• New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.

DLP or Plasma - Which is Better - Or Better Value?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
Buck94 said:
If you don't mind sharing, what brand and model of plasma TV did you select? Just curious.

Buck
Click to expand...

No problem.

Like I said above its really more a monitor, always will demand a set-top box.

LINK

The precise model number is Maxent MX-42HPM20

It has 3 user-selectable picture definition modes, "vivid, "cinema" "standard" and then a fourth user-variable mode. One thing I noticed is that the pre-sets all trend crisper than I would like and higher in chroma than I need. Perhaps that is an Asian vs Western thing.

The HDTV from D* is unfortunately neutered in SW Ohio by the local stations, so I don't get those New York feeds. Not to worry though HBOHD was outstanding, the Sopranos looked gorgeous in HD. Plus, the Off-air antenna pulls in scads of NBC/ABC/CBS/Fox affiliate stations with HD feed.

One thing that was a huge surprise is how many damned pieces of bandwidth the PBS stations are taking up with HD capability. Channel 14 down here has five slots, the first four carry subtly different feeds one from another - one is never HD for instance. What is daft is that the last one, which is natively broadcasting in HD at 1080i, is called "Sign-Off" and carries nothing but a blank screen.

Oh, for those needing to think of Off-Air Antennas --

Bad experience with this model .... RCA ANT537. Looks slick as cat-shit but it died within hours of coming out the box, and it variability / tuning was limited to none.
70209-rcaant537.jpg


Better luck with a Phillips antenna of similar design, also looks reasonably slick, much higher degree of tuning / variability options. Pulled in stations the RCA model simply did not see (before it went completely dead that is).
 
Upvote 0
sandgk,
Did Best Buy or DirecTV tell you when you could expect the locals in HD without the antenna? I'm in the same market as you and am dying for them to change. I have an RCA antenna (not the same as yours) that ran around $35, which was the best they carried at the time. I'm constantly having to adjust the antenna. CBS puts out a nice signal but ABC is an absolute pain to get tuned in. I bought my TV and reciever at BB in November and was told that DirecTV was supposed to have this done in January or February. When the basement was finally complete and everything was hooked up in January, I called DirecTV for my activation. They told me they don't know when the Cincy market is going to be ready but Columbus and Cleveland will be this spring.
 
Upvote 0
coxew said:
sandgk,
Did Best Buy or DirecTV tell you when you could expect the locals in HD without the antenna? I'm in the same market as you and am dying for them to change. I have an RCA antenna (not the same as yours) that ran around $35, which was the best they carried at the time. I'm constantly having to adjust the antenna. CBS puts out a nice signal but ABC is an absolute pain to get tuned in. I bought my TV and reciever at BB in November and was told that DirecTV was supposed to have this done in January or February. When the basement was finally complete and everything was hooked up in January, I called DirecTV for my activation. They told me they don't know when the Cincy market is going to be ready but Columbus and Cleveland will be this spring.
Click to expand...
BestBuy is like Sgt Shultz - they know nothing, nothing ...

D* isn't exactly a fount of knowledge either.

The customer support on phone were not forthcoming - non-committal if your will.

The installer however was fairly clear on 2 scores.

A - The hold-out is driven by the local affiliates, not by D*, implied mid-year transition.
B - Also important, the 3rd satellite (which is why you need their bigger 5LNB dish) will likely roll-in new channels beginning this year, and with existing 2 Satellite pick-up they are planning on rolling-in another HD channel, on average, each month
 
Upvote 0
sandgk said:
B - Also important, the 3rd satellite (which is why you need their bigger 5LNB dish) will likely roll-in new channels beginning this year, and with existing 2 Satellite pick-up they are planning on rolling-in another HD channel, on average, each month
Click to expand...
A 5 LNB dish? Haven't seen those. Is the 3 LNB dish going to become obsolete or not able to pick up the locals?
 
