First of all, sorry this is not an automotive post......

One thing that has always impressed me about this forum though, is the depth of technical knowledge that the members possess.... I guess there's a lot more techno savvy youth here.

With all the ongoing technical innovations that crop up in the audio/visual arena every year, I'm uncertain what to spend the hard earned on...

I want to get a new telly and am confused by all the tech jibberish....

I'm looking at a telly to fit into an existing cabinet, and I figure the biggest that will fit is probably about 46". I like watching sport... fast action sports.... AFL, motor racing, etc .

Sales pitches have me leaning to a plasma rather than lcd screen due to refresh rates?.

Am I on the right track, or have I been brainwashed by the salesman?

I'm considering the Panasonic TH-46PZ800A

Also.... I've been told the only way to get full HD quality is with a Blu-ray player.

Is Blu-ray any good? How long has it been around?

Will it remain a stable standard? or suffer a fate similar to Beta recorders in the early days of video?

Any feedback from you techno savvy guru's would be appreciated.

PS:

The ute is running exceptionally well. Haven't had any issues with it at all.

The HPF tune setup for BVWE2 2 years ago is still running perfect.

Thanks Rob.... tell the boys they did too good a job!

The 68 vette is running well too, now with the new stroker and 5sp trans.

hi tom.

1st up I dont think blu-ray will go the way of beta-max... it is still a new tech and I would still consider it part of the 'enthusiasts' market, not really mainstream yet. the blu-ray 'standard' has been changing and im not sure if it is settled yet. I believe they are up to v1.3. some blu-ray players may be upgradeable, but I am not sure.. blu-ray's certainly are of a higher standard than your regular dvd's, but they are more expensive. I think they are still around $40 a pop in the shops.

as far as plasma v lcd, that is a personal decision. I have an lcd with 5ms response and have no trouble watching fast action sports. I believe plasma's around that size are cheaper than lcd's so that's a plus! there are pro's and cons for both.

DO NOT be fooled into buying $300+ cables with your tv and/or blu-ray. box movers cables are way overpriced imo.

ninja edit: check this thread out: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14143456

Edited June 26, 200818 yr by XR06T

First of all, sorry this is not an automotive post......

One thing that has always impressed me about this forum though, is the depth of technical knowledge that the members possess.... I guess there's a lot more techno savvy youth here.

With all the ongoing technical innovations that crop up in the audio/visual arena every year, I'm uncertain what to spend the hard earned on...

I want to get a new telly and am confused by all the tech jibberish....

I'm looking at a telly to fit into an existing cabinet, and I figure the biggest that will fit is probably about 46". I like watching sport... fast action sports.... AFL, motor racing, etc .

Sales pitches have me leaning to a plasma rather than lcd screen due to refresh rates?.

Am I on the right track, or have I been brainwashed by the salesman?

I'm considering the Panasonic TH-46PZ800A

Also.... I've been told the only way to get full HD quality is with a Blu-ray player.

Is Blu-ray any good? How long has it been around?

Will it remain a stable standard? or suffer a fate similar to Beta recorders in the early days of video?

Any feedback from you techno savvy guru's would be appreciated.

PS:

The ute is running exceptionally well. Haven't had any issues with it at all.

The HPF tune setup for BVWE2 2 years ago is still running perfect.

Thanks Rob.... tell the boys they did too good a job!

The 68 vette is running well too, now with the new stroker and 5sp trans.

Yes the salesmen are correct in saying that if your watch alot of sport that a Plasma is the way to go. Personally I dont like the look of LCD's for sport. I work for one of Australia's largest Audio Visual Engineering companys and have seen many screens along the way. I have been part of a 300ish screen roll out (LCD) just recently, and let me say that for AFL they suck. When you decide on a screen, choose it to what looks good to your eye, not the salesmen's. Also take into condsideration what type of inputs does it have and are they going to suit your needs, eg HDMI, COMPONENT, COMPOSITE, S-VIDEO, and HIGH DEF tuner / ANALOGUE TUNERS.

