Archived Calgarypuck HDTV, LCD, TV, etc. Help/Advice Thread

[Berger_4_]

Okay, so Christmas is getting close, and I was talking to Grandpa 1, and he kinda let slip that I may probably likely be getting a laptop. What'd be a good recommendation for me to recommend to him? I'll be going to uni next year (hopefully) and I dunno if I'd game on it too much. I'm thinking he's looking in the grand to grand and a half range...any suggestions?

[photon]

Macbook!

EDIT: Or Dell m1330 if you don't want to go the Apple route. But of course then you'll be jealous of all the other macbook toting students. But maybe the girls will like your rebellious attitude.

[stang]

My Wife and I just got pre-approved to start building a new house, and I want a new TV set-up. I really have no idea what to be looking for. We currently have BEV standard sat. and an old 52" RCA Tv thats about 6 years old. (Never had a problem with it... It has served us well)

Here is what I want to have:

-To have a PVR
-HDTV
-The TV to hang on the wall
-The TV to have a long lifespan (as possible)
-MAY be used be to play video games (this isnt a SUPER big issue as the old 52 inch will go to the basement for gaming...but we may want to play osme GH with friends upstairs)

The TV will be on for the good part of the day. When I am home alone I turn it on the sports channel and let it run... My wife turns it on the food network... and when we are both home we turn it on to Music.

So I am pretty sure I will be needing the BEV Hi Def PVR (9200 i think) and a TV.

I wont be buying this setup for a bit, so this may be a little pointless... but what should I be looking for in a TV? What are some technical things to look for? I thought I read somewhere that not all HDTV are the same and some are really not HDTV. I dont want that..lol

Also do I need any other box or anything to make the HD work? Or just the receiver hooked up to the TV? Any recomendations for a TV. I am thinking I want 42" or bigger, and I dont want to spend more then around 2500 with the HD PVR receiver. (not set in stone, just a starting point)

Thanks

[jayswin]

Honestly, this advice might sound pointless because you sound like you haven't really done much reasearch, and because I;m, pretty drunk, but What I'd do is serisously just buy a Sharp aquos 46" 46uHDTV, on boxing day. They are $2300 retail right now, but you can find them for around $1900 on sale on any given weekend, but on boxing day you will find it for pretty cheaop ,and it's aphenomenal TV, 1080p etc.

[Trojan97]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Honestly, this advice might sound pointless because you sound like you haven't really done much reasearch, and because I;m, pretty drunk, but What I'd do is serisously just buy a Sharp aquos 46" 46uHDTV, on boxing day. They are $2300 retail right now, but you can find them for around $1900 on sale on any given weekend, but on boxing day you will find it for pretty cheaop ,and it's aphenomenal TV, 1080p etc.

That is a great post.

[stang]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Honestly, this advice might sound pointless because you sound like you haven't really done much reasearch, and because I;m, pretty drunk, but What I'd do is serisously just buy a Sharp aquos 46" 46uHDTV, on boxing day. They are $2300 retail right now, but you can find them for around $1900 on sale on any given weekend, but on boxing day you will find it for pretty cheaop ,and it's aphenomenal TV, 1080p etc.

Haha awesome! Thanks.

And also I have read up on it, but its hard because I am not 100% sure of what I am looking for.. (not really a gadget/techy guy)

I can read 15 websites about LCD Vs. Plasma and I still wont come away with a definite answer. So I consider asking you guys my "research."

There is no website where I can plunk in my needs and get an answer. Once I have an idea of the Technical specs I should be looking for, then it is time to go and price hunt.

Anyways what about this TV? This is the one that is currently coming with a couch set from the Brick. (My wife does want a new set of couches)

[ericschand]

My suggestion is to go to a store and look at a "wall of TV's."
You'll find one you like. Yeah, they don't configure the TV's all too
well, but you will have a general idea of what you like, and what you
don't.

Things you want to watch for are HDMI input, DVI or VGA input (hook up
your computer, you may not need it now, but who knows?), contrast ratio's,
response time (lower the better), and perhaps refresh rate (generally 60 or 120Hz,
120Hz being better).

I just picked up a 52" Sharp Aquos, and I like it a lot. I saw the Panasonic in
BestBuy I believe, and I didn't like it versus other TV's. Toshiba Regza,
Sony XBR4, and Samsung were nice too.

ers

[fredr123]

Also, try searching through the HDTV Advice sticky (if you haven't already) and see if any of that answers your questions. Digital Home Canada is also a great resource and their forum is fantastic.

[Table 5]

stang, a lot of your questions can be answered if you read the HDTV thread (stickied at the top of this section). I would also recommend reading avsforum.com for advice...

[mac_gurl]

We have the sharp aquos and love it!!
And the PVR is definatly the way to go.

[metal_geek]

Generally... Rule of thumb is Plasma's have better color representation, and deeper blacks. LCD's have brighter screens, and faster "Response" times. All kinds of factors like quality, size and price come into play. All things being equal you can be pretty happy with both.

The best way to decide is look at the room it's going in. That first will give you the "Max/Min size".. If it's a GIANT room, a bigger panel( 50"+) will be better. If the couches are closer to the TV, then a smaller, 42" one will be better. If your room is dark , a plasma will give you a better picture, if your room is typically bright, then the LCD will have more brightness to push out the picture.

In the past, the old Plasma's have had burn in issues and the stigma attached to that has remained, but the technology has advanced to the point where that isn't an issue anymore, and the mean time to failure on lcds and plasmas are esentially the same now. For casual gaming, plasma's won't be an issue either.

What it really boils down to, is for equal quality panels, you can typically get a bigger LCD for the same price as a smaller plasma. If you need a big tv to fill your room, chances are the only "affordable" tv of equal will be a LCD, but if a 50" will work, I'd prolly go with the plasma given the room lighing.

