If you use cable read this, if not....skip

6/22/07 First thing is to check and see if your cable company with support the HDMI type technology for the HD service. I just found out the hard way that Time Warner Cable does not support HDMI connections or technology to provide HD service. If you have a problem, you are on your own according to TWC. They will give you a box that might have ( or not ) an HDMI connection. This connection may ( or may not ) work. If it works, great....if not.....they are not any help and don't seem to care.

There are other means to watch HD, using component cables for video and audio. It's not as clean / neat as using 1 small cable for both like HDMI.

The original post is listed below before I knew the above infomation:

I hope this helps people to avoid some of the hours and hours of research and insanity I went thru. "If I knew in the beginning what I knew in the end....I would do it differently"......here goes....

At first I was consumed by getting a HDTV that was the biggest and best I could afford, ( it's still good advice ). But I wasn't sure what that was.....was it LCD ? Was it plasma ? Both technologies had their Pro's and Con's, both had their hard supporters and detractors. I did my homework, I read various technical manuals, magazines, reviews ( Like Cnet ) went to trade shows ( like CES ) to try to find my answers which HDTV was the " Right Choice" for me. A LOT of trips to BB or CC or such places to compare / contrast.

My first mistake was thinking there was only 1 " Right Choice" for me. I was concerned at first I would buy a HDTV and next week find a better answer than my choice, so I sat on the fence. Not buying HDTV was better than buying the wrong one.

Helpful Hints : Not listed in priority

1) Get the biggest set you can afford or that space permits. For example: if the TV is going into an entertainment type center that only has room for a 40" TV, focus on the 40" LCD's, not a 32"... finances permiting. This prevents "Buyers Remorse " later on......I should have got the bigger one is the idea....

2) Determine your use: What are you going to watch ? TV ? DVD ? Games ? PC? Digital pictures from vacation ? Does it have all of the right type of connections on the back you will need ? Make sure your choice can do what you want.

3) LCD / Plasma ? Rule of Thumb is 42" or less go with LCD, 50" or above go Plasma. Technical information suggests that LCD does it better smaller, and Plasma does it better bigger. In between 40 and 50" is kind of the cross over point, where the great LCD / Plasma debate kicks in

4) 1920 x 1080 versus1366 x 768 : Don't get too sucked in by this. There are times when 1080 makes a difference......and times when it does not. 1080 is more expensive, and if you can't see the difference, why pay extra?

5) Do your homework, check things out for yourself. The salespeople I met at Circuit City or Best Buy didn't know a TV from a washing machine. I played dumb to test them and I had 1 tell me that Plasma was best in a bright room and LCD suffered burn in.

6) At the end of the day, after all the information you try to absorb, all the opinions you read, when your head is about to explode......It's your eyes that tell you which one you like the best......It maybe LCD....It may be plasma (There maybe more more than 1 "right choice" for you ) ...go with that one and don't look back

At the end of my journey I got : A 37" Sharp Aquos LCD for the bedroom ( entertainment center just holds it ).....a 42" Pioneer 940 plasma for the family room on a stand that swivels, and a 50" Pioneer plasma 1140 for the Man Room on a wall mount.

Good luck in your Journey

It's Just An Opinion

PS....Anybody want to add to the list for beginners feel free.....

Don't buy the extended warranty in the store (if you buy from a B&M). Get one through Mack if you really want one.

Don't buy expensive Monster Cable HDMI or similar from BB, CC, etc... Check out monoprice (link at top of the page).

I know what you mean about the BB and CC employees, I couldn't get a freakin CC employee to help me if I wanted to (at least not in the TV area), and I had one BB employee tell me it was worth the $300 extra to buy a 37" 1080p set over a 37" 720p set (I know that's debatable but really I think at a normal viewing distance 1080p is a bit unnecessary at that size) then had another guy try to convince me an LCD would give me burn-in with my games whereas a plasma would not. These are the same guys who swear by Monster cables though.

What about a power cleansing strip? I can't help but feel that it is a bit of a racket when I must buy something.

You should at least have a surge protector or, better yet, a UPS with surge protection (some of the better ones also add power conditioning).

Don't buy the extended warranty in the store (if you buy from a B&M). Get one through Mack if you really want one.


who's Mack?

Justanopinion,

That was some fantastic, spot-on advice!

The one thing I would add about point #6 - let your own eyes be the judge - is that you MUST adjust the sets before comparing them. It is rare that the sets are ever properly adjusted and it can lead to a mediocre TV looking better than a good TV. I'm not saying it's necessary to do a full ISF calibration, but at least play with the contrast, brightness, color, tint, etc. to a point where the picture looks best to you. Then do your comparison. Just don't walk into a store, look at one set and think that's the best it's going to look.

Justanopinion,

That was some fantastic, spot-on advice!

The one thing I would add about point #6 - let your own eyes be the judge - is that you MUST adjust the sets before comparing them. It is rare that the sets are ever properly adjusted and it can lead to a mediocre TV looking better than a good TV. I'm not saying it's necessary to do a full ISF calibration, but at least play with the contrast, brightness, color, tint, etc. to a point where the picture looks best to you. Then do your comparison. Just don't walk into a store, look at one set and think that's the best it's going to look.
What he said!

This is the best advice for anyone looking at sets in stores. Don't even begin to form an opinion on PQ without first adjusting the display as best you can. If you don't understand the basic adjustments, learn first before you go further in your display search. If they won't let you adjust the display :eek: , walk out. :mad:

Cheers, :)

Gary

Allow me to add a point to #5 in your list

DO NOT listen to the salesperson at a big box store. Their interests are not aligned with yours. They want to sell you the set that gives them the best sales metric or the best profit margin. Assuming the store doesn't give them an incentive to sell a specific brand/set to you, chances are very likely that the information you receive here and in professional reviews is VASTLY superior to that of most salespeople.

At a CC I went to, I wanted to evaluate the 42" Vizio VP42HDTV just to compare its PQ to the nearby 42" Panny 42PX75U. I took the Vizio's remote and quickly noticed that they altered it so that it was running the analog 4:3 SD feed, and then stretched to look horrible. I fixed it and made it look quite good (not quite as good as the Panny, but still very good).

I came back after work 2 days later and found that the Vizio was once again set to analog SD. I asked a salesman about it and he said the HD feed didnt work. I switched and showed him that it did. He ignored it and then pushed me to look at the 46" Sony XBR LCD's, and told me that 1080p was essential and "Full HD." He tried to tell me my 720p games would look better on those 1080p sets than on the 720p plasmas I was looking at. I told him I watched a lot of action movies and games and was interested in plasma for its superior handling of motion...

He told me that was wrong and the XBR was still the best set (I know from reading CNet's reviews that they consider the Samsung 4665F to be superior to the XBR). I told him it was $1k out of my price range and that I wouldn't be needing any more of his help.

The 2 most crucial evaluation methods to help in selecting a flat panel:

1) Check your viewing distance at home, bring a tape measure to brick & mortar stores & apply proper distance for your audition. For 720p/1080i, look for SDE (Screen Door Effect) based on your distance (to determine if 1080p is required if you are on the fence about it).

2) Take flat panel out of torch mode w/ remote & adjust picture control settings for best color/contrast accuracy.

There are many other items to consider, but these 2 rely on your eyes & personal "hands on" experience.