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TV recommendation

A

Andyk5

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
1,154
I am in the market to buy a TV. I would love to own an OLED or a 4K TV but it seems like they are going to be out of my price range for a while.

I am looking for 60" or bigger, looking to spend around $800-$1200, it can be plasma or LED/LCD, no preference on that. Heat is an issue, I would rather have a TV that runs cooler than warmer. It will be mounted on a wall above my computer monitors. It will be used to play computer video games, PS3, stream netflix/Hulu and play DVD's. I would like it to have bunch of ports for connectivity and a proper PC mode would be a must i guess since I don't even have any cable service and once in a while I will be using it as a monitor so I can navigate my desktop from my couch.

what do you guys think?
 
hdfreedom said:
It's not 60", but it's a 55" IPS panel and it's on sale...

http://www.paulstv.com//LED-Televisions/Panasonic-TCL55E50.aspcj
Click to expand...

link not worky
I extracted the model number from your link, are you talking about this TV?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panason...HDTV/6001019.p?id=1218712329712&skuId=6001019

I like the fact that it is IPS but not the optical only audio out. My audio system only accepts analog signals and I am thinking about using HDMI to connect to the TV and then route audio to the speakers nearby. I could separate audio and video but then I need to run two sets of wires.
 
" It will be mounted on a wall above my computer monitors."

So I'm guessing you won't be able to view the TV directly? IF so don't opt for the mid/high-end plasma from Samsung and Panasonic.
 
Nielo TM said:
" It will be mounted on a wall above my computer monitors."

So I'm guessing you won't be able to view the TV directly? IF so don't opt for the mid/high-end plasma from Samsung and Panasonic.
Click to expand...

Care to explain that?
 
The new models have advanced AR coating that limits vertical viewing angle. It doesn't alter the color, black level or gamma. It just dims the image.

It's best to go to a shop and decide if you can tolerate it.
 
I will be viewing it about 15 degrees to the right and 20 degrees up from my couch, not bad but also not exactly center.
Since I love their service, free extended warranty, usually cheaper prices and my %2 cash back I will be buying this TV from Costco if possible.
The online selection is here, but the warehouses a little different selection. Can you guys recommned one of these 6?
http://www.costco.com/51-inch-tvs-and-above.html?refine=79505+12604


Edit: Also I am not concerned about 3D but as far as refresh rates go, is it better for me to go 240 instead of 120? I think the miniumum I will go is 120.
Oh and what is up with the 600hz refresh rate on the plasma's?
 
Quoted refresh rates, response time and contrast found on TV specs are utterly useless. 120Hz+ TVs only accepts 24, 50 and 60Hz. Some can accept VESA timings up to 75Hz. Regardless of the TV's refresh rate, without enabling MCFI, the motion resolution won't surpass 300 lines (basically equivalent to 60Hz panel).

To make plasma stand out, they came up with the 600Hz slogan. But that refers to sub-field that constructs individual frame (not actual frames). I can see why they had to. Men are easily impressed with big numbers.

What you need to know are the viewing angles and motion resolution because those are the main factors that concerns you.

LCD TVs can produce ~300 lines of motion out of 1080. Panasonic plasmas are capable of 1080 out of 1080 and Samsung plasma are capable of 900 lines out of 1080. So when playing 60fps games, Panasonic and Samsung plasma will provide the cleanest motion.

Due to the nature of the modern AR coating, it restrict vertical viewing angles. It's best to see the TV in person and see how it affects you.

LCDs aren't known for their wide viewing angles but IPS panels do maintain good color and gamma even at extreme angles. However the blacks tend to glow (become brighter), which could be distracting.

You could go with a cheap Panasonic plasma that doesn't have the advanced AR coating or an IPS LCD TV.
 
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Nielo TM said:
Quoted refresh rates, response time and contrast found on TV specs are utterly useless. 120Hz+ TVs only accepts 24, 50 and 60Hz. Some can accept VESA timings up to 75Hz. Regardless of the TV's refresh rate, without enabling MCFI, the motion resolution won't surpass 300 lines (basically equivalent to 60Hz panel).

