Dell 37" LCD review

Justyntym

The Pessimistic Optimist
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Finally got the direct tv HD installed (thank God). I went with LCD because I heard plasma has a tendency to "burn out" or lose brightness over time (3-4 years or so).

Anyhow, the set is gorgeous however...if it's a bright outdoor show, the picture is just...almost beyond description.  BUT...if the scene is more darkly lit or indoors...the picture seems...smokey. The set doesn't seem to do black very well or crisply.

Should be great for football, but for the black of space (sci-fi nut that I am) I personally feels it leaves something to be desired.

In rhetrospect, I wish I got the Plasma. I am a junkie for the brightest vibrant picture.

It's not the cables,etc....I'm hooked up with Monster Cable HMDI. I'v also messed quite extensively with the picture controls.

Overall it's a great looking set but I could wish for a little more umph in the brightness color zone. Football will definately ROCK though. Next time I go plasma or whatever similar technology they have at the time of my next purchase.
 
Return it and get your Plasma. I agree with you about the messed up blacks. I havent found too many affordable LCDs that do blacks and greys well...
 
I like the LCD better, I just bought the same 37 you have for work device and its great... Im not sold on plasma
 
Packing that thing up and shipping it back would be a serious pain ITA (assuming Dell would even take it). Not to mention the plasma bumps it up $400 extra bucks to over 2 grand.

I'll probably just hang onto it and buy a plasma in a couple years (really big one) and move this set to the #2 pole position.

Still, I might just give it a try...hmmm.
 
(captain @ Sep. 06 2006,20:21) I like the LCD better, I just bought the same 37 you have for work device and its great... Im not sold on plasma
Plasma just seems so darn bright.

The other thing about LCD I notice is any fast action (even hand waving, I was watching Letterman in HD) and his hands kinda stutter a bit.

A big negative...I was reading on Dells site and it said the plasma should retain 50% of it's brightness for at least 60,000 hours....Half as bright in X amount of years and nothing you can do about it.
 
JYT,

The weird look you get from black may have something to do with the digital satellite feed. I just bought a Sony HD tube TV and have DTV and notice that when the screen gets black the black looks weird, but only when almost completely black or fading from one scene to the next.

In short I don't believe it's the TV. Also, Plasmas are better when the picture you are watching is in motion. LCD is better for still images. I would go LCD as well because I keep my TVs for a long time and gas induced Plasmas will die out and worthless, although several years down the road. You can replace the lighting bulb for the LCD which will make it almost new again.
 
You can replace the lighting bulb for the LCD which will make it almost new again. [/Quote]
I think thats the projection LCD's.
 
(newmill @ Sep. 06 2006,20:49) You can replace the lighting bulb for the LCD which will make it almost new again.
I think thats the projection LCD's.[/Quote]
This may help:

LONGEVITY

LCD television manufacturers claim that their displays last, on average, 50,000 to 65,000 hours. In fact, an LCD TV will last as long as its backlight does - and those bulbs can sometimes be replaced! Since this is nothing more than light passing through a prismatic substrate, there is essentially nothing to wear out in an LCD monitor. However, one nasty little known fact about LCD technology is that as the backlight ages it can change colors slightly (think of florescent office lighting). When this occurs the white balance of the entire LCD TV will be thrown for a loop and the user will need to re-calibrate, or worse, try to replace the backlighting or ditch the unit altogether. Some of the early purchasers of larger LCD screens will be learning this tidbit in a couple of years. One thing that I've found in this industry, it is not easy to find out whether the backlighting on LCDs can be replaced. Manufacturers are either hesitant to discuss the topic, or they just don't know.

Plasma, on the other hand, utilizes slight electric currents to excite a combination of noble gases (i.e., argon, neon, xenon), which glow red, blue, and/or green. This is an essentially active phenomenon, so the phosphoric elements in plasma displays fade over time. Many manufacturers state a new half life of 60,000 hours. While I am skeptical of this spec, I do believe strides have been made to nearly even the playing field with LCD. At half life, the phosphors in a plasma screen will glow half as brightly as they did when the set was new. There is no way to replace these gases; the display simply continues to grow dimmer with use.

ADVANTAGE: Even, depending upon manufacturer quality.

Here's the article updated Jan. 06'
http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtv-plasmavslcd.shtml
 
You are all wrong...

