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what kind of television should i get?

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Joe

Member
i want an hdtv, widescreen. i really like the panasonic 37" plasma mainly because its so freakin sexy. but what are other options? im gonna use it for tv, dvds, and games so i dont want any tv's that might get burn-in images.

i have no idea what rear projection is or anything. im a complete noob when it comes to this all i know is plasma's are sexy as hell. also how long do plasma's last?
 

Joe

Member
what tv's DONT get burn-in images? rear projection?

and this is such a sexy f'in television:
6709234_ra.jpg
 

SKluck

Banned
I hear conflicting reports of lifespans. They won't last as long as a classic Tube, but on official speclists usually its around 40,000-60,000 hours. No idea about real world tests though. Of course what you have your contrast at and visual settings at impacts that quite a bit. I believe that is 50% contrast.

Couple guys at my work tell customers that plasmas last 3-4 years... Yeah um... NO.
 

Joe

Member
yeah someone told me today they last 5 years but a few days ago i read that if you watch 4 hours a day it would last around 17 years.
 

Joe

Member
shit, sed seems pretty crazy. but what will happen is i wait for it, then something new will be in the works that will be better than sed. it's a never ending cycle. waiting a year will make my wallet extremely happy but im not sure i can wait that long.
 

duderon

rollin' in the gutter
Yeah, i know. I'm no expert, but i'd say stick to CRT HDTV if you want to get a tv right now. I'm pretty sure that's the best the market has to offer in quality, although the one downside is they are bulky.
 
Stay away from plasma. You can burn in images with it and the quality constantly degrades the moment you turn it on. For no burn in, look at LCD Projection or DLP.
 

Joe

Member
Marty Chinn said:
Stay away from plasma. You can burn in images with it and the quality constantly degrades the moment you turn it on. For no burn in, look at LCD Projection or DLP.
how about without spending 3 to 4 thousand dollars? :D
 

Joe

Member
where do you see that? i only looked at bestbuy.com, circuitcity.com and the lowest price i saw was $2,799. when making a big purchase i'd only feel comfartable buying it from a store not an online retailer.
 

DaCocoBrova

Finally bought a new PSP, but then pushed the demon onto someone else. Jesus.
Plasmas are such a waste.

Just moments ago I noticed the silhouette of someone's PowerPoint while it was on stand by. It's close to 6pm, and this was early this morning... That's pathetic. New plasmas are a lot better though. Just make sure is has the 'wipe' feature that prevents such things.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
avoid plasma if you game a lot. LCD is overtaking plasma now in smaller screen sizes, and LCD/DLP rear pro for larger sizes.

saw a great samsung DLP rear projection display over here in comet the other day (UK) set up playing windows media HD trailers. Bloody amazing. Please consider that we don't have HD in the UK, and usually the 100 TVs in comet are running off one composite source through a distribution amplifier, and you get the idea.
 

iapetus

Scary Euro Man
Risin' above the city, blocking out the noonday sun
It dwarfs the mighty redwoods and it towers over everyone
I still remember when that delivery truck came down our block
What a lucky guy, I hear he got the last one in stock
And the neighbors are just green
They say, "That's the biggest screen we've ever seen!"

It's Frank's 2000" TV (Frank's 2000" TV)
Everbody come and see(Frank's 2000" TV)
Frank's 2000" TV (Frank's 2000" TV)

That's Frank's remote control, you can look, but don't touch it, please
'Cause Frank's the one in charge and he decides what everybody sees
The picture's crystal clear and everything is magnified
Robert DeNiro's mole has got to be ten feet wide
Everybody in the town
Can hear those 90,000 watts of Dolby sound
And I'm mighty proud to say
Now I can watch "The Simpsons" from thirty blocks away

On Frank's 2000" TV (Frank's 2000" TV)
Everybody come and see (Frank's 2000" TV)
Frank's 2000" TV (Frank's 2000" TV)
Everybody come and see (Frank's 2000" TV)

I'm gonna get one of my own real soon
It's like having a drive-in movie in your own living room
Whoa, hey now... hey now na na na now
Hey now... hey now na na now

Frank's 2000" TV (Frank's 2000" TV)
Everybody come and see (Frank's 2000" TV)
Frank's 2000" TV (Frank's 2000" TV)
Got a two year warranty on parts and labor
Frank's 2000" TV (Frank's 2000" TV)
Frank's 2000" TV

...
 

