New TV / Computer thoughts

I know I have been talking about buying alot of new technology latley but If I am not going to be doing a gathering then I got money to spend and a need for spending it. My main purchase is going to be a new computer. My mac book is still running well but getting up there in age 5-6 years old. I will still keep it and use it for mobile stuff but I think it is time to upgrade for me on my main computer. So here is what I am thinking a new imac all in one great stuff to the gills with great tech and a 21 or 27 inch screen. Or a new mac mini with lot of good tech not quite the newest line the imac but cheaper and the kicker is instead of getting a monitor I would be able to update my TV that I have had since the launch of the 360 still works great but has it's limits. So In a new tv I would look in the range of 32" (what I have now) to a 37". I would want to be an Led 1080p with in $650 of course the cheaper price for the best quality would be what I want. Were I use my computer I sit with my desk right and my TV/ xbox set up in front of me so the Idea would be my TV doubles a Monitor with the out threw the hdmi out on the mac mini. Great for netflix and any thing I do on my computer. Some of the short falls of the mac mini vs the imac are the most I could get in a built in HD would be 500gb ( still twice what I have now and with the purchase of a 2tb external soon this should be no problem.) Mac mini has a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processer and the imac has the new 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5. Graphics card The mac mini has the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics and the imac has the AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB. Lastly the new imac has the Thunderbolt port (light peak, av/much more) new top of the line i/o port. With a 27inch screen on an imac I will be sitting plenty close enough for to just plain watch netflix on that and it would look outstanding as any of you know apple makes great monitors and the built in one on the imac is no exception Alot to consider an all in one or for about the same price possible less a mac mini and a Brand new 1080pHD tv.
What do you guys think on this. Help me out here.

for the money this is what i would say

buy a good imac desktop (no monitor) and with the money you have over buy a nice TV and make sure it has a VGA Input and use your TV as your Desktop Monitor as well =)

thats if you can handle it i have my pc monitor and TV both hooked up to my pc and man when i use my tv for my pc is it crazy but so much win playing on a 32 LED tv with pc games

... but all and all it comes down to how much you are willing/have to spend and which one you really need more as to how you spend the cash you have if the imac is a more of a need then the tv go all out on the imac and the other way around as well if you need the tv power and dont mind a little less powerfull mac then go for it

and if you have the cash buy LED its so sexy oc i am sure zak agrees with me on this once i played on my tv for the first time lcd tv just feel well "SHITS WEAK"

You can't get an iMac without a monitor and assumedly, the Mac Pro is out of OC's price range.

What i'd suggest is that you look into making a hackintosh using the new i5's or even the i7 if OS X Lion supports it and then a decent PC monitor instead of a new TV. If you're prepared to sit in front of an iMac then you should be prepared the sit in front of any other monitor...no?

If you're not keen on this, i'd have to recommend the iMac. Apple gears works so well and for so long, that if you're investing in a new product, go big or go home. That i5 will last you a LONG time, the GPU is excellent and chances are that the iMac screen will sh1t all over all LED TV's that would be within your budget if purchasing the Mac Mini.

Mainly, it depends on your usage. What type of stuff, porn not included (unless you watch it at 4k res), do you get up to on your comp?

When looking for new HD equipment, I always do research on the AVS forums- http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

Lots of good information and expert opinions.

if you are going 1080P you should really go 42" or larger. The price is right on them now, and you should be able to find a good deal before all the old models are gone and the new ones are the only ones left in stock for the fall and holiday season.

~mrmiller

S7 mrmiller wrote:When looking for new HD equipment, I always do research on the AVS forums- http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

Lots of good information and expert opinions.

if you are going 1080P you should really go 42" or larger. The price is right on them now, and you should be able to find a good deal before all the old models are gone and the new ones are the only ones left in stock for the fall and holiday season.

~mrmiller

I have a 47" LED and I love it but I sit about 8 feet away. If I was any closer I would want a smaller TV. Remember OC sits right in from of his TV to play. Kind of like sitting at a desk. You just don't want to go too big. I would say 37" would be great for OC. And since you can't really get a 37" mac screen that big, a TV would be a nice option over the monitor.

If you think you can live with 27" I would consider the mac LED monitor. It is soooo d@mn sexy. Seriously, it's like the best display you can buy. That is assuming that you can hook up your xbox to it? Not sure about that one??? Otherwise I would probably go with the mini mac and a new TV. Space is a premium for you and consolidating your TV and Monitor would be good for you. Plus the Mini Mac should have more than enought power yto run everything you need.

go with the tv bro, check out windows 8, its gonna be wicked(if it works). ya could buy a new pc and get a free xbox and then take back the xbox and use it for store credit for your new tv. and you could sign up for this chase credit card and get $150.00 back after ya spend $500, so with the xbox and $150 cash back thats an extra $350 toward a tv, if ya want a windows machine. just saying, I did the $150 offer and ya get a check in about 3 weeks. got my core i5 laptop with 500g HD and 4g o ram for $529-150= 379 + win
https://applynowdc1.chase.com/FlexAppWeb/renderApp.do?SPID=DDC9&CELL=6H8X&CLICK=&CID=&PROMO=DF01&AFFID=6VB_mJFwb_0-9CbZuExmh3maJ2TXGGNDDg&pvid=122111_76425612

