Morons Guide To Televisions

[TBWG]

^Alright, there appears to be some good information here, glad I posted. I will do a little more research and hit the shops armed with a bit more knowledge this time.

You know what they say though, "A little bit of knowledge is dangerous"

Glad I posted, thanks

Enjoy your shopping. I'm sure you will be thrilled your new TV whether it be LCD or plasma.

Hi Neverdie

Like you I know naff all about Televisions but I feel I should give you the benefit of my wifes input on the matter.

I.E. Regarding size the boss lady says it is most important that it is bigger than your next door neighbours!

Also it should not be mounted on the wall as this would provide a most convenient haunt for chingchucks!

Glad to be of assistance.

TBWG

[neverdie]

^ Jing jocks? Yeah the little buggas, they get in everywhere

[stgrhe]

First of all let's clear some misconceptions here. There are only three different display types:

1. Cathode Ray Tubes (the conventional TV);

2. Plasmas; and

3. LCD's

Hence, there are in fact no LED-televisions as these are LCD's with LED back-lights, which is an entirely different thing than a LED-display. So for the simplicity of comparing the types the so-called LED's can be neglected.

Plasma Televisions

Plasma television technology is based loosely on the fluorescent light bulb. The display itself consists of cells. Within each cell two glass panels are separated by a narrow gap in which neon-xenon gas is injected and sealed in plasma form during the manufacturing process. The gas is electrically charged at specific intervals when the Plasma set is in use. The charged gas then strikes red, green, and blue phosphors, thus creating a television image. Each group of red, green, and blue phosphors is called a pixel (picture element).

Although Plasma television technology eliminate the need for the bulky picture tube and electron beam scanning of traditional televisions, because it still employs the burning of phosphors to generate an image, Plasma televisions still suffer from some of the drawbacks of traditional televisions, such as heat generation and screen-burn of static images.

Someone mentioned above that plasma is an old technique but that is not true, it is in fact also a technique of tomorrow. Having said that, plasma technique used in television sets has it limits and draw-backs like any technique.

The advantages of Plasma over LCD are: 1. Larger screen size availability at affordable prices.

2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.

3. Better colour accuracy and saturation.

4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).

The disadvantages of Plasma vs LCD include:

1. Plasma TV's are more susceptible to burn-in of static images. However, this problem has diminished greatly in recent years as a result of the incorporation "pixel orbiting" and related technologies.

2. Plasma TV's generate more heat, and thus use more electricity, than LCD's, due to the need to light of phosphors to create the images.

3. Does not perform as well at higher altitudes.

4. Potentially shorter display life span although the gap has been reduced due to technology improvements.

LCD TV Overview

LCD televisions, on the other hand, use a different technology.

Basically, LCD panels are made of two layers of transparent material, which are polarised, and are "glued" together. One of the layers is coated with a special polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals. Current is then passed through individual crystals, which allow the crystals to pass or block light to create images. LCD crystals do not produce their own light, so an external light source, such as florescent bulb is needed for the image created by the LCD to become visible to the viewer.

Unlike standard CRT and Plasma televisions, since there are no phosphors that light up, less power is needed for operation and the light source in an LCD television generates less heat than a Plasma or traditional television. Also, because of the nature of LCD technology, there is no radiation emitted from the screen itself.

The LCD television advantages over Plasma include:

1. No burn-in of static images.

2. Cooler running temperature.

3. No high altitude use issues.

4. Increased image brightness over Plasma, which makes LCD TVs better for viewing in brightly lit rooms.

5. Lighter weight (when comparing same screen sizes) than Plasma counterparts.

6. Longer display life used to be a factor, but now LCD and Plasma sets both have at least 60,000 hour or higher lifespans.

The disadvantages of LCD vs Plasma televisions include:

1. Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks, although the increasing incorporation of LED back-lighting has narrowed this gap.

2. Not as good at tracking motion (fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts). However, this is improving with the recent implementation of 120Hz screen refresh rates and 240 Hz processing in high-end LCD sets.

