Update: GOT a new Samsung 40" HDTV, calibrating suggestions?

[Xeogred]

Alright I've been saying it lately, I'd love track down a good HDTV (LED) that can do S-video and has a fair share of inputs. I found this Phillips TV that looks amazing, but I'm not sure if I can find it anywhere:

http://www.mea.philips.com/c/television ... pp102-drp3

2 component, 3 HDMI, s-video, basically yeah this beast looks amazing unless anyone else has heard otherwise. This would be absolutely perfect for my setup, since I use both my PS3/360 via HDMI, and switch between my PS2 and Wii via component. But with more inputs I wouldn't have to bother switching stuff around all the time. I still plan to get this Phillips DVD player as well for region free access, so I have to keep that input in mind as well (HDMI?).

Right now I've got a basic Samsung LCD, 32" 720p that I really like, but I"ll probably just throw that in the living room of my apartment and would like something with more options in my room. I'm mainly wanting to get my Saturn up and running via s-video to something (though maybe I should ask first, are those super hard to find now?).

I'm fine with 32", I definitely wouldn't mind making the jump to LED, and I think if possible I'd prefer to stay within $400 and under, since they've come down a lot. But yeah I'm not an expert on TV's, though I've just noticed a lot of them have dropped in price a good chunk. And now might be the time for me to track a good one down.

Have you guys ever ordered a TV online as well? I'm not sure how I'd feel about it, but if anyone has any success stories I may consider that if I can't find anything in person.

Also curious to know, if anyone can make comparisons to older consoles (component/s-video) with LCD vs LED. Will LED make that much of a difference there? I'm sure the jump is far more subtle than going from like CRT's to HDTV, AV to HDMI, but yeah if it does bring out a clearer sharper image with improved brightness, then I'd definitely love to get an LED. My Samsung is pretty dark, it's never been an issue but I have seen the LED 32" models in stores now next to what I have and the difference is definitely noticeable side by side. I noticed it was actually lighter than the TV I have too, although to be nitpicky I'm not sure if I liked how the physical border of the TV around the screen was a good ~2 inches smaller than mine, so that looked a little funky. These aren't the exact models I think, but you can see what I mean here: LCD vs LED, I kind of like the thicker look of the LCD in this case.

[dunpeal2064]

To me, the backlighting on LEDs is just far better for gaming than LCDs. You really get a nice, sfot, crisp color. My Samsung 32" LED has no S-Video inputs, but even with composite I think retro stuff looks pretty nice. Not CRT nice, but I'd bet you could come pretty close with some external downscaler/scanline generator.

Playing 16-bit stuff via the Wii in Progressive Scan mode is just awesome though.

[Cronozilla]

The new LCDs don't use halogen or whatever, they use CFL back-lighting ... and it looks amazing. It's almost in line with what Plasma looks like. Much better than edge lit LED panels. But it looks like this is a direct lit panel, so it should look pretty good, but you might be able to save some cash ... can't actually find any store listing for this set, though.

It'd be a good idea to confirm it can turn off overscan, also.

[isiolia]

CCFL backlighting isn't necessarily better or worse than LED, with regard to quality (LED is more environmentally friendly though). Really a matter of implementation, though both will still be subject to a lot of the downsides of LCD versus plasma. I think it can be more that, in terms of color temperature, LED lighting is cooler, and CCFL tends towards warmer.
Newer sets tend to be brighter in general, regardless of backlight type. But, honestly, you're probably going to see mostly LED backlights once you get past entry level models anyway because they've been marketed to hell. Edge-lit LED is what enables that super-thin form factor as well.

For quality purposes, I think the main thing LED has over CCFL is the possibility of using local dimming in a full array backlight. Buuut, you're probably not seeing that in a $400 or under set.

[Xeogred]

To me, the backlighting on LEDs is just far better for gaming than LCDs. You really get a nice, sfot, crisp color. My Samsung 32" LED has no S-Video inputs, but even with composite I think retro stuff looks pretty nice. Not CRT nice, but I'd bet you could come pretty close with some external downscaler/scanline generator.

