One day... some day... DH and I would like something other than our small TV (which is 27 inches, I think. Maybe not super small, but we sit 15-feet from it, so it seems small).

Would you buy an LCD or plasma?

I'd probably go with an LCD based on "bang for the buck" and no chance of screen image burn-in from static images (video games, news tickers, station bugs), which is a risk with plasma.

Check this Crutchfield article.

If you have any specific models or questions in mind, I'd be happy to answer. HDTV's are a bit of a hobby of mine.

I would definitely take SMan's advice. I'm not an HDTV guru but based on what I've read as well, I'd go with LCD. Burn-in could definitely be an issue if you're doing a lot of gaming. (think about your GUI)

I did hear that once you get to larger than 40", there are some issues/problems with LCD. Is this correct or outdated news?

Oh, you're talking that big, huh? Good for you! If you go over 46", you should start to look at DLP sets. Not true "flat panels", but most are only a foot or so deep.

In my opinion only, I think plasmas are on the way out. The plasma price points aren't dropping as fast as LCD (and other techs) quality and features are increasing, while remaining at a lower price than plasmas.

I'll also chime in and say the whole hang your tv on the wall stuff is overrated. Looking up at the wall is just not a natural viewing angle for everyday tv use. Plus, it's a bitch to retrofit a clean install on an existing wall.

Sman, my husband got one of those million mirror ones, not sure what you call it, are they supposed to be good?

Yeah, your husband got a DLP TV then.

ok... DLP are projection style, right?

I have a friend who has projection and everything looks fuzzy... sometimes there are black patches.

SMan... why DLP when over 46"?

And do you have a manufacturer that stands out? Sony? Dell?

Thanks for all the advice, my tech-smart peeps!

"Would you buy an LCD or plasma?"

I'd go with the LSD TV. You drop 2 hits and your 13" b&w tv from 1972 comes back to life and starts playing in color.
I'm pretty sure this is a one time trick but wayyy cheaper


The tech that installed the 2 here at work said he wouldn't buy a plasma. supposedly there is another new technology being developed that will put them all to shame. He did however say that if I wanted something right now he'd go with the DLP

Yes, DLP is a rear projection based design. But don't confuse it with the CRT rear projections that have been around for decades. The picture quality is outstanding. I don't think the technology is there yet to make large LCD's and large plasmas (50"+) are still insane prices.

Now, a few words about picture quality. The larger the screen, the larger the chance that things will seem fuzzy or blurry when watching a poor signal source. Many people buy HDTVs and assume that they can just plug it into the wall and start seeing HD broadcasts. That's not the case. The tv must be fed a hi-def signal through your cable/satellite provider, and of course, that's a few bucks extra per month. An HDTV will still shine for your DVD watching. The widescreen design allows movies to be seen in a higher resolution and in their intended aspect ratio, while limiting or eliminating the black letterboxing bars. Don't expect a lot from watching a big screen, HDTV using regular cable. Making a garbage picture bigger just makes bigger garbage.

As for manufacturers, the only one that I consistantly hear good things about is the Samsung line of DLPs. That's not to say other brands are bad, I just know a lot of happy Samsung owners and read great reviews about them. For LCD's and plasma, the market is getting huge, so you have to start balancing good reviews vs. price vs. features.

SMan, what do you know about LG? They've been advertising on TV and I never knew anything about them other than just what I saw in the stores.

Not much, really. I don't know anybody that owns one and reviews of LG products on the major sites are sparce.

anyone have a vizio? I heard they aren't bad. usually they are in walmart or sams club and I guess they are cheaper than top of the line sets.

Got it. Ok... thanks for the info!!! Now we just need to come up with the scratch. LOL

Froggy, our TV, which I now know is a DLP, is great! I think ours is a Mitsubishi (?), and we were told they have some of the best also. The only bad pictures we ever get are from stations that just are low budget. And yes, Sman is right, you need to order the HD from your cable company or else you might as well not have bought that TV in the first place.

Any movie or station that is broadcast in HD is absolutely fabulous! Good luck!!

Yeah, keep in mind that Digital != HD. If you're going to get HD programming, I recommend satellite tv (if you don't already have it)... Dish and DirecTV both offer more HD programming than cable and its cheaper.

Yeah... that's another issue. We have Comcast cable right now. And I use cable for Internet, too, so it's a package deal. I don't want to switch to DSL, but I also don't want to pay out the nose for my cable Internet if we switch to Direct TV. Too many decisions... LOL

That's my dilemma with switching to satellite. Just remember, more HD channels is only a benefit to you if you're going to watch them. Antietam just added 3 or 4 new HD channels. The problem is that 2 of them I would never watch and make no sense why you'd even want them in HD.

Good point. I am not much of a TV-watcher... I probably watch about 5 or 6 hours of TV a week... but DH does love his History Channel. LOL

DirecTV doesn't offer enough in HD to be worthwhile. There are only 2 or 3 of the channels that I would even bother to watch. When the entire menu goes HD, then I'll go get my new tv. Until then, there's a big blank space on one wall of my sports bar.

At work we have 7 plasma tvs and they all have burn in. Our newest 1 is a pioneer and is about 3 months old and that also has burn in already. Of course you dont see the burn-in unless its turned off and to some thats not a problem. Really who looks at a tv when its off anyway. Just thought id throw that out there.

I notice burn-in on screens anytime there is an image on the screen that is not in the shape of what's burnt in. I couldn't live with a several thousand dollar piece of equipment that's damaged like that. I understand it not being an issue if the only thing that's ever displayed on the screen is the static image (security camera, airline flight schedule, etc.), no way could I stand looking at the burn-in during everyday use.

moms - there will never be everything in HD, but there is already a heck of a lot out there. It'd be difficult to find a prime time show on the major networks that isn't broadcast in HD. Sports is what HD was made for and you won't find a major sporting event that isn't broadcast in HD*. It's been that way for years. Isn't that what sports bars are for...watching sports? And drinking beer, of course.


*except golf. I guess it takes too much HD equipment to properly broadcast a golf tourney.

Good info HD Gurus! Thumbs up.

So...if a show says "broadcast in HD", ubless you order HD cable, you're not getting a HD signal, correct?

How much extra on Antietam for HD signal?

That's correct. Even if it says HD, it's not unless you ordered it through your cable/sat provider. Then you must tune to the HD version of the channel, not just regular old channel 4, 5, etc. Antietam's HD channels are in the 500's.

Antietam charges an extra $10/month for the HD package. I think you can get their HD DVR for that price (I use Tivo) for a few bucks more. The crappy part is that $10 extra is on top of already having the digital cable package. So if you're like I was and don't have a digital cable box, you have to pay for that in addition to the HD package.

That's right Snoopy.

Antietam's price for HD is about $10, plus the rental fee for the HD receiver. When I added up everything (HD+DVR+ my channel package + additional costs) it was double what I pay now with Dish. Plus, satellite is 100% digital... whereas "digital cable" is not. Of course, I now pay $10 more for cable internet but it's still cheaper, and I'll cut my cost even more once I switch to DSL. Obviously, I'm riding the satellite bandwagon.

We have a Samsung 42" Plasma in our conference room... no burn-in yet but it's not yet a year old and we only use it during meetings.

coma - my digital cable/HD package through Antietam is ~$60/month. Are you saying I can get the same thing for $30 through Dish?

edit - I just checked Dish's website. Looks like I could get it for $30/month for 10 months under a new customer promotional deal. Then it'd be $50/month.

Keep in mind that I said "my channel package" so I'm not sure what you have, but for me I was working on cutting down my expenses and I ended up getting the same channels (and more sports/movie channels + HD programming) with Dish for cheaper. I also get the local Balt/DC (Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, etc) channels for an extra $5/month. No channel 6 anymore though.

Also, yeah, they're always running some promotions on their site but if you look around on the web you can find other companies that you can purchase Dish through and get other deals. At the time I signed up I went directly through Dish for a free DVR/HD receiver.

The only thing I regret with going with Dish over DirecTV is the inability to get the Sunday Ticket, but I didn't want to spend $300 on it... soooo, what I found was a cool site called www.streamtvnow.com where you can pay $8/month for unlimited PPV viewing, so the past couple of Sundays I watched the Ravens games on my computer since they weren't on TV (with a good quality signal too!). Also saved a lot of money on boxing and MMA PPV's.

NFL Network rocks, I love it, their programming is top notch. It's also nice to be able to watch games that you might've missed throughout the week if you want to.

[drool] Dish offers HD NFL Network [/drool]

Ok... HD users... another question:

I just started exploring this (it was more a hypothetical question at first, LOL). So I check out the channels that are offered in HD through Comcast, Dish and Direct TV. For the most part, it doesn't seem to be more than a handful! You get your local networks, plus a few extra like TNT (and we *gasp* don't watch sports, so all the sports HD channels are useless to us). I mean.... I counted like 6 that we might actually watch in HD.

So I guess my question is... is HD really worth it? I mean... most of the time we watch Discovery Health or USA or FX... and I can't get any of those in HD.

Then you have to ask yourself if the benefit from better DVD watching/gaming is enough to justify the expense of a new HDTV. And I say HDTV because you're going to have a hell of a time finding a non-HD ready television that's bigger than 32".

I get the HD channels for sports. Frankly, watching King of Queens or House in HD just isn't that big of deal and probably isn't worth the price of the HD package.

So true. Actually, I find some shows disturbing to watch in HD. Truth is, I don't want to see every little pore on someone's face!

Well... I guess it seems like if we want a bigger TV, we don't have a choice. So the big question is whether or not it's worth it to pay for HD programming, right?

I have a feeling DH is gonna insist on it anyway. Men and their toys.

And I do like to watch movies...

Yeah....Lcd is definatly the way to go!
Plasma is an organic material that has a much shorter lifespan than do the lcd pixels!
The DLP technology is almost equal quality as plasma with modern day standards.
Plasma will have a deeper and brighter pixel quality but overall a much more risky buy.
And as for the cost...........plasma can't compete with LCD.

Rule of thumb........Don't fall for the EDTV (Enhanced defenition television)special!
If you are going to spend all that money on a tv.....make sure it's capible of 1080I/720P/480P/480I formats.
Also make sure the television comes equiped with a QAM(Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) tuner.
A nessecity to tune HD and digital carriers, unless using a digital cable box!