Question about Celtics in HD/TV purchase

[RedVision]

Hey all i am lookin to FINALLY upgrading my TV from my old school udated TV to a flat panel...ive been doin some pricing online however for the upcoming season and the pats games I have a few questions...

Is there really a diff between 720 and 1080p? (worth the price diff or quality diff in HD?)

What are your thoughts on plasma vs like an lcd screen..

Im looking to get a TV in the range of 40-50 inches for the bedroom....thanks any and all info and comments and suggestions appreciated.

[KGs Knee]

I have a 42" Plasma (full HD-1080i), and watching C's games on it is a thing of beauty.  Paying the extra dough for full HD is absolutely worth it.  Of course you need HD programming to get the most out of a HDTV, otherwise you're better off with an older TV.  For some reason SD programming on a HDTV looks worse than SD programming on an old school picture tube TV.

Also, make sure you get a good quality HDMI cable.  Coax cables completely defeat the picture quality.

[Kwhit10]

I may be wrong, but 1080p is not that necessary since I think HD television only comes in at 720p currently.

Whereas 1080p is for blu-ray and videogames. 

But someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[KGs Knee]

I may be wrong, but 1080p is not that necessary since I think HD television only comes in at 720p currently.

Whereas 1080p is for blu-ray and videogames. 

But someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, 1080p is for Blu-Ray.  However, full HD television broadcasts are in 1080i.  So, yes, you do need a 1080i capable TV for full HD viewing capability.

[RedVision]

Thanks for all the info...Have people noticed any sig differences with qulaity of picture in terms of Name Brand companies/BIg brand like Sony, Panasonic etc versus "no names" or smaller companies? 

[Kwhit10]

I have a 1080p Vizio LCD and they may not be a household name yet, but they do make a lot of TVs and they are pretty good.  

I can't tell you to what brand to buy, but I just recommend going into the stores and seeing which TV you think shows the best picture.

Also if you're getting this TV specifically for sports you'll probably want to make sure you get a 120hz+ TV rather than 60hz if you're getting an LCD.

[CDawg834]

A few things I learned when buying my new TV:

Recommend going with one of the 3 S's....Sony, Sharp, or Samsung.  I have a 46" Sony and love it, and a couple of my friends have Samsungs and those are excellent too.  If a brand new model has come out, ask if the store has an older version of that same model in stock.  I saved a few hundred by getting a version that was outdated by only a couple months.

And the earlier poster who mentioned 1080p is dead on...HD broadcasts in 1080i, so you definitely don't want to get a 720.  I would recommend LCD over a plasma TV, but that's just my opinion.

Yes, you will need to get the HD channels, because standard def looks like crap on a hi-def TV (it's the one downside to HD).

Lastly, you can get all sorts of HDMI cables and power strips for really cheap online, so don't let the store you go to try to sell you some $90 HDMI cables, or a $75 power strip.

[Banner_18]

I recommend at least looking into refurbished. I have a refurbished PC, and because of that, I got a great deal on an absolutely brilliantly fast PC that has had NO problems for 18 months so far. Typically, refurb's have their own warranty, and they look new anyway.

...It's not like you're buying used underwear.

[Gomesfan]

Plasma is the way to go if you want it for sports! Also 1080p is still better than 720 no matter what anyone says. My buddy has the same tv as me but his is 720 and I am 1080p, I wont even watch the Celtics at his house and he regrets the buy and mostly comes to my house for games. The tv pixelates and distorts some and the clearity just is not up to par.
He said the same thing when he bought his.... they don't even broadcast 1080. We bought our tvs when then a couple of weeks of each other. He regrets!

[nba is the worst]

Plasma is the way to go if you want it for sports! Also 1080p is still better than 720 no matter what anyone says. My buddy has the same tv as me but his is 720 and I am 1080p, I wont even watch the Celtics at his house and he regrets the buy and mostly comes to my house for games. The tv pixelates and distorts some and the clearity just is not up to par.
He said the same thing when he bought his.... they don't even broadcast 1080. We bought our tvs when then a couple of weeks of each other. He regrets!

