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06/01/2008 03:51:37 PM · #1 |
My family is thinking about purchasing a flat panel TV. I would like to have the ability to display family photos and other favorite digital images. (I have quit assembling traditional photo albums.)
-Any suggestions for LCD models?
-What things should I consider while shopping? |
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06/01/2008 05:04:56 PM · #2 |
I'm no expert, but we just got a Samsung LN40A550 - 40" Widescreen 1080p LCD HDTV, and it's really nice. It gets good reviews most everywhere I've looked, and I've played a little bit with displaying photos on it. I can even hook up my portable hard drive through its USB port, and display them through the TV's own interface. I can even stick a little USB memory stick into the port, and let the TV read photos from that.
I can also hook the laptop up to it through an HDMI port, and it's really quite slick to have a 40" monitor :)
A few things to look for when shopping for the TV... low refresh rates are supposed to deliver more smooth motion, particularly in fast-paced scenes. LCD screens I believe are supposed to be brighter than plasma, but can suffer from burn-in if you leave an image on the screen too long.
You'll likely want to get something with 1080p resolution so you're buying the latest and greatest, instead of buying something less that's already outdated (there already talking about development of a 4K resolution).
Anyway... there are a few things to consider. Again, I'm no expert and who knows if I have all of my facts straight -- I just tried remembering some of the jibberish the Best Buy dude spouted to me :)
Message edited by author 2008-06-01 17:07:24. |
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06/01/2008 05:14:08 PM · #3 |
Samsung are good TVs, as are Sony and Panasonic, but they are higher priced.
Plasma and LCD both suffer from burn in if you leave an image or writing on the screen. LCD is sharper in lower sized screens, but most wouldn't notice any difference. Both allow for PC connection via DVI or analogue.
The 40" Samsung is a really good TV, as is the 37". Larger size than these and Plasma seem better, although a 42" LCD isn't to be sneezed at:))
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06/01/2008 05:27:51 PM · #4 |
photographs look much better on LCD than on plasma... the colors and contrast looks like that on you computer or laptop screen...
samsung is an excellant brand .. can'y go wrong with plasma or lcd...
i believe LCD don't suffer burn in as much as the plasma..
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06/01/2008 05:32:57 PM · #5 |
alanfreed: i believe its the other way arround pal :) ... plasma suffer burn in and are brighter and have darker blacks..generally plasma screens are considered to have better contrast and thats due to how they work
plasma screen are essensially pixels ligting up to produce the picture... where LCD is a screen filter infront of a source of light and the picture is generated by filtering through that source of light... thats why black don't look so black...
but they are gettin much better now.. one thing to look for in an LCD is contrast ration .. the higher the contrast ratio the brighter the picture and the darker the black parts... they go now as high as 1:15000 ... i own a 1:8000 and its awesome, can only imagine what a 1:15000 would look like...
hope that helps
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06/01/2008 05:42:33 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by rami:
alanfreed: i believe its the other way arround pal :) ... plasma suffer burn in and are brighter and have darker blacks..generally plasma screens are considered to have better contrast and thats due to how they work |
Well, I can tell you that the instruction manual specifically says not to watch letterboxed programming more than 15% of the time to avoid burn in... and the first page of the manual warns against displaying any still image for more than two hours, "as it can cause screen image retention. This image retention is also known as 'screen burn.' To avoid such image retention, reduce the degree of brightness and contrast of the screen when displaying a still image."
I was specifically told that the LCD screens are brighter, too.
Message edited by author 2008-06-01 18:05:01. |
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06/01/2008 06:12:39 PM · #7 |
Thanks - great! Another question...
What happens to images with aspect ratios that differ from the TV's aspect ratio? Will the images be cropped, stretched or can they be displayed in the native ratio on a blank background? |
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06/01/2008 06:38:24 PM · #8 |
You have the choice of stretching them to fit in various ways... at least with the TV video. I'm not sure whether you can stretch photos or not -- mine just leaves black areas around shots if the aspect ratio doesn't match up.
Originally posted by cornettcag:
Thanks - great! Another question...
