Big TV's [Archive] - Woodwork Forums

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dayvo

24th May 2007, 02:35 AM

Im after some advice
I figured that a reasonable percentage of people that frequent this section may have big TV's
Im looking at buying a 50" TV, so my question/s are
Should I go Plasma or LCD?
Can anyone who replies detail why you would choose one over the other?
Regards
Dave

Skew ChiDAMN!!

24th May 2007, 02:56 AM

Hmmm...

Plasma vs LCD: Which is right for you? (http://www.cnet.com.au/tvs/0,239035250,240036500,00.htm)
Plasma vs LCD: Six things you need to know (http://www.cnet.com.au/tvs/0,239035250,339273215,00.htm)
Plasma vs. LCD (http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/features/779/plasma-vs-lcd.html)

...and google 'plasma vs lcd tv' for plenty more... :)

la Huerta

24th May 2007, 08:43 AM

was in taking to a pro vision guy the other day and he says that LCD are best if you use for mainly Xbox, games, PC as well as some movies...

and Plasma if you don't do games and prefer movies and HDTV...

i don't play games at all so plasma would be my choice...

there lifespan is about the same too...

plasma is cheaper than LCD, especially in the 50in size...look around , pick the model you like and can afford and shop around for the best deal, there can be a few hundred $$$ difference between stores on the same brand, use the savings to get an extended warranty...

ask the guys in each store about the ins and outs of the models, they will be more than happy to explain what you get for you money...

hope this helps

Poloris

24th May 2007, 09:09 PM

I'm very happy with our 101cm LCD TV.
One of the things that influenced our decision to buy a LCD was the amount of light that would be reflected of it from a large window behind the viewing position.
Our previous CRT TV resembled a Piet Mondrain abstract painting at times, due to reflections.
In the stores the plasmas are always kept away from windows, however the LCD TVs have no such problems, they reflect very little light.
On the plus side for the plasma is the bright picture and great detail in the shadow areas.
I have not owned a plasma, so my opinion will be of limited value.
I'm sure there is plenty of websites the can inform you of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Poloris

la Huerta

25th May 2007, 12:04 AM

I'm very happy with our 101cm LCD TV.
One of the things that influenced our decision to buy a LCD was the amount of light that would be reflected of it from a large window behind the viewing position.

Poloris

if plasma has reflection problems then go with the LCD, with daylight saving here in summer, it would be anoying if i was watching Inspecter Rex on a couple of grands worth of telly and i could'nt see the picture properly...:~

joez

26th May 2007, 09:01 AM

The reflexion problems depend on the finish as well, some models have a high gloss piano finish that will reflect more than others.

In the 50inch sizes your looking $4-5K for a good plasma and perhaps $8Kish for a LCD.

Personally I find LCD picture to hard for my eyes and I dont have a spare 8K :(

I have just been looking for a unit and from what I have seen I like the Pioneer (suposedly the best but the most reflective screen) , phillips (fancy backlighting, good screen, not sold by as many retailers) and there is a new panasonic which stacks up pretty well against the Pioneer (great screen, ugly looking imo).

Dont forget to compare warrantys when comparing units, the pioneer has a 5 year warranty and you might be up for an extra $600 to extend it with another manufacturer. I have heard a lot of horror storey about unit dying after 12 months, so I think an extended wty is a good idea.

There is also a deal on the 60inch LG's at the moment, they were 10K a few months ago but LG are dumping them (no one wanted one for 10K) and you can pick them up for 4.5K-5K! I am undecided on these plasmas though, sometimes the picture looks great other times it looks crap.

If you can find one there are 55inch hitachi's which look pretty good and have a motorised swivell base, apparently there are not longer being made, but there quiet a few still around.

I am about 2 months away from getting a new set, but i'll probably end up getting the panasonic.

joez

la Huerta

26th May 2007, 09:24 AM

unless you have a money tree in the backyard i can't justify spending up in the range of $8k on a tv, you could go to the movies a lot of times for that..

good quality 42in sets are now available for around $2k, a more realistic price for the normal tv/movie watcher, i saw a Samsung the other day, one of there new shapes, (glossy surround, v-shape bottom and round disc base) it was a stunning sexy piece of design, a lot nicer looking plasma than any other brand, picture was great, good warranty, long hr life, best of all it was only $1900...

how long do you really want to keep it for too, i mean in 7-10yrs time they'll be so much more advanced that the ones now, so why not by a cheaper one then upgrade once in a while for the latest model...

