the "help me choose an LCD" thread - Page 132

Thanks a ton for the advice. Couple questions:

What kind of panel is the E420VSE? TN or VN? How big of a difference in effective viewing angle does IPS make vs the other panels?

Also, how much of a difference does 120hz make? I admit that my opinion about this is probably primarily informed by marketing. What are the real pros/cons of faster refresh rates?
Edited by doublemazaa - 11/10/12 at 12:54pm

I was looking at Panasonic LCDs, and the only one that was jumping out to me was the TC-L42E50 (it's around $600 at the moment). The LG 42LS3400 I'm looking at looks like it has similar black levels and a brighter white level, with a bit better motion handling and viewing angle. I may jump on it assuming that the TV holds true to LG's low input lag reputation. It's a shame the blacks aren't deeper, but it's the only TV I can find that has enough reviews to make me feel comfortable, that I can find at a Best Buy/Target, and is 42". I guess that the Panasonic is more expensive because of internet functionality and 120hz (even though Television Info implies that the LS3400 handles motion better...I likely would never be using any TruMotion mode or anything like that on the Panasonic).

Nothing in the Best Buy/Target ad was knockign me out but I'll check them out this week to see if anything went down in price.

I DID see that Vizio e420VSE at CostCo today, but then I realized that everything I was seeing in the store was probably a huge waste. since they'd all look different at home. I guess my gut reaction at the store was that it wasn't really knocking me out, and the awful artifacty videos they were showing couldn't give me any clue into motion blur or anything like that. It was kind of a waste of a trip, aside from learning that the TV is RIDICULOUSLY slim.

It's a VA panel, vertical array. I think the S-IPS viewing angle is over blown with regards to other panels, but go see for yourself.

120 Hz is a desireable feature, but not an absolute necessity. Check out this thread,,,,youcan ignore Mark Rejhon's posts that are very technical and confusing for noobs and may contain info that is questionable (see Phase700B's challenging). I would choose good blacks and 60Hz over poor blacks and 120Hz, any day of the week if that was the choice. But good black levels and 120 Hz is worth paying money for, IMO. You can save a few bucks and live without 120Hz though, 60 Hz is serviceable. I have 2 60 Hz sets and the vast majority of time am oblivious to any degraded performance with regards to cadence issues, and I know what to look for.
Edited by EscapeVelocity - 11/10/12 at 5:32pm

I have a 40" Westinghouse LCD TV(1080p) in the living room area of my basement apartment. My office room TV, a 37" Vizio LCD TV, developed a humming noise after 13 months of use so I sold it to a friend on the cheap(his kids will use it for video games). Now I'm back in the market for either a 37" or 40" budget LCD TV.

1. Budget - my budget is $400. I wish I could spend more but I can't right now.
2. Seating distance - in my office, it will be about 6-7' from the TV screen
3. Size/placement limitations - desired size for this TV: either 37" or 40" screen size - I have a top notch glass IKEA TV stand for this TV
4. Uses and sources - a cable box(A T & T U Verse) and a budget Toshiba Blu Ray plater will be connected using HDMI cables - I plan to use this TV for cable broadcast and Blu Ray movies only
5. Room lighting - I usually watch TV in my office room with one lamp on in the opposite corner of the room. I dislike watching TV or movies in a totally dark room and always prefer some background lighting.

I need advice on what TV would be a good choice given the parameters listed above. Any replies with suggestions greatly appreciated!

okay, I'm diving in, here's my specs:

looking for a 55" or larger tv, 12' viewing distance, room light is completely adjustable. 5.1 sound with new Marantz av7701, source material will be cable, bd player and laptop (streaming movies) all via hdmi. Price range: less that 2K. Still wavering between LCD and plasma - always heard panny and sammy plasma were great but now I'm not so sure...
can someone explain the pluses and minuses of 120 hz and 240 hz please?

