My Living Room Isn't Big Enough For The Both Of 'Em (HDTV Discussion)

Mav23

Swabbie
Banned
Well I've decided to make the jump to HDTV. So far I have $1,000 in the can and a Target rain check for a Philips 32 Inch LCD HDTV(Monitor). Now seeing as no Target store in my area seems to have this TV in stock and it's out on the online store as well, I started searching around, and found a Samsung 42inch DLP HDTV(Integrated). I was wondering if anyone around here could help me with deciding which one to purchase. The Samsung is actually around 1800 dollars but I'm willing to save a little more for it if I decide the picture quality and performance is worth it. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Philips: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-5/qid=1139981709/ref=sr_1_5/601-4767290-6745726?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=B000BNUESE

Samsung: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-42-DLP-HDTV-HL-R4266W-/sem/rpsm/oid/123287/catOid/-12870/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
 
You can find those for a bit cheaper. Here's your Samsung for $1500 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009EXVIA The 50" Samsung goes for around $1800 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009EXVNA

You also should put more thought into what technology you want to go with. LCD and DLP are fairly different and both have their own pros and cons. I have both an LCD and a DLP, and I can't decide which has better image quality. I suppose that depends on the individual brand and model. You have major differences such as the slim panel on LCDs and the 100% burn-proof DLPs (and also burn-in on LCDs and rainbow effect on DLPs). But I'd start with deciding what technology you want and pricing models and brands from there.
 
Thanks for the prices Chris. I'm also kind of torn between LCD and DLP. I want deep blacks, but at the same time like the bright picture and wide viewing angles of LCDs. I'll primarily be using it for DVDs and video games. What's your opinion on what's best for those media? (Please don't say LCD for movies and DLP for games :) )
 
My Dell LCD actually has pretty fantastic blacks, so I'm not sure how big an issue that is. I think newer DLPs should mostly have pretty wide viewing angles, so that shouldn't be much of a concern either. LCDs seem pretty nice and bright, and they turn on much more quickly (DLPs take a minute to warm up). The fact that DLPs can't burn in images is good if you think you might be playing video games where that could be an issue. I think both technologies are good for movies. DLPs are going to get you larger size screens for comparable prices too.
 
Alright. Thanks again. What model Dell do you have? Since you seem to be pretty happy with it.
 
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In my internet browsing, I've also been noticing a lot of people complaining about a "whirring noise" from the DLP "color wheel". Do you know if that is a common problem or are those people all just nuts?
 
I got a short question about HDTV...in the USA what is to most common HDTV format...720p or 1080i?
I am just asking because most likely the US market will have quite an influance on other states.
In germany we have these HD-ready and Full-HD TVs...well I have only seen one Full-HD TV so far ^_^
Question is...do I buy a cheaper HD-ready TV or do I wait till its decided what format will be the standart HD format and buy then a TV that fits to it.
Its because the HD-ready are just using the smaller 720p format while a, so called, Full-HD TV supports a resolution up to 1080i/p.
 
The Philips I was looking at supports all modes. And it seems to me that 720p is the most common, but I wouldn't take that as meaning it will become the dominant form, especially since 1080p is starting to come around.
 
Maybe the link of your first post isn't working right or I missed something but in the discription its saying that its a WXGA display with a resolution of 1366 x 768p.
Might be that you can recieve 1080 but it would be displayed at just 720...thats what how I understand it.
 
Oh perhaps I didn't look well enough myself, I apologize. In listed supported resolutions it mentions 1080i, but it probably converts it. I know the Samsung converts all signals to 720p.
 
Mav23 said:
In my internet browsing, I've also been noticing a lot of people complaining about a "whirring noise" from the DLP "color wheel". Do you know if that is a common problem or are those people all just nuts?

I've never noticed a whirring noise. If there is any such noise, my computer in the same room must be completely drowning it out.

gevatter Lars said:
I got a short question about HDTV...in the USA what is to most common HDTV format...720p or 1080i?

Question is...do I buy a cheaper HD-ready TV or do I wait till its decided what format will be the standart HD format and buy then a TV that fits to it.
Its because the HD-ready are just using the smaller 720p format while a, so called, Full-HD TV supports a resolution up to 1080i/p.

Actually, the cheaper ones just support 480p and 1080i. Only in the last year or so has 720p started to be more common, and it's typically a more expensive option. Of course, 1080p has been around since last fall as well. 1080i is what most all high definition television broadcasts are transmitted in. On the other hand, 720p is the next-generation video game standard. The details are more complex, but basically it's easier for 1080i to be done for tv, and 720p to be done for video games. There's a lot of debate as to which looks better. 1080i is twice as many pixels, but 720p is twice the refresh rate basically. It depends on the quality of the tv, the distance away you're sitting, lighting conditions in your room, the nature of the image you're looking at and so on.

Since I don't watch regular tv and high definition DVDs are still a bit away, I went with a 720p DLP set for the XBox 360.