dayvo

29th May 2007, 10:19 AM

la Huerta

29th May 2007, 10:23 AM

HappyHammer

29th May 2007, 11:53 AM

Thanks for the input guys
Ive decided Im going with the plasma
http://panasonic.com.au/products/details.cfm?objectID=3406
This one has just become the superseded model, but I can pick one up for just
under $3k:D
Regards
dayvo
I've got that one Dayvo and very happy with it. We chose Plasma over LCD for a much simpler reason. We have two kids 6 and 4 and decided that a glass front would be a good idea due to the odd projectile in our house. We have it on the stand on a corner unit where the sun has no impact so haven't experienced reflection issue.:2tsup:

Just one tip make sure you use the straps that screw into the top of your tv cabinet, these are to prevent it toppling forward should it get a knock.:C

Also get the supplier to install if possible or get a friend round they are very heavy and you don't want to drop it.:o

HH.

Gumby

29th May 2007, 01:02 PM

I'd say that is a wise choice too. We have a 42" JVC Plasma and very happy with the picture. Just don't hook up an X Box or similar. The burn in problems they cause Plasma TV's is a problem.

They have a tendancy to emit a slight buzzing noise from the back and in some cases it can be loud enough to be annoying. It's a similar sound to that made by a fluoro tube, only louder. Panasonic is a good brand. You need to stick to the Japanese made Plasma panels for the moment.

They are getting cheaper all the time. It will be lees than $2K next year, but If you keep waiting, you'll never get one. I'm not a huge TV fan but the footy, cricket etc is amazing.

soundman

30th May 2007, 10:45 PM

This is an interesting time to be buying a flat panel TV...... I would say, if you can delay your purchase.... you will find things change shortly

the price point crossover between plasma and LCD currently sits arround 42"
the prices are changing weekly.
I do work for a company that sells mostly to commercial users.... this time last year plasma was the go anywhere above 30 inch

i looked thru some price lists while I was working thru some quotes with my contact and prices are steadily dropping.... I was dumfounded..... I remember when a 42"plasma was $12k
Now LCD is something you have to consider.

also consider this
a 50 inch plasma will use up to 600 watts...... thats a lot of heat and a serious consideration in running cost.... an LCD will consume a fraction of that.

If we are going into a commercial client with multiple units the heating load and electricity cost is a real factor in their decision.

Oh LCD's bounce a littel better than plasmas (not much but a little) plasmas dont bounce at all.

On the other hand there are some screaming deals on plasma at the moment... I have seen 42" for $1400 retail.....low res units admittedly but still.

Be carefull you are comparing apples with apples too..... check out the resolution.

I agree LCD can look quite agressive...... but like anything you have to adjust them corectly.

I have 2 new LG monitors that I;m typing on at the moment.... when they came out of the box they were so bright I could hardly look at them.... I'm running the brightness on about 24% & i'm seeing if I get used to it.... probaly a bit bright still at night.

have a real good look arround, and wait if you can.

cheers

Mick C.

31st May 2007, 12:15 AM

As a matter of interest, the power consumption for a Plasma may not necessarily be the full amount quoted by the manufacturer, but for LCD this is certainly the case!

The reason is that Plasma works by being a light source and as such will have times of higher power consumption ( lots of light output ) and times of very low power consumption ( low level light output ) and the average of this will be the consumption of the unit.

By comparision an LCD is generating its full light output potential all the time ( via the backlighting ) and the scene ( picture ) brightness changes are done by the LCD being a "filter" of sorts obstructing the light being able to be seen from the unit. Its actually runing all the time but you only get to see the bits you need to.

Another consideration is that Plasma doesnt have a limited "view angle" like LCD. Because Plasma is a light source you get to see what is on and what isnt. But with LCD it kinda works in reverse in that you only get to see the bits of light that get through the LCD filter, it only lets you see the bits you need to, rather than the whole lot, the LCD filter works on polarization which is also what is responsible for the limited "view angle" quoted for LCD. This can very much be a consideration depending on your room layout...:)

cucus

31st May 2007, 12:21 AM

great for sports and the likes of action movies , and your choice of a viera plasma panel is brilliant, but if you haven't already bought one , wait and get the new model has better contrast, black levels and candelbras. Does not have the recording sd card capabilties, but get a Dmrex75 to go with for all your recording capabilities, followed by a Crest HDMI cable at about $79 cheap but better than spending a fortune on something that does the same job, this will also upscaling to 1080i for top quality dvd playback without a blu ray 1080p price tag, good luck

soundman

31st May 2007, 11:52 AM

[QUOTE=Mick C.;519758]As a matter of interest, the power consumption for a Plasma may not necessarily be the full amount quoted by the manufacturer, but for LCD this is certainly the case!

