LCD TV Advise Greatly Appreciated

Dazzafett

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I thought buying a New TV would be a joyful experience. It used to be anyhow but after a few weeks research my head feels like its going to explode now.
I have decided on an LCD TV and sit firmly on that side of the Plasma Vs LCD debate for now after weighing up all the pros and cons for both.
As for Size then its either a 46" or 52" for me but i would like to know if there is any difference in PQ or issues at all between the different sizes of the same model.

The TV is for my main viewing in the front room and i will expect it to have a life of about 5 years at least before thinking about changing again.
I plan to use the TV in equal amounts for Blu-ray, PS3 Gaming and Satellite TV in that order or priority on Picture Quality.
Whatever Panel i get i will be using the best quality cables and will be pushing sound out through a good quality 5.1 amp and speaker set up so the panel will effectively be a dumb monitor so Picture Quality is only priority.

The concerns that i have read about the most are Issues with Gaming lag (can someone explain what this actually is and how it effects your gaming experience) and screen clouding/backlight bleed which i guess effects the overall quality of the picture you are watching with blacks looking washed out and grey.

In an Ideal world i would like to get a TV with the Deepest Blacks possible for an LCD but with no noticeable compromise on Gaming quality experience if that's not too much to ask.

Brand Loyalty pushes me towards Sony as my current 32" CRT Sony has served me exceptionally well but as we are talking completely different technology i have an open mind on other makes and especially like the aesthetic look of the Samsungs.
With all that in mind unless i have completely missed a make and model of LCD out there that does everything i want it to do then my search so far has narrowed the Field to the following models.
Sony Series W4000, W4500, X4500 and Z4500
Samsung Series 6,7,8 & 9

What i am looking for is practical advice from people that use these panels and how much of a problem the different issues each of them have are for them in real life terms.
As an example does the issues with gaming (Input lag??) that are talked about on the LED backlit sets really cause enough of a problem to make using the sets for Gaming unrealistic. This would be unfortunate as i do really like the Sony X4500 and Samsung Series 9 models.
Or are the Clouding/Backlight Bleed issues so much of a problem that my viewing experience on Blu-ray will be greatly reduced.

In an Ideal world i guess i would probably be better off actually buying two sets for two different rooms. One for Pure Blu-ray and another for Pure Gaming with Standard TV the 2nd option on both but i find it hard to believe that with so much technology out there in this day and age i cant get one that does the whole lot really well.

I have trolled all the shops over the past couple of weeks looking at so many different sets but to be honest i think you can only really judge the Aesthetic look properly here as i don't believe Showrooms give you a true idea of the picture quality you will get when your viewing at home so i will value any advise given from actual users on here.
For one shops don't always have the screens configured correctly and also they have a variety of different cables used that you cant compare different models like for like anyhow.
I paid a visit to John Lewis in Oxford Street this week and was amazed at the variety of different cables that were being used all over the place. How can you compare the best attributes of two different models when one is showing SD TV on a composite cable next to one that is playing a Blu-ray through an HDMI. They actually had the top of the range expensive set hooked up with composite cables and cheaper end models running through HDMI! Oh and not a gaming console in sight for you to see how that performs.

Lastly i would like to say Thanks in advance for reading my post and for any thoughts that you are willing to share with me.
 
First of all, I don't think it's fair to completely discount an entire technology based on reading pros and cons. Now more than ever sets have to be judge directly on all accounts, not just how they produce their picture.

The reason I say is that from everything you say about your requirements, the Pioneer KRP-500M sounds like the perfect solution. Low input lag (which can make a big difference to games that require quick reflexes), superb black level, no chance of backlight bleed, excellent motion performance (small possibility of patchy blacks, but this seems to have mainly effected the first few batches from what I can tell). LCD TVs that can match/better this for black level will be LCD models, which means increased input lag.

Take a visit to TLC Broadcast in Borehamwood to take a look, you'll probably love it. You will also get an accurate idea of in-home performance.

Out of LCD options, I have read about just too many problems with the X4500 for the money that it costs. The Series 9 I don't know too much about, but I would recommend you look at 55 over 46, because you'll almost certainly regret going for the latter in the end.
 
Thanks for the comments.
I should have explained my reasoning but i had wanted to try and avoid another LCD Vs Plasma thread.

