Flatscreen TV advice

[Lathum]

Having just moved into a condo we are downsizing out TV situation. We are selling out 52 inch big screen and are planning on getting a flatscreen to mount over the fireplace. Probably 42 inches.

Anyone have advice on which brands are the best or which ones to avoid?

[claphamsa]

give me the old one?

[gottimd]

Is no place to do blow on.

[BrianD]

How much TV do you watch, and have you verified that having the TV over the fireplace will provide sufficiently comfortable extended viewing?

[stevew]

Sony or samsung are the 2 best LCD brands IMO. Sharp is also up there, although sometimes their TV's have backlighting issues.

Panasonic plasma's are also an attractive option, and are pretty affordable in the 42 inch size. Right now you can get the 42pz80 series for under a grand.

And mounting over the fireplace is an awkward angle to watch TV, I'd make sure you are comfortable staring up at the screen for normal viewing.

[Lathum]

How much TV do you watch, and have you verified that having the TV over the fireplace will provide sufficiently comfortable extended viewing?

a decent amount.

Yeah, alot of our neighbors have it that way and it is comfortable. It really saves a ton of space.

[Lathum]

What is the difference between Plasma and LCD?

Is plasma better quality?

[SackAttack]

Plasma is better for viewing, if I recall, while LCD has the faster refresh rates that make it better for gaming.

[BrianD]

a decent amount.

Yeah, alot of our neighbors have it that way and it is comfortable. It really saves a ton of space.

It does save a ton of space. If you find it comfortable, I hope you get some great advice to help you out. I just like to bring up the question since some people forget that part of the equation.

[MikeVic]

Plasma is better for viewing, if I recall, while LCD has the faster refresh rates that make it better for gaming.

I thought plasma was supposed to be better for fast motions?

[Deattribution]

I'd personally avoid Sharp, as you're likely still going to pay the Samsung/Sony premium (or close to it) and not get nearly the quality.

Depending on how much of a picture quality nazi you are, I like Vizio if you're staying in the 37-42 inch range (the 46 inch model isn't bad either though). But there is a noticable difference in the non-HD picture quality, while the HD looks pretty good.

Plasmas and LCDs aren't vastly different, but there are some things that vary depending on the models (like some plasmas have deeper blacks, better viewing angles, better in lighted areas while some LCDs are more vibrant, better resolution vs price, equal or better viewing angles). It really varies. Plasmas do tend to handle heavy motion scenes better though, but it's not as if LCDs are unviewably bad.

[stevew]

LCD-Whiter whites, brighter picture, better for gaming(almost no chance of burn in), lighter in weight, generally less use of energy, generally not as good with SD content(magnifies flaws), little to no glare, generally only the expensive panels can do plasma level blacks.

Plasma-Better for sports viewing(not much pixelation), better value for money, better for movies(does blacks a lot better), not so good for gaming(very very small chance of burn in), generally better with SD stuff, glare can be an issue.

On either set you're looking at around 400 bucks to have it professionally wall mounted, and usually a couple hundred more for the mount(cheaper if you buy online).

I would recommend a tilting or swing out wall mount. You only want to mount it once, so with flat you can't adjust it at all.

If I were you I would sit down and map out exactly which devices you're going to hook up to the TV and figure out your install needs. Generally you're going to need 2 or 3 HDMI, and 2 optical cords. Buy all of that shit on monoprice.com, you'll save a ton of money. And the quality is not discernable from the 120 dollar HDMI bestbuy will try to sell.

Also you need to determine your power needs. If you want seemless installation you'll need a power outlet in the immediate vacinity of where the TV will hang. Otherwise you'll need someone to run one, or you'll have exposed wiring.

Lastly, if you have more than a couple devices you might want to look into purchasing a harmony remote. It'll save you having 2-4 different remotes to use.

[timmynausea]

LCD-Whiter whites

I thought you were going to say it gets my whites whiter and my brights brighter. It's powered by the air you breathe and activated by the water you and I drink. And I was going to say that's not LCD. It's Oxi-Clean.

Wait, if I'm quoting (or even paraphrasing) Billy Mays do I have to write in all caps?

[Fidatelo]

LCD-Whiter whites, brighter picture, better for gaming(almost no chance of burn in), lighter in weight, generally less use of energy, generally not as good with SD content(magnifies flaws), little to no glare, generally only the expensive panels can do plasma level blacks.

Plasma-Better for sports viewing(not much pixelation), better value for money, better for movies(does blacks a lot better), not so good for gaming(very very small chance of burn in), generally better with SD stuff, glare can be an issue.

On either set you're looking at around 400 bucks to have it professionally wall mounted, and usually a couple hundred more for the mount(cheaper if you buy online).

I would recommend a tilting or swing out wall mount. You only want to mount it once, so with flat you can't adjust it at all.

If I were you I would sit down and map out exactly which devices you're going to hook up to the TV and figure out your install needs. Generally you're going to need 2 or 3 HDMI, and 2 optical cords. Buy all of that shit on monoprice.com, you'll save a ton of money. And the quality is not discernable from the 120 dollar HDMI bestbuy will try to sell.

