so Ive got gears of war and so has a mate, and it looks 10x better on his 32" TV.
Im looking for a new TV for the new house.
But what is the difference between LCD and plasma?
which to go for, for lots of gaming and dvd watching and sky hd watching.
What would you go for and why? My budget is 600 notes (maybe a little stratchy) and I usually buy brand names like panasonic, but could be tempted if I knew someone had a cheap brand that did the business...
Matt
I think for that kind of money youll have to go for a LCD if youre looking for Hi Def. LCDs generally are more detailed, but plasmas have richer colours and far superior blacks.
I was (and still am) thinking about getting one of these for my 360:
http://www.aria.co.uk/productinfocomm.asp?ID=23300&SpecialStatus=1
There is a huge thread about that screen on AVforums and in general its good things for the money.
That said, I sent a mate to buy 2 from Novatech (cheaper at the time). He had to go through 8 screens before finding 1 that had no noticable dead pixels. This is what put me off and I got him to return mine; he kept his and loves it.
You can get a Samsung or Toshiba 32" with built in DVB-T for that much. Shame no one makes a 1920x1200 32".
I remember seeing some 37" Philips 1920x1200 screens for Ã,£750-800.
those phillips panels are shudder, interlaced though
you cant really get 1080p at less than 40 inches, and a serious price.
as stated you can get VERY good samsung and Toshiba panels now for about 600 and these leave the cheap panels for dead, particularly when playing back SD material (ie about 99% of the actual tv watching done on these panels)
Im on the fence about getting something like this myself, thinking of taking the plunge after christmas myself, I can only assume that some great purchases will emerge.
Thats what im banking on anyway :o
I bought this one
http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/product.do?sku=321800&tab=specification
and have to say, that I am really impressed with the picture quality. It is only a 26", although was perfect for me. I have my HTPC hooked up to it running Media Center Edition 2005, and have all my music film linked into a seperate surround sound setup ... for Ã,£600 notes you will have some squeeze for some surround sound bits. Although I am guessing if your mate has a 32" then you may want the same. Will say that I noticed lots of break-up of picture with fast moving action on lots of models which were more expensive, on this I have not noticed any. Would never have bought LG in the past they seem to be really up and coming.
I have a Samsung LE32R41B and it is awesome. i think it is LCD and everything looks amazing, it only goes up to 1080i tho, 1080p makes it filker dead bad.
i am not sure of specs but i dont get and trails and the colours are very good, although it can be abit dark some times.
ill take some pics of it running some games later, i use it on 720p.
Quote from: DEViANCEI have a Samsung LE32R41B and it is awesome. i think it is LCD and everything looks amazing, it only goes up to 1080i tho, 1080p makes it filker dead bad.
i am not sure of specs but i dont get and trails and the colours are very good, although it can be abit dark some times.
ill take some pics of it running some games later, i use it on 720p.
Also got the samsung and is a LOVELY tv. Shame its actually my flatmates so when i move out I loose it :(
Got a couple choices when i move back to parents house, 360 on a 42" SD Plasma via Scart, 360 on same 42" SD Plasma via VGA (dont know how it will look as i dont know what res the TV supports) or just give up on the Plasma and have it HD on my 24" Dell 2407WFP
Im running mine through a 32" Dell LCD TV, via VGA, its pretty good.
here are some pics. dont realy do it justice tbh.
(http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/2417/1000926hp2.th.jpg) (http://img356.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000926hp2.jpg)(http://img332.imageshack.us/img332/8650/1000930gm2.th.jpg) (http://img332.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000930gm2.jpg)
(http://img336.imageshack.us/img336/218/1000932yz0.th.jpg) (http://img336.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000932yz0.jpg)
(http://img428.imageshack.us/img428/7062/1000933ct4.th.jpg) (http://img428.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000933ct4.jpg)(http://img428.imageshack.us/img428/323/1000935yt6.th.jpg) (http://img428.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000935yt6.jpg)
(http://img428.imageshack.us/img428/6212/1000936qq2.th.jpg) (http://img428.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000936qq2.jpg)
(http://img438.imageshack.us/img438/5382/1000938kq3.th.jpg) (http://img438.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000938kq3.jpg)(http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/2960/1000939qw5.th.jpg) (http://img262.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000939qw5.jpg)
(http://img428.imageshack.us/img428/1983/1000941jq7.th.jpg) (http://img428.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000941jq7.jpg)
Quote from: DEViANCEI have a Samsung LE32R41B and it is awesome. i think it is LCD and everything looks amazing, it only goes up to 1080i tho, 1080p makes it filker dead bad.
i am not sure of specs but i dont get and trails and the colours are very good, although it can be abit dark some times.
ill take some pics of it running some games later, i use it on 720p.
Also have the same Samsung. Excellent screen.
I mostly use my Dell 24" though. 1080p Batman Begins tomorrow night 8)
Kunal, you use it on the dell with component or VGA?
I dont have the 360 yet, but planning on using VGA.
Ive been using the Dell as my main TV/monitor hooked upto a HTPC. I had the 32" Samsung for a while, but sold it to my Dad as hed get more use out of it... didnt feel like the increase in size was that noticeable and I prefer having the higher res... theres quite a bit of HD (720p>1080p) content on newsgroups, and now that Ive got Be24 its no problem downloading it, so Id rather use the Dell.
