Which TV?! Please help me pick one : /

[Ozreth]

So after a few months of debating with myself I am ready to pull the plug on a TV tonight. I've got some Amazon credit so I can only purchase one sold by Amazon. I've narrowed it down to these two:

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BRAVIA-500-40-Inch-Black/dp/B0035ER1I2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1297813921&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TC-L42U25-42-Inch-1080p-HDTV/dp/tech-data/B00391XGDA/ref=de_a_smtd

Now I know the panasonic seems like much more bang for my buck (same specs, 2" bigger screen) but I've got a few gripes. For starters, is the Panasonic screen going to be matte or glossy? I much prefer a matte screen, which the Sony is. Secondly, I like the form factor of the Sony much more. With that being said, the Panasonic IS $100 cheaper.

But how do the two compare picture-wise? It will be primarily used for gaming (I dont watch much tv or movies) but I don't want to feel limited it what it can or cannot do in the future so I am trying to get an all around capable tv.

Thanks : )

[Rawhide]

Neither of your links work, they have both been shortened at some point and are missing a chunk which has been replaced by "..."

[Ozreth]

Sorry! Fixed : )

[BizzaroStormy]

What is the lighting like in the room where you will have the TV? If theres any source of light that you cannot block completely, I'd go for the sony. I have a TV with a glossy screen here in my room and whenever theres a source of light, be it my comp screen, ceiling light, light coming thru blinds, ect. That light source is projected on the screen and blocks whatever is there. Basically, unless you can make the room completely dark, go with the sony.

[Ozreth]

Hm. The room can easily be dark, but wont be most of the time. I also still don't know if the Panasonic is glossy or matte though....

[BizzaroStormy]

Out of curiosity, why are you getting an LCD TV for gaming? and why buy it online?

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

If you're primarily not going to be using the tv for anything but gaming, I'd suggest a different tv altogether. I'd go with an Insignia, which is Best Buy's brand (manufactured by LG, with LG parts), but cheaper due to the name, and in my opinion just as good. They usually have pretty good prices on them as well. In my experiences looking for a tv, they're far more bang for your buck than you're likely to find with most brands.

[BizzaroStormy]

In addition, make it a plasma instead, it has 5 times the refresh rate of a standard LCD. You just need to make sure not to allow an image to sit on the screen for too long since plasma are more suceptable to burn-in.

[Ozreth]

Well like I said I've got amazon credit so I am buying it from amazon. Even though a plasma would be better for gaming I want to have sort of an all around TV. I'll mostly be gaming as my movie/tv habits are slim but if that changes in the future I don't want to regret a plasma.

[ShadowHunter]

I have a Panasonic plasma, basically the plasma version of the Panasonic you're looking at, and am very happy with it.

It is a glossy screen, I could have paid more for the anti-glare model, I am not sure if the one you're looking at works the same. I work 8-5, and rarely watch TV that demands the highest quality viewing outside of the evening. But invite friends over around 7 or 8, crank my surround sound, and that baby impresses.

I use it for gaming as well, you might be turned off because of the threat of burn-in. You'll notice that people who complain about burn-in often don't own plasma TVs, while people who say it isn't a problem do own plasmas. That is not a coincidence!

So in direct answer to your question, my experience with Panasonic has been positive, for what's that worth.

Edit: It appears that your mindset is "a plasma is good for gaming but not good for movies/TV." I think the normal mindset is actually exactly the opposite, and plasma owners would argue that in fact they're good for everything. Plasmas are kinda dying off so they're cheap, my FIFTY inch Panasonic (1080p and all the usual) was 999$

[Sipex]

Can anyone confirm this for me as I'm unsure if it's pure rumour or not.

A Plasma TV works using seperate panels for the screen which burn out within2-3 years time and need to be replaced.

[ZombyWoof]

If you're primarily not going to be using the tv for anything but gaming, I'd suggest a different tv altogether. I'd go with an Insignia, which is Best Buy's brand (manufactured by LG, with LG parts), but cheaper due to the name, and in my opinion just as good. They usually have pretty good prices on them as well. In my experiences looking for a tv, they're far more bang for your buck than you're likely to find with most brands.
I work at Best Buy, Insignia is terrible imo. I'd avoid them, we get them returned all the time and the picture quality just isn't as good, though they are inexpensive and much better than the Dynex. If you're on a budget, sure, but otherwise, no thanks!



Well like I said I've got amazon credit so I am buying it from amazon. Even though a plasma would be better for gaming I want to have sort of an all around TV. I'll mostly be gaming as my movie/tv habits are slim but if that changes in the future I don't want to regret a plasma.
Both are 120 hz, and you might consider looking at 240s, though 120 is still a lot better than 60hz (believe me, I get blurry-eyed playing on my LCD). Depending on the kind of gaming you're doing I'd honestly suggest just buying a really high-end monitor (some of the ViewSonics are nice) because response time is more important than anything. For example, when I was a competitive smasher we used to offer a waiver of the venue fee for people who brought TVs... except no flat screens were allowed. Beautiful picture quality, but having Falco shoot his lazer 5 frames after I hit "b" means that instead of having a lazer come out silent and having almost no landing lag, the lazer comes out while I'm standing on the ground and they can punish me easily.

