Best TV for a 44" wide space

[Howell]

Time for me to get a TV. The fiance wants it so I'm a gonna get it.

I still have not had a chance to read up on what technical specs I should get if I could get it but my biggest problem is finding a range that will fit the space. If my calculations are correct I can fit a 50" diagonal TV in that space not accounting for bezel. Is there a way I can compare TVs easily by total width including bezel? I'm pretty sure if I just look at 0-bezel TVs I'll definitely pay a premium.

 

[time]

Whatever you do, don't ask Stereodude or Handruin, or you'll end up with an Estoril Blue screen and a carbon fiber bezel.

 

[Howell]

hehe.

If I have to do a manual search which 5 manufacturers should I start with?

 

[LunarMist]

That is exactly the space I had for one TV. My 46" TV is exactly 43.5" wide with bezel.

 

[Bozo]

I had the same problem. I ended up checking the manufacturers specs for the over all width.
I bought a Samsung plasma screen.

 

[time]

Firstly, 50" is an obsolete size. You're looking at pseudo-metric sizes now, eg 55" ~ 140cm, 47" ~120cm.

Five to consider would be Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic and Vizio. I have no idea how good Vizio units are, but it was enough to persuade Snowhiker, and Santilli until his acted up.

If money is no object, Samsung has a model for you.

If you're an IPS fan, Panasonic now makes up to 55" in LCD.

If you're looking for a bargain, check out the CCFL-backlit Sonys.

If you're Goldilocks, check out LG for something that's not too expensive but still packing features.

Picking some affordable samples in the 120cm class, Panasonic appears to be the biggest, with a screen diagonal of 46.9" and dimensions of 43.6" x 28.1" (including stand). LG is also 46.9" but with a slightly smaller bezel that results in 42.9" x 28.4" (including stand). Samsung is smaller because they have opted for a 45.9" screen and consequent dimensions of 41.7" x 26.8".

I'm sure that there is some model variation, but that should give you a starting point.

 

[Bozo]

Depending on what you are going to attach to the TV, you might consider a 720p unit. All hi-def TV ( cable, satellite, and OTA ) are 720p. Blue ray disk are 1080p.
The store we were at (HH Gregg) had a wall of TVs with the local TV station showing on them. The 720p units were easy to pick out as they were a lot sharper, IMHO.

 

[Stereodude]

Whatever you do, don't ask Stereodude or Handruin, or you'll end up with an Estoril Blue screen and a carbon fiber bezel.

That would be one sexy looking TV. :cheers:

If I have to do a manual search which 5 manufacturers should I start with?

I would definitely recommend a manual over an automatic.

 

[LunarMist]

Well you could ask Siri; that would be an automatic search.

 

[Howell]

Thanks Bozo, we typically watch movies and stream Amazon. I have an HDTV anntenna for local programming but it's not a particular focus for us. I also plan to add on an Xbox with kinect soon.*

Smartasses, the lot of you.

 

[Howell]

I figured someone else would have already solved this problem or at least know what system I would have to use, thanks for the input. What do you guys think of this gadget? I'm still trying to figure out the give and take on LCD/LED/Plasma, refresh rates (60/120 ok, 960Hz wtf?),...

 

[Howell]

So this 46" Samsung is in the LCD section while they have a seperate LED section. Am I to assume that it is CCFL lit even though it is not listed in the specs?
http://m.samsung.com/us/video/tvs/LN46D630M3FXZA

 

[ddrueding]

Typically, unless LED is specified I assume CCFL (the older and inferior option)

 

[Chewy509]

easy,
Plamsa lots of power, LCD/CCFL, lots of power but less than plasma, LCD/LED the most power efficient.

Plasma, most say has the best colour depth, LCD/CCFL in second and LCD/LED third place (unless they are using high quality LEDs for the back light, which a lot of cheap LED unit don't).

As for connectivity, think about what devices you want to attach, and ensure it meets those needs. (In my case we just needed just 1 HDMI for the BR player, just got a set with 3 HDMI ports for future expansion, eg PS3, XBOX, etc).

Don't bother with anything less than 1080p, all new content and devices are geared for this res.

Try to go to stores to see the units in action and play with them. Also get them to demonstrate content being feed from a varity of sources (OTA TV, DVD and BR via HDMI).

And really think about if you need 3D or SmartTV/IPTV features before demanding them. (IPTV works well here in Oz, as all TV stations except Nine have committed to IPTV for all major brands, including Samsung, Sony and LG). Also Skype is a nice feature (if you use it), but be warned that your manufacturer has to provide firmware updates on your set, if you wish to keep Skype for the long term (in the event Skype modifies the protocol which they have done from time to time).

 

[LunarMist]

Correct. I have the previous version of that TV and it has been very good.

 

[Chewy509]

Plasma's have a higher refresh due to the technology, but most LCD/LED TV are either 50/60, 100/120 or 200/240. I don't know where that 960Hz come from. The higher the Hz, either means 3D, or for more fluid motion. However, if the content is only 25Hz, or 60Hz, etc, the TV has to do some serious work to make the image look good at 100/120Hz. Cheap units, may be 120Hz, but they merely display the same image twice, but high-end units will work out the diff between the two frames and provide a intermediate image/frame between the two to smooth out action.

To see what does what, you need to go and see them in person...

