Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater a nice LCD set

I just looked at some TV's during my lunch break.

I saw a 61" Samsung DLP (with the HD2 chip, not the new HD2+ chip) and was only vaguely impressed. Black levels were decent, but there was too much artifacting for my tastes. Though I suspect it was largely due from the source (The Mummy DVD)

What surprised me though was a 60" Panasonic LCD RPTV right next to it. It looked FAR better than the last LCD tv I saw, and at $4000 ($3000 online) that's pretty cheap for a 60" HD set.

Just thought I'd pass that thought along.

I think most of the sets larger than 46" or so give a too pixelated image for DVD for my taste. It's why I'm steering towards a smaller screen, even if it means giving up the obnoxious "holy sh*t that's a big TV factor. (which I desire!)

"Artifacting" huh huh huh

"The Mummy" hee hee hee

Nice catch. I didn't even notice the pun.

That's very true. There's a fine balance between screen size and viewing distance. The 62" NEC Plasma screen in my office looks absolutely fantastic from my desk about 18 feet away, but it's comparative size at that distance is about 13" -- similar to the laptop screen that's 18 inches away from me right now.

In non-technical terms, there are only so many pixels to go around on an LCD screen. In a smaller screen, they are packed more tightly than a big screen. That's why Sony's 42" LCD looks better than their 70". Of course the 70" does carry a pretty awesome "holy s**t" factor.

This is a serious comment, but the explanation I got was long and technical, likely causing me serious brain damage. The above nets it out.

I think he's talking about a rear-projection LCD HDTV. With any digital display TV (LCD, DLP, plasma) there's only a fixed number of pixels.

Virtually all current rear projection LCD & DLP HDTVs have a native resolution of 720p (1280 x 720), or about 921k pixels.

Optimal viewing distance for an HDTV is different from standard definition analog. You generally need to sit proportionally closer for a given screen size, else you're not seeing the extra resolution you paid for.

For this reason a larger diameter HDTV can be beneficial -- it avoids having to crowd close to the display. A larger set therefore gives more seating flexibility while retaining optimal resolution.

Here's a good viewing distance calculator:
http://www.myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html#anchor_13194

Re Panasonic LCD vs Samsung DLP, in general the DLP is considered superior. However like Spiff, I've seen some Panasonic LCDs that look better than a DLP, side-by-side. There's such a variety of setup modes it's common that one display can be sub-optimally configured.

In general I'd say get whichever set looks the best to you, at a cost you accept. There's a tendency to over-analyze the display technology at the cost of real world issues that affect them all, or affect specific sets more than popularly-discussed issues. E.g, I've never once seen the DLP "rainbow" effect (which is discussed endlessly), but I've frequently seen "color banding" (which is rarely discussed). Another example: LCD sets supposedly have poorer black levels than DLP, but I've never seen a problem with that.

I've had the Hitachi 60V500 projection LCD for a couple months now and am very happy with it. As long as you stand back at least 8 feet the picture is very good I looked at DLP but was warned by a television tech guy to wait until they really invented it and the LCD had a better price. I'd love to see HD broadcast on it, but I"m afraid that where I live in Indiana, I'm lucky even to have cable. I also tooked at the Panasonic LCD and thought the Hitachi had a better picture. I have no problems with "ghosting" or black levels. It's a nice tv, and now it's time to upgrade the audio to go with it...why I've entered this forum.

welcome tcook,

go here to look for some people to audition for you in your area. make sure to check ALL the pages.. several people have added their names after the original list was made.

bigjohn

I've been looking at LCDs in the 15-20" range for the bedroom. I suppose the PQ on these little sets should be awesome, but I've not been terribly impressed. The flatscreen tube TVs look better IMO. We're still going to get a little LCD for its tiny size and ability to disappear into the decor, but if I cared about PQ in the bedroom I wouldn't even consider one.
I can't believe the big LCDs look any better, though I have never bothered to check.