So if I was looking for a 42" set with good blacks, anti-glare, local dimming lcd, and 120hz, would you have any favorites?
Edited by doublemazaa - 11/11/12 at 1:03pm

My parents are still watching TV on an old analog CRT, with digital-to-analog ATSC tuners. It works fine, but graphics on TV these days, like news crawlers, are so small and fuzzy that they're unreadable on that screen. I watch TV on my computer, and I looked at some TVs at WalMart today, and from what I've seen a 720p TV should be alright for this purpose; 1080p would be nice if I can afford it.

However, they're also using two analog VCRs and a DVD player. The DVD player thankfully has HDMI, but I'm not sure it upscales. One VCR can output through composite video; the other for practical reasons should output to the TV through coax on analog NTSC channel 3.

So, I'd like to get them a 32" LCD that can display such graphics in reasonable clarity from both 1080i and 720p signals with an ATSC tuner, while also receiving analog signals and making them look good.

1. Budget

I was hoping to pay <$200 on some Black Friday special. I've seen the Samsung LN32D550 mentioned a few times in this thread, but it's over $300. If a price over $250-$300 is required for what I'm asking for, I'll likely scrap the whole plan.

2. Seating distance

6-7ft

3. Size/placement limitations

32" is already pushing the width available.

4. Uses and sources

OTA ATSC, lots of analog

5. Room lighting

The TV sits in a corner between two large picture windows. Matte would be good.

Im afraid that sets since the Digital OTA Broadcast transition of 2009 (meaning 2010 and forward) dont include analog tuners anymore, Im pretty sure. So the second VCR isnt going to work by tuning to channel 3.....unless you look for a 2009 and earlier used set.

The internal scalers on most sets these days are all pretty decent, some might be marginally better than others, but not too much to worry about with upscaling.

Ive played a few VCR tapes of stuff unavailable on DVD on my 42" LCD 1080 set and it left a whole lot to be desired as true resolution is really low, much lower than DVD. A smaller set would improve things, though. DVD looks fantastic though even on larger screens.

A budget set should do fine. 720p is fine too for a 32" sceen size so you can save a few bucks that way. It will downscale 1080 source material to 720p for display.

Take a look at Walmart website for refurbished Vizios. Like the E321VL at $199 although for $20 more you can get the 1.6" ultra slim Edge Lit LED backlit Vizio E321VT. Or you can look for Black Friday or Holiday deals.

Do your parents have hearing problems or difficulties? If so pay attention to sound quality/volume level ability. The Edge Lit LED super slim models generally signal poor sound quality/volume, because they lack the air volume/space for the speakers and are often downward firing. CCFL flourescent tubes have a thicker cabinet for better speaker physics and look for forward firing speaker openings.

Hope that helps.

Funny, the E320VA and E321VL both say they have "Analog TV Tuner: NTSC". I think they have to tune it for analog cable. But otherwise I suppose I could buy a composite-to-HDMI converter. And my parents have a few NTSC-to-composite converters - they're called broken VCRs.

OK, that helps, but I notice the screen there looks kind of glossy. Got anything with a matte screen or other anti-reflective coating? I tried searching for matte screens, but they seem to be hard to find.

Could be.

There are no true matte screens anymore. The E321VL is currently viewable at Walmart, so you could check it out. Im pretty sure it has an Anti Reflective semi-matte coating, it isnt high gloss.

Vizio keeps you out of the real bargain bin, too.

If you go check it out first hand, remember to turn the volume and and see how she sounds.

HI all, I need some advice on an HDTV to buy for a living room. My preference is normally to go with a plasma (my primary HDTV is a plasma) but due to reflection/lighting issues in the living room an LCD/LED makes more sense. My budget is about $500 - $550 although I do have a little wiggle room. Viewing distance is going to be about 8 feet if sitting at the couch or 12 feet when at the computer, but I'm willing to sacrifice size for better picture quality. If possible I'd like to find an HDTV with more than 2 HDMI inputs but realize that might not be an option at this price point. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Appreciate the help bud. I will look into Panasonic and see if I can find one that's comparable (price and specs) with the Vizio. Again, thanks so much!

