Wanna Buy A Plasma

[daclassicgamingmaster]

fuck the gaming rig i planned on getting months ago, this is more to my liking atm.


I narrowed it down to brand, preferably Samsung, as the picture and overall reviews seem to be absolutely amazing.


A few questions:

Which is better for me (price range is up to $2,400 USD btw)- a plasma, or flat panel LCD? I want a HDTV. The size is probably going to be a 42 incher as anything more than that I pay more for unless I take a dip in quality. Plus it has to fit in my room .


I also dont know what the crap means like "Integrated ATSC Tuner" and all the other abbreviations mean. Any help? I plan on getting this not only to have in my room, but for the next gen systems which look THAT much better on it.


peace.

 

[Fishbong]

Get a LCD. Less power consumption, less heat production, no noise, longer durability etc.

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

Get a LCD. Less power consumption, less heat production, no noise, longer durability etc.

aah, really? So what's the alure of the plasma?

 

[pantera6]

Get a LCD. Less power consumption, less heat production, no noise, longer durability etc.

aah, really? So what's the alure of the plasma?

http://www.avforums.com/forums/index.php
they really helped me when i bought my hd lcd.
i heard plasmas arnt great for videogaming because of screen burn.
i also think that LCD technology is more advanced than plasma

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

good site but :wacko:

heading over to best buy today hopefully to narrow down all my info to one samsung model with size, etc. Then I'll source out a great price over the internet.


edit: that thing about the screen burn ive heard before. Thanks for reminding me, seems LCD is the way to go.

If I get a HDTV, i dont need any special cable service or anything do I? I dont want extra expenses.

 

[ste_167]

I found the Samsungs to stand out in the LCD world too so you're making a good choice. Keep an eye on the contrast ratio, it varies. If you're getting a very good price it's likely that the contrast isn't as high. Also, double check the resolution of your model.

In fact, once I've looked into the finer details, many of the cheap deals on the internet aren't as good as they seem. With a bit of in-shop bargaining, I expect you could almost match an online price, plus not have any worries about sending back a massive faulty unit.

HDTV costs extra in the UK on Sky. Premium prices at the moment. It's put me off buying an HDTV for now as 'normal' tv looks worse on them in my opinion, (you notice the lower quality broadcast compression more) and by the time HDTV is widely broadcast, the price of an LCD TV will have come right down.

I'd really take the advice to read up about your purchase on those forums, as there's alot of sales-spin going around at the moment. I suppose you could argue though that 'if it looks good, why do I need to know anything else about it' and that's a perfectly valid point. Go and ogle them in the flesh!

Take a look at the Phillips TV's too, they seem very sharp.

 

[pantera6]

good site but :wacko:

heading over to best buy today hopefully to narrow down all my info to one samsung model with size, etc. Then I'll source out a great price over the internet.


edit: that thing about the screen burn ive heard before. Thanks for reminding me, seems LCD is the way to go.

If I get a HDTV, i dont need any special cable service or anything do I? I dont want extra expenses.

i went to a shop aswell to narrow down my choice in LCD.
Don't expect much, the quality on all TV's are terrible, because they cant be bothered to make a propper set up so they have one ariel for all the TV's. i have heard that nearly all stores are like this.
Yes the samsungs are good, but i heard the sony's are the best.
sony's are also more futur proof, as in 2hdmi sockets, and the new x series(i think thats what its called) is meant to be great

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

Well, when I was in Atlanta I decided since we had the day off from looking at houses, that I wanted to check out the local Best Buy, as their prices are pretty reasonable and they have a good selection. I had done the same thing with my 24" toshiba that I'm using now, mainly because I needed specific measurements so It could fit in a cabinet. I figured it was probably a good idea to do the same thing again.


So I saw the goods in Atlanta, now Im going in with a pad to see which model is the one I plan to buy.


Still wondering whether or not I can enjoy Hi Def quality (or close to it) with a regular cable provider..... It's not the only TV in my house, and I have some regular ones as well. I wouldnt want to have to get a specific service to get nice quality because the other TVs would suffer from the Hi Def signals because they arent Hi Def!

 

[pantera6]

Well, when I was in Atlanta I decided since we had the day off from looking at houses, that I wanted to check out the local Best Buy, as their prices are pretty reasonable and they have a good selection. I had done the same thing with my 24" toshiba that I'm using now, mainly because I needed specific measurements so It could fit in a cabinet. I figured it was probably a good idea to do the same thing again.