3. Although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.

4. LCD televisions are typically more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions for larger screens such as 60" and above.

LED Back-lighting

I mentioned above, there has been a lot of hype and confusion surrounding the introduction of "LED" Televisions. Even many marketing representatives and sales professionals that should know better are falsely explaining what an LED Television is to their prospective customers. To set the record straight, it is important to note that the LED designation refers to the back-light system used in some newer LCD Televisions, not the chips that produce the image content.

LCD chips and pixels do not produce their own light. In order for an LCD television to produce a visible image the LCD's pixels have to be "back-lit". For more specifics on the back-lighting process needed for LCD Televisions. LED TV's are still LCD TV's. It is just that these new sets use LED back-lights rather than the fluorescent-type backlights used in most other LCD TV's.

How LED Technology is Used In LCD TV's

The are currently two main ways that LED back-lighting is applied in LCD flat panel televisions.

One type of LED back-lighting is referred to as Edge Lighting. In this method, a series LED back-lights are placed along the outside edges of the screen. The light is then dispersed across the screen. The advantage of this method is that the LED/LCD TV can be made very thin. On the other hand, the disadvantage of Edge Lighting is that black levels are not as deep and the edge area of the screen has a tendency to be brighter than the center area of the screen.

The other type of LED back-lighting is referred to as Full-Array. In this method, several rows of LED's are placed behind the entire surface of the screen. The advantage is that these sets can employ "local dimming". Local dimming means that each LED or a specific group of LED's can be turned on and off independently within certain areas of the screen, thus providing more control of the brightness and darkness for each those areas, depending on the source material being displayed. On the other hand, LCD TVs that employ full array back-lighting are thicker than LCD TV's that employ an Edge-lit LED light source.

If you are considering the purchase of an LED/LCD Television, find out which brands and models are currently using the Edge or Full Array method and take of a look at each type when you go shopping to see which type of LED back-lighting looks best to you.

LED/LCD Televisions vs Standard LCD Televisions

Since LED's are designed differently than standard fluorescent back-light systems, this means that the new LED back-lit LCD sets offer the following differences with standard LCD sets:

1. Lower power consumption.

2. No Mercury used as in some other LCD back-light systems.

3. More balanced colour saturation.

4. In LED/LCD TV's using the Full Array black-light method, there is little or no light leakage in dark scenes. This contributes to even better black levels than traditional or LED Edge-lit LCD televisions.

5. LED/LCD TV's that use the Edge back-light method can be made much thinner than both standard LCD and Full Array LED/LCD televisions.

LED back-light does represent an advance in technology, mostly in bringing LCD TV's up to the performance levels of Plasma Televisions in terms of black level performance, and, at the same time, making even thinner LCD TV designs possible.

On the other hand, because LED back-lighting is new for LCD TV's, these sets are more expensive that non-LED back-lit sets.

Now you know the reason for why there are such a difference in price between different LCD TV's, basically you get what you pay for.

HAPPY SHOPPING!

[astral]

Here is a view on the Plasma screen life issue.

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/plasmatv-lifespan.html

I was wrong. :jap:

Mind you the electric bill might make your think twice........

Enjoy your buying spree.

Be guided by your eyes, and take the wife with you, her opinion is most important.

[MikeyIdea]

Plasma = cheaper, runs hotter (uses more energy I guess), very good for UBC

LCD = less cheap, a bit cooler, better for DVD's

LED = most expensive, coolest - energy efficient, good for UBC, DVD, HD broadcasts. Was told that LED picture difference is no different than LCD, just the technology for illumination etc. ??? But I am no expert for sure.

Personal opinion, LED is not worth it yet but is the way of the future.

Jimmy, when you talk about Plasma being cheaper, I take it you mean the original purchase price & not the running costs? What about this Neo Plasma I saw yesterday? Is that new technology or old technology with a new lable?

cheers mate.

