As photograhers, which type of TV do you want/own?

[fotomeow]

Hey,
I'm in the market for a new TV and am trying to decide which I like better and why;
I am no TV expert but am doing the research to make an informed decision,
and curious about what others' think.

The point I am trying to get to is this:
Given our skills as photographers,which TV looks the best to you and why?
(re: exposure/brightness, contrast, resolution, saturation, refresh rate, etc)

Generally, choices these days are one of the 3:

1. Plasma: tech is 12 years old, but still running strong; known for its "true" color rendition and high refresh rate (600hz).

2. LCD: bumped plasma's out of the way as the "new" tech the last several years.
Generally brighter with higher contrast than plasma TVs. Slower refresh rate at 60hz or 120hz
with a few higher priced with 240hz.

3. LED: the latest and greatest tech which is pushing LCDs out of the spotlight, but with higher price tags.
To my novice eye, these seem to be even brighter and with higher contrast than LCDs,
and I'm not sure what to think about the resolution. Same refresh rate issues as LCD.

So, waddya think? Please feel free to correct any info I have presented above,
I'm just regurgitating my novice info.

[divewizard]

LEDs are LCDs with LED back lights. Older LCDs use florescent back light. The brightness of the LEDs can be changed in local areas giving large contrast for areas, but not detail.

I would not want any of them. I have not had a TV for many years and I see no need to get one.

[finguanzo]

It depends on what you like I guess. At work we only use plasmas because of the colors, refresh.. None of them are "bad".... the led backlit ones sometimes get funky looking contrast issues when they are side lit..
My main tv is still a rear projection DLP...
I work in tv, so that means that i barely keep up with the stuff at home...

[goffer]

Recently got the Samsung UN46EH6000... Pretty bare bones: no 3d, 120hz, no useless web/TV apps built in.

I did my research before going to the store and I suggest you do the same. Sales guy tried just about everything to convince me the TV was garbage, even went as far to say the TV wasn't in stock (told him their online in-store inventory said otherwise), just to get me to buy some highly gimmicked model with a bunch of marketing features that are suppose to WOW you.

I'm a purist when it comes to my movies and the TV made it pretty painless to disable all that annoying post processing just about every TV does these days (noise reduction, smooth motion, etc. ). I'm very happy with the purchase.

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

When I was in high school, my parents bought really nice TVs for me and for my sister. Years later, when I was in college, my mother noticed the piles of books around mine almost covered it. She asked if I ever watch it. I thought for a second and realized that in the 5 or 6 years it had sat there taking up space needed for books, I had never even plugged it in! It had literally never been turned on, ever! Mom wanted a TV for my parents bedroom so I told her to take it. I've never been into watching TV.

[fotomeow]

Originally Posted by finguanzo

It depends on what you like I guess. At work we only use plasmas because of the colors, refresh.. None of them are "bad".... the led backlit ones sometimes get funky looking contrast issues when they are side lit..
My main tv is still a rear projection DLP...
I work in tv, so that means that i barely keep up with the stuff at home...

On paper, the plasma seems like the tv for me, but the apartment I recently moved into has a lot of sunlight, and the plasma's seem to perform best in darker rooms. I've been to test a plasma, and increased the brightness to maximum and still could not get the tv bright enough to compete with the ambient light of the store.

[alfredian]

I gave up on television five years ago when I changed apartments and was fed up with the cable company. Have "tube" HD thing, wide-screen. I suppose I could play DVD movies, but enjoy having my life back. Plus here in USA the HDTV thing made rabbit-ears almost obsolete. Made it to the year 2002 with no cable, then caved in. Now? I read & develop film. Shop on RFF, eBAY.

Other than movies, that I can view on this computer (DVD) American television is a total waste of time. 20-50 years ago the best thing viewable was "The Late Show" or "Saturday Matinee" which were BW movies shown to justify advertising. Amazing films were shown, as throwaways, just to lure an audience.

But I digress. A snack and off to bed to read "Origin of Species". That, or "Darwin's Ghost".

[Sylvester]

I use a iMac as my TV... which is mainly Youtube and Radio-Canada stuff... I don't watch real TV: too much adds.

[fotomeow]

Originally Posted by Sylvester

I use a iMac as my TV... which is mainly Youtube and Radio-Canada stuff... I don't watch real TV: too much adds.

thats what I've been using in lieu of a TV, the 24" is great. I dont watch A LOT of TV, I just want an effective screen when I want to enjoy a DVD/Movie or even the possibility of putting photo images up on the screen.

