TV selection issues
Discussion
I know there are a billion threads related to this but I was hoping to get some advice from the PH experts!
Been looking to upgrade from out ancient 28" CRT for a while - we have a long thin living room with a lot of light coming in from one side.
I had read that plasmas were the best to have, but current thinking at the mo seems to be that LEDs have overtaken even on big tellys. Also they are better than plasmas in high light situations. Main advantage of plasmas is they are cheaper I think.
Anyway, have calculated distance of eyes to screen and it is over 15 feet. This would seem to indicate that a 60" TV is required!! Is this really the case? They look absolutely huge, are, of course, very expensive, and I don't want overkill. I also don't want that sinking feeling, 2 hours after powering up for the first time, that it's too small...
It'll mostly be used for Freeview watching and the odd bit of DVD watching. I gather Panasonic, LG & Samsung are the makes to go for.
Budget is £1000 absolute tops.
So, should I stick with LED or go for a cheaper Plasma? Do I really need 60" or will 50-52" be OK?
Richer Sounds only do one 60" in budget: http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/samsu...
Been looking to upgrade from out ancient 28" CRT for a while - we have a long thin living room with a lot of light coming in from one side.
I had read that plasmas were the best to have, but current thinking at the mo seems to be that LEDs have overtaken even on big tellys. Also they are better than plasmas in high light situations. Main advantage of plasmas is they are cheaper I think.
Anyway, have calculated distance of eyes to screen and it is over 15 feet. This would seem to indicate that a 60" TV is required!! Is this really the case? They look absolutely huge, are, of course, very expensive, and I don't want overkill. I also don't want that sinking feeling, 2 hours after powering up for the first time, that it's too small...
It'll mostly be used for Freeview watching and the odd bit of DVD watching. I gather Panasonic, LG & Samsung are the makes to go for.
Budget is £1000 absolute tops.
So, should I stick with LED or go for a cheaper Plasma? Do I really need 60" or will 50-52" be OK?
Richer Sounds only do one 60" in budget: http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/samsu...
t on as main screen for movies is from projectorTrouble is, if you go LED/LCD the choices are really limited under a grand. I still don't know what size I should be looking at. There's one 60" Samsung at a grand from Richer Sounds but it only has 2 HDMI inputs - it seems as if 3 is the minimum I should be considering.
My other worry is that at the moment our sources are a Wii & a DVD player which both connect using scart sockets. None of these TVs seem to have a scart - presumably they at least have analogue inputs of some description... Do I have to buy a BluRay player with an HDMI output to play DVDs on??
I am completely at my wits end with size, LED/Plasma / inputs / etc.
My other worry is that at the moment our sources are a Wii & a DVD player which both connect using scart sockets. None of these TVs seem to have a scart - presumably they at least have analogue inputs of some description... Do I have to buy a BluRay player with an HDMI output to play DVDs on??
I am completely at my wits end with size, LED/Plasma / inputs / etc.
Totally disagree with the LED no brainer comment above....LED's are good but so are the current Plasma's the Panasonic ST50 Plasma gets extremely good reviews and comes in under £1000 for the 50" screen.
We have actually just replaced a 32" CRT in a very bright room (10ft high south facing bay windows) with a Panasonic plasma and sit about 13 or 14 ft away...we bought a 50" and feel it's just the right size. I was actually at a mate's yesterday...he has the top model Samsung LED in a 65"....it was big but his is a dedicated tv room so you can get away with that size, very happy we didn't go that big in our room as it's a living room that we don't want totally dominated by the screen. As for the comparison in LED vs Plasma and his room is definitely darker so more "screen friendly" and I didn't walk away thinking his looked better...
We have actually just replaced a 32" CRT in a very bright room (10ft high south facing bay windows) with a Panasonic plasma and sit about 13 or 14 ft away...we bought a 50" and feel it's just the right size. I was actually at a mate's yesterday...he has the top model Samsung LED in a 65"....it was big but his is a dedicated tv room so you can get away with that size, very happy we didn't go that big in our room as it's a living room that we don't want totally dominated by the screen. As for the comparison in LED vs Plasma and his room is definitely darker so more "screen friendly" and I didn't walk away thinking his looked better...
NiceCupOfTea said:
My other worry is that at the moment our sources are a Wii & a DVD player which both connect using scart sockets. None of these TVs seem to have a scart - presumably they at least have analogue inputs of some description... Do I have to buy a BluRay player with an HDMI output to play DVDs on??
Well a BluRay player can be had for peanuts but our Panasonic VT50 came with all the connections for Scart...there are some leads in the box with a Scart adapter on them. I imagine all the Panasonic plasma's have them. NiceCupOfTea said:
Panasonic TX-P50ST50B is already on my shortlist, £900 at RS. Seems it does come with a Scart socket. Just worried as although I know the Panasonics are good I have heard about problems with blacks / noise / screenburn / problems with bright rooms.
here`s the rub no matter what overs have saida plasmar will never achive the same contrast as a led in real terms.
yes a plasma can suffer screen burn there better now but it can
It can also suffer a few dead pixels
and a certain percentage want be clase as a fault and if your unlucky and there right in middel you wont be happy.
as for wii you can get a hdmi lead for them if its only got one scart you can just get a cheap scart switcher
as for size its personal choice go look at a few in shop and stand how far you will be sitting away from it
THX specs surgest the ideal viewing distance for 110" screen is about 11 foot and a bit foot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimum_HDTV_viewing_...