Buggy Loop

Gold Member
Right now, either go for LCD rear projection or DLP. Personally i bought a sony KF-42WE610 a month or so ago and im damn satisfied, wish i had a cam to take a pic of the setup but this will do

KP60WE610.jpg


KF-42WE610.jpg


"Apparently" its immune to burn ins because it doesnt have any phosphor but i wouldnt know, i just know that its not a problem with LCD rear projection.
 

Joe

Member
im starting to think of getting a sub $1,000 tv because i can get it quick and in 3 years i can just upgrade again.

i was looking at a 30" widescreen today and i didnt bother looking at them online because i thought 30" was too small but in person the 30" in widescreen was actually pretty good.

my question though to you guys is when im watching tv now in widescreen and the vertical bars come on how big will the screen be?


also, lets take this sony for example:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony.../sem/rpsm/oid/93014/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

this tv would be a pretty decent target for burn-in correct? if im playing halo2 for hours and that radar, ammo, and health bars are constantly on the screen thats bad right? how can i tell when a tv is CRT? (yes, im a noob).

where can i learn all the facts of burn-in so i dont have to bug you guys all the time :p
 

Joe

Member
dlp tv's and lcd's are expensive as hell and as far as i can tell right now those are the only two options where burn-in isn't an issue. :(
 

Joe

Member
dammit i REALLY want widescreen but i just dont think i can get it right now. i need a new tv soon so i have to buy one but i might go for your standard 4:3 television. im very worried about burn-in since i do plan on playing a lot of games on it and i really cant spend over $1,000. i'm starting to lean to 4:3...

dammit, widescreen why must you be so sexy?!?!?!

edit: wait what the hell am i talking about?? 4:3 is still able to get burn-in. all this crap is getting to my head.
 

Joe

Member
hmmm apparently if i turn the contrast down to 50% or lower i could play a game or watch tv with static images 2-3 hours straight. that doesnt seem too bad. although i foresee playing halo2 much longer than that.

i hate this shit.
 

Joe

Member
how come on tvs that ive played games for HOURS AND HOURS never had burn-in?

someone please chime in so i dont seem crazy :)

All burn-in [on a phosphor based monitor] can be corrected by showing a full grey screen for varying amounts of time
is that true?
 

Joe

Member
a tube tv wont get burn-in will it? hmmm

what are the pro's and con's of tube and rear projection televisions?

dont fail me now gaf! :D
 

Teddman

Member
deadlifter said:
Yeah, i know. I'm no expert, but i'd say stick to CRT HDTV if you want to get a tv right now. I'm pretty sure that's the best the market has to offer in quality, although the one downside is they are bulky.
I agree. I think a good old tube HDTV still offers the best in picture quality, especially for a gamer. I've seen some nice rear-projection, plasma, and lcd sets lately, but something about them always seems a bit off and not as "solid" as the image quality of a CRT. Whether it's black levels, digital artifacts, uneven brightness, burn-in, etc.
 

Teddman

Member
Joe said:
a tube tv wont get burn-in will it? hmmm

what are the pro's and con's of tube and rear projection televisions?

dont fail me now gaf! :D
Tube:

Cons: It's big and heavy. Screen sizes not as large as Rear projection.
Pros: Better image quality, more even brightness across the picture, no burn-in issues within reason.

RPTV:

Cons:Uneven brightness, have to be in a dark room for best picture, possibly burn-in issues, picture quality and black levels not as good as tube?

Pros: Bigger screen, smaller footprint, and lighter in weight than a CRT. Also cheaper for size of picture.
 

