I went to a furniture store over the weekend, and grabbed a bunch of stuff I need for my new place. The store I went to was having a deal where if you buy X amount of furniture, you get a free HDTV courtesy of Best Buy. The more you buy, the better the TV. Anyways, I ended up having to spend quite a bit, so much that I'm set up to get a Samsung 51" Plasma TV. The odd thing is that it's 720p I figured with a TV that size, it would be 1080p, but oh well. Honestly I wasn't really given too much info about the TV, but they did have it in the showroom at the furniture store, and it did seem very nice (they were playing Wrath of Khan, I think )

Anyways, the point of this thread. I'm a bit concerned about whether or not I should get this TV, mostly because I'm unsure if a 51" 720p HDTV would have a "stretched" look. Honestly the only thing I've heard about the 720p vs 1080p debate is that when you're playing games or watching a movie with a lot of fast-paced action on the screen, 720p can't keep up so it gets blurry. But wouldn't that be moreso the refresh rate, not the resolution?

Regardless, what do you guys think? The salesman at the furniture store told me I can either get the TV or I can tell Best Buy I'd rather have the gift card. I'm assuming the card would be the same exact value as the HDTV would be... about $650? And of course I'd use that card towards a TV. So do you think I should take the TV, or see if I can get a smaller HDTV with 1080p with the gift card and break even? Would that even be possible, or would a 1080p always be at a higher price range? I'm not too much of a stickler for having the 100% best picture quality, but would it be worth it to go the gift card route and try to grab a different set with 1080p instead?

 

Personally, I'd take the gift card. If you plan on having a 50+ inch TV, stick with 1080p. If you get a smaller TV (42" or less), 720p will be fine.

 

Gift card...I think it would look "grainy" in 52"...I have a 42" LG (1080) that i love...

 

Gift card. But i'd be surprised if they gave you a gift card for the full amount.

 

If you have the giftcard option, go with that. If anything you can just wait for the prices to drop and get a 1080p, best season to get tv's at best buy is usually around superbowl, and boxing day..

 

Go with the gift card.

I dont feel like correcting all the misinformation in here.

And "grainy"....I mean really....uh no.

 

Well they told me the HDTV set value is $650. Assuming I could get the gift card for that exact amount, could I get say a 40" 1080p and not have to fork over money for the difference?

 

gift card.

 

Found this, it's $649

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasoni...&skuId=9761068

Another thing, I bought a TV stand + mount at the furniture store. Are mounts kind of universal?

 

At that size, go with 1080p.

...but there are more things you should iron out besides 1080p versus 720p.

 

Not bad. But you should get the size you need, not just what works price-wise. If a 42" works for your viewing distance, fine; if not, you'll want the larger TV. If you're viewing distance is on the line between two sizes, get the bigger one.

Mounts are relatively universal...relatively. Good ol' BB didn't put the mounting hole specs on the page for the TV, so you'll need to find them somewhere. Then you can see the range your mount does and you'll know if it works.

 

Tax.

:trollface:

 

^No sales tax in Oregon.

and I dunno, my parents are the only people I know who have a good couple sets of HDTVs, so I base my judgement on those. They have a 32" Viera and it's nice, and a 40" Samsung LED. tbh the living room in my apartment isn't too big, so I'm thinking 42" would be good. I'd say the viewing distance is around 17 feet or so.

But the real reason I'd rather go with something that matches price-wise is because I just spent $3000 on furniture Really trying to watch my outgoing cash after I make a large purchase.

 

17' . You're not going to notice the difference between 1080 and 720 at that distance. Get the biggest screen you can.

 

shit.. get a 1080p dlp projector.

 

Well yeah, but I'm definitely not going to be staying at this apartment forever I dunno if I want a 51" TV in my little apartment. I think my living room is only 12' x 19'

 

FWIW, I had a 50" Sammy DLP from 2005 for a few years, so it was "only" 720p and everything from TV to games to movies looked great. I'd be willing to bet if you put the free TV side by side with an identical model that is 1080p without knowing which is which you would be extremely hard pressed to notice any difference...

 

Alright, I'm starting to consider just keeping the TV I'm going to be given. I guess I kinda figured since I've been building up a Blu-Ray collection, 1080p would be the best bet. If a 51" 720p would look the same with my setup, then that's good

My two concerns were with size, and if a 51" 720p would look...err... "not as sharp" as 720p should be.

 

For BD, 1080 would be best...but at 17' it's irrelevant. Even if you sat the other way (the 12' way), you'd be hard pressed to see the difference between 1080 and 720. At less than 10' on a 51" screen, you'd notice the difference, but beyond that it's pretty much all the same.

 

Alright, well I guess I'll stick with the 51" then Unless.... does anyone think $650 is "too cheap" for a 51" Plasma 720p? I'll definitely have to ask them if it's new or... a factory refurbish or a scratch and dent

I'm pretty sure this is the set:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+...&skuId=2135081

 

I wouldnt go 720... Said already. Take the gift card.

My apple tv looks great at 720p

My blurays looks even better at 1080.

There is a noticeable difference

 

x 10

Take the gift card!

 

Yeah I've been doing a wee bit of looking around Best Buy. I do think I could get a better TV for around that price Not to mention a 51" TV won't fit in my living room... Maybe a 42" 1080? Definitely around 40" would be ideal.

And yeah, I'm taking the gift card.

 

Update!

I ended up getting the TV. I learned 2 things. 1) 51" is goddamn enormous. It's really bigger than I thought. and 2) it actually is 1080p. I guess the info the furniture store gave me was incorrect. My PS3 games look great on it

 

well.. most ps3 games are only 720p.

Conrats!

 

^I know! wtf is that crap!? Even some PS3 exclusives are 720p or 1080i, like Killzone 2 and God of War 3 and GoW Collection.

Why, I remember back in the days of PS2, Gamecube and Xbox, developers always took advantage of the Xbox's higher resolution abilities. I guess they just don't think the PS3 is worth it...