Help please: 1080p worth the $$$?

[BeerNut]

Well, the last time I posted a semi-serious thread here it COMPLETELY blew up in my face, but I'll blame a lack of common sense combined with mental retardation in my trying it again.

Here it goes:
Is it worth the extra cash to purchase a 1080p TV?

My goal: I would like a 46" (give or take 4") flat screen HD TV that can be mounted on the wall if I choose to.

My Variables:
-I do not own any kind of HD DVD player, nor do I purchase DVD movies (I know I would never watch them a second time).
-I do not currently own a gaming console system capable of HD resolution.. Although that MAY change.
-I would be sitting somewhere between 8 - 12 feet away from the screen, depending on where I am at in my living room. Although I do occassionally watch from my dinette and kitchen area, which is further away.

My concerns:
-Budget: I think I can drop around $2K on the entire project. The problem is once I get passed cables, mounting hardware or TV table, HD box, service upgrade, etc... The funds available for an actual TV will be more modest. And I would LOVE to be able to save a few bucks on the whole thing. Although if it does prove to be really worth it, I am willing to spring for a few bucks extra.
-Future proofing: I definitely want to make sure that I am covered for quite a while on picture clarity and product reliability.

My understanding is that no one will be broadcasting in 1080p anytime soon, and there is apparent debate on whether people can even tell the difference between 1080p and 720p.
Does anyone have any experience in comparing the resolutions?

What would you do?


Thanks in advance.

[nonstop]

Hey beer, I have been doing hi-def for about 7 years now and stay on top of this stuff pretty often. I think you should save your money and worry about futureproof and just get an interlaced. I'm more into high end audio than picture but from everything you said vs the tech out there atm I think you should just save some money on the progressive and get better speakers.

[law.of.averages]

for non: ... and a more expensive power cord ...

for beer: ... find one with a picture you like, and don't worry about the marketing fluff... I've got an LG 50" that's fantastic, and I don't even know if it's 1080 anything

[BeerNut]

... I think you should save your money and worry about futureproof and just get an interlaced...

Noted... Thank you.

for beer: ... find one with a picture you like, and don't worry about the marketing fluff... I've got an LG 50" that's fantastic, and I don't even know if it's 1080 anything

Well, here's the thing... saying that a TV is capable of progressively displaying 1080 pixels vertically, is a technical fact about the TV. It has nothing to do with marketing gimics or fancy selling.

The problem is, everytime I go to a Circuit City or Best Buy to compare them, they ALL look like crap because the store is using the WORST possible signal source to "show off" these TV's.

I guess I'm wondering if anyone has really compared the higher and lower resolutions, and then if the benefit justifies the cost.

[Sideous Prime]

1080p no. 1080i yes.

IMO 1080p isn't worth it yet. as you said beer, nobody is broadcasting 1080p yet. it is simply too frickin big.

1080i looks incredible and is being broadcast. if you get a good tv(ie plasma, dlp or a nice lcd. talk to rom he knows more than anyone about tv's) it will be worth your hard earned dollars.

IMO, 1080p isn't worth it at all. the quality difference between 1080p and 1080i isn't noticable and for the size difference the trade-off isn't worth it.

[Rom]

Hello folks

Ya there so much variable when time have come to buy a new tv.I will try to help you Beer.

First of all do you wanna buy an lcd or a plasma.

There a lot of difference between the two technology.If you go in good brand like (Panasonic,Jvc,Pionner,Thosiba,Hitachi) they will offer you near 60000 hours of good working whitout problem if your lucky.

Plasma will give you more deep in the quality picture ,the colors will be more natural than lcd,but plasma will also give some mistake.

If you play game on it for a long time there a chance that you burn the screen on it,but if you take your time and burn the screen for near 500 hours on regular tv than the spot problem wont be a problem anymore.

If your living room is very clear whit a lot of sun in it,then plasma wont be a good choice cuz there a lot of reflexion on there screen,few new model have anti reflexion like the panasonic Th42PZ700 but there very expensive.

The Lcd goes higher in resolution .Hd tv at full resolution is 1920x1080 .Lcd are able to get at those resolution but plasma in 42 inchs, only have 1024x768.If you choose Lcd try to get an 8 or better a 6ms,cuz if you like action movies or sport you will need your screen to be very fast if you want it clean,and if you are able to do it get one whit a refresh rate at 100mhz there a lot of difference compare to a regular one.

