09-12-2013, 07:26 PM | #1 | ||
High School Varsity
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Downriver, MI
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Shopping for a TV ...
It's been a decade-ish since I bought a new TV and while looking online - I've gotten a bit overwhelmed.
Hoping someone has gone through this recently, or even someone is just helpful and smart haha. There are so many letters and numbers in the descriptions that I don't have a clue what they mean. LED, LCD, Plasma, 1080 P this, and Hz that. I have no idea what is good, what is better, if the numbers should be high or low .... lol. The only thing I seem to understand is 70" = the screen is (approx) 70 inches from top corner to the bottom corner diagonally across. Well, that and the price - I get the price too. |
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09-12-2013, 08:31 PM | #2 |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Backwoods, SC
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Hz is refresh rate, essentially. The higher the better. On plasmas Hz won't matter they will be super high.
1080p is the semi current standard but depending on screen size and viewing distance it may not make any difference. I hate to phrase it this way, but tell us your budget and let's go from there. Or at least tell is what you hope to get.... |
09-13-2013, 12:18 AM | #3 |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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The other major factor is where will this TV live? Is it going to be in a room that is typical rather bright when viewing, or is it in a more controlled, darker environment?
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09-13-2013, 02:15 AM | #4 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Cary, NC
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I'd say it kind of depends what you're looking for. I bought a 55 inch plasma recently (Panasonic) from Sears and thought it was a great price (on sale.) I deliberately didn't want a lot of the smart TV features as my apple tv already duplicates most of them, so I was able to get a slightly older model for good money.
I'd say decide what size you want, if you want smart features, how much do you demand in the latest features, and go from there to try to clarify the list - CNET reviews were quite helpful to me. |
09-13-2013, 08:07 AM | #5 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: NYC
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Plasmas take up a lot more power and produce a lot of heat, if that matters to you.
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09-13-2013, 08:09 AM | #6 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Cary, NC
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Yup, let's start with what your requirements / desires are: budget? placement (living room vs bedroom)? sources (cable, video game, Blu-ray)?
I personally have a 55" Panasonic plasma that I absolutely love. Bought it on a Super Bowl sale so got a great price. As mentioned you might be able to go back a model year and get a good deal. But tell us your requirements and we can recommend something.
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09-13-2013, 08:18 AM | #7 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: NYC
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FTR I have a Panasonic plasma bought in 2007 that is still working beautifully. The picture quality is definitely a couple notches below my Samsung LED bought in 2011 (as expected) but plasmas can be awesome TVs if it's what you're looking for.
Definitely stick to Panasonic if you go that route. |
09-13-2013, 11:28 AM | #8 | |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Backwoods, SC
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Quote:
Old information no longer true. They do produce some heat certainly not a lot. And power consumption...well it really a non issue. If you ran a 60" plasma non stop for a month it would probably cost around $1.25...how much less expensive could an LCD be? |
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09-13-2013, 11:29 AM | #9 |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Backwoods, SC
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09-13-2013, 12:00 PM | #10 |
Head Coach
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: NYC
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Pioneer doesn't make plasmas anymore, been quite a while.
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09-13-2013, 12:07 PM | #11 | |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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Quote:
I will admit I'm strongly biased towards plasma tech for picture quality and price. The OLED technology is superior, but still vastly more expensive. I would only recommend an LCD over a plasma if the TV is going to be in a brightly lit environment, or if he really needs the TV to be very light/easy to move. |
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09-13-2013, 01:01 PM | #12 |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Back in Houston!
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I love my 42" Panasonic plasma that I picked up a couple of years ago. It cost under $500 and the colors are rich and gorgeous. We'll be looking for another tv in a year or so and I'm considering LED but that depends on the price. When last we looked, the plasmas looked so much better than the LCDs and were cheaper, too.
SI
__________________
Houston Hippopotami, III.3: 20th Anniversary Thread - All former HT players are encouraged to check it out! Janos: "Only America could produce an imbecile of your caliber!" Freakazoid: "That's because we make lots of things better than other people!" |
09-13-2013, 01:08 PM | #13 |
Pro Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Cary, NC
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As an off-the-cuff here, $650 delivered for an excellent 50" plasma:
http://www.sears.com/panasonic-50inc...2&blockType=G2
__________________
-- Greg -- Author of various FOF utilities |
09-13-2013, 01:37 PM | #14 |
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: sans pants
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SO MANY LETTERS AND NUMBERS OH MY GODDDDDD!!!!!
Old people and technology. ALWAYS FUNNY.
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Superman was flying around and saw Wonder Woman getting a tan in the nude on her balcony. Superman said I going to hit that real fast. So he flys down toward Wonder Woman to hit it and their is a loud scream. The Invincible Man scream what just hit me in the ass!!!!! I do shit, I take pictures, I write about it: chrisshue.com |
09-13-2013, 07:43 PM | #15 | |
High School Varsity
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Downriver, MI
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Quote:
lol .. true. Thanks for some of the thoughts guys .. I used some of this information, and did a study session on the interwebs. I decided to go with a Panasonic Plasma 65" 1080i HDMI HD Smart. I went Plasma > LED because the room is a bit dark, and I liked the better viewing angles I saw. I was tentative, because we game in this room often and the "burning" scared me a bit. But I let the salesman talk me into "Plasmas don't burn as bad as they used to, so it isn't as big an issue .. and it can be fixed through the TV menu with some kind of wiping feature." Paid 1300 & got a decent TV Stand for it (with 4 shelves and a cupboard). |
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09-13-2013, 08:28 PM | #16 | |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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Quote:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...-in-a-problem/ It's really too bad this myth about plasma burn-in persists, because it's resulted in LCD TV's becoming far more popular despite inferior performance, to the extent that Panasonic will stop development on plasma displays, and will probably stop production of plasma TV's in the next few years. I totally forgot to mention the viewing angle, but that's a big reason to pick a plasma over an LCD - you have a much, much wider angle on the set. |
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09-13-2013, 10:34 PM | #17 |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Backwoods, SC
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Btw guys...I think I mentioned it before I am a huge plasma fan.
I've got 6 of them in my house, all pannys Burn in is a non issue unless you are stupid...I'm talking pausing a Nintendo and going to a football game like we did at 12 for 10 hours REGULARLY stupid. To be really fair, plasma has improved the bright room issue as well especially pannys nd their screen coating. My living room has a 60 plasma in a room with a glass wall that's gets am sun (due east) and the tv is still bright and clear.... |
09-14-2013, 10:17 AM | #18 |
Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Back in Houston!
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I ran a burn-in DVD for like 2 days when I got the tv just because, at the time, the jury was still out. And I've never burned a thing into the tv. But I also don't leave anything on for like 10 hours and go somewhere else. However, I have had marathon game playing sessions (like days where I put 8 hours into Xenoblade Chronicles) and it hasn't done a thing and that's supposed to be the "worst case scenario" where you do something where menus and whatnot are on the screen constantly for long periods of time.
SI
__________________
Houston Hippopotami, III.3: 20th Anniversary Thread - All former HT players are encouraged to check it out! Janos: "Only America could produce an imbecile of your caliber!" Freakazoid: "That's because we make lots of things better than other people!" |
09-14-2013, 02:52 PM | #19 |
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Seattle
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It's just really sad that people still think there's an issue with plasma burn-in. Once again, the superior tech lost out to the inferior tech (LCD) in the marketplace, largely due to unfounded fears about the superior tech.
Let's hope OLED prices come way down in the next 5 years... |
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