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Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: citizen72 on January 24, 2008, 11:22:04 pm My wife and I had decided we would buy our first flat screen LCD television to watch the Super Bowl. The young salesmen at Best Buy, who waited on us, amazingly told us should really wait a few months as the new 08 televisions are going to get a bunch thinner. Thinner to the tune of say 1 centimeter. He said something about an organic set known as OLED that is also coming out.
Anyone know what is going on here? Was the young man correct about waiting? Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: Steve on January 25, 2008, 12:18:57 am I don't know if what you were told was true, but if it is, then that will just drive the price of current LCD & plasma TV's down even more. 1 centimeter seems pretty ridiculous to me, but whatever, emerging technology always drives down the price of the existing sets.
I am still sticking with my 3 year old analog 32" CRT tube TV. Still works great for me, even though I will need a digital converter box about a year from now. By that time, I will probably be able to to buy a 50" plasma HDTV for $500, at the rate things are going. Technology seems to be changing so fast these days. The smart consumer won't be rash and take a wait-and-see stance. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: okieinla on January 25, 2008, 12:34:16 am The Consumer Electronics Show offers a glimpse of what's ahead in TV technology.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cestv13jan13,1,2363819.story LATimes article from last Sunday. There's mention of the OLED... super cool, thinner but very expensive. I hope the video plays when you link up. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: sgrizzle on January 25, 2008, 07:25:26 am OLED will be great, but they aren't exactly on the truck yet. There is awhile to wait and TV's will get thinner but new technology has been unreasonably slow to market in the HDTV realm because the manufacturers have dragged their feet.
SDTV (The TV;s most of us grew up with) where originally supposed to be discontinued years ago, like 2005. That way, when Feb 2009 hits and analog TV is turned off, more people are prepared. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: Ibanez on January 25, 2008, 08:51:45 am OLED will carry a fairly hefty price premium when they hit the market. Go ahead and find a set you like now and buy it. If you keep waiting for the next best thing you will never get a new set.
I would strongly suggest you go the LCD route. We currently have a DLP set, a LCD set and a plasma set. The plasma set looks great, if the conditions are perfect. We have big problems with light reflections on it and the viewing angle seems to be fairly narrow both vertically and horizontally. It does have a better picture than the DLP or LCD sets, but only when everything is just perfect. Even then the difference isn't that great. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: TheArtist on January 25, 2008, 09:51:31 am Yea, I was going to say, If you wait to get the next new technology you will be paying 20,000$ for the same sized set you can get for 2,000$ of the "old" types. Course if you want to wait some more, perhaps 3 or 4 years, for the price to drop...
Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: sauerkraut on January 25, 2008, 10:25:54 am Heck- I still have my 20" RCA TV from 1992. It works great. I read in a mag. that some new TV's are about to come out called "Laser TV" they have clearer pictures that can blow away the current crop of TV sets. I guess some were on display at the Las Vegas Convention. The laser TV sets were due to come out before Christmas according to the article, but they put it off. I guess soon the blu-ray and HD-DVD discs will be replaced by some kind of "card" that can hold more data and give a clear picture. If I was you I'd hold off.
Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: sgrizzle on January 25, 2008, 10:28:02 am Keep in mind you have a year to do "something" before everything goes widescreen and HD.
Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: inteller on January 25, 2008, 12:09:35 pm quote: uh, not everything is going widescreen a year from now. In fact, expect lots of 4:3 dreck on digital cable for years to come. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: restored2x on January 25, 2008, 12:19:48 pm quote: Wow. That surprises me. I have a 27" LCD (I use as my computer monitor) and two 42" plasmas. One is a Panasonic that I've had for 4 years (ED not HD) the other is a cheapo ($400) refurb plasma. The plasmas are incredibly superior to the LCDs I've seen. The Panasonic cost me $2700 when I bought it and is made of superior quality components. Glare was never a problem, and viewing angle is suppossed to be better on plasmas than on LCDs. If I could afford it (and was crazy) I'd get a 50" Panasonic plasma over ANYTHING available. The cheap plasmas have problems with burn-in. LCD does not suffer from this weakness. Many people perceive the LCD motion to be "staggered", others don't see it. All in all, I'd prefer a quality plasma over an LCD or DLP any day. Bring the family over for Super Bowl - then make a decision. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: Ibanez on January 25, 2008, 12:30:21 pm quote: The older LCD's had more problems than the modern ones. Samsung makes LCD sets that have great pictures. They use a different backlighting technique, can't remember what it is called, that greatly improves black levels, viewing angles, motion blur and etc... OUr Plasma is a LG and it looks good, but if the light is too bright there is a lot of screen glare. The viewing angle problem is likely my fault for mounting it too high, it is in the bedroom and I wanted it high enough that I could lie my lazy donkey in bed and still see it. ;) One thing I have been reading is that they expect plasma to go the way of the Dodo fairly soon. The laser sets you have been reading about have been pushed hard by Samsung and TI. One of my cousins works for TI and was on the team that originally devloped the DLP chip. He is now on the team working on the laser television technology. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: sgrizzle on January 25, 2008, 01:34:03 pm quote: I predict 4:3 in a 16:9 signal, so you get the black border on all 4 sides if you have an older 4:3 set (that doesn't have options like zoom and aspect ratio.) Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: nathanm on January 25, 2008, 02:02:48 pm OLED is and will continue to be a crock until they get the useful life up to something more..useful. There are two things that limit the life of the LCD. Practical obsolescence, as in it gets so old that newer models are far more featureful and the backlight failing.
In OLEDs, the actual elements themselves fail to function after a relatively short amount of time. As far as plasma vs. LCD, go someplace where they have controlled lighting conditions. A big box store is about the worst place to view the various screens. In general, though, LCDs are better if the lighting in your viewing room is uncontrolled and/or you tend to do more of your viewing during the day, while the plasma will be superior if you can control the lighting in your viewing room. The average LCD will be significantly brighter than the average plasma screen, even after calibration, but at a cost of fine detail in dark areas on the picture. LCDs are getting better every year, though. After I calibrated my two year old LCD set, it looks very good, but it can't hold a candle to the new screens from the major manufacturers. I should have waited six months and gotten a 1080p 120Hz set, but I didn't. These days I could get a significantly larger set with much better features and performance for the same price. My living room has a big sliding glass door among other impediments to keeping the room dim, so I went with an LCD. The salesman may be right about waiting, but you'd probably be better off getting something good from the '07 lineup. I haven't been paying much attention, but I don't think there are a whole lot of new features in the sets this year. If not, there may be some very good discounts on the current crop in a few months. Last year I happened to see the same set I have going for about 40% off what I paid in a few places. Of course, they were trying to get rid of a 720p TV in a market saturated with 1080p ads and gear. If you have the time, you might check out AVS Forum for more discussion about these things than anybody in their right mind has time to read. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: inteller on January 25, 2008, 02:10:07 pm quote: you see that to a certain extent already, but the cable box still has some preset options. i wish they could banish 4:3 content to DVD releases of old shows. And a channel should not be aloowed to go HD until it has 50% or more content in HD. The **** that Discovery can out with with Science HD and Animal planet HD is horrible with lots of strange half donkey stretchovision stuff. Even TNT does a better job than Discovery. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: sauerkraut on January 26, 2008, 10:30:54 am We don't plan to buy any TV set- we'll use the converter box on our old TV. We are more intrested in the new "laser TV" sets when they come out- info on them can be had by googling "Laser TV" They are the cream of crop they have it all deep brite colors, great movement and as clear as a TV can be. They work by using 3 laser guns that shoot a green, red and blue bean at the screen. (A bit like the old CTR's electron gun). The picture is super they blow away todays TV sets.
Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: Wilbur on January 26, 2008, 10:51:38 am It is my understanding only Sony is currently pursuing the OLED technology. Other companies have looked at it but believe it is too big a risk currently to soak a bunch of money into R&D.
