Phuck Vizio

[Narrock]

So, bottom line is that although plasma *may* be a "higher technology"

Well it's not a "higher" technology. It's a past technology that isn't used much anymore.

It's easy to see why that is. lol. Anyway, if you sat in a simulated living room theatre, and the manufacturer names were covered up and the type of tv info was not displayed, and you were going to buy strictly based on what you saw on the screen, I would bet that 99.9999% of people would choose led-lcd.

[Zanchief]

Well I do think Plasma has a great picture quality. I haven't really looked at them recently, because I’ve been burned (get it) by them before, but quality of picture was never the issue. Maybe the TVs you saw in the store already had burning issues since they're on all day. The colors may appear all washed out because of this.

[Narrock]

Well I do think Plasma has a great picture quality. I haven't really looked at them recently, because I’ve been burned (get it) by them before, but quality of picture was never the issue. Maybe the TVs you saw in the store already had burning issues since they're on all day. The colors may appear all washed out because of this.

Mebbe, but wouldn't "being on all day" also negatively affect picture quality on the led-lcd's as well?

[Zanchief]

No, that's why Plasma sucks. It has a very limited shelf life (which can be random). I've seen some burn after a few weeks.

[Narrock]

No, that's why Plasma sucks. It has a very limited shelf life (which can be random). I've seen some burn after a few weeks.

So, to summarize... with Plasma, you spend more and get less. /pass

[Zanchief]

Not anymore. Plasma's have become very cheap because of these issues. You can get very expensive high end units though, but I wouldn't bother. The lower end units are very cheap because of issues mentioned in this thread.

[Tossica]

They are cheap because the technology is 25 years old. Plasma TV's are everywhere. Not sure why you say it's not used anymore. There are new models across multiple price ranges, every single year, by many manufacturers. They use more power, are heavier and do take some consideration in caring for the image. There are tools built in to the TV's now that take care of ghosting and burn in issues. The "shelf life" of my TV is something like 100,000 hrs so again, Zanchief, I'm not sure what you are talking about. The back light in a standard LCD TV will burn out years before the plasma will. There are some beautiful LED TV's out there and some not so great plasma as well. I think the important thing to realize is that when you are shopping at Best Buy, Costco, etc, you are dealing with people that don't give a flying fuck about TV's and have no idea how a TV should be setup to get the best possible picture out of it. They crank the brightness up and call it a day. Unfortunately, it's getting harder to find a place to talk to actual knowledgeable staff because of places like Costco and Best Buy. Just for giggles some time, find a place that has actual home theater style viewing rooms like a hi fi boutique and a staff that are educated. Take a look at what the higher end plasma and LED TV's can do. Breathtaking stuff and well worth the extra $$$ in my opinion. Even if you aren't going to buy, it's still a fun way to kill a few hours.

[Zanchief]

When I buy a TV I don't really look at it in the store, I check the specs, and dig around the internet to see if it's well rated. I wouldn't talk to someone at Best Buy or any other high end tech shop. I'll do my own research.

Problem with buying a $4,000 TV is it's gonna be a 1500 dollar tv a year or two later. You're still going to have it, and everyone else will have it for a fraction of the price. I don't see the benefit. I know when a good deal comes around. Prices for HD Tvs are really low right now because the market is insane. Big screens used to be something only a few homes had, now everyone has them. You can get a 60in LCD for 1300 bucks. That was a 5000 TV last year.

[Narrock]

Zan, there's a huge difference between LCD and LED-LCD. You can get a 42"+ lcd for a couple hundred bucks, but an led-lcd is like 3x as expensive.

[Tossica]

Riiight. What's the use in talking to someone that might have decades of experience in a subject and actually sitting down in front of a display when you can rely on a bunch of dumb fucks on the interweb for your opinions. Brilliant.

I'm not talking about a $4000 TV. If you've got that kind of money, great. If your $2000 TV is selling for $1000 a year later, who cares? You got a years worth of use out of it and enjoyed the benefits of the higher end display during that year. Believe it or not, there are actual benefits to the higher end displays beyond the widgets and other crap. Better build quality for one, higher quality displays, more useful features, polished aesthetics, etc.

If all that matters is how big the screen is and how cheap it is, then fine. I can't really argue with that.

[Zanchief]

Well I don’t really care how many years experience someone has hawking TVs to be honest, there really isn’t that much to it. I just want to make sure there aren’t any defects or glaring problems. The great unwashed will find that for me. You can usually trust nerds to bitch about things online.

My thing is this. I’m going to have a TV for say….10 years. I could pay 3k for a TV today that’s at a certain lvl, or I can pay half that price for last years model. So basically you’re paying twice as much for 1/10 the lifespan. It seems silly to me. The dudes at the high end tech shops will also be impressed with the newer nicer expensive models, not only because of the commission, but because they like cool new TVs. Plus the things people are pushing now are things I don’t care about. Sharp is pushing their useless 4 color crap, and everyone else is trying to sell you a 3D TV. Great TVs that don’t have those two useless things are selling for very little. I’ll be getting a new TV after Christmas when they’ll be unloading those brands.

[Narrock]

I just noticed your sig, Zan

[Tossica]

I can't imagine buying a big ticket item that I intend on keeping for 10 years without actually sitting in front of it. I trust my own eyes more than I trust the unwashed. Most reviews sound like they are written by the average Cain supporter.

[Narrock]

At least they don't have a teleprompter telling them what to say

[brinstar]

how about both? fools

1) go look at them in the store(s), make a list and take notes on the ones that appear to be the best (or best deal at least)

2) then go home and check ratings shit on the internet from reputable sources (not some jackoff pizza CEO)

3) repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as necessary for you to narrow it down to 1 TV

4) figure out which store has the best deal on it and take that sumbitch home

it's what i did, and as already stated my only mild regret is the passing wish that i'd spent the extra $150 on a brand new model instead of the discounted open item

[Griever]

The main factor with buying an HDTV is where is it going to be located in your house. How far will you be sitting away from it? Is it a dark room or a well lit room? Because I was buying an HDTV for my living room which has many windows and gets a lot of sun, I decided that a glossy screened plasma would not work well for that room. I ended up getting a 55" Sony Bravia LED-LCD and I love it. One of nicest things about LED-LCDs is that they are so thin and weigh so little compared to other types of HDTVs out there. I even think the swivel base is awesome since I can turn the TV towards the kitchen while I'm cooking or washing dishes.

Plasma was very tempting considering the picture quality and the price, but that picture quality would have been negated for most of the day by the glare on the screen. So overall there is much more to factor into buying a TV than just what you see at the store.

[Jay]

I like the look of plasmas most however my TV is on Sportscenter like 24/7 so the ESPN logo would definitely be burned in at some point so I opt to go LCD. If I had a seperate theater room for like Blurays and such I'd probably invest in a plasma.

Sony Bravia's are way overpriced and understocked featurewise. I coulda spent 400 bucks less for a Samsung with more features and slightly better picture but I've never had a single issue with Sony ever. Overpriced they may be but their reliability has always been top notch and when I make an investment that I wanna see still in existence years down the line I know I can count on Sony to deliver. I paid extra money for the guarantee that all my pixels are in tact and that my TV works like it did day 1 today. Now, in hindsight, I shoulda bought the Samsung. It's one hell of a TV, my buddy has one, and I envy him for it. Next time around I probably will go Samsung but I'm happy with what I got.