First the Joust,  
... and now this...

... Boxing Day price before Boxing day!

(...and I even get a 30-day price match,  even during the boxing week sales !  )

... and the Sens are winning !



Steph

Quoted from Steph

First the Joust,  
... and now this...

...unfortunately, at this rate, I won't have anything left over to pay the Hydro bill...
so I'll just be staring at them in the dark !




S.

got the TV a month ago .... and I found a wii + metroid for less then cost and he even delivered it last night !

Merry en effet

Since you guys did the research already...... any recommendations? My JVC is starting to "snow" alot so was walking around Future Shop but not really into TV's that much. I've decided LCD and somewhere in normal size range ie 32-40. Just need some opinions on brand and important features to pay attention to for picture quality. Use of the TV is really only for watching kids shows   and movies, occasional gaming. Of course the FS salesmen are more than willing to sell me the super top of the line but I trust you guys more so give me some suggestions please.

TIA
ME

Quoted from medvet

Since you guys did the research already...... any recommendations? My JVC is starting to "snow" alot so was walking around Future Shop but not really into TV's that much. I've decided LCD and somewhere in normal size range ie 32-40. Just need some opinions on brand and important features to pay attention to for picture quality. Use of the TV is really only for watching kids shows   and movies, occasional gaming. Of course the FS salesmen are more than willing to sell me the super top of the line but I trust you guys more so give me some suggestions please.

TIA
ME

An easy read article.
http://www.squidoo.com/lcd-televisions

If I were looking for a new LCD I'd stick with a Sony or Samsung.
Of all the reviews I've read Sony & Samsung are consistently in the top 10.

Adam

costco is your friend... NOT the sale guy at Futureshop !

OK, I'm starting to see a trend here. How many people in the group have beige/brown walls & white ceilings?

This has also been a great Christmas for me as well. My wife gave me easily the best present I've ever received.
But it's not pinball/arcade related so I'm sure that nobody wants to see a pic.

Adam

Quoted from medvet

Since you guys did the research already...... any recommendations?

Although this article is a "little" out-of-date,
it sums-up well the difference between LCD and Plasma.

http://www.pentranic-displays.co.uk/news-plasma-vs-lcd.htm

I went for Plasma because :

1- Better color contrasts
2- Better viewing angles
3- Less motion blur

[ NB.  These issues are getting less noticeable with newer LCD's ]

Cheers,
Steph

Quoted from Steph

[ NB.  These issues are getting less noticeable with newer LCD's ]

'nough said

I bought my biga$$ TV last year (Dec. 24th to be exact!)

I bought a   DLP

Reasons: cheaper, bigger (50") and no blur when watching hockey.

Medvet: the only advice I can give you is not to buy the TV at WalMarde...

Some of the companies that have good reps are the usual Toshiba/Sony/Panasonic/etc...

Others that have good product, IMHO, are Samsung and LG.

Mine's a Toshiba I'm VERY satisfied with it!  

Mes deux cennes ammariquaines,

Frosken

Quoted from Mrhide

costco is your friend... NOT the sale guy at Futureshop !

I've been looking as well. Is Costco really that much less? What about extended warrenty? Do they offer that. With the newer technology there are failures and best to be covered. At least that's my thought at this point.

So far, I'm leaning towards LCD. I have read LCD is best for video games. Plasma is good for sports. Also, Plasma needs a dark room for best results.

Duane

Costco is generally 30% cheaper on everything.
extended warrenty?  WHAT FOR ?   read on: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/07/warranties.asp

as for returning something to costco, I find them the easiest, no hassle cie EVER ... they'll take anything back without a question!

Quoted from TwilightZone

Also, Plasma needs a dark room for best results.

I think you've got that  backwards...

Plasma is "brighter" than LCD, so it will be more visible
even in bright-lit rooms.

LCD however has to "compete" with surrounding lighting
so it's best viewed in darker settings
(...or at least, not in bright sunlight ... )

That's how I understand it anyways...

Steph

Quoted from Steph

I think you've got that  backwards...

Plasma is "brighter" than LCD, so it will be more visible
even in bright-lit rooms.