What happens to images with aspect ratios that differ from the TV's aspect ratio? Will the images be cropped, stretched or can they be displayed in the native ratio on a blank background? |
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06/01/2008 07:09:09 PM · #9 |
| One common mistake is not all LCDS are created Equal. Ever wonder why two same size computer monitors by the same company and same speed are priced far apart. Check out the resolution capability. The hight the monitor will go the better the resolution. The best Plasma and LCD tvs will not do Justice to Photos. So depending on your purpase I would purchase a tv for watching tv and buy a Large LCD picture frame or a lcd monitor for viewing photos on with a high range for the resolution. |
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06/01/2008 07:13:07 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by rami:
i believe LCD don't suffer burn in as much as the plasma.. |
No but they do have another issue called dead or hot pixels. One or two is not bad but its just the start of a catastrophic failure. Whereas plasma is more subseptical to burn in but the tv will continue to play. Plus plasma does not suffer from the lag of the lcd. |
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06/01/2008 08:24:19 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by coronamv:
Originally posted by rami:
i believe LCD don't suffer burn in as much as the plasma.. |
No but they do have another issue called dead or hot pixels. One or two is not bad but its just the start of a catastrophic failure. Whereas plasma is more subseptical to burn in but the tv will continue to play. Plus plasma does not suffer from the lag of the lcd. |
The better LCD's have the capability to map and fix hot pixels. It usually works.
The lag on LCD's is now down to about 5 ms on the better sets. I dunno how that compares to plasma.
FWIW, I'm very happy with my 46" Toshiba LCD. I got a deal through Amazon, it was under $1300 and free delivery for about 2 weeks. Haven't seen it for less than $1500 there or anywhere else since
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06/01/2008 08:28:49 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Originally posted by coronamv:
Originally posted by rami:
i believe LCD don't suffer burn in as much as the plasma.. |
No but they do have another issue called dead or hot pixels. One or two is not bad but its just the start of a catastrophic failure. Whereas plasma is more subseptical to burn in but the tv will continue to play. Plus plasma does not suffer from the lag of the lcd. |
The better LCD's have the capability to map and fix hot pixels. It usually works.
The lag on LCD's is now down to about 5 ms on the better sets. I dunno how that compares to plasma.
FWIW, I'm very happy with my 46" Toshiba LCD. I got a deal through Amazon, it was under $1300 and free delivery for about 2 weeks. Haven't seen it for less than $1500 there or anywhere else since |
with today's technology, you will be throwing out your plasma tv out before the "burn in" even becomes relevant. |
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06/01/2008 08:57:48 PM · #13 |
| Check out the power consumption, LCD is much more "green" compared to Plasma displays. Over time, you will save so much in electricity that you can buy more toys to compliment the TV. |
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06/01/2008 10:14:50 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by Morgan:
Check out the power consumption, LCD is much more "green" compared to Plasma displays. Over time, you will save so much in electricity that you can buy more toys to compliment the TV. |
Like what? 3-5 years? and I can get that Universal remote for $20-$30 I was looking at? ;)
//whychooseplasma.com.au/html/tpd_power_consumption.cfm says your wrong. "Panasonic's Plasma panel's energy consumption was roughly equivalent to that of the LCD models."
Message edited by author 2008-06-01 22:18:00.
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06/01/2008 10:33:21 PM · #15 |
I have a 42" LG LCD, IT's amazing. It ran me $1100 about 6 months ago. I will be purchasing a samsung probably at the end of the summer.
If I had to rate LCD tvs by brand, it would go
1. Samsung
2. Sony
3. LG
I have also heard good things about the new company Vizio, might be worth checking out. Stay away from Westinghouse unless you really want a big tv but cant afford one otherwise.
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06/02/2008 12:03:41 AM · #16 |
Just got a Samsung 46" lcd, I'm pretty impressed. It's better than I expected, I thought the ghosting with fast motion would be a problem but it's not something I have noticed.
