LCD or LED? 720? 1080?

[perc-o-prince]

We're thinking of getting a flat panel, but aren't sure of which way to go. I think I'd like to stay with 1080p for higher resolution, but how much does it really matter? What's the difference that you've actually seen? Keep in mind that we use the TV for watching TV and not gaming or anything like that. Vids or DVDs occasionally at best.

Obviously we need to take a look at LED and LCD side-by-side, but have any of you had any experience that would tell me to shy away from one vs. the other? I know the difference, technology-wise, but am looking for actual use experience.

Thanks for any help!

Chuck

 

[washernoob]

Well we have a 1080p LCD tv. Its a fantastic television. Never had a 720 or LED, but we dont have any issues with the LCD. Now many people will argue that the bulb will eventually burn out, but thats long down the road anyways.

 

[mrb627]

Consumer Activists...

say that if you don't absolutely have to buy now, wait. The best TV deals will be the weekend before the Superbowl.

Malcolm

 

[cfz2882]

earlier this year,right before my brother was going to show up
(with children)for a weeks stay,the color conked out on my
2000 vintage panasonic-so had to find a replacement;ended up
with a sanyo DP46840 1080p LCD(one major selling point for me
was that it was "assembled in mexico" instead of "made in china
-yuck!)so far i have been very pleased with it-i expect the
backlight ccfl tubes to last around 5yrs before needing
replacement but i do not know how long they are supposed to
last.
LEDs last for decades,but they can dim a little with long term
usage-some colors more than others,so that might cause the
color balance to get "off"after a few years of use?

 

[sudsmaster]

I think that unless one's budget is very tight, it's a better idea to go with 1080p displays at this point. The price difference isn't all that great, and one can certainly tell the difference between 720 and 1080.

I don't have cable or a satellite but get good local broadcast reception. The shows in 1080i are stunning and clearly sharper than the stuff broadcast in 720i. So far I think all the broadcasts are at the i (meaning interlaced) level, but it's still very good.

The LED units only use the LED part to replace the white fluorescent backlighting with LED fired backlighting. My guess is that the LED backlighting will outlast the fluorescent, and will be more energy efficient as well, but I haven't seen any figures on either.

Currently I have a 42" Vizio LCD flat panel in the living room. It hangs above the fireplace, which I think is a perfect spot for that room, and opens up some floor space for other things. It's an older (circa 2007) unit but works just fine, never had a problem. I am considering replacing it with a larger unit, and moving it to the family room (where it would hang above the fireplace there, as well). I will probably get a LED backlighted unit for the replacement, but I'm in no hurry at this time. The old tube set in the family room (which is really my office) is still working ok for now.

 

[cfz2882]

LED TVs

there are LED backlit LCDS that have came out recently,but i
think there are also some where the pixels are actually tiny
LEDs-the sharp"quatron"with red,blue,green,and yellow led
pixels?
I also looked at plasma tvs but they were all 720 pixel and
these are older technology as experimental ones were made
back in the mid -'80s

 

[whirlcool]

And 3D Televisions?

Anyone here have one yet? Prices seem to be dropping quickly.

 

[polkanut]

Chuck & Rich,

We just bought a Toshiba 40" LCD 1080p tv this past summer (July) from Best Buy. It is a 2009 model, and we got a great deal on it as they had a sale to make room for new stock. It replaced an analog 2000 Sony Trinitron 40" flat screen. We also primarily use our set as you do. We couldn't be happier with it. The colors are so much more vivid than what we were used to. For $35 they hauled the old set away. I gladly paid to have them haul it away, the old set weighed about 250lbs. And I didn't have to worry about where to dispose of it.

 

[sudsmaster]

I don't think there are any consumer grade flat panels out there that use LED's for the color pixels. I suppose it's possible, but I suspect it would be insanely expensive to make a residential set this way (big stadium screen are probably LED's, though).

As far as I can recall, the main advantages of the LED backlit panels is that the light is instant (fluorescent backlights take a little time to come to full brightness), doesn't dim as much with age, and use less energy. I've looked at LED vs regular flat panels in the store and while the LED appears slightly sharper and more vibrant, that could well just be the difference between brands/models. I guess I'm waiting for Consumer Reports to weigh in on the subject (one product area where I think they do a relatively good job).

