Buying a new TV

[Adam]

Hey guys

So i'm going to be getting a new TV this weekend, as when I move house I want to move my current main TV to my bedroom and my new TV into my living room, so i'd like a rather good one. I was browsing a few websites that have stores in my area, but i'm a little dumbstruck on a few things. I've tried googling but I just get a lot of tech terms, can anyone give me info in layman's terms..?

What's the deal and difference with LCD, LED and plasma? What's the best HD way to go?

Also, what's aspect radio (I get the general idea of it) and whats the 720 and 1080 deal that I see everywhere I look?

Advice very very welcome!

Cheers
-Adam

 

[muzzington]

I've had a Samsung 40" LED TV for a while and it's great. Kind of between a standard LCD and Plasma in power consumption and quality.

Get Full High Definition (1080p) especially for movies and gaming.

 

[vivisectvi]

I went with a 1080p 40" LED Sony Bravia. Love this tv. LED actually uses a shitton less power than both LED and Plasma (plasma being the worst offender).

 

[muzzington]

Even better!

I think I went with the Samsung mainly because I liked the base more.

 

[vivisectvi]

That's a nice one. I had a Samsung before this one (it's in my bedroom now) but wanted to try out a Sony for it's compatibility with the PS3. I would always get this weird screen tear on some games on the Samsung. Thankfully it disappeared with the Sony.

 

[muzzington]

I had a Bravia before this one (with a bulky black base). Nothing but good things to say about it (except for the bulky black base).

Don't know if you could really go wrong with any of the better brands unless one does something better than the others that you value highly.

Like bases.

 

[Master Thrasher]

Plasmas used to have burn in problems. I know my set, which is old, has ghosting problems.

 

[Youth N Asia]

I bought my 40 inch, LCD, 1080p, Westinghouse on Black Friday for $297. I couldn't be happier with it. I don't know enough about great tv's. So this one has been just great for me. My 360 looks great in 1080p and my blu rays are crisp.

 

[Adam]

Right, from what you guys say there's not really a shit ton of difference unless you're specially looking out for something. I'll just buy the biggest 1080 TV for the cheapest price if possible.

 

[Incandenza]

The Wiki article on aspect ratios gives you a decent overview, but pretty much all HDTVs are in the 1.78:1 frame.

My TV's a 1080p Bravia. No complaints.

 

[NoCalMike]

I have a Samsung 50" 1080p plasma. Love it. The picture quality is fantastic, It seems I barely ever have to turn the volume above 15 even though it goes to 100, and I saved a few bucks because I bought a model that came out before they starting putting all the widgets and wifi on, which because I already have a PS3 that I can do that all with.

 

[Adam]

Hey guys.

I picked up a pretty neat 40" 1080 SONY Bravia for £500 (down from £700) looks pretty neat so far. Haven't seen any real quality as I don't have any HD channels or I don't have a HDMI lead.

There's a USB slot in the actual TV, is there anyway I can put in a USB stick and watch video files? Not a problem if not as my PS3 can do that, but just curious.

 

[Adam]

Wow this Youtube is giving me a headache! I've got Youtube built into it with various other apps. I linked my Youtube account to it and favourited a video that I wanted to watch on my TV as I couldn't find it manually searching for it on my TV yet I have it favourited on my PC.

I added it to 'favourite videos' but it doesn't show up, so I tried adding another video as a favourite and it DOES link.

So just to be sure, I added the original video to a new playlist, and the new playlist shows up but the video doesn't, just says empty playlist!

Anybody got an idea? It's a fairly old video now, but it's still online obviously as I watch it on my PC.

Edit

Seems like I can't force a connection from my PC to TV, just the other way around. Favourites I put on the TV appear on the PC but not vice-verca.

Also I can't delete one test video from the TV 'favourites'. I click remove but it just remains there.

Perhaps I should just give up on this venture..

 

[Mik]

Link.

Got this today but don't get it until Saturday. Can not wait to upgrade....

 

[NoCalMike]

From what I read Plasma still is the best for viewing angles. This would matter most depending on your setup.

For me the TV is in the corner so a plasma is ideal because of where most people would be sitting in relation to the TV.

If your setup has your TV mounted to the wall, or against the back of a wall, viewing angles would be less important.

I guess it's a little late for this advice since the TV has been bought. Oops.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

Hey guys.

I picked up a pretty neat 40" 1080 SONY Bravia for £500 (down from £700) looks pretty neat so far. Haven't seen any real quality as I don't have any HD channels or I don't have a HDMI lead.

There's a USB slot in the actual TV, is there anyway I can put in a USB stick and watch video files? Not a problem if not as my PS3 can do that, but just curious.

Im looking at a similar Sony TV. Its about $700 and supports full HD at 120hz. I'll probably pick it up this weekend.

 

[muzzington]

Link.

Got this today but don't get it until Saturday. Can not wait to upgrade....

Jealous.

One thing great about new TV's is they are freaking light.

 

[Mik]

Got the TV. In love is a good way to describe my feelings.

My girlfriend and I watched Rango last night streaming full 1080p and it was insane how sharp and detailed the animations were. Just in general I can't believe the difference between my previous "HD" TV and this... night and day.

 

[CanadianGuitarist]

From what I read Plasma still is the best for viewing angles. This would matter most depending on your setup.

Plasmas still generally have the better viewing angle, but 95 out of every 100 LCD's offer 178 degrees now anyway.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

This is the new TV that came in today. I'm loving the image quality on this. 40" Sony Bravia.

 

[Vitamin X]

Is that the one with the built-in Google TV? I'm thinking about getting a new bigger TV with that. probably a 37" or 42", maybe.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

Is that the one with the built-in Google TV? I'm thinking about getting a new bigger TV with that. probably a 37" or 42", maybe.

No, there's no Google TV on this one. I bought it because the picture quality is incredible for the price.

 

[Rendclaw]

I got a Vizio 1080p 32 inch, and I'm more than happy with it..

Though I can't wait until I get a PS3 or XBOX, because playing PS2 games on it is not that fun of an experience.

 

[Haws Bah Gawd]

I got a Vizio 1080p 32 inch, and I'm more than happy with it..

Though I can't wait until I get a PS3 or XBOX, because playing PS2 games on it is not that fun of an experience.

See if you can find some component video cables. Some PS2 games such as Shadow of the Colossus and Ratchet and Clank UYA support progressive scan and might look a little sharper.