General Plasma & LCD discussions

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BrianB said:
Thanks for the advice, the room is bright and curtains are almost never closed. It will be connected to an HD DSTV decoder.
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It would be best to go for a LCD then. They could also consider LED backlit LCD, as they appear better in bright conditions (worse in dark conditions / night time...).

If they truly value sport, it would be important to get a 100Hz LCD/LED-LCD to better handle motion. There should be one available for around R7,500, like the Samsung UA40D6000 LED-LCD. Samsung are not making any more 100Hz LCDs.
 
Hi Folks;

I'm looking at getting the SONY BRAVIA 40EX520 . Its going for R6, 788.00.

Does anyone have any particular experience with this range? Basically its just going to be used with DSTV for at least the next 3 years. Its going in the living room, with 8m sliding doors never in direct sunlight but the room is nevertheless very bright. At most the viewing distance is 7m face on and roughly 40 degree angle from the TV at 3m.

Anyone got any particular gripes with this thing?
 
hambone said:
Hi Folks;

I'm looking at getting the SONY BRAVIA 40EX520 . Its going for R6, 788.00.

Does anyone have any particular experience with this range? Basically its just going to be used with DSTV for at least the next 3 years. Its going in the living room, with 8m sliding doors never in direct sunlight but the room is nevertheless very bright. At most the viewing distance is 7m face on and roughly 40 degree angle from the TV at 3m.

Anyone got any particular gripes with this thing?
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I would go and test what is brighter: Sony LED-LCD or Samsung LED-LCD. Since this will be a factor. A brighter TV will look better in a bright room.

Pity about the 7m viewing distance.

While I know plasma is reflective, since it isn't in direct sunlight, I would strongly suggest checking out the Samsung PS51D450 51" HD Ready as you're getting 11" bigger for around R788 cheaper. It will also be superior for SD channels on DSTV.
 
You Sir seem like a wealth of knowledge, thanks for your thoughts. Before I go about increasing my credit limit for a TV i'd like to rack your brain a little more.

PostmanPot said:
I would go and test what is brighter: Sony LED-LCD or Samsung LED-LCD. Since this will be a factor. A brighter TV will look better in a bright room.
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Are there industry 'brightness' levels or measures like luminescence or some jazz (i'm totally out of my depth here? Do people normally ask the Sony or Samsung store to wheel their TV's into bright natural light areas of showrooms or shopping centers?

Pity about the 7m viewing distance.
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Why so? Ideally i'd like a TV that doesn't feel like i'm in the front row of the IMAX. Do you know of a chart of some description that outlines whats the ideal distance vs. screen size? Or is this concern perhaps an LCD vs. Plasma issue?

While I know plasma is reflective, since it isn't in direct sunlight, I would strongly suggest checking out the Samsung PS51D450 51" HD Ready as you're getting 11" bigger for around R788 cheaper.
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Currently the maximum size TV that can fit in the hole in my wall unit is 48" and I was going for the 40" to give the TV room to breath. Its not out of the question that I make the hole bigger though, I just have to take one of the shelves out (somehow).

It will also be superior for SD channels on DSTV.
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Why so?

Thanks again for your info, not only is it helpful its also given me a reason to not watch tonight's movie on MNET.
 
hambone said:
Are there industry 'brightness' levels or measures like luminescence or some jazz (i'm totally out of my depth here? Do people normally ask the Sony or Samsung store to wheel their TV's into bright natural light areas of showrooms or shopping centers?
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Most stores are inherently bright, a helluva lot brighter than your average home. You can try Googling the models as there are documented brightness levels for most TVs. Televisioninfo.com has a lot of listings but at the end of the day it's best to use your own eyes. It suits your case to test brightness in a Game/Makro/Samsung Shop as they could offer brightness similar to yours. Play with settings like brightness and backlight brightness. Remember it's important to try and test from your viewing distance as well because of the role it plays in affecting picture, difficult in shops.

Why so? Ideally i'd like a TV that doesn't feel like i'm in the front row of the IMAX. Do you know of a chart of some description that outlines whats the ideal distance vs. screen size? Or is this concern perhaps an LCD vs. Plasma issue?
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7m is very far, about 5m outside the average distance required to sit from a 50" FHD/1080p TV for the full FHD/1080p experience (eyesight is also a factor). 50" = around 2 - 2.5m, 40" around 1.5 - 2m.

I take it this is your first HD TV/wide screen? Of course you may have your own reasons for wanting a small TV, yes 40" is regarded as small. If you don't want to increase the size of the hole I would advise going 46" LCD/LED-LCD as the difference in size is quite a lot. See for yourself at the shop, from as far back as possible (3 - 7m).

