Questions about an HDTV

[elison]

Alright so recently I decided to finally purchase a HDTV for my gaming and movie needs. Problem is, I don't know what TV I should get. I'll list a few things I'm trying to avoid when purchasing a TV.

-Budget is somewhere around $800-$1400
-I don't want a LCD/Plasma TV as they are WAY to expensive and having a smaller TV doesn't make me want them.
-DLP is probably what I'll be purchasing; No HUEGLIEKXBOX TVs though (old school big screens)

With all that being said, I was looking at a 50' Samsung A650 DLP at Fry's this past week, and it seems to fit in nicely with my budget. $1299.00 and it supports up to 1080p, with 3 HDMI plugs.

Now my main concern is should I even bother trying to get a 1080p TV? I know more then 90% of the games I play don't even support 1080p. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Ninja Gaiden 2 are the only games I play that support 1080p, and hopefully Gears of War 2 support it.

Blu-ray isn't of any concern to me because honestly, I couldn't give a shit about watching movies in higher def. My main issue here is am I getting my moneys worth for investing in a 1080p TV or should I just buy a cheaper 1080i/720p TV?

Also, if anyone knows of anything a bit cheaper (I want a TV anywhere from 48' to 60', but I know I won't be getting a huge TV with the budget I have in mind)?

[Snowknight26]

LCD > DLP, but I bet they're more expensive at that size (50"+).

Don't have much to contribute as I'm mainly an LCD guy, but heres a question. Which Frys?

[elison]

LCD > DLP, but I bet they're more expensive at that size (50"+).

Don't have much to contribute as I'm mainly an LCD guy, but heres a question. Which Frys?

Fry's in Dallas, TX. Any reason as to why LCD > DLP? I just want a good TV for HD gaming at a reasonable cost. I'm looking at around $2,000+ for a 50'+ LCD/Plasma TV at the same screen size as the DLP I'm looking at.

[Snowknight26]

Better viewing angle, darker blacks, way thinner (2-4 inches thick), brilliant colors in direct sunlight , very bright backlight, faster response times, etc.

Too bad about the Dallas store. I was gonna say something along the lines of shopping at the Plano one since my brother works there, but I couldn't see you getting any benefit from that.. only him.

[elison]

Better viewing angle, darker blacks, way thinner (2-4 inches thick), brilliant colors in direct sunlight , very bright backlight, faster response times, etc.

Too bad about the Dallas store. I was gonna say something along the lines of shopping at the Plano one since my brother works there, but I couldn't see you getting any benefit from that.. only him.

What do you mean by benefits? I wouldn't mind traveling to Plano for any type of benefit lol although I don't see it happening. Guess I should just save up and get a LCD then...

[killerx]

Just tossing an option out there for a great TV http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 5537712071
good price for 1200 40" LCD 3 HDMI ports

[Reality]

just an FYI, being an LCD doesn't automatically equal awesome blacks and also, having a ridiculously bright backlight/lamp tends to wash out or "Crush" blacks to terrible levels

my friend has a 60" DLP and it's fucking beautiful, though the way his living room is setup, viewing angles aren't an issue due to you're basically forced to view it directly in front, not that it's a problem

i have a 42" Hyundai 1080p LCD i got at newegg back in november for $999, it's not amazing but it's not bad either. sports look abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous on it, but the blacks are severely crushed by the non-adjustable back light

for gaming and general windows use though, its awesome and i love it

[elison]

just an FYI, being an LCD doesn't automatically equal awesome blacks and also, having a ridiculously bright backlight/lamp tends to wash out or "Crush" blacks to terrible levels

my friend has a 60" DLP and it's fucking beautiful, though the way his living room is setup, viewing angles aren't an issue due to you're basically forced to view it directly in front, not that it's a problem

i have a 42" Hyundai 1080p LCD i got at newegg back in november for $999, it's not amazing but it's not bad either. sports look abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous on it, but the blacks are severely crushed by the non-adjustable back light

for gaming and general windows use though, its awesome and i love it

Is there a HUGE difference in 720p and 1080p? I don't want to spend the extra money on a TV if the only way I'm going to see a difference is if I play using a magnifying glass.

