75" Samsung TV question (other suggestions welcome!) (1 Viewer)

[kalm_traveler]

Hey guys, as mentioned in my beginner's thread, I building a new HT setup over the next 2-3 months.

Anyway, I decided to keep things simple I will just stick with a TV and though I agree 100% that plasma looks better, I can't find any I liked that are 70-75", which is the size I've decided on for this room.

That being said, I was initially looking at a Samsung UN75H6350 which i believe is a 2014 model and seems to meet my requirements.

However, while squandering my work time yesterday looking for cheaper deals on the components I've selected, I found that last years UN75F6300 can be had for $1999 versus the cheapest H6350 I found around $2400.

So my question is, would you guys recommend I suck up the extra $400 for the newer model, or will I probably not notice any real difference?

I looked at the tech specs, and I have seen 65" versions of both in person - the awful uncalibrated way the stores have them set I can't really see any difference in display quality, and the only 'big' tech difference (that I am aware of) is that the 2013 model has a dual-core CPU, while the newer 2014 model has a quad core CPU.

I don't care about the smart apps - I just want a giant, decent-looking screen to watch blu rays and occasionally play a PC or old console video game on.

What do you guys think?

 

[schan1269]

I would recommend you buy a back lit LCD and not edge lit.Edge lit suck. Go to Best Buy any given Monday and look at their open-box returns. The vast majority will be edge lit.I haven't checked what those Samsung are(there was a time Samsung only made edge).Anyway, beyond the usual apps you want, pay no attention to CMR or "hertz rate" as you'll have to turn off all the gimics anyway.

 

[kalm_traveler]

I would recommend you buy a back lit LCD and not edge lit.Edge lit suck. Go to Best Buy any given Monday and look at their open-box returns. The vast majority will be edge lit.I haven't checked what those Samsung are(there was a time Samsung only made edge).Anyway, beyond the usual apps you want, pay no attention to CMR or "hertz rate" as you'll have to turn off all the gimics anyway.

Do you know of any 70+ inch full-array back lit screens?

It seem that most LCD manufacturers have quit making them I don't need/want a 3D tv because it's a useless gimmick, but I guess if that is the only way to get a high-quality screen...

 

[kalm_traveler]

I found an older model 70" Sharp that seems to be full-array backlit LC-70LE734U but this is really difficult to find non-edge-lit LCDs...

 

[kalm_traveler]

How important is local dimming?

That Sharp does not have it... seems I can only find edge-lit with local dimming, or that full-array without (at this size anyway... if I could handle dropping to 64" there is always that Samsung PN64F8500 plasma but I think 64" would be too small for my room and setup... 70-75 is really what I want.

 

[schan1269]

The Sharp are better built than Samsung.Wouldn't worry, too much, about local dimming. It can cause ghosting.

 

[Ldizzle]

Not necessarily the answer you're looking for but being a battled scarred vet of the lcd panel lottery if you're not absolutely determined to buy an HD panel, a carefully selected projection setup can get you better performance than the 75F6300, starting around half the price.

This is the route I've taken as I own a UN75F6400 that I no longer use and my projector easily outperforms the 6400. I've been pleasantly surprised by the cost/effectiveness that's possible with the current entry-mid level projection tech available.

 

[kalm_traveler]

Not necessarily the answer you're looking for but being a battled scarred vet of the lcd panel lottery if you're not absolutely determined to buy an HD panel, a carefully selected projection setup can get you better performance than the 75F6300, starting around half the price.

This is the route I've taken as I own a UN75F6400 that I no longer use and my projector easily outperforms the 6400. I've been pleasantly surprised by the cost/effectiveness that's possible with the current entry-mid level projection tech available.

Many thanks! Unfortunately, I am finding that it's unholy difficult to run wires up into the ceiling on the wall that otherwise makes the most sense as the screen wall in this room. I did manage to finagle a pair of twisted in-wall 12-gauge runs for the rear surrounds but I can't even imagine trying to monkey around up there and drop anything else - the wall is right on the edge of the roof slope, so there is really not any room to physically be up in there to pull up, or fish down wiring and I'm somewhat surprised that I didn't fall through the drywall last time.

If that were not the case, I would be all over checking out some projectors as an alternative option. The thought of trying to fish up component cables, an HDMI run, etc makes my skin start itching just thinking about crawling around on that fiberglass insulation again and I really don't want to tempt fate again by having to rest some of my weight on the drywall in order to wedge myself close enough into the corner to blindly try to fish wires through a hole down into the wall again