LCD HDTV for Dummies (like me!) (1 Viewer)

[Peter McM]

I've been getting a hankering to upgrade my 32" CRTV to widescreen LCD, somewhere in the neighborhood of 46" or so. It would go in my living room, which is subject to a substantial amount of daytime glare from the patio window. It would also sit at a bit of an angle in one corner; therefore projection is out.

I know the diffference between 720 and 1080p, but after that I'm kinda lost. I hear a lot about contrast ratio, but don't know what I should shoot for in that area. Of utmost concern is motion capture. When looking at store displays, I can easily tell that some models render motion more smoothly than others. What feature makes the difference? Are some brands more successful than others?

Any introductory primers would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[Jrf2]

Samsung 46a550 is a good one to look at. It has a 5ms response time, compared to the usual 8ms for many others. It has good black levels as well, though not as good as plasma. Contrast ratio is 30,000:1, which is excellent. It's about 1799 I believe.

It you want to go somewhat cheaper, Toshiba has a good line-up this year. The 46RV530U is 1599 and has a very good picture, though not quite as good as the Sammy, in my opinion. It has the standard 8ms response time.

If you're really concerned about motion and have the money to spare, you might want to look at the Samsung 46A650, which implements 120hz refreshing (the ones I listed above are standard 60hz panels). Motion blur is non-existent and contrast ratio is listed as 50,000:1. Price is about $2500. Response time is listed as 4ms.

Toshiba entry level 120hz model is their 46XV540. It about $2100. Excellent picture

I don't have much experience with the Sony's, which is why I left them out. If you're willing to spend more, The Samsung will pay off. If not, the Toshiba is a damn fine set. Hope this helps!

 

[Mark:F]

I was in a similar situation, "upgrading" from Sony XBR CRT HDTv. Bright room too. Went with 46" XBR LCD at $2700. Screen glare was my main concern.
Result...very happy with XBR LCD. Daytime viewing is fine using vivid setting.
No motion problems at all. But dark movies, during the day or at night, don't measure up to the good old CRT, with any setting. Nothing really does. Plasma comes closest. But plasma is crummy in bright light.
Overall, it's an upgrade. 90% of what I watch looks awesome.

 

[Peter McM]

So--lower response time means better motion rendering. And, the higher the contrast ratio, the better? Thanks, James.