(OT) Plasma or LCD for watching hockey?

[PASabreFan]

That's the thing with HD. For the first-timers, we think all of our TV problems are solved. Instead, there's plenty of SD TV out there -- even on HD news channels, a lot of times there's video on the screen that's SD. Looks weird.

 

I don't have anything to compare Sabres games with, but I am guessing the MSG quality is just good. I'm sure HNIC is better. If the Winter Classic doesn't look great, I'll be worried that I got a crappy TV or haven't made the right adjustments. Hockey in HD is so hyped, I have to say I'm just a touch underwhelmed to this point. A million times better than SD to be sure.

 

I've found the NFL Network games and Sunday night games on NBC to be great; CBS, not so much.

 

It kinds of drives the ###### retentive folks crazy.

[SDS]

That's the thing with HD. For the first-timers, we think all of our TV problems are solved. Instead, there's plenty of SD TV out there -- even on HD news channels, a lot of times there's video on the screen that's SD. Looks weird.

 

I don't have anything to compare Sabres games with, but I am guessing the MSG quality is just good. I'm sure HNIC is better. If the Winter Classic doesn't look great, I'll be worried that I got a crappy TV or haven't made the right adjustments. Hockey in HD is so hyped, I have to say I'm just a touch underwhelmed to this point. A million times better than SD to be sure.

 

I've found the NFL Network games and Sunday night games on NBC to be great; CBS, not so much.

 

It kinds of drives the ###### retentive folks crazy.

 

you might want to invest in a poor-man's calibration. Go get yourself a Pixar movie, maybe The Incredibles since it is decent for all ages. Make sure it is the wide-screen version. Might cost $10-$15. On that DVD is a on optimization menu that will help to set your colors, your brightness, contrast, black levels, all that stuff... It isn't a professional disc, but it gets you in the right ballpark. It should help your hockey viewing, since it will get your white levels closer to optimal.

[PASabreFan]

you might want to invest in a poor-man's calibration. Go get yourself a Pixar movie, maybe The Incredibles since it is decent for all ages. Make sure it is the wide-screen version. Might cost $10-$15. On that DVD is a on optimization menu that will help to set your colors, your brightness, contrast, black levels, all that stuff... It isn't a professional disc, but it gets you in the right ballpark. It should help your hockey viewing, since it will get your white levels closer to optimal.

 

Thanks, that's a great suggestion.

[LabattBlue]

Thanks, that's a great suggestion.

...or you can try this website

 

http://www.tweaktv.com/tweak-my-tv/

[LabattBlue]

Watching the Bills game. Seeing some pixellation especially during close-ups during the play. Is this coming from the

TV, cable box or broadcast?

[PASabreFan]

Watching the Bills game. Seeing some pixellation especially during close-ups during the play. Is this coming from the

TV, cable box or broadcast?

 

Gotta be the broadcast, since I see it and I have DirecTV.

[Eleven]

Watching the Bills game. Seeing some pixellation especially during close-ups during the play. Is this coming from the

TV, cable box or broadcast?

 

That happens to me during football close-ups too.

[LabattBlue]

That happens to me during football close-ups too.

I was thinking more about this issue. My brother-in-law has FIOS and I have never noticed this issue while watching football at his house. Is it TWC(which I have) and other providers who are doing something(I googled this and found a lot of references to compression) that might be causing this problem?

 

Certainly a BIG disappointment if there is nothing I can do to correct the problem.

[PASabreFan]

I was thinking more about this issue. My brother-in-law has FIOS and I have never noticed this issue while watching football at his house. Is it TWC(which I have) and other providers who are doing something(I googled this and found a lot of references to compression) that might be causing this problem?

 

Certainly a BIG disappointment if there is nothing I can do to correct the problem.

 

Do you have any channels where the audio and video are not in synch?

 

Seems like you're at where I'm at -- the letdown phase of getting an HD TV for the first time.

[spndnchz]

I was thinking more about this issue. My brother-in-law has FIOS and I have never noticed this issue while watching football at his house. Is it TWC(which I have) and other providers who are doing something(I googled this and found a lot of references to compression) that might be causing this problem?

