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Geek Culture / Looking for an HDTV...

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Happy Cheesecake
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 06:45
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Yeah, so as the title may suggest, I'm looking for a new television. I'm still using a 14" standard set from back in 1995, and frankly, I'm getting pretty tired of it. I play a lot of games on it, but the size of the screen cuts off the edges of most games, and it gets really annoying, so I figured I would step into the 21st century and pick me up a new TV while I'm at it. Unfortunately... I don't even know where to begin.

I'd like to spend somewhere around $300, as that looks to be what the usual 22" HDTV LCD yada-yada ones are, and I'd like to be able to play some games without any input lag as well (in-fact, that's more of a necessity). I've played on a relative's HDTV previously and the input lag was horrendous... I'm not sure what makes it lag so badly, if it has to do with upscaling or downscaling the resolution or if it's just something to do with the refresh rate of the screen or what. I'm clueless, so I figured I'd consult the professionals before investing a large sum of money into something I cannot even play my games on.

Any suggestions on a certain TV or brand I should buy? I'm kind of in the dark here.

Cheers.

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CoffeeGrunt
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 10:15
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Positive: I work in electrical sales irl.

Negative: I haven't a buggering clue about what the American amrket can offer you.

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DevilLiger
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 13:52 Edited at: 8th Aug 2011 14:00
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here's my specs that i'd thought was at least acceptable. I recommend monster HDMI cables. I know they cost a lot but to me it's worth it. if you're on a budget any HDMI cable will be fine.

Brand: Vizio
Size: 47"
pixel: 1080p
Refresh Rate: 120hz
Total Price: $730usd (after CA,USA 8-9% tax and total)
HDMI: 4 Inputs

i was told Vizio was decent along with others like Samsung,LG. Sony cost too much for what it is.

make sure you have a graphic card that can plug in HDMI. If not don't feel down. There are DVI to HDMI adaptors. I haven't tried them but they should work as well. the resolution depends on your graphic card.

I found a tv at best buy in USA for under $500usd. It was a 32" with 1080p. refresh rate was unknown. anyways what im trying to say is HDTV is very cheap now so keep looking. i have a radeon 4350 with 512mb and that one can only support up to 60hz. my tv can go up to 120hz.

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bitJericho
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 14:06
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Quote: "I recommend monster HDMI cables. I know they cost a lot but to me it's worth it. if you're on a budget any HDMI cable will be fine."


HDMI is digital, so monster cables are no benefit vs any other normal cable. The version of the spec the cable uses may be important though so you'll want to look at that.


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Agent Dink
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 14:08
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I have a cheap 42" Insignia (best buy's brand) 1080P LCD TV. I don't notice ANY input lag. I get some ghosting (looks almost like a tiny bit of motion blur), but I'm not a snob when it comes to my screen and for the price it was completely acceptable. It's not as vibrant as a Sony or Samsung, but if your not comparing them side by side you'll never notice.

I think the TV was $640 USD when I bought it 2 years ago. I think Insignia is pretty decent. It has all the hookups for HDMI, VGA, Component, Composite, Optical audio, and S-Video.

http://lossofanonymity.wordpress.com
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Agent Dink
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 14:10
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Also, you can get generic HDMI cables on Amazon for literally $5. They look fine. Monster cables are a joke coming in at over $60 for a 5 food cable (last I had seen). DON'T buy them in the store unless you want to be monetarily raped for convenience's sake.

http://lossofanonymity.wordpress.com
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DevilLiger
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 15:02 Edited at: 8th Aug 2011 15:38
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edit:oops sorry never mind.

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bitJericho
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 15:12
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Quote: "oops sorry never mind."

It's an honest mistake the monster pays a lot of money to maintain.


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Ocho Geek
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 15:24 Edited at: 8th Aug 2011 15:25
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Quote: "DMI is digital, so monster cables are no benefit vs any other normal cable."