As for BLU-RAY, I believe it will be the standard for High Def discs. Sony have invested alot of money into things like the latest Playstation to generate it as the premier class of media. I would not be too worried about it being phased out in the near future.

Good luck with the purchase.

Blu-Ray has won the war they're now just fine tuning the format.... So you might want to hold off on a player for a little while, or just get a PS3 as it can update over your internet connection.

I have never seen an LCD that has made me go 'wow' but I have seen a couple of plasmas that look the goods. Although you cant beat old school CRTs

You can't go wrong with the Three P's. Panasonic or Pioneer Plasmas.

As for the Beta thing that has happened to HD DVD and that was mainly due to Blu-Ray I guess. So I reckon Blu-Ray is around to stay.

Thanks guys...

I feel more confident now and I'll get the panasonic plasma.

Might wait on a Blu-Ray for now.......

As to a DVD/HDD recorder ??? I gather they only support the HD format, not Full HD....

what is it they call it.... 1080i or 1080p ??? can't quite get a handle on the format codes.

The Panasonic has HDMI single cable interconnectivity, along with a control interface which allows the one remote to be used for all compatible AV devices (such as DVD/HDD or Audio amp etc) They call it VIERA link.

I gather the VIERA link is a panasonic only control interface.... or do other brand units also have a compatible control interface with the panasonic remote?

I guess what I want to do here, is minimise the number of remotes required.

Currently we have 5 remotes on the coffee table... Need a phD in electronics and industrial design to decipher the combinations to simply change channels

You can buy a multi-remote for multiple remotes. I am not talking about one you find at a Supermarket either, cause they are crap. You can buy some really cool multi remotes for an example

http://www.radioparts.com.au/ProdView.aspx...REMOTE+LOGITECH

Also look at this for a clear definition of 1080 interlace and 1080 progressive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080p

if your gaming I would go LCD

but LCD's can tend to get a little bit of motion blur on high paced movements

as for BLU RAY just get a ps3

its cheap,upgradable through firmware updates and plays games.

there are other ways to get HD content but it wont be 1080p

there is foxtel HD which is 1080i/720p and also HD free to air which is also 1080i/720p and if your lucky you will get 5.1 dolby D

then you get spend even more money if you want to hear the lossless audio formats on your BLU RAYS as you need a reciever that has HDMI

OK.... now it's beginning to get blurry for my old nuerons....

1080i is 1080 vertical lines of resolution, but they are interlaced....

I gather this means that all the even vertical lines (940) are displayed, followed by all the odd 940 lines....... and this is done quickly enough to fool the brain into thinking it's one image.....

whereas the 1080p (progressive) scans through and displays all the 1080 vertical lines in one hit.

Does this mean that the only real difference in quality would be detected on a single still frame capture? As in freeze frame?

and tom1111...

Not into gaming at all. What's a PS3

My daughter bought a Wii recently, but not sure what it does.... whether it can play dvd in HD?

I want best display for sporting action. Olympics are here soon, and I'm an AFL fan.

(Go the CROWS! although I haven't made as much noise about it as in the past)

Plus I enjoy good movies, and if cinema quality can be viewed at home, then that's what I want.

The audio system now has me puzzled.

I have an existing 5.1 Sony AV tuner/amp.

In regards to connecting to traditional AV equipment..... are there simple audio jacks available for left and right front and rear and centre/sub channels from DVD/HDD recorders or is a special digital audio amp required to get quality surround sound?

I have both, the plasma is a NEC HD and approx 3 years old and the Sony LCD HD X-Series is only 1 year old. The plasma has a much nicer sharper yet true to life picture.. LCD's are good if you're going to use it for gaming/PS3 etc for a few reasons

Hi Tom

I am running a 1080 Panasonic 50' Plasma w Viera Link to Panasonic HDD/DVD burner. I run this through a Yamaha amp and home theatre

set up. Very happy with both the pictures and sound. Not top of the range compared to what is available, but suits my need.

BTW it is worth spending the $150 bucks for the man to do the install and tuning