HDT LCD Widescreen

[Ian Mackenzie]

Has anyone experience with HDT TV or LCD Widescreens?

My current TV, built when Adam was a boy needs casting off and besides its time...I have a birthday on the horizon.

At first I figure nar, why pay extra for HD screen with all the local off air stuff which I never watch....I mean I spend more time on here.

However Macka snr who works at the 7 network said on the phone last night they buy all their movies now in HT, while many of the prime time content incl sports events is HDT widescreen and I expect the Commonwealth Games to be in HDT. So it might be worth the stretch.

If in fact I do go the flat widecreen it won't be bigger than 33 inch (42 inch chassis). I was looking at the 42 inch (52 inch chassis) and they comand a viewing distance of at least 5 metre. My understanding is it is a common problem to buy too large a screen only to find when installed the limited viewing distance results in pixalation....

Surprisingly, I has seen HD LCD flat screens for under $3000..made in China!

The downside is the JBL's will have to go....that was a joke.!

Any thoughts appreciated.

Ian

[Titanium Dome]

In my mid-50s now and never had cable or satellite: I do have a Samsung OTA HD receiver and the Zenith Silver Sensor indoor HD antenna running through my CRT projector, and its a wonder to behold. It's much better than my acquaintances' cable or satellite in terms of PQ, if not depth of content. But I can watch only so much TV!

You might consider one of the newer superslim CRT flatscreens that does HDTV. I know, I know, dead technology, yadda, yadda, but the HD signal on a CRT is still a wonder to behold, and in some opinions (like mine) better in many areas than newer technologies, but also bettered in a few areas by new tech.

If hanging it on the wall is a must, then the HD CRT is out.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Thanks Ti,

Well I did the deed this morning after looking at a few retail outlets.

I looked at a 42 inch Plasma std def and a 32 inch LCD flat wide screen back and forth for a while, both the same and decided on the 32 inch LCD for reasons of size and picture quality.

Its a house branded (Soniq) model by our largest mass market AV retailer JB HiFi made in China. The LCD screen is a Samsung a used by the more expensive Panasonic etc, it has DVI, S Video, Component Video and RGB, less than 8 msec refresh rate and what apears a very good manual and remote.

This approach to importing appears to also being happening in the US, where large chains are basically utilising a factory out of China to customise their own product and with large buying power break the US$1000 mark. HP manufacture out of China and my color HP laser has not missed a beat in the last 12 months...some of our threads are so much better in color .........I have a fair amount of confidence in "Made in China"

While these flat screens may not be quite a good as the preium top line models, at this price point and rapidly evolving market its not unreasonable to trade-up every 2-3 years (like a home PC).

What is becoming apparent is that CRT TV will die out by end of 2005 down here. Even high end models are being dumped. The problem is the space they occupy and they are ulgy as sin.

I take delivery Thursday and will post my impressions.

Ian

[Titanium Dome]

Hope you like it.

Even though it's water under the bridge, I meant to post this link:

http://news.com.com/Slimmer+tube+TVs+to+challenge+flat+panels/2100-1041_3-5458670.html

So in case anyone wants to read a bit more, there it is. :bouncy:

[Ian Mackenzie]

Well,

After a bit of screwing around with leads, menu's and what not I am very impressed....I made the right choice of screen size and format imho.

It certainly adds to the JBL experience, vivid dynamic colors and noise free background on DVD component (PAL).

Actually, it would appear 32 inch or less Plasma screans are few and far b/n down here.

That said, soa HD plasma screens in larger sizes appear technically superior for the purist movie buff who has the right environment buff.

Thanks to those who posted and send valuable information .

Ian

[John]

I believe LCD is superior to PLAZMA. For one the blacks are blacker:applaud:

[Ken Pachkowsky]

Having had both formats over the last few months I have leaned towards Plasma. They are simply brighter with greater contrast in a bright room. I currently use a Pioneer 43" with 1024/768 native resolution. This is not the top of the line but is one of the better brands and models out there.

Having said that, if your in a dark room LCD can be damned impressive. LCD has a warmer/clear feel in terms of color and resolution but washes out badly in a bright room.

Had Titanic on this evening running through the Westlakes. My dog ran under the couch when the ship left Southhampton. Those dual 2235's can really rumble:bouncy:

Just my 2 cents.

Ken

[John]

If you got the room for a front projecter you owe to yourself to try out a DLP unit. I have been using one for almost 2 years and there is no turning back.:applaud:

I am running it at 92" in a widescreen format.:bouncy:

[Ian Mackenzie]

Yes,

For about $5000 the Infocus is unbeatable.