Okay, so I'm not sure if this is where this needs to be posted, so if not, please point me in the right direction. I'm trying to decide between one of the 70 inch Sharps, and the Panasonic 65ST50 plasma. I sit between 9-12 feet (closer to 12 most of the time) from the TV. There is some light in the room, but I have a 60" LG plasma in there now, and it's tolerable. Typically, I'm all about screen size, but I want to make sure (a) I'm not sitting too close for a 70 inch, and (b) the picture quality will be very good with the 70 inch.

My parents own a 70LE632U, and to be honest, it looks a little washed out compared to my plasma. The picture doesn't really pop. I set their's up using CNET's settings, so it may just need further tweaking, I don't know.

I'll be watching DirecTV HD 95% of the time, and also throw in a few blurays, and some PS3. But, by far, the majority of what I'll be watching on the TV will be DirecTV.

Any and all suggestions or opinions are greatly appreciated.

Vizio E420VSE
Samsung 40EH5000
Panasonic 37 and 42 inch sets worth looking into
Sony BX440

Sounds like your a Plasma guy.

Calibrated settings from CNET are usually kind of drab. I would punch the backlight up a little bit, drop the Brightness (black level) a little bit, punch up the Contrast (whiteness level a little bit) and punch up the Color saturatioin a little bit. Not too much within 10% of the settings, youll have to experiment a little.

Keep in mind that the different Channels signals are going to vary highly, so you really cant set calibration and then channel surf, you would have to calibrate for each channel as you turned the channel. It also varies from show to show on a channel. That isnt feasible, so dont sweat the settings, too much.

I suggest you ask in the Sharp 70" threads, since you have a pretty targeted question. I would also ask in the Plasma forum. Keep in mind that both will advocate for their favored tech, but you should be able to get some good info out of both of them.

Bigger is better, their isnt too much degradation in pixel pitch from 60" to 70". 1080p looks great on 120" screens and front projection. Dont sweat the size.

The Black Friday Walmart sale Vizio E601-A3 for $688. If you cant score that, check out the TCL 48" 240Hz LED Edge Lit job at Sam's...which has a nice panel.

I'm in the same boat. I'm a plasma guy, but the glare from living room windows is getting a bit much. Problem with LED is the poor viewing angle and motion blur, but I don't know if they have greatly improved since I last checked a couple of years ago.

I'm taking a look at the Samsung EH6000 series. It's value priced, only 2 HDMI. But that can be easily mitigated by using an HDMI switch.

I'd love for there to be a matte plasma, to solve the viewing angle/motion issues with LED displays. If anyone has a different viewpoint, I'd love to see.

That Vizio looks nice Escape. I wish I didn't have to work Black Friday or else I'd definitely try to get one. I noticed Amazon had It so maybe they will put it on sale too. No Sam's in the area so the TCL is out. Is there anything decent from Samsung, Sony, or Panasonic that I should be on the lookout for? I tried looking at the reviews on CNET but most of the recommended items in that price range were plasmas.

For that amount of money you will be looking at 42" sets to 47" sets. IMO get the 42" as it's almost as big as 46 or 47 inches (check out displaywars).

I like the Vizio E420VSE I really like this one and am contemplating getting one myself. This one has an AU Optronics MVA3 panel.
Panny 42" sets are good too....but typically more expensive than Vizio. I like their image quality though. These us LG made S-IPS panels.
You should look into LG 42" sets as well. These use S-IPS panels as well.
I think that Sony has a 42" set, may be worth a look.

The Vizio E420VSE's panel has noticeably better native blacks than the S-IPS paneled sets. They are both quality panels and it also depends on what you do with them with regards to filters and processing.

Unfortunately, no current model exists like that. I think the Sony HX850 stops at 46" and goes no smaller.

Drop local dimming and your options expand dramatically....though maybe 40" an 46".

I would check out Panasonics offerings in 42" and maybe Sony's offering in 42".

Thank you very much for your response. I'll post the question in each thread. I go back and forth literally every couple of hours.

My wife and I are looking for our first HDTV, woohoo!