The reason is that Plasma works by being a light source and as such will have times of higher power consumption ( lots of light output ) and times of very low power consumption ( low level light output ) and the average of this will be the consumption of the unit.

By comparision an LCD is generating its full light output potential all the time ( via the backlighting ) and the scene ( picture ) brightness changes are done by the LCD being a "filter" of sorts obstructing the light being able to be seen from the unit. Its actually runing all the time but you only get to see the bits you need to.

[QUOTE]

The power consumption of an LCD may also not be as high as quoted.... it will be dependent on the "set" brightness of the backlight.

More correctly the power consumption of a plasma will be dependent on both the average brightness of the programe being displayed and the brightness setting of the machine....... it will therefore vary with programe.
Regardles of what you might read.. plasmas produce a lot of heat... that has to mean the consume a proportunate amount of energy.
ventilation is a real consideration when installing a plasma..... much less so with LCD

the power consumption of an LCD will be largely dependent on the brightness setting of the backlight ( various methods of manipulation considered) but will be largly constant.

I note ... if you have been reading the panasonic blurb..... they most certainly are "pro plasma" because they have some of the most competitive plasma screens on the market.

There are other manufactures who are very much more competitive in LCD.

some people make a big deal of the viewing angle thing..... for many domestic applications... this is prety irrelivant as the viewer sits directly in front of the screen.... the remainder of the " home theatre experience" will be pretty dodgy if you are out at a wide viewing angle.

the contrast thing... yeh all right.... but for most people they wont notice or care.. apart from the fact that most of our living rooms are pretty bright these days and a lot of our viewing is done daytime with curtains open.
this tends to tip the ballance in favor of a LCD.

then there is the colour.... plasma is suposed to render more and better colours...... again most people will not see or notice the difference.

With a lot of this stuff it is realy a personal choice dependent on your perception and how fussy you are.

it is still a close run thing between plasma and LCD when the price is ignored.
the two technologies have their advantages & disadvantages.
Additionaly the technology and the price changes weekly... if you are fussy it is no longer ( and never realy was) a matter of comparing plasma with LCD.... but comparing individual offerings and individual machines.

be aware also that certain ( well most) sellers of this sort of equipment will have brands and models that they stock and favour.

Adding another complication to the mix... if you want a big picture... projection is a much cheaper way to get a BIG picture..... as long as you have a suitable projection path and a mounting point.
Hell I;ve installed a few mitsubishi 3500 lumin machines of late & they are very nice & go for about $3200 retail..... on a 2.4 metre screen they look good.... not quite " daylight viewable" but pretty damn close.

certainly in this market you need to look carefully if making a " good decision" is important to you...... dont believe anything a salesman tells you... read the specifications and use your eyes & ears.
there is a big variability in the products offered.

cheers

joez

31st May 2007, 01:52 PM

Soundman what model mitsubishis have you been installing?

I was thinking about getting a HC3100, interested to hear your opinion on it.

Also is there anything (must be wife friendly ie small) you'd recommend as a speaker system? I was thinking about a bose lifestyle system but a lot of techos bag it..

thanks
joez

Shedhand

31st May 2007, 02:39 PM

Slightly off topic maybe but I've just made my first foray into the world of non-CRT viewing. I bought a Kogan 50cm LCD HD Widescreen panel for my bedroom. It comes with a free wall mounting unit worth $79. Doesn't have HDMI but no need for that in the bedroom. Paid $375 + insured freight for it on Kogan Direct (http://stores.ebay.com.au/Kogan-Direct) at eBay. 12 month on site warranty (extendable to 3 or 5 year). So far they have been great to deal with (answer emails within a couple of hours) though they won't be shipping until 27th June. I'll report on it when I hook it up.
Anyone have any experience with the brand (the owner was featured on the horrible Today/Tonight show a couple of weeks ago).
Usual disclaimer.
Cheers

soundman

1st June 2007, 12:00 AM

the mitsubishis i've been hanging up lately have been XD490U.

bear in mind my work is mostly commercial... the 490u is a good solid machine with the features we look for like 2 vga inputs.....
and we are usualy looking for reasonably grunty machines.
In a home with subdued lighting even 1500 lumens looks bright.... hell we used to do ballrooms with 1500 lumens on a 12 x 9.

