Hey all in the Tech Talk, I’ve got a conundrum for you all.
I was over at a friend’s house the other day, and everyone knows I’m a tech geek, so of course her parents mentioned that they’re looking into buying a TV, and that they want an LED one at that. They said when they’re interested they’d appreciate it if I’d help 'em pick one out, which is actually fun for me (go figure :lol:)
However, I’m not really into LED TVs, so I’m kindof at a loss as to where to start recommending models and price ranges, ya know?
So Tech Talk, would anyone be able to point me in the direction to a good guide / comparisons for current LED TVs in various functionality / price ranges? Or just rattle off a few of the tops, that would work too.
If you are planning to mount your new LED TV to the wall, be sure to check the thickness of the set 70-643. Most LED TVs will be slimmer than their non LED counterparts. Some are even as slim as 1.2 inches. The other thing to consider when wall mounting is the mounting bracket itself 70-646. It doesn?t make sense to buy a slim TV if the wall mount for it is 3 inches thick. Be sure to check the overall thickness of the TV and the wall mount 70-647. Be sure to only use a wall mount that is compatible with your TV.
First, just to clarify, the tv is not an LED TV. It is still LCD, the difference being LCD screens are usually lit by cathode ray tubes and the LED LCD TVs are lit by LEDs. Usually along the edges of the screen, but now (and rightly more expensive) all along the back of the TV.
For recommendations I’d say go Samsung. They usually impress me the most when it comes to quality of image and features. 2nd favorite would be Panasonic because they usually have great features at a more affordable price. 3rd is Sony, they’re 3rd because while they have great image quality and nominal features they’re always over priced it seems.
Check this website for reviews. They do a good job revewing a bunch of stuff about the TV (much better than Vnet, v standing for vague).
Ah, so I’m looking into LED LCD TVs. Thanks Canto, and everyone else! I’ll have a good repertoire built up when it comes time for the family to upgrade (poor things, their current tv is like 32" :lol:)
Now would you recommend edge lit, or back lit for the LED LCD’s? The family’s saying when it comes time, they don’t care about price (making this all the more fun :lol:), but rather the quality.
I’ve got the Samsung UE46B6000 LED TV (edge-lit). When you’re zapping channels or changing the display device input you will notice on the temporary black screen that the light is not spread equally. When having images/video on the display, you will not see those spots of light at all. When something is being displayed, the only drawback can be that near-black video scenes show more light in the corners.
I have to say the edge-lit TV with the correct settings still have a tremendous amount of contrast. With some tuning, you can still get very good black-levels. They’re still very good for the price, but since there are local-dimming TV’s out now, I’d say go for those models.
When it comes to lag, the LED TV’s do have a lot of it. Even when I turn Game Mode on, it still has slight lag. Not much, but it’s still present. If you test it in Street Fighter IV using a LP or LK, you will see the lag.
In my opinion LED TV’s are best for watching movies.
It is very easy to have your movies looking like cartoons on a LED back lited LCD TV so I do not prefer this kind of technology at this moment. Buying a TV is a very subjective thing, go to the shop and compare the graphics with your naked eyes. Choose the one which fit your taste most, any quantitative measurement on graphic is for refernce only (very personal opinion).
Yeah the family’s not big on gaming really, I mean only their son games and he’s got a small TV for that so they really just want it for movie watching and all. And my friend, she’s not that great at Street Fighter (yet, I’m trying :lol:), so the lag probably won’t matter. I’m betting they want the LED for the shiny effect / thinness, but who knows.
Oh of course, (and I agree, I’m still a plasma man at heart :tup:) I just wanted a good point of reference for when I go hunting one down with them. You’ve all been a great help though, so thanks much!
No problem, Canto gave you some good info as well. Make sure you disregard those outrageous contrast ratios they advertise and look for some good reviews or go browse the TV’s in person.
Most of the Samsung TV’s are edge lit except the 8500 series, which are suppose to have a picture on par with the best plasmas. However if money is an issue at all I would get a high end plasma, which should cost much less than the 8500 series current price and look just as good if not better.
Also, whoever said that LED TV’s tend to lag was right. I read alot of reviews saying that some lag so bad it messes up the audio syncing.
The samsung 8500 series is the best LED tv to buy at the moment, if they have the money and are adamant about going for a LED backlit TV they should go for the samsung. Still doesn’t hold a stick to the sadly discountinued Pioneer Kuro though :P.