Time to upgrade from the "Matress Age"!

[Admiral Madden]

I haven't posted for a while, but this forum came right to my mind when the repair guy said I should research for a new TV.

a couple days ago, I was gaming it up with my brother, during a lightning storm that we didn't know about at the time, (I've taken the weather channel for granted) anyway, there was a power surge, for some reason the breakers didn't flip, the TV went wonky, xbox red ring'd me... complete chaos for any gamer.

i turned everything off, tested the xbox to see if i had to do the ring shenannigans, it works, but the tv was fried, literally, when i was showing the repair guy, it almost set on fire... after doing the research, it's not worth doing an insurance claim on it, and the TV is beyond repair, so i'm getting a new one.

now this TV is brutally mammoth-sized, (try not to cry)

specs
-51's of rear projected CRT flat screen goodness, (none of that diagonal measuring BS, it's a square)
-420p HD resolution, (as can be said with the game Marathon, Best graphics of it's day)
-built in stereo speakers, (4 tweeters and 2 subwoofers, when at full blast, that thing can break sound bylaws several times over)
-features seven input sets, each one with it's own setting programmed in, two of which were HD capable,



the brutal depth allows the behemoth to stand on it's own, and, with the help of spinny wheels, it was mobile-ish.
the small tv in the corner is the temporary sound for my projector, (boom box went missing) and yes, I am projecting strait onto the wall, canvas screens are for little girls. i don't want to use the projector because it's reserve that almost exclusively for lans, and emergency's where i don't have any other HD options. (yes HD matters)


the tv was great, but one year after we bought it, they were giving them away free with matresses at the Brick, it was a piss off... today a new one is worth 1.5 grand, but i really could use something better.


as you can see, it was in a corner, which is the best spot for any tv in that room, seriously, almost every other wall either serves as a guide when it's too dark to see where your going, (i'd probably knock it off the wall...) or the walls have windows, or just aren't very practical with the way's we can set up the couches.

so wall mounting is pretty much out of the question, but on the plus side, my grandpa is a semi-retired carpenter, who makes gun cabinets/kitchen cabinets etc. for clients, so i can get an inexpensive custom setup.

anyway, from my knowledge of plasmas, my usage of it, and the windows that have inneficient blinds would make it unsuitable. I'm wondering if LCD is the way to go, or if i should look around for another CRT behemoth?

please help me decide on what TV would give me the most Bang for my Buck!

~Admiral Madden~

[JParker0105]

LCD all the way... and do yourself a favor and get at least a 1080i...

i have a 32 inch Toshiba Regza and i love it.

[KEEZY]

It seems Plasma is the biggest bang for your buck when compared to LCD. However you mentioned glare, so maybe LCD is better. DLPs are nice too, but the glare may mess with that.

[dmiller68]

The newer DLP's don't seem to have too many issues with glare at least mine doesn't. DLP I think gives you the biggest bang for the $. I saw the same unit I have 65" Diamond Mits for $1,800. LCDs have come a long way and I have been pretty happy with the Sony and Vizio models I have. Samsung just released some new plasmas yesterday with 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio which is nuts.

[Admiral Madden]

that 65' daimond mits looks real nice to me, the only problem is that I can't find it for sale Canada for that price... might have to take a trip into spokane just for that...

do you know if that "mangolia home theatre" thing is in every bestbuy, or just U.S. ones?

~Admiral Madden~

[Quo]

Originally Posted by Admiral Madden

do you know if that "mangolia home theatre" thing is in every bestbuy, or just U.S. ones?

Not even in all Best Buys in the US. The local ones (in North Carolina in the US) don't have them that I know of. I could have sworn I saw a free standing one too, nearby a Best Buy.

[Causedawg 83]

They're pretty cool though. I made a 150 mile trip to one to get all my speaker equipment.

You can go to their website and find one nearest you.

[Jon Liu]

I wouldn't necessarily trust Samsung's 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio plasmas. That can't really be achieved by a plasma right now. Currently, the best plasma on the market is the newest generation of Pioneer Elites, which has an 'advertised' contrast ratio of about 100,000:1. After calibration it was able to achieve 32950:1 contrast ratio, which is INCREDIBLY impressive. Most plasmas still have a calibrated contrast ratio in the 10-20k range.