Mav23 said:
The Philips I was looking at supports all modes. And it seems to me that 720p is the most common, but I wouldn't take that as meaning it will become the dominant form, especially since 1080p is starting to come around.

720p will definitely be the dominant resolution for video games for the next 4-5 years. The "support all modes" thing is tricky as well. Both LCD and DLP screens have a native resolution that everything is converted to. So your LCD outputs everything at 1366*768 and the DLP does everything in 1280x720. Pretty much everything "supports" 1080i and 720p these days, but you have to see what it's actually doing. It's taking one or the other and converting it to its native display potential. That's where the 1080p tvs come in. They display 1080i content without downscaling it, and they upscale 720p content while maintaining the progressive scan quality.
 
I just onces wish that the industry could decide on one standart before they release something..its the same with the HD-DVD and Blueray disk.
I guess its better to wait another year or so till it shows what will be the more common format.
 
Supposedly 1080p is the next overall standard resolution that the industry(s) are moving towards. I was looking at several screens late last year but ultimately decided to hold off until I was a little more sure of what I wanted. Both LCD and DLP are great technologies with great upsides and few cons. DLP however typically will allow you to get into a larger screen size for less money. To me, size is a big big thing, to others it may not be as much. Both screens you've listed, Mav, look really good. I'd have to say they'll both probably deliver some great results, it just depends on what size you want to go with. As for the whirring noise from a DLP and the "rainbow" effect, I just recommend going to bestbuy or similar store and observe their sets. Get up real close and just listen, I never heard any whirring noise. I've also never noted the rainbow effect in any DLP set I've seen. I've heard some people say that its only in certain types of people that recognize this pattern or effect so I would say if you don't notice it after looking at a few sets for a while you probably aren't going to. Anyway, best of luck, looks like you've got some nice options to watch yourself beat me at Call of Duty 2. :)
 
Maj.Striker said:
Supposedly 1080p is the next overall standard resolution that the industry(s) are moving towards. I was looking at several screens late last year but ultimately decided to hold off until I was a little more sure of what I wanted. Both LCD and DLP are great technologies with great upsides and few cons. DLP however typically will allow you to get into a larger screen size for less money. To me, size is a big big thing, to others it may not be as much. Both screens you've listed, Mav, look really good. I'd have to say they'll both probably deliver some great results, it just depends on what size you want to go with. As for the whirring noise from a DLP and the "rainbow" effect, I just recommend going to bestbuy or similar store and observe their sets. Get up real close and just listen, I never heard any whirring noise. I've also never noted the rainbow effect in any DLP set I've seen. I've heard some people say that its only in certain types of people that recognize this pattern or effect so I would say if you don't notice it after looking at a few sets for a while you probably aren't going to. Anyway, best of luck, looks like you've got some nice options to watch yourself beat me at Call of Duty 2. :)

Haha, thanks Striker. Well I'm worried if I settle for the LCD I might not beat *anybody* at COD2 anymore as I find it difficult to shoot people far away on little screens. Maybe I'm just used to my 10 year old hugantic TV and I will just need to re-adjust.
 
gevatter Lars said:
I just onces wish that the industry could decide on one standart before they release something..its the same with the HD-DVD and Blueray disk.
I guess its better to wait another year or so till it shows what will be the more common format.

No, this is actually very different. 720p, 1080i, and 1080p are the agreed upon industry and international standards. There's a very unfortunate format war brewing between HD DVD and Blueray that's based on two groups of companies lining up to launch competing products. On the other hand, the different tv resolutions we've talked about are all part of the ATSC standard designed to replace NTSC and a number of other tv formats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC Technological limitations and practicalities are dictating which format gets used more for broadcasts or video games. Both will eventually probably roll up under 1080p down the line, but both 720p and 1080i will see significant use for several years at least.
 
Yeah, I think I'm gonna get the LCD (if it ever gets back in stock so I can use my rain check), and wait on getting a big screen DLP. All this talk about 1080p makes me want to give it a few more years at least.
 
Mav23 said:
Yeah, I think I'm gonna get the LCD (if it ever gets back in stock so I can use my rain check), and wait on getting a big screen DLP. All this talk about 1080p makes me want to give it a few more years at least.

Yeah, that's what I ultimately decided. I was going to get a Toshiba DLP 72inch 1080p screen but it was going to be a huge investment and I wanted to wait just a little to see what prices did in the near future.
 
I figure with the 32 inch LCD, if I wait to get a big screen in a few years (when prices drop and 1080p is common) I can then just move the LCD to a bedroom or something. I don't think a 42 DLP will sit well on my dresser :p .
 
This might not be an influencial factor for everyone, but most people (me, for instance) can hear a very hight pitch shrill when a DLP, or an CRT is powered up. It's very noticable at first, but it can be ignored after a fiew minutes... Now Plasma and LCD screens on the other hand, not a peep... ever.
 
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