Finally taking the plunge - questions?

[arameth]

So in light of my tax refund and the upcoming tax rebate check, I'm finally taking the plunge and replacing my old CRT with a nice flatscreen.

So I've read through the forums here, and learned quite a bit. I was going to post on avsforum, but quite frankly, I didn't want to get information overload and the responses here seem to be a bit more straighforwrd. I have a few questions on some topics on which I'm still not clear on. I do want to ask that though I greatly appreciate input, suggestions and advice, I don't want this thread to turn into yet another standards war thread.

So here are some details:

I definately know I want a 50+ inch screen (based on other units I've seen in stores and in other people's houses). The TV will be mounted above the fireplace mantle....yes I know it's not optimal, but that's where it's going for many reasons I won't go into detail about. There will not be any sunlight issue...and lighting in the room will be average to dim.

I will be using the TV to watch SD and HD content, DVD's. No PS3, HDDVD or BD at this time. But I do plan on hooking up a HTPC for casual browsing, email, and some pc gaming.

From what I've read, many have suggested that going with LCD and 1080p is better for the PC end of things. But if I were to go with Plasma and 720p, how bad could it really be?

Budget wise, I'd like to stay around $2k or less, but of course, less would be better.

I've looked at some 50" 720p plasmas that looked pretty nice (Samsung 5054 and Panasonic TH50PX75), but I was concerned out output from a PC would look. That led me to look at 1080p LCD's...such as the Sony Bravia KDL-52W3000 and the Samsung LNT-5265F. I guess that my concern is that I don't want to spend the extra $$$ if the lower end (and lower cost) units will do the job just fine. Can anyone provide some input on how PC output looks on 720p plasma units?

That should get the ball rolling...more questions forthcoming.

Thanks!

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: arameth
So in light of my tax refund and the upcoming tax rebate check, I'm finally taking the plunge and replacing my old CRT with a nice flatscreen.

So I've read through the forums here, and learned quite a bit. I was going to post on avsforum, but quite frankly, I didn't want to get information overload and the responses here seem to be a bit more straighforwrd. I have a few questions on some topics on which I'm still not clear on. I do want to ask that though I greatly appreciate input, suggestions and advice, I don't want this thread to turn into yet another standards war thread.

So here are some details:

I definately know I want a 50+ inch screen (based on other units I've seen in stores and in other people's houses). The TV will be mounted above the fireplace mantle....yes I know it's not optimal, but that's where it's going for many reasons I won't go into detail about. There will not be any sunlight issue...and lighting in the room will be average to dim.

I will be using the TV to watch SD and HD content, DVD's. No PS3, HDDVD or BD at this time. But I do plan on hooking up a HTPC for casual browsing, email, and some pc gaming.

From what I've read, many have suggested that going with LCD and 1080p is better for the PC end of things. But if I were to go with Plasma and 720p, how bad could it really be?

Budget wise, I'd like to stay around $2k or less, but of course, less would be better.

I've looked at some 50" 720p plasmas that looked pretty nice (Samsung 5054 and Panasonic TH50PX75), but I was concerned out output from a PC would look. That led me to look at 1080p LCD's...such as the Sony Bravia KDL-52W3000 and the Samsung LNT-5265F. I guess that my concern is that I don't want to spend the extra $$$ if the lower end (and lower cost) units will do the job just fine. Can anyone provide some input on how PC output looks on 720p plasma units?

That should get the ball rolling...more questions forthcoming.

Thanks!

I have used the Samsung 5053 for a bit just to test it for gaming. Everything looked great. Now granted my screen is normally 1280 x 1024 so perhaps if you were use to 1920 x 1200 it would be a bigger deal. But everything looked very sharp and clear.

Right at the top range of your budget is the Pioneer 5080. Check it out at BB, I think it might still be on sale for $2000 there.

 

[arameth]

Thanks for the response.

Anyone else have any experience with 720p plasma's and doing PC gaming/web browsing/etc?

PS: I'm now in the market for a reciever...turns out the Onkyo I got doesn't have any HDMI ports...I know I can do component, but I'd like to have everything going through HDMI if possible.

Thanks!

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: arameth
Thanks for the response.

Anyone else have any experience with 720p plasma's and doing PC gaming/web browsing/etc?

