Looking for a 65" HDTV; Thoughs?

[Ltrain]

I am upgrading the main TV in the house and am torn by my options. I am currently considering the Panasonic TC-P65V10 (Plasma), Sharp LC-65E77UM (120 Hz LCD) and Sony - KDL-65W5100 (120 Hz LCD). I was looking to spend between $3,000 and $4,000 so I would have to wait on the Sony for a few months or for a sale if that was the choice (current MSRP $4,500).

I have looked at the TV's live and was impressed by the Plasma as likely the best picture option now, but I am worried about glare (there is a row of shaded windows in the room, but not too much, plus I would mount the TV up on the wall a bit out of the afternoon sun), power consumption and the heat. The Sony was not impressive, but that could have been due to the store feed. I had originally discounted the Sharp ($1,500 less than the Sony for some reason), but after seeing it live, thought it had a very nice picture. I was down on Sharp originally, but have learned that they teemed with Pioneer and are producing very advanced TV's which made me feel better.

To make matters more complicated, I was looking at the 55" LED's and was blown away by the picture. The 240Hz LED's seem to have bridged the gap with the Plasmas and are definitely the future in LCD's (at least for a few years until OLED), and the lifelike feature of the movies is too much to believe (It is like you are on the set of the movie live). However, I can't find any articles or information on when the LED technology will be incorporated into 65" TV's (inevitable) and when it happens, at what cost. The one I liked best if I went with this option would be the Samsung UN55B8000, which allows for the "live" setting to be turned off for preference, although I would keep it. I don't play video games on the set so that would not be a consideration for me.

So, what would you do? Go with the Plasma and deal with it? Are the negatives overblown? Get the 65 inch LCD now? Get the 55"? Wait for a 65" LCD LED to come on the market in the price range... but for how long?

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[BankItDrew]

Deciding between plasma and LCD comes down to one simple question: Lighting in the room. Basement/Recreational rooms that generally have less light than Living/Family rooms are best suited for plasma TV's. LCD's have a very consistent bright picture and will be less affected by glare.

What really drives up the prices are the Hz amounts. It will also have a very noticeable quality difference. Don't put too many eggs into the basket of contrast ratios. I've seen pictures that look nearly the same between a 3,000,000:1 vs a 30,000:1.

I haven't bought a TV since my tube back in the 90's, but I've done a lot of research into this because I plan on buying something before Christmas. I'm leaning towards a Samsung LCD. Plasma tends to burn the screen and is best fit in only some rooms of the house.

[wufwugy]

I bought a 52" LCD two years ago and I learned one thing

Picture quality, picture quality, picture quality. Fuck size, it's all about picture quality. I remember thinking that the 52" looked too big at times, but also that my experience was enhanced when rewatching old movies not from just the increased size, but mainly the enhanced picture quality.

100% go with a smaller LED than a large non LED. I don't think that increases greater than ~40" will play anything other than a diminishing role in experience, but enhanced picture quality works wonders

Also, I'm not 100% positive, just repeating what I've read; those LED aren't real LED, but LED backlighting. This is real OLED, and rather futuristic

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/sam...mash,8875.html

[Ash256]

Also, I'm not 100% positive, just repeating what I've read; those LED aren't real LED, but LED backlighting. This is real OLED, and rather futuristic

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/sam...mash,8875.html

Holy shit, the other day I was wondering whether or not exactly that type of display had been invented..

Fucking amazing technology

[CoccoBill]

I'm not completely on board with the size does not matter theory, you'll have to pry my 80" projector screen off my cold dead fingers.

[wufwugy]

I wasn't trying to say that it doesn't matter. I like big TVs just as much as anybody, but after a certain point, returns can be diminishing, and picture quality ends up playing a more noticeable role

[a500lbgorilla]

I'm not completely on board with the size does not matter theory, you'll have to pry my 80" projector screen off my cold dead fingers.

So you would rather have 80in over say 40in and a D so H you can see your reflection in the sweat beading off Lebron James' forehead?

[boost]

ya, Id go with the 55 LED. 55 is just absolutely huge. Unless the room youre putting it in is 30x30 55 is plenty big.

[Dragon Slayer]

I have that Mitubishi 65 inch. Fuckin love that thing. I think the are a little more expensive and there are prob cheaper models that are about the same. But you cant go wrong with Mitsu!
Just go to the store and look at picture and decide what looks best to you. Fook all that deciding if you want plasma LCD blah blah. Oh and make sure it had the hookups you want, for example a VGA port if you want grind on you big screed.

[CoccoBill]

55 is huge for a toilet, for a living room its meh. I'm getting a 100" screen next and I'm viewing it from about 10 feet away.

If you go to a store and look at the picture you'll easily find out how the screen looks like with it's current settings in the store with the source and connections they happen to be using (typically some $5 analog splitter for the whole wall of displays), that is, not much.

