also what is the difference and what is better plasma, led, lcd? Will the tv come with everything i need to get broadcast hd? What is 720 vs 1080?
Answer
Remember that just because they have the "same specs" they may not be the same. Example: one of two similar TVs may have double the number of inputs (HDMI; component-red, green and blue; composite-red, white and yellow...)
720 vs 1080:
720 stands for the 720 horizontal scan lines of display resolution (also known as 720 pixels of vertical resolution).
1080 stands for the 1,080 horizontal scan lines of display resolution (also known as 1080 pixels of vertical resolution).
The more horizontal lines on a display the more detail it can show = better resolution.
p vs i
Interlaced Scan - Interlacing divides the horizontal scan lines of display into odd and even lines and then alternately refreshes the display between all of the odd lines and then all of the even lines.
Progressive Scan - scans the entire picture line by line. In other words, captured images are not split into separate fields like in interlaced scanning they are "whole" images. Think of this as the same way the film in a movie projector works at the cinema. Progressive Scan is considered to be better than Interlaced Scan.
LCD:
The so-called "LED TV" is an LCD TV. The only difference is the backlighting technology - the actual LCD panels are exactly the same as other LCD televisions. Traditional LCD TVs use CCFL backlights (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp) - think thin fluorescent tubes with a diffusing panel inside to spread the light evenly around the screen. Meanwhile, "LED TVs" (or to be more precise, LED-lit LCD TVs) use LED elements for the lighting source (think "Lite Brite" pegs, but all of them white).
PROS:
Reflections and glare are much less of an issue, good choice for brightly lighted rooms, no risk of burn-in of static images, use somewhat less power than plasma sets
CONS:
Lower viewing angle, lower ability to display the deepest blacks, the image can lose contrast, look washed out, or lose color accuracy as you angle away from the center of the screen, most LCD TVs can't display deepest black or distinguish subtle shades of gray and black, fast-moving images might blur, uneven backlight brightness has been an issue with LCD TVs, but the use of LED backlighting instead of fluorescent lights in some new sets potentially enables them to more evenly distribute light across the back of the panel for more consistent brightness on all parts of the screen, LEDs also use less energy than conventional lamps.
Plasma:
PROS:
It's hard to beat the best plasma TV sets for accurate colors, deep blacks, great contrast, virtually unlimited viewing angle, and fast motion won't blur.
CONS:
Plasma TVs are fairly heavy, reflections from a plasma TV's shiny screen, static images displayed for extended periods can burn in temporarily, and could become permanent if you consistently leave the same pattern onscreen over a long period. But that seems to have been more of a problem with earlier plasma TVs.
TV Inputs:
For connecting things like DVD players, Blu-ray Players, and gaming systems. List from best quality picture to the least.
HD Video:
HDMI - Does video and audio in one cable
DVI
Component - Red, Green, Blue
SD Video:
S-Video
Composite - Red, White, Yellow
Other things to consider when buying:
One of the most critical considerations with any TV is the number and type of inputs it has for hooking up devices to your TV. Also keep in mind where those connections are - front, side or rear- for quick hook ups. The connections a TV has is usually why two similar TVs can vary so much in price. Does the LCD TV have 120Hz or 240Hz technology - this helps to reduce the tendency to blur during scenes with fast motion, such as sports programs. Anti-glare screens - several plasma manufacturers are now offering screens with anti-glare surfaces, which can help reduce reflectivity off the screen's surface. If the sales person talks about contrast ratio - the higher the better - keep in mind that there a several ways to measure this and each manufacturer uses a different method, so it is really only good for comparing models for that manufacturer.
As for the TV coming with everything you need to get broadcast hd, that depends on what you mean by that. How do you want to receive your channels? Over-the-Air, cable, or Satellite? For over-the-air the TV would be good to go assuming you already have an antenna. Don't count on "rabbit ears" you are much better off with a roof top antenna. For cable or satellite you will likely need to get a set-top/converter box from your service provider to receive HD channels from them.
Last, and this is in my opinion, I feel that plasma TVs give you the best quality picture from a non-HD source. Remember not everything is broadcast in HD. This standard definition source it not going to look as good on an HDTV as it would on a SDTV.
Plasma T.V.'s and video games?
foureyedmo
We are thinking about getting a new T.V., my children play video games, PS2 and the Wii can these be played on a plasma or should we go with an LCD? Also can you get HD in LCD or just plasma? I don't always trust sales people so any advice would be great.
Answer
Despite what you might hear from salesmen or people who have bought into the LCD marketing rhetoric, modern plasma TVs no longer have problems with burn-in, and have not for the last several generations. What you can occasionally see on a plasma HDTV is image retention which is a temporary condition that only occurs if the TV is set brighter than it should be and you have fixed icons (like the CNN logo or health meters on a video game) for extended periods of time. But image retention is temporary and can usually be immediately reversed using a plasma TV's built in "image cleaner" or similar function. also, if you set the TV to its "standard" or "movie" mode, which adjusts brightness and contrast to more accurate levels, then you should never see image retention under normal circumstances.
I test and review TVs for a living and have seen the best possible picture quality from plasma HDTVs due to their superior black levels and color saturation. A TV with excellent black level (contrast) can create images that virtually pop off the screen, they look so three-dimensional. The best plasmas come from Pioneer, Panasonic and Samsung, though recently LG has come up with some good ones, and the very latest VIZIOs (which use Panasonic panels) are also quite good.
Don't get me wrong, there are some excellent LCD TVs as well, specifically the LED-backlit models from Sony and Samsung, but these are still prohibitively expensive, and some question remains as to the relative aging of the red, green and blue LED lighting elements in the backlight modules. It's likely that an RGB LED-backlit LCD flat panel TV will need to be re-calibrated annually to compensate for this uneven aging of light modules.
For now, plasma is still superior to LCD in picture quality as far as flat panel TV technology goes and the issues that USED to be a concern for plasma (burn-in, longevity, brightness, screen reflectivity) are now non-issues as long as you stay with the name brands noted above. The major advantage of LCD TV over plasma is a lower cost of manufacturing (which gives the manufacturers more marketing dollars).
I have personally been using a Wii anda PS3 on a plasma for the last year with absolutely no ill effects. Plasma TVs are actually superior to LCD for gaming because plasmas have far fewer problems with motion trails and motion smearing. Sure, you can minimize this with a 120 Hz LCD TV, but then you get image lag, which is a much more serious issue to gamers who like their screens to refresh in real time.
I fully expect a few "thumbs down" on this answer because people who just bought expensive new LCD TVs will want to express their dissatisfaction with my opinion (which happens to be the truth).
And as an aside to "Sound Labs" (below) the anti-image retention features built into modern plasma TVs (like automatic pixel shift) are *exactly* how the well-designed name brand plasmas minimize image retention and avoid burn-in. These features were absent on first, second and even third generation plasmas, which is one of the reasons why these TVs were much more susceptible to image retention and burn-in. Panasonic is now up to their 11th generation plasma panel. Think maybe they've learned something about this over time?
If you buy a no-name plasma (Akai, Viore, Polaroid, or a refurbished VIZIO), then all bets are off. But if you stick with a Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung, even a more recent LG or VIZIO, you're good to go!
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