Im going to wait until next year when the new generation of LCDs (52" 1920x1200) hit Ã,£2k then get one of those... then Ill be set :D
thanks for the info chaps...
is 1920x1200 the same as 1080p? (Im assuming not, but that in 1080 mode itll letterbox with margins top and bottom)...
and if so is it essential to futureproof the telly?
Matt
If youre lucky and the TV supports 1:1 pixel mapping, youll get a letterboxed 1080 image. If youre unlucky (and more likely) the TV will strech the 1080 image out to fill the 1200 pixel screen.
Im not convinced by the need for 1080 at all and especially not at the cost level involved. My main reasons for not bothering with it is that there doesnt appear to be much media that uses 1080 as the native.
Even Sky are downscaling 1080 to 720p !!
Quote from: Kunal.....
Im going to wait until next year when the new generation of LCDs (52" 1920x1200) hit Ã,£2k then get one of those... then Ill be set :D
Ditto, although i may succumb to a nice PC LCD with dvi and vga if the input lag isnt too high for my pc games :)
id definatly hold off the current crop of HD ready TVs byte junkie as the next generation should be 1080p
1080 referers to the vertical resolution so your quite correct in guessing 1920x1200 isnt the same as 1080 (1920x1080 incidentially) so youll need a monitor that can handle 1:1 pixel mapping or some sort of aspect scaling if sending it lower res content and you dont want it to look squashed / streched out.
the p after 1080 stands for progressive, i stands for interlaced.
only significant difference if you spot it is that 1080p can run at 60fps and 1080i can only run at 30fps when they are both outputted at 60hz (which is the standard anyhow)
Quote from: NimrodIf youre lucky and the TV supports 1:1 pixel mapping, youll get a letterboxed 1080 image. If youre unlucky (and more likely) the TV will strech the 1080 image out to fill the 1200 pixel screen.
Im not convinced by the need for 1080 at all and especially not at the cost level involved. My main reasons for not bothering with it is that there doesnt appear to be much media that uses 1080 as the native.
Even Sky are downscaling 1080 to 720p !!
half the reason is that they can fit more 720p channels in the same bandwidth as one 1080p channel, although aint the nature documentories outputted at 1080i ? if so the bandwidth difference isnt too great.
Sorry, after some digging it turns out I have got completely the wrong end of the stick :o
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sky+adopt+720p&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
http://lifestyle.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=5498
They are using both but the Sky box can downscale to 720p if needed.
i might have to wait for a 1080 set, but until they come down in price, what do you think of this?
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/106962/rb/23693193481
Matt
Thats the one I said about in my first reply. I think it looks like a great screen for the price and there are a lot of good things said about it :)
just read a thread on avforums and it gets a right slating. apparantly its got numerous issues that hyundai havent fixed in formware updated after 6 months waiting.
so im looking at lgs and toshibas now.
is it still the case that youll never go wrong buying a sony?
Matt
nope you can still have issues with a sony,
like the rumour/fact about first gen 1920x1080 bravias not properly supporting 1080 inputs :?: (or was that another manfs screen :?:),
just they have more clout when pushing through standards.....
SPDIF = Sony / Phillips Digital InterFace for example :?:
ooo if only i had the money.....
evesham 47" 1080P lcd tv for under Ã,£2000 (http://www.lowestonweb.com/products/info.asp?e=AA875593-64BA-4012-90A9-90BD94F6FAC8) :shock:
thread on av forums, cant get the second page atm for some reason ?? (http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=416654)
since i dont get christmas bonuses any more, im unlikely to save up enough to get it :whoops: :roll:
**on avforums theyve tracked it down as a rebadged atec tv, if you dont want the three year warrenty then you can get it cheaper at novatech / savastore **
nova linky (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?nov-lcd47d&P=1)
savastore linky (http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10294024&pid=45&tid=279)
the overclockers link they mentions spec show the lower res version so beware
Quote from: bytejunkiejust read a thread on avforums and it gets a right slating. apparantly its got numerous issues that hyundai havent fixed in formware updated after 6 months waiting.
There are two almost identical models but one has a tuner and the other does not. Its the one with the tuner that gets ripped on AVForums and I didnt think the screen on eBuyer had the tuner !?
At the end of the day you have to buy what youre happy with. After all one mans dream is anothers nightmare :)
Quote from: NimrodThere are two almost identical models but one has a tuner and the other does not. Its the one with the tuner that gets ripped on AVForums and I didnt think the screen on eBuyer had the tuner !?
its more the fact that hyundai are so slow to release firmware updates to fix a 6 month old screen. I think this decision will be one i am very careful about.
Matt
Quote from: bytejunkieis it still the case that youll never go wrong buying a sony?
Matt
Hahaha - I absolutely love that - Sony does such a good job marketing (well used to... not so much the case these days!).
Not as good as DeBeers though.... Sony can be very hit and miss - although their latest stuff appears to be getting good reviews on on AVF.
Sharps update to the XD1E series will be the HD1E whichll be out next year.... spec is pretty mind blowing - 1080p like it already is + built in HD-DVB-T tuner + 160Gb hard drive! 46~52" version of thatll do me very nicely :D