LCD however has to "compete" with surrounding lighting
so it's best viewed in darker settings
(...or at least, not in bright sunlight ... )

That's how I understand it anyways...

Steph

Hmmmm...I'll have to look into this as my understanding was LCD doesn't require a darker setting and that is definitely a consideration for me.

Duane

Plasma is best in a room where you don't have any reflected light, such as a window or lamp behind you as the screens tend to be very glossy. This looks Great in a room with no light behind you. LCD's seem to have more of a Matte finish screen so not as affected by reflections. I think DLP can go either way.

Dave

Quoted from Steph

I think you've got that  backwards...

Plasma is "brighter" than LCD, so it will be more visible
even in bright-lit rooms.

LCD however has to "compete" with surrounding lighting
so it's best viewed in darker settings
(...or at least, not in bright sunlight ... )

That's how I understand it anyways...

Steph

Actually Steph he got it right .. it's you who got it wrong

Plasma are amazing in a dark room while LCD are not (they are brighter)

Quoted from Mrhide

Actually Steph he got it right .. it's you who got it wrong

Plasma are amazing in a dark room while LCD are not (they are brighter)

Ok, I stand corrected...  

I'm just going to sit in the dark and watch my new plasma without saying another word !



Steph

I got a pretty cool early Christmas present 2 weeks ago:  a 60" Sony SXRD Grand Wega RP LCD (model 2020).  All I can say is "wow"!  It has a pretty cool refresh rate (2.5ms) and at 1080p, there is no motion blur that I can spot, though I can catch some (minor) at 1080i.  So ie: yeah, hockey games have motion blur since I don't think my cable provider has a 1080p HD PVR (anyone please correct me?), but the PS3/360/BluRay/HD-DVD don't.  Actually, the 360/hd-dvd do have a bit right now because they're running at 1080i through component, but once I upgrade to an HDMI 360, I'll be able to run it at 1080p and everything should be fine.  Gaming on current consoles is a bliss on this baby.

Very impressed with the SXRD's contrast ratio and the very nice "blacks".  Some might be put off by the minor "screen door" effect but I find it minimal.  I bought the 2007 model, there is a newer model coming out but I didn't find the new additions outweighed the aggressive price of this model (less than $2000).

Quoted from The Loafer

I got a pretty cool early Christmas present 2 weeks ago:  a 60" Sony SXRD Grand Wega RP LCD (model 2020).  All I can say is "wow"!

Congrats!  i can remember vividly seven years ago when i bought a 63" Sony (demonstrator at the store).. very weird to see the news with the talking heads like 4 times a real sized head.. or almost getting motion sickness watching hockey (players large and the space between them was almost an ocean.)

i still hug that Sony because i ain't going anywhere near lcd or plasma till they work out the kinks or at the very least stop charging ($600 per freakin' year for additional insurance).

I am hoping to get someone's old rear projection TV when they upgrade to LCD or plasma. I have been checking out LCD and Plasma TV's at different shops, and I still prefer rear projection TVs. I picked up a 48" CRT rear projection Magnavox for my girlfriend last year and like it a lot. So hopefully I can find something for myself too.

Quoted from Grauwulf

I picked up a 48" CRT rear projection Magnavox for my girlfriend last year and like it a lot.

Does your fiancee know about this?

There's a 42" Viewsonic 1080p LCD at Costco right now for $1099. It's easily the cheapest 42" 1080p LCD I've ever seen. Specs here: http://www.viewsonic.com/products/lcdtv/N4285p/

Seems like a pretty decent deal. Anyone care to comment?

that's the one I have   

The Specs look good, but the set is actually small. With viewing area dimensions at 36.6" horizontal x 20.6" vertical; 42.02" diagonal that is a small picture, assuming you are changing out of anything bigger than 32". If you are watching anything in a natural 4:3 ratio it will make a screen size of about 32". I personally can't stand stretching the pic to fit, everyone starts to look like Barney Rubble. If you are going to buy a 9:6 ratio TV (and try to find anything else these days) you need to find at least a 50 inch one (52 = 42 in 4:3). So, a 42" wide screen TV = a 32" TV in "Old style", but you get many more Bells and Whistles. At least that is my opinion.

http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-6307377-1.html

That said, The price is Great considering MSRP is $1799 US
Dave

It's the same size as any other 42" 16:9 LCD.

