levnubhin

iTrader: (30)

HDMI cables are $10 piece from newegg (only need 2). Do not want blueray.
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cueball1

iTrader: (13)

A big +1 for flier's advice. With a big LCD absolutely get the 120hz version. That is likely to be standard within the year with new 240hz models coming out. You'll get a much clearer picture with fast action on screen. The model you are looking at isn't 120hz.

I've seen similarly priced, $1300 to $1500, 120hz 50"ish sets in Costco's stores but not on the website. Shop around, not just online. Some of the best deals, after a tough christmas for retailers, will be face to face.

I'm looking for something similar. I bought a plasma several years ago that wasn't 720p when that was becoming the new standard. Hot deal then but regretted it not being up to snuff pretty quickly. 1080p is pretty much standard now. No need to go 720 now. 120hz was the hot new thing a few months ago, it similarly will be the standard in short order. Don't short yourself on it to save a couple hundred bucks now.

flier129

iTrader: (7)

go for the th50pz80u if you dont want to spend over 1500, looks like amazon has it for $1364 with free shipping. Find a local retailer that might match that, somewhere like HHGregg or something. HHGregg is commission based btw, we're motivated when it comes to selling it, something is better than nothing!

Samsung blu-ray players are at $199 right now, altho out of stock in the entire company atm, the sony (bdps350) or panasonic (bmpbd35k) are better players tho, load faster n such, the higher end samsung and sony bluray's have BDlive and the samsung has streaming netflix ! lol

try to grab a monster 800 cable for the blu-ray player, or a 6.68 gps cable. component cables will work fine for a HD direct TV box since they only broadcast in 720p/1080i anyways, having an HDMI on a HD cable/sat box will just carry more colors.

TrickerZ

iTrader: (6)

240hz is a gimmick, 120hz is all that's needed since it eliminates 3:2 pulldown and you can run your nice 1080/24p movies like they were meant to be. Get a Samsung if you can afford it, if not, get a Toshiba since it's the same LCD panel, with a controller that's comparable. Some people like the way Toshiba does their deinterlacing better, anyway. To me it seems a little more natural than Samsung or Sony's. And for God's sake, get the screen professionally calibrated or get your own colorimeter and do it yourself. Those things are sold with such crappy settings, it's ridiculous. People are like, omg, the grass is so green! Go outside, does your grass look like that? no? hmm...

flier129

iTrader: (7)

+1 on a "calibration" but dont pay bestbuy 400 bucks to do it. one calibration may look good on a bright scene and **** on a dark, so if you do it, do it right.

please go with a samsung over a toshiba, i've seen WAY too many toshiba's sent back to service. hell, even a couple of the display toshiba's stopped working :(

fmowry

iTrader: (8)

Everything you have said has been discredited by recommending Monster cable.

Hell, you can get a better cable for under 10 at monoprice.

Frank

TrickerZ

iTrader: (6)

I did say professional calibration

Does Bestbuy even use a colorimeter? They probably just use an Avia disk or DVE. A colorimeter is only $150 for a decent one and will do a much better job than your eyes can. avsforum.com has a nice article on calibration and they even have DVD and Bluray disk images to do the calibration yourself. In my opinion, it's a good article to read if you're going to do it yourself or not since you'll at least understand what the guy is doing and be able to tell if he's worth your money. Mom and pop shops are usually the best for calibration.

I was unaware of any problems with Toshibas over Samsungs, where have you seen a lot sent back for service? Display ones don't surprise me, people mess with those all the time, but Toshiba is supposed to be a pretty reliable brand and the LCD is Samsung if you buy a Toshiba over 42".

Also, as far as cables go, I've been trying to figure out if there is a point to getting an expensive cable. It seems to me that it does not change modulation depending on signal clarity, so I would think as long as you don't hear any sound artifacts at TrueHD quality or see any visual artifacts at 1080p, then the cable is good enough. Most cheap cables rated for 1080p I have seen do not seem to exhibit any artifacts. I'm not even sure I could find artifacts if they were there at 1080p anyway, though.

