The Lady Geek's Topic of the Day: A 3D LED TV Journey

Tales of the Lady Geek

  

The Lady Geek's Topic of the Day: Finding George 2.0 A 3D LED TV  Journey:

Greetings dear readers, just a few weeks ago, I was lamenting the loss of the family Television, George. After thirteen years of loyal service, this beautiful '98 Toshiba projection screened television, the first "big" purchase in my adult life. He was all black and shiny and big, fresh from a 'real store' and boy was I happy with him! After saving for almost an entire year on a nanny's salary, George the Television arrived just in time for my first born son's birth.  Well, as you know, he's been chugging along as best he can these last few weeks, the color and sound quite steadily declining until today. Poor George will not power on at all. 

Well, you were with me on my journey to discovering the type of 'modern' television that would best suit my family.  Now with his passing, I'm forced to ask you to join me on my expedition to finding the EXACT perfect television fit for our family. Sometime later this week, most likely this Friday, we will be welcoming George 2.0 home.  So sit back and enjoy the ride while we compare and contrast the four final options in my search for George 2.0.

 

Okay knowing that my goal for today is to do my comparison shopping, I quickly decided that a quick trip to the local coffee shop is in order.  While I order this double chocolate latte, let's have a quick recap in order to keep you in step with my plans. In my article , "Choosing a New Television" I decided that the best fit for my family, including my animals would be a 60 inch, 1080p 3D LED televising with a good warranty, an excellent amount of ports and the ability to wirelessly attach to my home network with a stand. 

That's a great starting point for shopping; now the next question would obviously be "which brand is the best bang for my buck"? Well, most people would head straight down to the big electronic store and take stock of their shiny displays and 'sit back and enjoy' sections.  If you've been following my writings, dear readers, you already know I'm not 'most people'. 

Sitting back at the small table by the large window of this much loved shop, laptop before me and pen and paper at the ready, I start my online investigation.  Since Toshiba was the brand I'd just lost, I decided that I would put that on the top of my comparison list to surf over to the Toshiba website and checkout the options there, after that after that, I've heard a lot about Panasonic, Sony and Samsung, so they're definitely on my list and finally - 'wild card' - the LG series of 3D TVs is on my list, simply because I have a fondness for their product line.

Why spend so much time online before heading into the actual stores?  Simple answer my friends, forearmed is forewarned. No matter how far we, as a society advance, there are certain things that never seem to change.  One is that upon entering an electronics store, some over-eager salesperson is going to try to sell you something.  I don’t need to be sold something, once I’ve gathered my information I only need two things, the best bang for my buck and the best service plan for my product. 

One other thing to keep in mind, boys and girls, do you remember when I said some things never change? One of the things that remain consistent through the years has been that all gadgets have thirty five thousand pounds of pretty words to sift through before getting through to the nitty gritty of features you actually need to find out about your television. That’s why I’m here, so you don’t have to worry about it. 

And onto the Bells and Whistles Stuff

Okay, what I need to focus on is not the following, simply because there are no standardized specifications for them. The numbers manufacturers put up are basically all the same. The fact is, most all televisions perform pretty much to the same standards besides a few miniscule difference:

1.       Refresh Rate : Numbers (60Hz, 240Hz, 480Hz, 600Hz) are supposed to mean the number of times an image is refreshed on the screen per second. (60Hz = 60 times per second and so on). The truth of the matter is that it’s nearly impossible to see the difference between a 60Hz and a 600Hz TV. 

2.       Resolution : Nearly every TV in the size I’m on the lookout for is a 1080p but really, the differences between a 720p and 1080p is nearly impossible to discern.

3.     Contrast Ratio: This refers to the difference between the brightest white and darkest black a TV can display an important indicator of overall picture quality.  But there really is no standardized way to measure it so in all honesty,  most TV manufacturers make these numbers up (up to 1,000,000 to 5,000,000:1 and “infinite”)

4.       Viewing Angle: Typically all LCDs and LEDs have adequate viewing for most people especially in bright rooms.

5.    Wide Color: Again, there’s no standard because many televisions deliver relatively accurate color in certain picture settings despite the specifications or claims.

6.       Energy Star: Nearly every television available for sale today qualifies for Energy Star which makes the certification useless for comparative purposes.

That said, here’s what I do need to focus on:

1.       Number of Inputs: Simple enough math. The more stuff you have, the more ports you need. HDMI, Component-video or standard yellow video connections, USB, sound, you get the picture. Whatever stuff you plan on connecting to your television, make sure it comes with the right amount of inputs. 

2.       Screen Finish: Also, a logical reason is behind this.  If you do most of your television watching in a bright room, a screen that cuts down on reflections is a pretty good thing to have around. Be careful though, the choices in higher-end LCD and LED TVs mostly have glossy screens. 