Budget: ~$500
Seating distance: 6' - 8'
Size/placement limitations: Max 50" (prefer 40-42")
Uses and sources: Blu Ray, DVD, and gaming on PS3; occasional PC use; have an AV Receiver
Room lighting: Varies; good deal of natural, yet indirect light

I have just a few things I care about:

• Avoid the "too real" look. My wife and I despise it
• 1080p resolution for gaming on the PS3 and testing videogames I develop
• Proper 24p cadence for film. No judder, etc.
• Acceptably low input lag for PS3 gaming. "Pretty good" or better
• Would like it to last at least 5 years

We don't care about 3D, don't care about tons of inputs (have AV Receiver), don't care about Smart TV features, and we rarely watch broadcast TV. We enjoy watching classic films, if that makes a difference.

Here's what I've found so far:
Sony KDL-42EX440 (top choice)
Sony KDL-40EX640

The budget Samsungs and LGs don't seem to do 24p, and I fear lesser known brands will not have the image quality these have. But I'm hoping the more experienced here could point me to some less obvious options, especially those likely to go on sale over the next 2 weeks.

Seems like youre pretty clued up.

I would check into Panasonic offerings in 42".

Thanks, that's a relief

Yeah I saw the ET5 as a possibility, but that seemed to fail cadence tests from the review I found. Did you have any other models in mind?

I might want to check out the 50" Toshiba 50L2200U on sale for Black Friday next week. It's a large set that looks like it has good performance all around (good contrast, good motion, good color for the most part). In that respect, it looks like everything I'd ever want in a TV for Blu-Rays and Gaming.

It doesn't have a 24p playback mode and is not 120Hz...but that's not even something I will even notice unless I know what to look for, right? I'd just be watching movies as I always have, correct?

Ive heard that model makes a particularly good computer monitor, I guess with clear text especially. How much is the price?

$299 as a Doorbuster at Sears. I likely won't be able to get there for Black Friday, but I'm hoping that maybe the people around here will either ignore the Sears at the smaller mall, or that maybe it will be available on their Black Friday preview on Sunday for Shop Your Way Rewards members.

Television Info gave it a good review, saying its only real cons were a weak remote and that some of the ports are hard to access. Otherwise they say it had good motion for a budget 60hz TV. They said image blurriness in moving objects was not bad at all, and that there was very little color trailing (which may be good for any time I watch 2D animation). Viewing angle clocks in around 53 degrees, and blacks and whites are 0.08 cd/m2 and 226.72 cd/m2, respectively.

It looked awesome in the store, but then again, don't they all. My only concern is going to be input lag (which should be good if its sister TV is good as a PC monitor?), and that the TV will be a little on the dim side. For $300 though, I don't know how I can really complain. If they have a better deal under $500 anywhere, I haven't seen it.

Hi - I'm looking for a TV for our bonus room. Mostly for the kids to use. This will be a family Christmas gift.

1. Budget - my budget is $400.
2. Seating distance - About 6-7'
3. Size/placement limitations - pretty wide open, hoping to find something in the 40-42" size range
4. Uses and sources - Playstation 3, Wii, Nintendo 64, and OTA. Primarily used for gaming and streaming through the PS3
5. Room lighting - no direct sunlight, and easy to control lighting

I prefer to buy local, so Sears, Best Buy, Target, WalMart and Costco are my main choices. Two contenders so far are from Best Buy. Both their Insignia brand (we have a 42" Insignia plasma that has served us well over the years). Any thoughts on either the NS-42D240A13 or NS-42L260A13A? One is new, the other has several pretty good reviews. One is 60Hz LED, the other isn't LED, but is 120Hz. I don't know a lot about the pros and cons of these features, so any advice would be appreciated. Also, any alternative suggestions are welcome.

thanks!

I wouldnt worry about 120 Hz if this is for the kids to play video games on and whatnot.

Those Insignias are good.
Vizio E420VSE at Costco is good too.
Sony 42EX440
Panny 42 inchers

Check those out.

I'm looking to pick up an LCD soon, maybe for black Friday. What would you all suggest? Lag is my biggest concern as it'll be used mainly for gaming. I have about 1000-1500 to spend. Thanks!