Newer generation Samsung Plasma does not take a lot of electricity any longer. You will notice absolutely nothing on your electricity bill

[Benjie]

My two cents worth is this... I am in the industry of film and television and am presently the only 3D shooter in Thailand. HD took about 5+ years to roll out, 3D has taken a few months with the likes of Avatar pushing the envelope. There are three versions of 3D and you must wear the 3D glasses to view 3D - the TV sets are now selling like hot cakes in Australia, US, Japan and Korea. But the point is - they are expensive and like all technology, it will become cheaper!

But come to the viewing. HD with Blue Ray is at present my choice. I would not go 3D just yet until the technology improves. 3D capability TV's now mostly do not need 'down converters', you just plug in to the HDMI slot or USB thumb drives and the 3D plays/is viewable (as long as you have the glasses) but right now they are costly and of no real benefit.

But Plasma as opposed to LCD - suggest you look at the pixel output and that will give you clarity. The higher the pixel output (suggest look at 1080p not 1080i) and you will be able to work out what you want. The cost of looking at it is up to you and how many hours as affects electricity consumption. Clarity of picture with 3D capability is what I would be going for and don't worry about the plasma or LCD - but try to get the thinnest screen!

So you're a professional in the film and television industry? Yet don't know the difference between 1080i and 1080p?

It's impossible to have a digital display not run in a natively progressive mode, there is no such thing as a 1080i LCD, Plasma or LED TV. These are progressive only, therefore they are generally 480p, (1024x768), 720p, 768p or 1080p

Also both 1080i and 1080p are1920x1080 pixels, the difference is in how the data is sent (all at once or in two batches).

[neverdie]

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Holy dooley batman, Thats alot of good information there stgrhe & I really appreciate it.

I havent had time this week, but am hoping to get down to the shops mid next week to narrow my decisions down.

In your opinion & you seem to have some knowledge of what you're talking about, are there any models one should seriously consider or perhaps avoid when looking at these things.

I must also indicate I saw a couple of LCD's that I thought were pretty good but I didnt know about time lag, so I intend to watch something fast moving on them in the shops to see if the old eyes will pick it up, verses say a plasma. I'm thinking around the 40-42 inch size will do me, its about right for the room size etc.

Wish you could go shopping for me, I absolutely hate this <deleted>.

[neverdie]

and take the wife with you, her opinion is most important.

So she keeps telling me astral, so she keeps telling me.

[MikeyIdea]

HAPPY SHOPPING!

so I intend to watch something fast moving on them in the shops to see if the old eyes will pick it up, verses say a plasma.

There's a big difference in fast moving scenes on the cheaper models and still a decent difference also on expensive ones. Don't expect the promo stuff they run to be highlighting the weak sides of LCD

[neverdie]

which is probably why someone said to take my own dvd's, of which i dont have many..LOL, so organised

[stgrhe]

In your opinion & you seem to have some knowledge of what you're talking about, are there any models one should seriously consider or perhaps avoid when looking at these things.

If Plasma was your choice and Pioneer still made their plasmas then that would be the one I would recommend. Pioneer had a better, but more costly technique, than other plasma manufacturer and about two years ago they opted to pull out of this market, a pity really as they were superior.

For some reason I do not particularly like LG's although I have no evidence that they are poorer or better than other manufacturer. It's simply that they always seem to come out second best whenever I have compare them with another brand. Samsung's 50" LCD with LED back-light appears to me and should I buy a set today that would be my choice. I would, however, not chose one with extra-all as I have no interest in making my TV a computer and will thus not pay for the things I do not need or want.

[Benjie]

You mean 55" LED Backlit LCD?

These are available pretty cheap at 65k baht, all of the panels in a range tend to be identical, the higher model number often just adds electronic gizmos that rarely if ever do little to differentiate the picture.