My dilemma is that what I really need in the family room is a plasma screen so it can be viewed from both the desk, which is slightly to the left, and from the kitchen, which is off to the right, of the fireplace location. With the tube set I just rotate the set on the lazy susan stand it's on. A flat panel could have an adjustable wall mount, which would be ok, but that means that I'd be buying a new, smaller plasma set for the family room when I really want to recycle the LCD one in the living room to the family room so I can go bigger in the living room. At some point I'll probably give in and do one or the other. The main problem with the tube set is that the sports scores and/or subtitles really aren't legible from my desk, but I've suffered worse inconveniences and survived this long anyway ;-)

 

[cfz2882]

"LED" TVs

i googled"led tv"-you are right,so-called"LED"tv are just LED
backlit LCD tvs though on some the backlight LEDs can be
controlled individually for more contrast and other effects.
the big stadium screens are direct LED pixels...

 

[petek]

We got a Samsung 40" LCD last year (1080p). Great picture and I like that it swivels on the base,some don't. It also does a good job of converting standard 4:3 into 16:9 full screen without making the image look "stretched" like my older 32" Akai set does. Hi Def on it is amazingly sharp and clear. I don't really think there's much viewing difference between an LCD and an LED set and if there is it's so minute no-one could probably tell the difference. Well except for those people, the ones who always can LOL.
It also has an easy to use remote. Got the exact same model for my 86 y.o. mom who is hopeless with anything with buttons and she had no problem from the get go.
When we bought ours it was around $800, a few months later getting moms it was down to around $700 so I'd imagine the prices have dropped again.
Plus size also depends on viewing distance.. our couch is only about 6-7 feet from the set so 40" was good. Even the 32" set was a good size for that distance. We don't do gaming and rarely watch videos so all that extra stuff would just be wasted.

 

[retropia]

Plasma outscores LCD in Consumer Reports reviews. They also cost less. A big plus for plasma is that the viewing angle doesn't matter. With LCD, the farther away from dead center you are, the picture degrades. The biggest drawback for plasma (that I know of, anyway) is that it consumes more power and emits more heat than LCD sets do.

To the best of my knowledge, all traditional broadcast high-definition is only 720p, not 1080p. I know that satellite providers are showing a few select movies in 1080p, but my understanding is you need internet hookup to a HD DVR in order to view them. Our flat screen is 1080p, but I'm not sure we've ever watched anything at that resolution. BluRay movies use 1080p.

The best pricing, I think, is on plasma sets that have 720p resolution. You get more bang for your buck, and I think the resolution is incredible.

In fact, I think the standard high-definition of broadcast shows almost provides too much detail. I've started noticing how many male actors have pierced ears! I keep thinking, how hard would it be for them to cover their empty piercing holes with makeup? I know I'm being weird, but I find it very distracting.

 

[petek]

Our cable co delivers in 1080i. I got curious when I noticed on the new Samsung it said 1080i whenever I changed channels (in the channel indicator box). So I called Samsung and asked why it was 1080i when the tv is 1080p. They said it was showing what the incoming signal was but that the tv would convert it to 1080p.. how they do that or if it's true I don't know. I called our cable co and apparently that is what they use except for hi-def. Regardless the picture is still excellent

 

[ronhic]

I confess.....

.....in this area, we're environmental vandals.

....thanks to a 3yr old 50" Samsung HD Plasma. Fantastic picture regardless (well almost) of the viewing angle. Sure it gets hot, but with 12' ceilings, hot air rises!

IT ROCKS!

 

[frigilux]

I'd recommend checking out a plasma set, too. They have more true "blacks" than LCDs, and has been mentioned, a much wider viewing angle.

They're not so great if you play a lot of video games, though. Static images can 'burn' into the screen--that is, they'll leave ghost images.

Both my rapidly aging TVs are tube; but when I replace them, it will be with a high-quality plasma set.

 

[mattl]

I own 2 plasmas, an LCD and a CRT all HD. The 2 plasma and the LCD all less than 18 months old. The LCD and the one of the plasmas are upper mid range products. Having spent a great deal of time researching ad looking, at this point I only recommend plasma sets to family and friends looking to buy. My LCd, a Samsung, is great straight on but the image degrades very quickly as you move off angle or stand up. It now resides in my bedroom where viewing location is fixed.

LCd sets also employ a motion compensation setup that I find terrible, and some people love. You'll see it hyped as 120 Hz or 240 Hz displays. Since LCD sets cannot handle fast motion as well as plasma and CRT based sets ( the crystals have to physically twist and untwist to allow light to pass through) they interpolate what they think the next frame will look like and insert this frame between the two real frames being sent by the tuner or DVD or what ever the source is. This creates what is known as "soap opera' effect. Films look like they were shot on video. The film like quality is stripped away. All sets have ways of defeating this for the most part but then you are left with the motion artifacts that this was designed to hide, so the best I can do with my LCD is to apply this motion compensation judiciously and the end result isn't bad. My plasmas beat it hands down especially with sports, but in everyday viewing it's not too bad.

