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LCDs

You listed the same TV twice.

From what I've heard, Sony makes better TVs, but the price is generally higher.

I myself have a hard time noticing any real difference. I'd check the power consumption of each and the price.
 
Samsung will give you the best quality for your dollar (or Pound, or Euro, or whatever). Sony can be nicer on the higher end, but you're paying a lot more for not a whole lot more gain. Samsung is really the cream of the LCD crop at the moment...
 
go with your trusted friend on this one. the 650 is a pretty nice one. I just installed a 530 for my parents over Christmas, and i've got a 2 year old 4661 that I love...
 
LCD is superior to plasma any day.
And Samsung is pretty much the best TV maker out there.
Go far the Samsung.
 
trekkerguy said:
LCD is superior to plasma any day.
And Samsung is pretty much the best TV maker out there.
Go far the Samsung.
Click to expand...

If you like lighter black levels and poor viewing angles I agree with you. Only the new Panasonic lcds even remotely address these isues.

Plasmas have deeper blacks, handle rapid motion better, have unlimited viewing angles, and better contrast.

But don't take it from me. Check out CNET and Consumer reports. They agree.

Buyer's choice.
 
I'm not sure what year your information is from, TLS, but none of those things is a problem with LCD anymore. Viewing angle, for example? 178 degrees. If you're attempting to watch from the side of the TV (ie through the bezel) , the technology isn't going to help you. Aside from that LCD and Plasma are the same at that point.

With the 120hz LCD tvs now, rapid motion isn't much difference either. You can get about 1 million:1 contrast ratios as well, so...

Other than that, LCDs are lighter, produce less heat, and use less energy, aren't concerned with burn-in, and more options are available with 1080p vs the plasma options...
 
Sony is way overpriced for the same quality TV in another brand. Most of what you're paying for in Sony is their name.

Smasung is a perfectly fine brand.
 
Trekker4747 said:
Sony is way overpriced for the same quality TV in another brand. Most of what you're paying for in Sony is their name.

Smasung is a perfectly fine brand.
Click to expand...

Aye. In a lot of cases, people are paying for the brand name for basically the same features and same quality. I was very happy with the 37-inch Philips LCD TV that I bought back in 2006 until I had a little accident recently that broke the screen. :( :scream: Back then I bought in on sale for about $1,500. I realized it would cost more to have it repaired than replaced; so I recently got a brand new Philips LCD TV (42-inch) for half the price of my previous purchase. I'm lovin' it. :)
 
Scout101 said:
I'm not sure what year your information is from, TLS, but none of those things is a problem with LCD anymore. Viewing angle, for example? 178 degrees. If you're attempting to watch from the side of the TV (ie through the bezel) , the technology isn't going to help you. Aside from that LCD and Plasma are the same at that point.

With the 120hz LCD tvs now, rapid motion isn't much difference either. You can get about 1 million:1 contrast ratios as well, so...

Other than that, LCDs are lighter, produce less heat, and use less energy, aren't concerned with burn-in, and more options are available with 1080p vs the plasma options...
Click to expand...

My info comes from Consumer reports December 2008 report and CNET's website. I never consider the heat aspect or the energy consumption. If I can afford the tv, I can afford the energy difference. Burn in with plasma is almost a non-factor now as well.

Plasma is certainly available in 1080p so I'm not sure what your point is there. What options are you referring to?

From Consumer Reports December 2008 (not 2004) Guide:

"Our tests have found that the best plasma TVs are capable of deeper blacks and better contrast than LCD sets, resulting in rich, lifelike images. Plasma sets are usually better at handling fast motion than LCD sets, which tend to blur images. And plasma TVs have an almost unlimited viewing angle, so the picture doesn't degrade if you watch the TV from off-center. That's a plus if several people watch from various spots in a room."

December 2007 CNET:

"plasma still has the edge in terms of picture quality"

...and it's not even close.
 
Don't know much about this Samsung model. The last new tv I bought I still have after 12 years with no problem at all (it's a Samsung).

The Sony, on the other hand, I do know a bit about. My Dad has had one for a year. Previous Sony sets (he's only had Sonys since 1985) have been excellent sets with no performance or maintenance issues. This one, on the other hand, has had techs out to repair it three times in the year. Twice it was the board that automatically sets the viewing area size to the aspect ration that's being sent from the source. Not sure about the third time as I was not there when they repaired it, but it was exhibiting the same problems. Doubt he would buy iot again at the moment. Nice set and Sony's been incredible with the repairs, but I would not expect a set at this price to need these repairs.
 
While I prefer Sony, you can't go wrong with Samsung either. No matter which one you decide to get, I'm sure you'll be pleased with it.
 
This particular unit caught my eye.

Also, a dumb question, but can these be set up easily to double as a computer monitor? I'm movign to smaller quarters soon, and it'd be nice if I could dump my old tube tv and current LCD monitor and use this for watching movies, tv and getting online.
 
yes (at least i know LCDs can). Most decent ones have a VGA port on the back as another input, so you can plug directly into the computer. I've got one plugged in as a home-entertainment pc upstairs right now, although i don't use it as much as I used to...
 
Most video cards made in the past year have an HDMI output. It's hard to find a PC with a non-embedded GPU that doesn't have one.
 
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