Need a new tv for March Madness...suggestions?

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Bad Zebra

Just got a Samsung 52" LCD. For me, it came down to Sony and Samsung. Saw them side-by-side and I just liked the Samsung's picture better. Make sure you get one with 120 hZ. That's the newest technology for a quality ACTION picture (basketball). Also, make sure ya go with LCD. Plasma is going to go the way of the Beta Max. Pioneer has already discontinued production of plasma.

Not exactly...they're no longer making the plasma panels but will be selling plasma TVs....buying the panels from someone else That market, like many others, is just consolodating to a few high volume manufacturers.

Plasma has a size advantage....no LCDs come in some of the larger sizes that Plasma does.

That said, when there are both to be had at the size you're looking at, I'd probably go with LCD. THey're a lot lighter, use much less power, and run much cooler. They also don't suffer from burn-in....the picture stays the same from the day you buy it...plasma can get burnin.

One point to really take note of is the black level of LCDs. That is one of their biggest weaknesses. How black is black? Is it really grey? In a showroom it might be hard to tell but in a darkened home, a dark night sceen might seem like times square (...exaggerated a bit...).


As for brands, avoid the cheapies....they cut a lot of corners. Two co-workers have Vizio's and they're cheap...but not great. Seemed to be working OK but when he latered tried an HDMI input, it had red lines all over. He tried it on other Vizio's and got the same result. He tried the same source on other brands and had no problems. Maybe an odd incompatibility but I'd bet that Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, et. at. don't have those problems nearly as much...doing more compatibility testing than the small guys have the budget to do.