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StuntDouble posted:Did you get the S2? Could you maybe give a quick review of whatever TV you purchased? I've owned an S2 (42 inches) for a month or two now; so, I don't mind putting up an opinion along with others for the same set. Primarily, I use it for Blu-Ray / Netflix via my PS3 connected via HDMI cable, seconded by very minimal gaming on PS3 and my PS2 which is also hooked up via non-special standard cables. I don't have HD DirecTV, yet, so I can't comment on standard HD-broadcasts. That all said, HD content on the set is beautiful. Flesh-tones aren't overblown, colors are rendered well and blacks are very nice. Rendering and the display of sub-titles is also rather nicely on the set as well. Corresponding with what I saw in the store with displayed text. There's something to be said about seeing individual hairs, the weave of cloth on people, and the sharpness of line. This is however, my first - and the household's first - HD set. But once I calibrated it (using some AVS Forum techniques), I quite like it.
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Aug 18, 2010 01:53
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Unruly Amoeba posted:I've owned an S2 (42 inches) for a month or two now; so, I don't mind putting up an opinion along with others for the same set. Primarily, I use it for Blu-Ray / Netflix via my PS3 connected via HDMI cable, seconded by very minimal gaming on PS3 and my PS2 which is also hooked up via non-special standard cables. I don't have HD DirecTV, yet, so I can't comment on standard HD-broadcasts. Thanks -- that's just what I needed. My only question is that I'll be using it primarily for gaming, do you have any thoughts on IR with the S2?
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Aug 18, 2010 03:27
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ShaneB posted:LG 42LD550 is supposed to be insanely good for the money. Use my referral link if you buy it it would be rad http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B0039RSYQS/greatbiglie Why? Its not local dimming LED. Plasma would blow it out of the water for LESS money. To be an rear end, if you dont know about "motionflow" frame interpolation with 120hz lcds then you probably shouldnt be dispensing suggestions for tvs. especially suggestions with HERE BUY IT FROM THIS REFERRAL LINK which usually means your advice is going to try and sell someone on a tv so you get x amount of money and not actually get them what they need coolskillrex remix fucked around with this message at 11:35 on Aug 18, 2010 |
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Aug 18, 2010 11:31
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StuntDouble posted:Thanks -- that's just what I needed. My only question is that I'll be using it primarily for gaming, do you have any thoughts on IR with the S2? I've done too little gaming to really be any help,, sorry! However, I watch a lot of TV that doesn't broadcast in the set's screen ratio (i.e. Discovery Networks, HBO) so I've been looking for IR where black bars are concerned. On that, I haven't found IR, but someone else might be better help where this is all concerned.
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Aug 18, 2010 15:18
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Omegaslast posted:Why? Its not local dimming LED. Plasma would blow it out of the water for LESS money. To be an rear end, if you dont know about "motionflow" frame interpolation with 120hz lcds then you probably shouldnt be dispensing suggestions for tvs. especially suggestions with HERE BUY IT FROM THIS REFERRAL LINK which usually means your advice is going to try and sell someone on a tv so you get x amount of money and not actually get them what they need Uhhh because plenty of AVSforum people speak great things about it and it being considered incredibly good for the money. Please feel free to provide your own suggestion for a plasma that meets his price criteria that you feel is superior. I was just trying to help and provided a link to a drat cheap price that would help us both out. Get over yourself.
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Aug 18, 2010 18:10
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To suggest any but Panasonic plasmas is haraam 
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Aug 18, 2010 19:09
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I'm moving down to grad school and am about to pull the trigger on an HDTV. From what I remember it's a 40" Class* Bravia LCD HDTV from Sony, goes up to 1080p, 120Hz, 4 HDMI (I took a picture of the label at Best Buy and am doing my best to read stuff off of it). I watch some TV but it will probably get more use for gaming (I have a Wii but a friend's PS3 is mine until further notice). An old friend of mine was working there and he said it was a good TV, especially with the 120Hz for gaming. The price is a bit steep but my parents said they'd help with the bill as a graduation present, so I guess the only thing that would stop me is an overwhelming "NO!" from goons. Is this a good choice?
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Aug 18, 2010 23:39
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C-Euro posted:I'm moving down to grad school and am about to pull the trigger on an HDTV. Model numbers and actual price are necessary to give you any really good advice. Also 120Hz doesn't help with gaming at all.
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Aug 19, 2010 00:11
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fahrvergnugen posted:Model numbers and actual price are necessary to give you any really good advice. Also 120Hz doesn't help with gaming at all. It's $800, and I can't remember the model but I remember it being an EX of some sort, with maybe a 300 or a 500 in it model number? The picture is kind of blurry so it's hard to tell. He's also a big gaming nerd so I'm inclined to believe him on the 120hz bit, especially since I've seen that parameter referenced in a thread or two in Games. Hope that's enough info to go off 
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Aug 19, 2010 01:52
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Here you go: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+BRAVIA+40%22+Class+/+1080p+/+120Hz+/+LCD+HDTV/9761226.p?id=1218168618486&skuId=9761226 I have no personal experience with it, but there's the model in case you want to research it more.
