42" Dell any good? (2 Viewers)

[Dan Burch]

I've been looking for a new TV to wall mount. I've been reading all the posts, now I'm more confused. I didn't know there was so much to HD. Dell has this 42" plasma for $2600. I read the tech specs, still over my head. I'm too new to HTF to link websites. Please look at Dell.com I made the mistake of going to BB. I think I knew more than the guy that helped me. Why do they push view angle? Don't we sit in front of our TV to watch it?
Okay, what's B&M?
thanks,
Dan

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

1) I have the dell, it's ok but there are tons of production problems with these sets, so i couldn't recommend them. Check out the dell support forums:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportfor...d=dce_W1700LCD

Also check out the Dell 4200 FAQ I wrote:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=495757

2) B&M means 'brick and mortar' - it's a way of designating between an 'online' store and a 'real' store location. If someone says 'Check out the B&M in your area' they're simply saying to check the retail stores near you.

-V

 

[Arthur S]

Dan

From a viewing distance of 8 feet or more an excellent ED plasma will look as good as an excellent HD plasma. I can't begin to try to explain why this is.

If you wish to do some reading, and decide that an excellent ED panel will meet your needs, I would be happy to make a recommendation. There are many posts over on the AVS forum that go into significant detail about ED vs. HD.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

Here's a quick primer on viewing distances versus resolution.

ED plasma ... 409000 pixels
HD plasma ... 787000 pixels (cuz 42" HD plasma tends to have only this many and are not 1280x720 = 922000 pixels)

Put up a multiburst pattern of 1280x720 and look at the bars representing the pixels at 1280 ... individual black and then white lines ... b/w/b/w/b/w ... from 3 feet you can see these lines.

From 8 feet ... you see a gray blob and cannot see the distinct lines. If you look at the next pattern on the chart ... you see bb/ww/bb/ww/bb/ww/bb These are made up of two pixel widths each.

So what this means is that the visible resolution in the horizontal plane has dropped to 720x640 ... 461,000 pixels viewable.

Suddenly the ED plasma at 409000 pixels is much closer to the same HD plasma now at 461000 pixels. Now factor in that at that same 8 feet distance, you may not be able to see the full 720 lines running top to bottom. Maybe you can only decern 640 of them ...640x640 = 410,000 pixels.

Now its 410,000 from the HD versus 409,000 from the ED.

This is meant as a rough explanation of why people say that HD looks the same as ED at 8 feet or more. If you can't see the additional pixel resolution, then the HD resolution advantage disappears. The images may still look different at that distance, but chalk it up to image processing rather than resolution.

The test is performed on people with 20/20 vision. So unless you have some kind of super sharp abnormal vision ... it would apply to you too.

I tested this theory out on my own eyes and putting up a 720x1280 test pattern on a 44" RP DLP and then walked progressively back to see at which points I no longer could decern detail ... and those mentioned distances are about right. I actually lost sight of the single pixel level by 7 feet on this 44" set.

Regards

 

[Arthur S]

Thanks Michael

I am going to have to print that off and save it. It might come in handy some time when certain enthusiasts just go crazy at the suggestion that at 8 feet there is virtually no advantage to an HD plasma.

 

[Dan Burch]

Thank you all for your input. I hadn't looked at ED because I thought it was a step down from HD. After reading Michael's detailed explanation, seems it doesn't matter. The room is 12' so viewing distance will be 10-11'. Arthur please recommend. I keep hearing that plasma lasts only 5 years. Ture? How about LCD?
B&M brick and mortar, I sat here for 20 minutes trying to figure it out. Never would have.
Thanks,
Dan

 

[Arthur S]

Dan

From what I have read, a typical plasma should be good for 30,000 hours. How this translates into years for you I can't say because I don't know how many hours per day the TV will be on. But, as an example, if you had it on 8 hours a day, every day, 30,000 hours is 10 years.

I would not consider LCD because they cannot display deep black as well as plasma.

My recommendation is that you scout around and try to find a Sony KE-42M1. If you are within driving distance of a BJs Wholesale Club, they now have that set for $2,000. I would suggest an extended warranty.

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

Current plasma units are being touted as lasting 60000 hours now ... to half life. (6 hours a day = 27 years) but of course the electronics will fail before the panel does. A resistor here ... a capacitor there ...

Regards