So if you're looking to do some serious (and by "serious" I don't mean "a lot" I mean "professional or competitive") gaming, the most important stat is response time... and you want to look at the higher-end computer monitors with response times of around 1ms. And before anyone says "you can't possibly tell the difference between 1ms response time and 5ms response time" let me put that to rest by saying: yes, yes I can. Can I see it? No. But play Guitar Hero on a CRT (big, bulky TV) then switch to playing on a flat screen after about an hour and be amazed at how much worse you suddenly got.

Other than that, I can attest first hand that Sony's quality is pretty much setting the bar right now. If you're just looking for flat amazing picture, you can't go wrong with the Sony. Sony is probably the best, though Samsung and LG are pretty close. Panasonic's good, but the Bravia is just... amazing.



Can anyone confirm this for me as I'm unsure if it's pure rumour or not.

A Plasma TV works using seperate panels for the screen which burn out within2-3 years time and need to be replaced.
Plasma TVs no longer suffer from burnin unless you're really doing it wrong. Try not to use it as a digital photophrame for 3 hours at a time and you should be fine :smalltongue: Seriously the amount of time needed now to get burnin would be the equivalent of three football games (american) without commercial breaks, and you MIGHT get the little CBS logo burned in.

As for "burnout," that sounds like a total rumor. Best Buy offers a 4 year full warranty on Plasmas, which would not be profiteable if the TVs needed to be fixed every 2 years XD

(Also, since I work at Best Buy I can tell you right now, Geek Squad Black Tie Protection is totally worth it. You should see some of the stuff we fix, it's downright crazy. Also the buyback if your TV is worth more than $3000 at time of purchase, because for $300 you get to sell it back to the store in 48 months for 10% of the cost as long as you didn't throw a brick through it.)

@Shadowhunter (and anyone else for that matter):

TVs have what are called "refresh rates" which are basically how quickly the screen refreshes itself. LCDs (and LEDs) start at 60hz and go up to 240hz currently (and you might be able to custom order some that are a bit higher). The long and short of it is: on 60hz any action will seem super blurry while on 240hz the action will be crisp. As you might guess, video games and sports have a lot of action while romantic comedies and shows like House won't.

Generally speaking, the higher refresh rate the better, in fact there is no downside to have a 240hz TV: it won't make the movie Hitch look any worse, but it will make the Superbowl look a heckuva lot better. That's why they're so much more expensive :smallwink:

Plasma TVs have a refresh rate of 600hz.

Now how crisp the picture is is basically determined by the contrast ratio. There are two types of contrast ratio, there's static and dynamic. Static ratios are rarely advertised because they're so low, but basically the static contrast ratio is how many different shades of red/blue/green can be on the screen at any time, while the dynamic contrast ratio is how many different shades of red/blue/green can be on the screen, period.

I believe Plasma TVs have a DCR of 40k, which is similar to LCDs (which can sometimes range up to 400k, but usually stay in the 50k range). They do; however, use more energy which is part of why they're going away. They also have a reputation for burn-in, which as I said before, doesn't really happy in normal useage anyways.

LEDs on the other hand have a DCR rated in the millions. Which gives you a ton more colors to work with. Your local Best Buy should have some good demonstrations of these concepts (Dynamic Contrast Ratio and Refresh Rate), and you can definitely ask an associate (I know all this because they had to teach it to me :smallbiggrin:) who works in home theater. They really know their stuff and get trained on it constantly.

One last thing I want to mention is what's called a calibration. Basically it involves having someone come out to your house and sticking an "eye" on your TV that's connected to a computer that's connected to the TV. The computer then tells the TV to put on certain images, and uses this "eye" to make sure the color balance is correct. If it's not (and it's not) the computer then fiddles with the settings on the TV to make sure that the color balance (and brightness levels) are as close to true as possible. What's really cool about it is that these calibrations are actually designed to work in a specific room: it takes into account the ambient light in a room when you're doing the calibration, and again if you go to Best Buy they should have a demo of a calibrated TV vs a non calibrated TV. The difference is pretty subtle but definitely noticeable when they point it out to you.

Hope this helps!

[Sipex]

I don't have a plasma nor am I looking for a new TV at the moment, I just wanted the facts to clarify because stupid ambiguous rumours like this suck.

Not to cast doubt upon your ability but I really need an official stance from someone who knows one way or the other.

[ZombyWoof]

Plasma TVs do not burn out every 2 years, nor do they suffer from burnin if you're using the TV normally.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Let me tell you a big secret: picture is exactly the same on all LCD TV's, whether they're Sony, Panasonic, or Sanyo. There's only a few manufacturers that make the actual panels (Samsung and NEC are the major ones). The difference in image quality comes from the settings like brightness, contrast, etc.

Higher end brands simply have a better set up and cheaper brands have a worse set up. Done on purpose. The problem is, unless you know what you're doing, you can spend hours tuning your picture settings and still not get good results.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

I work at Best Buy, Insignia is terrible imo. I'd avoid them, we get them returned all the time and the picture quality just isn't as good, though they are inexpensive and much better than the Dynex. If you're on a budget, sure, but otherwise, no thanks!

Well, I guess you're not a very good salesman then :tongue:. But at any rate, I've not had any issues with mine at all. I find the picture to be just fine, and it's survived a 600 mile trip in a car just fine too. And yes, when I got it I was rather on a budget, so I"m not going to complain about getting a decent 32" tv (in my experience) for only $400.