New TV - LCD or Plasma? 780p OK?

ewoksrule

ewoksrule

Active Member
OK so I am returning my current TV and need to make a new purchase. I was curious on your thoughts on what to buy. My budget is under $800 so that means I can get a 32" LCD 1080p or I can go all the way up to 42" if I go 720p and Plasma.

I will mostly be playing Xbox 360 on it. So that plays the most important role in my mind. I plan to have the DvD, Cable box, and XboX go through HDMI and then audio out to my receiver. (hoping the TV has 3 hdmi inputs)

LCD vs Plasma...thoughts? - I hear that LCDs have input lag and Plasmas do not. That might make games like Rockband 2 not be as playable on the LCDs? LCD are supposed to be brighter and sharper but Plasma have better color and viewing range..is that still true?

720p vs 1080p...thoughts? - I hear that 720p is really all I need at this size and that I wouldn't notice the diff in 1080p...is that true? I will most likely have it on the wall so I will not be that close.

Finally I have heard great things about Samsung and Panasonic but off brands like Visio and Sceptre are so much cheaper, is the investment in a name brand worth it?

thanks for any advice.
 
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LCD's are definitely better for gaming as far as I know. My brother just snagged a 1080p 40" Samsung 500 series for $899 at Best Buy. Came with a $75 gift card too. Does your budget have room for $99 more + tax? It's a nice TV. I'll probably be picking up a similar one sometime next year.
 
Funny, I just got a LCD TV.

A Sony 40'' Inch LCD 1080p TV for $800.

They had a no tax sale and most Sony TVs were on sale.

They still have the sale though.

Sony 37" LCD HD TV
37" LCD HD 2 HDMI inputs $689.99* after savings save $210 *Electronics Disposal Surcharge Applies. Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia & Saskatchewan only. See store for details.
Click to expand...

Waiting for the no tax sale was a pain though. I waited for almost 2 hours with the TV, in-store, because the no tax sale starts at 5PM!

Actually, I paid for $700 cause I had a $100 gift card. :cool:
 
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My friends parents have a Visio 48" LCD and all they do on it is play their Xbox and that is mostly Rockband. I do not notice any lag what so ever. It is bright and very crisp (I am pretty sure it is 180p however).

Also if you are worried about lag I know you can calibrate the controls in Rockband to help the lag.

Personally I do not have any experience with plasmas or LCD TVs. But, through their Visio, I see no problems.
 
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LCDs aren't nearly as bad as they used to be as far as lag and games like RB provide ways to calibrate the game to compensate for your display in the event that it is anyway...

also, LCDs are able to ooh...be moved, without having to worry about screwing up the TV which is a big bonus
 
Plasma's have to have a video disk to clean their picture occasionally where as LCD does not. Note that the refresh rates on TV's are changing from 60hz to 120hz on 1080's. That means here shortly the older 1080's will be a tad cheaper this following year. Everybody is dumping their 720's cheap and they work extremely well with games and have great picture quality. Best bang for the buck right now.
 
Other things to keep in mind - the 1080p is "true" high def. If you're going to be investing in a blu-ray player later, you'll probably want to spring the extra cash now to upgrade from the 720.

Size does matter, but big can be bad, too. You need to take into consideration the size of the room that the TV will be in, and when buying, try to stand as close as you would be sitting. If the screen is too big for the distance, you'll actually get a more pixelated image. So a smaller 1080p may be better than a bigger 720p in some cases.

Also for "name brand" You really need to just compare models side-by-side. I noticed that in most stores they have the volume muted on all but one or two tvs. Part of the reason was that the sound on certain systems is HORRIBLE. If you're going to be using a surround system, it's not as big of a deal because you can use quality externals to compensate. However, if you're using the base speakers in the TV, you really need to listen to them. This is the one place that I noticed a larger difference between brand and off-brand units. The brand names generally had better sound.
 
Here you go.technical details
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN32A550-32-Inch-1080p-HDTV/dp/tech-data/B00141AYM8/ref=de_a_smtd

to purchase from buydig. Samsung LN32A550 $769.00 shipped free- check for tax in your zip.

go to microsoft cashback live and sign up and get an extra 2.5 % off.
http://search.live.com/cashback/stores/B

i started using this and it saves me money

http://www.buydig.com/shop/basket.aspx?sku=SAMLN32A550&act=add&sks=SAMLN32A550,

btw. i've purchased from buydig before and got excellent service !

42 inch one. Sharp Aquos lcd and use cashback for 2.5 to 3.5% back.979.00 with free wall mount.
http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=SHLC42D65U&id=SHLC42D65U&l=PRICEGRABB

Search cashback live for a cheaper price for the Sharp tv. gotta run
 
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ColdSteel said:
Here you go.technical details
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN32A550-32-Inch-1080p-HDTV/dp/tech-data/B00141AYM8/ref=de_a_smtd
Click to expand...

I have that TV or should i say I have had that TV for 8 months and had it working for 3 months. Not only that Samsung took 3 weeks to get a warranty guy to look at the TV, 3 weeks! He then "fixed it" where by I have now waited and extra 3months to get a replacement TV. I now have a thing against Samsung, I would check out the web to see how many other folk have had problems with the brand and type of your new TV. I tihnk mine was just unfortunate but then you have to take into account the poor quality of the customer service into account
 
We have a Micro Center near us and are always getting ads for them.

Scepter has TVs on sale for $899 - 46" LCD 1080p.

Thats a steal.

They also have a Samsung 50" widescreen plasma 1080p in there for the same price.
 
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