To make plasma stand out, they came up with the 600Hz slogan. But that refers to sub-field that constructs individual frame (not actual frames). I can see why they had to. Men are easily impressed with big numbers.

What you need to know are the viewing angles and motion resolution because those are the main factors that concerns you.

LCD TVs can produce ~300 lines of motion out of 1080. Panasonic plasmas are capable of 1080 out of 1080 and Samsung plasma are capable of 900 lines out of 1080. So when playing 60fps games, Panasonic and Samsung plasma will provide the cleanest motion.

Due to the nature of the modern AR coating, it restrict vertical viewing angles. It's best to see the TV in person and see how it affects you.

LCDs aren't known for their wide viewing angles but IPS panels do maintain good color and gamma even at extreme angles. However the blacks tend to glow (become brighter), which could be distracting.

You could go with a cheap Panasonic plasma that doesn't have the advanced AR coating or an IPS LCD TV.
Click to expand...

From this post I am getting that Panasonic LED's would provide the best gaming experience with decent movie/entertainment performance?
 
There is no Panasonic LED display unless you're referring to Panasonic LED-LCD.

Panasonic LED-LCDs do use IPS panels. Not sure about the lag tho. If you're set on LCD, I would personally opt for a low-end LG with low lag. Panasonic LCDs are not worth their premium price tag.
 
I am not set on LCD-LED's but every plasma I have seen so far seemed pretty dark compared to LCD's. It may be just the adjustments at the store not sure. How about them sharp's? 60' smart tv 120Hz $1199...
 
how about some of these TV's that offer 240hz 3d with passive glasses. Vizio has a 65' 3d TV and it comes with 4 3d glasses that do not use any battery. Are these things any good? Does it worth the investment? I am wondering if they are an improvement over the old school really heavy battery powered 3d glasses as far as image quality.
I am talking about this TV.
http://www.costco.com/VIZIO-65”-Cla...rt-TV-with-Theater-3D®.product.100019505.html

It has a full size keyboard remote, 4 3d glasses and as a smart Tv, supports Netflix, Amazon video and Hulu+ as well as free video providers. Since I am using this to play mostly internet content not having to worry about having netflix but not hulu, or having Hulu but but not Amazon is a big plus for me.
 
sorry for bumping, I want to make up my mind over the next 24 hours and although I feel like I am a pretty knowledgeable person when it comes to monitors, with tv's i feel lost. With monitors I worry about color reproduction, panel type and quality, resolution, refresh rate maybe input lag a little bit and overall build quality. With televisions there is just so much blob in the advertisements to go through, I mean they list every unnecessary feature except what really matters.

Now I went and looked at bunch of review sites, everyone seems to be plasma/plasma/plasma!!!
 
a word of caution if you consider plasma, this is what most people who recommend plasma don't tell you, or choose not to tell.

all plasma TVs, at least all that are currently on the market, have extremely annoying feature called ABL (auto brightness limiters). this feature is always ON and is not optional, you can't disable it. it's there to save power.

Every time screen displays a lot of bright pixels ABL dims the screen. It's very noticeable in hockey games, or any other content that has a lot of brightness.

so it highly depends on content that you will view on plasma, if it's just mostly dark movies plasma will be perfect, but if you want to watch something, or play a game, with loads of brightness you might get annoyed by ABL really fast.
 
Passive 3D only provides 540 lines per eye and you can see "scanlines" very clearly, which is very distracting. Active 3D is better but flicker puts people off. They pushed 3D before the technology is mature enough.

The Vizo you've posted has LG's IPS panel, so it should be fine viewing from below, but it can only resolve ~300 lines of motion. If you play 60p games using a controller, you'll notice the blur. It may also have PWM induced trailing (basically 2 or more ghost images that closely follows the original). I find it too distracting, which was one of the reasons why I switched to plasma.