If they have calibrated the screen at the store at all, it is to add extra sharpness, too rich colors and too much brightness to make it "stand out", at the expense of accurate color reproduction, contrast and black levels. If you invest more than $500 for a display, it's more than worth it to buy the $20 calibration disc. My couple years old 1080p LCD projector looks at least 2.35x as good after proper calibration.

[givememyleg]

man, televisions have become insane. i have shitty 10 year old 30 inch tv and don't even have cable.

[boost]

man, televisions have become insane. i have shitty 10 year old 30 inch tv and don't even have cable.

ya.. I have like an 8 year old 27" CRT... Im starting to hate it.. watching motogp or wrc the stats will get cut off cuz they arent meant for 4:3.. and just .. it sucks. But I probably wont upgrade until I move out, which could be as much as a year from now

[givememyleg]

well you could be like a lot of people and finance a new television! it can be yours in only 10 years!

[zook]

I love my panasonic TC-P46G10 plasma. Some off-angle viewing in our living room (guests) and glare is not a problem imo.

Can't comment on the others, but you should be reading/posting at avsforum.com not here. That site is the bomb.

[boost]

well you could be like a lot of people and finance a new television! it can be yours in only 10 years!

no more credit cards, damn it

[Ltrain]

I love my panasonic TC-P46G10 plasma. Some off-angle viewing in our living room (guests) and glare is not a problem imo.

Can't comment on the others, but you should be reading/posting at avsforum.com not here. That site is the bomb.

Thanks for the input. Yes, I have been going through a lot of the forums to get more information, it has been helpful. They also had recommended calibration settings in their archives so I was able to recalibrate one of my TV's from the information and it noticably improved the picture.

As an update, I was able to go by a Best Buy and see some of the 55" versions (only the Magnolia stores have the 65" versions), and ask more questions. Some additional thoughts and some things I learned since the first post:

- The store rep. for what its worth thought the LED was too dark and that the newer Plasmas were not as hot as prior versions.
- The Samsung Plasma (didn't have a Panny for comparison) had less reflection than the LCD's, go figure.
- The Plasma had a hot screen, but not as hot as I thought it would be.
- The 55" Plasma and 55" LED had comparable pictures, but noticably better than the LCD. The LCD was more white washed, the colors of the LED and Plasma were deeper.
- Panasonic has taken over Pioneer's Plasma division, the discontinued KURO line will likely be incorporated into Pannys.

I still need to get back to a Magnolia store to see them again, but I think form all my research the best option will be the 65" Panasonic TC-P65V10 that is coming out. Plasmas seem to be working on the glare and heat issue and still rule the 60" inch class and up from the pictures I saw.

Zook, for your Plasma, do you find heat an issue? Do you notice a difference in energy consumption? Did you compare the Samsung version and what did you think? I have never had a plasma before so I don't have a frame of reference other than what I saw in the store.

[CoccoBill]

Personally, for strictly movies/tv I'd get a plasma, if you're also planning to use it as a monitor or console gaming, get LCD.

As wuf already said, what you refer to as LED is LCD with LED backlighting, LED/OLED displays are something completely different. When/if they eventually come out (very soon...since like 2004), they'll be awetastic.

[Ltrain]

Personally, for strictly movies/tv I'd get a plasma, if you're also planning to use it as a monitor or console gaming, get LCD.

As wuf already said, what you refer to as LED is LCD with LED backlighting, LED/OLED displays are something completely different. When/if they eventually come out (very soon...since like 2004), they'll be awetastic.

Correct, the current "LCD" Tv's are lit by a CCFL Flourescent light, which is why the colors are lighter and the blacks not truly "Black". The "LED" on the market now (and for the near future anyway, like I referenced in my OP), is still an LCD screen, but usually edgelit by a different lighting system to give better blacks and contrast. The OLED, currently in smaller screens is definitely the future as you mentioned, along with RGB LED's (Sharp has one in 65" now for about $10,000) and Laser TV (If you believe Mitsubishi), but the OLED still has some work to do to make larger screens.

[wufwugy]

AFAIK, plasmas consume more power than LCDs, but not by much. I think it's like 5% increase

[zook]

Zook, for your Plasma, do you find heat an issue? Do you notice a difference in energy consumption? Did you compare the Samsung version and what did you think? I have never had a plasma before so I don't have a frame of reference other than what I saw in the store.

My TV runs warm, but cooler than I expected. I have not noticed a difference in my electricity bill, but I haven't gone looking for one. I did not compare to the Samsung version.

Sorry man, I don't have a lot of advice for you, which is why I recommended avsforum. One piece I do have is once you pick the model you want (or 2 you can't decide between) wait at least 3-4 weeks before pulling the trigger. Keep a close eye on bargain sites (slickdeals.net, xpbargains.com) it's almost guaranteed that there will be a great deal at some point within a month window.