Which LCD TV..

[dequadin]

Lets just add sum more substance here.

As far as pricing goes:
Sony (Catz): | Samsung (Stax/Game/Hirsch):
32s - 7999 | 32S81 - 5999
32v - 8499 | 32r81 - 6599
37s - 10999 | 37r81 - (Not Sure)
40s - 13999 | 40s81 - 8999
40v - 14999 | 40R81 - 10999
40d - 16999 | None
Full HD Models:
40w - 21999 | Not Sure
40x - 24999 | Not Sure

And these are this weekends prices.

From what I can see the new LG's have a contrast ratio of 20000:1 (which is double the old model) and response time of 4ms (as apposed to 5ms of the old one). So the difference is there! Unfortunately I couldn't see any Samsungs...

Obviously if one constantly waits for new technology one will never buy anything. But from my experience LCD's have a cycle of just under a year. So we are at the begining of a new cycle... Two months is hardly a big wait...

With LCD rear projection, they are nice, but the viewing angle sucks (maybe a swivel base would be nice here )

Since I haven't said what I'd buy, I'd take a Samsung R81 (even though it's old and I haven't seen the new ones yet) or a Sony, price depending (I won't pay more that 15% extra for the name)

 

[eitai2001]

The reason all the Samsung pricing has dropped is because there is a new A series ... so our prices are also probably going to drop too. Also ... as far as I know ... there is talk of a new sony range in about 2 months ... and a possible Z series. Samsung is generally better priced ... the premium for sony comes from the Bravia engine ... which is rated at 10% better than the equivalent samsung. So what we usually tell customers is if you pay more than 10% extra for the equivalent sony ... it generally isn't worth it.

 

[dequadin]

At least we can finally agree on something

 

[eitai2001]

Lol

 

[Silver82]

@ dequadin : Have you actually had a look at the viewing angles on a decent LCD rear projection? Saying that viewing angels suck is from forum talk where people haven't actually seen one but have 'heard' that viewing angels suck

You may think I'm biased because I own one, but honestly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with viewing angles or distance, I'm looking at my tv right now, and I'm pretty much in line with the screen (to the left of it), and I can still see exactly what's going on. But besides that, who actually watches a tv from that angle? My point? Viewing angles aren't a problem, and even if they were? Nobody watches a tv from that angle

IF you guys are thinking about buying plasma or lcd, do yourself a favour, just go and have a look at the Kf-50E200A. After a year of watching dvds, divx, hd divx on it, I only have two complaints. One, you can't wall mount it (not that I need to, I have an awesome stand). Two, it has a globe that has a limited lifespan of between 3 and 5 years. But at the same time, a plasma fades over time, lcd doesn't, and every few years I get a new globe and basically have a new tv

Apologies for the long reply on such a basic point, but I love defending LCD rear projection. I was totally against them and never considered it until I saw a friends and couldn't believe that it looked like the best sony lcds in the store at half the price. Where else do you get a 50" Sony Bravia for R15 000?

 

[eitai2001]

If I'm not mistaken, Sony has discontinued that range of Projection TV's ... I may be wrong ... but I haven't seen one in nearly a year. They were nice TV's I must admit. The range Sony sells currently is the SXRD ... where you are looking at about R25k for either a 50", possibly a 60" can't remember which one was for that price. These are also Full HD which is nice, they came out in Full HD before the plasmas or LCDs that hit the SA market.

In terms of viewing angles ... you get some decent side to side angles with these projection TV's ... but if you are standing up, and too close (i.e. increased vertical angle) the picture does fade a bit ... and the same applies if you have a fairly extreme side angle lets say +-160 degrees or so ... but you can't really watch TV at that angle in any case.
Plus ... in terms of standard TV ... these projection TVs tend to do a better job than plasma or LCD ... not always though.