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Aug 19, 2010 02:24
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Yes, that's the exact one.
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Aug 19, 2010 02:37
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So I just got my LG 50PK550 that I was asking about earlier in the thread delivered. I've heard that a decent amount of calibration is needed on these TVs to get them looking as good as they can be, and that factory settings are passable, but not great. I'm a complete dummy about calibrating a TV myself. Are there any good online resources that will help me get a great picture out of my TV without losing myself in jargon and abbreviations, or should I buy a calibration DVD like mentioned in the OP? I tried looking around on AVSforum, but it's extremely intimidating to someone who doesn't know what the gently caress. Even their "newbie" FAQs are chock full of jargon that makes my eyes glaze over. Also, what should I be doing in the early hours of usage, as far as break-in? Opinion seems widely divided on this, from "don't even use your TV just run a break-in slideshow of images" to "technology has come so far that you don't need to break-in a plasma anymore".  Anyway, thanks for any help.
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Aug 19, 2010 04:47
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Just moved into a new place, and am thinking about buying this TV. I'm an occasional Wii gamer, mainly hour stretches, but maybe a 4 hour stretch a couple times in a blue moon. I'll mostly watch sports, especially as background noise, or DVD's. I'm more concerned with not noticing flaws than really pushing preformance. This is the price point I want - between $500 and $550. Is there another TV I should look at, or is this the one?
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Aug 19, 2010 15:30
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C-Euro posted:It's $800, and I can't remember the model but I remember it being an EX of some sort, with maybe a 300 or a 500 in it model number? The picture is kind of blurry so it's hard to tell. He's also a big gaming nerd so I'm inclined to believe him on the 120hz bit, especially since I've seen that parameter referenced in a thread or two in Games. Hope that's enough info to go off I promise I've been buying consoles for longer than he's been alive. 120Hz just doesn't matter for games, because they never break 30 or 60fps from consoles. If he's talking about turning on motionflow/truemotion for gaming, then he must be put to death as a heretic. The Blood Emperor will not countenance his blasphemy. The KDLEX500 is $789 from Amazon, so about the same money if you don't count sales tax. $800 seems like a good deal. CNET gave the 46" version a 3/5, so middlin' reviews. Might want to compare against other sets there. Also, people on avsforum are recommending a similarly priced Toshiba over the Sony.
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Aug 19, 2010 19:02
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fahrvergnugen posted:Also, people on avsforum are recommending a similarly priced Toshiba over the Sony. Would that be the Toshiba G300 series?
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Aug 19, 2010 23:09
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I am looking for a tv in the $1000 to $1500 dollar range for playing Xbox360, watching tv, movies and sports on. It will be about 10' in front of the viewer. There three windows in the room, but I am planning on covering them with heavy curtains. What should I be looking at? I plan on hooking a htpc up to it in the near future.
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Aug 20, 2010 05:27
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Jadaris posted:So I just got my LG 50PK550 that I was asking about earlier in the thread delivered. I've heard that a decent amount of calibration is needed on these TVs to get them looking as good as they can be, and that factory settings are passable, but not great. This is the best calibration guide there is for a newbie IMO: http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10457 However, that is based on the assumption that you are buying a meter. If you aren't going to be doing that (which may be needed to fully dial the 550 in), then just get a calibration disc. If you can spare $375 though, I highly recommend Chad B as a calibrator: http://hdtvbychadb.com/
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Aug 20, 2010 22:59
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Uziel posted:Regarding breakin, I ran the slideshow of images at night, and when doing normal viewing, I made sure to stretch the picture out to fill the entire screen and avoided logo heavy channels (History HD is the worst). Thanks for your help. I don't have anywhere near the budget to pay that much for Chad B or a meter (I've read that they're super expensive too); I wish I did. Where's the best place to pick up a calibration disk? Best Buy / b&m store, or should I order one off a website?
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Aug 21, 2010 01:39
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quaint bucket posted:
I would also like to know, as I was thinking about picking up the Sony in a near future.
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Aug 21, 2010 14:12
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Tomorrow I'm pulling the trigger, but I'm still torn between two TV's: the LG 42LD550 and the S2, both mentioned in this thread. This is primarily a gaming TV with a few HD movies thrown in on occasion, so I'm leaning toward the plasma. Unless someone has a compelling argument to get the LG 42LD550 or another TV, I'm just gonna go ahead with the S2.
