bouncer

I spent much of this afternoon listening to a salesman at a BestBuy
telling me about the advantages of each of the fine sets he had for
sale.

Perhaps someone here can help me sort through the bullshit for the
nuggets of truth.

Thanks if you can.

Point 1 -- The Plasma's will have the best black of any of the big
screens.

Observation. Many of the other sets looked damned fine, too. Is it
just that they didn't tweak the plasmas to be wonderful, or perhaps
are they all so close that the average video viewer wouldn't be able
to tell a difference (sort of like the old audiophiles saying they
could tell a moving magnet coil on their turntable, while I couldn't
perceive the difference?)

Point 2 -- The JVC lcos type set is very good, and without the smear
effect that motion seems to produce on dlp's and lcd's.

Observation. I could not see the effect I've read about here, but
perhaps it was the choice of the demo feeds they had to make it look
good. Or, are the third generation dlp's and the lcos on pretty equal
ground now?

Point 3 -- All the plasmas will have a better viewing angle than any
of the dlps, projection lcd's and so on.

Observation -- perhaps by a bit, but again they all looked pretty
good.

Point 4 -- All the newer, expensive sets are good so no matter where
you drop your $3000, most everyone will be satisfied, so go ahead,
pick one out and go from there.

Observation -- I dunno, but that kind of cash isn't chicken feed for
me, so I need to choose the best I can, since I'm going to have it
awhile.

Final Point -- even if you have your own video setup disk and have
done it with the tube you have, you'd better leave the delivery and
setup of this type of set to our installation pros (for a price, of
course, and I can't take it home with me right now).

What about this comment?


Well, thanks for any comments on these items. I sincerely appreciate
it.

dennis mayer

I'll bet big screen excludes the 34" HiDef CRTs.. cause
CRTs have superb blacks.... I favor Sony CRTs...


Plasma sets under ~$4000 usually are not Hi Def TVs (1080i)
but rather a lesser quality Ext Def which is 480p...
Sets $4200 and up will usually be of Hi Def quality..

Plasmas TVs are at a premium price... They Should require a
longer term warranty... They are hard & expensive to fix...

art

Did he go into the fact that the plasma sets are more prone to burn than
most other designs?? Or the fact that the plasma seta are quite prone to
early failue due to gas loss from the cells?
Suggest that you do some in depth study regarding these items before
dropping $$$$$.

jgmclean0

You can't judge from the signals or the setup in the store.

If cost is an issue, you care about motion smear, and angle isn't a big deal,
then don't discount CRT-based RPTV -- while everyone is pushing panel displays,
the pictures on these simply can't be beat for the buck. Unless you really
need flat and light I'd consider this as a first choice.

JGM
I'm JGM, and I approved this message.

alan figgatt

1. The plasmas are similar to the RP CRT TV in problems with burn-in.
On the plasma forums, you see very few people who have had any real
problems with burn-in. Games with fixed boxes are probably the biggest
concern here. If gaming is the main use, then LCD or DLP may be the
better choice with the current models. The new models from Panasonic
which are only available in the 7UY commercial models at the moment
claim to address the burn-in issue by having the same sensitivity to
burn-in as direct view CRTs.

2. "gas loss from the cells"? nonsense. The cells are sealed. You have
to break or physically damage the glass for this to happen. The current
Panasonic models are rated 60,000 hours to half-brightness at which
point the screen max brightness is 1/2 that of a new set.

I have been a lot of research on HD TVs since the beginning of the
year. My research has led me to lean strongly towards buying a plasma TV
once the new Panasonic and maybe the new Pioneer consumer models are
released and pick one of them. Plasma prices have fallen a lot in just
the past month, but if you want a really big screen for < $4K, then a
RPTV is the way to go for now.

To the original poster, be careful in deciding screen quality for
black levels at the B&M stores. The stores are all over the map in
setting up the TVs properly and are lit differently from your home. try
www.avsforum.com for lots of info on all the different types of TV.

jeff rife

CRT-based sets (either direct-view or rear-projection) have the best and
most accurate display of blacks.


This is just plain wrong. The difference in all sorts of quality (both
picture and build) in the $2500-$3500 display range is huge. Yes, they
*all* look far better than SD-only sets, but that's not hard to do.

More nonsense. Delivery is your call...if the set isn't too big/heavy
and you want to do it yourself, that's fine. If delivery is free, then,
sure, let them do it.

But, 99% of delivery people *cannot* set up a display for anything more
than basic use, and *none* of them will calibrate it in any way for free.
Use that DVD (Video Essentials, Avia, etc.) to set it up yourself...follow
the instructions and you *will* get the best picture possible out of
that display.

--
Jeff Rife | "Tragedy struck today in Sector Nine as rebel
SPAM bait: | terrorists blew up the Death Star, killing
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov | thousands. The Rebel Alliance, a fringe group
spam@ftc.gov | of anti-Empire fanatics, has claimed
| responsibility for the terrorist act.
| Fortunately, Lord Vader escaped without harm.
| Our hearts go out to the families of the
| victims."
| -- "NewsRadio"

art

Regarding delivery and setup. If you know absolutely how to handle the
Plasma Display and do the setup without applying excessive stress to the
actual unit in question have it commercially delivered and installed. After
dropping the $$$$$ it may be wise to actually have it delivered and
installed then do the adjustments, etc to your heart's content. That way if
something goes awry then you and your helper(s) are not to blame for any
damages.<

leonard caillouet

Allan, where did you get the 60,000 hour number on the Panasonic sets?

Leonard

leonard caillouet

Other than being heavy and the need to keep it upright, there is not much
that is not pretty obvious about installing a PDP for someone who is a bit
of a handyman. The instructions supplied for mounting cover everyone's ass
pretty well if you follow them.

You might want to read your posts before sending them, Art. IIRC you are a
tech, right? Your poorly constructed sentences which are self-contradictory
and ridiculous statements like the one you made about PDPs losing gas
reflect poorly on our profession.

Leonard

bouncer

Interesting thought. Of course, from a salesman's point of view a
more expensive set is a bigger profit in the long run.

I have seen a sony and toshiba rptv that is in the $1500 range and
looked quite nice (don't remember the model, etc.) and may need to go
back and look at that.

In general, has the quality and improvment in picture steadily
increased over the last few years, too, or have the models that do crt
rptv been "abandonded" as the newer sexier technologies come forth?