Edit: wikipedia to the rescue! HDMI uses LPCM for audio and TMDS for video. Both modulations seem pretty resilient and TMDS is developed for crappy cables, so it looks like a cheap cable should indeed be fine.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

*ponders stealing the chromameter from work for a day or two*

CS-100A-Incident Color Meter | KONICA MINOLTA

Ben

iTrader: (33)

I kind of skimmed through since this was long, but I thought I'd give you my .02 as someone who has nearly a decade of professional experience in this arena.

First, I don't know anything about what environment the set will be in, but for most people I would recommend a Panasonic 50" plasma, which you can pick up for under $1000 for the 720p or a few hundred more for the 1080p. Now if you have a lot of daylight or if you are hanging the set on steel construction, I'd probably tell you otherwise.

LCDs typically have plastic screens that don't glare as much and also makes them lighter than plasmas. But for the most part, a plasma will do everything else better than an LCD and will cost less. This includes real-world power usage. Sure peak demands are higher on a plasma set, but the plasma has a variable demand based on content. The LCD has a steady draw. The real reason for big LCD sets these days is that plasmas become unprofitable while LCDs still had good margin for a long time, so retailers simply pushed what paid them.

I'd also recommend that you compare the 720 and 1080 sets back to back from your actual viewing distance. I know the 1080 sets look better close up, but see if your eyes actually tell the difference at the distance to your seating position. Most people can not.

flier129

iTrader: (7)

bestbuy does use a colorimeter, suppose to anyways.

lots of 40' and 42's of toshiba's lcd's have been sent back to service, i work at a crossdock store so any tv's in the southeast going to service i see in the warehouse all piled up. dont see many 46 and 52 toshibas tho, hardly any sony's too.

flier129

iTrader: (7)

u sir, are entirely correct haha. if only there were companies out there for the consumer that doesn't see price first! *cough*

Ben

iTrader: (33)

LOL @ Best Buy. AVOID them for any aspect of installation! Their local big bad *** install lead guy is a guy I hired, trained, and taught everything he knows. He's a great guy and a great friend, but his knowledge is only about 40% of what it should be and he is by far the brightest and most competent guy they have. I also used to have Magnolia installers (now called geek squad) come to my shop all the time and ask for jobs. When interviewed, it was obvious what stooges they were. "Yeah we just ran an extension cord through the wall. It's all good, it works."

If you are interested in having your display calibrated by a pro, start here
Imaging Science

l_bader

Samsung LED DLP FTW!

However, wait until Feburary when the Superbowl party returns are in the stores. They can't sell them as "new" = Lower Prices.

- L

disturbedfan121

iTrader: (5)

just got a 32" dynex for christmas and looks really good and only cost$400 with the 4yr warranty included (bestbuy)

levnubhin

iTrader: (30)

I sit about anywhere between 12-15 feet away from my tv. Most viewing is done at angles (which is why I will probably go plasma). The TV will sit on a stand in a wall unit. My living room isn't very bright during the day either.
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Ben

iTrader: (33)

get the biggest panasonic plasma you can afford. at 12 feet, I doubt you'll see the difference between 720 and 1080 on any display under 70".

fmowry

iTrader: (8)

Panny plasmas have had anit-glare screens for a couple years now. I'm happy with my Panny 42 720p plasma in my living room with probably the same light conditions. I would have gone with a 46 but it wouldn't fit in the space above my fireplace.


Frank

levnubhin

iTrader: (30)

Now Im really stuck on weather or not I need 1080p. DirecTv dosen't broadcast in 1080P, I don't own a blueray and have no plans to get one. Most movies I watch is stuff I downloaded.
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levnubhin

iTrader: (30)

I can get this TV locally(Brandsmart) for $800. Any thought?

Panasonic TH-50PX80U 50" VIERA® plasma HDTV at Crutchfield.com
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flier129

iTrader: (7)

basically the same TV as the th50pz80u but 720p, lil contrast difference (native). i still say go 1080p because DirecTv, Dish, Comcast, and the like will be broadcasting in about 2 or so years. they just have to get the bandwidth open, could always get a 1080p upscaling dvd player for like 70 bucks too