 

Certainly a BIG disappointment if there is nothing I can do to correct the problem.

 

Compression is part of the problem, my Uncle is into this stuff. My initial problem when I got the plasma was too many splitters everywhere. By the time the signal got to the TV it was like the fourth time the signal got split. make the most direct line from the outside pole to your TV set.

 

While I do have problems with TWC, while the best option 4 me, they did come over and re-wire pretty much the whole house right from the pole for free and it made a huge difference. A bit of water in a line outside, too many splitters, will all do u in.

 

Easy way to tell if it's the cable is put a Blueray in and see what happens. Not some Disney flick, more like a fast moving movie, The Dark Knight?

[LabattBlue]

Do you have any channels where the audio and video are not in synch?

 

Seems like you're at where I'm at -- the letdown phase of getting an HD TV for the first time.

Haven't noticed any audio/video synch issues...yet.

[LabattBlue]

Compression is part of the problem, my Uncle is into this stuff. My initial problem when I got the plasma was too many splitters everywhere. By the time the signal got to the TV it was like the fourth time the signal got split. make the most direct line from the outside pole to your TV set.

 

While I do have problems with TWC, while the best option 4 me, they did come over and re-wire pretty much the whole house right from the pole for free and it made a huge difference. A bit of water in a line outside, too many splitters, will all do u in.

 

Easy way to tell if it's the cable is put a Blueray in and see what happens. Not some Disney flick, more like a fast moving movie, The Dark Knight?

Thx. I have already called T-W and scheduled a tech visit, to have them come out and verify that everything is okay with the line coming into the house and that there is no issue with the cable box.

[sweeper]

Best way to DIY calibrate your set is to pop in anything THX certified, and use their screen calibration tool.

 

"The Dark Knight" is still one of the best viewing experiences I've ever had with my AV system. For the record, it's a 42" Panasonic Plasma (that I've had for a little over 2 years now), with Sony 7.1 DTS/Dolby master audio surround. Blu Ray, Xbox 360, the whole 9 in 1080p. Video games in 7.1 surround are amazing, you can hear a mouse tip-toeing up behind you.

 

I rewired my houses cable feed with a high quality 8 way splitter (Regal brand, if anyone is interested) and a signal amp and RG6 quad coax cable so there is absolutely no interference with the signals. Believe it or not, it did make a difference in picture quality. TW gives you absolutely crap splitters, and if you split the signal even twice to your HD box, you're probably degrading the signal. If anyone has questions on how to properly wire your house for cable, feel free to ask. I'm an electrician, and often do a lot of cable/data stuff while I'm doing electrical (might as well if walls are opened up, etc).

 

My 2 cents on plasma vs LCD/LED...unless you're mainly going to be watching TV in a brightly lit room with lots of sunlight or other bright sources of lighting, plasma is a much better bang for your buck. If you HAVE to have a TV that is like 1.1 inches thick, well I guess an LED set is for you.

 

To comment on something else I read in this thread...most devices only output video at 1080i with component cables (not all, but most). So if you want true 1080p high def, go with HDMI cables. Easier connection, and if you have a good surround system you get the digital audio in the same cable. Again, some devices only support the "HD" master audio output with HDMI cables. There is something to be said for a nice quality cable, but anything digital is going to look the same on a 5 dollar cheapo HDMI cable or a 100 dollar Monster Cable. The only real advantage is the Monster Cable is less likely to get damaged, however unlikely that would be.

 

One other thing too...cable only has 1080i right now, but the Dish Network and possibly Direct TV (not sure on them) have 1080p, although whether the programing is in true HD is another matter.

[LabattBlue]

Thx. I have already called T-W and scheduled a tech visit, to have them come out and verify that everything is okay with the line coming into the house and that there is no issue with the cable box.

