I need some help deciding on a 3dTV

[Pantheraleo]

Hi everyone, first time poster but long time lurker. I have been reading thread after tread about 3d TVs and now I could use some help.

Basically I am looking to upgrade my old Wharfedale lcd screen, its been good to me but the picture quality was only OK when it was new and 6 years down the line its pretty poor compared to other screens.
So I came here to ask for recommendations, tips and things to look out for when buying a 3dTV.
It will be used primarily as a monitor for my pc (I have a new Radeon 6950 which I'm dying to test in 3d) but will be used for blu-ray play back both 3d and 2d and ofc the awful rubbish the missus watches lol.


I have about £600 to play with. So far I've looked at both active and passive TVs and in my opinion I can tell very little difference in the 3d quality, however it was hard to compare them as most of the time the 2 screens were different sizes and showing different things. Also of all the active displays I tried I could not notice any flicker, but again it was hard to get an accurate feel for them because I was in a busy store with lots of ambient light.

I have been looking a lot at the LG 32LW450U and its 42 inch counter part. I saw one set up in Comet yesterday and was really impressed by it. I was also impressed by the Sony KDL-55hx823 I think it was (It was getting late and it was the only screen that looked properly set up for a demo.) It completely out of my price range but I was hoping the 3d and picture quality would be the same if not similar to its smaller more affordable brothers.

So long story short: I would like to get a 3dtv for pc and console gaming, Atm I have no bias toward or against active or passive, they both work for great for me. Any hints or tips for when I next go out sampling TVs?

Thanks in advance
Panth.

 

[clowesy]

The problem when comparing 3DTV's in stores is that in most cases they will have to run completely different demos on each of their tellys. Even if they have a few of them running the same demo they will usually be the same model in various sizes or at least the same brand. In our store for example all of our LG passive sets run a demo from a single HD streamer supplied by the manufacturer to be used ONLY for said manufacturer. However in the majority of stores the staff should have access various 3D demos on USB sticks.

If you can find a relatively competant/friendly member of staff ask them if you can run the same demo on a few different tv's to get a good comparrison; if you can download some 3D content in a side by side formt and take it in on your own memory stick you may have more luck. You can read all the reviews in the world but it's you who'll be living with it not the reviewer. Wear the glasses for a few minutes not just a few seconds. If your going to be sitting playing a video game for an hour or watching a film you're going to want the glasses that fit you best and feel the most comfortable. In my opinion the latest Samsung and Pansonic glasses are the lightest and most comfortable active sets but the passive are still nicer to wear.

As for which one to buy/3D technology to go for...

Especially for gaming bear in mind the darker picture that you will get with active as a result of the shutter glasses, I have found with games such as Black Ops where you have areas of maps with very low light, with the 3D on its almost impossible to see parts of the screen.

The passive sets do not suffer from this problem, and whilst they wont give you the highest possible definition 3D picture, they will generally give a much smoother picture on fast moving scenes compared to active. They also cause a lot less eye strain over long viewing periods; something that is quite a big plus for gamers.

If it were a 32" passive set I would go for the LG 32LW450 as you suggested. The glasses are dirt cheap and really comfy. Like yourself I struggle to see the difference in definition compared to active but I can see the difference in terms of motion hanlding. It does however miss out on an HD tuner and isn't smart capable, may not be an issue for you but I couldn't buy a TV without n HD tuner.

For the active I would personally recomend a Samsung UE32D6530. It's within budget and is generally available with a couple of pairs of free glasses. It's 200hz has the HD tuner and smart. Great spec/picture and looks great; there's only really the D7000/8000 above it.

 

[Pantheraleo]

Thanks for your response clowesy, The freeview honestly doesnt bother me as atm I'm living with my girlfriend in her parents house and only have a small portable ariel and live in Cornwall so reception is patchy at the best of times.