I had a burn in on my computer's lcd, it lasted for a few months then disappeared. The image that burned in was the bottom of the photoshop window. It was annoying but I was able to live with it. Then it was just gone and I didn't even notice... |
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06/02/2008 01:05:08 AM · #17 |
| Most will agree samsung is considered the best quality picture on lcd's Panasonic is hold the plasma title. 10 years of actual play time is the average life of most plasmas and lcd's on the market. They have greatly improved both technologies. I got my 50 inch samsund plasma with the blue screen tech they cam out with for $1588 at HH greg about 4 months ago. Sony is suffering from poor workmanship throught their whole company quality is down and so is customer service. |
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06/02/2008 07:16:45 AM · #18 |
I have a 19 inch Samsung in my bedroom and am really pleased with it, considering the new series 6 , 37 inch for my living room. However as my CRT is still going strong I am in no rush to replace that yet. I believe that Samsung make most of the LCD panels for the industry so they must be good.
Panasonic tv's are also excellent but cost more. If you really want top notch then the Pioneer Kuro range is amazing, expensive, but amazing.
Technology moves at a rapid pace these days, this is the next generation
Super Hi-Vision
I dont think you can go wrong with the main players, Toshiba, Panasonic, Pioneer, Sharp, Samsung, LG, Phillips
Message edited by author 2008-06-02 07:18:12. |
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06/02/2008 10:34:26 AM · #19 |
One thing to keep in mind is that big TV's look much smaller in the showroom next to giant TV's than they do in your living room.
When I bought my 47" TV, I went and looked at it in the showroom and next to the 50" and 52" TV's it didn't look that big, but when I got it in my living room, my first thought was "Holy crap! This thing is HUGE!" |
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06/02/2008 02:59:20 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
One thing to keep in mind is that big TV's look much smaller in the showroom next to giant TV's than they do in your living room.
When I bought my 47" TV, I went and looked at it in the showroom and next to the 50" and 52" TV's it didn't look that big, but when I got it in my living room, my first thought was "Holy crap! This thing is HUGE!" |
I agree about the size, but compare a 32" Sony Weiga CRT with a 32" Sony Bravia LCD, I think you seriously need to step up the size for LCD as they usually fit further back in the room. |
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06/02/2008 03:05:34 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by SteveJ:
I agree about the size, but compare a 32" Sony Weiga CRT with a 32" Sony Bravia LCD, I think you seriously need to step up the size for LCD as they usually fit further back in the room. |
That and the Sony CRT screen is 4:3 and the Sony LCD is 16:9ish in aspect ratio. Since the measurement of a TV screen is corner to corner diagonally, the distance has to be longer for the 16:9 screen to appear similar in size to the 4:3.
Anyway, I'm going to put in a plug for the Sony Bravia LCDs. My parents have a 46in Sony 1080p TV at their house and I have a 40in Sony 1080p TV at my apartment. They are both amazingly sharp, clear, have great colors, and are easy to use. I haven't had any issues with dead pixels or bad customer service and both screens get plenty of use with static images, cable/satellite tv (analog, digital, and HD signals), video games (xbox 360 and PS3), and also being used as giant computer monitors. To make a long story short, I'm impressed with what I got and would buy another if there was a reason to. Good luck! :)
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06/02/2008 03:19:39 PM · #22 |
Originally posted by SteveJ:
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
One thing to keep in mind is that big TV's look much smaller in the showroom next to giant TV's than they do in your living room.
When I bought my 47" TV, I went and looked at it in the showroom and next to the 50" and 52" TV's it didn't look that big, but when I got it in my living room, my first thought was "Holy crap! This thing is HUGE!" |
I agree about the size, but compare a 32" Sony Weiga CRT with a 32" Sony Bravia LCD, I think you seriously need to step up the size for LCD as they usually fit further back in the room. |
CRT?!?!?
Do you drive a horse and buggy too? |
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06/02/2008 05:35:25 PM · #23 |
| It turns out that my husband was thinking along the same lines as Alanfreed. We just purchased Samsung - 40" 1080p 120Hz Flat-Panel LCD HDTV as his birthday present. Its still in the box but the store model looked good. I took in a few family snapshots to view on the TV. We were able to view them on the Series 5 model rather than the Series 7 model that we ended up purchasing. High ISO images were obvious in comparison to lower ISO images (5 megapixel Canon S50) but that is not a fault of the TV. |
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