Upvote 0
coxew said:
A 5 LNB dish? Haven't seen those. Is the 3 LNB dish going to become obsolete or not able to pick up the locals?
Click to expand...

The biggest change is that the 5 LNB dish is going to receive MPEG4 compressed data. This will allow for more bandwidth such as local channels and new HD channels. This means you will need an HD receiver that can handle MPEG4. The base HD receiver that does this for D* is the H20.

I think eventually the 3 LNB dish will become obsolete, but not right away. You would still be able to get OTA HD locals as you do today. You would not be able to receive any new HD channels from what I understand.
 
Upvote 0
Buck94 said:
The biggest change is that the 5 LNB dish is going to receive MPEG4 compressed data. This will allow for more bandwidth such as local channels and new HD channels. This means you will need an HD receiver that can handle MPEG4. The base HD receiver that does this for D* is the H20.

I think eventually the 3 LNB dish will become obsolete, but not right away. You would still be able to get OTA HD locals as you do today. You would not be able to receive any new HD channels from what I understand.
Click to expand...

From what I understand the 5LNBs are all they are (or should) be placing on new installs. If they give you a 3LNB on a new D* install I'd re-schedule :(

Oh, and coxew, Cinci just missed the cut of the earlier list of added markets (which included Columbus, OH) which has ~10,000 more sets in homes. That probably puts Cincinnati top of the order for the next list.

Like Buck94 states, its all about the MPEG4 content.

The other thing I want to see more about (was meant to happen today) is the Directv 2Go business. This promised to be the first implementation of the USB ports, pretty nifty if we can all get those MPEG4 files moving around on an 802.11 network. It does not mean I can get them onto the PC (yet) but that may come soon enough.
 
Upvote 0
The TV/Video market is so friggin complex how is anyone to make sense of it?
DirectTv and Dish make the hookup easier. And the quality!
Why have a great TV if you don't have sat?
I have a "cheap" Panasonic 27 with a flat screen and with the sat it is damn hard to beat!
Lots of great TVs seem to have "issues" with blackness. Details seem to disappear. :(
 
Upvote 0
Taosman said:
Lots of great TVs seem to have "issues" with blackness. Details seem to disappear. :(
Click to expand...

This is where CRTs such as your "cheap" Panasonic show their stuff. Microdisplays are so bright, that it is a difficult balance between vivid colors and blacker than black using a hot, bright lamp. I wonder if the new LED based lamps will be better. They sure as heck will last longer and will operate at a lower temperature, thus no fan and less noise.
 
Upvote 0
Hey guys. The technology and pricing on flatscreens has changed over the past year. Anyone looked at these lately?

I have the choice between the:

Panasonic Plasma 50' for $1399
Sharp 46" HD for $1599
Sharp 52" HD for $2299

Leaning to the plasma because it is realativly cheap and big. They all have very good reviews.
 
Upvote 0
I remain firmly convinced that it is the Video processing chip which really makes the biggest difference within a class of display (DLP, Plasma or LCD).

That said, I have yet to find a good, deep, technical review of gamma, artefact prevention and the like - they used to do such reviews all the time for high-end ($2-3,000) computer displays. Naive of me perhaps, but I'd have thought it would be worthwhile for someone to really nail which displays have which chips, and how this impacts the resulting fidelity of image.
 
Upvote 0
Folanator;971047; said:
Take a look at this deal. I am not sure how I can go wrong unless I am missing something.

Panasonic TH-50PX600U PLASMA TV - 50", 1366x768, 10000:1 Contrast Ratio, HDMI, PC Input, ATSC Tuner, Speakers, Stand at TigerDirect.com

I have used Tiger Direct before with good results.
Click to expand...
The resolution is only 1366 x 768 which is why it's so cheap. For a 50" HDTV you should really have 1920 x 1080 minimum, and I'd suggest going with a 1080p set as you're certain to get an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player in the next couple of years.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top