Telly Quest 3
Tick tick, there's now only 378 days to go until The World Cup kicks off so here are my latest thoughts on what telly will be gracing our livingroom come the first whistle on the 9th June.
Screen Size: The consensus of opinion suggests that the optimum viewing distance for a 42" plasma is 10-14 feet. Armed with the tape measure I reckon my exact viewing distance from screen to eye (lying on the sofa) is 10 feet. Hmmm, on the raggedty edge. Should I consider a smaller 37" screen? Our livingroom is not large and it may make more sense to opt for the smaller screen especially considering the crap, pixelated quality of Sky and Freeview's output. ITV is by far the worst culprit as their Football broadcasts are regularly lambasted for the poor quality of the image. A larger screen, viewed at too short a distance, would only compound these problems. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a huge variation in the price between 37" and 42" panels (in the case of the Panasonic PV500 range only £300, still it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick).
Mounting: The screen will be placed in the corner of the room so a wall mount is not an option (how to people mount these things to a wall and still manage to line it up with eye level?) I've looked at third party equipment stands but none of the current crop grab me and boy they're expensive, therefore no pedestal option. So, I'll be looking for a screen with a cabinet included (I really do like the Panasonics' image above).
The Panasonic shop in Dundee has a 50" in one window and a 37" in the other. To be honest the 37" looks tiny in the context of a huge shop window but I'm beginning to lean towards this as my favoured option. I'm going to make a 2D floorplan and 3D model of my livingroom with the different sized screens in place as a comparison (existing 28" box, a 37" and a 42" plasma screen). I'll post the results when completed with some nice renderings as well.
Update: Found details of the LCD screen (37PF9986) that Ian mentions in the comments on Philips' website here. Nice, very nice. They've even got a 42" version of the same.
posted by Ricky Dee at
6:36 PM
4 Comments:
Coolio - I've settled on 37 as my max. My buddie Graham has just moved from a 42inch plasma to 37inch LCD - more here - http://www.zerolight.co.uk/mambo/. Not seen it in the flesh but he's very chuffed at the moment with it. Just bought a couple of home cinema mags as well - seems to be split between whether plasma is better or lcd. Not as clear cut as I thought.
By
Ian, at 27 May 2005 20:26
It's a complete nightmare.
LCD- dead pixel fear
Plasma- Screen Burn fear... it's a fecking nightmare I tell you.
I didn't even know they made LCDs that size. Hmmm.
Oh the humanity, FIFA should postpone the tournament until my head stops spinning and I can think straight.
By
Ricky Dee, at 27 May 2005 20:38
Here is some more advice, sorry for the length of this, but having been there and done it, I want to make you as well informed as I can.
As I mentioned in a comment on an earlier post, HDTV is an analogue signal (RGB) that has the following resolutions: -
720p - 1280x720 pixels progressive
1080i - 1920x1080 pixels interlaced
1080p - 1920x1080 pixels progressive
If a set is “HDTV ready”, that just means it is capable of dealing with the analogue input and can display it. This does not mean it is actually capable of doing a 1:1 pixel mapping, there are some screens that are marketed as HDTV ready, that don’t have enough lines on the vertical to give a true display. So when reviewing screens, always determine what the actual resolution is. This has a big effect on price.
Clearly if you want to be completely future proof, you would need to get a screen that is capable of a true 1920x1080 resolution. Sadly I haven’t seen this as an option on an LCD and for all the plasma screens they are very expensive. The only ones I have seen are all 50” or bigger, with prices running to 5 figures.
Assuming you are looking for a screen at least 37”, then in my opinion there are three technologies to consider, Rear Projection, Plasma and LCD. All have their merits and drawbacks. I rule out projectors, because you need a cinema type setup for them to perform, and for most day to day living room viewing, I don’t think that is practical.
The rear projection sets are by far the cheapest, and can offer very good picture quality, with the necessary resolutions at far less cost than an equivalent flat panel display. They are nicely packaged, look like a conventional TV and don’t weigh much, though they do take up a lot of space. Image brilliance is affected more by ambient light than the others though, but if the room is shady that isn’t a problem.
Plasma screens run quite hot and are prone to burn in, they need cooled, so have fans that run all the time, and they are heavy, so hanging them on the wall isn’t that straightforward. You do get big screens that take up hardly any room though. The images are very bright and crisp and you can buy monitors that are a fair bit cheaper than the TV’s.
LCD screens are small and light, offer good resolution, but don’t have the contrast or brilliance of plasma. But there is no risk of “burn in”. There is the possibility of pixels dying, which would really ruin the experience. It is also possible to buy monitors which are an awful lot cheaper than the TV’s.
Given that you are computer savvy, I really recommend you go the HTPC route, running Microsoft Media Center. It is a Tivo/Sky Plus Killer, while at the same time offering full access to all your ripped music/video/images etc, makes a cracking DVD player/recorder + hard drive recorder. Integrates seamlessly into the Hi-Fi, is blissfully easy to use, and just generally makes for a fantastic entertainment center. Everyone who sees it goes, “That is fantastic, just what a computer should work like”.
Now that I have the Media Center in place, and with my 20:20 hindsight, if I were to be buying a new screen again now, I would buy one of the 37” Sharp LCD monitors, same screen as they use in the “Aquos” TV’s. You can get these for £1,500, and they have a resolution of 1366 x 768. This would work well with the PC, which scales whatever you are watching as appropriate, and makes full use of all the available screen area. Without any fear of burn in, and completely silent operation.
Don’t get me wrong, the 42” plasma I have is great, fantastic image quality, and I have finally got around to complaining to the right people (instead of everyone who would listen) about the noisy fan, so that should hopefully be sorted soon. I have the computer running at 1280 x 720, and the screen scales for this fine, no flicker when using the PC. Watching some Hi Def videos, or looking at digital pictures on it really shows off what it is capable of.
But when I bought it we (well Kim mostly) really wanted a 37” screen. The 42” is very imposing in the living room. That said, I suspect if we replaced it with anything smaller now, it would seem too small. Mind you, Sharp have just started doing a 45” LCD TV, so the odds are there will be a monitor available soon………..
-----
Lewis
By
Anonymous, at 28 May 2005 11:06
VERY interested to hear that the 42" plasma looks "very imposing" in your living room as yours is probably twice the size of mine. I'm definitely leaning towards a 37" now.
The expense of a Media Centre for the living room is more than I'm willing to bear. I don't need or want another computer (unless it's a Mac mini) just now. To be honest we rarely watch DVDs and never listen to music in the living room so I don't think it's the option for me. Sky box and my existing Sony DVD set-up will have to do for the next couple of years at least.
Ian, the picture on your mate's blog looks very nice though the bezel around the screen looks huge (speakers?) I wonder if they do the same as a monitor without speakers? Can't find any info about the model on Philips' website.
By
Ricky Dee, at 28 May 2005 12:29
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