Currently the maximum size TV that can fit in the hole in my wall unit is 48" and I was going for the 40" to give the TV room to breath. Its not out of the question that I make the hole bigger though, I just have to take one of the shelves out (somehow).
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If you enjoy your TV, you'll most probably want bigger after getting used to the smaller size you once thought was going to be too big. Just saying, this is the reaction of most people buying HD TVs...

Why so?

Thanks again for your info, not only is it helpful its also given me a reason to not watch tonight's movie on MNET.
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Entry plasma has lower resolution, HD Ready 1365x768 16:9, which favours lower quality "4:3/squarer" sources (like DVDs, standard definition, .avi/.divx rips) compared to most entry LCDs which are Full HD 1920x1080 16:9. Size of TV also plays a factor, while a 40" LCD would be needing to stretch more by filling in more pixels for the complete picture, a 51" would also stretch the SD picture somewhat. Neither are idea at the end of the day, 43" 1024x768 plasma is best for SD to to its physical resolution while maintaining 16:9 with rectangular pixels.
 
PostmanPot said:
7m is very far, about 5m outside the average distance required to sit from a 50" FHD/1080p TV for the full FHD/1080p experience (eyesight is also a factor). 50" = around 2 - 2.5m, 40" around 1.5 - 2m.

I take it this is your first HD TV/wide screen? Of course you may have your own reasons for wanting a small TV, yes 40" is regarded as small. If you don't want to increase the size of the hole I would advise going 46" LCD/LED-LCD as the difference in size is quite a lot. See for yourself at the shop, from as far back as possible (3 - 7m).

If you enjoy your TV, you'll most probably want bigger after getting used to the smaller size you once thought was going to be too big. Just saying, this is the reaction of most people buying HD TVs...
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Winning post and given me much food for thought! Yes, it is my first LCD/Plasma experience - I have an HD projector in another room which is great for the occasional movie/PGA Tour but not ideal for everyday TLC, BBCE viewing and hours of XBOX playing. I was burnt recently buying a new lamp for the projector, hence my decision to upgrade the old TV.

Anyway, i've now got lots to think about. I'm in one of those falling apart massive roomed settler homes in Grahamstown so I've got plenty of space to play with, no real reason I need to be 7m away from the TV. I suppose I could move the couch closer and have at lease 3m behind the couch ;) Thanks again for your feedback!
 
hambone said:
Winning post and given me much food for thought! Yes, it is my first LCD/Plasma experience - I have an HD projector in another room which is great for the occasional movie/PGA Tour but not ideal for everyday TLC, BBCE viewing and hours of XBOX playing. I was burnt recently buying a new lamp for the projector, hence my decision to upgrade the old TV.

Anyway, i've now got lots to think about. I'm in one of those falling apart massive roomed settler homes in Grahamstown so I've got plenty of space to play with, no real reason I need to be 7m away from the TV. I suppose I could move the couch closer and have at lease 3m behind the couch ;) Thanks again for your feedback!
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Just saying that since you're mentioning sport, plasma at the entry level tends to handle motion better, another reason why it offers such good value. However since the room is bright, LCD/LED-LCD is probably more suitable.

Pleasure, good luck and let us know.
 
Hi, I got myself the ps43d450 the weekend and im really enjoying it sofar. Its really huge compared to the 27 in monitor used previously.

I have a question about the break in period, acording to Samsung its not neccesary but it seems some gurus still recomend it. What are your thoughts people?

Used mainly for streamed media, blu-ray and games all through ps3.
 
rdk400 said:
Hi, I got myself the ps43d450 the weekend and im really enjoying it sofar. Its really huge compared to the 27 in monitor used previously.

I have a question about the break in period, acording to Samsung its not neccesary but it seems some gurus still recomend it. What are your thoughts people?

Used mainly for streamed media, blu-ray and games all through ps3.
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i was told by a samsung tech that there is no need for a break in period, from other owners i was told for the first say 200 hours to keep it on movie mode.

also on the playstation i wouldn't leave static images on when it is paused etc, btw dont they have a game setting for that reason?

also turn on pixel shift etc
 
rdk400 said:
Hi, I got myself the ps43d450 the weekend and im really enjoying it sofar. Its really huge compared to the 27 in monitor used previously.

I have a question about the break in period, acording to Samsung its not neccesary but it seems some gurus still recomend it. What are your thoughts people?

Used mainly for streamed media, blu-ray and games all through ps3.
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Break in isnt necessary.
 
I also picked up that the pro break-in people say that while the pixels are settling in this period the plasma will run hot. Mine has absolutely no heat coming from the screen thus far, its as cool as my lcd. I was also lucky with getting a tv without any buzzing at all(Heard some had a problem with this)

Think I will take it slow for the first say 2 weeks running the scrolling bar every now and then, after that im setting the brightness contrast etc to higher levels, final calibration and hope for the best.
 
rdk400 said:
Hi, I got myself the ps43d450 the weekend and im really enjoying it sofar. Its really huge compared to the 27 in monitor used previously.

I have a question about the break in period, acording to Samsung its not neccesary but it seems some gurus still recomend it. What are your thoughts people?

Used mainly for streamed media, blu-ray and games all through ps3.
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Generally recommended to run at half brightness/contrast for 200 hours (leave TV on overnight etc).

But that is definitely a thing from the past where plasmas were susceptible to more problems, and plasmas are advertised these days as not needing break in.

By the way, remember to enable pixel shifting and other burn protection.
 
rdk400 said:
I also picked up that the pro break-in people say that while the pixels are settling in this period the plasma will run hot. Mine has absolutely no heat coming from the screen thus far, its as cool as my lcd. I was also lucky with getting a tv without any buzzing at all(Heard some had a problem with this)

Think I will take it slow for the first say 2 weeks running the scrolling bar every now and then, after that im setting the brightness contrast etc to higher levels, final calibration and hope for the best.
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Are you talking about at the back?

Presence of heat will be determined by room/airflow, but it should be warm at the back.

There should also be a minor buzzing when listening at the back. All plasmas buzz. :)
 
Thanks for all the replies!

Will go and listen very closely for the buzzing, its very quite though no effect on my viewing experience whatsover. It might get hotter if used for a long time, from the use thus far though no excessive heat.

Thanks again everyone!
 
PostmanPot, the regular TV information guru :D

I've been reading a few threads, and you generally seem to favour plasma screens. Doing a bit more research, and I am beginning to agree with your recommendations.

So- what are your thoughts on the LG 42PT350? It will be used for HD movies via my HTPC (to be connected via HDMI), gaming (but not too fussed about 1080p) and the odd SD channel watch (not a fan of Multi-rip-off-Choice). It will be in my lounge, which is relatively dark especially when the curtains are drawn.
 
Third Blue From the Sun said:
PostmanPot, the regular TV information guru :D

I've been reading a few threads, and you generally seem to favour plasma screens. Doing a bit more research, and I am beginning to agree with your recommendations.
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Both techs have their pros and cons. Plasma just has more, especially with value for money, at the entry-mid level. Most people looking for TVs are on a budget, and a large proportion of their content is SD and sport. Most people have curtained rooms and view during dimmer ambient lighting, and most sit far from their TV. This is where plasma wins, at the entry level. For those that need 1080p on a tight budget and those that sit close to their TVs, for those who use their TV as a PC to do work on (non media/gaming), for those that have bright rooms - I would not recommend plasma.

So- what are your thoughts on the LG 42PT350? It will be used for HD movies via my HTPC (to be connected via HDMI), gaming (but not too fussed about 1080p) and the odd SD channel watch (not a fan of Multi-rip-off-Choice). It will be in my lounge, which is relatively dark especially when the curtains are drawn.
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Not sure, not a fan of LG. Sounds like the entry model though? In which case the Samsung PS43D450 43" HD Ready (1024x768 720p with rectangular pixels) will probably be better. R4,999 at Game.

You could also look at the PS51D450 51" HD Ready (1365x768 16:9), usually R5,999 - R6,500. Its pixel density is lower than the 43" model, but that won't matter once you're sitting 2m+ back.

If you like LG then try go to a proper AV shop and compare both in the test room under ideal conditions. Don't compare from the aisle at Game. ;)
 
What do you think of the Telefunken 46" Full HD TV screen that is going at Game for R5000? My boyfriend wants to buy a big TV and include DSTV with it. My only problem is I remember my ex has the same one - the screen ratio vs the DSTV's ratio wasn't good because if it's on fullscreen, the image is stretched so I had to set to something like 16:9 and only the sides were cropped with black to a normal screen.

We can't afford to buy the HD PVR at this stage so a normal single view or dual-view decoder would be ideal for now, seeing my boyfriend and I are going on leave from the 15th of December and we have pretty much nothing else to do during the leave.

OR should I tell him to take the deal of a LG 50" HD Ready Plasma screen that includes installation of the dish and decoder?
 
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