TV guys in here

[badass88gt]

What is the story with the 60, 120, 240, 600, 10000000000 HZ rating on the TVs I see advertised everywhere? I see these numbers on both plasma and LCD screens.

[4eyedstang]

it has to do with refresh rates the higher the Hz the clearer the picture will be

[Karps TA]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-3OdB6dRtW8J/Learn/videos/HDTV/120Hz-240Hz.html

Does a good job of explaining it. That number means nothing really on a plasma.

[badass88gt]

I thought plasma TVs had instant refresh rates, thats why they dont blur, is that totally off?

[badass88gt]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-3OdB6dRtW8J/Learn/videos/HDTV/120Hz-240Hz.html

Does a good job of explaining it. That number means nothing really on a plasma.

Mustve hit submit at the same time. Thats what I thought.

[4eyedstang]

i bought a 46in. lcd tv with 60Hz 2 month ago and it works great for basic cable but after watching the packers/lions game on the same brand/size TV with 120Hz with the same TWC Hd box. I'm about ready to upgrade already the difference is amazing.

spend the exta cash

[Russ Jerome]

I about fell over when I heard Plasma's are going away, even more shocked when I heard Pioneer no longer makes TV's.....best picture and the best make falling to LCD/LED mediocure(s). Kinda like Cadalac and V-8's both disapearing :(

[badass88gt]

I havent heard that plasma is going away but I'm not surprised about Pioneer, they are crazy expensive.

[Karps TA]

Pioneer I know stopped making their screens themselves a couple years ago. I wasn't aware they dropped out completely. But they were pricey and despite having a very nice picture, I'm not sure people could justify paying that much more for a little bit better picture.

I love the picture of a Plasma, but the energy they take to run is crazy. My folks have a 58" Panasonic plasma, and they saw a difference in their electric bill.

One of my friends just bought one of those new Samsung LED tvs that are only like an 1.5" thick, and I think the picture is amazing. Not too mention it uses very little energy, and is light as hell. I'd be scared to try and hang my folks plasma on a wall. That thing is like 60 lbs.

[Russ Jerome]

My wife went to Flanners with her folks at my request, she is subjective and said the nicer LED Samsungs they had were "pretty nice" when compared to our own Samsung Plasma.

The Plamas prices are dropping, a comparble $1600 Samsung when I got it is less than 1/2 price now, love to buy a few but the power usage threads on tech sights are hard to ignore. Looking forward to looking at all the newer LEDs at Flanners as they fill the walls.

[Karps TA]

I'm not a big fan of Flanners, especially since they moved. Last time I was in there, the sales person I was dealing with came straight off a used car lot, and was a blatant liar and just kept making shit up. Looking behind most of the tv's very few of them were even hooked up to components, or HDMI. Most had composite hookups which made the screens look terrible. That day my folks were looking to spend several grand on a tv, and we walked out of their shocked by how bad the experience was. At their old location by Calhoun, they seemed to have a much better staff, and had their shit together. Although even there their car audio department was filled with some arrogant a-holes. But atleast they knew their shit.

I used to think they were the experts in the area, but after that experience we actually found the people at Best Buy and Sears more helpful and knowledgable. Which is awfully sad.

[wrath]

Buy a 120hz set, you get a nicer panel. Right now my favorite are the LNxxB630 series. Gets you 120hz and a matte screen. The 40" is ~$800 and hard to beat.

Flanners is a joke. Went in there to buy a 65" LCD TV for work for a trial (was going to buy more later) and they told me the Sony 65" that came out a few months earlier had been discontinued (it hasn't, by the way) and they couldn't get them anymore. So I asked about the Sharp 65" and the Samsung 65". Nada. So I went to Magnolia, looked at the Sony 65" and decided to order a Sharp 65" instead. The Magnolia people were jagoffs, but semi-helpful. Got it 4 days later, delivered. Next day I ordered 3 more from Dell just because the Best Buy goons were arseholes. I'll never bother with Flanners again.

[Karps TA]

That was another thing, they didn't have a tv in there over 42" in stock when we went. They only had 2 or 3 even on display bigger then that and at the time they only had 720P sets, despite 1080P was becoming the norm by then.

[buttersgt350]

i bought a 56" dlp tv 3 years ago and i dont think they make dlp type tvs anymore. i was at best buy looking for a lcd and didnt see any dlp's. must of been phased out.

