lcd tv?

[dsbunton646]

The wife and I have finally jumped off the deep end and are building a new house. We currently have a 65" sony hd projection tv, but want to upgrade to a lcd in the new home. The plan is to flush the new tv in the wall above the firplace. So I am looking for something in the 46" to 55" range. I had no idea there were so many to choose from. Anyone have any suggestions as far as brand ? i like the Samsung but i really have no experience with these lcd tv's. Anybody have one ? pros cons?

 

[warp10]

get the Samsung LED, it is the latest for sharpness and clarity. The LCD is now old hat, not that the LCD is bad, just that the LED is even better. Plasma sucks too much power. That is just where I mounted mine, above the fireplace, just make sure it is not too high.

 

[GSXcite]

Samsung

 

[thrasherfox]

Here, this should be a good upgrade for you

KDL-70XBR3 | 70" BRAVIA XBR Series LCD HD Television | Sony | Sony Style USA

 

[Spectre]

also be aware of emerging technologies like 3D. from my understanding movies like UP will be released in blueray and have a 3D option. newer TV sets have the ability to show 3D and several do it without the glasses (the sets actually beam separately to your left and right eye) so you won't have to guess what parts of Harry Potter to put them on.

 

[outlawbusa]

Samsung

+1 Samsung is making good stuff these days.

I have a sony bravia and don't think you could go wrong with that one.

Whatever you choose, just make sure you can see it working in the store before purchasing. You can tell a big difference in picture quality just by visual comparison, then start looking into the fine variables of the tv's.

I know some of the bad quality in the store may be from the cable connections, and that's what the salesman will tell you...but when you walk into the next store and the same brand does the same thing you know it's not all a bad connection.

 

[aka Danksy]

Panasonic 50 inch C1 1080p

Brand new, 600hz

Better color than any lcd, less buck than most, and now uses less energy with longer life and no burn in.

Go to any tv store and ask a tv sales associate what they have at home, they will all say panny plasma's

There legit.

Samsung makes the best lcd but still go side by side these two you will love it for about 600 less last time I checked
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[SKnight]

Don't have a lot of input for the TV, but I'd recommend against flushing it in. At some point you'll change to bigger, different, something and what you get might not fit properly.

 

[theskaz]

the top 2 are samsung and sony. i have a bravia w series 52 in. best bang for the buck IMO. the Samsung LED is just plaain sick.....

 

[Sannosuke]

I'm in the market for something in the 50 to 55 range too,

Hope this helps;

LED TV vs. LCD TV

Reviewer: Phil Connor

LED TVs are technically a member of the LCD TV family. The display screen on a LED is a liquid crystal display the same as it is on any other LCD TV. The main difference between the two lies with different backlighting techniques which may change the picture quality characteristics dramatically.

Traditional LCDs have used some form of flourescent lighting from tubes to much more advanced flat arrays of lights. LED TVs use Light Emitting Diodes to light the LCD panel. Just as there are different styles of flourescent lights in traditional LCDs there are also different styles of LED backlighting. There are LED TVs like the Sony KDL-55XBR8 (see review) that have a panel of LED lights behind the LCD panel. In the Sony the LEDs are tri-colored and can be controlled in banks for an effect called "local dimming". This allows darker areas of the picture to have the backlighting dimmed behind them resulting in better contrast and black levels. In the Luxia line of Samsung LED TVs, the LED lights are surrounding the edge of the panel and this arrangement allows for the very slim depth of those models. Without the ability to do local dimming these are functionally similar to traditional LCDs so in this article we will be comparing local dimming LED TV to traditional LCD TV.

PICTURE CONSIDERATIONS
CONTRAST / BLACK LEVELS
Traditional LCD televisions always have their backlight on when the TV is on. To create black or dark areas the screen must block the light by twisting the crystals to a closed position, often resulting in a lower contrast ratio and less detail in dark areas of the picture. This is a shortcoming in LCD technology that LED TVs with local dimming are attempting to correct. With the controlled backlighting the LEDs can be dimmed in dark areas of the picture to create darker blacks and better detail in dark scenes.

ADVANTAGE: Local dimming LED TV technology has a clear advantage in contrast and black levels.

COLOR ACCURACY
With white LED backlights the difference between the two technologies isn't very significant, but with RGB colored lights or a color wheel to affect the backlight color the LED TVs have an advantage in displaying realistic color.

ADVANTAGE: Without colored LEDs or another way to affect the backlight color these two technologies are nearly equal. With colored backlighting LED TV takes the advantage

.
VIEWING ANGLES
While traditional LCDs have improved their useable viewing angles over the years this is still a shortcoming of the technology itself and even the best LCDs will suffer from contrast degradation when viewed from angles wider than around 30 degrees off center. The LED backlit LCDs we've seen have done a fantastic job of correcting this issue and have viewing angles that rival plasma TVs (but at a much higher price).

ADVANTAGE: LED TV

FUNCTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
COMPUTER USE
LCD technology of either sort is immune to screen burn-in so they are equally well suited for computer use.

ADVANTAGE: Even.

FAST-MOVING VIDEO PLAYBACK
Displaying fast moving video is a function of the response time and refresh rate in LCD and LED televisions. The type of backlighting in the TV has no effect on the reproduction of fast moving video. You will want to compare response times and refresh rates when making a purchase decision.

ADVANTAGE: Even

LONGEVITY
Most manufacturers are claiming approximately 100,000 hours lifetime for their televisions. LED backlit televisions are brand new and don't have much of a track record but LED lights are typically long lived.