Would I buy another LCD? No, never. But I can see situations where LCDs might be the right choice. Regardless of which format you are buying, stick with the big manufactures, Panasonic, Sony and Samsung. These are the big three at the moment doing the most research and producing the best products. Sharp, Toshiba, LG and Vizio are OK products but certainly not cutting edge. I laugh at the Sharp ads where they add Yellow to the mix. Adding yellow just means a computer in the TV is 'guessing" when the yellow needs to fire, there is no yellow signal in the standards that all TVs use. Signals are send in Red, Blue and Green. Mixing these three colors can produce more than the best screen can display. So Sharp and it's yellow is just hype.

 

[tolivac]

LED backlights in LCD sets can improve black and dark picture reproduction on LCD's over flourescent backlights-the LED backlights behind the dark area of the picture can be dimmed or even cut off-thus better "blacks".And yes among videophiles-Plasmas are still the best way to go.so what on the engergy use-wouldn't be any more than the HD CRT Hitachi RPTV I use now.Since my TV hasn't really declined in quality-have a long time to wait and decide on a new set.

 

[sudsmaster]

I routinely view over the air broadcasts in 1080i. PBS and NBC stand out in this respect.

ABC is one network that refuses to adopt 1080i. Their standard is 720i.

It can make a difference.

 

[passatdoc]

I've had a Vizio 42" LCD since summer 2008. So far, so good. If you connect the cable directly to the tv, you get I believe 720 reception on our (Cox) system. If you use the digital cable box (DVR), and connect to the tv with HDMI, you get full 1080 reception. I can see the difference.

Where I don't really see the difference, oddly enough, is with Blu-Ray DVDs. I am not one to throw out something that works, so until a month ago, my HDTV was connected to a conventional DVD player with 1080 upconversion, with an HDMI cable. The DVD player's video signal died a month ago; I gave it to a friend who can use the audio output (still working) for his annual Halloween displays.

To replace it, I bought a Vizio Blu-Ray DVD player with built-in WiFi. The Netflix application streams wirelessly to the DVD player and into the tv, and for this feature alone,, it was worth every penny of its $125 cost. That said, I purchased a few used Blu-Ray disks to experiment with the player. I can't see much improvement over standard DVDs that I used in my old player---but that player did feature 1080 upconversion and was connected by HDMI. So I wonder if perhaps the old player did such a good job of mimicking true 1080 resolution that Blu-Ray on an HDTV doesn't seem that much better?

It's no big deal, I had to replace the broken player, I didn't pay a huge price tag, I got the NetFlix application which I really enjoy, and I would guess that eventually all DVD disks will be sold in Blu-Ray format only, so it's best to be prepared.

Before buying the Blu-Ray, my cable bill was about $85/month, without any pay channels like HBO or Showtime. I did have the "extended" cable service with 100s of channels, none of which I had any time to watch. As soon as I got NetFlix up and running, I downgraded my cable service to the basic 72 (normal definition) channels plus the "basic" 30 HD channels (requires the box) because I can really see the resolution difference between connecting the cable directly to the tv and using the box. Where I live, standard antennae don't work (terrain issues), so either you use cable or satellite dish. This downgrade dropped the bill to $62/month from $85. If I ditch the box entirely, and connect directly to the cable, the cost would drop to $42. My bedroom tv (26" LCD) is connected directly to cable, but at that small screen size, the lower resolution isn't a big issue.

In general, you can see the difference between 720 and 1040 once you get above 40". When I bought my 42" set, I remember seeing a review article on CNET.com in which the author explained that the difference between 1080 and 740 was not a big issue in smaller sets, but becomes noticeable above 40". When I go to Costco, I see moderately priced smaller sets in the 24-32" range that are 740, my guess is they cost less to produce and the resolution gap is not that noticeable at that size.

 

[passatdoc]

Found this little tip in the Vizio Blu-Ray user manual....

"Film Mode (1080p24)
Many movies recorded on Blu-ray discs are recorded at 24 frames per second (fps). If your player is
connected to the TV via HDMI, and the TV has the capability to display 24 fps, setting Film Mode to
On tells your player to output content recorded at 24 fps (without converting it to 30 or 60
frames/second)."

I hadn't explored this area of the player's options menu, it's possible that the player is converting the fps rate to something other than optional. I will try setting the Film Mode to "on" and see what happens with a Blu-Ray disk. This might be the reason I don't see any quality difference between regular DVDs in the old player and Blu-Rays in the new player.