Help a newbie "first flat panel purchase"
kururin -- Thu, 09/20/2007 - 02:38
Can anyone please provide me with some things I need to consider before I by my first flat panel TV weather it be an LCD or a Plasma?
What are the good and the bad I guess and the things i should watch out for?
Thanks
:)
kururin wrote:Can anyone please provide me with some things I need to consider before I by my first flat panel TV weather it be an LCD or a Plasma?
What are the good and the bad I guess and the things i should watch out for?
Thanks
:)
The Buyers Guide section on our site is a good place to start. Check out the articles like "how to choose an HDTV" and "Understanding the Different Video-Display Technologies." Good luck!
http://www.avguide.com/buyers-guides
Best,
Ari
Ari Koinuma
Web Producer
AVguide.com
Thank you very much I appreciate it and will start to read it at soon as I have some time. I guess though it would not indicate brand information?
Unfortunately Im not so educated when it comes to TV brands as Ive always been into DJ equipment. Any advice about brands?
Thanks
Here are a few things to think about:
How far will you be sitting from the TV? This influences the size of screen that would be ideal.
Will you be watching during the day? If so, how well can you control the ambient light in the room? This will influence the decision between LCD and plasma. If you want to watch with lots of ambient light, LCD is normally best.
Do you want to play lots of video games on the TV? If so, LCD may be best.
How much space do you have for the TV?
What is your budget?
Also, please do consult the articles Ari mentioned; they should help a lot.
Scott Wilkinson
Video Editor
The Perfect Vision
Hi, This is Charles here.
I have a plasma from Panasonic, 50 inches, do not know about ambient lights before. If I can control the lights and natural lights, what is the ideal situation I should create for viewing. Should I just put some soft white light bulbs behind the TV?
Many thanks
Thank you scott that is great.
Im starting to get the knowledge I need before my first purchase through all the good info in here.
Can I please ask you to go into more detail with "how far will I be sitting to the screen please" how does this influence the size?
Cheers.
Here's an excerpt that will help:
To determine the best size for your room, you need to know how far from the screen you’ll be sitting. According to SMPTE (the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers), the optimum size for a 16:9 screen is such that it occupies 30° of your horizontal field of view. How does this relate to viewing distance? Simple—the width of the screen should be just about half the viewing distance. More precisely:
screen width = 0.54 x viewing distance
screen diagonal = 0.62 x viewing distance
THX recommends a larger screen that occupies 40° of your horizontal field of view. That means:
screen width = 0.73 x viewing distance
screen diagonal = 0.84 x viewing distance
You can use the formula for the screen’s width or diagonal depending on which dimension is specified by the manufacturer.
At a viewing distance of 10 feet (120 inches), the ideal screen size would be:
SMPTE = 64.8” wide or 74.4” diagonal
THX = 87.6” wide or 100.8” diagonal
Only you can decide which formula, SMPTE or THX, is best for you. Do you like sitting close to the screen in a commercial cinema? If so, go with the THX recommendation. Do you prefer to sit a little farther back? In that case, go with SMPTE.
If you can't fit or afford a screen that large, go with the largest you can.
Scott Wilkinson
Video Editor
The Perfect Vision
Well Im not one to like sitting up close in a comercial cinema thats for sure, in fact I hate it to be honest...Ok thats another fact to add to my list before my purchase. This is great!!!!!! My budget for now will not allow me to get anything real big though, so I will take that into account.
kururin wrote:Well Im not one to like sitting up close in a comercial cinema thats for sure, in fact I hate it to be honest...Ok thats another fact to add to my list before my purchase. This is great!!!!!! My budget for now will not allow me to get anything real big though, so I will take that into account.
It sounds like Scott's latest article called "Where to Start When Buying a HDTV" may have information you're looking for. Check it out, once again, in the Buyers Guide seciton.
http://www.avguide.com/buyers-guides
ari
Ari Koinuma
Web Producer
AVguide.com
pls firstly do research on this forum, look up all releated posts, you can find your answer.
Thank you scott that is great.
Excellent information.Many thanks!
Very informative indeed! :lol:
This post is pretty nice!
I'd support you 100%!!!
Thanks for the info.
I'll check the link. 8)
Read the warranty completely. 2nd nd third tier manufactures warranties usually dont compare with Sony, Panasonic and Samsung. Often times parts arent available or you have to ship the TV back to a regional or antional repair center. Your local Tv repair palce wont be able to get parts.
Many of th big boix stores, Worse Buy, Sort Circuit City and the warehouse clubs may not offer repair services after the warranty runds out.
Such brands as Westinghouse, Insignia, Vizio et all are 2nd and 3rd tier.
And with these brands keep the original box. Shipping can run a few undred dollars so there goes you savings.
Playback really shoud include this type of info with their reviews. A short synoposis of the warranty for each product. Not a one year warranty or 90 days. Would be very helpful in the most recent computer monitor comparision if they also compared warranties. Not including this inof is a disservice to readers of all your pubs. Be a great job for an intern to compile this and run it through legal!
Sheepherder
Shenandoah Valley, VA
It's unfortunate that given the nature of the review process we can't test reliability and ease of repair.
Consumer Union (Consumer Reports) tries to do this, but doesn't succeed.
Longevity and optimal performance windows are difficult for manufacturers to test (if they even bother), but for independent reviewers it's even harder (i.e. virtually impossible). :(
Steven Stone
Contributor to The Absolute Sound, EnjoytheMusic.com, Vintage Guitar Magazine, and other fine publications
I had the same question when I bought my first HD TV few weeks ago - the guys at Home Depot really helped. Basically the main points were that the the Plasma screen sizes are 50" and up, LCD are less than 50". Also, the LCD is better in brighter rooms, lots of natural light, etc. The Plasma is glass so it makes sense that it reflects the glare - best to have it in a home theater or bedroom where it's darker. I ended up going with LCD since we have a lot of windows and tons of natural light - got the UT37X902 from Hitachi and although it was pricey, it's pretty unbelievable, only 1.5 in wide. It seriously looks like a painting on the wall. You can't go wrong with either Plasma or HD, so no worries - after you've had a taste of HD, you can't ever go back!
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