[neverdie]

Wow 50 inch, that is a mans sized telly. I have a particular problem with Samsung, I mentioned it before. I had a big problem with a samsung product and it took 9 months of hel_l, dealing with them day in day out, having them at the house half a million times and I virtually had to turn myself inside out and upside down before they finally gave me a full refund. As a result I am running very cold on them. This wasnt a TV related product but something like that really leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I actually said something like, "It will be a cold day in hel_l before I buy another samsung product". But it seems they are a major player in the LCD field.

[basjke]

First of all let's clear some misconceptions here. There are only three different display types:

1. Cathode Ray Tubes (the conventional TV);

2. Plasmas; and

3. LCD's

Hence, there are in fact no LED-televisions as these are LCD's with LED back-lights, which is an entirely different thing than a LED-display. So for the simplicity of comparing the types the so-called LED's can be neglected.

Plasma Televisions

Plasma television technology is based loosely on the fluorescent light bulb. The display itself consists of cells. Within each cell two glass panels are separated by a narrow gap in which neon-xenon gas is injected and sealed in plasma form during the manufacturing process. The gas is electrically charged at specific intervals when the Plasma set is in use. The charged gas then strikes red, green, and blue phosphors, thus creating a television image. Each group of red, green, and blue phosphors is called a pixel (picture element).

Although Plasma television technology eliminate the need for the bulky picture tube and electron beam scanning of traditional televisions, because it still employs the burning of phosphors to generate an image, Plasma televisions still suffer from some of the drawbacks of traditional televisions, such as heat generation and screen-burn of static images.

Someone mentioned above that plasma is an old technique but that is not true, it is in fact also a technique of tomorrow. Having said that, plasma technique used in television sets has it limits and draw-backs like any technique.

The advantages of Plasma over LCD are: 1. Larger screen size availability at affordable prices.

2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.

3. Better colour accuracy and saturation.

4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).

The disadvantages of Plasma vs LCD include:

1. Plasma TV's are more susceptible to burn-in of static images. However, this problem has diminished greatly in recent years as a result of the incorporation "pixel orbiting" and related technologies.

2. Plasma TV's generate more heat, and thus use more electricity, than LCD's, due to the need to light of phosphors to create the images.

3. Does not perform as well at higher altitudes.

4. Potentially shorter display life span although the gap has been reduced due to technology improvements.

LCD TV Overview

LCD televisions, on the other hand, use a different technology.

Basically, LCD panels are made of two layers of transparent material, which are polarised, and are "glued" together. One of the layers is coated with a special polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals. Current is then passed through individual crystals, which allow the crystals to pass or block light to create images. LCD crystals do not produce their own light, so an external light source, such as florescent bulb is needed for the image created by the LCD to become visible to the viewer.

Unlike standard CRT and Plasma televisions, since there are no phosphors that light up, less power is needed for operation and the light source in an LCD television generates less heat than a Plasma or traditional television. Also, because of the nature of LCD technology, there is no radiation emitted from the screen itself.

The LCD television advantages over Plasma include:

1. No burn-in of static images.

2. Cooler running temperature.

3. No high altitude use issues.

4. Increased image brightness over Plasma, which makes LCD TVs better for viewing in brightly lit rooms.

5. Lighter weight (when comparing same screen sizes) than Plasma counterparts.

6. Longer display life used to be a factor, but now LCD and Plasma sets both have at least 60,000 hour or higher lifespans.

The disadvantages of LCD vs Plasma televisions include:

1. Lower contrast ratio, not as good rendering deep blacks, although the increasing incorporation of LED back-lighting has narrowed this gap.

2. Not as good at tracking motion (fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts). However, this is improving with the recent implementation of 120Hz screen refresh rates and 240 Hz processing in high-end LCD sets.

3. Although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on an LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired, the whole screen would need to be replaced at that point, if the individual pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.

4. LCD televisions are typically more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions for larger screens such as 60" and above.

LED Back-lighting

I mentioned above, there has been a lot of hype and confusion surrounding the introduction of "LED" Televisions. Even many marketing representatives and sales professionals that should know better are falsely explaining what an LED Television is to their prospective customers. To set the record straight, it is important to note that the LED designation refers to the back-light system used in some newer LCD Televisions, not the chips that produce the image content.