Sun,game are not a problem whit Lcd but view angle are one.They all tell in there spec there good for 160 degree but thats bs cuz after 40 degree they all start to change and get more white in them.

For the resolution i will sugest 1080i ,that will be a very good choice i have compare 1080i and 1080p and honnestly i dint see the differnce and i sale tv for more than 15 years now

Ill give you few recommandation

1=Panasonic TH42PX75 Plasma 720p For the price one of the best
2=Panasonic TH42PZ700 Plasma 1080 p whit subwoofer int (I will buy It)
3=Toshiba 42HL167 Lcd full HD 1080p The best i have never seen at the moment for an lcd
4=Jvc LT42X688 Lcd full hd 1080 p nice tv but i prefer the Thosiba

I hope i am helpfull Beer and if you need more info let my know buddy

[BeerNut]

Great post... Thanks Rom.

First of all do you wanna buy an lcd or a plasma.

I've thought about this a bit, and the pros and cons of LCD's -vs- plasmas kind of cancel out for me. If I can find a good value on a TV that I like, I would take either one.

For the resolution i will sugest 1080i ,that will be a very good choice i have compare 1080i and 1080p and honnestly i dint see the differnce and i sale tv for more than 15 years now

^^^^This was the line I was looking for. If someone with your knowledge and experience in video display can't see any distinguishable difference between interlaced and progressive formats, then I don't see how it could be worth the additional cost for progressive.

Thanks for the recommendations... I will check them out.
How big of a difference do brand names make? Are there any brands that I should avoid due to quality or defective issues?



Thanks!

[Rom]

there 3 kind of products at the moment

the best one are japenese:Thosiba,Panasonic ,Jvc,Pionner,Hitachi,and Sony

More expensive but give a better image,and seem to last more longer.

In the middle you have korea products

The best of them are Lg and samsung there not far from japan products but they dont last longer like thoses one but if you limited whit the money and need to go whit those brand go whit samsung they offer a better support for the warrranty

and the third one are chiness dont go for them cheap labour and only good to put in the garbage lol Prima,Durabrand,and all new compagny you have never ear about it

[Houdini]

For my 2 pennies worth man I decided to buy a HD TV and I read about what specs to look for and I found an affordable TV that had high end spec at Sam's Club online. The company is called Vizio I think it is Australian. I just have a 32"LCD but I think they come bigger. The picture quality is awesome and I have had no issues with it. I would give these a serious look.


http://www.vizio.com/products/

[law.of.averages]

Since Rom went and mentioned Plasma burn-in, I'll throw out this little tid-bit..

A friend of mine purchased the same TV I have (LG 50" plasma) on EBay and had to replace the screen. The total cost to have the new screen shipped to his house was $150.00 ...that's price and shipping...

He said it took him about an hour and a half to replace it. (And told me he created a nice guide with pictures if I ever need it)

[Soulja]

Just a side note...Playstation 3 just dropped 100 bucks. Video game system and Blue Ray player for 500 bucks, plus its built to spin constantly. Good deal imo...

[nonstop]

Good thoughts Rom on lighting, resolution etc but I would through samsung in the top rung in your plasmas for the price.

There is a noticable difference in watching 1080i vs p but the difference has diminishing effects on smaller screens. On bigger screens it looks quite a bit better in 1080p but were talking 56" and above. A good blue ray or HD in 1080p on a big screen just can't be beat atm but everyone has thrown out a lot of factors to consider that should help you.

Law unfortunately thinks everything is marketing hype but he's old and crochety.

[law.of.averages]

Good thoughts Rom on lighting, resolution etc but I would through samsung in the top rung in your plasmas for the price.

There is a noticable difference in watching 1080i vs p but the difference has diminishing effects on smaller screens. On bigger screens it looks quite a bit better in 1080p but were talking 56" and above. A good blue ray or HD in 1080p on a big screen just can't be beat atm but everyone has thrown out a lot of factors to consider that should help you.

Law unfortunately thinks everything is marketing hype but he's old and crochety.

BAH!

[BeerNut]

Thanks for all the help guys... Pretty much answers all of my questions.

[Porkinator]

Laser TV is coming out next year and going to be better and cheaper than LCD from what I have read.