The HDTV Thread

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Originally Posted by shidoshi

Haha, you just had to call me like that, didn't you?

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:lol:

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I'm not saying that you're wrong, and I certainly don't claim to know a lot about plasma. I just have a problem believing that something can't change. There have been too many times when we (as in mankind) was absolutely certain we knew the limits of something, only to be proven wrong. Do I know what they could do to make plasma suffer less burn-in? Not at all. But with the way technology has been advancing, I really hesitate when it comes to saying that we know all there is to know about the technology and what its limits are.

I mean, news is now breaking about the first face transplant - that sure as hell wasn't something I was expecting to see anytime soon. I believe, in my heart, that if we can transplant faces, we can make better plasma TV technology.

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It isn't that technology isn't evolving. We have RPLCD which is getting better every year, and DLP which is just about to move from single chip to 3 chip, and TI's even improving the single chip method. The problem with the thought that plasmas can become burn-in proof is that we've been using phosphor based tech for quite a while now and those old dinosaur rear projection CRT's, even though they've been around for decades, STILL burn in.

You can take measures to prevent it, like lowering the contrast and brightness, not watching the same thing all the time, etc. Problem is that most TV is still in 4:3. I watch 4:3 in its original aspect ratio on my Sony with black bars and everything about 90% of the time, because burn-in isn't an issue. I got pretty sick of fat people on my old Mits. :p

You brought up the one aspect I wasn't even thinking of - the black bars when watching SD content. Wouldn't it be possible to actually turn off the areas of the screen that aren't being used for SD (or 2.xx:1 widescreen) content, instead of just turning them black? That seems to me like a good way to solve the problem.

Realistically, as well, what kind of timespan are we talking for plasma burn-in? Are there even any kinds of numbers? I suppose if I decided to go for a plasma TV, I could live with watching SD content stretched to fill the screen. Not the best solution, but of course I'd think about the sidebar burn-in and be paranoid. *heh*

btw...plasma lifespan is 7 years.

and the lamp can die out as early as 3

Plasma life is set 13-27 years with average viewing habits. It's not really possible to do what you're talking about, shidoshi, on a plasma. The way my RPLCD deals with the side bars is that it just doesn't flip those crystals so they stay black; close to what you're talking about. With a plasma, if you were to do the same thing with the phosphors, you'd still get burn-in. It's not burn-in where you see a logo, but burn-in where the inside part of the picture is much darker than where the bars are at because those phosphors have been aged more.

Most people with plasma do not see any kind of burn-in, but some do. It's mostly that you have to watch squatty fat people for the next 4 years or so than the possibility of burning in the Fox logo or something. It's also always a concern when you're playing games on it.

I never had any burn-in on my old Mits, but I was always afraid of it and set my gaming and viewing habits based on the possibility.

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Originally Posted by TrialSword

Alright, well, the family and I are moving soon, and they're now interested in a new TV for the den/family room. They took a look at some LCD projection TV's, and I warned them of the risk of low response times. If they're adamant about getting LCD projection, because they like size, can anyone recommend something that has a high enough response time to still look good?

EDIT: Nevermind, I got them to go Plasma. I found a dandy TV that looks incredible, http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/P...PR5052XXAA.asp
I've seen it for about 2800 at RapidPlasma, an online retailer. Here's the link:
http://www.rapidplasma.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=379

Should I be wary?

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If you ever use this thing with an XBOX360, make sure to use the VGA cable, since that's the only way to get the system to output 1366x768, which is the screens native resolution.

But still referring to my earlier post, which of those Tvs is the better choice?

Also, why does all these TVs have weird ass outputs like 1366x768 and crap?

Check it, I got a profit sharing check from work today and I'm probably gonna upgrade to an HDTV and have $600ish. Mind you this is for my room, not a living room etc. I'm upgrading from a 27" with S-Video that doesn't look S-Video. I don't have digital cable, and I've got all current systems. I'm looking at this $549 This $599 and there was a Sanyo one that I'll update this with.

Any suggestions

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Originally Posted by Chux

Check it, I got a profit sharing check from work today and I'm probably gonna upgrade to an HDTV and have $600ish. Mind you this is for my room, not a living room etc. I'm upgrading from a 27" with S-Video that doesn't look S-Video. I don't have digital cable, and I've got all current systems. I'm looking at this $549 This $599 and there was a Sanyo one that I'll update this with.

Any suggestions

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Between those two, I'd go with the Toshiba, mostly because it's got three component inputs and one HDMI.
The Pillips one is bigger, but it has jackshit for inputs.

That's what I was leaning towards. As it is right now I only have my xbox, 360, and ps2 hooked up, but I also have a phillips dvd player which also acts as my surround sound reciever, so it looks like I might have to go for a selector too.

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Originally Posted by Chux

Check it, I got a profit sharing check from work today and I'm probably gonna upgrade to an HDTV and have $600ish. Mind you this is for my room, not a living room etc. I'm upgrading from a 27" with S-Video that doesn't look S-Video. I don't have digital cable, and I've got all current systems. I'm looking at this $549 This $599 and there was a Sanyo one that I'll update this with.

Any suggestions

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I've seen the Toshiba model you're thinking about and I wasn't that impressed with it. The Phillips' model has crappy sound and the picture color is a bit off.

Samsung has a nice 30" model that I've seen going for under $600 at Best Buy and Fry's. It's a slim fit model and isn't quite as bulky as most 30" widescreen CRT's.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsu...oductDetail.do

http://www.circuitcity.com/IMAGE/pro....TXR3079WH.JPG