LCD chips and pixels do not produce their own light. In order for an LCD television to produce a visible image the LCD's pixels have to be "back-lit". For more specifics on the back-lighting process needed for LCD Televisions. LED TV's are still LCD TV's. It is just that these new sets use LED back-lights rather than the fluorescent-type backlights used in most other LCD TV's.

How LED Technology is Used In LCD TV's

The are currently two main ways that LED back-lighting is applied in LCD flat panel televisions.

One type of LED back-lighting is referred to as Edge Lighting. In this method, a series LED back-lights are placed along the outside edges of the screen. The light is then dispersed across the screen. The advantage of this method is that the LED/LCD TV can be made very thin. On the other hand, the disadvantage of Edge Lighting is that black levels are not as deep and the edge area of the screen has a tendency to be brighter than the center area of the screen.

The other type of LED back-lighting is referred to as Full-Array. In this method, several rows of LED's are placed behind the entire surface of the screen. The advantage is that these sets can employ "local dimming". Local dimming means that each LED or a specific group of LED's can be turned on and off independently within certain areas of the screen, thus providing more control of the brightness and darkness for each those areas, depending on the source material being displayed. On the other hand, LCD TVs that employ full array back-lighting are thicker than LCD TV's that employ an Edge-lit LED light source.

If you are considering the purchase of an LED/LCD Television, find out which brands and models are currently using the Edge or Full Array method and take of a look at each type when you go shopping to see which type of LED back-lighting looks best to you.

LED/LCD Televisions vs Standard LCD Televisions

Since LED's are designed differently than standard fluorescent back-light systems, this means that the new LED back-lit LCD sets offer the following differences with standard LCD sets:

1. Lower power consumption.

2. No Mercury used as in some other LCD back-light systems.

3. More balanced colour saturation.

4. In LED/LCD TV's using the Full Array black-light method, there is little or no light leakage in dark scenes. This contributes to even better black levels than traditional or LED Edge-lit LCD televisions.

5. LED/LCD TV's that use the Edge back-light method can be made much thinner than both standard LCD and Full Array LED/LCD televisions.

LED back-light does represent an advance in technology, mostly in bringing LCD TV's up to the performance levels of Plasma Televisions in terms of black level performance, and, at the same time, making even thinner LCD TV designs possible.

On the other hand, because LED back-lighting is new for LCD TV's, these sets are more expensive that non-LED back-lit sets.

Now you know the reason for why there are such a difference in price between different LCD TV's, basically you get what you pay for.

HAPPY SHOPPING!

If that isn't a nice copy and paste job.

http://hometheater.about.com/od/televisions/qt/ledlcdtvfacts.htm

I think it would be fair to the original author to mention your source. :jap:

[basjke]

In your opinion & you seem to have some knowledge of what you're talking about, are there any models one should seriously consider or perhaps avoid when looking at these things.

If Plasma was your choice and Pioneer still made their plasmas then that would be the one I would recommend. Pioneer had a better, but more costly technique, than other plasma manufacturer and about two years ago they opted to pull out of this market, a pity really as they were superior.

For some reason I do not particularly like LG's although I have no evidence that they are poorer or better than other manufacturer. It's simply that they always seem to come out second best whenever I have compare them with another brand. Samsung's 50" LCD with LED back-light appears to me and should I buy a set today that would be my choice. I would, however, not chose one with extra-all as I have no interest in making my TV a computer and will thus not pay for the things I do not need or want.

Although they stopped production Pioneer plama's are still widely available in every dealershop in Thailand.Look at a price ticket of at least double that of any other reputable brand.

