[sesame_street_hustler]

In the upcoming advent of the federally mandated day in February 2009 when all analog television broadcasting will be rendered obsolete, many are rushing out to buy new digital HDTVs as to not be left in the dark.

Many may not be aware, but there are actually 3 different types of HDTVs on the market:

Plasma
Rear-Projection
Liquid Crystal Display

I found this article to be interesting in which it compares electricity consumption among the 3 different types:

http://tech.yahoo.co...gs/raskin/16242

[Despondent]

I have a flat screen and don't need a reason to want a better one.

Besides, by not clicking on the link; I'm saving energy.

[Spoon Poetic]

Our television is digital, but not HD. I'm dreading that day in 2009, too. It's so not fair. My 18 inch regular ol' curvy big box of a t.v. has lasted me 11 years with no problems, and will continue to last, and yet I'm going to be forced to buy an uber expensive new one (or an uber expensive digital-analog converter) in two years for no good reason other than the government sucks?

I have no idea which HD televisions are better and think it's all pretty stupid, because I don't need to see people's pores or individual blades of grass to enjoy a program, and I don't want to pay out the ears to get that ability.

[princesskadee]

I'm dreading that day in 2009, too. It's so not fair. My 18 inch regular ol' curvy big box of a t.v. has lasted me 11 years with no problems, and will continue to last,

Fear not, young padawan! As many manufacturers will soon make digital reception adapters that will conveniently hook up to regular analog televison sets via a coaxial connection or via audio/video ports.

In fact, the US govt is supposed to be issuing out many certificates that are valid for this peripheral, and you would just take the certificate over to say, radio shack, and the clerk hands you over the device.

but even if you dont get a certificate, i cant imagine the device cost anything more than say around $29.99

[princesskadee]

Besides, by not clicking on the link; I'm saving energy.

Oh gawd!!..you must nitpick wattage use to death. you may want to go to the kitchen and unplug your toaster oven as it could be vamping out electricity as you read this.

[Spoon Poetic]

Yes, I know about those devices. But those won't work for good ol' cable service. Who knows what channels I'll get from one of those? And I can't see them as being that cheap, honestly. When you have loads of people needing this device and having no alternative other than coughing up hundreds of dollars for a new tv, what reason is there to charge anything less than a tiny bit less than the televisions?

[Despondent]

Oh gawd!!..you must nitpick wattage use to death. you may want to go to the kitchen and unplug your toaster oven as it could be vamping out electricity as you read this.

You don't know me very well.

[Spoon Poetic]

(Yeah, I'm pretty sure he was making a joke...)

[looktothesky]

...back on topic.

I have a rear-projection TV and an LCD. The LCD is much more clear than the rear-projection in some cases, but in other cases some channels come out kind of pixellated and low quality. It might be my digital cable doing this, but I'm not too sure. Also, if you're playing games, the LCD is a better bet. With a rear-projection tv, video games can burn still images into your screen really badly if you play for a long time, or leave it paused for a while with the television on.

[optimus_prime]

...back on topic.

I have a rear-projection TV and an LCD. The LCD is much more clear than the rear-projection in some cases, but in other cases some channels come out kind of pixellated and low quality. It might be my digital cable doing this, but I'm not too sure. Also, if you're playing games, the LCD is a better bet. With a rear-projection tv, video games can burn still images into your screen really badly if you play for a long time, or leave it paused for a while with the television on.

hmmm..burnt imagery on television monitors. I have an issue thats similiar to that. I have a 25'' Sharp (cathode ray tube--regular TV set, in laymans terms) that has a small black spot permanently burnt in the corner of one of the screens

anyone have any idea how this happens on CRT sets?

[Chefelf]

I'm quite happy with my new Samsung Plasma HDTV (Samsung HPT4254 42" Plasma HDTV).

I compared it closely at the Samsung store against the LCD and just found the colors on this one to be a lot richer.

Looks great with my Wii and Xbox. I don't have an upscaling DVD player but it's been great with movies.

I'm not a video snob so I'm not very picky about quality (I stream a lot of video from my PC) but overall I'm really happy with my choice.

[Heccubus]

I think Leo Laporte said not too long ago that he finds plasmas to have richer colours, and LCDs to be better in brighter lighting and more suited to gaming. So I guess the choice really depends on where you plan on putting the thing, and what you plan on doing with it.
Personally, I think they're a tremendous waste of money, and I think the idea of making them the legal standard is absolutely fucking ridiculous.

This post has been edited by Heccubus: 27 December 2007 - 05:54 AM

[reiner]

I've enjoyed my 27" LCD from Olevia. Got it a year and a half ago to use as a PC display as well as a hookup for my consoles. My roomie moved in with a 42" plasma.

Burn in on the plasma was noticeable, even from the start. Luckily, the build in burn protection usually alleviated this, but it is a hassle sometimes. The burn in can be noticeable when it powers up, too. The LCD has been pretty good to me. Burn in usually takes a couple of hours to set in (HUDs on games are noticeable culprits) but after a bit of the blue screen or powered down, this usually goes away. As far as brightness, we both keep our rooms fairly dark, but with the above statement, my offbrand LCD handles ambient light better than his namebrand plasma, which is only about 6 months older. The big difference i have seen are handling black images. Plasma looks like a darker black, whereas my display still doesn't look quite jetblack. But honestly in a darkened room, this makes little difference, espcially with moving images.

On a side note, he just bought a Panasonic HD projector, as he's buying a condo and moving in a week. We've been playing around with it in the living room, where the ambient light is most prevalent. It's handled the light well as is clearly visible. Direct light can be noticeable, but the shades are generally good enough by them selves. Even seems to work well on a plain off-white painted wall.

I myself am thinking of getting another television sometime next year for my living room. I haven't decided between plasma or LCD, but I figure that I'll research more when the time comes. Prices and technology still seem to be rapidly changing.

This post has been edited by reiner: 03 January 2008 - 12:23 PM

[looktothesky]

anyone have any idea how this happens on CRT sets?

Is it like a purpley-black spot in the corner? It's usually caused by age, or strong magnetism from the outside (if you have a home theatre, the magnetism from some speakers may do this to your screen). Hasn't happened to me, but I've seen it happen to other people who bought really cheap speakers, or had old ones hooked up close to their tv.

And yeah, I think making LCDs / flatscreens the standard really retarded. I already feel behind enough as it is with my television that only has MONO sound on it.

[reiner]

It seems like another push by walmart.

If you can get a flat screen from walmart cheaper than a tube at a retailer, why bother with the tube? Walmart seems to be pushing for TV sales for some reason, between this and their LCD/Plasma price cutting scheme. It does help with the regulations for 09 though, so i bet it's going to go uncontested. Just be thankful that the original dates weren't enacted.