If it helps anyone in this thread, the Samsung is positively gorgeous. It's a gigantic step up from our old LCD (Sharp Aquous). However, it looks smaller. Both are 46" TVs, but the plastic frame around the Sharp was about 2 inches wide...but there's virtually no frame around the Samsung. Makes it look smaller, but the picture fills the entire viewing area, which is great. My wife remarked: "We could have gotten the 50" one easily." Well...we DID get it at CostCo, wifey, so we can return it...
We ended up getting an LG 47-inch LM6200. Got it mounted and it's so head and shoulders above the picture quality on the old Westinghouse that it's like getting HD all over again. The picture quality makes movies lo0k like they're on video, which seems a little weird. I put Titanic on today because it was on HBO, and my wife ended up watching most of it just to look at the beadwork and detail on all of Kate Winslet's dresses. The energy saving mode seems stupid, or I'm just not getting something. I had it on at first, and it basically dims the backlighting, which makes the picture quality really dark. When I finally turned it off, it was like, "Oh, that suddenly looks right." Saw this video: And it says the color calibration is really off. I noticed that today, but honestly, the picture is so good that I'm not complaining. They say something about hooking up a calibrator. Anyone know what that's about?
That's not the picture quality, it's "motion compensation" or something similarly-named. You can turn it off in the menus. Basically, your TV, trying to make up for the limitations of LCD technology, is inventing frames in between the real frames and showing you those, which gives it a weird, unnatural, smooth feel (not to be confused with the weird, natural, smooth feel of actual 48/60fps film).
Every time I see one of those TVs with motion compensation turned on I want to hit it with a sledgehammer and say something clever like "COMPENSATE FOR THAT!"
Yeah, step one is almost always to turn off various processing effects that the manufacturer has cleverly invented to get between you and actual enjoyment of your purchase. Unless you like it looking that way, in which case you'd be the first person I've met to do so.
On my Sharp it's a little deceptive where to turn things off -- most of the time I've turned it off under Motion Interpolation (240, 120, or 'off'), but it was still happening so I had to go to Film Mode and set it to "None" as well.
Have any of you had any experience with PixelProtector or other similar products that purport to reverse IR or burn-in or whatever you want to call it? Sadly, my partner's addiction to Borderlands 2 has done a number on our Panasonic plasma. I'm currently running the built-in IR tool that has black and white bands moving horizontally across the screen, but it only runs for 15 minutes at a time.
Similarly, does anyone have any ideas about LCD burn-in? Netflix on XBox with ALL THE RED made it so black ain't black anymore, and it's been that way for months. It is an old 42" LCD though, so perhaps it is just age....
It sounds like just age. None of my LCDs have had any burn in comparable to what I've seen with plasmas.
That's disappointing to hear! I have a 42" Panasonic Plasma that I've had for two years (new), and i've noticed some burn in after marathon gaming as well. However it usually goes away by itself. The IR tool did work when I left my computer on it one time and it was really bad. Wish I could offer something more! Good luck and let us know what you eventually end up doing.
I had this with my old 42" Westinghouse. When researching, I found this. I did it. It didn't help at all. I ended up buying a new TV.
Ugh. Our plan is to just let the TV run on a random movie channel (without a corner logo) when we're not watching it to see if that helps a little. However, as we speak, my partner is in the den playing Borderlands 2.
Hrg. I've got a Sony SXRD KDSR-50XBR1 rear projection TV. For a few weeks now I've noticed that the image is very yellow. It's gotten bad enough that I'm going to call the repair place, but my preliminary research online suggests bad news. It seems to be an inherent problem for these TVs and while Sony did offer a warranty extension, I'm probably beyond even that (bought the set in 2006). If it costs too much to fix, I'm just going to buy a new set. Any suggestions for something in the 50 to 60 inch range?
Did you buy it with a credit card? If Sony did a warranty extension, and you can document when the warranty extension finished, your credit card company might extend that by 1 year.
Can't remember, but I don't think that will even help. The tech is here now and he's saying that it will cost $600 to $650 to fix, including shipping and labor. Fugh. Now I need to decide whether or not to spend a little more to buy a new set. Edit: My baby!
I am rapidly coming to the same conclusion. Looking at these options right now: Panasonic 50" Plasma Smart 3D Samsung 55" LED Leaning towards the Samsung, for the extra size, higher ratings, LED, and the fact that I care nothing about apps or 3D. I may have to pull the trigger on this today, though, since there are some President's Day sales going on right now.
I own this television. You will not be disappointed. It is one of the nicest TVs I've ever seen, much less owned, in that price range. Go for it.
I've currently got a 42 inch Sony Trinitron circa early 1990s that weighs near 200 lbs, and with me moving a few towns away soon I don't want to break my back or waste valuable space in the moving truck with this thing, the picture quality being as terrible as it is, and no available widescreen or HD on it. The plan is to "forget" to pack it. That said, I need a new one and would like something with HD/widescreen, flat panel. Not wall mounted, I have a decent TV cabinet to set it on. I don't honestly know the difference between LED and LCD . I know what they stand for, but I don't know what that means for the quality of the picture. The newest TV in my house is pre-2000 so I'm not exactly looking for a home theater experience, just something to watch the news and occasional show on and have it not look terrible. I'm willing to go down as far as 30 inches, any less would honestly not be worth it. I'd like to spend no more than $180, which i'm not sure is even possible looking at TV prices online, but my budget is extremely limited/nonexistent. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Off the top of my head: Light Emitting Diode and Liquid Crystal Display. 180? Oof, that's a tight budget. You okay with used? LCDs in the 32 inch range on amazon seem to be close to that price.
Yeah, I know what they stand for. I just don't know what the difference actually is as far as TVs go. Burn in? Long time to turn on/off? Poor picture quality? And yeah, $180 is a very poor budget for a TV, but I don't have much of a choice as all funds are going towards the move at the moment. I am ok with used, although I wouldn't buy anything electronic used online, I've had bad experiences in the past.
LED is just LCD with an LED backlight instead of a fluorescent one. It lets them be thinner, it gives them a bit more uniformity of backlighting, and on more expensive models it lets them dim the backlight to improve contrast/black levels. But it's the same fundamental technology.
That seems like a pretty good deal, I will probably grab it unless my local pawnshops have a better one. Thanks!
No problem. I checked some other places (Amazon, Newegg, Frys, Walmart, Dell), but that Best Buy one is the best deal I could find on a 32" flat panel for ~$180 or less.
Actually, I just found this 32" refurbished LCD on Tiger Direct for $169, but I don't know what the shipping costs are there.
If I'm going refurbished, I might as well pony up the extra couple dollars for a name brand. Thanks, though.
Ended up buying a Coby 32" from a local pawnshop. Was brand new and still in the box, got a pretty good deal on it. Coby is not the greatest, I've heard, but for the cost I suppose I could afford to replace it in a few years.
