Flat Panel HDTV
August 1st, 2008 by Juan Lu
I have just recently bought my first HDTV, it is cool! Although I would like something a little bigger, the Sony Bravia 40 inch LCD with 1080p S series is good for a first flat panel television set, it was cheap (was on sale), and our living room is not very big for a home theatre. Another reason for a new TV set is because the old 37 inch Tube TV is too heavy to move to the new house, and someone was willing to take it for a few hundred dollars. I was a little critical of the new flat panel televisions, but came to like my new TV. I feel like I have made a good choice.
The two new technologies out there for HDTV are 1080p (full high definition screen resolution) and 120 Hz (to eliminate motion blurring) — not a very technical explanation, but a layman’s definition. I am happy that I have at lease one of the two, since the 120 Hz feature the newest, therefore, the same 40 inch LCD with 120 Hz is doubled in price of my LCD TV. I read a few discussions online and heard from everyday conversation about Plasma versus LCD technologies that are common nowadays; Japanese brand of electronics like Panasonic and Sony versus the recently popular South Korean electronic brands like Samsung and LG. I’ve based my decision solely on these bias opinions and what my wallet permits — trying to search for the “best bang for the buck” as Lee would say — I ended up with the Japanese branded and the LCD technology.
Don’t take me wrong, the Samsung and LG LCD televisions look very modern, sleek, and very pretty, but their lifespan is very short. Most online reviews and my father’s friend who owns an electronic repair shop indicates so. Furthermore, I’ve once saw a YouTube video clip that compared the different flat panel technologies for televisions, and they indicated that Plasmas technology TV’s are very clear, but still images left on the screen for a long time (hours), the image (like a logo of a TV channel) will burn right into the screen permanently. Moreover, Plasma TV’s has shorter lifespan than LCD’s as well.
Finally, my cable subscription starts August 10th, so I use the TV as a monitor for my laptop, and watched streamed online TV, DVD’s, and anime on it. The picture looks great, I still have to try high definition cable; I know basic cable doesn’t look good on my new TV, but as Bill Gate says, in the future, everyone will be using their PC’s and internet for programs, no one will use regular cables anymore. Looks like the future is here! LOL
Tags: 1080p, 120Hz, Add new tag, Electronics, HDTV, Japanese, LCD, Monitor, South Korean, Television, TV
August 1st, 2008 at 10:48 am
You have now joined the HD world. There is no going back. I have recently purchased the LG LCD and love it more and more everyday. Movies and hockey games are just that much better.
You should take a look at monoprice.com for HDMI cables. In my opinion, they are just as good and about 1/10 the price as you will find at bestbuy or futureshop.
Welcome to the wonderful world of HD.
August 1st, 2008 at 11:17 am
Thank you Dave! Yes, my TV has 3 HDMI inputs, I will definitely take your advise and get a HDMI (my laptop as a HDMI jack too) cable! Right now, I’ve connected the panel in using the regular VGA monitor cable, and tried S-Video to PC, but VGA is a little better.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Component works almost as well as HDMI and comes at a fraction of the cost. Also, you can get component splitters so you can setup multiple sources through only one or two outputs as opposed to HDMI splitting which is super expensive.
On the other hand, true 1080p with a Blueray player (PS3 anyone?) works wonders and requires HDMI (which I would highly recommend you get from monoprice.com as well)…
August 5th, 2008 at 12:02 am
I think thats a great choice…I have Samsung Plasma flat screen at home and its about 2 years old and we have had too many troubles with it, thankfully we had extended warranty and it has been back to the shop 3 times now for different reasons. Worse part was every time they took the TV to fix it they didn’t return it for a month….plus you have to replace the lamp in plasma televisions after certain hours of use. My next tv would be LCD and I am yet to have a bad experience with Sony be it camera notebook or camcorder..Sony rocks…so i guess next TV would be a SONY LCD …are you planning to sell the one you recently bought anytime soon? you already have a buyer!
August 5th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I just went thru this whole process about 2 months ago. I now know way more about LCD vs Plasma, than I ever thought I would. Congrats on the new TV.
August 7th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Thanks Nelle! I have to agree with you there, the whole new home electronic shopping experience was quite exciting lol …
I’ve never tried the component i/o before, since my old TV doesn’t have component, I will definitely try your advice Lee, and hook my DVD player up using Component!
I am not a big gamer, but I would love to get my hands on the PS3 console and exercise the true HDTV gaming experience. I used to wish I have an HDTV whenever I ripped open a new PS2 game I hear good things about, thinking the graphic must look way better on an HDTV than my old CRT TV. Now that I have the right TV, the PS2 console is outdated … I now wish for a PS3 LOL … Thanks Lee!
August 7th, 2008 at 11:58 am
LOL Rajiv, you’re too funny! Yes, that’s what I heard from my dad’s friend who has an electronics repair shop and read a customer review on the Futureshop.ca website that had bad experiences with Samsung flat panel Televisions. I heard Panasonics are still the lead in the quality aspects, but the pictures I heard is not as crisp as some other brands.