So it was my dads b'day 24 Sept and my all knowing brothers went out and bought a LCD TV for him (40" Samsung LCD) without me doing to research (posting on here :p)

Anywho, whats everyone's thoughts on this

http://www.samsung.com/au/products/tv/lcdtv/la40r81bd.asp

It's bought and installed already, so yeh is it decent?

EDIT: Woohoo 15K AGN posts - what a waste of a thread, should have been a spoot thread :/ ohh well like the majority of my posts, this is a 'help' post, so no doubt it's 'par for the course' hehee

seems ok heards

i would have looked at a fully 1080p tele myself, but appart from that, not too shabby

dumb commas


dont you hate it when people buy things without researching/checking with you first!?

last edited by Spook at 05:54:20 25/Sep/07

yeah I have to pay some money into the purchase too, so I was pissed off (because I ould have gotten 1080p myself as well)... however the more I thought about it though, my old man won't be using HD to it's full potential anyway.

He has HD Foxtel and that will all that it gets used for, probably wont even hook up surround sound or anything else, kinda a waste, but fark it :)

foxtel's only sd matey

haha so it is... my brother said 'ohh dad has a HF fox box' I thought they might have upgraded fox since I left... all pay tv has a HD option :D

ohh well, the HD tuner in it is meant to be pretty good, according to that cnet article, so that's something :)

EDIT: I bet my bro got confused with 'digital' fox hehe - http://foxtel.com.au/channel/lineup.html?pageId=3

last edited by HeardY at 06:30:28 25/Sep/07

arnt foxtel movies running in HD now? I dont have it so I dont know for sure :P

some foxtel stuff is sent down in widescreen but i'm fairly sure that the actual quality is the same.

I have this TV I think

yer, a lot of foxtel channels are widescreen, but its still only SD

with component cables, most channels are fair quality (channel 9 is probably the worst)

channel 10 is suprisingly good now in widescreen

The new Foxtel HD coming next year I think.

i got the next model up which is tru high. f***en fantastic can i just say.

thats the exact tv i wanna get for my xbawx setup. Currently $1999 at umart

Is there a version of that TV (or even the smaller 32" model) that comes with 1080p? And if so, anyone have any idea how much it is? I'm in the market for a new HD tv and I figure I may as well get one with 1080p cos I know eventually I'm gonna get a PS3 down the line.

khel, i have this LCD TV and it is 1080 looking at the specs.

edit: i paid $3300 but it retails around 3800 presently i think.

we have a 50" samsung at work, shes nice.

a mate of mine got an acer 32" 1080 jobby over 6 months ago for $2700

nice tele

would be much cheaper now;

Oh the humanity...

maybe it was a 37"

sure looks flash as with his pc hooked up to it

how you like dem apples mongie?
:)

Dude to be honest... I don't really mind what type of TV people buy, but considering the advantage plasmas have in picture quality, I'm suprised and a little bit worried for people, that everyone seems so keen for LCD.

Don't get me wrong, LCD's look good... but until someone actually looks at two similar monitors next to each other, one lcd and one plasma, you shouldn't rush into buying anything.

they all sit next to each other in the store. i think its blatantly obvious LCD quality is better. plus they have a better lifespan afaik. <3 samsung 3 year warranty too.

Woah... what?

infi spam outta nowhere.

Oh dear... I'm biting now.

well, i told my mate to buy lcd, is why he bought his;

for all the same reasons i tell everyone else to buy lcd

ive looked at plasma's in store, they certainly werent lightyears in front for IQ like you keep insisting htey are

all i see is low res tele's that wont display my media/console how i want to see it and old technology

last edited by Spook at 11:57:34 26/Sep/07

it was a troll actually :p

The lifetime of the latest generation of plasma displays is estimated at 60,000 hours (or 27 years at 6 hours of use per day) of actual display time. More precisely, this is the estimated half life of the display, the point where the picture has degraded to half of its original brightness. It is watchable after this point, but is generally considered the end of the functional life of the display.

O cool.


also...

Plasma vs LCD

The ADVANTAGES of Plasma over LCD are:

1. Larger screen size availability.

2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.