Joe

Member
thanks for replying and the info.

im in quite a pickle. rear projection gives you great size for a great price but im VERY worried about burn-in epsecially with halo2. and most of my tv watching is 4:3 so i gotta worry about the black bars.

tube wont give me the sexy size (and 40"+ is quite sexy) and they are bulky as hell (i HATE that!) but it does seem best for me right now. the size of rear projections are just so tempting...

no burn-in issues within reason.
what exactly do you mean by "within reason"?
 

Seth C

Member
I have a 51" 4:3 Panasonic rear projection HDTV. I love it. I've been gaming on it (mostly Xbox) for nearly 2 years now, and I see no burn-in so far. Sometimes I play the same game for 4-5 hours. I went 4:3 because it provided more screen for my money. I could either get a 51" 4:3 (which gives a ~46.5" widescreen view) or a 47" widescreen (with maybe a 40" 4:3 view) for the same price. Given that I use it mostly for gaming, the 4:3 TV made the most sense.

Honestly though, my next "TV" will most likely be a projector.
 
How much are you willing to spend? As others have said, you don't have to worry about burn-in with LCD, DLP or CRT (tube) TV's.

LCD: Most expensive. Expect to pay around $5,000 for a 37" flat panel LCD.

DLP: Large size. Expensive. Expect around $3,000 for a 46" set. Keep in mind that all projection TV's have expensive (around $300) bulbs that you'll have to replace every few years or so.

CRT: Bulkiest, but cheapest. Best screen screen brightness and viewing angles. Expect to pay around $1,400 for a 36" CRT HDTV.
 
Teddman said:
Tube:

Cons: It's big and heavy. Screen sizes not as large as Rear projection.
Pros: Better image quality, more even brightness across the picture, no burn-in issues within reason.

RPTV:

Cons:Uneven brightness, have to be in a dark room for best picture, possibly burn-in issues, picture quality and black levels not as good as tube?

Pros: Bigger screen, smaller footprint, and lighter in weight than a CRT. Also cheaper for size of picture.

The cons aren't true for all RPTV. If you're talking about CRT RPTV then yes it is. If you're talking about LCD, DLP, or LCoS then many of these things aren't true. They too are RPTVs.
 
heavy liquid said:
How much are you willing to spend? As others have said, you don't have to worry about burn-in with LCD, DLP or CRT (tube) TV's.

LCD: Most expensive. Expect to pay around $5,000 for a 37" flat panel LCD.

DLP: Large size. Expensive. Expect around $3,000 for a 46" set. Keep in mind that all projection TV's have expensive (around $300) bulbs that you'll have to replace every few years or so.

CRT: Bulkiest, but cheapest. Best screen screen brightness and viewing angles. Expect to pay around $1,400 for a 36" CRT HDTV.

Don't forget there is LCD and LCD RPTV. LCD RPTV, like DLP is around mid to low $2000 for a 42" screen. bulbs are $200 not $300 now. The advantage of the bulb replacement is that when you do replace it, your screen will be just as good as the first day you got it in screen quality. CRT, and Plasma both degrade from the first day you get it and there's no way to improve it.
 

Joe

Member
Seth C said:
I have a 51" 4:3 Panasonic rear projection HDTV. I love it. I've been gaming on it (mostly Xbox) for nearly 2 years now, and I see no burn-in so far. Sometimes I play the same game for 4-5 hours. I went 4:3 because it provided more screen for my money. I could either get a 51" 4:3 (which gives a ~46.5" widescreen view) or a 47" widescreen (with maybe a 40" 4:3 view) for the same price. Given that I use it mostly for gaming, the 4:3 TV made the most sense.

Honestly though, my next "TV" will most likely be a projector.
do you play games for 4-5 hours that have static images on it at all times (radar, health bar, etc)?

im gonna be gaming a lot on it and burn-in is permanent and isnt covered by warranties (manufacturer or retailer).

i think im set on a tube now, i am petrified of burn-in.
 
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