3.       Remote Control: If you’re not using a universal or the remote that comes with your cable box, you need to pay attention to the one included with the television.  I prefer one of medium-size with well-differentiated, backlit buttons. 

4.       Picture Controls:  Of course you can find some user calibrations online if you want to go through the trouble, but I prefer my home technology life as simple as possible so I look for TVs with enough easy presets as possible.

5.       Ease of Use and Support: Once again, a simple reason for this.  A bunch of TVs come with onscreen manuals, product support, and explanations of all the bells and whistles. Why not take advantage of it.

6.       Energy Efficiency: Like I already said, Energy Star is pretty worthless for comparing the real efficiency of different TVs.  However, there are still some significant power use differences between otherwise similar TVs and many TVs offer power-saving extras like sound only modes that appeal to “green” shoppers.

Of course, I don’t expect to find all this out on their webpages, which is why I need to actually enter the electronics store that sells these televisions after I decide on the models.  But for the basics, like number and types of inputs and product support, there should be enough information on the webpage’s specifications page so the rest is an actual visual inspection.  

It’s a lot, I know, but so totally worth it!  Okay, now that we established what we actually need to look at, are you ready? Good! Let’s enter the realm if 3D TV entertainment!

Toshiba:

Well I have to give Toshiba a thumbs up for the quality of its website. Seconds after loading, it offers me a detail list of qualities I want in a television on its TOSHIBA TVFINDER page unfortunately, I see that after inputting my desires, there are no options in 3D LED televisions at my first starting point: Screen Size.  The biggest they offer is a 55 inch. The absolute bare minimum of my requirements cannot be met here, disappointing, but my minimum is 60inches. So, onto the next site...

Final Verdict:  STRIKE 1

Panasonic:

Once again, a harrowing experience navigating a company’s website. After about ten minutes of inputting the simple search of “60 inch 3D TV” and getting their ‘help list’, faq sheets, and list of five 3D televisions all in Plasma, I finally just clicked the link on the side of the page marked LED HDTVs and that proved as equally disappointing as navigating their convoluted site in the first place!  Another ten minutes of good faith ‘shopping’, I gave up. The only thing I could possibly find were 55 inch 3D Televisions. Could this really be such a challenge? Oh well…moving on…

Final Verdict: STRIKE 2

SONY:

Finally! After mere nanoseconds, I found a lovely comparison screen similar to that of Toshiba’s that allowed me to simply input my requirements and up popped several options.  A quick Sony to Sony comparison brought one clear contender for this round up to the forefront!  The Sony Bravia 60” LED EX723 Internet TV. It has more than enough HDMI and component ports as well as two USB 2.0 ports and integrated wifi for my netflix and skype. Plus, it's a Sony, so I know very well how well they are in customer support and ease of use.  

Final Verdict:  Fist Pump of Excitation!

SAMSUNG:

 

Once again, the ease of use of their website is applauded! That said, I found a wide selection of Televisions and you know what else? I LOVE the bells and whistles that come with them!  I found a SWEET TV on their site. A 65 inch LED 8000 series Smart TV.  According to their website, it has enough Inputs/Outputs that this Lady Geek will have fun for years. Three HDMI’s, one Component, two Composites, a PC Audio Mini Jack, Ethernet, Built in WiFi, three USB 2.0 ports just to name a few.  That’s just the beginning, the television can be upgraded via the WiFi with little to no trouble, you can control your television with the remote or your phone and it looks really cool!  Right now, I’m definitely leaning toward this model!

Final Verdict:  Double Fist Pump of Power!!

LG:

Yet another easy to navigate website that brought me almost immediately to the object of my desire, a 65 inch LG 65LM620 that is very interesting.  It features ‘smart tv’ technology, with a user very friendly help menu,  comes with four HDMI connectors and three USB 2.0 ports along with the other accoutrements I’ve been looking for.  Its remote is also firmware upgradable and the remote can be used, as can your phone.  I definitely like this one too.

Final Verdict: A clearly distinguished shout of "AWESOME"

 

Today's Final Thoughts:

Well dear readers, it has been a lovely journey through the internet sites and various bells and whistles, but the time has come.  I’ve finished my second cup already and I am fully armed with all of the information I’m able to gather from these various companies pages.  My next step, that you will hopefully join me on when I revisit, will be to visit my local electronic retailer and get an up close and personal view of the things that matter.  I’ll talk to some sales reps, let myself be ‘sold’ and work out some of the best deals for me and mine.  These are my starting points and I know that after journeying to my store, I’ll leave with a way better deal and more knowledge about my product, answering those unanswerable questions I posed earlier.

I hope you enjoyed this leg of the journey towards finding George 2.0. What are your favorite brands of Televisons?

Written by: MaryAnnParis

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