Plasma vs LCD TV

[ardypilot]

Alright fokes, LCD it is. Will let you know what screen we get and hopefully set it up with FS.

Your set up looks incredable Benwynn! Is that how you play FS all the time?

[AlisterC]

Nice one Ben
Really must try that sometime!

[toprob]

QUOTE (SUBS17 @ Apr 12 2008, 08:36 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm curious about Blue ray and HD-DVD so far I've only seen one HD-DVD in a video rental store and I wonder about the cost for a blank HD-DVD or Blueray DVD?

HD-DVD is no more -- I just received an email from the GPStore advising of their HD-DVD clearance sale, at $14.95 each, which I'll take advantage of, but only because I have to mitigate the cost of my HD player.
Many retailers have been confused by the split market, and have kept away from it, but now that the war is over they'll get onboard. I notice a couple of blurays appearing in my local hire store here in Lyttelton.
It'll be a while before bluray becomes mainstream on PCs -- in the meantime blank media will be expensive.
I will buy bluray only if Microsoft supply an Xbox addon like their HD-DVD player. Yes, the market will shift to online, but we'll always be a bit behind here in NZ, so we might still be buying DVDs for a while. For a while now Xbox Live has supplied HD movies overseas, but again I'm not holding my breath waiting for it here.
I am a huge fan of HD. At the moment I have a budget system, which is already obsolete, but it has certainly got me hooked.

[LMerraine]

I can only go on what I have - I have a Phillips 42" plasma - and since owning it, never used the projector again. I've got both the 360 and PS3, and having just watched Beowulf on Bluray, I can say I'm happy with my choice. We looked for a while before deciding on the plasma, but when it came down to it, visually I couldn't really tell the difference.

Difference to us was the price - the plasma was on special, the LCD alternative wasn't. It does suck power - and ours you can almost heat the room with the image alone.

As to burn in etc, if you're careful, it's not a problem, and I can't say I've seen any on our TV. As to life expectancy, I think in todays society, if it lasts 5+ years, most people start replacing them anyway with newer technology.

[benwynn]

Trolly,

I wish! If we had a table that would fit properly it would be much easier, but its a bit of a hassle to get the table out and connect everything up. Its sorta a holiday thing Only thing is, its ocassionally hard to see the screen beacuase its too far away!

As for the High Definintion- Definently get it built in. My graphics card supports HD, and its a noticeable difference on the screen with Flight Simulator, and my normal LCD.

[yak52dude]

also note that you should never ever ever touch an lcd screan it may damage the picture crystals.

[towerguy]

got a 42" philips lcd and is fine

basically plasma has the better blacks etc and is better if you are watching movies in a slightl;y darker room and lcds are better in a higher ambient light ie normal family lounge watching tv.

as to quality - don't get too hung up on names - found out that most of the tv's screens are made by samsung and then sold to other manufacturers who then put their boxes on the outside.

LCD for me.

[Anthony]

QUOTE (towerguy @ Apr 12 2008, 05:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

got a 42" philips lcd and is fine

basically plasma has the better blacks etc and is better if you are watching movies in a slightl;y darker room and lcds are better in a higher ambient light ie normal family lounge watching tv.

as to quality - don't get too hung up on names - found out that most of the tv's screens are made by samsung and then sold to other manufacturers who then put their boxes on the outside.

LCD for me.

True this is.
Sony and Samsung own the S-LCD 'factory'. Mostly Samsung's research I think, but Sony footed more of the bill or something.
A large portion of LCD screens are made there, but LG-Philips and a few others make their own.

It's not just the panel that counts. The 'engine' driving the panel is also very important.
A lot of people say that the BRAVIA engine is superior to nearly everything, and from what I've seen, I'm inclined to agree.

The V series Bravias seem to be the best value of the Sony range - good size, not too expensive, decently enough specced, but im not sure.

Oh and about touching the screen - yak52dude has a point, it's probably best to not touch the screen heaps. It's not fatal if it does get touched though, as in, don't be deathly scared of touching it.

Cheers
Anthony

[spongebob206]

As stated before I Have a Sony Bravia, these have a protective polycarb screens. You can clean it etc will no worries about damaging the screen. Or if you have kids this is a good idea.

