Plasma TV, what brand...

[Presentation]

Oh, one more thing. Digital does not mean high definition.

I have found that even today, there is far too little high def content available.

Even if you are watching the national evening news, the time with the anchor person may be high def but as soon as they go to the onsite reporter the high def is gone. Ditto with commercials. Personally, I find the flipping back and forth to be more annoying then a show that is all low def.

 

[First Born]

So spend $2,000 - $3,000 on a TV and make sure you get the best but only spend $6 on the cable that is going to get that picture from the box to the TV. :huh:

That is like saying buy a Sea Ray but save your money on the generator and buy a Honda porta 2000 whatyamajiga.

 

[fc3]

When it comes to HDMI cables, I have two tips.

#1) Make sure you get a HDMI cable that is version 1.3. If you don’t and you buy newer electronics like a blue ray player you will be watching your show at, gulp….480, not 1080. Older HDMI cables have the ability to process the higher definition signal but the 1.3 standard will prevent you from ripping (copying) the movies. So the newer technologies like blue ray players will only put out 1080 if they detect the coding of 1.3 in the cable.

#2) CNET has done a lot of testing, from picture quality to durability and they can not tell the difference between an expensive HDMI 1.3 cable and one form Amazon for under six bucks.

Don’t spend over $6 for a HDMI cable. Get them at places like Amazon.com OK, you may have to spend an additional $4 (or less) for shipping. Heck, at under $6, buy a few, you will likely upgrade other electronics then you will have the cables. Don’t go too crazy buying extra cables, there is already non-compatible new standards in development so even a HDMI 1.3 will at best be around for only a few years.

Good points! I missed the silliness about the necessity of $80 monster cables. It's not the cable that the monster, it's the efing price!

Here is a very good article about HDMI. It's pretty complete and correct. However, I believe that HDCP is a requirement to have HDMI. Might be wrong about that. Don't feel like double checking it. However, if a device has HDMI, it's probably going to have HDCP because hollyweird's panties are all wet over having end-to-end encrypted hi-def content with no data in a non-encrypted copyable format.

<soapbox>DVD's are plentiful and cheap partially because it's easy to copy and pirate them. If it's nearly impossible for people to copy them, will the price remain low or will the price climb much higher since people have no other choice when it comes to content for their multi-thousand dollar home theater systems?</soapbox>

Best regards,
Frank

Uh oh. Can I say panties here? Ruling from the censors, please?

 

[First Born]

play on....and all boats are the same too, some just like to charge more because they are brand name.

 

[fc3]

Samsung makes the LCD screens for many high end brands. I have 4 of them and think they are very good. Contrast ratio is important..the more..(like 15,000/1) is better. If thickness is not an issue...take a peek at the rear LCD projection.

Regarding rear projection, I'd go with DLP over LCD. Better color, brightness, and responsiveness than LCD. DLP beat the rainbow effect sometime around 2003, putting the last nail into LCD's coffin. You should be able to get into a 60 or so inch 1080p DSP for about a grand. Sammysung makes some decent units.

The downside with rear projection is bulb replacements. We're on our fourth efing bulb on my wife's Toshiba DLP set. The claimed life for the bulbs was greatly exaggerated. Or, in other words, the lying scum sucking rat bastards claimed three+ year life rather than one year life from the $200+ bulbs.

play on....and all boats are the same too, some just like to charge more because they are brand name.

Back to digital electronics 101, son. If a cable can pass a 340 MHz digital signal within the attenuation and
inter-signal crosstalk specification to earn the label "High Speed HDMI Cable," then it's good enough. Any more is FUD. On the other hand, if you want to have gold plated fuel tanks installed on your Sea Ray, go ahead. It's not going to hurt anything... other than your wallet.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[Sorrento 25]

Love my Samsung DLP. 2+ years on the original bulb so far. With the exception of the bulbs DLPs last almost indefinitely.

 

[Uplate]

Oh, one more thing. Digital does not mean high definition.

I have found that even today, there is far too little high def content available.

