Joining 21st century, school me

[TexasDevilDog]

Wife and I are making the jump to LCD and blue ray player. We gave away our CRT and are now forced to buying one. That was the only way to get my cheap ass to buy a new TV.

Tv is not the center of my world. I don't know what I need in a TV or can fore go. We use Netflix on my computer. So I want to do it through the new setup.

Help me spend some money.

[Venom]

If I were you I would go with a PS3. The blue ray player is great and it has netflix already on it so you won't need to use the computer. The new "slim" ones are wireless so you won't need to run an ethernet cable. As far as a televison I will need some more information to help you out.
What size are you looking for? Over or under 42"
What is the lighting in the room? Are there alot of windows?
Budget?

I would also go with a plasma over LCD. Yes the size is better on LCD's but the plasma is a better picture. I have a 50" plasma in the living room and a 42" LCD in the bed room and the plasma is much, much better.

Also what are you going to do for sound? It would be a shame to have such a nice visual setup with the puny stock speakers. I would go with a sound bar/sub combo at the least.

[clevelandkid]

+1 on everything venom said... if you just want to go big, the mistubishi's still offer a very good picture, and are cheap.

$900 for the new 65", $1300 for the new 73"

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...549&CatId=1830

[Venom]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+-+50%22+Class+/+1080p+/+600Hz+/+Plasma+HDTV/9789343.p?id=1218175322173&skuId=9789343

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+PlayStation+3+%28160GB%29/1237212.p?id=1218239967692&skuId=1237212

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+Blu-ray+Remote+for+PlayStation+3/8208389.p?id=1165610937857&skuId=8208389

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+-+2-1/2%22+Soundbar+with+Powered+Wireless+Subwoofer/9761474.p?id=1218168620884&skuId=9761474

And you can have it by Christmas. Just go by Frys and get a cheap HDMI cable.

[stangin4lyfe]

I have a 1080p 57" Mitsubishi DLP posted on CL.
I will take $350 from a stanger for it.
Take a look...

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/ele/2108638477.html

[fordracing19]

I have a 1080p 57" Mitsubishi DLP posted on CL.
I will take $350 from a stanger for it.
Take a look...

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/ele/2108638477.html

Wish i had a game room.

[jakesford]

Lots of options... first off, do not get to caught up with the numbers, and don't let the kid at the store try and sell you on them. Advertised contrast ratios are fictions ratings, and are not comparable between makes or even between models from the same maker. On LCD's I would not worry with refresh rates over 120hz, and if you like movies I would be more concerned with having a TV that properly handles 24fps content.

Also realize that at the store the picture settings are usually the default "torch mode". This is not optimal, and is something manufacturers do to make their TV brighter and standout compared to the 100 other TV's on the wall. So when you first take it out of the box don't be shocked by a crappy picture until you adjust the settings some.

If you are looking at 50" and below, a 1080p resolution is not mandatory. Even with a blu-ray, you will be hard pressed to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p at a normal viewing distance. This is less of a factor now as most panels are 1080p, but many entry level plasma's are still 720p.

LCD pros
Light weight and usually slimmer, especially the new LED back lite panels
Matte screens work better in rooms with lots of ambient light or windows, though some use glass and will create reflections.
Usually produces brighter images which help with ^
More energy efficient and run cooler.
No risk of "burn in"

LCD cons / potential issues
Can have trouble with brightness uniformity across the panel.
Backlight bleed around the edges and corners
Viewing angles are not as good as plasma screens
Fast motion is more prone to judder and artifacting
Motion smoothing to help prevent ^ can create an unnatural look on other content.
Black levels are still behind plasma's and CRT's, but they are getting pretty close.

Plasma pros
Usually considered to have better blacks than LCD's, and are closer to CRT's.
Handle fast motion and sports better.
No issues with backlight bleed.
Much wider viewing angles.
Many still think that plasma offers the best picture quality.
Right now you can get more screen for your $$ with plasma.

Plasma cons / potential issues
They use a glass screen which creates reflections, some have coatings to help with this.
Generally they produce better images in a room with good light control
Heavier, run hotter, and use more power than LCD's.
Still a potential for burn in, with most modern plasmas this is not an issue.

Hope this helps, and good luck joining the modern age haha