 

[time]

Good summaries, Chewy. Be warned that some AWD LCD panels, presumably due to their requirements for very fast response times, have more limited viewing angles than you might expect. This doesn't affect LG because they use a passive AWD system instead.

Oops, I mean 3D.

 

[Howell]

Thanks all.
What is a normal effective viewing angle side to side? Does one technology do significantly better with this.

 

[LunarMist]

Plasma is more like the angle of an old CRT. LCDs vary, with the cheap ones generally being worse.

 

[Chewy509]

Plasma is more like the angle of an old CRT. LCDs vary, with the cheap ones generally being worse.

Most LCDs these days are decent on the left/right viewing, it's the above/below viewing that can be terrible.

 

[Howell]

Plasma is looking pretty attractive. It sounds like the major drawbacks are power consumption and heat. True?

 

[Handruin]

Some might argue a third and fourth drawback for plasmas is the possible dimming or reduced brightness output over time and screen burn-in if left on a static image for extended periods of time. I'm going on close to 5 years on my Samsung plasma and haven't had any of those issues so far. I also do not run my TV at 100% brightness, so it may be possible that I'm not burning it out as fast as others. The heat is mostly annoying in the summer, but useful in the winter. I don't watch enough TV to be put back by the added power consumption, but last I remember looking at some example figures, I didn't seem them as a road block. I do enjoy the times when the off-angle viewing is needed when guests are over visiting, but those aren't very frequent. I also appreciate the lack of lag for the times when using the xbox 360 for gaming.

All that said, I would likely consider an LCD for my next TV. I feel like they've come a long way in the past several years where my initial concerns with color, lag, and brightness no longer seem to be an issue. Given that I don't watch a lot of TV, replacement of my current TV may be quite some time unless if this one dies for some reason and the cost to fix is not worth it.

 

[Bozo]

My Samsung plasma has a setting in the menu that helps reduce burn in.
It does put off some heat and the electric consumption is higher, but I enjoy the better picture.
My son bought a 68" Samsung plasma with 3D. We watched the demo disk that came with the set in 3D. Awesome!!!

 

[Howell]

Most LCDs these days are decent on the left/right viewing, it's the above/below
viewing that can be terrible.

Can you quantify decent with a degree measurement? I suspect I might need 100-120 deg.

 

[Chewy509]

Can you quantify decent with a degree measurement? I suspect I might need 100-120 deg.

Cant' say for all LCDs, but my Sony 40" CX520 easily does 170/170 left right. Up/down is about 120/120.
In contrast my daughters cheap 17" LCD (with integrated DVD player) is only about 90/90 left/right and about 50/45 up/down.

These figures are typically not disclosed, so you need to go in store to check them out.

 

[Howell]

This one seems pretty good for my space; my actual maximum width is 45.6. Nobody but Samsung (not Panasonic, LG) lists a 50" on their corporate site. And it is hard to find the Samsung 50s for sale. This one is good right? I'm just not sure how Cosco works particularly over the web.

http://tinyurl.com/ctrrtu4
​http://www.samsung.com/us/video/tvs/UN50ES6150FXZA-specs

My next one may need to some with a new wall.

 

[DrunkenBastard]

Thanks Bozo, we typically watch movies and stream Amazon. I have an HDTV anntenna for local programming but it's not a particular focus for us. I also plan to add on an Xbox with kinect soon.*

Smartasses, the lot of you.

How is the room set up in terms of ambient light? If you have some sun coming thru curtains etc than you will probably be better off with an LCD model as you have selected in your last post, they have the brightness levels to be visible whereas a plasma is best used in a darkened environment. Plasma is also a poor choice if you play games with bright menus/heads up displays etc due to potential burn-in.

Also, you may want to hold off on a 360 + Kinect given it's successor, the 720 + Kinect 2 is reportedly coming out next year for the same $299 that the DVD based 360+Kinect 1 will cost you today. 720 will support Blu-ray like the PS3, and the Kinect 2 supports 4 players with more resolution/less living room furniture re-arrangement.

 

[Howell]

Thanks for the heads up DB!

The window on the wall facing the screen is ..... french doors. But they face east, are tree-shaded and we are usually only watching at night anyway.

I'll keep the Xbox release schedule in mind if only to pick up and older model cheaper.

 

[time]

I've looked at our consumer association test results and it looks like my linking of viewing angles with active 3D is either wrong or out of date. Unfortunately, the list of about 80 LCD and plasma sets they have reviewed over the last 18 months is largely out of date and due to be refreshed next month. So I can't find the series that you've linked to, but I collected some stats in case anyone is interested. All the scores are subjective and from 1 to 100, eg. plasma sets have the best viewing angles and score 90% (I excluded them just from the viewing angle stats so you can see the range of scores for LCD). The viewing scores are median, minimum and maximum for that and the 3 different resolutions available: Broadcast, DVD and BD.

Brand     Broadcast     DVD       BD    ViewAngle

LG            71        64        69        80
            (52-78)   (46-76)   (49-77)   (30-80)

Panasonic     67        63.5      65.5      80
            (57-79)   (44-73)   (54-81)   (40-80)

Samsung       76        64        70        55
            (66-81)   (58-80)   (62-83)   (30-75)

Sony          76        67        74        75
            (61-82)   (52-75)   (64-82)   (55-80)