[metisdead]

Hi Neverdie,

Back in March the wifey decided it was time for me to upgrade from our 6 or 7 year old 43" Sony. So, I bought a 50 inch Panasonic Plasma. At the time LG was selling a 50" Plasma at 30K Baht and a friend of mine has an older LG plasma and has had problems with it on more than 1 occasion so they were off my list. I ain't very technical myself, but this one works for me.

At the store, have them take the TV off of their DVD feed and get them to plug the local TV into the back of the telly to get a better idea of the picture you'll see here.

[neverdie]

^Ahh, another great tip. Thanks metisdead.

[Buckeye911]

Hi Neverdie,

Back in March the wifey decided it was time for me to upgrade from our 6 or 7 year old 43" Sony. So, I bought a 50 inch Panasonic Plasma. At the time LG was selling a 50" Plasma at 30K Baht and a friend of mine has an older LG plasma and has had problems with it on more than 1 occasion so they were off my list. I ain't very technical myself, but this one works for me.

At the store, have them take the TV off of their DVD feed and get them to plug the local TV into the back of the telly to get a better idea of the picture you'll see here.

You will find that the picture on your old CRT is probably better for displaying local TV broadcasts in SD. HDTVs can be stunning when displaying HD content but for SD broadcast television the old CRT is still better. This is especially true when people stretch and distort the picture to fill their widescreen.

[craigt3365]

I am in your same position. Looking to buy something fairly soon. At least 46", no more than 52". I have a Samsung 42" Plasma, 720. Overall, quite happy with it. It does run a bit hot, but who cares?

I have started to download quite a bit of movies. And now only do Blue Ray rips if available. Picture quality is pretty darn nice. My friend has a 55" Samsung LED. Man, when you watch a true Blue Ray DVD on that thing...well...it's orgasmic! Unreal picture. Truly stunning.

I can't afford that, but am trying to get the best I can....for about what you are budgeting...40k or so.

One thing I did notice. Plasma screens reflect much more than LCD screens. So, if your TV is across the room from a window, you get lots of reflection. That is a problem I am having with my current TV, and the reason I will probably go with LCD. Huge difference. My living room is surrounded with windows...so the TV has a lot to reflect during the day.

I am only looking at full HD TVs. HD is coming here in Thailand...slowly. We had great HD coverage back in the US. We sure miss it. Truly stunning pictures.

[astral]

Wow 50 inch, that is a mans sized telly.

I went from a 32" to a 40" LCD, but now wish I had waited a little and bought 50".........

Taking your own DVD's is excellent advice, then you know what you are looking at.

I used to carry my own cd's when auditioning for my audio system.

PS I know I said this in another thread, but I think it is worth repeating.

Consider the surface of the screen you are buying.

My old 32" LCD was a mat surface, the new 40" LCD is the "crystal bright technology", all shiny..........

It is difficult to avoid reflections from windows and lights in the room with these new screens

[neverdie]

^Yeah thanks for that astral, the chefs right onto that, she doesnt want a shiney glassy screen. The thing thats so annoying about this is theres too many choices. It's like freaking shampoo, 486 different types, who in hel_l needs that many options. CRAZY!

[Buckeye911]

Wow 50 inch, that is a mans sized telly.

I went from a 32" to a 40" LCD, but now wish I had waited a little and bought 50".........

Taking your own DVD's is excellent advice, then you know what you are looking at.

I used to carry my own cd's when auditioning for my audio system.

PS I know I said this in another thread, but I think it is worth repeating.

Consider the surface of the screen you are buying.

My old 32" LCD was a mat surface, the new 40" LCD is the "crystal bright technology", all shiny..........

It is difficult to avoid reflections from windows and lights in the room with these new screens

I know what you mean. I bought a 42" plasma in 2006 and it seemed huge but the more I watched the smaller it seemed. In 2008 I bought a 50" plasma and it seemed huge for a while too but now I'm getting the itch to go to 58" or even larger. The 32" LCD I've had in the bedroom for four years now seems about the size of a postage stamp. The point I'm trying to make is that you should buy the biggest display you can comfortably afford because after a while you may wish you had a larger screen.