T-W came out to the house with the expected "everything is fine with the cable feed". There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to which channel/program, but I do see the pixalating even on some non-sports programs with a lot of motion. I was watching Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull last night on USA-HD and during the action scenes, it was unwatchable(I am not exaggerating nor am I staring at the screen from a foot away determined to find something wrong. This was obvious). This wasn't the quick "one small block-like blurry squares" for a fraction of a second. This was across the entire screen during the sequences where there is a lot of motion and was a close-up shot.

 

I guess as mentioned above, the only way to rule out that the TV is the problem is to see how blue-ray disc look. I am picking up a blue-ray player over the weekend.

 

PS The part with T-W that pissed me off is that he didn't even consider that the output signal to the box could be the problem. All he did was run some remote diagnostic from the line coming into the house to the box. I guess I could ask for a new box just to rule that out.

[PASabreFan]

What was driving me crazy last night was a different shade of blue on the Sabres for every camera they used.

 

I know I have a good HD TV, even at the relatively low price -- the NFL Network picture is fantastic.

 

I'm just going to resign myself to the fact that HD quality varies a lot channel to channel, and stop tinkering with the damned settings.

[Corp000085]

I have a 46" samsung LED tv. The picture is great. IT does have a glare due to the glossy screen, but it produces zero heat, unlike an older LCD screen or definitely a plasma screen. My parents have a newer (2-3 years old) and an ancient plasma (10 years old) and they have decent picture but they're hotter than a fireplace. I'm very happy with my TV.

[pat989]

I keep reading that plasma is better than LCD when it comes to smoothly dealing with motion in sports telecasts.

 

Surely a lot of you have LCD TVs -- is the plasma vs. LCD issue overblown when it comes to sports?

 

 

I looked a lot into this... and bought LED. Not LCD, LED. That's the newest thing and it's worth it because you don't get that weird darkness when you look at the TV from the sides (nice for guests and parties)... plus the quality is better than LCD.

 

Here's the number you want to pay attention to aside from 1080p... the Hz number. A lot of cheap TV's come as 1080p, 60Hz. 60Hz sucks. You want nothing less than 120Hz. I could give you a lengthy, nerdy explanation why, but screw that we have better things to do right?

 

Look for LED, 1080p, 120 or more Hz. Walk into Best Buy with those stats in hand.

 

I have a 55" LED Samsung with 120Hz. It's 3D ready because 3D is dumb to me LOL. Needless to say, hockey games are amazing at my place :-)

[SDS]

I looked a lot into this... and bought LED. Not LCD, LED. That's the newest thing and it's worth it because you don't get that weird darkness when you look at the TV from the sides (nice for guests and parties)... plus the quality is better than LCD.

 

Here's the number you want to pay attention to aside from 1080p... the Hz number. A lot of cheap TV's come as 1080p, 60Hz. 60Hz sucks. You want nothing less than 120Hz. I could give you a lengthy, nerdy explanation why, but screw that we have better things to do right?

 

Look for LED, 1080p, 120 or more Hz. Walk into Best Buy with those stats in hand.

 

I have a 55" LED Samsung with 120Hz. It's 3D ready because 3D is dumb to me LOL. Needless to say, hockey games are amazing at my place :-)

 

No offense dude, but with that one statement you have proven you don't know what you are talking about.

[Eleven]

No offense dude, but with that one statement you have proven you don't know what you are talking about.

 

For those of us who don't understand technology that well...why? (I am buying a new TV in the next few months and need all the info I can get.)

[biodork]

For those of us who don't understand technology that well...why? (I am buying a new TV in the next few months and need all the info I can get.)

 

These are helpful links -- I did most of my research on cnet before buying my tv.

 

http://reviews.cnet.com/tv-buying-guide/?tag=centerColumnArea1.0;buyAdvice

 

http://www.monoprice.com/home/home.asp?pn=help&idx=1

[SDS]

For those of us who don't understand technology that well...why? (I am buying a new TV in the next few months and need all the info I can get.)

 

there is no such thing as an "LED" television, without LCD. There is no TV that contains a grid of LEDs. LEDs are the backlight source for an LCD screen, as LCD pixels do not produce their own light.