ADVANTAGE: LED televisions do not have much history. They should have an advantage since the flourescent style backlighting used in traditional LCDs ever so slightly change color hue over time. Light emitting diode technology should not have as much degradation over time. Quality of manufacture for either technology will also matter.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
PRODUCTION SIZE AND COST
LED backlight televisions are currently available in sizes ranging from 46 inches to 70 inches. Traditional LCD televisions are available in sizes as small as 15 inches and as large as 65 inches. When comparing LED TVs and traditional LCDs in the same size the LED backlit model will be more expensive, in some cases vastly more expensive.

ADVANTAGE: There is certainly a much larger number of LCD TVs being produced today, with LED televisions demanding a premium for the often better picture quality.

POWER CONSUMPTION
The LED TVs we've come across have used quite a bit more power than a traditional LCD TV in the same screen size. LED TVs approach plasma displays in power usage.

ADVANTAGE: LCD

 

[NickSully]

get the Samsung LED, it is the latest for sharpness and clarity. The LCD is now old hat, not that the LCD is bad, just that the LED is even better. Plasma sucks too much power. That is just where I mounted mine, above the fireplace, just make sure it is not too high.

+1 LCD is old now I would stick with LED or LCOS.

 

[djsin]

get the Samsung LED, it is the latest for sharpness and clarity. The LCD is now old hat, not that the LCD is bad, just that the LED is even better. Plasma sucks too much power. That is just where I mounted mine, above the fireplace, just make sure it is not too high.

I have installed 1000's of tv's in home theaters and this tv is by far the latest and greatest....also its skinnier then the remote control you control it with
also i wouldnt flush it in either, its a real pain in the arse to mount as you cant get your fingers behind it and you have to lift the tv 1-2 inches above its final resting place to get over the top of the mount it rests on and set it in....the led will look like and hang like a picture frame ..its much easier, use a mud ring behind it so you can stuff eccess wiring inside the wall, if you can use a clock (recessed ac) plug for the power or even better use a box thats mounted far enough back inside the wall that the plug wont push on the back of the tv...the plug actually can push the tv out far enough from the wall to look funny
also keep in mind you want it to hang as close to the floor above the fireplace as you can other wise it will be like permanently sitting in the front row of the movie theater and you will always be looking up....we like to mount them so the center of the screen is level with your eyes while your sitting down, and at most the bottom of the screen level with your eyes while sitting down
http://www.samsung.com

Hanging Brackets | Samsung WMN1000 Ultra Slim Wall Mount For UA Series LED TVs | Online Shopping Nashua Electronics

 

[Takeuon]

The wife and I have finally jumped off the deep end and are building a new house. We currently have a 65" sony hd projection tv, but want to upgrade to a lcd in the new home. The plan is to flush the new tv in the wall above the firplace. So I am looking for something in the 46" to 55" range. I had no idea there were so many to choose from. Anyone have any suggestions as far as brand ? i like the Samsung but i really have no experience with these lcd tv's. Anybody have one ? pros cons?

This is Sony's top of line LCD. Not going to go wrong w/ anything in their 8 or 9 series!

KDL-52XBR9 | 52" BRAVIA XBR9 Series LCD HD Television | Sony | Sony Style USA

I also highly recommend this site for ANY electronic research. Good people who are willing to help out & like on here, won't flame you for any noob questions.
AVS Forum

Good luck & have fun! Home Theater is a great hobby. Costly...but fun. hehe

 

[dadofthree]

Good luck with it and enjoy

 

[MPH 200]

We had 2 Phillips & 1 Sanyo Plasma - returned all 3. I now have a 52" LCD Sony Bravia & 37" Vizio LCD. Both work great w/ no issues.

 

[dsbunton646]

WOW. Thanks for all the input everyone. I have looked at several hanging in the stores and really liked the samsung as far as picture quality. I just wanted some input from someone besides the sales guy, who recommended a pioneer plasma first, then samsung then sony bravia. i really liked the look of the flushed tv at a house my contractor showed me. The wall opening was about three inches wider than the tv all around, but the recess was painted black and blended in with the tv. i don't see myself changing sizes, and even if I did, i would have to go smaller because I'm going for the biggest size that will fit comfortably above the fireplace (it is already hard going from the 65" to a smaller size). Still, i may rethink it because of the height thing. Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[TruWrecks]

I have a Samsung 4669 and it is very impressive. The LED TVs are only slightly brighter than mine. The contrast ratio on the 4669 is 60,000:1. It uses much less power than a LED TV or Plasma. I have not had a friend over yet that wasn't impressed with the picture quality, especially watching a blu-ray movie.

BTW, Samsung make most of the LCD screens for other manufactures right now.

 

[TonyMastodon]

for LCD or Plasma ... go with panasonic or sony... you really cant go wrong...

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those have the best deals.

 

[FastBusa]

I have two Samsungs now. After much research I went with the samsungs. Only one thing. Samsung has many versions of the same TV! Contrast ratio, 120hz etc. Also the LCD has a long and proven track record nothing yet on the LED's.

 

[Busacure]

Blue ray movie can still suck. I have watched some movies that have some really cheap original film source providing black snowy scenes at times through blue ray. Went to a movie in the theater recently and noticed the same black snow. I have 2 LG LCD TV's. One 32" for my computer and a 42" in the living room. No complaint's with either. Can be blindingly bright at night sometimes, depending on how much I drink.