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[DrPepperFan15]

I was wondering if this HDTV I'm about to buy is any good?

The model is a Samsung LN-S2738D  Samsung 27" LCD Specifications Page.  This tv is about $700-800 even at wal-mart and I'm not interested in plasma but is this a good price for a good product or can I get better for a cheaper price and size?

[DrPepperFan15]

can somebody please help me out that knows about lcd tv's?

[_iffy]

The most important thing of LCD HDTV's are (1)resolution, (2)contrast ratio, and (3)brightness.

(1)That sammy is 1366 x 768 pixels which is fine. 1080 is better, but more expensive

(2)It doesn't say what the contrast ratio is. It does say a "dynamic ratio" of 3000:1 but it doesn't say the "static" or "true" contrast ratio, which is the important number.

Contrast ratio is the difference in brightness from black to white.
Static or true contrast ratio would be the contrast ratio when your looking at a picture. The black vs the white
Dynamic would be when you look at a white light move across a black screen. Thing is when your eyes are looking at the white light as it's moving, your not looking at the black. It's just a way to print a more impressive sounding number for the ads.

Your going to have to go to the store, and look at the manual, yourself to find out.

Personally, I don't even give a glance to any tv that has a contrast ratio less than 1000:1

(3)It also doesn't say what the brightness is.
500 cd/m² ± 100 cd/m² is fine.
Bigger isn't always better. You'll have to see it in action and decide for yourself if you like it, and again your going to have to go into the store and look at the manual, or ask questions to find out.


FYI cd/m² is candelas per square meter. A candela is a standard unit of measuring brightness. It was based off "candel power"
eg: one candle emits x amount of light...
This light bulb is the equivalent of so many candels


The price would be ok if the tv had a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a brightness around 500cd/m²


Here's some alternatives...

Sharp aquos 26" ($800USD)

Lg 32" 720p with 5000:1 and 500 cd/m² ($1100USD)

[twistedsymphony]

Good info _iffy

Resolution is important but if you talk to any ISF certified guys they'll tell you that it actually only ranks 4th overall (though still pretty damn important)

1. is contrast ratio - blacks look deep, whites look bright, and everything in between
2. is color accuracy -grays are neutral and colors are the right tone
3. is color vibrancy - colors are bright and rich like wet photo, and no blooming or fading
4. is resolution - the image has added definition

and a number of other elements fall in line after that.


so the #1 thing you should look at is contrast ratio and brightness.

color accuracy and vibrancy, most displays will have to be professionally tuned to really shine in this department, in general (excluding CRTs) Plasmas do best here followed by LCDs and following that single chip DLPs.

and resolution, that's the easiest one to figure out.

[_iffy]

DrPepperFan15, I just learned something...

Static contrast ratio, or true contrast ratio, is the real contrast ratio of the TV.

Dynamic contrast ratio, is when the TV automatically adjusts the backlight intensity, providing up to a 3x improvement in contrast. It's kind of cheating, but it does give the illusion of a higher contrast ratio, which does make the TV look better.


That sammy you were looking at would have a 1000:1 or better true contrast ratio, which would convince me to look at it. The price sounds good to me now.

[Chancer]

Right this is non technical. This is however a factual observation based on installing over 70 of these things in customers homes (UK exact equivalent). This model is a huge seller here.
This situation may not apply/bother you.
On analogue modes and also witnessed on VCR playback, there is a tendency for bright thin verticals (Door frame edge for instance) to display a cogging effect. It is not massive( not one customer has mentioned it) but it is there. (Maybe I am super critical)
First one I did I though it was faulty but I now look for it on all the installs I have done. This does not only affect the one screen size but is common to the range of this model.
A vertical line will display a band of cogging then a straight section then a band of cogging. The effect varies with the brightness levels.
This does not affect any that I have seen running games at 720p through the 360 (only 4 or 5).
This may be a quirk specific to the models manufactured for UK (Not Sure) but it swayed my decision and I ruled it out when I changed Tv  a couple of months ago.
Best ones I have seen
Toshiba 32WLT66 .
 I don't rate the Sharp ones either but surprisingly the LG ones I have done look pretty good.
Edit
Nobody mentioned response times either. Slow response times on LCD = Blurry fast moving pictures

[DrPepperFan15]

I think the response time is 8ms which I hear and from Twisted's sticky is really good for gaming.

This will be my first HDTV and I'm really excited about it! 720p is what I'm assuming it is by standard resolution (native I think?) Also Wal-Mart uses these for it's Xbox 360 display and also others like PS3 so anyways thanks guys for helping me out with my selection! I'm going to buy this hdtv around mid-april.

PS:Sorry chancer for before also thats why I wouldve replied earlier about this considering it's a little late now.