3. Better color accuracy and saturation.

4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).

The DISADVANTAGES of Plasma vs LCD include:

1. Plasma TVs are more susceptible to burn-in of static images.

2. Plasma TVs generate more heat than LCDs, due to the need to light of phosphors to create the images.

3. Does not perform as well at higher altitudes.

4. Shorter display life span (about 30,000 hours or 8 hrs of viewing a day for 9 years) than LCD. However, screen life span is improving to as high as 60,000 hours. due to technology improvements.

LCD television ADVANTAGES over Plasma include:

1. No burn-in of static images.

2. Cooler running temperature.

3. No high altitude use issues.

4. Increased image brightness over Plasma.

5. Longer display life (about 60,000 hours - at which time all you may need to do is replace the light source, not the entire set). This can vary according other environmental and use factors.

6. Lighter weight (when comparing same screen sizes) than Plasma counterparts.

DISADVANTAGES of LCD vs Plasma televisions include:

1. Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks.

2. Not as good at tracking motion (fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts) - However, this is improving.

3. Not as common in large screen sizes above 42-inches as Plasma. However, the number is growing fast, with some LCD sets having a screen size as large as 65-inches now available to the general public.

4. Although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.

5. LCD televisions are typically more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions (although this is changing), especially when comparing EDTV Plasmas to HDTV-LCD Televisions.

PS: Panasonic 42" FullHD plasmas ~ $3850.

you are now printer/tv boy

Spook and I have an ongoing battle. I'm his Bluray and he is my HDDVD

haha, im happy with that :) (sif sony)
extra contradiction added: my tv(which i love dearly) is sony

last edited by Spook at 12:17:40 26/Sep/07

I'm getting a HDTV pretty soon, but I'm looking at around 50", and I think I'm in the plasma camp too, especially when you look at the price differences at that size range.

Though the more I look into it, the more I'm not so sure it's worth spending the extra money on 1080p. My e-peen tells me I absolutely need to, but the more reviews and articles I read, it just doesn't sound like it's worth it.

I found a graph a while ago which measured the benefits of TV sizes at certain resolutions, given the distance you're sitting from the TV. With 50" screens, you have to be 2m away or less to be able to adequately distinguish 768p from 1080p. I don't think I could sit that close to a 50" TV for very long without my head imploding.

So yeah, I've gone completely off-topic here, but I figured I'd share the knowledge.

Midda, You don't need 1080p. There is a big price difference, and there is very little real world gain.

Remember, that there is no benefit for TV. You will only gain quality on HD-DVD/BlueRay/PS3.

50" Plasma are either 1366x768 or 1920x1080. Expect to pay ~ $2700+ for the former and $4000+ for the latter.

That's what I figured, which made me wonder why you'd want to go for a 1080p TV for something as small as a 32" TV as someone mentioned on here previously. You'd have to be using it as a computer monitor to see a real difference imo.

Still, what about my e-peen? :(

Remember, that there is no benefit for TV. You will only gain quality on HD-DVD/BlueRay/PS3.

well, unless you are going to hook your pc up to it anyway

which most of us would want to do

That's what I figured, which made me wonder why you'd want to go for a 1080p TV for something as small as a 32" TV as someone mentioned on here previously.

I think you have a slightly skewed perception of small. 32 inch is like 76cm, thats, thats hardly small. Granted I'd probably get a 40" tv, but I still don't consider 32" small. I think my current tv is only like 65cm or something like that, and its fine.

And since I know I'm gonna get a PS3 eventually, it'd be silly not to get a tv that does 1080p. I'm sure paying a bit extra for 1080p is still cheaper than buying a whole new tv in a year's time. I mean I've had my current tv for like 7 years, so if I was going to keep the next one for 7 years I'd want it to be relatively future-proofed.

I honestly thing at least half of you guys are commenting before you've actually seen what you're talking about.

Its strange that QGL is so different to the average consumer.

PS: Through D-SUB, my TV accepts 1024x768, 1366x768 or 1920x1080.