They had an OLED set at CES this year, but the 11 inch version was extremely expensive. USAToday had an article here http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-01-06-consumer-electronics-show_n.htm Shop at Video Revolution. They have always treated me well and will negotiate on their prices. Plus, they know their stuff, where most of the 'kids' at Best Buy usually don't. I did a lot of shopping around at specialty stores before I ended up with my Mitsubishi 73" DLP. Nearly every store recommended DLP or LCD (most leaned towards DLP), and ALL said to stay away from plasma. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: TUalum0982 on January 26, 2008, 11:46:29 am UHDV will be the future. Do a search of yahoo for it. Pretty impressive, but many many years away.
an excerpt from one article "The format, called Ultra High Definition Video, or UHDV, has a resolution 16 times greater than plain-old HDTV, and its stated goal is to achieve a level of sensory immersion that approximates actually being there." http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/03/technology/circuits/03next.html?ex=1401595200&en=935183cee9a4bd49&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: EricP on January 26, 2008, 10:22:24 pm Sharp has some newer/thinner LCD's than many others lately... I passed on that to save even more money and picked up an Olevia 247TFHD 47" 1080P LCD before Thanksgiving at Circuit City though. Turns out the thickness is exactly perfect for above our fireplace mantle :)
No matter when you buy, something newer will be along shortly... so just pick the best price/performance you are willing to pay for and go for it. We went from our little 25" Panasonic to this 47" Olevia, so it was pretty hard to lose. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: okieinla on January 27, 2008, 01:25:18 am I'll be keeping my 32" Toshiba for a while. Purchased it right before all the flat screens came out. It's a really nice tv, but a flat screen would be sweet! Especially for Superbowl.
Agree with EricP & I bet there are some pretty good deals right now. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: Steve on January 27, 2008, 05:21:24 pm quote: And I will be keeping my 3 year old 32" Panasonic CRT tube TV until it poops out too. It is a "flat screen" in that the front CRT is totally flat, no curvature. Provides great bright, high-contrast picture from all angles, although it weighs a ton. I will get a converter box for DTV, presumably with one of the $40 government subsidized coupons, as I rely solely on free broadcast TV for my TV entertainment. It's going to get interesting as Feb. 2009 approaches and if the gov't. sticks to the DTV cutoff. Although only about 25% of current U.S. households rely solely on free broadcast TV as I do, I expect a large public outcry about the change as people's TV screens suddenly go blank. Leave it to our government for such an unneeded, unnecessary change. All fueled by a money grab from TV manufacturers and the govt., wanting to resell TV bandwith for other purposes. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: sauerkraut on January 28, 2008, 09:26:31 am Yeah, this new fangled HDTV is already outdated. I'm not going to buy it.
Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: citizen72 on January 28, 2008, 09:37:48 am We spent some time this past weekend at a store just watching for a time the various sets. One big surprise we saw over our present analog set is the amount of detail in the faces of the actors in movies. My wife commented that this might be a little too much detail as she needs to preserve a little mystery.
Is there some sets that allow some control over detail or is it a you get what you see thing? I know on my old set we can control the brightness thus exercising some control over the picture. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: sgrizzle on January 28, 2008, 12:22:28 pm You can adjust brightness and contract but if you don't want to be able to see defined pores, get a smaller set.
You can also cheap out and get an EDTV which will accept digital signals but has lower resolution (480p) versus 720p/1080i/1080p of the HDTV sets. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: citizen72 on January 31, 2008, 11:41:45 pm Now there is a new wrinkle that came from none other that my television repair guy who I have known for around twenty seven years.