Screen Size Recommended Range
35" 3.5' – 5.0' (1.0 – 1.5 m)
40" 4.0' – 6.0' (1.2 – 1.8 m)
50" 5' – 7.5' (1.5 – 2.2 m)
60" 6.0' – 9.0' (1.8 – 2.7 m)
but it comes down to personal taste.
i have a 120" projection screen 12foot away and a 50inch plasma on a electric lift in cabinate below my 120inch projection screen again about 11 foot away
NiceCupOfTea said:
Panasonic TX-P50ST50B is already on my shortlist, £900 at RS. Seems it does come with a Scart socket. Just worried as although I know the Panasonics are good I have heard about problems with blacks / noise / screenburn / problems with bright rooms.
Admittedly I have the VT50 which is supposed to have a better filter (so better in bright rooms) but it's going to be a small difference to the ST50. I honestly doubt many people have a brighter room....my plamsa is sitting 6ft away side on to a 10ft high by 14ft wide south facing bay window....and it's absolutely fine and mine is still being run in so i have the screen toned down a bit.We've got a 60" LG in our TV room and view from around 15 feet away. It seemed huge at first, now it just seems 'normal' and the 40" and 46" in the other rooms seem absolutely tiny.
No television is ever 'huge' for more than the first week of ownership. Saw an 80" in Costco the other week. Previously, my reaction would have been "that is ridiculous"...but I actually found myself thinking "that would go well in my new London flat..."
No television is ever 'huge' for more than the first week of ownership. Saw an 80" in Costco the other week. Previously, my reaction would have been "that is ridiculous"...but I actually found myself thinking "that would go well in my new London flat..."
dave0033 said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
Panasonic TX-P50ST50B is already on my shortlist, £900 at RS. Seems it does come with a Scart socket. Just worried as although I know the Panasonics are good I have heard about problems with blacks / noise / screenburn / problems with bright rooms.
here`s the rub no matter what overs have saida plasmar will never achive the same contrast as a led in real terms.
yes a plasma can suffer screen burn there better now but it can
It can also suffer a few dead pixels
and a certain percentage want be clase as a fault and if your unlucky and there right in middel you wont be happy.
as for wii you can get a hdmi lead for them if its only got one scart you can just get a cheap scart switcher
as for size its personal choice go look at a few in shop and stand how far you will be sitting away from it
THX specs surgest the ideal viewing distance for 110" screen is about 11 foot and a bit foot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimum_HDTV_viewing_...
Screen Size Recommended Range
35" 3.5' – 5.0' (1.0 – 1.5 m)
40" 4.0' – 6.0' (1.2 – 1.8 m)
50" 5' – 7.5' (1.5 – 2.2 m)
60" 6.0' – 9.0' (1.8 – 2.7 m)
but it comes down to personal taste.
i have a 120" projection screen 12foot away and a 50inch plasma on a electric lift in cabinate below my 120inch projection screen again about 11 foot away
Drivel........
dave0033 said:
here`s the rub no matter what overs have said
a plasmar will never achive the same contrast as a led in real terms.
In real world tests using the industry standard 10% white box, or the even stiffer 100% white/black chequer board test patterns plasma screens achieve far superior contrast ratios to LED edge lit LCD panels..
yes a plasma can suffer screen burn there better now but it can
If the set is correctly set up using the correct modes for the use you,re using it for then you,ll never see permanent
Image retention, you may see latency now and then but it disappears when you change channel
It can also suffer a few dead pixels
and a certain percentage want be clase as a fault and if your unlucky and there right in middel you wont be happy.
Both LCD and Plasma panels can suffer equally from dead pixels, but it,s something which is rare in fact for the
Last few years I can't honestly say its that common
as for wii you can get a hdmi lead for them if its only got one scart you can just get a cheap scart switcher
as for size its personal choice go look at a few in shop and stand how far you will be sitting away from it
For anyone viewing in a store, make sure you can view in normal lighting levels not the mega floodlight levels in most stores
Because this will always show LED lit LCD panels in a favourable light.
THX specs surgest the ideal viewing distance for 110" screen is about 11 foot and a bit foot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimum_HDTV_viewing_...
Screen Size Recommended Range
35" 3.5' – 5.0' (1.0 – 1.5 m)
40" 4.0' – 6.0' (1.2 – 1.8 m)
50" 5' – 7.5' (1.5 – 2.2 m)
60" 6.0' – 9.0' (1.8 – 2.7 m)
but it comes down to personal taste.
i have a 120" projection screen 12foot away and a 50inch plasma on a electric lift in cabinate below my 120inch projection screen again about 11 foot away
Problems that afflict LED lit LCD sets are poor black levels in normal room light levels,a plasmar will never achive the same contrast as a led in real terms.
