So, LCD, DLP, CRT, or Plasma?

[tonyp56]

Ok, I am looking at new TV's, and I know this question has been asked, but it seems that just about everyday something new comes out.

What does everyone here think the best is? Not so much about brands, but type of TV.

 

[jspeeney011480]

LCD's are the best although they cost the most the bigger they are. Plasma's are terrible. If they break, well your pretty f'ed. I have a Samsung 56'' DLP and I love it. Amazing picture, good price. Since I bought it, the price has dropped about $500-$600 depending where you go.

 

[chief6309]

I agree with the above statement. I own a 32 inch LCD tv and love the picture. I am thinking of buying a DLP tv, as I really like the picture also. I am waiting for the price of the lamp to drop more. Rear projection crt tv's while are electronic dinos do offer very good picture for the money. My only grip about some of the new box type tv's (crt and DLP) are there are no places to put set top boxes when the set top curves or slopes. Please go back to flat top TVs. Of coured flat panel TVs I do not expect to be able to put the set top box on top.

 

[charper1]

Where is the FPTV selection?

 

[diogen]

I think all technologies (except for CRT) are at a level where you can't claim one being much better than others. Different people - different preferences.

Other "parameters" to take into consideration:
1. Do you see "rainbow"? If yes, eliminate 1-chip DLPs from the list.
2. Are you limited in TV size? If not, get the largest you can.
3. Do you have a budget limit? If yes, RPTV are the cheapest in terms of $/inch.
4. How far do you sit? If more than 10', you don't need an 1080.
5. What will be the playback material? If mostly DVDs, 720 sets better mask compression artifacts.
6. Do you use an HTPC? Look for a set that allows 1:1 pixel mapping.

My preference as technology (everything else being equal) is DLP.

Diogen.

 

[berck]

I find the view angles on the Plasma's to be far superior to all but a CRT. I have noticed quite an improvement in the LCD's lately as their colors have improved quite a bit

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Where is the FPTV selection?

and what about the LCoS,TVs? They have some of the best pictures around.

 

[charper1]

yep HEMI, too many users/people are so trapped inside the media hyped box. Don't just settle for only what they show you or tell you; get out and experience do some research.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

yep HEMI, too many users/people are so trapped inside the media hyped box. Don't just settle for only what they show you or tell you; get out and experience do some research.

Yea , I would have thought this poll would have covered all the Tv Technology

 

[vurbano]

LCD's are the best although they cost the most the bigger they are. Plasma's are terrible. If they break, well your pretty f'ed. I have a Samsung 56'' DLP and I love it. Amazing picture, good price. Since I bought it, the price has dropped about $500-$600 depending where you go.

I have one too and it broke right at the end of one year. Its a 1600 dollar part! But its covered. When they came to pick it up they said they had 5 other sammys on the truck for repair. When samsung sent them the new part... it was defective too!!!... Never again.. Never again. If the OP buys one, get the longest extended warranty he can NOW because at the end of the one year warranty Samsung will want an arm and a leg for a 3 year warranty. My next set will probably be LCD.

 

[LonghornXP]

After getting my first front projector (Optoma HD70) I must say that I'm now a huge big fan of this type of TV. I was all set to bring the unit back assuming that it just wouldn't look good enough but this little bugger projected on just a while wall with the unit sitting on a coffee table I was floored. The picture quality was just as good as all my past HDTV sets (some of my old sets didn't look nearly as good) so IMO none of the other options can get me HDTV at 90+ inches without really and I mean really breaking the bank.

Heck my Optoma rebate is scheduled to be mailed on October 11th, 2007 as per the Optoma rebate status so for a final cost of just under 600 bucks I think this market might start to really take off soon. I would trade my wife in for a replacement Optoma HD70 to avoid paying money. Now I just need to find a wife to trade in first lol.

 

[charper1]

Welcome to the dark side! Seeing is believing.

 

[tonyp56]

Sorry I didn't list all TV's. More or less listed the most common, I mean FPTV wasn't even on my radar screen--though I came across projectors etc. LCoS, did not come across in my searching around, guess have to go high end for those.

This poll isn't scientific, I won't be basing my buying decision on what the poll results are. I am just looking for opinions on what others like.

Looking around I came across a $15,000 Plasma and $10,000 LCD, both of those are out of my league by 8-13 thousand dollars. I am only looking in the $1,300-2,000 range. I actual found a new Toshiba REGZA 1080P 42" LCD on Tigerdirect for $1,299.99. (MSRP @ around $1,699) 40-50" is screen size I am looking for, so that fits the bill. However, wanting to know what others think, so I know to at least look at other TV types.

 

[dfergie]

Front Projection beats any other technology hands down for bang for the buck imho... under $1,000 set PJ = $1,500 or maybe x 2 Rptv in my view...

 

[charper1]

For that $1300 - $2000 price range you list you can't get any better bang for the buck than with FPTV. A projector offers so much more size, options, portability and over a 5 - 7 year life - less overall money as it is expandable. AND it offers equal and in many cases better visual experience.

Don't lock in or settle on something just because "its common" or "popular"... Sometimes stores want you to buy that more popular or more common item because it offers them the greatest profit margin. Hmmm?

 

[TNGTony]

Here is part of an e-mail I sent my mom explaining the difference between sets when she asked what to get. I helped her out last week and she ended up with a 42" Hitachi plasma for $950. She loves it! I personally own a 32" Toshiba LCD and a 42" Hitachi (one model above what mommy-dearest got):

Besides size of the screen, there are four different flavors to TVs now:

CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Good ol’ Tube TV that we are used to

LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) like the one in my bedroom

DLP (Digital Light Processing) Used for projection TVs

Plasma – Like the one in my living room.

