Flat Panel Buyers Guide For Noobs

drewciferpike

I'm going to be replacing an old Philips 32" HD CRT monitor, and I figure that by the time I'm ready to buy (a few months from now) I'll have all my homework done, and some relative truths will remain the same.

For those truths, I'd like to turn to people that stay current with the industry.

To paint the background, I'll admit that I'm not a videophile. My wife and I watch some TV shows (currently Dish SD, will be OTA, soon), rent some movies (SD, might get a BD player in the future...), and we have a Wii (480p max... woohoo!).

With that said, I'd like to get feedback on a few major points:

1. Plasma vs. LCD: I know... people always ask this, and I'm going to do it, too. I'm used to my HD CRT, so seeing other peoples' sets have scared me (plasma and LCD), as they never looked quite as good as the CRT (either softness/fuzziness, blur, or weird light levels). Here's the cons I've thought of for our specific home/usage-patterns, and I'd like your input.

PLASMA - I know that plasmas offer better viewing angles and have better PQ, etc., overall when compared to LCDs, but I'm stuck on this because of lighting. Our living room is VERY bright during the day, and even on into the evening because of windows and an unshaded sliding door that's off to the side (we won't shade the door, as the wife doesn't want stuff hanging there). At night, we'll have some basic ambient light, and that's it.
LCD - Where my wife and I sit is directly in front of the TV, but if we have guests over, they'll be sitting off to the side more and more because our couch wraps around. I figure I can rotate the TV to better match the conditions, but what if the lazy-virus strikes and it just becomes earth-shatteringly impossible to reach a hand out and apply 8 pounds of pressure? I'm just saying.

2. Screen size and seating distance: We sit 9' from the screen (give or take 8" if I'm leaning back, or anxiously leaning forward). The alcove in which we can place a TV is EXACTLY 50.75" wide. Should I just go with a 52" set and fill the alcove to the edges (more or less; I'm seeing anywhere from 48.5" to 49.5" wide sets in the 52" range), or go with a more pleasing, harmonic visual style that doesn't look like I'm stuffing 9 pounds of meat into a 5-pound sack? Using the rule-of-thumb (1.5-2.5 X screen size = distance), I _could_ get away with a 42"-46" set, but I figure I might as well be a size queen and claim bigger is better. [I've attached pics so you can see the alcove and couch. The couch pic shows the TV in relation to the couch.]

3. Bells and whistles vs. "Just a screen": Because I'm not a videophile, do I need to get a set with everything under the sun (SD card reader, internet widgets, gold-plated espresso maker with scalding plate and miniature cow for fresh milk), or can I do without? In some ways, cost isn't an issue, as I believe in paying for quality... but at the same time, I HATE paying for things I don't use. Call me crazy, but it works for me. At a minimum, I figure I need a few HDMI ports, some component plugs, a smattering of audio choices, and a coax for OTA. Am I way off base?

4. BRAND: Ah, the doozie. I know there have been more violent attacks with universal remotes due to this subject than any other, but I still want to ask. My information is totally out of date, so I'd like the current POV.
Example: I know at one point Samsung was very highly regarded, but in a few recent posts, Samsung wasn't even mentioned. Sony used to be higher-priced--with no distinct hardware/technical advantage--compared to other manufacturers (...looking at mid-level sets. Hm, I guess I lied. Cost is an issue: I won't spend $4000 on a TV if I use it as infrequently as I do, with nothing HD on it but OTA programming...).

I just want to get an idea about relative bang-for-the-buck as related to different manufacturers.

To conclude, my goals are: At any time of day or night, to watch TV with my wife (and possibly friends, family), watch movies, play games, and to have it all be blur-/streak-/glare-/fade-free without feeling like the TV takes over the room (I don't want it to be the focal point, just a tool).

Currently, I'm leaning towards getting a 52" 120Hz LCD, no specific brand, yet. If this seems like an idiotic thing to do, please tell me why, as I love to learn.

Attached Images

	alcove.JPG (26.6 KB, 12 views)
	couch-TV at bottom.JPG (25.2 KB, 13 views)

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-Drew

rbinck

@drewciferpike
A Panasonic plasma with the anti-reflective coating will be as close to the CRT you are used to as you can get. Since you are going bigger you can expect the picture to have most of the issues you discussed in your post. The larger size accounts for most of those issues, especially for SD viewing. So, it may be that a smaller sized set than 52" would be better for you and seems like would fit your space better as well. A 37" would be roughly the size you have now and I'd say maybe up to 50" would be all that I would go stepping up from a 32" widwscreen.

So I'd suggest checking out 1080p 50" Panasonic plasmas.

LCD screens are my preference in high light areas due to glare, but these days they are putting reflective screens on many of them and the reflections are as bad or worse than plasmas. But bear in mind that they will give you a brighter picture than plasma.

There are a lot of differing views about which is best. I discuss some of this here: Plasma vs LCD - The Next Format War?

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sooznd

No one ever responded to my post above back in January.
But I am glad I waited this long to purchase my first flat planel.

This time I was torn between the Sony Bravia KDL 325000 since I have long been a fan of Sony products. I ended up buying the Samsung LN32B460. The 32" Panasonic Viera looked pretty nice, too.
I got a great price from Best Buy on the Samsung for $479. Besides the beautiful picture--the design of the TV itself is stunning & a beautiful piece of furniture. The design of the Sony is ugly imo.

Susan

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Soozn

Samsung LN32B460
Onkyo HT-S650

Loves2Watch

Glad to hear you finally got something that met and even surpassed your needs...

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Theater 1 - Panasonic TH-85PF12U Plasma TV, 6 Conrad Johnson LP275M Amps, Anthem Statement D-2 Pre/Pro, 6 Thiel SCS4 Speakers, 2 REL T-1 Subs, Infinity Interlude 120S Sub, Simaudio MOON Orbiter Universal Disc Player, ELP Laser Turntable, 2 Dish Network ViP 622 DVR's, Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player, Onkyo DV-HD805 HD DVD Player.
Friends don't let friends buy Korean brand TV's.

Monsterhdmi

Thanks alot. Glad this is sticky. I can keep coming back to it as i need to