[Stumpy]

Apparently plasma is better for watching sport than LCD. so consider what you use your tv for.(thanks mr obvious that he uses it for entertainment and viewing)

[SUBS17]

QUOTE (toprob @ Apr 17 2008, 02:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

HD-DVD is no more -- I just received an email from the GPStore advising of their HD-DVD clearance sale, at $14.95 each, which I'll take advantage of, but only because I have to mitigate the cost of my HD player.
Many retailers have been confused by the split market, and have kept away from it, but now that the war is over they'll get onboard. I notice a couple of blurays appearing in my local hire store here in Lyttelton.
It'll be a while before bluray becomes mainstream on PCs -- in the meantime blank media will be expensive.
I will buy bluray only if Microsoft supply an Xbox addon like their HD-DVD player. Yes, the market will shift to online, but we'll always be a bit behind here in NZ, so we might still be buying DVDs for a while. For a while now Xbox Live has supplied HD movies overseas, but again I'm not holding my breath waiting for it here.
I am a huge fan of HD. At the moment I have a budget system, which is already obsolete, but it has certainly got me hooked.

Yeah I also notice that the latest more expensive decoder boxes also have LAN input so you can watch live streaming off the net and also operate your decoder boxes hard drive remotely. Is the PS3s blue ray read only or can you burn stuff on a blue ray disc?

[ardypilot]

Forgot to mention that we ended up getting a 40 inch Samsung LCD screen- now what cables and PC settings do I need to get FS running on it?

[FunkymonkeyNZ]

QUOTE (Trolly @ Apr 10 2008, 08:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We're planning on getting a new flatscreen TV for the living room to replace the old-school CRT one that we have at the moment, but we're not sure whether to get a Plasma one or a LCD one.. I googled this and found lots of debates and forum posts but can't be bothered reading through them right now; could anyone give me quick summery of which is best and why?


And question number two: On our family PC, we have a LCD screen and if you move your head too high/low sometimes, the colours go inverted almost, does this happen with LCD tv's too?

Hey Trolly just a reply to your question. If your family TV is used for watching the Rugby or sports (which im 100% sure it will be) then Plasma has a significant advantage over LCD. i dont want to go into the tech side of things but in our household we have both types. our main living room has a 60inch plasma and in my room i have a 42 LCD. the picture quality would be very similar to the non acquainted but after viewing and adjusting to both i would have to say the plasma. for fast moving images the such as a rugbyball or like a flock of birds the LCD has a very faint shadowing (ghosting) not that you can pick it up every time but as i said before you notice once adjusted. i would have to say the plasma also has a richer colour. not to sure why but i take it this has something to do with the pixel's. But dont get me wrong LCD's have the advantages too, they have the tendancey to burn an image if left on a static image for to long and believe me its common on plasma's.

not to sure about your LCD screen, cant say i've experienced this issue. can i ask how long ago was the moniter purchased? is it fairly new? i know the new LCD anti glear moniters are awsome!!!
sorry drifted off track so yea as i was saying, no LCD TV's shouldnt have this issue, well not that im aware of anyway. i hope this kills the debate at your dinner table but really its upto how much your family wants to digg down into their pockets. im not to sure the difference in cost between the types but am i right when i sy LCD's are cheaper?

[FunkymonkeyNZ]

QUOTE (Trolly @ May 8 2008, 07:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Forgot to mention that we ended up getting a 40 inch Samsung LCD screen- now what cables and PC settings do I need to get FS running on it?

just noticed this post now, for the past two weeks or so i've had my 42inch hooked upto my pc, all i used was the VGA cable but to be completly honest the picture quality wanst fantastic but im thinking this was a limitation due to my video card. infact maybe i didn't go about hooking it up right, would anyone have advice to picure quality and resolution via a vga cable to a household LCD?

[NZ255]

If your TV is HD, and your GFX card (usally newer ones) has a HDMI output then you could just plug it in

[benwynn]

Nick is right, doesnt need to be HD though- better if it is though (alot better, its really obvious on FS), get your DVI Cable, Graphics Card straight to TV

If you want sound to come out of the tv, you will need a standard PC speaker cable to plug in. Also, remember to turn on the TV first, then the Computer. Good idea to switch it to PC mode first aswell.

[Alex]

Usually you'd need the standard 3.5mm cable out of your PC, with RCA connectors on the other end. You can pick one up from Dick Smith easily - $20-$30, if you want stereo make sure you get the two RCA plugs on the end. Don't get too hung up on RCA colours, they're just a guide.

Alex

[benwynn]

Oh ok Alex, on mine same as computer (3.5mm)

[Alex]

Oh yep, I suppose it depends on whether the TV has the 3.5mm Audio-In or not. I just went with RCA because it's the good old standard.

Alex

[ardypilot]

QUOTE

Usually you'd need the standard 3.5mm cable out of your PC, with RCA connectors on the other end. You can pick one up from Dick Smith easily - $20-$30[/quote]
Sweet thanks, I'll grab one next time I'm at the shops.