Ken,

From what I have ready in the above links Plasma's tend to have a higher contrast ratio, but because the LCD crystals actually shut down to create black the absolute blacks can be difficult for them but they have a good grey scale. The articles suggests Plasma's work best in low lit rooms as the blacks are no blacker than the screen phosphers, any light reflected of them tends to flatten contrast. The LCD's screen filters seem less effected by this.

At any rate this LCD unit is a little beauty and is my first step into wide flat screen. Given the pace of the market here, I have no doubt the hi end Plasma's will be under $2000 in 18 months.

We also have the PAL standard here, and based on the digital std resolution set top box transmissions today I am very pleased.

Ian

[arrgh5]

Ian, the typical blurring effect for lcd displays in fast action sequences is gone ?

[Don McRitchie]

I use a 1600x1200 21" LCD monitor for both my PC and TV viewing since it is hooked up to a Microsoft Media Center PC. It is noticably washed out in appearence compared to a CRT (no matter what the lighting conditions) which I attribute to a lack of contrast. I don't have a plasma to compare it with. Motion blurring does seem to be a thing of the past. The older LCD monitors on laptops certainly exhibited this and it was quite common for the cursor to dissapear with rapid movement. However, I play a number of 3D games on this monitor with frame rates up to the maximum refresh rate of 60hz and have never noticed any motion blurring in the computer generated animations.

[edgewound]

My fav display technology currently available is DLP and D-ILA I think there is less discernable pixelization or screen door effect....looks more like film than either plasma or LCD. Price/value wise with Plasma or LCD...LCD currently rules under about 32", Plasma rules above. An inherent problem that LCD has over time is the yellowing of the image and decreasing brightness. We will see technologies in the next few years through nanotechnology that will lay the current displays to waste...but what else is new? Planned obsolescence and breakthroughs to keep the world economy chugging for the next "gotta have".

Oh....and good 'ol CRT is not dead yet....they're figuring out ways to make 'em thinner in HD...down to about 16" deep.

[Titanium Dome]

Oh....and good 'ol CRT is not dead yet....they're figuring out ways to make 'em thinner in HD...down to about 16" deep.

CRT rules in my house, both as front projection and as regular TV. On my 120" diagonal projection screen, HDTV looks stunning with full CRT blacks, vivid reds (above SMPTE calibration), and beautiful blues.

DVDs that are upsampled to 1080i look pretty darn good, too, though I'm hoping for better true definition sometime soon. :yes:

[Ian Mackenzie]

The unit I bought has a quoted 8 ms refresh rate.

I played a movie with explosions last nighy and a doco on the WWW 2 Spitfire...no blurring.

I agree however its not a perfect purist image but what the heck, for the price I am not complaining and its is my first unit. I could have gone Plasma but figured in 18 months they are gonna to 1/2 the current price and better. Ken is correct and I expect technology to forge big improvements in the next 2 years...why throw big dollars now?

I reason I bought it now rather than planned at Xmas was the price point and my crt was a stuffed. All the other units were over $3000. The differences where not obvious (Plasma's started at $4000). This one uses a Samsung LCD screen..they appear to be a major player in this technology

The in terms of colour, flesh tones are nice, but anything with red is over the top compared to a crt (maybe there is an adjustment for this) but it is way sharper than the old Phillips ex TV monitor. However my primary content will be DVD music concerts, and some movies. There is so much artificial color in this media that color balance a non issue. Also the DVD player has some colour balance adjustments (Pioneer)

On the set top box std most of the content is widescreen and there is no noise....yippy and there are a number of HD shows incl movies....yippy.

Its just that when I get home from work at 8.30 pm it will be nice to chill out in front of a wide screen that does not physically dominate the room.

When I get better organised I'll post an image of the set up

Ian

[Ian Mackenzie]

I agree, the DLP is nice, but again the price of those technologies is way above what I would call a mass market buy price. When this segment saturates the market in a few years, like the DVD player they will be cheap as chips.

Ian

[Don McRitchie]

One advantage of using a PC for television viewing is that you can modify the color profiles used by the video card to display the image. I recently bought a Spyder 2 color management system, mainly for digital still photography. This is a must to have any kind of a reference against which you can judge the color, contrast and exposure of photos. However, it has the exact same benefit for video. The system includes a calibration device that is basically a light sensor that you place over the face of the monitor. It measures the color output and develops a profile for a maximally accurate image response. It works like a charm.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Yep Don,

I am really looking forward to plugging in the PC and looking at my digital pictures....I even got a lead on the box .

This is a no no with Plasma...they burn easily with still frames.

Ian

[John]

That is also the case with DLP no burn:bouncy: no matter how long you freeze a picture.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Hi,

I was refering to manufactures comments....on a link above.

For those will DLP then it would appear okay.

Ian