The best type of TV?

[MythicFrost]

Hi,

I'm looking to purchase a good flatscreen TV to mount on a wall sometime in the future; I'd like to know what the best kind of TV is? I see screen types like LCD, Plasma, etc., what should I look for to determine a good TV?

My current flatscreen isn't great, it's a Sharp Aquos (not sure the model), I think it only supports 1080i (not p); it constantly looks blurry, even from a distance, I think it
s some kind of Crystal/Plasma TV, etc.

 

[liquidsuns]

I highly recommend an LED Samsung. I have one (I forget which model), 46 inches, and it's great.

 

[MythicFrost]

I highly recommend an LED Samsung. I have one (I forget which model), 46 inches, and it's great.

Ah, thanks, is LED > LCD?

 

[rnelan7]

Ah, thanks, is LED > LCD?

LED is the type of back lighting that the set uses. Typical sets uses CCFL to illuminate the LCD screen. LED and CCFL are just different methods to back light a LCD screen. If you are looking for the best overall picture then go with a plasma set. Plasma have great black levels and the motion blur is non existent.

 

[CWallace]

I have two Sharp Aquos (sic) 40" 120Hz 1080p LCD TVs and find their picture quality to be exceptional.

 

[MythicFrost]

LED is the type of back lighting that the set uses. Typical sets uses CCFL to illuminate the LCD screen. LED and CCFL are just different methods to back light a LCD screen. If you are looking for the best overall picture then go with a plasma set. Plasma have great black levels and the motion blur is non existent.

I see, so Plasma is the best? Does a plasma screen have LED or CCFL backlighting? Or can it be either?

I have two Sharp Aquos (sic) 40" 120Hz 1080p LCD TVs and find their picture quality to be exceptional.

I see, I think my model is old.

I find if I look close at the screen (or even far away) with a TV show, etc., paused, the pixels wobble, I.E, some pixels look like they are moving ever so slightly and I can't stand that.

 

[rnelan7]

Plasma is neither LED or CCFL. I found an article that explains it all very well, it is fairly recent also.

"Plasma screens are made up of rows of plasma cells, with each cell representing one pixel of picture resolution. Within each cell you get red, green and blue phosphors, a device for supplying current, and a gas that glows when fed that current. Each separate pixel is thus self-illuminating, rather than passively lit as is the case with LCD-based screens. "

 

[ecschwarz]

If you're on a budget, LG makes some pretty nice TVs, often with a slightly lower price than Samsung. I have a year-old 32" LCD model that's serving me nicely (it's only 720p), but we bought some 1080p models for work and they're a great value and are supposedly pretty reliable (LG's LCD panels are found in a number of other manufacturer's products, including some Apple products).

That being said, the plasma/LED-backlit LCD/CFFL-backlit LCD/Full-blown LED debate is more of a personal preference - each have their strengths and weaknesses.

 

[milbournosphere]

I've been very happy with my samsung HDTV. I would recommend them as a brand.

 

[Rootus]

Definitely decide type before you decide brand; the best manufacturer for each is different.

In absolute picture quality, where you can control outside variables (ambient light, for example), plasma kicks ass. LCD will never beat plasma; OLED will probably best it, but that's years off yet.

What it'll really come down to is your particular viewing situation. If you can't control ambient light, or you don't want to, then you can get LCD screens that are brighter than plasma and have matte screens. Plasmas all have glass screens, which is very reflective.

Plasmas tend to be less expensive. And heavier (due to the aforementioned glass screen). Older plasmas were energy guzzlers, newer ones aren't bad.

Oh, and don't get hung up on resolution. If you can save significant money by getting a 720p screen, and you're buying something less than 55", go for it. Little content is actually 1080p yet, and it takes a very large screen for the differences between 720p and 1080p to become apparent.

 

[BlackMangoTree]

I have the Series 8 Samsung LCD 55" and a Panasonic NeoPlasma 50"

They both produce amazing picture can't go wrong with either though if i could only keep one it would be the Plasma it does have the better picture, not by much but it does look better the whites and blacks look far more realistic.

Another thing i found the Plasma to be far more forgiving with poor quality video. Poor video actually looks far better on the Plasma

Like someone above said LG to make nice TV if your on a tight budget. Their latest Plasmas are very very nice for a good price.

 

[jeffspc88mx]

I like my 50" Panasonic plasma. No matter what technology you get, get the biggest screen you can, because when you get it, you'll probably wish you'd gotten a bigger one.

A caution on plasmas, though. My 50" uses 850 watts. LCDs are better about energy use, fo sho.

 

[Killyp]

The latest LG LCDs are actually very, very good indeed. The next thing up from that (IMO) would be some of the latest Sony Bravias, which are also absolutely excellent.

There are three things I (personally) look for in a TV image - depth, natural colour balance, and good motion tracking.

The best I've seen is from a B&O TV, but they cost a rather shocking amount of money, so are out of the question for 90% of the public (unless you start saving).

 

[Ciclismo]

This article (although now a little dated) explains the three TV's quite well.

You need to think of several things:

Power use: Plasma TVs are power whores, they will gobble up as much as they can suck through the power cable without it melting. LCD TVs, in contrast, sip away silently.

Contrast: Plasmas have better contrast ratios, but high end LED LCD TVs are catching up fast, so the difference is almost negligible (unless you're anally retentive). Regular LCD and ultra thin LED LCD TVs aren't quite as good - you will notice that black isn't really black.

Weight: Plasmas are again the elephant in the room - these beasts can weigh 60-110kg, depending on size. You will need help putting it in its permanent place. LCD Tvs are a lot lighter and can often be wall mounted and even my grandma could lug one around (although she is a bit of a cleptomaniac so maybe she's had practice?!?).

