New TV

[BigV]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

I've never even heard of most of those brands.

I like LCD over plasma to rule out screen burn.

IMHO, picture quality is good enough on even the basic models to not worry about it. There is no need for 100 hertz updating when human eyes refresh at barely 1/4 that rate.

One major aspect of functionality which isn't compared is, well, functionality. How long after you turn it on does it start showing pictures? How long does it take to change from one channel to another? Do you need to tune to every channel before you can use the menu function to see what is on? These are things which have disappointed me about my current set and which I could have checked in the store but didn't.

human eyes refresh? um, what? would you please explain what you mean by that?

[classicman]

How long does it take to change from one channel to another? Do you need to tune to every channel before you can use the menu function to see what is on?

HUGE issues for me with my previous TV, New one has no issue with either.

Also - the picture you see at the store can be vastly different than at home. CHECK the settings of the unit at the store.

[bbro]

Wow! Thanks for all the information! This will be really helpful. I think I can definitely wait until around the super bowl. It will be closer to my birthday. Gift for me!

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by BigV

human eyes refresh? um, what? would you please explain what you mean by that?

Badly written, sorry.

The human brain can only process about 20 to 25 frames per second. Really old movies at 16FPS look a tiny bit jerky; movies became smooth when the FPS rate went to 24 FPS, which excedes the rate at which human brains can "refresh" images.

Apparently pigeons can go at over 100FPS, which is why they are happy to wait until the car is almost right on them until they get out of the way.

Back to TVs. IIRC modern signals are broadcast at 50FPS. That should be plenty fast. Some TVs use fancy software to figure out what would be between two frames and fill it in, thus giving 100FPS. No point, as human eyes/brains won't notice any difference. Some even push to 200. I suppose it might get the pigeons to watch .

[Beest]

We bought Vizio, the're market is decent no frills LCD's with low power use, they get good marks for picture quality at price point in consumer tests.

Had ours a couple years, happy.

[classicman]

I too, have a Vizio. They are made by Am Tran in Taiwan.
IIRC they are assembled in the states.

[glatt]

Let me just throw something else in here. If you find yourself in the market for an HDMI cable, do NOT buy one at Best Buy. Anything over $10 for an HDMI cable is an outrageous rip-off. You can buy them online for a few bucks, plus a couple bucks shipping. Best Buy sells them for $40-$80. Absolute rip-off.

Edit: Holy cow, I just went to Best Buy to see if prices have come down yet for them, and they are selling a 6 foot HDMI cable for $700!! It's got to be a joke.

[Happy Monkey]

I don't know if this link will work for anyone else, but I just went to the Best Buy website, searched for cables, and sorted on price, high to low.

The current highest is $1095.99 for 3.3 feet.

[classicman]

Did some of the prices increase so much because they are real gold/silver.
When we got our new TV they tried to sell us some crazy expensive cables.
Uh no thanks.

[Happy Monkey]

They increased because audiophiles can hear the money they spent, and all you need to get them to buy your product is charge more than your competitor, but not more than your target has in their bank account. Best Buy seems to be targeting $1100-aires.

[Undertoad]

Yup. "We can sell you a $1000 system..." (points to side A with TV, receiver and speakers) "...or we can sell you a $5000 system!" (points to side B with all the above, plus cables)

[ZenGum]

and all you need to get them to buy your product is charge more than your competitor

Where economic rationality meets human stupidity.