I am a mac user and don't have any plans to switch to PC. Cool deal though but not for me. Windows 8 does look cool so far with the mobile os integration. Apple's new OS is doing a similar thing with the ios integration it will be out very soon. (possibly today or a date given today)

I have 1080p and when it comes to the television 1080p is great, but if it saves you a few hundred dollars think about this....1080i (interlaces) and 1080p (progressive) are actually the same. Interlaced means they send half the pixels then the second half next...while progressive scan means all pixels are sent at the same time. The fact is, they reach your eyes/brain at teh same time and you can't see or tell the difference. The truth is it's more a salesman pitch to get you to buy the next best thing. Yeah a 1080p next to a 1080i in store may seem different, but that more to do with the TV brand, brightness, etc. not the "1080i/p hdmi format"

ABC, CBS, FOX, ESPN, CW network, NFL Network, CNN, NBC, etc. etc.....all broadcast in 720p only. No one broadcast in 1080p. Again, think about it and save yourself a few hundred for a new ipad or something....

Here's an explaination taken from the internet:
In the United States, 1080p over-the-air broadcasts still do not exist as of 2011; all major networks use either 720p60 or 1080i60 encoded with MPEG-2. However, satellite services (e.g. DirecTV, XstreamHD, and Dish Network) utilize the 1080p/24-30 format for pay-per-view movies only.

LCD's are not interlaced, therefore 1080p is the only option (or 720p, but not 1080i). Now a projection or old tube will do 1080i (and some plasma's claim 1080i, but it's a bit of a fib on how they rate an interlaced fixed pixel), but all LCD's are fixed pixels and progressive only.

~mrmiller

Agreed Miller...
I'm just being honest to save him a few valuable dollars. I could say "Dude, get 1080p I have it, it's the best"...or I can be honest and say bro, no one even broadcasts in 1080p...it's overkill since you can't use the full capability and await the broadcasting networks to catch-up. Not in Canada, not in the UK or the US...no one broadcasts above 720p/1080i so save your money because in the end it'll look the same!

Unless you have BluRay or Dish network. Dish does broadcast some in 1080p (Direct TV might now too) and some cable companies have some of their PPV options in 1080p. In all honesty, the only thing you are really likey to watch in 1080p is going to be BluRay. Most all games are coded for 720p and upscaled to 1080p, so 720p is all you really need for Xbox to look it's best. I know some PS3 games are coded in 1080p, but I would imagine even 3rd party games that are multi system are still coded 720p. At one tie Fox and ABC were broadcast in 720p and NBC and ABC were in 1080i. I'm not so sure about the cable channels. So if you are not going as big as 42", you could save a ton by choosing 720p. I still say get the biggest and best you can for your money, as tech will only move forward and no matter how good you get today, it will be nothing compared to whats out there in 2 or 3 years.

~mrmiller

Miller's nuggets of knowledge....

S7 mrmiller wrote:In all honesty, the only thing you are really likey to watch in 1080p is going to be BluRay.

S7 mrmiller wrote:Most all games are coded for 720p and upscaled to 1080p, so 720p is all you really need for Xbox to look it's best.

S7 mrmiller wrote:I know some PS3 games are coded in 1080p, but I would imagine even 3rd party games that are multi system are still coded 720p.

S7 mrmiller wrote:if you are not going as big as 42", you could save a ton by choosing 720p.

I say EXACTLY! LOL

S7 K1ll3rKlown wrote:Agreed Miller...
I'm just being honest to save him a few valuable dollars. I could say "Dude, get 1080p I have it, it's the best"...or I can be honest and say bro, no one even broadcasts in 1080p...it's overkill since you can't use the full capability and await the broadcasting networks to catch-up. Not in Canada, not in the UK or the US...no one broadcasts above 720p/1080i so save your money because in the end it'll look the same!

We actually have quite a few 1080p broadcasts in the UK now.

Whilst I agree with Klown and Miller about the 1080i/720p, tbh, i'm not sure it's helpful info as 99% of the TV's I look at these days are 1080p. Maybe that's just a Europe thing...?

Ok, as your resident Mac brothers, I might have a couple of solutions for you:

Get the iMac 27"

buy the Kanex XD device to connect the 360 to your mac - http://www.kanexlive.com/xd
A Youtube demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ZJqBTu9Nk

Pick one of these EyeTV products to connect Cable TV to your mac as well http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/mainmenu/products.en.html

There. You have an awesome computer, console gaming on that amazing screen, and HD TV on it as well. :-D

idk if you have a target near you but for like 20 bucks more you get 120Hz
http://discountretailers.sendori.com/search?q=taget.com&s=cTO4mUQctgFViKRe

side notes
ever thing zak said is true once i made the jump to an LED there is no going back the color are EPIC.as far a 60 or 120 if you can afford a nice 120 do it the faster your tv refreshes the less i guess you would call it lag your tv will have it not easily noticeable unless you know what your looking for and you are looking for it !
only down side i have seen is when u bring up the dashboard at 2 am when u have been playing in the dark all night... its like all the movies when people think they see god and all the lights around them

Locally dimmed backlight LED's are going to be the best for contrast ratio (though you have to make sure you get a top end one or there is "clouding" and bleed through), and even edge lit LED's will have a better contrast ratio than will any traditionally halogen lit backlight. The better contrast ratio for one gives you better blacks and that can be important in gaming and improves the picture quality significantly in dark scenes as it make the colors stand out more and appear brighter. The simple sharpness and clarity is the same, it’s the brightness and vividness of the colors you will notice. Another plus in the LED backlight is they give off less heat, uses less power, and the edge lit ones are super slim. You are probably only going to be looking at edge lit in your price range.