Please note: There are two issues here... Mainly Plasma v LCD, but also to 1080P or not to 1080P. You CAN GET 1080P PLASMAS. JUST FYI.

last edited by mongie at 16:19:58 26/Sep/07

PS: Through D-SUB, my TV accepts 1024x768, 1366x768 or 1920x1080.

euuuwwwwghhhhhhhhhh

downscaling, no thanks

You do realise Spook, that all of your whining about plasmas doesn't change the fact that whether it nativley supports 1080p or not, a plasma looks better than an LCD?

Its all good to troll... but eventually you have to man up.

When you're talking about HDTV, 32" is right down the small end of the scale. What I was getting at is that with screen sizes like that, it's very unlikely that you'll get any benefit from 1080p as opposed to 720p at normal viewing distances.

Here's that chart I mentioned. The information in this, and a lot of reviews and comments I've been reading have all been saying pretty much the same thing.

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadgethd.com/media/2006/12/resolution_chart.jpg

According to this, with a 32 inch TV, the full benefit of 1080p is only really visible within 4 feet. That's like, 120cm away. Pretty close.

But I'm not saying I disagree with you. Future-proofing is something I'm still pondering as well. I really do -want- 1080p, but I also want to get something very big, and those two things don't play nice with one another with regards to my budget. I play my 360 at 768 on my PC monitor, and it looks very pretty, but yeah, my mind is still being made up.

And the market thinks plasma looks heaps better than LCD, just looking at plasma's pricing premium.

You do realise Spook, that all of your whining about plasmas doesn't change the fact that whether it nativley supports 1080p or not, a plasma looks better than an LCD?

Its all good to troll... but eventually you have to man up.

i dont know wtf u r talking about mongie

i couldnt be happier with the quality of my picture and my tv uses a decent res so i can use it as a pc monitor

thats end of story

you go and sacrifice resolution for IQ all you want

fat lot of good it does you when your tv cant handle blueray/hddvd/xbox360/720p media without downgrading the signal

enjoy your "superior" SD picture and blacks matey

last edited by Spook at 16:41:55 26/Sep/07

Its HD <3.

Don't cry spook... You'll be right some day.

1. Larger screen size availability.

2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.

3. Better color accuracy and saturation.

4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).

I think samsung begs the differ on that one. Agreed, it used to be like that, but the times they are a changing :)

http://www.samsung.com/au/products/tv/lcdtv/la32r81bd.asp
I think is a good example

compared to lcd res, its sd matey
:)

got 720p? (no)

I hope you're not refering to all of those points...


Only the first one is outdated.

#2 is a fact of life for LCD, it will never be perfect.
#3 is also much better on Plasma.
#4 is also much better on Plasma.

So, yeah... I guess you're right on #1, but not on #2,#3 or #4.


edit: I know this is hard to understand, but LCD and Plasma work very differently. And, my TV does 720p.

last edited by mongie at 16:48:35 26/Sep/07

not without downgrading the signal it doesnt

Yes.

Okay, you can get 10000:1 on plasma, but I still stand by my "times are changing" statement :P

I still believe that Plasma will die to make way for LCD

1080p is good if you want to buy bigger than 42" and sitting just far enough away from it to see the different. But of course if you want it for your study to hookup PS3 etc to it then 32" is fine unless you got a massive bedroom or study.


I got Samsung 32" slim line wide screen CRT (that can do 1080i) and I think we're sitting about 1.5-2 metres away from it so according to that chart I guess it's quite good distance. It has some distortion problem because of the slim profile etc but it's not really noticeable to me but the picture quality is great as you'd expect from CRT.

Personally I don't plan to buy new TV or upgrade my DVD player to HD until the format war is settle or the hybrid players become cheaper to buy. I think we're about a year or two away from that yet :)

Man, I'm so noob, I so nearly fell for Spook's troll. Started typing a response and everything.

im not trolling, im trying to help you

LCD's look awesome.

As long as the picture isn't moving.

LCDs and plasmas are both good, but everything I've read says that if you want to go bigger than 40-45" or so, you'll get mroe bang-for-buck out of plasma (otherwise, LCD is usually a better deal). Deeper blacks are nice too.