 

So, anyone who offers a lengthy, nerdy explanation and totally misses that point - well, really can't offer you a trustworthy explanation of anything regarding the technology.

[pat989]

there is no such thing as an "LED" television, without LCD. There is no TV that contains a grid of LEDs. LEDs are the backlight source for an LCD screen, as LCD pixels do not produce their own light.

 

So, anyone who offers a lengthy, nerdy explanation and totally misses that point - well, really can't offer you a trustworthy explanation of anything regarding the technology.

 

You know... I was just trying to sum it up and simplify it. He doesn't need to walk into Best Buy and ask for an LCD TV with LED technology. He needs to say I want to look at LED tv's, and guess what? They know what you're talking about.

 

So sure, I could have been more specific there, but you didn't address the fact that 120Hz or more makes perfect sense. So I do know what I'm talking about. Even if I didn't, then just correct me rather than be a jerk. Just because you're an admin doesn't mean you know all. In fact it pretty much means you have nothing better to do with your time other than type on a message board, which is sad.

[cdexchange]

You know... I was just trying to sum it up and simplify it. He doesn't need to walk into Best Buy and ask for an LCD TV with LED technology. He needs to say I want to look at LED tv's, and guess what? They know what you're talking about.

 

So sure, I could have been more specific there, but you didn't address the fact that 120Hz or more makes perfect sense. So I do know what I'm talking about. Even if I didn't, then just correct me rather than be a jerk. Just because you're an admin doesn't mean you know all. In fact it pretty much means you have nothing better to do with your time other than type on a message board, which is sad.

 

You can't call someone out for being a jerk, and then needlessly throw that last sentence in. Well, you can do that...but you lose all respect by doing so. :doh:

[pat989]

You can't call someone out for being a jerk, and then needlessly throw that last sentence in. Well, you can do that...but you lose all respect by doing so. :doh:

 

I wouldn't say that to you, because you're not an admin, you're just a normal dude posting, like me. I'm tired of the admins on this and TwoBillsDrive acting like they have a right to act like jerks because they have a badge. Big deal. I'm sure they aren't bad people in person... in fact I'm sure all of you are great people in person and if we ever cross paths at a game or otherwise I'd love to have some beverages and chat puck, but if you're going to be someone who monitors and screens a message board for quality and content, then act appropriately. That is why I am angry. Not because some random person said it, but because an admin said it. Those sorts of things by admins make me go to other boards, and I hate that because I genuinely like some of you and like the main site.

 

PS, look at Today's Best Buy ad... there are no TV's advertised as being LCD TV's with LED back lighting... they are ALL advertised as "LED TV's." So clearly what I originally said was helpful, and if the admin would have liked to elaborate on the point so the individual asking for advice got the 100% definition of everything, that would have been fine, but my point would have helped him all the same.

[SwampD]

I wouldn't say that to you, because you're not an admin, you're just a normal dude posting, like me. I'm tired of the admins on this and TwoBillsDrive acting like they have a right to act like jerks because they have a badge. Big deal. I'm sure they aren't bad people in person... in fact I'm sure all of you are great people in person and if we ever cross paths at a game or otherwise I'd love to have some beverages and chat puck, but if you're going to be someone who monitors and screens a message board for quality and content, then act appropriately. That is why I am angry. Not because some random person said it, but because an admin said it. Those sorts of things by admins make me go to other boards, and I hate that because I genuinely like some of you and like the main site.

 

PS, look at Today's Best Buy ad... there are no TV's advertised as being LCD TV's with LED back lighting... they are ALL advertised as "LED TV's." So clearly what I originally said was helpful, and if the admin would have liked to elaborate on the point so the individual asking for advice got the 100% definition of everything, that would have been fine, but my point would have helped him all the same.

I knew what you meant and didn't think it needed correcting, but don't sweat it, for some reason SDS usually does have sand in his KY. Maybe he spends too much time on TSW.

 

And in person, I'm actually an a$$#ole. Luckily I type a lot nicer.