Last in the running - 3D, OLED, LED, HD, LCD and it goes on... and on...

[charles_mo]

I thought I might just want to share my real dilemma, which left me as one of the few last adopters in flat screen TV's. Still got those huge back breaking CRT's made of real authentic glass!!

I call them "flat screen", because it is the only generic name that applied to them all. Called them anything other than this like LCD, and you find you become out-of-date like the old wallpaper at you grandma living room quicker than you can say... cr**.. Its a never ending cycle for us poor sods out their trying to keep ahead of the game especially the rate of new types of TV's coming out of those huge factories in the far east.

Alas, I am one of those who gave up the chase long ago and I am now last in this unofficial Olympic marathon to have the greatest and latest. It all comes down to one thing.. It cost money to keep running like this...

Any way, I can see a growing number of posts on this forum about 3D TV's more than the many digits on my two hands, and soon I will have to grow another hand or three to count them. However, this time I can sit back with a slight smirk on my face, because I am no longer running. So I will let everyone else run this race and I will stick to my trusty CRT Panasonic TX-36PD30, which that last time I check on eBay cost £20. After a skip or two on the old ticker realising what I paid for it when new, I resigned myself and concluded this is what that called the Pace of Technological Development... A clever terms for making lots of money for those CEO's in the heavens we call Sony, Panasonic, Philips...

For those souls who did like they were told in school all those years to read to the end before making your conclusions (a rare breed in today's world of tweeting) I do have something serious to ask you wise men and women of What Hi-Fi.

It is time for me to get off sitting on my back and give my sofa a chance to reshape its pillows (probably too late). I am now in need of a new TV. But I am absolutely scared stiff when I recently subscribed to your brilliant magazine, and saw for myself what has gone on while I was fly fishing for the past hundred thousand years.

I saw the new Philips 40PFL9704 to give it the right identity like a prisoner in Alcatraz, but I still cannot help and think should I wait for the new 3D TV's. As I said I have waited for hundred thousands of years already, so another hundred will probably not make much difference to me. The Philips looks all good with internet surfing thingy, HD what you call it midgey, and LED that can be locally dimmed. The last bit got me strangely more excited must be an age thing as I go round the house dimming every light bulb to save our mother earth.

So what do you think? Should I take the steps and start emptying my wallet on this Philips, or go back into my deep freezer I have in my garage and wait it out?

 

[Pindi]

You forgot to mention Plasma.

I would wait to see what this year brings. 3DTV is the big thing right now, so having a 3D ready TV will be a wise purchase. That's only if you have the budget though!

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'd go back to the beginning and ask yourself what you want your TV to provide - in terms of size of picture (how far you plan to sit from it), what you're going to watch on it (high-definition broadcasts and Blu-ray? Standard-definition TV and DVD? Mix of both?) and what else you want it to do (internet connectivity; 3D capability etc).

You'll also need to think where you're going to put it in the room and how you're going to watch it. Is it near a window or other strong light source? Do you like to view with all the lights on? In which case plasmas - which are more reflective - may not be the best option for you. BUT if your set isn't near the window, and you actually love to watch with the lights dimmed/off, then a plasma - with typically superior blacks/contrast - could be better for you than an LCD (though LED-backlit LCDs are catching up with plasma fast on this front).

Viewing angle is another issue - plasmas have better viewing angles than LCDs, so if you (or other viewers in your household) are planning to watch off-axis, that may sway your decision, too.

This video should help explain some of the sizing issues. We also have a feature in our next, April issue (which, as you're a subscriber, you'll get from 5th March) that explains all the 2010 TV options in more detail - if you haven't picked up an excellent set by then, it'd be a good place to start looking at your options ahead.

Good luck, and we're here if you need any more help!

 

[charles_mo]

Thank you Clare,

As I bow to your authority and wisdom I am thinking viewing angle is actually key area for me. Majority of our viewing is as you say off-axis due to a fireplace in our room, which suddenly means "oh this house was built during the days of black and white TV... mention 3D then likely response is... 3D what is that???".

I like the idea of internet enable TVs and the Philips I mentioned has great support for this, but I hear IPA panels have wide viewing angle. Do you know if these exist on flat-screens?

I do see Blu-ray as being important to me, but quality such as detailed blacks are essential. Most film viewing will be done in a dim light condition. This suggest to me Plasma will do, but then if I add the fact I am near a strong light source (a window) I end up cancelling my choices completely.

Lot's to think about and maybe a bit more reading.. and maybe.. wait for the LED to catch up..