So I saw the goods in Atlanta, now Im going in with a pad to see which model is the one I plan to buy.


Still wondering whether or not I can enjoy Hi Def quality (or close to it) with a regular cable provider..... It's not the only TV in my house, and I have some regular ones as well. I wouldnt want to have to get a specific service to get nice quality because the other TVs would suffer from the Hi Def signals because they arent Hi Def!

defintaly get a high definition.
a reular LCD will just suck, im sorry but its true. it will have the same faults as all LCD's and will not be futurproof

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

bah you still arent answering my question!!


Do I need a specific cable provider for the high definition, or will a regular one still look OK on my new lcd!?

 

[pantera6]

bah you still arent answering my question!!


Do I need a specific cable provider for the high definition, or will a regular one still look OK on my new lcd!?

no you wont need any other new cables. the samsung has like 2 scarts and a componant in and the usual stuff youll find on a crt, only difference is there two hdmi sockets aswell.
and if you sit the recomended distance away from the tv while playing video games through scart, they will look the same. if you sit to close, yes they would look better on a crt

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

argh, no, a PROVIDER :rolleyes:


An ordinary provider is OK? Or is there a special SERVICE I need!


I searched through wikipedia, and found something on "integrated atsc tuner". I also read about hi def units :huh: and antennas.....what will I need? If I get a samsung with an integrated tuner, do I need a separate hi def unit or a special antenna?

 

[nickspoon]

Hehe, pantera, you're entirely missing the point. He means cable as in the cable TV service. That I don't know, but in the UK you pay extra for Sky HD.

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

Hehe, pantera, you're entirely missing the point. He means cable as in the cable TV service. That I don't know, but in the UK you pay extra for Sky HD.

im curious. since most people have more than 1 TV in the house, and odds are they all arent Hi Def thousand dollar ones , does sky HD work OK on regular sets? I ask this because the answer is probably the same for the US providers.

 

[sam fisher]

Hehe, pantera, you're entirely missing the point. He means cable as in the cable TV service. That I don't know, but in the UK you pay extra for Sky HD.

im curious. since most people have more than 1 TV in the house, and odds are they all arent Hi Def thousand dollar ones , does sky HD work OK on regular sets? I ask this because the answer is probably the same for the US providers.

Well, the Sky HD box allows you too watch non highdef aswell. Hope that helps.

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

just checked out Comcast, which will most likely be my provider. Im just worried that Ill spend 2 grand on something that I wont be happy with. Im sure im wrong though, and its not as complicted as i think.

 

[pantera6]

damn
this really isnt my day today
well on the internet atleast, everything else is fine.
mmmmmm

 

[iignotus]

If you're getting a TV smaller than 40", buy an LCD. If it's larger than that, buy a Plasma. I personally like LCDs in the 32" range.

Make sure it supports 720p/i -- 1080p/i is irrelevant in the lifetime of any TV you purchase soon.

You need a special provider with HD service in order to get true HD quality television channels. You also need a special receiver that will use a HD interface, most likely HDMI. Make sure your LCD TV supports that.

Look for high contrast ratios and low response times. Those are the most important things. Brightness is a distant third. 400:1, 10ms, and 250cd/m^2, respectively, are the lowest I would accept.

As with all costly items, always view the TV you think you want to purchase in person before buying it. If that means spending an extra $200 on the ticket price by going somewhere like Best Buy, so be it. It is a royal fucking pain in the ass to RMA a 100lb 32" LCD TV.

Hope that helps. Of course, I could just be talking out of my ass

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

here we go, answers!


yep, 40" is MOST likely going to be the size. I've dealt with comcast briefly and had a few questions answered as well. Seems they do offer HDTV broadcasts, but as you stated I need a receiver. That's fine I suppose.


I'll be able to watch non-HD television too, right? Im sure that's a yes, but ill confirm.


Headed over to best buy soon. I'll hopefully have a choice by later today and I'll post it.


Finally, my bootleg dvds wont look nice on this new TV, right? Will they be watchable, or a complete abomination of pixels and snow? Curious about that.

 

[nickspoon]

DVDs will look slightly better than regular TV, but nowhere near as good as HD TV. They'll probably be slightly but not very noticeably blurred, and certainly not pixellated.

HDTVs support normal TV with scaling. It won't look excellent, as the TV has to scale up. In general the colour will be a bit less defined, and the image less sharp than it would do on a normal TV. This is in my experience and is my personal opinion, etc. etc.