Latency: I.e. motion blur, especially noticeable when watching sports or "akshion" movies. This is where Plasma tellies used to rule the roost, but again, LCD TVs are catching up fast. You can now get LED LCD TVs with a 200Hz refresh rate. And considering that the human eye cannot process more than 60Hz, I think 200Hz is plenty. Especially when you consider that most visual media material is delivered at piss poor framerates (24FPS is nowhere near enough, Hollywood needs to stop being such cheap skates).

Basically what it breaks down to is money, ergonomics and aesthetics.

If you have little to spend, get the most expensive Plasma you can afford, whilst ensuring it has a good refresh rate. But if you fear you may have issues with weight, go for a regular LCD.

If you have tons to spend, then it is almost irrelevant whether you go for an LED LCD or a Plasma. The decision here is aesthetics. Weight is irrelevant too, as you can afford to get someone to lug it for you.

Oh, and when it comes to size, ignore the calls to get the biggest you can afford. The ideal size of TV is dependant on viewing distance - getting a massive 60" when your couch is only 2 meters away is counter productive as you will see the pixels and wish you bought a smaller telly. Measure your seating distance from where you propose to set up your new TV and talk to the experts at a specialist store (and by this I do NOT mean a big box retailer).

Make a list:
How much have you got to spend.
How far away from the TV will you be sitting.
What features MUST it have (e.g. USB, how many HDMI inputs etc.).

Take this list and talk to a few different stores - you will quickly pick up on those who intend to sell you the best matched TV and those who have nothing but their comission in mind.

 

[stoplis]

If you are looking for what TV is the best at the moment 'What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision' (The main AV mag in the UK) just annouced their 2010 awards, here.
TV of the year: Sony KDL-40EX503
Or Premium TV of the year: Samsung UE40C8000

Check out the list, it has a TV for each size and even which is the best 3D TV at the moment (if your interested in that).

 

[covertsurfer]

I just got the 47" LG LE8900.

5 Stars review but £800 cheaper than the Sony HX903!

Review - http://www.whathifi.com/review/lg-47le8900/

 

[toypadlock]

one thing i would suggest checking for is an optical/digital output on the tv. my (otherwise excellent) panasonic plasma doesn't have either, which is annoying when i'm using multiple optical sources to my (rubbish) amp, which only has one input. if the tv had an optical output i could just hdmi everything into the tv and optical out everything from the one source.

if i'm making sense.

 

[mchalebk]

I think the best advice I can give you is to go to AVS Forum and spend a lot of time researching (a computer forum like this is not the best place to research a topic like this). It will be overwhelming at first. However, eventually you will be able to figure out which technology suits your needs better. You will definitely be glad you put in the time to make an informed decision. Here's a link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

Someone mentioned that you might save money by going for 720p. I doubt that's the case anymore. Just about everything is 1080p these days. And the comment that there is little 1080p content yet is incorrect. Almost all Blu-ray discs are 1080p. You do not need a huge TV to see the difference between 720p and 1080p (though if you get smaller than 50", odds are you won't sit close enough to tell the difference).

 

[brock2621]

Samsung. Period.

 

[jajohns8]

Check out AVSforums. More info than one could ever need.

 

[Ciclismo]

Samsung. Period.

You do realise that Samsung is one of only a few panel manufacturers, and that it's possible that the Sony that was announced TV of the year uses a Samsung or Toshiba or a Sharp manufactured panel. A TV is the sum of it's parts and some manufacturers are better at putting a package together that meets individual needs tha others.

 

[MythicFrost]

Wow thank you all very much for your replies!

I'll check out that AVS forum sometime too, thanks!

 

[realeric]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

Sharp is the #1 leading technology company in LCD TV. Panasonic is #1 in PDP TV. LG is the #1 manufacturer of panel. Samsung has the #1 market share in the world.

 

[brentsg]

Power use: Plasma TVs are power whores, they will gobble up as much as they can suck through the power cable without it melting. LCD TVs, in contrast, sip away silently.

Contrast: Plasmas have better contrast ratios, but high end LED LCD TVs are catching up fast, so the difference is almost negligible (unless you're anally retentive). Regular LCD and ultra thin LED LCD TVs aren't quite as good - you will notice that black isn't really black.

Latency: I.e. motion blur, especially noticeable when watching sports or "akshion" movies. This is where Plasma tellies used to rule the roost, but again, LCD TVs are catching up fast. You can now get LED LCD TVs with a 200Hz refresh rate. And considering that the human eye cannot process more than 60Hz, I think 200Hz is plenty. Especially when you consider that most visual media material is delivered at piss poor framerates (24FPS is nowhere near enough, Hollywood needs to stop being such cheap skates).

Plasma and LCD aren't too far apart when properly calibrated. If you want them in torch mode as if they were competing with a retail stores bright lighting, then sure.. plasma will use more energy than LCDs.

The only thing that makes LED based LCDs better regarding contrast is if you get a set that has the ability to selectively dim LEDs in areas of the screen that are displaying dark content. Otherwise, light is light and CCFL is equivalent.

Regarding movement, content is going to be 24 or 30 fps. LCDs are trying to bandaid poor motion performance by artificially creating frames that don't exist in the source. While this does help to alleviate blur that is the result of sample and hold, it also serves to introduce motion artifacts that many find bothersome or unacceptable.

Bottom line is that the OP question is really best suited for a different forum.

 

[125037]

The 55 LED Insignia from Best Buy is only $1299 right now. I had geek squad come out because I messed something up and when he opened it he was astonished that every part including the screen panel was samsung. I love this TV and could not ask for better ESPECIALLY at that price. Check it out here.

The one and only Con about this TV is that there is no Optical out, there is an RCA out, however.