Although i do agree that the PQ of a Plasma is better and perhaps for my needs is the Ideal choice in that respect the whole Screen Burn issue is just too much of a Risk for me when spending that sort of money. If it was only me using the TV then it would be fine but when you have Kids that no matter how much you tell them keep doing things like leaving the TV in Live Pause when they go out of the room and then getting distracted and not going back to watch plus with all their Favorite Channels having fixed Logo's in the corners i think my TV will be more at risk to this issue. They also have a habit of leaving a Games menu screen up when they have finished playing rather than simply turning it all off.
I had a friend that has the same situation and his Plasma was ruined buy screen burn so im not just basing this on what i have read i have actually seen the results.

Although it is a compromise for me my choice is to go for the Best LCD for my needs so some advice from people that actually use these TVs would be very helpful indeed.
 
Thanks for the comments.
I should have explained my reasoning but i had wanted to try and avoid another LCD Vs Plasma thread.

Although i do agree that the PQ of a Plasma is better and perhaps for my needs is the Ideal choice in that respect the whole Screen Burn issue is just too much of a Risk for me when spending that sort of money. If it was only me using the TV then it would be fine but when you have Kids that no matter how much you tell them keep doing things like leaving the TV in Live Pause when they go out of the room and then getting distracted and not going back to watch plus with all their Favorite Channels having fixed Logo's in the corners i think my TV will be more at risk to this issue. They also have a habit of leaving a Games menu screen up when they have finished playing rather than simply turning it all off.
I had a friend that has the same situation and his Plasma was ruined buy screen burn so im not just basing this on what i have read i have actually seen the results.

Although it is a compromise for me my choice is to go for the Best LCD for my needs so some advice from people that actually use these TVs would be very helpful indeed.

If you even managed to get a hint of retention (let alone burn) on the latest pioneer plasmas id give you a very big piece of cake.... Its so difficult for it to happen. I don't think ive ever heard a report or even a hint of people saying of it on the latest pioneer plasmas.... other brands perhaps. Ive had mine on desktop for a long long long time and not even any signs of retention, these screens truely are bullet proof....

You know the older CRT sets were very susceptable to screen burn.... just most people don't realise. Did it ever put you off purchasing a cathod ray tv when thats all there was? :p
 
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I do see your viewpoint about the kids and their reluctance to care for the set. But CRTs are also susceptible to burn and people have never cried out loud about them.

I sue my pioneer for general use like you would use your set, and am careful with it, but don't worry about leaving it on pause for 10mins or so, watching the same channel for an evening. This is because as soon as you do something different with teh set or change channel it will be effectively removing the static logo and any image retention that might be seen.

It really is overhyped by many people these days, and buying a plasma for your viewing conditions isn't a risk at all. They are more resiliant than you could imagine, and my best mates 5yr old non-HD panny plasma has been seriously abused over the years. I mean left on sky channels all night long, games left on pause for ages, and watching the same channels for many hours on end. No burn at all on his set.

JL oxford street is a horrible place to demo as comparable screens are placed far apart and many of them have awful or no proper feeds. Don't even get me started on their settings and the lights shining directly onto many of the screens. But I did have a play with the X4500 which was running a blu-ray feed and I wasn't that impressed to be honest. Obviously the aformention conditions came into play, butfor the price it certainly doesn't trump the picture of a pioneer Kuro which is less than 1/2 the price and still produces the best picture on the market quite easily.

The 50 Kuro is also pretty much unburnable and I have nbever eveer seen an ounce of retention on mine, even after 5hr non stop gaming sessions, and with my other half watching E4 most evenings, all evening. I don't really have anything to say about the picture quality other than it trumps the X4500 and any of the new samsung LED sets, it is still the king of the hill !

effectively be a dumb monitor so Picture Quality is only priority.

The concerns that i have read about the most are Issues with Gaming lag (can someone explain what this actually is and how it effects your gaming experience) and screen clouding/backlight bleed which i guess effects the overall quality of the picture you are watching with blacks looking washed out and grey.

In an Ideal world i would like to get a TV with the Deepest Blacks possible for an LCD but with no noticeable compromise on Gaming quality experience if that's not too much to ask.

= Kuro :)

Like somone else mentioned, just try and get to TLC broadcast in North London and have a proper demo with calibrated sets, and you will be able to see how good a Kuro really is, rather than listening to us harp on about it :D
 
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