[niccolo]

I haven't had a lot of luck posting in other people's threads, but I notice people seem to get good responses to individual postings. I'm a newbie here and I've apparently earned the "thread starter" letter of shame...but here goes anyway.


I'm looking for a 60" screen on which to watch movies, Bluray and regular DVD. I'm not interested in 3D. I don't play video games. I care a lot about screen fidelity, i.e. black levels, color fidelity, brightness, and am sensitive to things like uneveness, e.g. clouding from edge-lit LEDs. For now, I don't care much about features like wi-fi, Netflix, etc., although it would be nice to have these for future-proofing purposes. I don't have strong opinions about LCD versus plasma (I know plenty of folks here do).


Ideally I'd spend $1K but I'm willing to push that upward a bit, though not past $1500. What TVs should be on my radar? My general impressions...


- Sharp non-Quattron LCDs seem to be well regarded and in my price range, with the caveat that edge-lit LEDs lead to some flashlighting and maybe clouding. Quattron are probably pushing my price range and get mixed to negative reviews on the extra yellow pixel.


- Samsung LCDs seem to get more negative reviews due to uneveness.


- Panasonic plasmas seem to get very high reviews, including some lower-end models in my price range.


- I can't tell where LGs and Sonys stack up.


- Vizios get fairly negative reviews for lack of reliability and repairability.


I'm at a bit of a loss about how to proceed. Advice welcome!

 

[CaTaSTrOphiK]

I'd go with the tc-p60st30 if the budget can allow it. On that note though you should give us a little more info on lighting in the room etc....

 

[Steve S]

Sharp's LC60LE632UN is about the only LED set of that size in your price range with built in WiFi etc.


Unless your room is particularly bright I'd echo the recommendation for an ST30 Panasonic. It's 2D performance is much better than the non-3D plasmas, and nobody's forcing you to spend the extra money for the glasses, 3D BD player, etc. It has internet capability and comes with the WiFi dongle in the box.

 

[redwolf4k]

That Sharp 60" LED Edge lit 120hz set is tough to beat at the price I have been seeing for that set. It's a steal. I know Best Buy is running a pretty good price of that set.


Personally, I wouldn't invest in a Panasonic plasma that was a series lower then "ST". The "S" model is not even close to the same, and is not a very impressive set. It's not worth the 1k IMO. The ST30 however, is a nice set, but I am not sure you will get a giant one in your price range.


I don't know any sets that are 1k and under for 60" besides some third tier walmart brands, and a few third tier best buy brands. I wouldn't drop my money on any of them.

 

[niccolo]

Really appreciate all the replies.


The room in question has a big window along one side wall, but I'd mostly be using the TV to watch movies in the evening so it shouldn't be a huge issue. Long-run I don't mind getting light-proof curtains for that window. I do like to watch in a room with a bit of ambient light, not pitch black, but I assume that's not a problem. That does make me dislike highly glossy displays, don't like to see myself sitting on the couch during very dark scenes.


The Panasonic and Sharp models being recommended both seem to fall within the price range, Sharp is ~$1400 and Panasonic is ~$1500. I'm struck that people seem to recommend Best Buy a lot, and I hear little mention of Amazon, which seems to have great prices and free shipping. Any reason to be leery of Amazon?


And any further advice on the LCD versus plasma issue? I know they're just different technologies with pros and cons and people will have individual preferences, so perhaps it's a silly question. My own newbie thoughts are that I'm a big fan of dark blacks, even backlighting, and natural-looking colors, and perhaps the Panasonic plasma is more likely to deliver those than the Sharp LCD?

 

[NuSoardGraphite]

The plasma vs LCD issue is a hotly debated one around these forums. Basically what it boils down to is if you want pure Picture Quality above all else (and that's what most film enthusiasts are looking for) then go Plasma or an ultra-expensive fully Backlit LED like the Sony HX929. If you abhor reflections like I do, go for a matte screened LCD or LED. (as far as I know, there aren't any matte screened Plasmas being sold currently) If you hate off-angle wash, go plasma. If you like a bright picture with lots of colorful "pop", go LCD/LED. (keep in mind the brighter the picture, the better it is able to handle ambient lighting which is ultra important for daytime viewing)


If your tastes fall into a multiple of those categories, then you have a long road ahead of you before you figure out what you want. Happy TV hunting.


And yes, dark blacks, even backlighting and natural-looking colors is pretty much PDP in a nutshell. That doesn't mean that LED/LCD can't be calibrated to appear natural lookint at all....they can, it just takes a bit more effort than on PDP. The main weakness of LCD/LED is uneven backlighting. With full-array LED like the Sony HX929, the blacks can be as black if not darker than even the best PDP's.

 

[redwolf4k]



Quote:
Originally Posted by NuSoardGraphite /forum/post/20901968


And yes, dark blacks, even backlighting and natural-looking colors is pretty much PDP in a nutshell. That doesn't mean that LED/LCD can't be calibrated to appear natural lookint at all....they can, it just takes a bit more effort than on PDP.

The generalization that PDPs have more natural looking colors is the only thing I won't agree with. That has nothing to do with the set being a plasma or an LCD. It depends on if the manufacturer took the time to get it right.


Without professional calibration (dialed in how a user would with a disc)...


The last few generations of Panasonic Plasmas Ive dealt with have been way off in the grayscale department, as well as the color gamut department.


The current Samsung LED-LCD I have is nearly dead on perfect in the grayscale and color gamut department. Close to the point where paying a professional to improve upon it yields no visual difference.


I am sure there is scenarios where the opposite occurs as well. However, If someone goes out and spends there money with the notion that a Panasonic S30 (just a random example) is going to give them an accurate image in relation to color just because it is a plasma is greatly mistaken.