Analogue V Digital 101, digital can withstand rather impressive levels of noise throughout transmission without any affect on output

and indeed, Cable manufacturers are making a fortune out of the public's obliviousness to this fact


Not Spanish, Not Eight, Just Ocho

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CoffeeGrunt
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 18:33
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Quote: "HDMI is digital, so monster cables are no benefit vs any other normal cable."


That being said, I believed the same thing until I attended a Chord training session. The difference between a low-grade HDMI and high grade is staggering.

Although, at least as far as the British market, Monster are horrifically overpriced junk.

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Libervurto
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 19:45 Edited at: 8th Aug 2011 19:50
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I recently bought a 19" Samsung LED TV, it's brilliant! It only cost me £150! I'm using it right now in fact! It's plugged into my PC, SkyTV and games console all at the same time. I know that is hardly new but it is for me. It has really cut down on the number of cables and I don't need PC speakers any more as it also has an input for speaker output.
Would highly recommend Samsung, everything they make is of high quality and reasonably priced.

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Eminent
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 20:54
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It's not really the grade of an HDMI cable, it's the version of it. The current version is 1.4a. I'm surprised no one here has mentioned Monoprice, as many people recommend it. They comply with the 1.4a standard, and their cables are cheap.
Link to a cable:http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024008&p_id=4021&seq=1&format=2


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Phaelax
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Posted: 8th Aug 2011 21:28 Edited at: 8th Aug 2011 21:39
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I 2nd the vote for monoprice. Although becareful, the gauge of wire used in some of their cables can be rather thin.


Vizio, Insignia, I wouldn't bother. Samsung has a great picture for the money, I'd personally get Sony as I feel it has more accurate color reproduction which is more noticeable in the black levels than Samsung. Panasonic also makes very good TVs but cost a bit more last time I checked.

Btw, I wrote those manufacture selections before researching further, so I feel even better about those choices now after reading a CNET review which lists the top 5 best HDTV and they all below to those 3 brands. But of course those were $2k and up models.

I'd get a Sony XBR series if you can, but for $300 my input probably isn't very useful to you.



I just took a look on Walmarts website. If you can increase your budget slightly, you can get a Sony Bravia LCD 32" for $378 or a Samsung 26" for $314. Others under your budget is a 32" Westinghouse for $278. I have a 24" Westinghouse LCD monitor for my PC, which cost me over $500, and the picture is awesome and can go brighter than you'd ever need. The 22" Sony bravia is about the same price as the westinghouse also.

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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 02:10
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Samsung Syncmaster P2270HD cost me about £150, pretty cheap, it's 1080p and has a decent resolution, nice colour, looks really good and it seems to be a little more in your budget, as like you I wanted a cheap, yet decent HDTV for gaming and I have no complaints.

Going for $224 on Amazon.com

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Happy Cheesecake
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 02:13
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I'm liking that Sony Bravia LCD 32". $78 extra shouldn't be too hard to account for, haha. Gonna pick up that HDMI cable that Eminent suggested, as well.

Thanks for all the input guys.

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CoffeeGrunt
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 02:14
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Related topic, what's a good, fairly cheap 1080p monitor on the market?

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Happy Cheesecake
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 02:25
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Hmm, I searched what you suggested Sepp, and I think I found a 27" version. Couldn't find the one you specified, oddly enough. Was it by chance on ebay.co.uk? If it was, I'd rather not pay for shipping cross country.

Anyways, this seems to be the same thing, but with a slightly different name and a larger screen. Do you think the gaming quality would be the same on it just as it is on your's?

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Eminent
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 02:48
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Panasonic is the way to go if you're looking for plasma, for LED then go for Samsung. I have a Panasonic VIERA and it's wonderful.


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CoffeeGrunt
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 03:00
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I agree with this, but only if you're looking at the latest models.

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Melancholic
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 12:12
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@CoffeeGrunt, This is the monitor i'm currently using http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/22%22+BenQ+G2222HDL+Widescreen+LED+Monitor+?productId=39722 Its fairly cheep and looks decent in my oppinion. It has a setting called "GAME" which makes things a little brighter and vibrant for gaming.


