Luke Dunstan Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 Argos are replacing my TV, so I have a wide choice to choose from. What's best out of LCD, LED and Plasma? Also which makes are the best to choose from? My broken TV was a Samsung 40" 1080p LCD. Was amazing, but obviously is now an old model. So they can't do an exact swap. Any advice would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 Argos are replacing my TV, so I have a wide choice to choose from. What's best out of LCD, LED and Plasma? Also which makes are the best to choose from? My broken TV was a Samsung 40" 1080p LCD. Was amazing, but obviously is now an old model. So they can't do an exact swap. Any advice would be great. Personally I'd go for whatever the LED equivalent of the Samsung you had - I love the look and performance of the Samsung kit, which is why I have one To be fair though, I don't know all the ins and outs, I just know that when I compared them side by side the LED looked best to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Dunstan Posted November 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 Personally I'd go for whatever the LED equivalent of the Samsung you had - I love the look and performance of the Samsung kit, which is why I have one To be fair though, I don't know all the ins and outs, I just know that when I compared them side by side the LED looked best to me. I heard LED was a better picture, And they seem to have come down in price a lot over the past year. It's not put me off Samsung at all, but mine developed a thin black line which went from one side to the other. What size do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD™ Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 I heard LED was a better picture, And they seem to have come down in price a lot over the past year. It's not put me off Samsung at all, but mine developed a thin black line which went from one side to the other. What size do you have? I've got the 36", which is more than good enough for me. Latest game I've been playing a lot on it is Forza 4 and it looks absolutely incredible. On top of that, chucking a blu-ray through it is awesome too - I get a nice geeky smile every time a film starts and I see how good the picture looks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 another vote for a decent Samsung. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonsieurMonkey Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 I have a Samsung, got it a while back but its still amazing. Such a good picture. So another Samsung vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 Get something with a decent response time. I've got a Sony Bravia and it looks amazing for TV/films (Freeview HD built in) but for games it's not quite as good as my old Samsung 22" monitor. I know some people say response time isn't that important, but for games (in Call of Duty at least) I can notice a difference - my kill:death ratio went down when I switched, so I guess if you're serious about games you'll take that into consideration. Feature-wise the Sony is great (iPlayer built in, Freeview HD, a million inputs etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew62 Posted November 4, 2011 Report Share Posted November 4, 2011 I've got a full HD 37" Samsung. Tis very good, so yet another vote in that direction. A big part of my decision was based on looks (as they all become much of a muchness in whatever price bracket you're at) and it was the only one that didn't look rubbish. It was/is minimal and clean looking and unlike a lot of TV's isnt garish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Get something with a decent response time. I've got a Sony Bravia and it looks amazing for TV/films (Freeview HD built in) but for games it's not quite as good as my old Samsung 22" monitor. I know some people say response time isn't that important, but for games (in Call of Duty at least) I can notice a difference - my kill:death ratio went down when I switched, so I guess if you're serious about games you'll take that into consideration. Feature-wise the Sony is great (iPlayer built in, Freeview HD, a million inputs etc). Really? Most of the sony tv's have the lowest response times around. LED aren't a better picture, the panels themselves are the same as the LCD screens, it's just the backlighting system that is different and allows the tv to have a smaller frame/depth. As with all tv's, switch off image processing features, dynamic colours and dynamic contrast as well as any simulated 100-150-200hz rubbish. these feeatures make the tv respond slower when gaming. turning them off will get most half decent tv's down to about 15-20ms which is pretty damn acceptable for console stuff. I quite like samsung kit, lg are pretty good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaZaa Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I would say Panasonic make the best sets out there with regard to both build and picture quality. Maybe a controversial choice but for the past year I worked in an independent electronics retailer and from looking and comparing sets on a daily basis they really are significantly better than most other products out there. Unfortunately they decided to shut the store I worked at. BOOOOO! Anyway we sold mainly Panasonic, Sony, Philips and LG with LG being the budget brand. If you were looking at an equivalent to a 40" Panasonic make 42" LCD/LED and Plasma. I would say (again maybe controversially to some peoples views) that Plasma still offers the best picture quality. Standard definition is processed far better to that of any LCD screen as LCD can produce a blocky messy picture as it can tear the image apart. Plasma also give a far better black level which in turn gives a far richer less processed colour spectrum as there is no lighting at the back making blacks look a milky grey. From experience motion handling is also better on a Plasma. Panasonic also have the intellectual property rights to the now defunct Pioneer Kuro, which was and still is to many people the best TV ever made. That said there are 2 models that I would recommend but it would obviously depend on your budget. Panasonic TX-L42E30 (LCD/LED set with most of the bells and whistles you'd ever need), Panasonic TX-P42ST30(3D Ready Plasma with the same bells and whistles and an incredible picture quality). I've experienced people before claiming that Plasma gives a dull picture, that is when compared to an LCD that is blazing colour. Remember that shops set their TVs up in "Shop Mode" and are therefore much brighter and not representative of the image you'd be viewing at home. Also don't be drawn in by the 100Hz or 200Hz. All manufacturers have different systems to the so called motion handling. 