• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Absolute best ~50" TV

P

PiMpY

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Oct 26, 2001
Messages
1,194
My dad is looking for a new TV of around 50" for his bedroom. He seems interested in an LCD or Plasma. Size isn't really an issue but he seems pretty stuck on either of these technologies (but if there is a CRT or even DLP as he said he might be interested in that, that fills the criteria then please do post it).

Top priority is image quality. Price is not really an issue but he would rather spend less than more of course.

He also said someone told him Sony is coming out with a top of the line 46" LCD in March, anyone know about this?


Not sure if this is the correct forum but i'd guess if anyone knows home theater it would be you guys. Thanks in advance. :)
 
I was at Best Buy a while back and they had a Colts game live on one of the new Sony SXRD 50" big screens. They basically had an antenna hooked up to the back of that thing, getting the HD signal through the air. It had the sharpest picture I've ever seen on a TV.
I'm not even sure what technology it is, DLP, LCD? I walked right up to it and I couldn't make out a single pixel. It was almost 3D like.

The KDS-R50XBR1.
 
If you're concerned about colour reproduction, contrast ratio, angle viewing, response time and black levels, the best TV out there is probably the Panasonic 50PX500U 50" Plasma. Its got rave reviews all over the place. Plasmas aren't the best in terms of resolution, as all current 50" screens are 1366x768 (~720p), but if this is purely for home theatre, this is your best option.

LCD flat panels still have a ways to go in order to match the image quality of a plasma, and especially at that size, LCDs need at least another year to be a viable alternative. They are the kings of resolution though, but at 50", sitting farther away than 6', the eye will have a tough time detecting the increased resolution of 1920x1080 over 1366x768 on a moving video image. If resolution is really a sticking point, I heard Pioneer is bringing out a 50" 1080p plasma sometime soon, but I'm guessing it's gonna cost a fortune.

The Sony SXRD screen mentioned by cygnus is the best of the rear projection bunch, but rear projection screens are definitely still a step behind plasmas.

Check out AVS Forum for more info.

Adrian
 
Thread on this a day or two ago, well TV sets but most were thinking big. Ditto on the SXRD. Check them out at the stores. When I strolled through Circuit City the SXRD made everything look very much pwned.

So i'm back on the sidelines. The 2.5k DLPs sounded tempting but checking them out, I knew I wouldn't have been happy with anything other than an SXRD. It salughtered the plasmas as far as i'm concerned too. The dot pitch on plasmas is too big for my tastes. Maybe because you are not supposed to be right on top of the set like you are at the store, but the 1080p SXRD didn't need any excuses.
 
Just for clarity I was of course just agreeing with the guy that first brought up SXRDs. Too bad they won't take 1080p signal fully or I'd have one on layaway. :p I could see the SXRDs beauty from across the store at pretty much any angles. Of course, it will not outdue plasma in this area, but if you like the picture better (like i do) it could be the right choice anyways. Go check them out. I didn't notice a problem with pretty broad angles and if you feel the same, it may take a very awkward living room setup to change your mind.

To one who asked it's based on LCoS. Sony's own take so you will never hear them call it that. Consider it there new trinitron type thing though. They coined the term SXRD to describe there take on it, there tweaks.
 
I can understand that the SXRD looked great in the stores, and it's important to take a look for yourself to see which TV you like best, but the store usually places the TVs under ideal lighting conditions. Rear projection units perform well in low light, but put them in a typical room with windows and they're going to struggle.

Direct view CRTs are still the absolute best picture quality when it comes right down to it, but plasmas are as close as you'll get plus allow much larger sizes.

Like I said earlier though, don't base your decision off the advice of people here (myself included), there are much bigger experts over at AVS Forum who actually know what they're talking about. There is a lot of information to digest, but it's worth the time considering the amount of money involved IMO.

Adrian
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top