Big Screen TV's... need some tips

[Nate]

As much as a technology nerd as I am - I surprised myself in how little I know about the latest and greatest big screens.

I need some suggestions for a big screen. I don't want anything over the top.. 40"+ is too big. I'm thinking smaller, 32", might work well.

I am guessing there is quite a difference between 720p and 1080p - and 1080p is what I should really get for the best quality?

So then - what's 1080i?

And should I care about Contrast Ratio? This 32" Sharp Aquos is 2000:1

Gamers - I've heard Plasma has a great deal of ghosting - and so I'm looking more into LCD. Is there any truth to this? If you have a Plasma screen, do you like it? How does LCD vs Plasma look?

I also think it would be really nice to find a TV that doubles as a giant computer monitor. I love work space. So - I don't know if that Aquos would have a nice big resolution.

Last night at CompUSA, I found this really nice 26" Monitor that is also a 1080p TV - so I'm thinking it's perfect! but..wanted to get some feedback on that too.

So - What kind of TV do you have? pros? cons? suggestions?

Thanks

[nixer]

As much as a technology nerd as I am - I surprised myself in how little I know about the latest and greatest big screens.

I need some suggestions for a big screen. I don't want anything over the top.. 40"+ is too big. I'm thinking smaller, 32", might work well.

I am guessing there is quite a difference between 720p and 1080p - and 1080p is what I should really get for the best quality?

So then - what's 1080i?

And should I care about Contrast Ratio? This 32" Sharp Aquos is 2000:1

Gamers - I've heard Plasma has a great deal of ghosting - and so I'm looking more into LCD. Is there any truth to this? If you have a Plasma screen, do you like it? How does LCD vs Plasma look?

I also think it would be really nice to find a TV that doubles as a giant computer monitor. I love work space. So - I don't know if that Aquos would have a nice big resolution.

Last night at CompUSA, I found this really nice 26" Monitor that is also a 1080p TV - so I'm thinking it's perfect! but..wanted to get some feedback on that too.

So - What kind of TV do you have? pros? cons? suggestions?

Thanks

for 1080i vs 1080p you might want to read this http://reviews.cnet.com/1080i-vs-1080p-hdtv/

contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest white and the darkest black. this equates to typically a better picture visually the higher the ratio
so 10000:1 would be pretty good quality


i have a 50" 1080i plasma and i dont get any ghosting my mother has a 32" 1080p lcd no ghosting, but on some of the larger lcd tvs you get the squares on them with some major movements.

i also play my ps3 on my plasma and it works great! also both of our tvs can be used for computer monitors.

i have a hitatchi. not the best buy lower end models mine is pretty much middle model. my mother has a samsung that i got her from best buy.

if you get a plasma make sure you get one that has the screen wipe features just incase you burnin something.

also i would say that try to get something with more than one hdmi input

[gu1do24]

my samsung lcd is a 42" 720p. It has better picture then alot of 1080i tv's i have seen. Samsung is by far the best. I originally bought an LG but the main powersource failed within 30 days so I brought it back and got a Toshiba. The Toshiba had horrible picture so I returned that for my Samsung.

[Wrongside]

my samsung lcd is a 42" 720p. It has better picture then alot of 1080i tv's i have seen. Samsung is by far the best. I originally bought an LG but the main powersource failed within 30 days so I brought it back and got a Toshiba. The Toshiba had horrible picture so I returned that for my Samsung.

Visually with today's technology there is zero difference between i and p and 720p is no where close to 1080i sorry to dissapoint you.

The technology to broadcast in p isn't out yet. Everything HD is broadcast in an interlaced format, hence "i" and nothing is actually produced in progressive yet, which is "p".


TO original poster, go with LCD, yes there is some ghosting and blockiness with plasma nut most people can't see it. Never buy 720p, it's a scam to sucker in broke people.

-Matt
Nvidia Embedded System Engineer for mobile video technology.

[Blue Apple Herps]

I need some suggestions for a big screen. I don't want anything over the top.. 40"+ is too big. I'm thinking smaller, 32", might work well.

A good rule of thumb is that the TV should be ~1/3 the distance you sit from it. Too big and you can start to see pixels, too small and the picture is too small. For example: you if sit 8 ft from your TV that's 96". Divide by 3 = 32". So a 32" TV would be ideal. You can go slightly larger or smaller and be OK, but that's a good rule of thumb.

I am guessing there is quite a difference between 720p and 1080p - and 1080p is what I should really get for the best quality?

Nothing is broadcast in 1080p - only games and movies are that high. And quite honestly, I have better than 20/20 vision, and I can't tell a difference between 720p and 1080p - at least not from viewing distance. That being said, I'd still opt for a 1080p if it was within my price range. If not, you'll be more than happy with 720p

And should I care about Contrast Ratio? This 32" Sharp Aquos is 2000:1

2000:1 is somewhat low. Go for higher. Plasmas are going to have higher contrast ratios, but LCDs are getting better.