Also remember that wall mounting it, you don't want to put the TV too high... Alot of people make that mistake and honestly it's BRUTAL..

[Old Yeller]

If you're not going bigger than 50" and you're sitting more than 8 or 9 feet away from the TV, it's impossible for the human eye to tell the difference between a 720p and a 1080p TV.

I would recommend taking a look at both the Panasonic TH42PX77 or the 50 inch of the same model. You should probably be able to find the 50 inch for $2500 or so right now and over boxing day it may even be around $2000.

Another option to look at that's a little more expensive is the Pioneer 5080... it's still 720p and will be about $200-$500 more than the panasonic, but it's jaw dropping how beautiful the picture is.

I'd say contrast ratio/black levels/overall PQ are much more important to me than resolution... but most salesmen will try and tell you that you NEED 1080p to "future proof" yourself. While they may have a point, by the time HDTV broadcasts are in 1080p format (at least 4 or 5 years away), 1080p TV's will be half the price they are now.

The best advice anyone can give you though is to just go see for yourself... just remember that all TV's in the store are in "torch" mode (contrast/brightness turned to max).

[metal_geek]

"Panasonic TH42PX77"

Thats excatly what I have as well...

[simmer2]

Originally Posted by metal_geek

Generally... Rule of thumb is Plasma's have better color representation, and deeper blacks. LCD's have brighter screens, and faster "Response" times. All kinds of factors like quality, size and price come into play. All things being equal you can be pretty happy with both.

The best way to decide is look at the room it's going in. That first will give you the "Max/Min size".. If it's a GIANT room, a bigger panel( 50"+) will be better. If the couches are closer to the TV, then a smaller, 42" one will be better. If your room is dark , a plasma will give you a better picture, if your room is typically bright, then the LCD will have more brightness to push out the picture.

In the past, the old Plasma's have had burn in issues and the stigma attached to that has remained, but the technology has advanced to the point where that isn't an issue anymore, and the mean time to failure on lcds and plasmas are esentially the same now. For casual gaming, plasma's won't be an issue either.

What it really boils down to, is for equal quality panels, you can typically get a bigger LCD for the same price as a smaller plasma. If you need a big tv to fill your room, chances are the only "affordable" tv of equal will be a LCD, but if a 50" will work, I'd prolly go with the plasma given the room lighing.

Also remember that wall mounting it, you don't want to put the TV too high... Alot of people make that mistake and honestly it's BRUTAL..

Not to be nitpicky, but plasmas have about 5x faster response time than LCD's do.

It depends on what you are using it for Stang:

LCD is great for: Using it as a computer, a lot of gaming, a fairly bright room

Plasma is great for: Sports, some gaming, movies.

And the differences between LCD and Plasma are pretty minimal. Really, it comes down to your preference. I chose a Plasma, but that was my choice. I love my Panasonic 42-THPZ77U. They have a 52" model as well I believe.

I actually found that the LCD's with 120Hz technology were more expensive than the plasmas, so that was one of the reasons I went with a plasma. That and I do some gaming (not alot) and sports are important.

And like Table 5 said, the avsforum is really good for loads of info, it may just be a bit of overload initially.

[Buzzard]

Interesting Plasma vs. LCD debate here
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=68800

[stang]

Thanks guys for the help guys...

Sorry I never even noticed this thread... for some reason my eyes just ignore stickys.. lol

This TV wont be used as a computer screen, or for gaming... But the room will be pretty bright. How ever I hope to have it on a wall that wont get much sunlight on it, and we will have blinds anyways...


To Old Yeller, the TV that I am looking at is the Panasonic TH42PX75. Is it much of a difference from the Panasonic TH42PX77? From what I have read it seems the 75 might have better color, but the 77 has an antiglare coating?

That TV resloution is 1024 x 768.. is that good? Is it still worth it to get a HDTV receiver?

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by stang

That TV resloution is 1024 x 768.. is that good? Is it still worth it to get a HDTV receiver?

It is HD, but not full HD (ie. 1080p). At that size and up, you should really try to get a TV that is 1080p to take advantage of the picture quality available out there today.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by stang

Thanks guys for the help guys...

That TV resloution is 1024 x 768.. is that good? Is it still worth it to get a HDTV receiver?

That resolution is on the low end of HD but resolution is only one aspect of selecting your TV. Go have a look at that TV and compare it with others.

In my opinion there is not much point in buying an HDTV without an HDTV receiver unless you can pick up OTA HD broadcasts.

[Rifleman]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

The only other alternative is a computer monitor. They may have even higher resolution and can be cheaper. They probably won't come with sound or a TV tuner but if you have a HD STB and connect it with DVI or HDMI, they can make a fine TV and double as a computer monitor for gaming or surfing. The other problem with this is that they come in a 16x 10 ratio instead of 16x9 but my Samsung monitor handles this well without distortion, my Benq, not as well.
If you go this way make sure the monitor is HDCP enabled.

I'd also like to add that I'm not sure a HD STB has enough power for a 30" monitor as they require a DVI dual setup.

I am currently looking at getting this model here:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...17410(ME).aspx

I pretty much had to Google all those abbreviations you listed to see what they were, but this monitor seems to have everything you listed.

All I really want to do is hook up my regular cable to it (I don't have HD programming yet) and my PS3.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Rifleman

I am currently looking at getting this model here:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...17410(ME).aspx

I pretty much had to Google all those abbreviations you listed to see what they were, but this monitor seems to have everything you listed.

All I really want to do is hook up my regular cable to it (I don't have HD programming yet) and my PS3.

You will need a cable box to hook cable up to that monitor. Then everything will depend upon if the cable box will blow up the picture to fit the monitor. The PS3 should work fine.