I'm upgrading from a 27" Panasonic CRT, so anything is an improvement.

Quoted from cooke

It's the same size as any other 42" 16:9 LCD.

Oh sure, Point that out!!  

Dave

http://www.retrevo.com/s/Viewsonic-N4285P-TVs-review-manual/id/6333ci473/t/1-2/

Couldn't find any reviews on performance/longevity but it's hard to argue with the price.
I guess if you're nervous you could always purchase and extended warranty.
I see on their website that you can upgrade up to 3 years for approx $280.
http://www.viewsonic.com/index.htm



All-in-all Mrhide would seem to be the one on the know as he already owns one.

Adam

I will be the first to admit that I am not a technophile. I still like older TVs and thought they worked fine. In July of 2006, after we officially sold our old house, my wife and I decided to treat ourselves and bought a Samsung 42" plasma TV. I was all excited about getting it...until I started watching it. I have Starchoice satellite at home and I thought that the picture SUCKED. The black images were always blotchy... to the point that 80% of the time I went to watch TV on my old Sony 27".

Well, I got an HD receiver from my father-in-law for Xmas and plugged it in tonight with an HDMI cable to watch the hockey game...



1000 times better!!! Holy crap!!! I was amazed by the image when switching from regular to HD on the plasma. NOW it looks fantastic. But I wish I was told this earlier... I would have held out on buying the plasma until I got an HD receiver. They don't tell you this in stores...

My opinion is if you are not going to get an HD signal for your TV or don't watch many DVDs, stick with a standard resolution TV and save yourself the money. HD big screens are great... if you actually have the proper signal going to it...

I'm with you Ian

I went out on Boxing day and picked this up:

http://www.samsung.com/ca/products/tv/lcd/lnt5271fxxaa.asp

I'll have to take a picture of it, but regular cable looks like absolute crap on it, but then again I don't watch TV so it's not a big deal.  But my PS3 I got for Christmas looks INSANE.  I couldn't be happier with the picture and since I plan to use it for pretty much only playing PS3 and watching Blue Ray movies it works great for me.

It did come with a promotion from rogers where I can get a Free HD box and programming for a year but I have to see if there are any strings attached.  If there are I won't be going that route as I don't watch enough TV to justify paying the HD prices for cable.  

Quoted from Vengeance

It did come with a promotion from rogers where I can get a Free HD box and programming for a year but I have to see if there are any strings attached.  If there are I won't be going that route as I don't watch enough TV to justify paying the HD prices for cable.  

I got the same deal, and signed-up for it.

It "sounds" like a legit deal  :  Free HD and set-top box for a year with no penalty to discontinue after 12 months.

I'm waiting to get the box by courrier today...

I'll let you know how it works out.

cheers,
Steph

It is a trap. I got HD two years ago and once you get to enjoy the quality of HD, there is never going back.

I find myself scanning through the HD channels and if there is nothing good, I go play pinball. Watching regular TV on a HD TV is just plain bad, might as well keep your old CRT TV.

I don't watch TV very much so I don't think I'll have an issue.

I can only think of mabye 3 shows I watch on TV, House, CSI, and Survivor I don't need to see those shows in HD.  I don't watch any sports mabye the odd football game if I'm really bored so as long as I can cancel it at the end of the 12 months I'll take it.  But I can see how if you watch allot of TV and Sports trying to go back from HD would be very difficult.  

the viewsonic is great with of course hdmi connections ( from addison at 15-20$ a cable ... don't be stupid to buy *any* cables at the "big box" store ) to an HD source.

of course Videotron and satellite can *only* do 1080i ! not 1080p ... for that you need blue ray or HDDVD or a laptop with HDMI ( which I have ) and you download (big) content  from the web. Looks amazing.

my regular DVDs never looked so nice so I'm happy with then for now and don't see really see the point of getting an hddvd  yet since I don't really buy movies anymore, the bay is fine for me.