screen burn-in or convergence problems. The lifespan of DLP projectors should be excellent, with only a single-bulb replacement required periodically.
You sound like a man who knows his Dlps. It was recommended that I purchase a DLP 50 or 58". Is a DLP an HDTV? I dont have broadcast or cable. Someday perhaps or dish. Mostly we watch vids and dvds.
I have Direct TV.
What happens with the picture quality when the channel is not a HD channel? How much loss of sharpness happens? Somebody told me that the quality is less than regualar TV when you view a channel on an LCD or plasma that is not being broadcast in HD.
Any truth to that?
Regarding projection technology, it seems below 48", LCD rear projection is strongest. Sony has a very nice 42" LCD RP. Between 48" and 56", DLP and LCD RP compete with each other. Above 56", is divided between DLP and LCOS. I believe the DLP vendors will come out with premium 3-chip DLPs to better compete with LCOS.
50" and above RPs will all go to 1080p. 42" - 48" will stay 720p for now for cost reasons. It is more important for the vendors to produce a cheaper set than a better set at the same price point.
CRTs above 30" are history. Only Sony still makes one. So the price point of the 34" CRTs ($1,500) will have to be filled with something. The 720p 42" LCD RPs will soon drop to this point.
LCD flat panels and plasmas are declining in price at the fastest rate.
Enhanced Definition (EDTV) plasmas will be history soon. As will CRT projection systems.
Do you know if we can leave the old receiver in the bedroom with the regular TV? Can we have a mixed system?
Thanks.
It's actually the name of a process. DLP is an acronym for "Digital Light Processing". A DLP-based HDTV set contains these optical components -
* a high-intensity lightbulb (user replacable),
* an optical semiconductor (sometimes referred to as the "DLP chip"),
* a high-velocity spinning color wheel, and
* a projection screen.
Most DLP HDTV sets have 720p resolution, about a million pixels. 720p has a great picture. But the new generation of 1080p DLP sets have about two million pixels, so the picture will be more detailed when viewing programs at maximum resolution.
I haven't seen the Samsung 1080p DLP HDTV sets yet, but look forward to seeing them. Some websites like Crutchfields are selling them, but they haven't arrived in the big box stores yet.
That's nice.
What are they going to say..."uh...it sucks?"
Tiny moving parts? I'll pass.
I'll just keep my 1980's Zenith 25" TV.
:)
Another important factor to consider when purchasing a set is the tuner, especially if you're receiving stations over-the-air, rather than by cable or satellite. There are supposedly some new, less-expensive "SDTV" sets with the current NTSC resolution - but with tuners to receive digital broadcasts. Like HDTV receivers, digital SDTV sets will continue to work without a converter box after the lower-resolution analog broadcast signals are shut down in 2008 or 2009.
My advice is - don't buy an expensive television with only an analog tuner. Make sure it has a digital tuner, regardless of whether it has a high-definition display.
marking to read later
>SXRD
That's it.. it was great.
bttt
Yes. The signal form the satelite does not change. The different receivers in each room allow you format the digital signal to have an old TV in one room and an HDTV in separate rooms.
I asked at the start of the thread why anybody woudl buy a DLP (Projector) over LCD or plasma? I guess there are some sound reasons as mentioned in this htread.
However, the one major drawback I see is the "angle of viewing problem", i.e., if you are up, down, left or right of dead even center and eye level, the picture gets worse and worse.
Plasma and LCD have no such problem as you can view it at off angles and still see 100% or near 100% top picture capability.
Right?
Wrong?
Anyone?
I said:; >>>Yes. The signal form the satelite does not change. The different receivers in each room allow you format the digital signal to have an old TV in one room and an HDTV in separate rooms.<<<
Sorry for the typos/poor grammer; my wrist is in a splint and am having trouble doing even simple things like keyboarding and I was not clear.
The Satelite signal sends the same signal to everyone. Direct TV has 3 or 4 types of receivers. You and I have the basic receiver for old style TVs. They do have the HD receiver that allows that same signal from the satelite to format the signal in a way that allows the High Definition portion of that signal to be displayed on an HDTV.
Best Buy, for an example, is a partner with Direct TV and you can get the receiver from them also. Best Buy has some deals where, if you buy the HDTV from Best Buy, they will give you the receiver for free, or sell it at about half price. The normal price is about $250 from Direct TV, I think. If you get it, or buy it, from Best Buy or another retailer, it is the exact same receiver that Direct TV will sned you.
Also, note that some HDTVs incoporate the receiver right into the TV so you do not have to buy the receiver (they call it HDTv built in, or some such lingo). All you do is plug it in, screw the same cable you now have into the back of the HDTV, call up Direct TV and ask them to turn on the HDTV signal for your home and BINGO, you have it.
Direct TV HDTV service is about $10 dollars more per month than regular service.
One more thing--the number of channels that broadcast in High Definition is not that great right now, about 15 or so. Starting in the spring, I understand that the number of channels in HDTV will be boosted significantly.
Taking all these things into accont--more channels later, new models, better technology, etc., I think I will wait till the spring. I hate to do that since I just built a room addition on the home and the main TV room wil be in that room, but I think that will be the way to go, unless some deal I can't refuse comes along.
Happpy Thanksgiving!
DLP is the way to go, especially if you watch a lot of sports. Blacker blacks and less persistence than either plasma or LCD.
The only disclaimer I'd have is if you require a very wide viewing angle or have a brightly backlit room.
Most newer plasmas use reformulated phosphors that are less prone to burn-in. Newer sets also subtly adjust the picture position to further reduce risk of burn-in.
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