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Aug 21, 2010 15:21
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Jadaris posted:Thanks for your help. I don't have anywhere near the budget to pay that much for Chad B or a meter (I've read that they're super expensive too); I wish I did. Where's the best place to pick up a calibration disk? Best Buy / b&m store, or should I order one off a website? http://www.amazon.com/Spears-Munsil-High-Definition-Benchmark-Blu-ray/dp/B001UM29OC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1282408818&sr=8-1 http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Video-Essentials-Basics-Blu-ray/dp/B000V6LST0/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1282408873&sr=1-1 Meters are $150ish though. This is the PK550 owner's thread on AVS should you need model specific help: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18358288
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Aug 21, 2010 16:43
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Big L posted:Would that be the Toshiba G300 series? I would also like to know, as I was thinking about picking up the Sony in a near future. [/quote] My bad, it was over on High Def Digest, not exactly a hotbed of equipment knowledge. http://forums.highdefdigest.com/home-theater-gear/100607-sony-kdl40ex500-toshiba-42zv650u.html
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Aug 22, 2010 19:24
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I just bought my very first HDTV from Amazon, and it arrived with an serious issue/defect. It's a Panasonic VIERA TC-P46G25, and after setting it up, I found that a 3" vertical strip of the display isn't functional (so there's a big black stripe in the middle of my picture; a little Googling points at some sort of bad power control/supply issue). Not my television, but here's an example of my problem:  So I have a dumb question... I've never made a big online electronics purchase like this before. Who should I call first? Amazon, for a replacement unit? Or Panasonic, to set up some kind of service call? gently caress.  (The OP suggests dealing with the manufacturer for repairs is better than the yahoos at a brick-and-mortar big box store, but is that still true with this sort of Amazon purchase? And on the day of delivery?] Trustworthy fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Aug 23, 2010 |
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Aug 23, 2010 22:03
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Contact Amazon. At the very least they should give you manufacturer warranty information about who to contact for further instructions.
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Aug 23, 2010 22:46
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Trustworthy posted:(The OP suggests dealing with the manufacturer for repairs is better than the yahoos at a brick-and-mortar big box store, but is that still true with this sort of Amazon purchase? And on the day of delivery?] Amazon will take care of you. Their customer service on this stuff is really, really good.
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Aug 23, 2010 22:52
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Here's an odd one... Picked up the Samsung UN55C6900 (55" LED + LCD) today at Best Buy - upgrading from a Samsung 40" LCD. Three hours of watching later and I've got a bit of eye strain and a headache. I sit about 10 feet away from the TV - straight on - and this has never been an issue with the 40" LCD. I've seen this pop up on google a few times but haven't seen a great answer. Is this more likely to be related to the size of the TV or the LED backlight? More importantly, if I exchange the 55" for a 46" of the same model, will I be better off, or should I just forgo LED back-lighting altogether?
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Aug 24, 2010 06:30
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The set is likely set to torch mode out of the box. Did you adjust the settings to match your home lighting environment yet?
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Aug 24, 2010 11:33
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Uziel posted:The set is likely set to torch mode out of the box. Did you adjust the settings to match your home lighting environment yet? Not much more intense than changing the picture from "dynamic" to "natural" (which even says that it should be more comfortable. You'd definitely guess that it's not picture size related, though?
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Aug 24, 2010 15:13
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ItalicSquirrel posted:Here's an odd one... Picked up the Samsung UN55C6900 (55" LED + LCD) today at Best Buy - upgrading from a Samsung 40" LCD. Three hours of watching later and I've got a bit of eye strain and a headache. I was actually just about to buy this set - did you notice any "clouding" (gray splotches in the middle of the screen) or "flashlighting" (bright spots at the screen's four corners)? Apparently those problems are super-common with LED side-lit panels, but supposedly the 6900's local dimming helps alleviate those issues. I've been on the fence about upgrading from my 2004 Samsung DLP, and the UN55C6900 looks pretty sweet, but I'm pretty nervous about dropping $2K on something that might have design defects.
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Aug 24, 2010 16:45
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Pretty sure I'm picking up the LG 42" LD550 today. http://www.amazon.com/LG-42LD550-42-Inch-1080p-HDTV/dp/B0039RSYQS 40-42" is the right size for the room, LED is out of my budget and my roommate has habits of leaving video games on, so plasma is definitely out of the question. 4 HDMI hookups will be nice to have too. Deal seems pretty decent as well.