In real world tests using the industry standard 10% white box, or the even stiffer 100% white/black chequer board test patterns plasma screens achieve far superior contrast ratios to LED edge lit LCD panels..
yes a plasma can suffer screen burn there better now but it can
If the set is correctly set up using the correct modes for the use you,re using it for then you,ll never see permanent
Image retention, you may see latency now and then but it disappears when you change channel
It can also suffer a few dead pixels
and a certain percentage want be clase as a fault and if your unlucky and there right in middel you wont be happy.
Both LCD and Plasma panels can suffer equally from dead pixels, but it,s something which is rare in fact for the
Last few years I can't honestly say its that common
as for wii you can get a hdmi lead for them if its only got one scart you can just get a cheap scart switcher
as for size its personal choice go look at a few in shop and stand how far you will be sitting away from it
For anyone viewing in a store, make sure you can view in normal lighting levels not the mega floodlight levels in most stores
Because this will always show LED lit LCD panels in a favourable light.
THX specs surgest the ideal viewing distance for 110" screen is about 11 foot and a bit foot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimum_HDTV_viewing_...
Screen Size Recommended Range
35" 3.5' – 5.0' (1.0 – 1.5 m)
40" 4.0' – 6.0' (1.2 – 1.8 m)
50" 5' – 7.5' (1.5 – 2.2 m)
60" 6.0' – 9.0' (1.8 – 2.7 m)
but it comes down to personal taste.
i have a 120" projection screen 12foot away and a 50inch plasma on a electric lift in cabinate below my 120inch projection screen again about 11 foot away
very poor off axis viewing angles
Non uniform backlighting,various shadowing issues.
Poor motion handling, crosstalk issues with 3D
And one that everyone seems to forget about, plasma is still the only current panel technology that can accurately
Light one pixel.
Not one LCD panel has yet managed to pass THX for video certification
tdm34 said:
Not one LCD panel has yet managed to pass THX for video certification
THX website would suggest otherwise...http://www.thx.com/consumer/home-entertainment/vid...
LG LED lit LCD model listed there, and also THX 3D
http://www.thx.com/consumer/home-entertainment/vid...
and google suggests some Sharp models as well.
That said I think dave0033 was using THX size/distance as a guide to aid OP rather than advocating THX per se. I have a THX panasonic plasma and a non-THX LED-LCD Samsung and in my set up I prefer the latter, YMMV.
Edited by FunkyGibbon on Monday 31st December 18:01
FunkyGibbon said:
tdm34 said:
Not one LCD panel has yet managed to pass THX for video certification
THX website would suggest otherwise...http://www.thx.com/consumer/home-entertainment/vid...
LG LED lit LCD model listed there, and also THX 3D
http://www.thx.com/consumer/home-entertainment/vid...
and google suggests some Sharp models as well.
That said I think dave0033 was using THX size/distance as a guide to aid OP rather than advocating THX per se. I have a THX panasonic plasma and a non-THX LED-LCD Samsung and in my set up I prefer the latter, YMMV.
Edited by FunkyGibbon on Monday 31st December 18:01
Also the Sharp sets that have THX certification are not available in the UK.
But each to their own, all I was trying to do was to strike a balance and make sure the OP had a balanced view of the
Available technology..
Anyway after seeing a quick peek at the specs of some of next years Panasonic plasmas I think a lot of people
Are going to be mightily impressed if the spec turns out to offer what's promised!
I would be sorely tempted by this if I had space for a 50" TV.
http://www.johnlewis.com/231822907/Product.aspx
http://www.johnlewis.com/231822907/Product.aspx
Buy this:
http://www.johnlewis.com/231563474/Product.aspx
On the basis that a lot of your viewing will be SD, this will give by far the smoothest and most natural images for your price range. It will also look superb if you ever upgrade to a Blu-Ray player (which you should - they are cheap and you can still play all your old DVD's on it.) Have you also checked that your DVD player doesn't have and HDMI out? The TV has SCART anyway.
http://www.johnlewis.com/231563474/Product.aspx
On the basis that a lot of your viewing will be SD, this will give by far the smoothest and most natural images for your price range. It will also look superb if you ever upgrade to a Blu-Ray player (which you should - they are cheap and you can still play all your old DVD's on it.) Have you also checked that your DVD player doesn't have and HDMI out? The TV has SCART anyway.
TEKNOPUG said:
Buy this:
http://www.johnlewis.com/231563474/Product.aspx
On the basis that a lot of your viewing will be SD, this will give by far the smoothest and most natural images for your price range. It will also look superb if you ever upgrade to a Blu-Ray player (which you should - they are cheap and you can still play all your old DVD's on it.) Have you also checked that your DVD player doesn't have and HDMI out? The TV has SCART anyway.
Available at a better deal with an even better warrantyhttp://www.johnlewis.com/231563474/Product.aspx
On the basis that a lot of your viewing will be SD, this will give by far the smoothest and most natural images for your price range. It will also look superb if you ever upgrade to a Blu-Ray player (which you should - they are cheap and you can still play all your old DVD's on it.) Have you also checked that your DVD player doesn't have and HDMI out? The TV has SCART anyway.
http://www.tvandvideodirect.co.uk/panasonic-tx-p50...
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