Buying a New HDTV...

A

Axewerfer

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 1, 2006
Messages
202
Hello all,

After several years of pointing out to my Dad that our 15 year old CRT TV needs to be replaced, he's finally relenting, and has agreed to upgrade, in a much bigger way than I'd expected. 50", to be exact. I could use some help finding a TV that fits the bill on this one, since I'm much more comfortable with LCD Screens than big screen TV's. So, here are the specs that he wants:

1. Preferably ~50"
2. Full HDTV capability (1080p)
3. Best color, clarity, and sound for the size.

Built-in speakers aren't essential, but they would be preferred- we have a sound system, but it's not hooked in. That's the next thing I'm going to be fighting for, a decent home theater system. Assume price is no object for the moment, if it gets to be an issue, I can always point to something less expensive. What are the benefits of the various picture formats (plasma, DLP, etc.)? I've heard plasma is the way to go, even if it's more expensive, because of the better contrast and color; true, or is there a better alternative?

Thanks in advance!
 
I think plasma is the way to go for large TV's. It has the best contrast by far, which I consider to be very important for any video content. Plasma's main drawback is the possibility of burn-in. This seems to have been largely eliminated on the newer Panasonic and Toshiba sets, but the risk may still remain to some degree. The glossy coating can cause reflections. Make sure you get a 2007 model.

DLP better contrast than LCD, but I find that a lot of DLP sets have major viewing angle issues. The "rainbow" effect is no longer an issue for 99% of people on newer DLP sets.

LCD's - they're big, they're bright, they're cheap. Make sure you don't get one that has a viewing angle issue. LCD's are best in brightly lit environments, where you won't notice the poor blacks since you'll be turning the brightness up so high that medium-gray looks black.
 
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