What big screen TV do you think is best?

[MadtownPacker]

I'll disagree with Partial on the DLP's and say the Samsung DLP's are best (I have a 56" ). To really decide on what type is best, DLP, LCD, or Plasma, you have to start with where are you going to put it. Are you going to put it in your living room that has a lot of windows? If yes, stay away from a Plasma as the reflecting glare with annoy you. If price is a concern then for the money go with a DLP, but if you have money to burn then go with an LCD like the Sony Bravia 1080p. I will agree for the price the Vizio and Westy are great for the price, but I would add the Olevia for a great HD for the price too. It's a tough decision to make. Took me two months to decide on the Samsung DLP 1080p. Whatever you do do not get less than a 1080i. You'll regret it down the road.

Samsung is another brand I am interested in, specifically the DLP models. It gonna be in the room with windows and a sliding door so light would be a factor. As for price I want to stay around 2K.

[BallHawk]

Just a question for any HD subscribers out there. I have an HD TV, but our cable subscription isn't set up for HD.

How much better do sports look in HD then on regular? I've seen them in the stores, but I'm interested to see what you guys think.

[MJZiggy]

I've watched football, baseball and soccer on HD and they are seriously nice to watch in HD.

[Scott Campbell]

If price is a concern then for the money go with a DLP, but if you have money to burn then go with an LCD like the Sony Bravia 1080p. I will agree for the price the Vizio and Westy are great for the price, but I would add the Olevia for a great HD for the price too.

1) Love the Sony, but until they get their arms around the clouding issue I won't gamble with that kind of money.
2) I own the 1080P 37" Westy, and it's a terrific pc monitor but a pretty average tv or movie screen. That's ok by me, as it's a second tv and is not used for critical viewing. The price was great too <$1000.
3) I'm not big on Vizio products yet, but the company has potential.
4) I wish Olevia made 1080P LCD's. Until they do I won't consider one. I have pc's hooked up to all my tv's, and need the extra resolution. And when the BlueRay HDDVD format wars and price drops get worked out I want my displays to be able to take advantage of the higher resolution.

[Partial]

I don't plan on wall mounting it so size isn't a factor.

How long Plasmas last? I heard you can recharge them?

Not to my knowledge on the recharging. Their longevity has also improved a lot. Really all the TVs have improved enough that you don't need to worry about the downfalls.

With DLP, some people used to see Rainbows. This hasn't been a problem since the 2nd generation. HD2+ is a very, very good chip and I think they've improved since then even. I had a Mitsubishi 62525 and I loved it. It had a glorious picture and Mitsu TVs are fully upgradable which is nice.

LCD is nice but was originally plagued with poor levels of black, and some slight ghosting on fast moving images. I find these both to be non-issues now.

Plasma looks awesome, is by far the brightest(burns your eyes in a dark room bright). Their picture degrades over time just like everything else. Difference is you can purchase a new 200 dollar bulb to make the LCD and DLP look good as new. I don't believe that to be the case with a Plasma.

If you have a dark enough room, Front Projection gives you a lot of options. It is expensive to get a nice, bright set-up(projectors need to be very bright), but you can get by far the biggest, nicest picture that way.

1) You can not replace LCD bulbs - they have none.
2) LCD black levels are still inferior to Plasma. IMO, LCD picture quality is still inferior to Plasma and the gap is beginning to widen. But there are other variables to consider. It's not a simple question.
3) LCD > Plasma in a brightly lit rooms with lots of windows where glare is a problem.
4) LCD works very well if your display is primarily used as computer or for HTPC use. I have a 37" that is used 75% computer, 25% for tv and movie viewing, and I'm very happy with it.
5) Agree with your liking of projectors, but they aren't nearly as expensive anymore. It requires a basement like level of darkness though.
6) You should get 7-10 years of normal viewing out of todays Plasma's. 10-15 years out of LCD. You'll likely replace DLP bulbs every couple of years.

1. All projection displays are backlit. LCD and DLP use replaceable lamps, Plasma sends a chemical to stimulate electrons or something to that general effect.
2. Agreed
3. Not necessarily. It depends on what material the screen is made out of. The have glossy and matte displays. The matte won't reflect too much.
4. Agreed
5. Even then they aren't too bright. To get a nice 1080p projector with enough brightness to be used in darkly painted room(maroon walls, wood floors, no windows) is about 4gs for the new panie.
6. DLP bulbs are like 200 though, and the picture quality for sports is top notch.

[Freak Out]

You can debate this kind of crap all day long but in many ways it all comes down to what the pocket book can handle....go to Costco, watch both HD and SD on all the units in the price you have targeted. The Costco I shop has a SAT subscription as well as OTA and DVD/Blu-ray all hooked up to this hub and you can have a look at all the variations in the quality of picture depending on the source. I know all the stores are not set up the same but they will always have some very nice sets on hand. I have a 46 inch Samsung LCD I bought there and am very happy with it. When I bought this set it was right next to a 50 inch plasma and although it was not as vibrant it was about $1200 less.

[Scott Campbell]

I will likely not get a 1080P model because I dont have anything that will really need it. Figure in 2 years when all the stations go HD I will buy one at a much cheaper price.

The Sammy's and Mistsubishi's pretty much all come in 1080P. If you're going to buy a DLP, I'd get a 1080P.

Stations may not broadcast in 1080P for 10 years or more - if ever. A new standard could emerge in that amount of time for all we know. Stations all broadcast in either 1080i or 720P today. And the only 2 kinds of source material that can take advantage of that 1080P resolution is the new Blu Ray or HDDVD players, or if you use your display as a pc screen. Asking your tv to do double duty as a pc screen makes 1080P an absolute requirement IMO - A slam dunk choice for LCD. Blu Ray or HDDVD will still look better on a 1080i/720p sets than standard def dvd's. They don't require 1080P.