Sure ya Need to Pack up the LCD. BUT Replace it with a Better LCD Alternative, more flexible than Plasma, while only weighing in at 77lbs for a 50" version.

DLP Folks. The wife and I have had one now for 3 years an it's awesome. No Burn in, use it for a computer, video games, Wide format or regular WITHOUT burn in concerns of some Big Screen and all Plasmas. It means you can watch regular TV in the 4:3 all you want without risk of burning an image.

TI's newest 3rd or fourth generation DLP chips allow excellent color reproduction, low weight, and high efficiency. Nothing to burn out, except a bulb that is easily self replaced.

My .02 anyway. Good stuff.

Alternatively, Find a Good LCD Projector Takes up NO floor space, and you can have an image about any size you want.
 
I went plasma and have a DLP for sale. The DLP is projector not an internal. it was okay until I realised the BLACKS are only equal to the amount of light in the room reflecting on a white screen - then I couldn't live with it. I went plasma, and even though the black is better than LCD, it still is not as good as glass. In retrospect, I fell I would have been happiest with an HD glass tube, but those are fading fast now days. sucks when new "better" technology is a step backwards quality wise for steeper price tags.

My plasma has a low/high power setting, and oddly enough, I think the picture is better tuned in with the power setting low. Theoretically, that should help the screen last longer also instead of burning out so quick. And nobody would look at it and think it looks to dark. Works great.
 
i went with a dlp sony and love it.the only prob ive seen is fast motion does get a little jumpy from time to time but aside from that it was worth every dollar.you can always have someone certified from the imaging science foundation come and "tune up" your tv but its kinda high.no tv comes from the factory with acurrate colors.i havent had mine done yet either.not sure how much they can fix black though that ones a toughy.anyone else buying in the future just go to cnet and do a little research it helped me a great deal deciding which tv to buy.
 
(Justyntym @ Sep. 06 2006,20:27)
(captain @ Sep. 06 2006,20:21) I like the LCD better, I just bought the same 37 you have for work device and its great... Im not sold on plasma
Plasma just seems so darn bright.

The other thing about LCD I notice is any fast action (even hand waving, I was watching Letterman in HD) and his hands kinda stutter a bit.

A big negative...I was reading on Dells site and it said the plasma should retain 50% of it's brightness for at least 60,000 hours....Half as bright in X amount of years and nothing you can do about it.
which cables/connections did you end up using? Which dpi setting are you using?

runeight
 
the panasonic has the best picture. Next time you are at Sams Club/Walmart or Best Buy etc: just check out the panisonic.

Consumer reports rates it the highest also.
 
NOW GO OUT AND BY A VIDEO ESSENTIALS HIGH DEFINATION AUDIO/VIDEO ADJUSTMENT DVD FOR ABOUT $40.00 AND USE THE DIGITAL TEST IMAGES TO SET THAT TV TO NEAR PERFECTION!

You will thank me later for this one!

JD
 
I'm using HMDI800 4' monster cable, when I set the HDTV reciever up it asked me and I picked 720p even though both set and reciever are capable of 1080i. I haven't bother to change the resolution to see if it was better.
 
Just changed it to 1080i...seems to handle movement much better and color is brighter (unless it's just that particular show).

Either way, HD and this TV kick arse. Watching Steelers and Dolphins and I'm marveling at the TV so much...I'm not watching the game. Kids asked me who's winning..."uhh...I'm not sure"
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how bout the wallet that it used to come in.....any chance of that being any brighter lol
 
(chrisjp @ Sep. 07 2006,19:59) how bout the wallet that it used to come in.....any chance of that being any brighter lol
rock.gif


What...my wallet is fine thank you.
 
I had a panasonic 50 inch LCD and had nothing but problems out of it in the first year I must have changed 2 lamps and a ballast. In all I had 4 lamps go down and they replaced 2 ballast. They replaced it with a 56 inch DLP .....FREE
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And the Blacks and greys are much better with a DLP than an LCD . The problem you are having might just be from the signal your getting . I know here in Florida Brighthouse just updated their firmware and it screwed everything up. The Digital and HD channels look great but the SD channels leave something to be desired and no amount of tickering with the controls is gonna make a bad signal look better.
Do you have a pass through feature on you set top box ?
 
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