 

[Silver82]

@ eitai2001: I'm sure you can still get them at house and home, but I think you're right, they may have been discontinued by now (so glad I got mine before I did notice that the same tv had about three different model names, depending on what country you were looking at, I found that to be quite weird (did lots of research before I bought it, and all the forums had different model numbers, but it was the exact same tv).

I think at R25k, it could be for the 60", I paid just under R18 000 for mine a year ago, it was retailing for R23 000 at the time (I recently saw it in a house and home ad for R15 999).

It's not full HD though, only 720p, but honestly, that's all I need right now. Since broadcast is only ever going to be 720p (for the next few years at least), I don't see the need for 1080p. I've compared the dvds and cant tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. (I hardly ever use 1080i.)

You're spot on with the vertical viewing angle, but it's very minimal (hardly noticeable to most people), but then again, who watches a tv standing up? We all watch it at +/- eye level.

At the end of the day, it's all about size. Most people have a 37" or 42", and that's probably perfect for their room size, but if you have the space, go for a 50", in this case bigger is definitely better (As long as it's a Sony

 

[eitai2001]

1080p doesn't have much of an advantage at this stage ... but some people don't plan on buying a TV for at least another 10 years, so 1080p is a benefit to them. The signal probably won't be 1080p by then (America doesn't even have a 1080p signal), and most current blu-rays aren't true 1080p as the movies weren't recorded in that format ... but when true 1080p movies do come out, they will be sharper and clearer (At the moment you see like a snow effect if you look close enough at 1080p). It is an advantage for gaming and especially computers though.

 

[eitai2001]

Also ... on a bigger screen, a higher res is better ... so if you go for the 60", its better to get the 1080p, because the pixelisation of the TV is less then if it were a lower resolution ... allowing you to sit closer but with the same quality.

 

[Silver82]

I guess for people like you and I, the 60" would be the better buy. But for the average man on the street, it wouldn't make too much difference. I'm glad there is someone here who actually knows what they're talking about without getting so specific and missing the actual point. Full HD is nice to have, but not necessary.

People should go with what looks good to them. i.e. I think the Vierra range is terrible (no offence to anyone that has one, this is my personal opinion), I don't get what people see in them? You can see the scanlines! And I'm also not one to jump on the brand bandwagon, but since looking around last year and taking an active interest in HD tvs, I'm still waiting to see something better than what Sony put out, their colours and sharpness are just no comparison to the others.

Slightly off topic now, but the other thing that was seriously bugging me was the HD-DVD versus Blu Ray debate! Man, I couldn't wait for that to end.

 

[eitai2001]

Lol ... well Blu-Ray won the war ... I figured that would be the case straight from the beginning ... Sony bit hard on its own tail selling these things at a loss using the PS3, and Microsoft along with Toshiba didn't do the same with the HD-DVD (Unless I missed something somewhere), and Sony's stunt caused it to come out tops. Besides a 25gb disc is better than a 15gb one in my eye

Personally ... I am happy to go for a 40" X series Sony ... the colours and brightness are amazing, and a computer looks great when plugged in.

In terms of Vierra ... I also used to think what was the hype ... if you're in Johannesburg ... come to the shop in Sandton ... I'll show you what a real Vierra looks like

The problem is, you also get an entry level in the Vierra range, the same way Sony has the S series which can be outdone by many LCD's ... but if you look at the top Vierra models ... you will be amazed at the clarity and colour reproduction ... the same way you are amazed with the top Sony range ... which by the way is a Samsung screen ... but its the Bravia engine thats working the magic.

 

[dequadin]

Also ... on a bigger screen, a higher res is better ... so if you go for the 60", its better to get the 1080p, because the pixelisation of the TV is less then if it were a lower resolution ... allowing you to sit closer but with the same quality.

I agree totally with this point. Basically comes down to a point of DPI. You have the same res 1366x768 on a 26" (HD Ready) and a 42" (HD Ready) (or bigger). . .

How about one of these babies (Quad-HD lushness). . .
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05/19/samsung-demos-82-inch-quad-hd-panel/1