Theoretically, Blu Ray can't reach it's total resolution potential unless you display on a 1080P screen. However, there's a catch. It depends on how far you sit from your set. Beyond a certain distance, the human eye can not see the difference in additional resolution between 1080P and 720P/1080i. It depends on the size of the set and the normal viewing distance in your room. In other words, depending on the size of your screen and normal viewing distance, you may see no difference between 720P/1080i and 1080P.

The following are generalities:

In Plasma, 1080P costs a lot more than 720P.
In LCD, 1080P costs a little more than 720P.
In DLP, 1080P often costs about the same as 720P.

So if I'm buying DLP, I'd future proof the purchase with 1080P just because it shouldn't cost any more. I'd probably do the same with LCD if the $$$ difference isn't too much. The cost difference in Plasma makes 1080P much tougher to justify.

Another consideration - size matters. Bigger is better, at least until one of your wives gets upset with how your monster tv is upsetting the feng shui of the room.

Also a consideration - LCD's, DLP's and Plasma all have different sweet spots in their price points when it comes to size. In general once again:

LCD's 37-42. Maybe 50 with this latest round of product introductions.
Plasma 42 - 50 Maybe 58 or 60 with this latest round of introductions.
DLP's 55-73.
Projectors for anything over 73.


Here are some questions that can change the answer as to what is the "best" tv set for your application.

What is the size of the room?
What is the normal viewing distance?
What is the lighting? Can you easily dim or shade obnoxious light sources.
What do you typically watch? (% of TV, % of Movies)
What is your typicall source material (% of SDTV, % of HDTV, % of DVD's and HDDVD's)
Is this your critical viewing tv? Or is it just the 2nd or 3rd tv?
What are the angles that you view from? LCD and Plasma typically have a greater field of view.

If all this seems pretty complex, that's because it is. I built a home theater and also built 3 HTPC's in our house, and I've invested a ridiculous amount of time in trying to understand all this stuff. I'm not even close to to being an expert. I'm not even sure what I'll buy next.

[Scott Campbell]

1. All projection displays are backlit. LCD and DLP use replaceable lamps, Plasma sends a chemical to stimulate electrons or something to that general effect.

Ok, now I see the source of our discrepancy. When you say LCD TV these days, people almost universally assume flat panels - not projection. You can't replace bulbs in LCD panels.

[Partial]

Stay away from RCA.

If you can get a 62" DLP for the cost of a 52" LCD or 42" Plasma, I would go for the DLP every time. The extra size makes a HUGE difference. The numbers don't seem like a huge difference but the square inch difference is massive.

Likewise, I would go with a 62" Mitsu over a 52" Sony since the price will be about the same.

[Scott Campbell]

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/ele...dtv/index.html

I subscribe to CR and obviously value their opinions on some stuff. I don't even bother reading their tv or tech stuff anymore. They jus can't keep up with the pace of change.

For that matter, check out their last issue rating digital cameras. I think the top rated model was the Canon S2 IS. It's been discontinued for over a year I think. They didn't even mention the S3.

[Scott Campbell]

Stay away from RCA.

If you can get a 62" DLP for the cost of a 52" LCD or 42" Plasma, I would go for the DLP every time. The extra size makes a HUGE difference. The numbers don't seem like a huge difference but the square inch difference is massive.

Likewise, I would go with a 62" Mitsu over a 52" Sony since the price will be about the same.

I have a 73" rear projection Mits. CRT - old school. Still smokes anything out there. Stopped making them because they fell out of favor because they're huge - heavy and bulky. I agree totally with your screen size comments. I'm less thrilled with their supposed "upgradeabilty". They never released any new firmware after launch. There is little value in future upgradeability if they never actually provide an upgrade.

[MJZiggy]

Sorry, I just don't need a TV that's bigger than I am. Must be a guy thing...

[Scott Campbell]

Sorry, I just don't need a TV that's bigger than I am. Must be a guy thing...

You probably don't for most things - even sports. But it's hard to get a theater like experience with movies if you don't go big. My 73 is in a dedicated home theater room. It'd be obnixious in the family room or living room, and my wives would object.

[Partial]

Stay away from RCA.

If you can get a 62" DLP for the cost of a 52" LCD or 42" Plasma, I would go for the DLP every time. The extra size makes a HUGE difference. The numbers don't seem like a huge difference but the square inch difference is massive.

Likewise, I would go with a 62" Mitsu over a 52" Sony since the price will be about the same.

I have a 73" rear projection Mits. CRT - old school. Still smokes anything out there. Stopped making them because they fell out of favor because they're huge - heavy and bulky. I agree totally with your screen size comments. I'm less thrilled with their supposed "upgradeabilty". They never released any new firmware after launch. There is little value in future upgradeability if they never actually provide an upgrade.

The Mitsu DLPs use the same screens, and you can simply change the DLP engine. For example, if your bulb burns out and you want to go to 1080p from 720p, you can drop 600 instead of 200 and upgrade the entire DLP engine.

[Scott Campbell]

You can debate this kind of crap all day long but in many ways it all comes down to what the pocket book can handle....go to Costco, watch both HD and SD on all the units in the price you have targeted. The Costco I shop has a SAT subscription as well as OTA and DVD/Blu-ray all hooked up to this hub and you can have a look at all the variations in the quality of picture depending on the source. I know all the stores are not set up the same but they will always have some very nice sets on hand. I have a 46 inch Samsung LCD I bought there and am very happy with it. When I bought this set it was right next to a 50 inch plasma and although it was not as vibrant it was about $1200 less.

I have no problem buying at Costco - I'd almost prefer to. But shopping there for a tv is a mistake because the lighting is so terrible. They don't calibrate any of their tv's either, though none of the big box retailer do either.