Playing 16-bit stuff via the Wii in Progressive Scan mode is just awesome though.

I ran up to Walmart today for some errands and saw this TV again (is yours the 720p one?), it's a measly $278 right now. As I said above I'm not a fan of the slimmer look on the edges, but I'm sure I'd get used to it. It seriously looks like a huge improvement compared to it's 32" LCD counterpart that I have and saw sitting next to it again.

I wonder if I'll think "I should have done this years ago" when I upgrade, haha. Like going from a laptop to a desktop PC with a better monitor. I can't even go back to my laptop now for most things with how much darker, foggier, and less colored the picture is. So yeah brightness and clarity goes a long way. Maybe I will cave and just get that Samsung LED since it's so cheap and looks nice, has all the same inputs I have as well I think. I do think composite looks horrible on the one I have now (N64 games at least), but maybe they'd look a bit better on an LED.

Still, would love to track something down with s-video, but yeah like literally no TV I saw at Walmart had that. Guess they quickly phased that out.

And Dreamcast can do VGA too, which I think gives out a really good picture for it? I think I bought cables for that awhile back but still haven't tried it out on my TV yet.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

LED will have very little to do with how standard def looks on your set. It's just backlighting, it doesn't effect upscaling algorithms or anything like that.

At this point, you'll be hard pressed to find an LCD or Plasma that can do standard def stuff with any sort of proficiency. Frankly, the only way I've found old games will look decent on LCD/Plasma screens is either with an external upscaler, or through emulation.

[Xeogred]

Well I might be kicking myself in the butt here and did the complete opposite... but I got a 42' LG that really doesn't have very many options at all.

Input Type: Component Video, A/V, RF Antenna Input, USB 2.0, HDMI Port

That's about it.
http://www.target.com/p/lg-electronics- ... tailbutton

This is what I was leaning towards though, but they didn't have one at the store today or something:
http://www.target.com/p/samsung-40-clas ... edium_1_15

So, I don't know. I guess I could get some HDMI sound systems but they seem higher in price and maybe not as convenient, and I mainly just want something easy to use for headphones. Anyone have any ideas? I've got 30 days to decide and can take it to get my money back. I definitely like the size though and the picture is nice, but yeah this LG just doesn't offer much and I'm not sure how easy it'd be to use with other input/outputs.

[TEKTORO]

I personally love Vizio's..
Tons of setup options (or enough), I not sure on the prices now but were moderately pricey when I bought mine a few years back. But the pics from Racketboys 3DO definitive Guide has screenshots of the Vizio in action. NFS in paticular looks amazing, someone even had commented on the pics looking better than back in the days did. I use Svideo and played in wide screen w/ panaromic view, mostly all those pics were from my Vizio (NFS, Road Rash, FiFa AD&D, Return Fire + a couple of others.)

I think you should do great spending less than $400 just be patient.

[CRTGAMER]

Also curious to know, if anyone can make comparisons to older consoles (component/s-video) with LCD vs LED. Will LED make that much of a difference there? I'm sure the jump is far more subtle than going from like CRT's to HDTV, AV to HDMI, but yeah if it does bring out a clearer sharper image with improved brightness, then I'd definitely love to get an LED.

The LED should do better then LCD, though maybe not as well as a Plasma or HDCRT for non HD signals. This all depends on the model of course. For the investment and headache of setting up at home maybe bring a console into the store and test run on various floor models?

[Xeogred]

I went ahead and took back that LG to get the 120hz Samsung 40", now I'm struggling to find out some good calibration on the settings... lol. I got this one:
http://www.target.com/p/samsung-40-clas ... medium_1_1

Anyone have this model or suggestions for a LED Samsung this size? My room is medium lit, not too bright.

The LG looked perfect out of the box, but like my LCD 32" Samsung, looks like I need to optimize this new one a bit for it to look right.

Also the jump from 60hz to 120 is very... weird, lol. Hopefully I get used to it.