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Aug 24, 2010 18:09
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I was thinking of getting this because of space and budget constraints: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889005119 My current six year old CRT HDTV is the same size and I only view it from 5-6 feet away. It's just the picture on it is blurry around the edges and the color keeps turning green for some reason and I now have to turn it off and back on to get to stop and that tells me that's not a good sign. Well is this a good deal? I'd be using it for PS3, Wii, and some Movies so any suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance. Edit: Actually Amazon has a slightly better price: http://www.amazon.com/LG-26LD350-26-Inch-720p-HDTV/dp/B0039S7L3E/ref=sr_1_1?s=tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1282696142&sr=1-1 spasticColon fucked around with this message at 01:17 on Aug 25, 2010 |
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Aug 25, 2010 00:25
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My wife and I are looking to get a 32" TV for the living room (it's kind of a small room, so the viewing distance is pretty short) and we're looking to spend between $400-$450. The TV will be used primarily for movie/show watching with maybe a tiny bit of gaming. BJ's Wholesale (for the uninitiated, think Costco) is going to have the Vizio E322VL 1080p 32" LCD with Vizio Internet Application (VIA) for $450 with a coupon, while Target has Vizio E320VL 32" 720p without VIA for $350. I guess this is probably something I'm going to have to answer myself, but is the bump to 1080p plus Netflix, Pandora, Hulu Plus, etc. worth $100? Are there other TVs in this range that I should be looking at?
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Aug 25, 2010 00:33
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i just picked up Digital Video Essentials on dvd to calibrate my tv with and I'm completely lost. Does anyone have a guide to using it? I thought things would be a little more self-explanatory. I don't know if this goes here or in the quick questions thread, so point me in the right direction if I should post it somewhere else
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Aug 25, 2010 05:18
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spasticColon posted:My current six year old CRT HDTV is the same size and I only view it from 5-6 feet away. It's just the picture on it is blurry around the edges and the color keeps turning green for some reason and I now have to turn it off and back on to get to stop and that tells me that's not a good sign. For what it's worth, I use a 26" 720p Toshiba LCD I won in a raffle as a bedroom TV and it works just fine and dandy.
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Aug 25, 2010 09:36
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Brisco County posted:I was actually just about to buy this set - did you notice any "clouding" (gray splotches in the middle of the screen) or "flashlighting" (bright spots at the screen's four corners)? Apparently those problems are super-common with LED side-lit panels, but supposedly the 6900's local dimming helps alleviate those issues. I've been on the fence about upgrading from my 2004 Samsung DLP, and the UN55C6900 looks pretty sweet, but I'm pretty nervous about dropping $2K on something that might have design defects. The 6900? I only noticed flashlighting - mainly while watching a letterboxed movie. I understand that you may be able to fix that by loosening the enclosure screw by just a tiny bit. I didn't think it was a dealbreaker though. I did end up returning it, though. Just too big, and I had to mount it too high... Not a comfortable watch. Ended up picking up the UN46C8000 for the same price (and Best Buy had a deal which got me the glasses kit and a 3D blu-ray player for free.) Not only is it much more appropriately sized, but the panel actually seems better. No flashlighting/clouding/etc at all. Not too interested in 3D until I upgrade my cable box and receiver, but given the price it was too good a deal to pass up.
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Aug 25, 2010 14:08
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Josh Lyman posted:Is it just me or does $350 seem like a lot for a 26" LCD? Well my local Wal-Mart sells a Sanyo 26" LCD HDTV for $288 and Vizio sells one for $268. I'm not sure if I should trust those brands though. Edit: actually I have those switched the Sanyo is $268 and the Vizio is $288. I read and heard the Vizio TVs are poo poo. I don't know about Sanyo TVs though. spasticColon fucked around with this message at 18:19 on Aug 25, 2010 |
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Aug 25, 2010 18:10
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helsabot posted:i just picked up Digital Video Essentials on dvd to calibrate my tv with and I'm completely lost. Does anyone have a guide to using it? I thought things would be a little more self-explanatory. I don't know if this goes here or in the quick questions thread, so point me in the right direction if I should post it somewhere else The old DVD can be daunting. For what it's worth, the blu-ray version is much more user-friendly. Here's a good place to start: http://www.modernhometheater.com/howto/calibrateHDTV/ Google will give you lots more tutorials on the various tests included with DVE.
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Aug 25, 2010 19:06
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spasticColon posted:Well my local Wal-Mart sells a Sanyo 26" LCD HDTV for $288 and Vizio sells one for $268. I'm not sure if I should trust those brands though. Vizio makes fine small TV's. I know the Vizio 23" set they sell at WalMart gets good reviews at multiple sites.
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Aug 26, 2010 00:43
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Thermopyle posted:Vizio makes fine small TV's. But my current TV is a 26" so I don't want to get something smaller but I can't get something bigger than a 26" because of space and budget constraints. I just want a good cheap HDTV for video games and to watch some movies/TV shows on. Edit: you posted that Vizio makes good small TVs so would this be a good deal? http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-M260VA-26-Inch-Class-RazorLED/dp/tech-data/B003LL17HK/ref=de_a_smtd spasticColon fucked around with this message at 12:39 on Aug 26, 2010 |
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Aug 26, 2010 02:45
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