Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Advice on television choice

Fellow Axiomites!

I need help choosing a new television! It will be for general family viewing (cable/dvds/movies) for mostly evening and some daytime viewing. Viewing distance is approximately 11 feet. There isn't much ambient light and the night-time lighting isn't overly bright (mostly lit by wall sconces). It will be replacing a Sony 51 inch CRT rear project television (which will be re-located in our newly developed basement until such time that I can replace it with a 110" front projection screen).

Current budget is $3000-3500, but this needs to include a TV stand for ~$500. So $2500-$3000 for the television.

I want something close to 60" and am partial to plasma - seems to be better value at larger sizes and I'm partial to its picture quality.

I've narrowed my choices down to the following three.

- Samsung PN58B650 from E-Outlet Canada for $2500 (incl. shipping). This is a refurbished unit and is probably my top choice if it weren't refurbished.
- Samsung PN58B550 from Leons for $2479 (new television)
- LG 60PS70 from Future Shop, on sale for $2400 (new television).

I considered some Panasonics but I cannot find any G10 series and the V10 series are too expensive.

Any recommendations? Anyone with these televisions who care to comment?

I'm also interested in your thoughts on buying a refurbished television. E-Outlet Canada seems reputable but I've never dealt with them.

Thanks for your input and advice!

Bryan

P.S. I'm in Calgary (Canada) so these prices are Canadian and my initial choices are limited to availability in Calgary.

I myself like Sharp but Samsung makes some nice LCD/LED even better then Sharp. But I myself will not buy Samsung. Also never been a LG fan, I never heard anything bad from frinds that have them, I just did not like the way the frame/case looks.

Short story, bought a 50Inch Samsung, the LCD panel was off center by 1 maby 2mm. So took it back and got another, this time it had a bright red pixel, So I took it back. 3rd time I said F-this and just bought a sharp. Had 2-3 years and nothing has gone wrong.

On the other hand my brother in law has 1 Samung 52Inch LCD, and 1 60Inch (I think its 60) LCD/LED and he has no problems and will only buy Samsung.

On the refurbished television subject, I also would not buy one, for all you know it was a display model and has been on for for over 6 months. I know that LCD/Plasma last long but to me I would not take the chance. I know most places will still have warranty but you may have to pay for shipping if it brakes ect, ect.

Have a look around to see if you can fine a Pioneer KRP-600M. It was the last 60" Pioneer made, and might be able to be had for around $3000.

Bryan, can I tag along? I am in the market for a new TV and your choices are also at the top of my list. I am also considering the new LED LCD's.

Right now my favorite TV is the 63" Plasma Samsung, largest screen size and very good PQ. If I decide to drop down to 55-58" then the LED TVs seem to be winning the battle.

I have seen many of the sets you describe above and considering your budget in order to get the biggest plasma as possible the LG would be, by far, your best choice. I don't know whether or not you have been able to see the picture in comparison to the others, but the LG is no slouch. Unfortunately, there are only three companies left making plasmas(Panasonic,Samsung and LG) but when you get in to the larger monitors and has been said, Panasonic and Samsung are still too expensive, usually $4000 and up. Panasonic and Samsung have a number of models with different features so it requires further investigation to see what you are getting for your money. Some of the cheaper plasmas out there are only providing 1080i max in resolution(not 1080p), so you have to be careful what you are buying. The LED's in larger models are still pretty expensive and I don't see anyone making a large set(60" and up) other than Sharp who wants over $10,000 for their newer LED LCD televisions.

I have found the LGs to be somewhat dull in comparison to the Samsung and Panisonics, could just be an antiglare on the screen.

I have found the LGs to be somewhat dull in comparison to the Samsung and Panisonics, could just be an antiglare on the screen, but you are right the price point makes them hard to overlook.

I have found the LGs to be somewhat dull in comparison to the Samsung and Panisonics, could just be an antiglare on the screen, but you are right the price point makes them hard to overlook unless your cat prefers Sony.

Thought I'd throw this in here. I read a consumers report last year that rated the Samsung, Sony and Sharp LCDs as being the tops for reliability(more-or-less all equal) and the LG was next in second place. Personally, I like the Samsungs and with the new 240hz LEDs out now, I feel the writing is on the wall for plasmas as the one advantage the plasmas had were the refresh speeds but that gap keeps closing every year. Pricewise the cost of LCDs has come way down in the last 2-3 years which used to be another advantage to the plasmas. Each has their own advantages, and both technologies have been around for a while so you should be happy with either. Samsung and Sony, as you probably know, formed a partnership about five years ago to counter Sharp's LCD technology, reduce their costs and share technology.

The main advantage of a plasma over an LCD is the contrast ratio (second is the non-ghosting refresh, third is the viewing angle). Watch an LCD in a dark room next to a plasma (which you'll never see on a showroom floor), and the difference becomes obvious.

I had a Sony Wega CRT and was planning to immediately upgrade to a Pioneer plasma. So I gave away my TV, bought a stand, and then got hit with some unexpected bills. So I couldn't get the TV I wanted. I figured I'd settle for a cheaper LCD. I hated every minute of watching that set. The old CRT had much deeper blacks. Luckily in the time I was saving up again, the prices of plasma fell by half, and their, already incredible, black levels improved further. So the set I ended up with is beyond my expectations.

The newest LED backlit LCDs can dim the light behind the screen in zones to match the expected levels on screen. Which boosts their rated contrast ratio in tests, but in real world viewing you end up with blocky areas surrounding each part of the picture of different level. Anytime you're trying to use a bright light to shine through a surface and then using that same surface to try to block the light you're not going to get the same deep blacks as when the surface itself is generating the light.