Which kind of television?!?!?!

[lan52]

I have the audio, but do i have the video?
I've recently been researching on TVs. There are so many kinds!!! Tube, plasma, lcd, front projection etc. For price and picture quality, which one should i buy? Plasma was a choice i wanted to take. But i heard that after 2 years, the picture brightness will be reduced to half. Please help.
lan52

[Brandon B]

If I were buying a TV right now, i'd for sure look at the new JVC DILA's. One caveat though, is that there seems to be some inconsistency in the quality of the sets (these are the first models of this type out).

BB

[David Meek]

Hi Dennis, welcome to The Guide. :welcome:

It'd be helpful to us if you could give a bit more detail on your environment. For example:

Are there a lot of windows in the room?
Can you control the amount of ambient light in the room?
What size is the room?
Do you have any "significant other" limitations? :
What budget are you comfortable with?

These will give us a framework to make recommendations you'll be happy with.

[Shane Martin]

Ian,
You have lots of choices but they all have their issues.

I was recently in the market for a set and had all but decided on a DLP or an LCD until I started researching it more.

Here is what I came up with.

CRT Pluses: Best PQ(to me), Best Black Level, Cheapest of the bunch(more bang for my buck).

CRT Negatives: Off axis viewing is no so great(not an issue for me). Heavy(the sets are large which ties into the next issue if you call it one), Placement restrictions, Won't accept 720p generally, burn in possible if not setup correctly or taken care of correctly.

LCD Pluses: Smaller size(light and hardly deep), 720P Native, No burn in.
LCD Minuses: Poor Black level, Uses a bulb that wears out sooner than a CRT, More Expensive than CRT by a fair margin, Bulb Failure issues on all models, QC issues,

Plasma Pluses: Great PQ. Stellar Black level for digital display, 720p native depending on the set, Can put one anywhere(pretty much), Longevity(they last a long while).
Plasma Negatives: PRICE, Lack of bang for you buck unless all you want is a 42", Burn in possibilites.

DLP Pluses: No Burn in, Acceptable PQ, 720P native, Small,
DLP negatives: Uses a bulb and prone to early burn out, Black Level for some unacceptable, Expensive, Rainbows can give some headaches

DILA: Pretty much the same as DLP. I just saw a few this past week and they reminded me pretty much of a DLP. I didn't see any rainbows but I didn't watch them much.


Ok so at this point you have to decide what you want/need. If price and ultimate PQ are the primary concern, then a CRT set is the best. For under $2,000, you can get a 55" Rear Projection(assuming you want to go big). You can't get that in a DLP or the others unless you are willing to plunk down more than $3,200-$4,000 for the same size(screen that is). If you have limited space then the DLP or DILA isn't a bad option, just know what you are getting into. For me I can deal with the size of the set and wanted 55" minimum and I couldn't get FPTV so a Mits Silver Series was the set for me. I preferred it over the Toshiba and Hitachi offerings. If I wanted a plasma, then the Panasonic brand was the clear winner here. It has the best black level and contrast you will see. If I was going with DLP then the Samsungs were very high on my list but I couldn't deal with its shortcomings(especially for the price). The QC issues with the digital displays are what ultimately pushed me towards a CRT. This of course also allowed me to upgrade my audio system.

BTW, There is a good article in Sound and Vision regarding all 3 technologies.


*edit: See Davids post and combine that with mine and we should be able to point you into the right direction.

[Brandon B]

DILA: Pretty much the same as DLP. I just saw a few this past week and they reminded me pretty much of a DLP. I didn't see any rainbows but I didn't watch them much.

The JVC's are 3 chip, so they cannot have rainbows. At all. The DILA sets are also reported brighter and have better color. They also will have better fill factor, although DLP is good enough that this is really only an argument if you are going to watch from 2 feet away. In other words, not really relevant.

BB

[aud19]

Also like to add that DLP will likely be one of the brighter displays so a good choice for people that have to compete with a lot of ambient light.

For my money I'd go CRT RPTV from Mitsubishi or Hitachi or a quality likely LCD based FP if the room allows.

Jason

[Bam!]

Now guys

Do you think these are the answers we would get if we went into Future Shop and asked the above question ?

Really good answers duders!

I guess I have nothing to throw in! :lol:

[Andrew Pratt]

As the guys above stated we really need to know more about your room and your viewing habits before we can help narrow the field down. For example for me the best solution was to get a decent 32" tube set for regular daytime TV and a projector for sports and movies. That works for me becasue I have a nice light controled room and don't mind watching regular TV on a smaller set. For others a larger multi purpose TV is more in line with their needs in which case a 50" RPTV would work better etc. Point being there's a variety of options that are all valid but each relies on variables we don't yet have.