Did you get Panasonic, Samsung, or LG?

[nba is the worst]

Hey all i am lookin to FINALLY upgrading my TV from my old school udated TV to a flat panel...ive been doin some pricing online however for the upcoming season and the pats games I have a few questions...

Is there really a diff between 720 and 1080p? (worth the price diff or quality diff in HD?)

What are your thoughts on plasma vs like an lcd screen..

Im looking to get a TV in the range of 40-50 inches for the bedroom....thanks any and all info and comments and suggestions appreciated.

Advantages for LCDs/LEd's are thinness of panel, weight, and power consumption, but they tend to blur more in fast action than plasmas, so most sports junkies go the plasma route.

There's charts on Cnet giving screen size vs min/max viewing distance that are useful.

For Panasonic plasmas, the word is to avoid the 2009 models that are still widely available due to a built-in change in black level affecting the picture quality in less than 1 year. They have about 6 different grades of TV - the top 3 (GT series, Vt series, and G series) being rated "excellent" and the bottom 3 (S series, C series, U series) as "good".

The G series is THX certified and has apps like built in Netflix and Skype, but doesn'y have 3D or 1024/24fps capability - but in the 42 inch (most bedrooms - max HD viewing distance about 10 feet) or the 46", up to 11.5ft) can be bought for less than $1000 - the next model down, the S2, has 40% of the "dynamic contrast ratio" (lower picture quality in Blu-ray/games and dark scenes in movies), no THX-certification (means less true color reproduction), and no Netflix capability - but can be had in the 42" for under $600 at Amazon.

BTW, Amazon's prices are better than 10% lower than the competition, many times with free shipping. Extended warranties are way less through them as well.

[jarufu]

I've just recently been through this (the research, the research, the selection, the indecision, the purchase .. )

You will notice the difference in the refresh rate - get at least 100hz (which is 120hz in NTSC-land?)

Get 1080 for the future of HD ..

Buy the cheapest HDMI cables .. there is no difference between a €10, €100 and a €10000000 dollar HDMI cable.  It's digital information - it either works or it doesn't.


I bought a SONY lcd fwiw ..

[jarufu]

I could only dream of watching C's games in HD on a big screen.  I watch 'em all on my laptop on NBA ILP  ... when my net connection is working and not contested .. in the dark .. on my own ... etc .. 

[kagry]

Go to youtube and search for videos explaining 720p versus 1080i (be warned it's kinda geeky).  Here's a quote from HDTV.ca:  the whole article is here http://www.hdtv.ca/hdtv_knowledgebase/television/720p_1080p.php

720p versus 1080i

Some United States broadcasters use 720p60 as their primary high-definition format; others use the 1080i standard. While 720p presents a complete 720 line frame to the viewer between 24 to 60 times each second (depending on the format), 1080i presents the picture as 50 or 60 partial 540 line "fields" (24 complete 1080-line fields, or "24p" is included in the ATSC standard though) which the human eye or a deinterlacer built into the display device must visually and temporally combine to build a 1080 line picture. The main tradeoff between the two is that 1080i may show more detail than 720p for a stationary shot of a subject at the expense of introducing interlace artifacts from a motion of the camera (such as a pan) or motion of the subject. 720p is used by ABC and ESPN because the smoother image is desirable for fast-action sports telecasts. Fox Broadcasting Company uses the tagline "the nation's finest high-definition standard" in advertising its 720p programming.

So my feeling is that grabbing a cheap(er) 720p TV is all you really need unless you are planning to take full advantage Blu-ray movies and then you would need the 1080p.  You can always make your Blu-ray player output 720p though.

[Chief]

First, I'd recommend a 120 hz if you can afford it. The analog and 1080p picture is great. Also, go with a good brand. They usually tend to last longer. Finally read reports and consumer reviews from Cnet.com. When buying a HDMI cable I'd recommend Monoprice.com.


http://www.cnet.com/

http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp