LCD Choice for DSTV

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Reaper84

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Hi Guys

I have been trying to decide on a HD TV for over a month now and am still no closer to making a descision.

I am looking at a lcd, approx 40" and it must give a good picture when viewing SD channels on DSTV. I do have an HDPVR and will be doing a little XBOX gaming on it as well.

Does this 100hz make a difference because I haven't found a tv on display to check if its worth it or not.

Does anyone have any experiance with LCD's and DSTV?

My budget is around R8000 but can stretch a little :D

Any advise would be appreciated.
 
I've heard good things about the Panasonic range.
Does it HAVE to be LCD?
 
DSTV SD looks a lot better on Plasma then on LCD.....
 
I am open to Panasonic but prefer Samsung and Sony.

I hear that Plasma's have issues with Image retention even now people have issues and their life span is only approx 6 years.

But I am not 100% set on LCD, do you have a plasma that oyu can recommend?
 
The best LCD for DSTV is a plasma! :D

And ignore these comments about image retention. My Samsung plasma manual says :

Do not display a still image (such as on a video game or when hooking up a PC to this PDP) on the plasma monitor panel for more than 2 hours as it can cause screen image retention.
Click to expand...

As for life expectancy issues, read here : http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/plasmatv-lifespan.html
 
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What about the mnet sign or what happens if someone leaves the iplate on for a while, I dont need that stress in my life. Do they replace the plasma if it gets an image burnt on?

What plasma do you have and how good does it look on SD DSTV and DVD's etc?
 
I agree dude.
If you have the choice and you're not influenced by LCD phanbois then Plasma is definitely the way to go.
Image retention IS a real thing but we're talking only under serious strain and it's easily rectified again. It's not like burn-in.

Plasma will display SD much better than LCD.
You can always upgrade again in a few years.
Also, at that size, don't even bother with Full HD. HD Ready is perfect and you won't even notice the difference.
 
Go LCD.....I was dead set on a plasma....had one for a day, but I sensed its was not a very robust piece of kit.....two people had to carry it, its was hot....IR.....all those issues just played on my mind....

so I swopped for an LCD.....it has its weaknesses; my 100Hz motionflow pro that I have on my Panasonic compensates for all the SD flaws the panel might have....

get the LCD....its just more user friendly....
 
You're always going to get conflicting views.
I think the best advice we can all give you is to do what I say and buy a plasma. :P
 
There is a nice comparative summary at the bottom of this page to help a little : http://www.cnet.com/1990-7874_1-5108443-2.html

The Mnet sign is not there the whole time. It disappears during ad breaks. Your worries are exactly the same as mine when making the decision. I was scared that the logos would get "burnt in" but this is yet to happen. It has been on football for hours on end with the SABC 1 logo kin the bottom right hand corner and I am yet to see an image ghost.

Numerous advancements have improved this. My Samsung shifts the image a few pixels every few minutes (based on your settings). This is indiscernible to the human eye but it helps prevent image retention.

The biggest plus for me is viewing angle. The image on my plasma is clear as day even when standing almost side on to the screen. This proves useful when outside braaing with a less than ideal viewing angle, or when taking a peek at the TV from the kitchen at a big angle when you hear cheers :)
 
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It's not as simple as one technology vs. another. Both sets have their good points and bad points. For example in bright light plasma colours can look a bit washed out, even though most people tend to agree that plasma gives the most natural colours. So LCD is a better choice for brighter areasm but the trade-off is that you may struggle to get the colours to look natural. That said, I had that problem with my old Samsung LCD, but my new Sony gives far better colours. I don't agree with the comment about getting HD Ready - these sets are not cheap, so rather try and futureproof your purchase as much as possible by getting full HD if you can afford it. In my experience, a lot of consumers expect the technology of the new sets to miraculously give them ultra clear and realistic pictures, which they won't. If the signal is crap, your image will be crap.
 
Durandal said:
I don't agree with the comment about getting HD Ready - these sets are not cheap, so rather try and futureproof your purchase as much as possible by getting full HD if you can afford it.
Click to expand...
Actually at 40", you'd have to have 2 sets (1 x Full HD and 1 x HD Ready) right next to each other, split a Blu-ray 1080p signal to both, pause the image and compare line for line before you'd notice any real difference.
At that size, with recommended viewing distances, you're definitely not going to tell the difference.
This holds especially true since satellite broadcasts in 1080p in the rest of the world (let alone South Africa) are at least 5 to 10 years away and for the foreseeable future, 90% of all viewing content will be in 720p or at most 1080i, which is interlaced so not the same as 1080p.
 
That is the exact TV I was looking at getting, how is the SD DSTV picture and does it cope with sport?

The EX400 lags a little.

How much did you pay as well?
 
Can anyone recommend a good plasma then?

I think Game and Makro have a returns policy of 7 days if I don't like the plasma

I would prefer to stick to Sony/Samsung
 
Reaper84 said:
That is the exact TV I was looking at getting, how is the SD DSTV picture and does it cope with sport?

The EX400 lags a little.

How much did you pay as well?
Click to expand...

Hello Reaper,

It's early days with the 500 so far, but I like the quality of the picture, and there are a huge number of adjustments (some worthwhile, some not) that you can make to the picture. To be honest, and I have said it elsewhere, no amount of technology is going to do wonders with any TV signal, DStv included, since on certain channels they use a lot of compression of the signal, and you can pick it up, visually. What I am trying to say, is don't expect too much - these TVs can only do so much. Sport is fine, I've seen almost none of the drag that I used to see on my old Samsung. I don't have access to the HD channels at home, but we have a Sony EX 400 at work, which is connected to the high def channels, and based on what I see there, one would assume the 500 would do a good job. I've recently returned from New Zealand, where I was staying with a sports fanatic, and his Panasonic is now as old as my previous Samsung, a good three years, and I have to say that regardless of that fact, their high def - for whatever reason - looks better than what I have seen locally. In theory, shouldn't, but I spent most of my time gobsmacked by what I was seeing. Maybe it's just because their air is cleaner, so I was seeing better ;-)
On DVDs, using an upscaling DVD player, the visuals are really impressive. I'm using component at 720 at the moment, but will try full HDMI when I get a gap to see if I really feel the investment is worth it. I've a feeling it will, but only on certain DVDs where you might need as much detail as possible. But certainly, DVD/Blu-ray/gaming is where these sets will really show you what they can deliver.
So in a nutshell, I'm glad with the purchase so far, because I have reasonable expectations of what it can do, and unlike Khieron, whose eyes are clearly better than mine, I'm glad I chose to future-proof the purchase as much as possible.
 
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