LCD/Plasma/CRT/DLP - questions

[TommyG]

[monel]

You can connect the 360 to a DVI connection, which I found out here. You need to feed the sound to speakers separately though, as DVI doesn't carry audio.

[Lyris]

Will the 120hz refresh rate work with the Xbox 360. I know the 360 gives out 60Hz and it's the monitor which then upscales it to 120hz for added extra smoothness but does it do this via HDMI or DVI and is is possible to connect the 360 up to DVI if this is the case?

It probably won't. The "120hz" in this instance probably refers to Stereoscopic 3D display (60hz for the left eye and 60hz for the right eye). Dies, damned lies and statistics. It doesn't mean the same as "120hz" on an LCD *television*. Don't you just want to slap the people that come up with this stuff?

I guess it upHz's it! Panasonic tout 600Hz on their plasma's yet I do not know of a 600Hz source. So the extra Hz must be generated by the display.

The phrase "600hz" is basically a marketing term that Panasonic (or perhaps some other Plasma manufacturer) came up with to play the numbers game alongside LCD manufacturers who were claiming "100hz", "200hz" etc.

Plasma displays use pulse width modulation to draw images. Every frame is split into "sub-fields", which is basically alluding to the fact that Plasma displays have to make many high-speed pulses in order to make a single high quality video frame. These many pulses are the basis of the "600hz" marketing claim. I used to have a promo leaflet from them that explained the maths behind it and how they came to the number 600, but I can't find it.

So when they say "600hz", they're basically referring to the way Plasma displays are driven. It doesn't mean that the motion is 6 times sharper than a 100hz LCD. The "hz" is becoming as meaningless a spec as contrast ratio. What's actually important is how clear motion looks on the display, and how many motion artefacts there are. For example, the 100hz/200hz systems on LCDs often do make motion sharper, but introduce glitches around fast moving objects. And Plasmas have motion artefacts of their own.

[Charlie]

Anyone here with first hand experience of the 6 and 7 series Samsung LED TVs? Thinking of replacing my trusty Toshiba 32WLT68 LCD TV with a Samsung UE32B6000 or UE32B7020 but am concerned at comments I've seen claiming the TV is incapable of producing life-like images, that the images, though impressive, are too artifical, and that the auto dimming feature is a thorn as the only way to turn it off is to switch on game mode which brings with it it's own set of problems.

They're available on eBay these days for under ?400 so I'm very tempted, but I want a TV that's good with TV and movies too, not just videogames.

[Nijo]

Lyris, have you tried the VT30 range yet?

[Lyris]

Yes, I reviewed the 42" version at www.hdtvtest.co.uk (it's the latest review at the top of the list right now). It's very nice. The GT30 is the best value for money out of the entire range so far though.

@Charlie: I should be getting a Series 7 LED LCD from Samsung soon. I've been reviewing their top-end display for 2011 (D8000 LED LCD) and it's not without its ups, but it has some intrusive video processing which smooths the film grain out of Blu-ray movies and makes them look less detailed as a result. I really want Samsung to make that feature optional (i.e. let us turn it off), but no result so far. As a result, I can't recommend Samsung LCDs to movie lovers at this point in time. (You can turn the grain smoothing off if you turn on the TV's "Game Mode", but that has other ramifications for picture quality).

[Charlie]

Cheers for the info, Lyris, very much appreciated.

[koopatroopa90]

Lyris - don't suppose you've had any experience with any of the new 32" 3D TVs?
I have the UE40C7000 and just wonder if 32" is too small for the 3D effect to work effectively. Was wanting one for the bedroom where 40" is just too big.

[Lyris]

I'd imagine 32" would be too small to be worthwhile. 40" is already pushing it. I've never used a 32" 3D display though so could be wrong.

You're in Guildford? You're right next door to Samsung's Euro QA Lab!

[Cepp]

Hey guys, I'm looking to upgrade to a HDTV and considering the Samsung LE40C580. I'll be around 12ft away from the TV though, is this too far for gaming? Will it be a pain to read text from that distance?

My budget's around ?450.

[Baseley09]

For that sort of distance I'd go at big as you can afford, you may think they are big but soon shrink.

[Cepp]

That's what I was wandering, I tried to play ff13 from a similar distance on a 32" LCD when it came out and didn't find it adequate. I might just have to save up for a bigger screen I guess.

[SmokeMeAKipper]

I'm looking for a new TV - budget is fairly tight, ?500 max. Ideally 40" - I've been looking at the Samsung 40C530 which can be had in Richer Sounds for ?350 which seems like a good deal. Any thoughts? Will be mainly used for TV (Sky HD) and Blu-ray, with some PS3 gaming on it. I was going to PM Lyris but his inbox is full!

Secondary question, what's the deal with dead pixels nowadays? How frequent are they? If I find one on a shiny new TV will Richer Sounds happily replace it or do there need to be a certain amount of them?

[Lyris]

I reviewed the 32" version of the C530 on HDTVtest, I gave it Highly Recommended largely because of the cheap price and low input lag. I think the 40" version should be as good.

I'm actually more used to seeing Dead/stuck pixels on Plasma displays these days. It's not really an issue anymore with LCD. (More troubling is brightness/RGB uniformity across the screen... gahhh...)

[thefantasticmrh]

I'm looking for a new TV - budget is fairly tight, ?500 max.

I got a Sony KDL40EX403U which I am very happy with, I use it for VM, PS3, Blu-Ray and PC. It looks lovely when setup and the sound is decent quality for an LCD.

Richer sounds have the 40EX503U which is 100hz version for ?499 if you can find an old tv to trade in with before the end of Sunday.