Also you need to determine your power needs. If you want seemless installation you'll need a power outlet in the immediate vacinity of where the TV will hang. Otherwise you'll need someone to run one, or you'll have exposed wiring.

Lastly, if you have more than a couple devices you might want to look into purchasing a harmony remote. It'll save you having 2-4 different remotes to use.

This is all very good advice.

[stevew]

couple more things-
Generally it's easier if all of your stuff matches. If you want a panasonic TV, buy matching panasonic products(home theatre, etc). They work together well if connected via HDMI.

Also, if you're snaking wires, it might not be a bad idea to have a couple extra cables snaked at the same time. For instance, if your tv has 3 rear HDMI, but you only plan on using 2 HDMI devices, it's still better to snake that 3rd one for the future and cap it off. For about 100 bucks you can get all the stuff you'll need on monoprice(hdmi, wall mount, optical, components) whereas each piece will likely be in excess of that at the retail level.

[BrianD]

As long as you are snaking wires, it might not be bad to snake a couple of normal computer networking cables. I believe that is what I am using for an IR extender. Basically I've got an IR-eye sitting on top of my TV which forwards signals from the remote to the A/V equipment which is behind a cabinet door. You may not ever need this, but I was very glad our wiring guys thought about doing this.

[Izulde]

I'm personally a huge fan of the Samsung TVs and it seems like a lot of others on FOFC are too.

[Mac Howard]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that LCDs are better when the ambient lighting is higher - plasmas like it darker.

I have Samsung plasma - didn't like the (early) Sony LCD when watching an Aussie Rules game, I found the slight blurring of movement unpleasant, so I went for plasma - but I do have a darkened TV room. SD is good but free-to-air broadcasts here are digital wide-screen which helps. I am getting a little bit of burn-in (not a problem with LCDs) because my satellite system has many 4x3 channels and there are a couple of faint lines marking the 4x3 picture limits.

[Cringer]

Did someone mention paying to have it installed? Maybe I am cheap, but that sounds like a waste of money. Man up and install it yourself.

[stevew]

I'm a cheapass too. Although there is a dollar figure I would pay to insure it doesn't fall off the wall. Wall mounting isn't terribly difficult, but stuff like snaking wires can be a pain in the ass.

[Lathum]

thanks for the advice.

We are gonna pay someone for sure to install it.

[saldana]

Did someone mention paying to have it installed? Maybe I am cheap, but that sounds like a waste of money. Man up and install it yourself.

I'm a cheapass too. Although there is a dollar figure I would pay to insure it doesn't fall off the wall. Wall mounting isn't terribly difficult, but stuff like snaking wires can be a pain in the ass.
if you guys knew lathum, you would realize how HORRIBLE an idea it would be for him to try and install it himself....this was actually a LOL suggestion for me.

[Lathum]

time is money, I can find better things to do

[BrianD]

time is money, I can find better things to do

This is often my theory. It is worth a few bucks to not have to worry about a hammer rebounding off of my thumb and embedding itself in my skull. Also, paying someone to spend 10 minutes doing it rather than me fighting for an hour is totally worthwhile.

[stevew]

I figure this sears panasonic deal was worth sharing. 42pz80 full hd plasma is on sale for 1099. You can use the store card and save another ten percent. The bht 100 htib blu ray home theater system is normally 999. Its obn sale for 899. Plus when bought with TV there is another 500 off bringing the total package to 1389 plus tax. Or you can get 24 month financing and pay 1499. There are few other panasonic DVD htibs you can get instead of the bd one that are 100 to 150.

If ur looking for a TV in the next 3 months at least look at sears' price to pricematch somewhere else.

[cougarfreak]

LCD-Whiter whites, brighter picture, better for gaming(almost no chance of burn in), lighter in weight, generally less use of energy, generally not as good with SD content(magnifies flaws), little to no glare, generally only the expensive panels can do plasma level blacks.

Plasma-Better for sports viewing(not much pixelation), better value for money, better for movies(does blacks a lot better), not so good for gaming(very very small chance of burn in), generally better with SD stuff, glare can be an issue.

On either set you're looking at around 400 bucks to have it professionally wall mounted, and usually a couple hundred more for the mount(cheaper if you buy online).

I would recommend a tilting or swing out wall mount. You only want to mount it once, so with flat you can't adjust it at all.

If I were you I would sit down and map out exactly which devices you're going to hook up to the TV and figure out your install needs. Generally you're going to need 2 or 3 HDMI, and 2 optical cords. Buy all of that shit on monoprice.com, you'll save a ton of money. And the quality is not discernable from the 120 dollar HDMI bestbuy will try to sell.

Also you need to determine your power needs. If you want seemless installation you'll need a power outlet in the immediate vacinity of where the TV will hang. Otherwise you'll need someone to run one, or you'll have exposed wiring.

Lastly, if you have more than a couple devices you might want to look into purchasing a harmony remote. It'll save you having 2-4 different remotes to use.

Hey, I just gotta tell you thanks. I went to Walmart today to buy an HDMI cord and about crapped when I saw the price. I remembered this thread and went to monoprice. Saved me $24.