LCD/Plasma/CRT/DLP - questions

[Angry the Clown]

A lot of people go on about the black colours on LCD's not being as good as CRT's etc, yet all the pics I've seen posted look pretty fine to me (including the ones on this forum).

So, is this the same sort of thing as people said for Plasma sets, in that the earlier ones weren't very good at handling lots of dark colours?

A lot of people look at blacks in a display image and just look for how black they are, when really what's more important is greyscale, the definition of light to dark and how much detail can still be rendered in the darkest part of the image and the brightest part. There's more to it than that, but that's describing it in the simplest terms imaginable. This is still something plasmas, especially the Panasonic commercial displays, do better than LCDs. The degree of image control that a commercial no frills plasma display can offer can obviously yield even greater results when professionally calibrated.

The problem with looking at other peoples photos is the components inside the camera and the optics of a lens are going to end up adding their own layer to the image so the result can still be different to what the human eye would see if looking at the same television under the same lighting conditions. As such it's never the best example to go on of the display's image quality.

I do think LCDs can now offer a very pleasing image if your demands don't stretch to wanting as much control over the image atributes as possible. Calibrated and set up properly I think they're a very appealing choice, and if the tearing issue is now fixed on the Samsung's I'd consider those to be worth a look as the prices are good.

I?m still considering a Panasonic HD8 for myself having found a pretty decent deal on one, but am not against looking at the Samsung sets either given their price, as right now if I felt the image was above average I could settle for spending less on convenience and a very good image against spending more on quality with the plasma. I know which I?d rather go for, but it? a question of prioritising funds at this moment in time. All I know is I want to be rid of my CRT. I did take a look at the new Sony 32 inch V series LCD at the weekend. It's good, playing around for a few minutes with its settings made it better, but whilst its built quality is superb I wasn't quite convinced ?1500 for the set was worth it.

LCD is going to suit me just fine, as Caz hates watching stuff with all the lights off (yes, I realise that means a certain Clown really will be Angry with us...)

Hehe. We'll I'd never recommend all the lights be turned off. It's always good to have some kind of light behind the display by which I mean an actual light not backlight built into the display itself (though it also helps). With a screen as the only light source in a darkened room I find it can make the viewer incredibly drowsy. I think Avia and Video Essentials recommend a backlight for this very reason don't they? It's been a while since I used either.

[Destrukticor]

my samsung LE32R41B arrived this morning

before i plug all manner of stuff into it have a few q's

obviously it can connect to my computer through HDMI or VGA how would i set the display on the computer to display the correct resolution 1366x768 will the graphics card (7800GTX) recognise the fact this is plugged in and offer the right resolution?
is there any difference between the 2 (vga and hdmi)?


pretty much everything else is going through component so that should be easy enough...

also i have to single out www.mp3players.co.uk for the worst customer service i have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.

order tv
not in stock
money taken
a week passes
website says in stock YAY!
phone them to check
none in stock
leave it a day
still same
nearly 2 weeks later decide to forget it and ask for a refund

argos
slightly more expensive
ordered 4.45 fri
arrived today 12.30
top bannana
guess you do sometimes get what you pay for

[The Cobra]

Make sure you configure it, I suggest DVE.

Congrats on your purchase.

[Destrukticor]

DVE?

er um

what is that?

[Angry the Clown]

DVE?

er um

what is that?

Digital Video Essentials. It's a handy DVD to aid with setting up your display as best you can with the basic image settings options that are made available to you in the set up menus on your set. It also helps with audio calibration, but it's better for video.

http://www.videoessentials.com/

The PAL version is available at Amazon UK and other such dealers, and you can also import the NTSC version if you wish. Whichever version you get, PAL or NTSC, shop around for a good price. Be warned that it is a bit of a pain to navigate however, always has been ever since the earliest incarnations of it, but it is comprehensive in the test patterns it offers. It's a good disc to have around as it's wise to check your basic calibration every six to eight months or so.

