LCD TVs--disappointed

I went down to a retailer today armed with a DVD to check out the
picture quality of the Sharp AQUOS LC-45GD6U 45" LCD TV, which I
understand to be the top-rated LCD TV out there (not that there are that
many). I had looked at this and other sets previously, but they were
always playing their own high-def demo footage and I wanted to know how
it would look playing an ordinary DVD.

I was shocked. It looked awful! The DVD was a recent that had a very
good picture, but when the camera panned there was constant "chatter" or
flickering of heavily textured or patterned objects. Motion had a
chatter to it, too. It was not smooth.

The salesman first tried to blame the DVD player, but after hooking up a
high end one the problems were all still there. Then we went to a
plasma (50 inch Pioneer) and watched the same scenes. They looked
*much* better. Chatter or flicker was largely reduced and there was
more "depth" to the picture. This surprised me because the plasma set
was cheaper (not by much) and I thought LCD was supposed to be the cat's
meow, better than plasma. True to a salesman's form, first he tried
talking up the LCD until he saw I was liking the plasma more, then he
subtly (or maybe he thought it was subtle) began praising the plasma more.

I'm puzzled now--not sure what to do. They say LCDs are the future, but
I think the technology needs a few more years for refinement, based on
what I saw. The plasma, meanwhile, despite a slightly larger picture,
looked better. It still had flaws, but I could more readily live with them.

Anyway, was just wondering if anyone else here had a similar reaction to
seeing the two, and also how true the salesman's claim was that the DVD
player will very much influence the quality of the picture. I thought
that past a point a DVD player was a DVD player, but he claimed the chip
inside affects flat panel picture drastically. Since I can't exactly
try every DVD player out there till I find "the best," I wonder now how
to go about choosing a DVD unit, what to look for in the description to
tell me this machine is "all that." He told me the better ones are,
obviously, more expensive, but just a high price alone doesn't convince
me. I've paid lots for junk before.

Ye Gods, this is complicated... They should teach a course in home
theater selection and setup at the local community college.



John

--


Von Herzen, moge es wieder zu Herzen gehen. --Beethoven

The Man Behind The Curtain

Wasn't impressed by that one either, but my Panasonic LCD TVs are fine.

Who said the Sharp was the top-rated?

"The Man Behind The Curtain" <> wrote in message
news:...
> I went down to a retailer today armed with a DVD to check out the
> picture quality of the Sharp AQUOS LC-45GD6U 45" LCD TV, which I
> understand to be the top-rated LCD TV out there

Java Jive

It's really pretty simple. Go with the one you like the most,
regardless of brand .

Kingkeld

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 07:34:25 GMT, The Man Behind The Curtain
<> wrote:

>I'm puzzled now--not sure what to do.

Do more research. It does not surprise me that Sharp is crap.

Dell is marketing LCD TVs.

Does Viewsonic have anything to offer?

Maybe you need to wait a while.


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The possession of arms is the distinction
between a free man and a slave."
-- Andrew Fletcher, Discourse on Government (1695)

Bob

On Mon, 4 Jul 2005 13:20:15 +0100, "Java Jive" <> wrote:

>Wasn't impressed by that one either, but my Panasonic LCD TVs are fine.

Panasonic is very high quality no matter what they make, as long as it
isn't Best Buy discount crap.

>Who said the Sharp was the top-rated?

Sharp.


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The ultimate result of shielding men from the
effects of folly is to fill the world with fools."
-- Herbert Spencer

Bob

On 4 Jul 2005 05:48:34 -0700, "Kingkeld" <>
wrote:

>It's really pretty simple. Go with the one you like the most,
>regardless of brand .

I disagree with that approach. It always pays to do the research. That
way you keep the product longer.


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The ultimate result of shielding men from the
effects of folly is to fill the world with fools."
-- Herbert Spencer

Bob

The Man Behind The Curtain wrote:

> They say LCDs are the future, but I think the technology needs a few
> more years for refinement, based on what I saw. The plasma,
> meanwhile, despite a slightly larger picture, looked better. It
> still had flaws, but I could more readily live with them.
_________________________________________________

I had the opposite experience at the local Circuit City. I spent about
an hour looking very carefully at everything on display and for me, the
42" Panasonic LCD beat everything, both in picture quality and price.

This is probably quite subjective. What is annoying flicker to one
person may not even be observable to another. Go with what looks good
to you.

--
BT

Bill Turner

In article <>,
The Man Behind The Curtain <> wrote:

> I went down to a retailer today armed with a DVD to check out the
> picture quality of the Sharp AQUOS LC-45GD6U 45" LCD TV, which I
> understand to be the top-rated LCD TV out there (not that there are that
> many). I had looked at this and other sets previously, but they were
> always playing their own high-def demo footage and I wanted to know how
> it would look playing an ordinary DVD.

A lot of store display TV aren't calibrated correctly for the best
picture, which might be partially affecting the quality.

Poof

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 15:33:38 GMT, Poof <> wrote:

>A lot of store display TV aren't calibrated correctly for the best
>picture, which might be partially affecting the quality.

All TVs in a store have their color set far too high. Consumers think
that the more color there is, the better the TV. Yet the best picture
comes from low color intensity.


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"The ultimate result of shielding men from the
effects of folly is to fill the world with fools."
-- Herbert Spencer

Bob

"The Man Behind The Curtain" <> wrote in message
news:...

> (snip)
> I was shocked. It looked awful! The DVD was a recent that had a very
> good picture, but when the camera panned there was constant "chatter" or
> flickering of heavily textured or patterned objects. Motion had a chatter
> to it, too. It was not smooth.
>
> John
>

I've had my Sharp Aquos for a year now and I am very happy with it's
performance. When I weighed all the "particulars" of an LCD to a CRT and
Plasma, the Aquos was the one I chose... all my 100s of DVDs look great on
this set... and the HD programming I view on it is stunning.

A happy Aquos customer................................

peace...............dave www.Shemakhan.com

Lookingglass