Even if you are watching the national evening news, the time with the anchor person may be high def but as soon as they go to the onsite reporter the high def is gone. Ditto with commercials. Personally, I find the flipping back and forth to be more annoying then a show that is all low def.

What you are seeing is the difference between 1080i and 720P. They are different aspect ratios, yet each is "high def". 720P offers the standard 4:3 aspect ratio we have been accustomed to since kids (this is usally flanked by side bars on a TV set to 16:9). 1080i (or1080P) is the newer 16:9 Wide screen format.

All TV's that I know of are 16:9 these days, though broadcasts are not formatted to this standard in all cases.

 

[First Born]

son.

Thanks old wise one

 

[Uplate]

"If you are dead set on a plasma that usually has a shorter life than an LCD"

I have to wonder about this. It may be a Modern Myth. I work in some TV studios that have plama screens about 10-12 years old. They still look good and render colors well. I had heard about plasmas's getting "re - gassed" to bring the life back. never knew anybody who has had this done.

 

[Four Suns]

What you are seeing is the difference between 1080i and 720P. They are different aspect ratios, yet each is "high def". 720P offers the standard 4:3 aspect ratio we have been accustomed to since kids (this is usally flanked by side bars on a TV set to 16:9). 1080i (or1080P) is the newer 16:9 Wide screen format.

All TV's that I know of are 16:9 these days, though broadcasts are not formatted to this standard in all cases.

Are you saying that 720p is 4x3 and 1080i/p are 16x9? Where did you come up with that?

 

[Newbie]

Love my Samsung DLP. 2+ years on the original bulb so far. With the exception of the bulbs DLPs last almost indefinitely.

+1. I've got a 61" Samsung DLP, two years to the day actually. Still on the original bulb, and this tv is on at least 16hrs a day. As long as you don't need it to hang on a wall, DLP to me, is the way to go.
SB

 

[Uplate]

Are you saying that 720p is 4x3 and 1080i/p are 16x9? Where did you come up with that?

720P is 16:9 format. I meant to say NTSC standard (720x480 interlaced), which looks 4:3 on a widescreen monitor. Most ENG news crews use older NTSC cameras which is why the have the blank side info on those remote crews. Most of the studios are broadcasting in 16:9 format.

 

[teekster]

:smt021:smt021:smt021


There is so much misinformation in this thread it is making me want to puke. I consider myself to be somewhat competent in this area, so it is particularly painful. If you are going to spend a significant sum of money on a piece of AV gear that will be in your house for the next few years, for God's sake, do your research properly.

Someone already mentioned avsforum. Would any of you guys go over there to ask about how to change your impellers? I don't think they would come here to ask about the best TV. Any question you can ask has been answered hundreds of times in the appropriate part of the world wide web.

As for those of you that are handing out the misinformation, I am running a generic HDMI cable from Monoprice between my AV stack and my Pioneer Elite Kuro TV. I am watching Sunday night football feeling good about paying $35 (it is 35ft) instead of several hundred for the Monster equivalent.

BTW, should I feel bad about buying a betmax-ish plasma TV?:smt043:smt043:huh:

Do your own research or you WILL get ripped off. I just stopped a friend of mine from dealing with an AV installer who was charging $120 for each 2m HDMI cable. He was also trying to sell him a 2 year old receiver (pre-HDMI 1.3, therefore obsolete) at list price.

 

[douglee25]

I second Teekster on www.monoprice.com for cables.

Doug

 

[Go Aweigh2452]

:smt021:smt021:smt021


There is so much misinformation in this thread it is making me want to puke. I consider myself to be somewhat competent in this area, so it is particularly painful. If you are going to spend a significant sum of money on a piece of AV gear that will be in your house for the next few years, for God's sake, do your research properly.

Someone already mentioned avsforum.


Do your own research or you WILL get ripped off. I just stopped a friend of mine from dealing with an AV installer who was charging $120 for each 2m HDMI cable. He was also trying to sell him a 2 year old receiver (pre-HDMI 1.3, therefore obsolete) at list price.