The 120 vs. 60 hz is another issue (as is 240 hz, but mainly for 3D). TV and Video games don’t care if it is 60 Hz vs. 120, but as Interseptor pointed out, movies do. Film is processed at 24 frames per second, which is basically 24 Hz. When that is processed for TV, they switch and repeat sets of 24 frames back and forth 2 or 3 times to meet the 60 hz frequency. Of course they can just repeat it 5 times for 120 Hz. The real thing is that in 120 Hz you get additional processing, and they “smooth” the frames to fill in what would take place between the sets of frames. This can cause issues when you have several things moving at once, and Samsungs are notorious for the TBE (Triple Ball Effect) where a football or baseball will look like 3 separate images while the TV is processing it. It’s really complicated and I would get into it more if I had more time, but the real fact is you loose “response time” in a 120 Hz TV as the CPU in the TV has to process that signal. So you will see most all 120 Hz TV’s with a “Game Mode” that actually turn off the 120 hz processing (as well as many other processes) to reduce input lag. I have a 120 Hz and it looks great on movies and even regular TV (as it still process those broadcasts to smooth them), but it is always off when playing 360. And Yes, I have had it on before and you will notice the input lag from the processing though it is ever so slight. The best way to see the difference in processed 120 hz vs 60 is to watch scrolling movie credits. On 60 Hz you can actually see the scroll “stutter” as it moves up, but with the 120 Hz (or more) processing the scrolling is smoother.


~mrmiller

d@mn, Matt. You wren't kidding about doing your research...lol. That's great info in general.

I'm a nerd when it comes to AV stuff... and video games, star wars, etc... LOL. I'm pretty weak in the computer department, so I'm not a geek- only Nerd.

~mrmiller

buy the Kanex XD device to connect the 360 to your mac - http://www.kanexlive.com/xd
A Youtube demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1ZJqBTu9Nk
Cool Idea but will not work with the New Imac as it no longer has the same inputs. They will be coming out with a newer model that will work with the thunderbolt port. Not sure I need to replace watch cable on my imac but it would be cool to game on it with the xbox. Cool Stuff thanks for the help guys

What about Plasma's?

For sure videophiles still love Plasma for picture quality supremacy. There really is not much risk of burn in anymore, but the phosphor based plasma will still have it’s colors fade over time. Now if that is really noticeable is up to question, but with the refresh rate and contrast, Plasma wins. New LED backlight is pretty close to plasma quality, but still not there yet. Downsides to plasma is they are very heavy, normally much thicker, use a lot more power, generate more heat, and have the risk of burn in (not much of a problem with implemented oscillation technology where the picture shifts a pixel every now and then) and color fading (which is over many years). The real dig- it’s made of glass and has a reflective front. No matter what “anti-glare” coating is implemented, the coating either takes away from the picture or doesn’t stop all of the glare. The thing is, many LCD’s are even coming with glossy fronts now, which it the dumbest thing they have ever done. Nothing pulls you out of the show than the switch to a dark scene that is coated with glare from you living room like looking in a mirror. The best thing is normally you can find a plasma at the same size cheaper than a LED LCD at that size.

~mrmiller

I game on a plasma and couldn't be happier. I had a mid range LCD with pretty good reviews on input lag but it was still noticeable and when I was really really in to halo I would literally average 2-3 kills less per game because of it.

AtrumX wrote:I game on a plasma and couldn't be happier. I had a mid range LCD with pretty good reviews on input lag but it was still noticeable and when I was really really in to halo I would literally average 2-3 kills less per game because of it.

Do not overlook plasma. Like you mentioned, Input lag is basically nothing due to the way the picture is processed and they have reduced the thickness and weight over the years. The initial burn in and glare issues killed plasma when LCD became affordable and were thinner and lighter, but Plasma is back on the rise and it hard to top on sheer picture quality. Especially if you are looking at a 3D TV- Plasma is the only way to go to get quality full HD 3D images. Plus the price is right.

~mrmiller

ok so I am back into thinking about this now. I was alset and ready to go with the new 27' imac with all the newest tech and all but now the rumors are swirling that new mac mini's will be out around the end of July Begining of August with the new sandy bridge processers and the thunderbolt ports. That changes things for me and I am going to have to wait and see now. Because with a new mac mini with all the best new stuff combined with a new TV I would be very happy and it is possible it may end up cheaper than a new 27' imac would run me.

A Mac Mini with a new LED TV might be cheaper than a 27" iMac...depending on the size of the LED TV you buy.