[Russ Jerome]

I like sending people to Flanners to compare LCD to Plasma side bye side, the pictures at Flanners smokes the chain stores I thought. I get sick looking at TVs in Best Buy, looks like an old S-video cord hooked to a $29 DVD player from Walgreens playing a $4.99 discount DVD from the Jefferson swap meet :)

[Reverend Cooper]

dan i think the phillips i have is 240 and thats why it was so exspensive in a smaller screen size comparred to lots others that were much larger

[xwing]

At standard 60Hz refresh, you can see juddery/jumpy motion as something MOVES across the screen fast, like racing car, bird, sports people. The faster the movement, the more you notice it.

Increasing refresh rates to 120Hz makes this look smoother; and 240Hz smoother yet...something going across screen fast looks SMOOTHLY moving, not juddery like individual pictures flickering the thing across the screen.

Sometimes there can be a very slight penalty in sharpness, or increased picture artifacts at higher refresh, but usually this is minor, and outweighed by the smoother looking picture motion.

[badass88gt]

Its not for me, guy at work was asking me about them. I have my Panasonic plasma, it is awesome.

[Russ Jerome]

I have my Panasonic plasma, it is awesome.

I'm with you, watching Monday Night Football right now in HD on a Samsung Plasma and it ROCKS! Wish they would keep the plasma option open down the road, even at a premium cost (and higher operating cost).

[nitrous]

I've been happy with my 71" Samsung DLP for 3 years now. Won't even think of replacing it until it bites the dust.

[FoxStang]

To be honest with all of the LCD tech out and coming out the picture difference between a plasma and an LCD is almost negligible, if even noticeable. Unless your getting a crazy good deal I would go with an LCD over plasma any day of the week, uses less energy and you never really have to worry about burn in.

[badass88gt]

I never have to worry about burn in with my plasma. That is ancient technology that worries about that. The energy thing is definitely true though.

[wrath]

I can tell you the Samsung PN50B550 I bought for work burnt an image in 15 minutes that took over an hour for jscreenfix to remove. That's why I bought the 65" LCDs.

Plasmas are great for rooms in which you can control lighting (like a basement) and which you do not plan to ever put a static image on (like say CNN).

[Karps TA]

My dad watches CNBC 8 hours a day on his plasma and in the close to 2 years has had no burn in.

[07ROUSHSTG3]

i love my plasma, but the heat that it gives off is driving me nuts.

[badass88gt]

Ive watched ESPN, MTV2, etc for hours on end with no image retention on my Panasonic. Maybe it is different for brands? They sure do throw off the heat though....

[Russ Jerome]

If picture "quality" is your only concern you have only one choice, let the meter spin I'll dish out the extra $14 a month for the Plasma.

[VroomPshhTsi]

Just got my 42" Samsung Plasma HDTV a few weeks ago and love it. I had a 32" Samsung LCD HDTV for 3 years before this and it was good but I like the Plasma better. The "OMG can't watch it in a bright room!" or "burn in, wtf??" worries are completely overrated IMO. I'm no TV expert but I've compared many LCD to Plasma TVs and I give an edge to Plasma, just sucks that there is practically no selection any more.

[Russ Jerome]

The "OMG can't watch it in a bright room!" or "burn in, wtf??" .

Ya I read everything I could for 2 weeks before going plasma, I believe a couple years ago now, by then burn in was over rated.I've had my laptop hooked up and streamed movies, put on pause for 1/2hr at a time, cant see an issue.

My living room has 6'x8' window directly to the side and another behind, I do close the curtains at mid day but I would for any TV given the lighting. Picture looks great during mid day sun.

Plasmas are gonna be extict anyway, we'll soon forget the good old days and LCDs will look fine down the road Im sure.

[VroomPshhTsi]

The only justified complaint I've heard against Plasmas is the energy cost. If they just worked on that I think they'd be perfect.

Glare = no
Burn in = almost impossible unless u try
Weight = not that heavy, how often do u move your TV? once every few years? still half a CRT in weight

The contrast ratio (blacks) and refresh rate (blur) for Plasmas are always better than any LCD (even LED) out there. At least from what I've researched, I'm still not a TV expert so anyone can chime in here. But from what I've seen in person of Plasma vs. LCD, Plasma almost always wins. They are just not as available and because there are so many LCD TVs out there now, LCDs are very affordable.