I need to buy a new 26 inch TV (we have Comcast cable, but not HDTV and don't want HDTV). I just came from Best Buy. There are two kinds of TVs... LCD and Plasma.( It sounds like VHS vs. Beta all over again!!)
I don't know one from the other and both are about the same price.
What do you folks have? What do you recommend? What's the difference?
LCD is better in a well-light room. Plasma has a wider angle for viewing.
Def want to get 1080, otherwise you will have jerky motion. Then look for contrast -- how black is black. Finally, ask if the tv comes with a wall-mount. Chances are it has a stationary one, but the salesman will try to sell you a $100 mount that swivels.
If you do mount it on wall, or ceiling above the bed (great when she's riding cowboy and you got your fav video running), pay a handyman $100 instead of $$$ to Geeksquad.
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Hey Frank, Your goat's are inspirational!
Hmmm, not interested in HDTV; that is rare. Well you are likely going to buy a set that is equipped for this regardless, as there simply is no mkt for any mfg to build a set that is non-HDTV today.
I have both, plasma and LCD sets. Plasma is by far the best viewing pleasure, but since you don't have HDTV the plasma will look too grainy and you wouldn't be using the capability that you will have... Kind of like the equivilent of buying a modern day automobile with the objective that you don't ever plan to drive faster than 10 mph... so you certainly wouldn't purchasing a high performance vehicle. However, in the TV world, all that is offered is high performance, so to speak.
So I would suggest that you stay with the LCD... I would also suggest that you look at a Vizio brand, as the seem to offer great quality for a low price... (no reason to ednorse them and I don't personally own one, but if I were buying today, I would be looking exclusively at Vizio, based on what I have seen of price and quality).
I concur with the 1080dpi suggestion, although again, w/o HDTV you won't be using the capability. Also another thought is that with todays pricing a 32" might be as inexpensive as a 26" LCD. I would stay away from lesser known brands... you will quickly be able to see tone, tint and color differences.
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"A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him." David Brinkley
We just purchased two new TV's at Best Buy. A Samsung 26" and 37". There were no plazma 26" TV's by any manufacture and only one between 30" and 39", Insigna 32" 720 Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV. All of the rest were LCD TV's.
The 37" is 1080 but I didn't see any 26" that were 1080, they were all 720. Not that Best Buy is by any means the only place to shop nor do they carry every brand. I do find it curious that they don't carry a large selection of plasma TV's under 40" if they are available.
We also switched from Dish Network to Direct TV. (Dish is a lot nicer in my opinion.) When the guy came to install Direct TV he suggested that we run both TV's at 720 and only use 1080 if watching sporting events like baseball. He said that at 720 a moving ball will look blurred but at 1080 it will be a lot more clear. He also said that there will be programs that will look better at a setting lower than 720.
I have found that most of the programs we watch are much clearer and the picture is superior at 720. Moving to 1080 doesn't give as clear a picture on several stations. There hasn't been any "jerky motion" on any channel when set at 720.
The pictures on both Samsung's are outstanding. However, the sound leaves a little bit to be desired. They both sound kind of tinny when using the speakers on the TV. We purchased a Boes sound system for the 37" and Sony for both 26"and the sound is now outstanding. I highly recommend the Samsung's.
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Last edited by Frank Stastny : 12-30-2008 at 08:16 PM.
Nothing is broadcast 1080, so the 720 is all you need. I have both and see no difference. I am told that blueray is 1080 and that is about the only thing right now that is.
Plasma general tracks fast motion better than LCD and has nothing to do with 1080 or 720, but rather with the refresh rate or pixel response rate . I have a 55" Panasonic Plasma that I got at Costco and a 56" JVC DLP I got at Sams. The JVC is 1080 and the Plasma is 720. I run DirecTV HD into both of them and the picture is great on both.
A quote:
Plasma pundits will also tell you that some LCD screens have a tendency to blur images, particularly during fast moving scenes in movies or in sports. While that was true for older generation LCD screens, newer models have improved significantly -- so much so that the differences in performance between LCDs and plasmas in this regard is almost negligible (here's a tip -- if you're shopping for LCDs, check the pixel response time, measured in ms. The lower it is, the better the image quality in fast moving scenes).