PS: I'm now in the market for a reciever...turns out the Onkyo I got doesn't have any HDMI ports...I know I can do component, but I'd like to have everything going through HDMI if possible.

Thanks!

Why get a new receiver if you are just using the tv for HD content & DVD's? That is money you could put towards a better tv.

 

[RossMAN]

Do you have access to a local CostCo?

They have several 1080p LCD's for under $2,000

90 day return policy with free standard 2 year warranty.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

your 2 most important criteria, outputting to PC and browsing/emailing with the display...

right off the bat, 1080p is the your only choice if you're doing any of that.
i have a 720p plasma and i output to PC with it, and while it's acceptable (with some overscanning), i can only imagine how much better it will be @ 1920 x 1080.
at 1366 x 768 (?), text is slightly blurry but movies are not a problem (DVI -> HDMI).

as for lcd vs. plasma, i'm leaning towards LCD for the sole reason of possible burn in with plasmas.
slightly better power consumption doesn't hurt either.

personally, i'm looking to supplement my panny 42" 720p plasma with a 1080p LCD for those reasons.

my main concern is that i know i won't achieve the black levels of a plasma, as well as color saturation, and maybe viewing angles won't be as nice either.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
your 2 most important criteria, outputting to PC and browsing/emailing with the display...

right off the bat, 1080p is the your only choice if you're doing any of that.
i have a 720p plasma and i output to PC with it, and while it's acceptable (with some overscanning), i can only imagine how much better it will be @ 1920 x 1080.
at 1366 x 768 (?), text is slightly blurry but movies are not a problem (DVI -> HDMI).

as for lcd vs. plasma, i'm leaning towards LCD for the sole reason of possible burn in with plasmas.
slightly better power consumption doesn't hurt either.

personally, i'm looking to supplement my panny 42" 720p plasma with a 1080p LCD for those reasons.

my main concern is that i know i won't achieve the black levels of a plasma, as well as color saturation, and maybe viewing angles won't be as nice either.

Browsing from the PC at 1080p resolution is going to be pretty much impossible unless youre sitting pretty damn close. The text is going to be incredibly small. The first thing I had to do in order not to need binoculars to read the text was either raise the font size or lower the resolution, and in either case, 720p would have worked just as well. Any lack of clarity is probably due to a lack of 1:1 pixel mapping.

There are a lot of good arguments for 1080p, but web browsing/email really isnt one of them.

 

[newb54]

I was in your same position 9 months ago - debating between a Panasonic plasma and a Samsung LCD. I demoed them both and decided to go with the Samsung (LNT-4661) even though I think the Panasonic had SLIGHTLY better picture.

One of the major reasons I went with the LCD was because I do a lot of browsing and pc gaming. Samsung's Just Scan feature works really well not to overscan at 1920 X 1080. I sit about 6 ft away and it is easy to read text. Looking at my desktop on the plasma at 1366 x 768 made me want to gouge my eyes out because I was so used to 1920 X 1200. Having said that I really don't think you can go wrong either way, it is just a matter of personal preference.

 

[DBL]

If 1080p is a concern and the picture quality of plasma is preferred, why not get a 1080p plasma for 2K?

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: BD2003

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
your 2 most important criteria, outputting to PC and browsing/emailing with the display...

right off the bat, 1080p is the your only choice if you're doing any of that.
i have a 720p plasma and i output to PC with it, and while it's acceptable (with some overscanning), i can only imagine how much better it will be @ 1920 x 1080.
at 1366 x 768 (?), text is slightly blurry but movies are not a problem (DVI -> HDMI).

as for lcd vs. plasma, i'm leaning towards LCD for the sole reason of possible burn in with plasmas.
slightly better power consumption doesn't hurt either.

personally, i'm looking to supplement my panny 42" 720p plasma with a 1080p LCD for those reasons.

my main concern is that i know i won't achieve the black levels of a plasma, as well as color saturation, and maybe viewing angles won't be as nice either.

Browsing from the PC at 1080p resolution is going to be pretty much impossible unless youre sitting pretty damn close. The text is going to be incredibly small. The first thing I had to do in order not to need binoculars to read the text was either raise the font size or lower the resolution, and in either case, 720p would have worked just as well. Any lack of clarity is probably due to a lack of 1:1 pixel mapping.

There are a lot of good arguments for 1080p, but web browsing/email really isnt one of them.

apparently newb54 is able to read text just fine