I caved this weekend and bought a new TV. I had resisted for a long time because i really don't think we watch enough to justify the cost. Spending $1500 to $2500 seemed ridicules to say the least. But, I allowed myself to go to Best Buy anyway.
I really didn't have any aspirations to buy, but the LG 50" plasma TV caught my eye. Beautiful picture clarity and a price tag of $999 got my attention. I quizzed the sales people for sometime. "I'm having a hard time seeing the difference between the picture on the 720P LG and the LCD set right next to it sporting 1080P, what's the deal," I asked. As it turned out, the signal sent to all the TV's was 720P...and it was beautiful. Good enough for them to sell the TV's at all price points. So I asked, "How do you get 1080P and why don't you display it?" Again, I was surprised at the answer. Brodcasts over cable/sat and air are 720P, with no intention of going to 1080P any time soon. The only way to enjoy 1080P is with a Blue-Ray DVD or On-Demand cable/sat. I have neither, so I started really warming up to the 720P.
"Are there other advantages to LCD over Plasma," I asked. "Well, the LCD's don't have any screen reflections, but the plasma's have glass that might give reflections. And the LCD's are brighter. The screens may last longer and there is no potential for burn-in." "Ok. So, does the extended warranty cover screen burn-in," I reply. "Yep." I'm in. I don't have a bright room to put the set in, and screen reflections have never been a problem in the past, so I didn't see the advantages being worth twice the price or more.
We coupled the TV with Bose 321 GS Series II sound system. Not the best acoustically, but I am the only one in the family that cares about that. A high end component audio system with 7.1 surround, etc. has a low WAF (Wife Approval Factor). The Bose sounds fine.
My only disappointment after installation was the lip-sync errors I was seeing on over the air broadcast. I was really disturbed until I researched the issue. Not only do I have the issue, a lot of others do as well. The problem does not seem to be related to the components I purchased, rather it seems to lie with the tv stations. I have tested this theory out by closely viewing several other HD setups of varying brand and the problem exists in them as well. I will concede that the problem might be in the signal processing of the audio unit. Most setups include an audio delay feature to correct for the large TVscreen refresh, but this problem is the opposite. The video is ahead of the audio. An audio delay feature won't solve the problem.
So, at the end of the day, with an investment equivalent to an upper end LCD and 36 moths no interest, we purchased the TV, sound system and new furniture stand. I think we're happy.
Merry Early Christmas