1080i, HDTV, actually boasts an identical 1,920 x 1,080 resolution but conveys the images in an interlaced format (the i in 1080i). In a tube-based television, otherwise known as a CRT, 1080i sources get "painted" on the screen sequentially: The odd-numbered lines of resolution appear on your screen first, followed by the even-numbered lines--all within 1/30 of a second. Progressive-scan formats such as 480p, 720p, and 1080p convey all of the lines of resolution sequentially in a single pass, which makes for a smoother, cleaner image, especially with sports and other motion-intensive content.
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Chuck
If you think your boss is stupid, remember: you wouldn't have a job if he was any smarter.”
I have a 55" Panasonic Plasma that I got at Costco and a 56" JVC DLP I got at Sams.
D@mn Patch... you be da man there wit 111" of Plasma TV, between those two beasts. Most folks would kill for one, let alone a set of twins; (one for each eye).
I got one of the early 50" Phillips Plasma TV's back when you could buy either the TV or a compact car with the same money. Amazing how the price has come down in 5 years.
D@mn Patch... you be da man there wit 111" of Plasma TV, between those two beasts. Most folks would kill for one, let alone a set of twins; (one for each eye).
I got one of the early 50" Phillips Plasma TV's back when you could buy either the TV or a compact car with the same money. Amazing how the price has come down in 5 years.
The JVC is a newer projection type DLP. They are very thin, less than 18", and way lighter than the plasma. The picture is as good as it could possibly need to be on either the 1080 or the 720, and until they start broadcasing in 1080 on HD, the 720's are all you get anyway was my original point.
BTW, they are not both in the same room
My favorite toy when it comes to TV is the HD-DVR. I no longer ever watch commercials. Unless I fall asleep, I Fast Forward through commercials, so some of the network shows are watchable. An hour show on the network is about 40 minutes long. We start watching a show at least 15 minutes into it and that way I can Fast Forward thru the commercials and pause for the snack and toilet breaks.
Once piece of good news is that either one is really a beautiful screen. By most accounts plasma seems to be a little better and the only downside is that it is subject to "burn-in" so if you play a lot of video games, watch 24 hour news, etc a lot you will probably not be a satisfied customer after a while.
Both burn out quickly and require a fix a 2-3 years.
Yah, but they make new ones...
You are right, they can or do go quickly... My 50" plasma went out 2 weeks before its first anniv.... still under warranty, so it was fixed w/o cost, but not before it took several attempts and 9 weeks to get it done. Worst of all it was during football season. I was ready to kill someone over that issue, and NO loaner either. I would have been far better had I waited a couple of weeks to report it and collected on the extended warranty... But yes, each are more tempermental than earlier TV's.
I just ran across this detailed comparison of Plasma vs. LCD the other day... avail at the link below.
1080 is better than 720. P is better than I. Check out 6ave.com for some great deals. No sales tax which is always cool. The 720P should be perfect for you. With 720P, all the pixels refresh at the same time whereas 720i, the pixels are interlaced. The even numbers refresh, then the odd numbers refresh. Makes a blotchy picture. 720P all day man.
1080 is better than 720. P is better than I. Check out 6ave.com for some great deals. No sales tax which is always cool. The 720P should be perfect for you. With 720P, all the pixels refresh at the same time whereas 720i, the pixels are interlaced. The even numbers refresh, then the odd numbers refresh. Makes a blotchy picture. 720P all day man.
He said he wants to buy one with a 26" screen. How many different companies make a 26" plasma?
I need to buy a new 26 inch TV (we have Comcast cable, but not HDTV and don't want HDTV). I just came from Best Buy. There are two kinds of TVs... LCD and Plasma.( It sounds like VHS vs. Beta all over again!!)
I don't know one from the other and both are about the same price.
What do you folks have? What do you recommend? What's the difference?
Just get yourself one of the Panasonic Viera 42 or 50 inch sets, and call it a day!
TV: Plasma Vs LCD?
Linear Mode