So now that you know that and I’m sure really don’t care (you just want a TV) here is where what YOU want comes into play:

CRT is the least expensive by far right now. You can get the standard square (4 by 3) tube pretty cheap. The only problem with tubes is they are very, very heavy. A 27” tube TV can weigh 70 to 100 pounds easy. My 36” tube set I gave to Luis was considered LIGHT at 125 pounds. Moving them is a bear. But the price is about 2/3 that of an LCD or Plasma. Also most new programs are in the wide screen format so you will have black bars at the top and bottom of the screen on a "square" TV

LCD itself comes in two flavors. One is a flat panel TV like the one in my bed room. This is a great alternative for medium and smaller sizes. As the picture size increases, the product price increases exponentially. An inexpensive 29 to 34” LCD TV runs about $600-$1200. A 42” LCD set jumps up in price to about $1800 to $2300. The LCD is reliable and less likely to “burn in” meaning that you do not have to worry about what is on the screen or for how long. It is better than a tube in this respect. LCD TVs are also very light. My 32” TV weighs about 35 pounds.

The other flavor for LCD is projection. This allows for much larger screen sizes at more moderate prices, but I would rarely call them “cheap” by comparison. They are very reliable and, depending on the model, do not have the bulb problems most DLPs have. The LCD projectors have been around for over a decade so the technology is tried and true.



DLP is a mixed bag. It has proved itself more reliable than it appears at first blush. The technology is VERY complicated and one would think prone to easier break-down, but it’s not as bad as all that. DLP TVs are all projection TVs. This means you can get a very large screen from a relatively low cost. A 50” DLP screen can be as cheap as $1000. This is compared to $2500-4000 for LCD and plasma of the same size. The down side to DLP is the very likely possibility of the projection bulb going out over time and having to be replaced. The bulbs generally last about 3000 hours of use. This is 125 days if you turn on the TV and leave it on until the bulb goes out. …Or more realistically about 2 to 3 years of regular use. The bulbs cost about $300 right now. The price may drop in the future, but we can’t count on that.

Plasma provides the brightest most colorful picture out there in my opinion. The only real down side is price. Plasmas are generally more expensive than tube or LCD until you get to the bigger sizes. The only possible down side to plasma is the possibility that over time the gas that makes up the picture loses its capacity to shine a brightly or as colorful as it does when it’s new. This has pretty much been “fixed” but there is still that possibility. The other down side is heat. Plasmas get hotter than the other three types of TVs (with the exception of the DLP bulb itself). They never get hot enough to be any kind of danger or fire hazard. The only reason I bring it up is that a plasma TV should never be put into any kind of a cabinet that doesn’t have very good ventilation. It won’t harm the cabinet if you do this. It will harm the TV over time.
(I did add to this later in talking with my mother than "burn in" is also a concern with plasma, but there are simple counter-measures for this such as the gray bars and not using the pause button on the DVR for more than a few minutes at a time and turning down the contrast on the TV.)
-------------------------

See ya
Tony

 

[dfergie]

Dlp Fptv = 100+" that rocks Lol...

 

[jayn_j]

DLP is a mixed bag. It has proved itself more reliable than it appears at first blush. The technology is VERY complicated and one would think prone to easier break-down, but it’s not as bad as all that. DLP TVs are all projection TVs. This means you can get a very large screen from a relatively low cost. A 50” DLP screen can be as cheap as $1000. This is compared to $2500-4000 for LCD and plasma of the same size. The down side to DLP is the very likely possibility of the projection bulb going out over time and having to be replaced. The bulbs generally last about 3000 hours of use. This is 125 days if you turn on the TV and leave it on until the bulb goes out. …Or more realistically about 2 to 3 years of regular use. The bulbs cost about $300 right now. The price may drop in the future, but we can’t count on that.

Good post, buty this is probably a little bit dated and skewed. My Toshiba 56" DLP projector cost just over $1200. The bulb is rated at 6000 hours, and a replacement is $210 from Toshiba and under $200 everywhere else. Still not cheap, but not nearly as bad as Tony posted. Also, LCD and LCOS projectors will have similar lamps.

As you start to narrow your search, I encourage you to go to the website and download the manual. Most sets have them online and they will give you data such as lamp life and part numbers that you can research.

 

[Andrewwski]

LCD is my choice, although it's not quite there yet. For stuff under 42" it's OK, but anything over plasma has far superior image quality.

 

[tonyp56]

For that $1300 - $2000 price range you list you can't get any better bang for the buck than with FPTV. A projector offers so much more size, options, portability and over a 5 - 7 year life - less overall money as it is expandable. AND it offers equal and in many cases better visual experience.

Don't lock in or settle on something just because "its common" or "popular"... Sometimes stores want you to buy that more popular or more common item because it offers them the greatest profit margin. Hmmm?

Thank you and I won't lock in anything. One thing, (I'll do my research of course) how do you pipe the signal to the projector? I know, wires etc. but wouldn't it get kind of, spider webbed if you have Xbox, DVD, satellite, etc. going to projector. In which case, you could use a switch, but wouldn't there be signal loss? I'm interested, just looking at the logistics. Room that it would go in is around 25' one way and 15 or so the other (only two places TV--or screen--can go, front door and bedroom door, and opening between living room and kitchen/dinning room--double-wide--reduce available places for TV to go). So I know that reduces screen size, (don't really want 100" screen anyways, LOL) but about how big of a screen could I have? (In the 40-50" range or less?--don't care if it is more--is really what I am asking.)

Thanks