[Rob-F]

Plasma, due to the better dynamic range.

edit: Almost forgot, we also have four tube-type TVs, ranging from two 13" Sonys to a 32" Magnavox. For low-res broadcasts, as well as watching our old VHS tapes, the picture on the good old tube looks better than it does on the 50" flat screen.

Now that we have the 50" flat screen, I'd like to trade my 27" Panasonic for a 19" or smaller Trinitron, just for watching old tapes. Ever try to get rid of a 27" TV? Goodwill won't pick it up, and I can't lift it to carry it to the car.

[farlymac]

My 30 year old GE is still going strong. Got me one of them thar digital signal converter boxes so I can watch the evening news, a few auto races, and sometimes a little PBS (well, as long as it's not Pledge Week). Other than that, it gets lots of rest, so I don't burn out the circuits.

PF

[rxmd]

I suggest you stop worrying and just go into a store and look at a few and see if you like the look of the picture and get the cheapest one that does what you like.

Regarding the imaging properties of various technologies, it's just TV for God's sake, you're not going to edit pictures on it.

If you don't watch that much TV to begin with and want it only for the occasional movie or looking at a bigger picture, you could get yourself a projector instead.

[Noll]

I'm amazed by all the folks here who don't even bother with TV! Myself included. Too bad the poll doesn't distinguish between CRT's and no TV at all, I'm curious what the link between the two might be.

[muser53]

I'll let you know when I get around to buying one ;-)

[Crazy Fedya]

I have a regular old-fashioned tube TV, widescreen, though. I am also amazed at how many people here don't watch TV. I haven't had any cable service for almost 3 years. We use it to watch some movies.

[Greyscale]

My computer is my TV. HD TV clearQAM capture card, 1080p monitor, that's all I need.

[back alley]

Originally Posted by PKR

none

The Television and Automatic Transmission have contributed in a large part to the down fall of Western Civilization.

i didn't even know that televisions had a transmission!!

[back alley]

i have an ancient 32 in tube tv.
i have to wait for the sound to warm up before i can hear it.
thinking about throwing it out but it weighs more than i do.
thinking about cancelling cable too, maybe get netflix for the computer...

[benlees]

I "had" to buy a TV with HDMI. Stupid Apple TV as a gift; dragged me into the 21st century.

[Darkhorse]

A 40" Samsung LCD I purchased in 2008. It was just after the economy collapsed so I got a good deal. I have no cable TV service because I didn't want to pay for hundreds of channels I wasn't watching. I do have Netflix (streaming only) with one of those cheap Roku things, it's a great value for entertainment.

[kokoshawnuff]

I just got my father a 55" Samsung LED (seems like a bargain compared to LED prices from even a year ago) and it's quite amazing, I feel pretty lowly with my 2 year old LCD.

[Steve M.]

I like CRT's. We have a large Sony Trinitron TV that I bought in a thrift store for $17, and a big Trinitron computer monitor that I think ran $20. Image quality on both is outstanding from all viewing angles, and they have fast refresh rates for low eye strain.

[bob338]

I love TV, no shame here! We have a 6 year old 42" Panasonic(42PH9UK.) It's a plasma monitor, like what would be used at a trade show. It only has inputs, no tuner, which is great because you can have 4 or 5 different sources and who doesn't have cable now, anyway? You can also buy new terminals when new technologies are introduced, like HDMI. Most monitors do not come with speakers, they're a $3-400 add-on.

We bought a monitor specifically because the life of the it is rated for 60,000 hours versus 20,000 for a standard consumer model.

I'm happy with plasma because of the color, and the viewing angle is much easier on the eyes from all positions in the room. Its one drawback is how difficult it is to see when the living room is flooded with sunlight, but we rarely watch anything during the day, so it's not much of an issue.

Good luck.

Bob

[shiro_kuro]

No optical view finder ... makes Tv a no go for me .

[btgc]

I prefer Tv to TV Well, TV is a box connected to other box to display content I feed to it - that is, when I do not stare at monitor and do not read real books.

Recently I were invited to see friends home entertainment system. Plasma TV, amplifiers - separate for headphones and another for speakers, Bluray player with modchip allowing to play all DVD's, I don't even remember all the boxes. Specialty gold plated cables for wiring. We were seated in chairs positioned for best experience. What can I say? Nice to see and hear once, but I wouldn't want to have anything like at home - too complex, too polished. Damn, he even didn't allow to put a wine glass on speaker!