New LCD TV

[raro]

the 1920 x 1080 res worked on other screens, including the one that I bought (40' Samsung).

I use it exclusively as computer monitor with that res.

is this via the VGA out port on your laptop ? if so what model is your samsung ?

yep, that is the laptop out. Acer 4720Z - much higher resolutions are possible.

At home I use a PC and connect from the PC to the TV with a standard VGA cable. For the sound I use a simple cinch cable from the PCs Audio out into the TV or my stereo.

[astral]

I would not recommend JVC or Toshiba.

Both have lousy sw for expanding a 4:3 image to the 16:9 screen.

Lots of distortion on the outside inch or two of the screen when viewing a 4:3 image

at full screen width. It is most apparent when the camera pans.

My 32" Samsung does a much better job.

[wpcoe]

This is TOTALLY off-topic, but how the heck did you get the thread title to retain ALL CAPS in the acronyms?

Normally the forum software irritatingly uses Initial Caps On Every Word, Even Words Like Of and Or, and uses lower case for any non-initial letter. e.g. If I were to start this thread, the title would appear: "New Lcd Tv"

[astral]

This is TOTALLY off-topic, but how the heck did you get the thread title to retain ALL CAPS in the acronyms?

Normally the forum software irritatingly uses Initial Caps On Every Word, Even Words Like Of and Or, and uses lower case for any non-initial letter. e.g. If I were to start this thread, the title would appear: "New Lcd Tv"

A Mod can edit the title putting in caps and they will be retained.

[Beacher]

If you watch lots of sports or fast-paced action movies, keep in mind LCD screens are still inferior to plasma technology in representing motion and accurate black levels. I spent months last year researching flat screen TVs - both LCDs and plasmas before buying the 50" plasma I have now.

Another important thing to consider is that what looks good in the shop won't necessarily look good at home, in fact often the opposite is true.

The shops will display slow moving or still picture content on their flat screens, which means LCDs will often look better, but ask them to put on an ice hockey game, rugby game, american football game, formula one race or soccer game and compare a plasma and an LCD screen next to each other...

LCDs will look great in a brightly lit shop with the contrast level cranked up to the max - but at home where the light is lower, you will have a different experience. Another thing that you may experience with some LCD screens is backlight bleeding that comes out from the edges of the screen during viewing in a dimly lit room. If you watch most of your TV in the evening, this is crucial.

If on the other hand you have a very high level of ambient light at home (huge windows or glass panels) an LCD could be a better choice because plasmas do not look as good for daytime viewing.

raro's advice is good, if you're going to be playing content from your laptop you should bring it to the store and make sure that the screen is compatible with it. The reason the TV did not display his content could be either a DRM issue that prevents non-DRM material from being displayed, or some type of HDMI handshake problem. The TV probably does support 1080p just fine, but it is picky with the source.

Panasonic plasmas around 40" - 42" tend to deliver excellent value for the money. Samsung's plasmas are also decent.

This is one of the most informative posts on the subject that I've read.

Thanks for sharing the results of your substantial research.

[astral]

I am looking at the Sony Bravia KLV40W5500 with MotionFlow

versus the Samsung Series 6 LE40B650.

Both LCD.

I do watch Formula 1, but the plasma units are so heavy and power hungry.

Any thoughts welcomed about my choice.