Now, if you were to go with an LCD, I would definitely recommend a Sony. Their new V series is pretty impressive, but to further futureproof, I would recommend at least the W series.

[MadBryan]

They have that Mits in Best Buys that don't have the Magnolias. How com your asking?

[The Milk Man 09]

Good luck with getting a new TV sucks to hear that yours went out the way it did.

[Old-School Guy]

You really didn't say what your budget limit is. Also, how big of a screen are you looking to get... and are you only looking at "new" TV's, or is a used one a consideration?

As an outright answer... if you are looking primarily for a gaming (HD)TV, then you should look at getting an LCD TV around 40 inches - give or take 2 or 3 inches (and you WILL be measuring diagonally - actually... ALL TV's are measured that way - no matter how old (unless it's round)). If you can afford it, 1080 (i or p) is the way to go. If you can't afford that, you might be able to save a lot by going with a 720p HDTV. If the difference between a 720p and a 1080i/p TV is a couple of hundred bucks... borrow the money or ask for an advance (or early) Christmas or birthday gift.

Finally... the 2009 models will be coming out in a couple of months - which means HUGE discounts on ALL the older models. If you can wait... WAIT! Even the 2009 models will go on sale within a month or so of them coming out!!

I have a friend who bought a 42" LCD HDTV (a particular model he was looking for) as soon as it hit the market. Three weeks later, the same exact TV was $400.00 cheaper (on sale). I told him about it... he didn't even bother to get the price match guarantee - which he had... too lazy (idiot).

Anyway... make whatever choice you make, a well thought-out one. You're going to be looking at this TV for a while, and if you make a bad choice... you'll be stuck looking at it for a long time (until you get another one)!

[Jon Liu]

I was researching further into the new Samsung line and the 1,000,000:1 claim seems to be a deception.

From what it seems is in their Dynamic mode incorporates some mechanism or electronics that senses if there is no signal then the screen basically shuts off. So they measured from the maximum brightness to the screen shutting off to get the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. This seems to only apply for the Dynamic mode. By the way, in every instance I've ever seen or read the Dynamic mode should never be used.

[dmiller68]

Originally Posted by Jon Liu

I was researching further into the new Samsung line and the 1,000,000:1 claim seems to be a deception.

From what it seems is in their Dynamic mode incorporates some mechanism or electronics that senses if there is no signal then the screen basically shuts off. So they measured from the maximum brightness to the screen shutting off to get the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. This seems to only apply for the Dynamic mode. By the way, in every instance I've ever seen or read the Dynamic mode should never be used.

I just said I saw them announced I didn't endorse or even recommend them.

[MadBryan]

Samsung would be fine choice. My eye is drawn to their sets when at the stores.

[Jon Liu]

DMil, I'm not saying that you are, I am just clarifying that they are essentially false advertising.

Samsung Plasmas are very good for their price, but I just wanted to make sure that people shouldn't expect anything even close to 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio....... yet.

Pioneer is working on their Extreme Contrast Concept (ECC) to make next generation (Gen 10) sets blacks absolutely black, which would mean they could achieve infinite contrast ratio. The difference between what Samsung touts and what Pioneer has already demonstrated with their concept ECC panel, it will be achieved by making it so each individual pixel figures out whether or not the pixel has any sort of content instantaneously and turns on or off the pixel as fit regardless of what else is on the screen.

I think this year's LCDs are going to be interested with the RGB LED back lightning, like the XBR8 is supposed to have. I'm interested to see how those stack up.

[Prophet0ne]

Pioneer is working on their Extreme Contrast Concept (ECC) to make next generation (Gen 10) sets blacks absolutely black, which would mean they could achieve infinite contrast ratio.

MADNESS!!! The end is nigh!!!

[alter_ego_trip]

Don't forget that room characteristics play a huge role in perceived contrast. Most normal viewing environments, (read: light color walls, normal lighting) will allow a sub par CR to appear better than it is. The darker the viewing environment the more noticeable CR becomes.

I'll believe the infinite contrast ratio claims when I see them. Infinite would mean BTB, which would be a complete absence of light, which would be extremely hard to reproduce. It would be sweet though.