Gamers - I've heard Plasma has a great deal of ghosting - and so I'm looking more into LCD. Is there any truth to this? If you have a Plasma screen, do you like it? How does LCD vs Plasma look?

Newer Plasmas it won't be an issue. However, Plasmas are better for a darker room. If your room has a lot of light coming to it, LCD is better.

I also think it would be really nice to find a TV that doubles as a giant computer monitor. I love work space. So - I don't know if that Aquos would have a nice big resolution.

Try and find something that has a DVI input for easy hook up. VGA sucks as its an analog signal.

So - What kind of TV do you have? pros? cons? suggestions?

I have a Westinghouse 32" LCD I bought over three years ago. Its been great. Even to this day the picture is just as good as any other. It doesn't have an HDMI input, but does have DVI. So I can hook up everything via HDMI -> DVI adapter, plus hooking up my laptop is easy and it looks great.

[hoax]

I have a HP 1080p 42" LCD.

The picture is amazing when I first got it I was watching the world series.. not strange on its own but take into the fact that I HATE baseball... I was watching because you could see the individual lights reflecting off the batters helmet! You could see each individual blade of grass on the field.

It has 3 HDMI out puts a monitor out put. It has 3 component outputs, and a fiber optic out put. It has several other outputs but i don't use them so i can not remember right now what they have.

I also play my XboX 360 on it and I have zero problems with any distortion.

LCD is not as reflective as the plasma screen.


Hope this helps some I will post more later but for now the missus is being a pain in the hinney so i gotta get off.

Mike

[Mitch21]

Everyone has pretty much given you good information... All you have to do now is pick out a sweet TV!

It is true that nothing is being broadcast in progressive format... Everything is still interlaced. But that doesn't mean you should get a 1080i over a 720p or 1080p. The technology is here to get a progressive HD television (and the prices are getting so cheap now!), so I honestly would not get duked into buying a 1080i because of smaller price tags.

I only scanned through the other posts quickly, but I didn't see anyone explain the difference between the progressive and interlaced formats. You definitely want the progressive HD tvs... 1080i (interlaced) essentially works with every other line of pixels working at the same speed to bring you your picture. When Group A of every other line of pixels is showing you the picture, Group B of every other line of pixels is getting ready to project the next image. It happens simultaneously and goes so fast that you'll never actually notice anything, but basically if you buy a 1080i, only 540 lines are working at once as opposed to a 720p or 1080p who's lines are essentially firing twice as fast which represents a better picture in the end. Hope I explained this as basic and smoothly as possible....lol

As far as plasmas and LCDs, the better brands of LCDs are so good now that you've got to be quite the HD guru to see a major difference. Plasmas' contrast ratios are still better but like I said, LCDs are damn good these days. The best brands for LCDs are Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, (sony is wayy overpriced for what you get)...

I have the top of the line 32" Samsung. It's GORGEOUS! If you buy a 32" HD tv or smaller, there's really no point in going to a 1080p. Once you are at that small of a screen size, you really will not notice any difference going from 720 to 1080. For HD tvs 37" and up, I'd definitely say to go with the 1080p. You will absolutely see differences in the fine details at this large of screen sizes.

Like everyone else said, try to buy a tv with a DVI input. A lot of the Samsung models have it built in. If you can't find a tv with a DVI input--- no big deal. You can simply buy a DVI to HDMI cord to plug your computer to your tv. The cords are a little more costly but you can find them cheaper at newegg.com


Hope some of this helps!

Mitch

[DSGB]

i got a 42 inch lcd 1080P with a bose lifestyle home theatre and play my xbox on it all day. I love it!

[Blue Apple Herps]

The picture is amazing when I first got it I was watching the world series.. not strange on its own but take into the fact that I HATE baseball... I was watching because you could see the individual lights reflecting off the batters helmet! You could see each individual blade of grass on the field.

That's funny, because when I first got mine and got the HD channels set up, I did the exact thing. I watched things I normally wouldn't watch, just because it was so dang nice to look at!! I got mine during the '06 Olympics, I watched a lot of figure skating, which I HATE, simply because it was so incredible to look at all of the detail!

[monk90222]

I have a 42" Panasonic Plasma. 1080p.

I love it.

720p is the red headded step child of HD TV.

It is true that most shows are mastered at 1080i/59.94.

We do also produce some shows at 1080/23.98sf...
Internationally the 1080i/50 is the standard.

and since we are signing our posts now with job titles...
-Charlie
Senior International Technician at CBS Worldwide Distribution at the CBS broadcast center in NYC.