Can you recommend any good material for testing? I play a lot of fps' so the tv would need to respond quickly. I was impressed by the LG demo and the fact that we'll never run out of glasses is a bonus. The input lag that I've heard about worries me slightly though.

 

[clowesy]

I would recomend you start with a film you're familiar with as a 2D demo as this really is still very important. Then for the 3D a good fast paced action film or a sport clip will help test out the 3D motion handling, followed by an animated short or similar as these tend to have lots of 'jump out at you' effects.
The demos that we have in retail are designed specifically to show off the 3D capabilities of the TV's so they are full of cgi effects being thrown out at you. Most 3D films - especially live action - will have relatively little of this and instead you should look for the one that gives the most true to life 3D perception; for example a person in the foreground shouldn't look flat like something from a pop up book.

An animated clip should also give you the best idea of how it will perform in terms of gaming, but unless you find the worlds most helpfull salesman who will hook a console up to every TV you will have to rely on a few reviews in terms of how the input lag/response time is. I myself have never really been that concerned with input lag/response times but one tip would be to turn off as much of the TV's picture processing as possible and leave is a standard as possible as this will help reduce it. Then use catalyst control centre to create a few different picture profiles with various settings which look best for gaming/movies/sport etc and link them to hot keys so you have quick access to them.

 

[Pantheraleo]

Thanks. I saw a huge Panasonic tv last week and the 3d was very 'pop up' book like, you could tell there was 3-d but it was very artificial, to the point of being quite jarring. And for the price of that particular set I was expecting to have my socks blown off!

Looks like a trip to google to source me some benchmarking material. I'm heading into town on Saturday so it'll be a show down between the Lg LW450 and the Samsung UE32D6530.

After looking at the prices, I could get the 42 inch LG for slightly more than the 32 inch Samsung. I have heard that with 3d bigger is better, but at the same time picture quality and smoothness is important too, guess I'll just have to go with what my eyes tell me looks best

On a slightly off topic note, Is there a particular difference regarding the performance of active glasses? or is it a purely weight/style difference?

 

[Scooby2000]

IMO the best 3D set at that budget is the Panasonic ST30, very good 2D set too, better than and comparably priced LCD. Worth having a look in a more home like environment, so demo at RS, Sound and vision, or any specialist that has a demo room. Most 3D looks popup book to me too, both in the home and at the cinema, this is down to the content not the set.

 

[Pantheraleo]

Do you own that set Scooby? If you do how does it handle games both 2d and 3d?
The more I'm looking into 3d the more I'm getting put off by the LG models, theres apparently some colour bug in 3d mode when used with PCs and the lag is quite off putting. Also for me I think that active gives the better 3d experience, all I need to do is get some decent demo time with a few different tvs.

 

[Tvremote]

You can fix the lag, to a good degree labelling it as pc. Im sure you will have read that as you keep saying you are reading things..

 

[Scooby2000]

Do you own that set Scooby? If you do how does it handle games both 2d and 3d?
The more I'm looking into 3d the more I'm getting put off by the LG models, theres apparently some colour bug in 3d mode when used with PCs and the lag is quite off putting. Also for me I think that active gives the better 3d experience, all I need to do is get some decent demo time with a few different tvs.

Welcome to the forum by the way and merry Christmas.

I have a 46" GT30, very good gaming set, the ST isnt all that far off and has lower lag for gaming at 16ms.

 

[Pantheraleo]

Merry Christmas everyone!
Tvremote, Yeah I've seen thats the recommended fix. but I've also heard that the tv can still be quite sluggish.
Also Scooby, I havent been able to see any panasonic 3d set ups just yet as my local Comet and Dixons only have LGs and Samsungs in their 3d viewing area. However I'm going up to Northhamptonshire on the 27th to see the gfs family so I should get a chance at seeing a full 3d range in one of their 'superstores' that I hear they have oop norf lol

Anyways I've been looking into the Sony KDL40EX723BU All the sony tvs I've seen have been really impressive. Shame the glasses are ridiculously expensive.