Hello group. We're looking to buy our first LCD TV. It will be either a 32" or 37". Have been told that 1080p under 50" is a waste but that 120hz was useful. Any comments from those in the know? Not looking to spend a ton.

No way around it, you're going to have to do some online research on places like CNET.com to get familiar with the various options and check out professional reviews. The November issue of Consumer Reports also addresses this stuff and makes recommendations. Bottom line is that I agree with the advice you've been given as far as it goes.

if you want to watch Blu ray or HDDVD in its full quality you will need a 1080p. For LCD I would recommend Samsung or Sharp.

While there aren't any cable/satellite providers that broadcast in 1080p, at least you can watch HD movies at 1080p. So I see the use in getting a 1080p TV now.

As for the 120 hz, that has me confused. I understand that the resolution is separate from the fps, but I don't think that anyone is broadcasting HDTV (whether 720p/1080i/1080p) at higher than 60 fps. And I'm guessing that HD DVD players are the same.

So am I missing something? Or is the 120hz only for future use?

im glad you specified LCD... if you are just thinking "hi-def" in general, under no circumstances, i repeat, under no circumstances should you ever purchase a plasma screen tv. the problem with plasma is that still images will burn into the screen (they will always be semi-visible). some think this isnt an issue except they forget that channels love to brand their shows by putting their logo in the corner. LCD doesnt have this issue (for consumers).

just wondering, why only 32" or 37" sized screens?


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

The 120hz that I think the OP might have been referring to the frame rate. A standard definition TV has 480 lines going vertically from top to bottom. Any number of lines that are higher than that is considered "Hi Def". 1080p means it has 1080 lines and has a progressive scan rate of around 60hz (or times per second) as opposed to 1080i which basically combines two 540 line fields around every 60hz (or times per second). So for true Hi-Def, 1080p is generally the best we have right now.

Unfortunately, no one broadcasts in 1080p yet because it takes up a fair amount of bandwidth. But FIOS and pure digital capabilities are just around the corner, so hang in there.

Regarding plasma burn ins, this only happens on older and cheaper consumer units. The better models have "pixel shift" that constantly keeps the pixels moving around and therefore preventing static images from burning in.

I hope this helps.

Re:120hz. Just read a few blurbs about it. Supposedly the 60hz of today has to play some tricks to render 24/30fps and it's imperfect so you occasionally get a "jump". A couple articles available if you google it.

The only time that I have seen 1080i and 1080p sets side-by-side was at Tweeter and the difference, under almost perfect conditions and with a controlled signal, were not really all that great IMHO. We first looked at the 1080i by itself which looked very good and then the 1080p before seeing both together. I guess that if I was a hardcore videophile I would save my pennies for a 47" 1080p, but we are VERY happy with the Vizio set we purchased for under $800 at Costco.

The other thing to give strong consideration to when looking at plasma are the lighting conditions in your room. The Vizio is in the family room on the main level which gets a lot of natural light that varies during the day. A plasma set would not look as good. We do have a 50" Panasonic plasma, however, in our basement home theater which looks outstanding.

Gravis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> im glad you specified LCD... if you are just
> thinking "hi-def" in general, under no
> circumstances, i repeat, under no circumstances
> should you ever purchase a plasma screen tv. the
> problem with plasma is that still images will burn
> into the screen (they will always be
> semi-visible). some think this isnt an issue
> except they forget that channels love to brand
> their shows by putting their logo in the corner.
> LCD doesnt have this issue (for consumers).

Actually all good plasmas avoid it by shifting colors once in a while, so you do not get 'burn-in' even around logos. I have 4 y.o. Hitachi and speak from my experience. The only true advantage LCDs have is price. Plasmas are still better picture wise. But for TVs smaller than 42" LCDs is the only option.

Numbers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The 120hz that I think the OP might have been
> referring to the frame rate. A standard definition
> TV has 480 lines going vertically from top to
> bottom. Any number of lines that are higher than
> that is considered "Hi Def". 1080p means it has
> 1080 lines and has a progressive scan rate of
> around 60hz (or times per second) as opposed to
> 1080i which basically combines two 540 line fields
> around every 60hz (or times per second). So for
> true Hi-Def, 1080p is generally the best we have
> right now.
>
> Unfortunately, no one broadcasts in 1080p yet
> because it takes up a fair amount of bandwidth.
> But FIOS and pure digital capabilities are just
> around the corner, so hang in there.

>
> I hope this helps.

No, it doesn't help. I'm not sure you understood my question. The resolution and frame rate are not strictly related - that is why you might see something like 1080i/30. The 30 specifies 30 fps.

My question is, are there any media sources that actually output at 120 hz or is it just resampling?

Second, I'd disagree that any resolution higher than 480 is high def. You seem to be forgetting about EDTV.

My tv worked great but now I'm looking to buy a new Ultra High-DTV. 240hz or 4k?

Get 240hz or 480, then go with 4k.