ATM Panasonic Plasma is the king. It has the deepest blacks, widest viewing angles (minus some models), accurate colors and 1080 lines of motion.

You could go for the UT50. It has 16ms lag I don't think its dims when viewing from below. Well... the UK model doesn't. You could ask people over at AVSforum regarding the vertical viewing angle.

http://www.costco.com/Panasonic-55"-1080p-Plasma-HDTV-TC-P55UT50.product.100027872.html
 
Last edited:
Glotttis said:
a word of caution if you consider plasma, this is what most people who recommend plasma don't tell you, or choose not to tell.

all plasma TVs, at least all that are currently on the market, have extremely annoying feature called ABL (auto brightness limiters). this feature is always ON and is not optional, you can't disable it. it's there to save power.

Every time screen displays a lot of bright pixels ABL dims the screen. It's very noticeable in hockey games, or any other content that has a lot of brightness.

so it highly depends on content that you will view on plasma, if it's just mostly dark movies plasma will be perfect, but if you want to watch something, or play a game, with loads of brightness you might get annoyed by ABL really fast.
Click to expand...

ABL only kicks at around 90IRE. It can also reduce eye strain, which is ideal for long gaming sessions.

PS: Samsung plasma can be extremely bright. IT has to do with the way its driven.
 
You can set different picture modes if you want on most tvs. Requires manually switching with a button. I have a gamer mode and a default mode. Gamer mode is just a bit brighter.

When positioning your TV for computer use, you have to consider it like a computer monitor. The guy at the TV store says the ideal height is the screen center being center with your eyes.

(However this could just be me.)

This totally doesn't work for a computer monitor TV if you are within 6'. I find myself glancing upwards too much, even though it is perfectly centered with your eyes. I've also noticed my eye height is at the top 75%-85% of most of my monitors, and it feels perfectly normal.
 
Thanks for the reply's. Unfortunately, there is no way for me to have the screen directly in front of me, if I am buying a plasma I am pretty much set on a UT50 or and ST50, but still can't decide if the price premium is something that I want. I don't want to spend all this money on a TV and then go like, bah I should have bought the less expensive one. At the same time, the smallest size I am considering is 60inches and 60 inch ST50 is beyond my price range, at the same time, the 55inch UT50 is $500 cheaper than the 60 inch UT50, soo many decisions.

What if I said screw plasma I am going LED, I am going 60" , what models should I look at?
 
Ok well I am torn between two models.
This is the one I like
A 55inch Samsung LED, no smart TV, no 3d $969 at costco plus $100 for Roku2, total cost 1169+tax
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN55E...TF8&qid=1358301638&sr=8-1&keywords=UN55eh6050

or this one
Panasonic UT50 Plasma $799, has 3D, does not need Roku, so final cost $799 +tax.
http://www.costco.com/Panasonic-55"-1080p-Plasma-HDTV-TC-P55UT50.product.100027872.html

I had the store guy put both of them on some middle ground backlight/brightness setting and connect a blueray player and play the Avengers on it. The LED looked better in my opinion, especially for the blue ray content, it looked like it was specifically tuned for it. I would have bought it on the spot but then I was wondering if the additional cost $269 with roku and no 3D is worth it? Everyone on the internet seems to say that Plasma is better then LED but I fail to see why, i mean yeah the LEd looked a bit more fake and plasma looked a bit more natural but that little fakeness in the LED made the picture much more alive. I did not think I was looking from my window in to a real life picture, yes I could tell that the colors and reflections looked artificially enhnaced but I thought that was what we were looking for in the first place in a blue ray movie :) . I am going to make my choice tomorrow. Can you guys tell me why I would be better off with the Panasonic plasma except the cost?
 
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i would go with EH6000. they are known for having very uniform screens, no backlight bleed or clouding, advantage of backlit screen instead of typical edge lit.
 
Better blacks [4-5 times darker], detailed motion, minimal motion artifacts, no backlight bleeding, greater viewing angles, no gamma shift, low lag etc.

The Panasonic UT50 is superior to the Samsung in every way
 
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