[neverdie]

Nobody mentions these guys

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC-Lh1Lo4HA&feature=related

[Buckeye911]

^^^

It's beyond my means for sure. We do have a B&O store locally so I have had the opportunity to see their displays, they are beautiful but actual picture quality is on par with other top of the line displays. For pretty exorbitant prices they offer more features and sleek designs. There's a lot of buttons and gadgetry but the actual picture quality is not noticeably better, at least to my eyes.

[basjke]

^^^

It's beyond my means for sure. We do have a B&O store locally so I have had the opportunity to see their displays, they are beautiful but actual picture quality is on par with other top of the line displays. For pretty exorbitant prices they offer more features and sleek designs. There's a lot of buttons and gadgetry but the actual picture quality is not noticeably better, at least to my eyes.

I don't know the current situation,but in the past B & O tv's were actually philips.

[stgrhe]

^^^

It's beyond my means for sure. We do have a B&O store locally so I have had the opportunity to see their displays, they are beautiful but actual picture quality is on par with other top of the line displays. For pretty exorbitant prices they offer more features and sleek designs. There's a lot of buttons and gadgetry but the actual picture quality is not noticeably better, at least to my eyes.

I totally agree. B&O makes some beautiful sets and their designs beat anything but performance is not in in pair with their price level. I recon the B&O sets are the most over-rated on the market.

[neverdie]

Ive been doing a bit of reading online regarding the LED LCD TV's. Alot of positive reviews on the Samsung 55 inch (although the model numbers vary slightly from country to country). So then I dug around on google to see what the people are saying about them. GLAD I DID. There is literally hundreds, maybe thousands of complaints from owners of Samsung LCD Televisions online. Apparently there has been ongoing issues with Capacitors in the back of the tellies. Ive read complaints about everyting from clicking noises to the TV not turning on etc. Most the complaints tend to indicate TV's that were more than 1 year old (out of warranty) & expensive repair bills. Theres even guys replacing their own capacitors on youtube.

If you doubt what I say, just google Samsung TV clicking.

Its a pity because from what I've read, Samsung seems to have the pick of the pictures. Does anyone else know if they have rectified any of these issues in their latest range of TV's?

As Ive said before, once bitten twice shy, I really don't want to go back to the daily activity of telephoning Samsung in Bangkok & the whole rigmarole.

[astral]

I've not had a problem with either of my Samsung TV's, fingers crossed,

though I must say that the 40", out of the box, was not well setup.

The colours of the picture were awful.

However a google gave me some base line settings to work from, then

with a few tweaks the picture is now excellent

[bkk_mike]

One thing that should be mentioned if you're upcountry is that plasmas need more careful handling in transit.

i.e. When they say this way up on the box, they mean it...

(You can probably get away with it being laid flat on a smooth road, but I would make sure of the orientation if you're likely to be going over potholes.)

The other thing to watch out for is the resolution. You get some odd resolutions pn the cheaper plasmas (i.e. 1024x768), which would mean you get rectangular pixels if you ever hook it up to a computer.

LCDs and more expensive plasmas are generally 1366x768 or 1920x1080. Higher resolution is obviously better, but I know my eyesight is bad enough that most of the time I can't tell the difference unless I'm standing really close, or it's a really big screen. (I used to use a projector as my secondary TV - could only watch it at night because of light issues, but the picture was HUGE)

LCDs are basically bullet-proof in transit (except the really thin ones which might not appreciate bumpy roads if laid flat.

If you're watching SD pictures on it a lot, go for a good brand as they tend to have the better electronics for picture scaling. (ie. Toshiba, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, Philips and probably LG/Samsung). I'd avoid the brands you've never heard of on this alone...

[Buckeye911]

bkk_mike makes a good point. You should NEVER transport a plasma screen laying flat. The reason LCDs can be transported flat and plasmas cannot is because of the weight of the glass on the plasma screens. Transporting them flat may cause too much stress on the panel and it could crack.