[Cephius]

just an FYI, being an LCD doesn't automatically equal awesome blacks and also, having a ridiculously bright backlight/lamp tends to wash out or "Crush" blacks to terrible levels

my friend has a 60" DLP and it's fucking beautiful, though the way his living room is setup, viewing angles aren't an issue due to you're basically forced to view it directly in front, not that it's a problem

i have a 42" Hyundai 1080p LCD i got at newegg back in november for $999, it's not amazing but it's not bad either. sports look abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous on it, but the blacks are severely crushed by the non-adjustable back light

for gaming and general windows use though, its awesome and i love it

Is there a HUGE difference in 720p and 1080p? I don't want to spend the extra money on a TV if the only way I'm going to see a difference is if I play using a magnifying glass.

It's noticeable to me. To the untrained eye? Maybe not. But if you're using to watching 1080p HD and it switches to 720p, you'll notice things aren't quite as smooth on the TV.

[Guyverarmor]

Well right now, not any cable or TV broadcast is in 1080p yet....so if you want to get a 1080p tv just for 2 games and MAYBE blu-ray . I dunno, up to you. Customers call in asking "My picture is fuzzy" and all that crap..and I find out they have a 1080p, when the tv signal is broadcast in 1080i Personally, go 1080i if you plan on watching tv as well. To me, I don't notice a difference.

[Snowknight26]

Uh, if they have a TV that does 1080p, then it also accepts 1080i. And if thats the case, it also deinterlaces the source so you can't tell the difference (apart from the fact that 1080i is really low bitrate/MPEG-2 in the US).

[Viena]

And if thats the case, it also deinterlaces the source so you can't tell the difference (apart from the fact that 1080i is really low bitrate/MPEG-2 in the US).

False.

[Guyverarmor]

And if thats the case, it also deinterlaces the source so you can't tell the difference (apart from the fact that 1080i is really low bitrate/MPEG-2 in the US).

False.

Thank you Viena... as to the poster above, yeah it can "Show" 1080i but it does look like shit compared to a reg. TV that is 1080i... like I said before, have heard this from countless customers and also from seeing it myself (dad bought a 1080p TV and saw the results first hand).

But all in all to the OP, buy what you want :D as far as I know from the higher ups and corporate, networks don't plan on broadcasting in 1080p for awhile

[Snowknight26]

And if thats the case, it also deinterlaces the source so you can't tell the difference (apart from the fact that 1080i is really low bitrate/MPEG-2 in the US).

False.

What good does saying false and linking to wikipedia do?

[Viena]

What good does saying false and linking to wikipedia do?

Hmmm... That people can get to know what deinterlacing is and the quality issues involved with it instead of getting the idea that "there's no difference"?

[Snowknight26]

Have you ever watched Planet Earth in HD?

[Norellicus]

'HD' is not a technical term that is recognized to mean a specific set of parameters; though 'HD' content is typically 720p or better, this is not always the case, so your argument doesn't really carry water, unless you'd care to clarify your point.

Even if you take the aesthetics out of the equation, the pure science of interlaced video vs progressive video makes it perfectly clear that progressive will always be a clearer image:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_scan

This is not an issue up for debate.

Edit: PS, you want to really see the difference between an interlaced and progressive image? Watch a movie on TV, then put the same movie into your progressive-scan DVD player (assuming your TV supports the progressive mode, of course). The difference is pretty evident even on a SDTV imo.

Edit2: Regarding 720p vs 1080p, if your physical screen does not have 1,080 horizontal lines then you will notice zero difference, since the 1080 signal is being scaled down to match your screen size. Typically you won't find 1,080 lines on a screen smaller than 40" or so, but YMMV.

[Snowknight26]

Well seeing as Planet Earth in HD is only sold as a Blu-ray or HD DVD, you know that its 1080p.
But anyway, having been doing 720p/1080i/1080p video encoding for almost a year now, I find it funny that someone who doesn't know what they're talking about link to wikipedia as if that magically makes them all knowledgable in the subject.

I guess what I left out in my original post about there being no difference in quality is if the TV displays 1080p, there won't be a difference whether the signal is 1080p or 1080i, except, as the link below points out, in fast motion.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/blu-ray_2.htm

12th paragraph.

[Norellicus]

Because quoting a community site about projectors is so much more accurate

[Viena]

There's no point in writing myself something that's well explained somewhere else. If I took the time to link there is because your statement was just wrong.

As you noted, with most deinterlacers, a static image will look about the same than with a non interlaced source, but once you get movement, deinterlaced signals will always provide a poorer result. And we are talking about video here, movement shouldn't be something to be left out.

P.S: I find it funny that someone who had to google what he is talking about link to projectorcentral as if that magically makes them all knowledgable in the subject.