My wife and I bought our first television in 1981 from a retailer who also just happened to be a television repair genius. Down through the years I have seen him time and again set on the floor in the middle of my living room and repair this or that printed circuit. He still runs a repair shop and stays covered all the time. Amazing fellow. Well anyway today I was talking to him and I mentioned we were thinking of purchasing one of the new thinner 2008 models of television. He asked, "Would you like to talk about that for a bit.? I said sure and, long story short, he tells me that ninety percent of the new flat screen sets on the market are cheaply made junk. Seems there are several of the parts put in the sets that are grossly undersized and all this for the sake of making them cheaper and thinner. With these cheaply made sets we have equipment that will only last a few years before they need expensive repairs. He said he was covered up with flat screens that mostly have the same groupings of problems over and over again. Many of them are only three or four years old. The other thing is that most parts are not readily available and the procurement of these parts can take days or even weeks. He recommends, as he has for years, that we stick with Hdtv rear projection LCD television for stability and longevity. He acknowledges you can't yet hang a rear projection set on the wall, but they are very reliable so that is a small sacrifice. Cripe now what do I do. [:)] Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: restored2x on February 01, 2008, 08:37:28 am quote: I expect the AKAI (a $400 42" plasma HD) that I now have in the living room to last a couple-three years. I know it is made with cheap parts and is designed to be a "disposable" item. However, the Panasonic (ED $2500) is still one of the most highly rated plasmas ever made, and it is now about 4 years old. Sometimes you really DO get what you pay for. I haven't researched this in a while, but if you do decide to go plasma - it would be impossible to beat Panasonic, although the new Pioneers come close. Ask your buddy about the different brands - since he seems to know about the internals. After having the thin plasmas, I would never get a "fat" projection TV. Well, never is a harsh word - but you know what I mean. I have NEVER had an issue with my two plasmas. If I ever do, I expect it to be with the cheaper model. I now have a very difficult time watching the bedroom TV, which is a CRT. I'd rather not watch than to watch on that. Suggestion: If you have friends with the projection, LCD and plasma - ask to visit them to check out their sets. That way you'll see how they perform in a house, how much space they really use, and you can see the difference between HD and SD programming on one. Some of the cheaper sets look excellent on HD but truly suck on SD. (My Panasonic "upconverts" the SD signal to ED - and it looks better than SD on my HD AKAI, although the HD on the AKAI looks really nice.) People love to show off their cool stuff. Most people will admit to any shortcomings their set may have. I sure hope you find a set before Super Bowl. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: citizen72 on February 01, 2008, 03:36:47 pm Thanks "Restored." In fact my friend is really big on Panasonics and that is exactly what he recommended for me to buy. That and Toshiba to a lesser degree.
He says he has worked all kinds of sets and finds the Panasonic is far and away superior in component quality, ease of repair and ability to obtain parts conveniently. Thanks everyone for your insight and information. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: Wilbur on February 01, 2008, 05:18:30 pm quote: Actually, a rear projection tv will still give you the best picture. Every single one of the people I talked to at every single tv specialty store (no Best Buy, no Circuit City), said rear projection still produces the best picture. Now, it's a trade off. A fatter tv for a better picture compared to a thinner tv and a slightly worse picture. Can you tell the difference? Don't know. I know when I was shopping, I could, but the tv I ultimately picked out, was also showing a loop of an ad (on the tv's hard drive) in 1080P, where everything else was in 720P/1080i. So that could play into it as well. I'll say again, every single person said to stay away from plasma and one store even said Sony was getting out of the plasma business because of the poor length of service. They mentioned 5-year life on the plasmas. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: citizen72 on February 01, 2008, 07:26:27 pm Looks like there is a degree of common agreement here. I know speaking for myself this discussion has really helped my wife and I. As a result we have settled on a Panasonic PT-56LCZ70 (56") rear projection and will have it in place Sunday. It has a beautiful picture with deep blacks.
Thanks again everyone. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: restored2x on February 04, 2008, 09:57:41 am quote: Congrats!!!! That is a seriously large TV. Hope you enjoyed the Superbowl! Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: sgrizzle on February 04, 2008, 10:13:57 am quote: Per the NFL, you are not allowed to watch the superbowl on that. Criminal. Title: Thinner flat Screen televisions Post by: citizen72 on February 04, 2008, 11:59:34 am quote: We closed all the drapes and made it a requirement that all guests had to be in our home by 5:00. After that the door was locked and bolted. [;)] We fired it up around 5:00 pm and it was great. Can't wait for Fall ball. |