Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Samsung or LG TV? Which is better?

My Samsung Bluray player keeps freezing. Firmware is up to date. So now that I need a new player I can't help but feel it's time for a new TV (excuse). I have a Panasonic 50" plasma that has been flawless for 8 years now. It is 720p. We mostly watch TV, one or two bluray movies per week. I've never had the pleasure of real bluray HD. I figure now that 4k is coming out it's the perfect time for me to upgrade to 1080p, that way I can be out of date again in a few years ( my technology trend). So, I have two questions. If I get a New TV, Sammy or LG? (Or just keep my 720p Panny that still has a perfect picture over Fios). And is 4k worth it yet? I guess that's 3 questions isn't it.

The size of the screen and how close you sit will determine how much benefit you get from 1080P.

If we assume a 60" screen, you start to see the difference between 720 and 1080 at around 10' and will get full benefit of 1080 at around 7'. 4K is hype for most people.

Check out this link for more detail of distance and screen size vs resolution.

I have no idea which brand is better at this point. I convinced myself I needed a projector to really take advantage of 1080p.

Thank you for your input Fred, I have room on the wall for a 60 and sit about 14 feet away. Seems like these days there's actually not as much professional review info available as there was back when I bought the Panasonic. I remember researching relentlessly and deciding the avi era was a clear winner, in my budget. Maybe the technology has just advanced to where there isn't that much difference in competing price points. I'm starting to think that these days it's more about which I can find a better deal on than whether Samsung is better than LG etc.

I was sort of impressed with the OLED TV (55 inch) 1080p at Best Buy yesterday, although I'm sure that part of that was just the video that was being played. It had a slight curved screen. Don't remember the manufacturer. The price was around $2500 I think. The salesman said a 65 inch was around $4500.

I can always tell when I'm watching a blu-ray on 720p TV, so yeah, there is a difference.

At 14 feet you are not even going to notice the difference between 720 and 1080 until the screen size hits 85".

When I first saw your reply I thought; "Wow, how can he sit so far away from such a small screen?"

Thinking on it, we sat 7' from our first TV, a 13" B&W. How times have changed.

Your eyes must be shot as I can tell the difference between 720 and 1080p at 14'. I tested out many TV's when I replaced my 55" RPTV and I could pick out the differences. Things like grass on a field. it's not that you can see specific detail, just you see that something is just not right if you put them both up side by side.

That said, i would not buy a new TV just for the sake of it. If your current one works for you then i would just keep on using it.

Yea Fred, it's amazing how quick we got used to these big TVs. It wasn't all that long ago I was buying a HUGE 4:3 32" Sony CRT "flat screen". It had to be delivered because it weighed 285 pounds! Now I'm sitting here convincing myself that my 50" plasma is too small.
Matt, you are the voice of reason. My old Panasonic is still pretty nice.

Nope, I've got 20/20 vision. Well, with my glasses on.

We may well have different levels of accuity. I'm going by the chart I linked to. I seem to fall within its working premise as I was barely able to tell the difference between 1080p and up-scaled DVD at 8' from my 50" rptv. They are night and day different on a 110" screen at 10'.

I think those charts are over-rated and not very accurate.

So, even though I have told myself that I'm not buying a new TV my subconscious is not listening. I have now found myself at BestBuy, twice, and HHGregg staring at LED TVs. With the exception of some of the 4k ones that are trying to trick me by running 4k content off thumb drives I swear I can't find one that has PQ as good as my old 720p Panasonic Plasma. I figured just the age difference alone would be a factor, mine is going on 9 years old. The ones I'm looking at are last year Samsungs, 7150 and 6350 in 60 in. Is it just a calibration issue or are these LED TVs just never going to compare to my old plasma?