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General discussion

which tv should i get?

Feb 20, 2007 8:27AM PST

Hey weaponx178 here again....i was wondering if anyone could help me i'm looking to buy a 46' lcd screen for my gameplay im kinda leaning towards the sony kdl 46xbr2 but i have been hearing some problems about the black lighting. despite the cost i have the money to spend but i also like both the samsung lns 4696d an lns 4695d which have really nice picture quality.... so can someone help me which of these lcd's would be best for my gaming? thanks.

Discussion is locked

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get the Sony
Feb 21, 2007 2:08AM PST

The Sony Bravia line is the best LCD HDTV available right now. Don't listen to people that tell of black level problems because those always exist on LCDs, but the Sony Bravia is one of the best looking HDTVs out there...but it is pretty expensive.

You won't be dissapointed if you get it. If you have the option, buy from a retailer with a good warrantly policy like Crutchfield.

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hey check out the review
Feb 21, 2007 4:41PM PST
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opinion
Feb 22, 2007 5:00AM PST

I have been researching this issue for weeks now. The best TV for gaming is probably the sony A2000 series.
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDS50A2000&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=tv_Full_HD_1080_Rear_Projection
I'm was leaning towards the 50 inch model.
There have been issues with the xbr series.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=752327
But ultimatly, I am going to hold off until the new batch of HDTV's come out with HDMI 1.3
http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/article/mps/UAN/791/v/1/sp/

You also may want to keep and eye on this line of tv's from sharp
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sharp_LC_37GP1U/4505-6482_7-32306284.html?tag=prod.txt.1 not sure if they will have an HDMI 1.3 connection

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I have the Sony KDS-50A2000
Feb 22, 2007 6:05AM PST

I have the above mentioned SXRD TV and its 2 HDMI inputs are both HDMI 1.3 compatible.

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really?
Feb 22, 2007 6:29AM PST

Hey if it has HDMI 1.3 thats great, I'm definatly going to buy it.
I'm more than a little skeptical It's doesn't mention that in the owners manual.
http://www.sonystyle.com/intershoproot/eCS/Store/en/documents/specifications/KDSA2000.pdf
And every review I have read about this tv has not mentioned that. With being such a huge feature I don't see how they would leave that information out. Do you have a link to show this? Again if it does have hdmi 1.3, I'm buying it!!

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Definitely incorrect...
Feb 22, 2007 6:53AM PST

The KDS-50A2000 has an HDMI 1.2 set of inputs, it is HDMI 1.3 compatible, along with every other TV that offers HDMI as an input but you will not get the new advancements that HDMI 1.3 offers. HDMI 1.3 will be backwards compatible (just like USB 2.0)with the current HDMI HDTVs but don't go thinking your 50A2000 will utilize HDMI 1.3's full potential. The XBR2 nor the XBR3 series don't even offer HDMI 1.3 and that is their premium line-up. I don't know where you got your information (probably Circuit City or ABC Warehouse) but you are definitely wrong. And for the original poster, you should definitely get the XBR2 LCD from Sony if you can afford it because that TV is amazing. I sell that TV all the time along with a PS3(since they are the cheapest blu-ray player to date).

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Please take a look at this thread for PS3 owners
Feb 22, 2007 7:28AM PST
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I'm still correct
Feb 22, 2007 11:08PM PST

The Sonys are HDMI 1.3 compatible and as long as that includes being able to accept a 1080p signal then that is what is important as well has being compatible with the future security requirements for HD-DVD/BR disks.

The features that you speak of that the HDMI inputs on the Sony will not be able to take advantage of are not important for a TV, and I am speaking of the DTS-HD/TrueHD support. It WILL be important to buy a receiver that has HDMI 1.3 switching to take advantage of the new sound modes, but those do not matter for HDTVs because no one that is serious about HT uses the TV speakers to watch movies.

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Unfortunately it does not have hdmi 1.3 :(
Feb 22, 2007 7:25AM PST

The PS3 which is scheduled to ship in November 2006, will be the first source product to provide such high quality imagery to these displays. It is expected that hi-def DVD players will follow early in 2007 with HDMI 1.3 support.

http://www.hdmi.org/about/faq.asp#q4_2

50a2000 Release date: 8/2/06

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Samsung
Feb 25, 2007 12:27AM PST

Get the Samsung ln-s4095d. It's just as good as the XBR2 and the XBR3 isn't worth the extra money. Or just wait until the new line of hdtvs come out in March/April.

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the feed
Feb 25, 2007 1:30AM PST

thanks for the feed guys but whats the difference between the sonykdl 46 xbr2 and the xb3?

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xbr2 vs xbr3
Feb 25, 2007 1:55AM PST

weapon.... the only real difference between the two is: xbr2 is silver and xbr 3 is gloss black.

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I had a different experience...
Feb 27, 2007 11:25AM PST

I bought a Samsung 4096 from Best Buy and some of the grey scales had a noticeable red/purple tint to them...I dropped a copy of Digital Video Essentials in my DVD player and it was very noticeable on any of the grey scale test patterns...Went to Best Buy (Magnolia) and dropped the DVD in their player and out of three different brand TV's that it fed, the Samsung showed the same problem. The other two brands were great. Grey was Grey. No redish tint.

I traded mine for an XBR3. I know... More expensive and an XBR2 is an XBR3. My wife and I liked the piano black finish, and got it at the price of an XBR2. Still pricey, but grey is grey, and once I had noticed the tint (which I couldn't get rid of) I never would have been satisfied with the set.

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coming close to a decision
Mar 1, 2007 2:07AM PST

alright so now im down to the sony xbr2 with a 50% and tied between the samsung lns 4696d and the lns 4695d but i noticed the 95d is a bit more expensive why is that? is it better than the 96d? and im not gonna lie the glossy piano black look for the sony xbr3 is nice but thats why i havent decided to go with xbr2 just yet cuz i also like the samsungs glossy black look, but like i said whats the difference between those two models and which do you recomend out of the three for gaming?

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Compare at Sony.com
Mar 1, 2007 3:22AM PST

weaponx,, you can go to Sony.com and do a side by side comparison of the two and see that the only listed difference is the color. I own the xbr2 and it is the most stunning picture I have seen. Two friends own Samsungs and neither is happy when they see my picture.And all three of us are on Comcast digital high def.

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Go for plasma
Mar 2, 2007 3:55AM PST

I recently went through this same process and considered the 46" LCD's mentioned here. After doing a TON of research, I ultimately went with a 50" Panasonic plasma TV. The picture is absolutely incredible, and I was able to get a larger screen for less money (2000 compared to 2600-3000 for the 46" LCDs). I know plasmas have some negative stigmas attached to them (burn-in, etc), but unless you keep a static imagine on the screen for 5+ hours, even that isn't an issue anymore. Ultimately, my decision boiled down to picture quality, and the plasma simply couldn't be beat. I'm able to see details in my Xbox 360 games that I couldn't see on my old projection HDTV.