Been to the AVSforum and guess what? They say the same things as here. One guy says Panny is his fav and another says Samsung is best. Then another says he likes the Kuro... Depending on which avs forum I look at, they have their reasons for thier tv being the best...

They say to go to the store and see for yourself. But then if you go to another store the side by side comparison may look different with the exact same brands because most stores don't set up the tv, they just plug it in....

Soooo, I come here to ask and get opinions from owners here too. I know its my decision but I like to get lots of information before I drop $$ on this. (My original thead said I was going to buy in a month or two).

Seems a lot of boaters have a few favs... I see that, I check them out on line and note it for my store check to see them in the flesh.

I appreciate all the responses and glad I am not the only one looking at some of these...

 

[dsteele1]

The easy answer is to tell you Sony but check out Vizio LCD's as well. I have always bought Sony Wega TVs and when we went to get a LCD we decided to go with Vizio and the picture is incredible. Saved alot of money too. We got ours from Costco.

Personally I would buy an LCD over plasma. Also make sure you go ahead and spend the $80 on the monster HDMI cable. I have never understood why people skip that step.

Wesley

You don't need pay $80 for an HDMI cable - a $6 cable will due exact same thing as the $80 cable. Go to www.newegg.com and look up hdmi cable.

There is no perceptible difference between any HDMI cable... http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11246_7-6361815-1.html

 

[tdappleman]

I have a Sony LCD projection and a Vizio plasma so I'll chime in here. The LCD does not transition well during fast action scenes and does not do well at producing black levels. However - mine is 3 years old (on original bulb) and I know the technology has improved. The refresh rates have increased and now you have true 1080p resolution. The Vizio is fantastic - it's a 32" and is only 720p but was only $480 on sale. The viewing angle is much better on the plasma and the black levels appear to be better as well.

I think cables will always be a source of contention - some are adamant about the cables making no difference and everyone is entitled to their opinions. This could easily become as big of a debate as what kind of oil to use.... I agree Monster is way overpriced but do admit to having a lot of their cables around....

Look at the unit you are going to buy and try different signal sources if possible in the store. You can also see what kind of cables they are using. A lot of units come with basic cables so you can always try those before changing out to something different.

 

[comsnark]

They say to go to the store and see for yourself. But then if you go to another store the side by side comparison may look different with the exact same brands because most stores don't set up the tv, they just plug it in....

Ain't that the truth. I went shopping the other week with a friend. After looking at all the TV's. . the best looking one was a two year old open box with not even 1/3 the contrast ratio of the "current" models next to it. Clearly. . the TV's were not set up properly.

Considering the amount of 1080P content out there. . .I am not inspired to spend huge sums of money on a 1080p TV. My buddy bought a 720p Plasma at some ridiculous low price and plans to upgrade down the road. . .afterall, he doesn't have very much invested in the new set.

 

[Pirate]

So spend $2,000 - $3,000 on a TV and make sure you get the best but only spend $6 on the cable that is going to get that picture from the box to the TV. :huh:

That is like saying buy a Sea Ray but save your money on the generator and buy a Honda porta 2000 whatyamajiga.

Wesley- I've spent the last 15 years designing, installing, and maintaining high end theatre and audio systems. Before that, I wrote an extensive white paper on audio and video cabling. Once you get to a cable that has a decent connector, the only difference in quality is the price. There is so much competition for the primary items in the A/V industry (TV's, Sources, etc.), that the profit is gone. That Monster HDMI costs your dealer 15% of what he charges retail. The mark up is INSANE. Wonderful for the dealer, but bad for you.

If you were to blind test a $10 HDMI vs. your $80 HDMI, you could not tell the difference.

Bubble burst. You (and MANY other people) got taken.

M

 

[Boulder GT3]

Some knock offs on Plasma at high altitude. They work harder to keep cool and it cuts down on the life. One side effect is a buzzing or the fan cycle running more. Learned the hard way.