600Hz on a Plasma is not the same as that on an equivalent LCD. A lot of it on LCD screens is Frame Creation, whereby artificial frames are added in between "real" frames to smooth out the transition between fast moving images. Sony have a system called Motionflow and boast figures like 800 or 1200Hz. It actually looks pretty bad as there are too many fake frames taking control giving a very digitised looking picture. Mainly just my opinion but don't make your decision soley on the number of boxes it ticks on the spec sheet. You've actually got to be able to live with it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Really? Most of the sony tv's have the lowest response times around. I think so. I went from a 22" PC monitor (DVI input) with a 2ms response time to the 40inch Sony (I believe 40ms is quoted) and the image is slightly blurry on quick transitions on the xbox. Almost imperceptible, but I found it more difficult to spin round quickly and react to people to my sides. To be honest I'm used to it now and it doesn't bother me. The only thing that irritates me about the Sony now is how the on screen display takes aaaages to 'warm up' when you first switch the TV on. You turn it on, and the picture comes on within 2-3 seconds, but it's another 10-20 before you can change the channel or access the guide. After the TV's been on for a while it's not an issue, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Dunstan Posted November 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Argos didn't have too muc to choose from, I went for the Panasonic 42" LED. Massive difference! Also has built in freeview HD, thanks for all your help. So far tested out Life on blu-ray and Battlefield 3 on my Xbox. The picture is incredible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 I think so. I went from a 22" PC monitor (DVI input) with a 2ms response time to the 40inch Sony (I believe 40ms is quoted) and the image is slightly blurry on quick transitions on the xbox. Almost imperceptible, but I found it more difficult to spin round quickly and react to people to my sides. To be honest I'm used to it now and it doesn't bother me. The only thing that irritates me about the Sony now is how the on screen display takes aaaages to 'warm up' when you first switch the TV on. You turn it on, and the picture comes on within 2-3 seconds, but it's another 10-20 before you can change the channel or access the guide. After the TV's been on for a while it's not an issue, though. See most older lcd tv's were at around 12-16ms when flatscreens first came out into the mainstream however Sony's current LCD XBR and Bravia lines have listed response times of 4 milliseconds. To be honest though most tv's nowadays will be around the same sort of speed in terms of response time. Samsung should be the same as sony because sony actually get their lcd panels from the samsung factory The biggest killer for console gaming with tv's is input lag. However switching most of the added processing features off will drop that right down. Samsung have a "game mode" where most features are switched off. This drops the input lag from around 120ms to about 14. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted November 6, 2011 Report Share Posted November 6, 2011 Remember that a lot of the time response times are given under different circumstances (grey to grey vs full black to full white etc) just to make the numbers sound more impressive. Same goes for contrast ratios, where given figures are very often dynamic rather than static, and therefore pretty much useless. Lower is better in the grand scheme of things, obviously, but when you get to the specifics it's worth remembering so as not to get too sucked in without checking it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Remember that a lot of the time response times are given under different circumstances (grey to grey vs full black to full white etc) just to make the numbers sound more impressive. Same goes for aspect ratios, where given figures are very often dynamic rather than static, and therefore pretty much useless. Lower is better in the grand scheme of things, obviously, but when you get to the specifics it's worth remembering so as not to get too sucked in without checking it out With todays modern sets it is unlikely you will ever experience image lag due to slow LCD response times with the latest 60Hz HDTVs. 120Hz and 240Hz operation carry a number of benefits but these have nothing to do with image lag due to a slower pixel response time. Even the slowest response times of todays modern sets are around the 4-6ms mark, which only a few years ago was deemed the height of pc-gaming tech. Aspect ratios though Luke are very much an industry standard lacking in confusion. They are what they say they are. Contrast ratios on the other hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 I'm not trying to argue a point, merely mentioning that 2ms on one box may not be the same 2ms as another. It's all pretty negligible, but worth knowing if you're looking into things in some depth so you can take it with a pinch of salt Saw your edit after I saw my quote in your post and edited my original post to correct the mistake I spotted in your post which quoted my original post. Now where's that chap that was arguing about aspect ratios for filming... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 I'm not trying to argue a point, merely mentioning that 2ms on one box may not be the same 2ms as another. It's all pretty negligible, but worth knowing if you're looking into things in some depth so you can take it with a pinch of salt Likewise mate, Just backing up what your saying from a technical POV. 60fps content requires a 1000/60 (16.7)ms response time. 120Hz content requires 8.35ms. Once you are below 8 there is no content from video sources that would be beyond the refresh capabilities of the panel. I'm essentially saying the same thing as you just in a rather long winded way. I'm still not sure why tomm is convinced his K:D ratio went down due to screen response time, i'd imagine that input lag would be the thing that threw him off. Generally speaking computer monitors don't process the image as this is done by the graphics card, so the input lag is virtually non existant. A TV on the other hand is primarily designed to process a signal from a receiver so input lag is higher by comparison. Especially with dynamic contrast, superdeuperhz modes and enhanced colour options switched on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg1040 Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Panasonic plasma all the way for gaming 1 of the most input lag free tvs going around this is after having a lcd samsung and picture quality is outstanding. Saying that i do have the gt30 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted November 7, 2011 Report Share Posted November 7, 2011 Maybe it is input lag. I don't know - some sort of lag at any rate. Oh and yeah I know about turning off all the features to get the best response times, it's not that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 Maybe it is input lag. I don't know - some sort of lag at any rate. Oh and yeah I know about turning off all the features to get the best response times, it's not that. If you plug a computer in via HDMI using the same settings and wiggle the mouse around input lag will present as the mouse moving around the screen slower than you're moving the mouse by hand. Similar to playing a pc game with the graphics settings way higher than the graphics card can do. What is the model number for your tv mate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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