I do not try and keep up with all the various models.... If I did it would be a full time job just doing that.

I wouldnt call the 490u tiny...... but hell its smaller that an old sony 3 tube.

one thing I do like about the mitsubishi machines is that there spec does more closely resemble reality than most.
also their menue system remains consistent from machine to machine.... so you only have to learn one menu system.

as for speakers
Bose have never been and will never be an audiophile speaker...... they are designed to look good and sound pleasant to the average joe (not necessarily this joe).
generlay most people wont notice the limitations of bose till they hear something else next to it.

there are heaps of speaker systems out there

and some very good value for money.

check out the Proson AB product... they sound very good for the money you pay and they look very funky.

cheers

Shedhand

1st June 2007, 01:16 AM

My SIL put a Bose Lifestyle System in his new place during construction (all the cabling is hidden). I thought WOW when I saw it but then I played an Eric Clapton DVD through it. Very ordinary I must say. Then I played some Beethoven through it. Still ordinary. My Yamaha stereo amp with 8 ohm Jamo speakers and fat O2-free cables in the shed pumps out a better sound IMHO. :wink:

soundman

1st June 2007, 07:09 PM

yeh well
I wouldn't consider a little lifestye system gods gift to home theatre. they are designed to be a little inconspicuous system that gives a bit of a "surround experience".
Bose have a variety of heavier systems than that, so being fair to bose, not the fault of the lifestyle system.

this brings up an important point.
In this day and age.... pre cabling the house is more important than selecting the equipment.
Which goes against the way people want to buy and sales types want to sell.
(for most people) There is nothing imotive about wires. but this is where the money needs to be spent and the carefull thaught is needed.

Now the HIFI jokers will try to sell you all sorts of very high priced cables.
Having good basic, adequate cable is what is "needed".

I did the areial component of an installation years ago where the shop had sold the customer "Midnight Cable" at $70 a meter for a rumpas room instalation ... just rediculous.

Same company used to direct import its own brand of speaker cable from tiwan... and sell it at $7.50 per meter I was selling a cable I baught form one of thr wholesalers that was twice as heavy at $4.50 a metre and making good margin.
This was 15 years ago.

Now this "oxygen fee" thing. A friend of mine direct imports cable for the AV industry.... he was getting government specs that called for oxygen fee cable.
None of his cable was claimed as being or marked as being "oxygen free" so he spoke to his supplier
(You have to hear this in an asian voice to get the full effect)
His supplier said " oxygen free... of course its oxygen free... what sort of rubbish do you think we make here"
So he made sure the next batch had oxygen free written large on the jacket.

this oxygen fee thing became an issue way back in the early eighties when a lot of cheap patch cables were made from recycled copper, or low grade poorly refined copper.

I doubt if "oxygen free" is real an issue these days.

I notice that nobody much is marking their cables with arrows to show which way the electricity should flow these days.:D

Any good heavy piece of wire should do fine for speaker cable realy.

cheers

Shedhand

1st June 2007, 07:44 PM

Now the HIFI jokers will try to sell you all sorts of very high priced cables.
Having good basic, adequate cable is what is "needed".Yep, par for the course.
I did the areial component of an installation years ago where the shop had sold the customer "Midnight Cable" at $70 a meter for a rumpas room instalation ... just rediculous.LOL

Any good heavy piece of wire should do fine for speaker cable realy.

cheersHang on just gotta straighten out some coat hangers. :D

ger

10th June 2007, 11:39 PM

Go to the following forum
it is the best in OZ to find out
about LCD's. Plasmas, Digital boxes etc

http://www.dtvforum.info/

soundman

12th June 2007, 11:58 AM

Yep, par for the course.LOL
Hang on just gotta straighten out some coat hangers. :D

HMMM..... not quite what I had in mind.:rolleyes:

I know of a bloke that had a historical cinema installation, with a bug pair of western electric speakers.......to keep with the historical value, he kept the #8 fencing wire that wired up the crossovers in place:no:

cheers

lnt9000

19th June 2007, 11:19 PM

Sorry dayvo, I'm a little late and you have obviously bought one, but for the rest of yous, If your not in an all fired up hurry just wait a bit longer, Although I've dropped out of the industry now I had the missfortune of servicing the current array of big screens and am very aware of their short comings, however there is a new concept developed here in aussie set to revolutionize the system, one word " Laser TV "
Here's a link, or just google....
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20556847-2,00.html

Shedhand

20th June 2007, 12:03 AM