[SubparMario]

You'll be wanting to connect your PC via VGA, that's the best way for the Samsungs with the picture being stunningly sharp. Set the output resolution to 1360x768 as the dimensions must be a multiple of 8. It's 60 Hz refresh rate too, obviously. Don't worry about he image being stretched to 1366 as the set pads out the near invisible extra few lines of pixels with black space.

[Spatial]

Thanks mid and Angry The Clown for your input.

Usually it varies as to how I'll sit and watch TV at night, but it's mostly with the room in almost total darkness (and yep, it does make me incredibly sleepy on times).

Saying that, I wouldn't be adverse to buying some subtle lighting to put behind the set if that would ease the issue in a darker setting (and allow me to stay awake for longer as a trade off)

[Geezer]

Anyone recommend a smaller 17" ish LCD suitable for the bedroom? My bro is after one and usually buys his TVs from the high street (maybe he likes paying more, I don't know). He's also not clued up on what is what.

He described one he saw as a no-name 17" 800x600 LCD for ?280. First thing I said was that it's not widescreen. He just wants it for TV really so tons of inputs etc isn't a priority.

I was looking at this one

http://www.empiredirect.co.uk/content/products/details/index.asp?modelcode=DAE-DSL17D3T

Anyone used it or have other recommendations? TIA

EDIT: Think he's looking at ?300 tops.

I'm in the same boat as your brother, I'm after an LCD now
The Xbox 360 has made me feel the need to upgrade to a HDTV ready LCD.
This bad boy has loads of inputs, is widescreen and good value (I think):

http://www.digiuk.com/productdetail.asp?id=3053&c=1369635&guid=&s=

Is it worth going HDTV with such a small screen? I currently play my games and DVDs etc. on a 20" 4:3 RGB TV, is it worth making the leap?

[Destrukticor]

quick update

the samsung is really easy to setup thank goodness

however the factory presets for picture are shocking

after some super tweaking (2 hrs) got the pictures looking ok

sky tv
picture is OK at best really shows off how rubbish skys encoding is.
watched some of the everton match last night and football is perfectly watchable

DVD (progressive)
Tweaked using the THX optimizer thing that was on one of my discs (as i dont have DVE yet) picture looks crisp and clear i was impressed.

PC

OMG words cannot describe the picture via vga super clean crisp and games that support widescreen look absolutely amazing tested with fable lost chapters and fahrenheit and both were clear will test tonight with HL2 and Doom 3.....
Also the hd content i have seen from the pc also looks amazing and i cannot wait for sky to sort out their HD broadcasts


after a really shakey start when i wondered why id spent the cash, with tweaking now i understand roll on the 360 and PS3.

ps thanks to all who helped in here and via PM

[Crisp_Rapper]

Also the hd content i have seen from the pc also looks amazing and i cannot wait for sky to sort out their HD broadcasts


after a really shakey start when i wondered why id spent the cash, with tweaking now i understand roll on the 360 and PS3.

you should see the new 40" samsung, it's a fair way ahead of these ones for picture quality "WTF?" i hear you cry... 'tis true.

[Destrukticor]

heh

nearly ?2000 for the 40" model (not a prob i had the cash)

?250,000 for a new house big enough to fit it (that was a bigger issue)

i would hope the pic is better for the extra cash

[Salsa Party Animal]

What new 40" Samsung ?

[TommyG]

Hi Guys

Got another question about the Samsung LE26R41BD. Are you able to record freeview from the tele to a VCR?

Cheers

Tommy

[Destrukticor]

this 40"

http://www.empiredirect.co.uk/content/products/details/index.asp?modelcode=SAM-LE40R51B

[andrewfee]

Hi Guys

Got another question about the Samsung LE26R41BD. Are you able to record freeview from the tele to a VCR?

Cheers

Tommy

I don't think you can with the Samsung, although some can.

Personally I would recommend buying the Sony VTX-D800U Freeview box over any television's built in tuner. (including Sony's TVs)

It's the fastest, and most responsive box there is, and has a great guide system. The only downside, if it can be called that, is that it doesn't take CAMs for the awful TopUp.tv