I can count to banana...
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Darth Vader
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 12:55
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Haven't read all the posts and I'm not a TV expert or in the US. Look into back-panel lit (Or something similar) LED especially if you're getting a big screen as edge lit won't cut it for larger sizes. Also if you're watching a lot of sports then a high refresh rate is a must around 120Mhz but be careful as again there are different methods to achieving this, and some aren't as good.

Make sure it supports 1080p for full glorious HD and has plenty of ports for HDMI, Component, AV, VGA, SPDIF, Audio In etc...

I picked up a Sony 32" for a really good $850AU (That's good btw) really feature packed. Do your research and shop around and see if places will compare prices or throw in some freebies, got to love those freebies

If someone has already provided you with information then just ignore this

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CoffeeGrunt
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 13:27
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If you're going big screen for gaming, go plasma. LCD and LED lose their edge after ~ 37 inches. (LED of coures just being LCDs with a different method of lighting.)

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Melancholic
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 13:51
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Quote: "120Mhz"


I think you mean 120Hz


I can count to banana...
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Ocho Geek
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 14:07
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not only that, but if you're refresh rate is higher than the FPS the footage is broadcast you're only going to get doubled frames


Not Spanish, Not Eight, Just Ocho

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bitJericho
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 14:08 Edited at: 9th Aug 2011 14:08
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Be careful, a lot of the 120hz and higher tvs add frames artificially to make movement smoother. It may make football look good, but it ruins movies. Some tvs you can't turn the feature off.


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CoffeeGrunt
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 17:49
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Also take the advertised hertz and half it. In a 120Hz TV, there'll be 60 processing frames, and 60 frames that are actually displayed on screen. Manufacturers add these to 120 to make the TV sound better, hence plasmas coming out with 600hz displays that are just silly.

@Ocho

Most good brands calculate the change in colour over a gradient per pixel. So it interpolates it between two frames and displays an iteration per hertz.

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Ocho Geek
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 20:42
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fair enough, but they're not real frames. And there still aren't enough of them for a pigeon.

Yeah, that's right, a pigeon


Not Spanish, Not Eight, Just Ocho

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Plystire
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Posted: 9th Aug 2011 23:43
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I'm still using a TV that's almost as old as I am.


~Plystire

A rose is only a rose until it is held and cherished -- then it becomes a treasure.
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Happy Cheesecake
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Posted: 10th Aug 2011 01:27 Edited at: 10th Aug 2011 01:28
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Alright, I've been looking a bit, and a 32" would be just about the right size for the area I have reserved for the TV. I've found two TV that I think would be fine, but I want to see what you guys think. I've been reading a bit and it seems I'd want a plasma if I wanted to game with perfect response times, but I've also read that they hardly even make plasmas that small. So I've found a Vizio plasma, and a Panasonic LCD, both seem to be 720p which is what the XBox 360 and PS3 output in (I'm pretty sure).

Anyway, here are the ones I've found. You guys seem to know a lot more than I do, so tell me what to do and what not to do.

Vizio 32" Class Plasma HDTV with Digital Tuner

Panasonic - 32" Class / 720p / 60Hz / LCD HDTV

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CoffeeGrunt
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Posted: 10th Aug 2011 08:24
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Panasonic > Vizio by far.

Also they do plasmas in 37" and above if you can stretch to it.

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bitJericho
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Posted: 10th Aug 2011 12:02
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889253287

Might I recommend this guy, which offers 1080p right at your price range, and it's a 24 in. Gotta love shoppin online


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Darth Vader
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Posted: 10th Aug 2011 14:21
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So glad that there are still experts on the forum to correct my mistakes :p lost without you guys!

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Libervurto
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Posted: 10th Aug 2011 19:12
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I have quite a selection of flat screen TV's, all new and in their boxes.
I don't know how much it would cost to send to you as I am in Croydon, London.

There may be small glass fragments in some of the boxes but the TV's themselves are fine!

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Phaelax
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Posted: 10th Aug 2011 19:33
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OBese, master of finding things that have fallen off the back of trucks!

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Eminent
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Posted: 10th Aug 2011 19:48
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More like master of looting .


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