Big Screen TVs

omaha-beenglockin said:
Bought a Panasonic 42" 720 plasma last Christmas(6 months ago) for $799---not a problem because the HD cable service is only 720 anyway---looks great and at that price will be easy to replace in a few years when all the cutting edge stuff now gets cheap.

Thing is: In the store I was looking at a 1080 LCD for double the money straight on and I looked across the room (giant room-NE Furniture Mart) and the tv I bought looked better even all the way across the room---that's why I bought it and the price didn't hurt either-----I'm extremely pleased with my purchase.

Make sure you get the HDMI cables you need---I was cheap since I had a bunch of RCA cables from the old set up I used those---then I bought a HDMI cable the difference is night and day---don't buy them at the electronics store---go to Walmart--they are half the price there----you don't need no stinkin $100 cables.
Click to expand...
Better yet, order your cables at monoprice.com and get them for what they should REALLY cost.
 
omaha-beenglockin said:
Bought a Panasonic 42" 720 plasma last Christmas(6 months ago) for $799---not a problem because the HD cable service is only 720 anyway---looks great and at that price will be easy to replace in a few years when all the cutting edge stuff now gets cheap.

Thing is: In the store I was looking at a 1080 LCD for double the money straight on and I looked across the room (giant room-NE Furniture Mart) and the tv I bought looked better even all the way across the room---that's why I bought it and the price didn't hurt either-----I'm extremely pleased with my purchase.

Make sure you get the HDMI cables you need---I was cheap since I had a bunch of RCA cables from the old set up I used those---then I bought a HDMI cable the difference is night and day---don't buy them at the electronics store---go to Walmart--they are half the price there----you don't need no stinkin $100 cables.
Click to expand...

If you have component cables laying around, they will likely look as good as the HDMI cable. I did buy a couple of HDMI cables at Monoprice too, but last time I bout a 3' HDMI cable they were out and I bought one from www.newegg.com for $9.99 - worked just as well, though it was slightly more than the monoprice.com price.
 
Researched the hell out of this for years. Pulled the trigger on a 46" Samsung one year ago. At the time best buy salesmen thought the Sam a little more reliable than the sony, and I liked the picture a little better.

I love mine and use it for the exact things you will. Picture is so pretty, I leave it on when I'm reading.
 
Funny I haven't seen much if any mention of the Sharp Aquos series for LCD or the Panasonic Viera series for Plasma. When I bought my big screen in Feb '08 they were my two choices. I had the guy in the store put the 42" for both side by side (1080p models) and I preferred the darker blacks of the Plasma. I know the technology is improving rapidly but when I was in the market a year ago I was told the following:
If you're viewing in a darker room go with Plasma.
If you're looking at a lot of sports etc with high speed action go with Plasma since there's less "ghosting" of images. I don't know if this is still true with the 120 and 240Hz LCD screens available now.

Check CNET.com for reviews.

Here are several links I bookmarked from when I was doing my search (I hope they're all still good links!):

HDTV (HD TV) - DLP HDTV Television News, Products and Reviews - http://www.dlp.com/hdtv/default.aspx?CMP=KNC-repriseyahoosm&HBX_PK=HD+TV&HBX_OU=51
Editors' top televisions: best HDTVs overall - CNET Reviews - http://reviews.cnet.com/4323-6531_7-6509125.html?tag=nl.e729
Why is everyone so scared of Plasma TV's - CNET Home audio & video Forums - http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7596_102-0.html?forumID=60&threadID=262627&messageID=2575346&tag=nl.e729
Six things you need to know about 120Hz LCD TVs - Fully Equipped - CNET reviews - http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6792632-1.html
720p vs. 1080p HDTV: The final word - Fully Equipped - CNET reviews - http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6810011-1.html?tag=nl.e729
Teaching plasma to follow LCD's lead | CNET News.com - http://www.news.com/Teaching-plasma-to-follow-LCDs-lead/2100-1041_3-6214189.html
Plasma vs LCD - TVs - Four styles of HDTV - HDTV World - CNET.com - http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5108443-2.html
Plasma vs. LCD or is it Myths vs Lies - CNET Home audio & video Forums - http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7596_102-0.html?forumID=60&threadID=271473&messageID=2627800&tag=nl.e729
Home Theater: 1080i v. 1080p - http://www.hometheatermag.com/gearworks/1106gear/
DVD Talk Forum - 720p vs 1080p (or Night vs Day) - http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=483392
Displays: Expert Interview: 720p vs 1080p, by Cindy Davis - Electronic House Info and Answers - http://www.electronichouse.com/article/expert_interview_720p_vs_1080p/
The case against 1080p - Fully Equipped - CNET reviews - http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6661274-1.html
How to Buy the Right HDTV - Computer Shopper - http://computershopper.com/feature/how-to-buy-the-right-hdtv-200710
home-theater-review.org - http://home-theater-review.org/

If linking like this is not allowed please edit as necessary and forgive me...just trying to help a brother out!

Good luck with your search! I'm looking to get at least a 46" next so I can put my 42" Panasonic Viera in the bedroom
 
NaturalMystic said:
... a year ago I was told the following:
If you're viewing in a darker room go with Plasma.
If you're looking at a lot of sports etc with high speed action go with Plasma since there's less "ghosting" of images.
Click to expand...

I'm of the same opinion as you; Plasma is still the way to go for sports and film in a darkened room but for how much longer is anyones guess.

One comment I hear from folk who choose lcd tv's is because "it looks so clear and sharp," which in terms of fixed resolution it is, but in terms of displaying moving images this quality is not as important as smooth image flow and proper coloration of black levels.
 
Thanks once again for the extremely helpful links and experiences!

I'm most grateful!

DancesWithKnives
 
Very interesting and detailed review. I can't accommodate a 50" but I'll check to see whether they are about to release a 40-42" version.

Thanks!

DancesWithKnives
 
According to the cnet.com reviews, the best tv in your price range (around $1000) is a panasonic viera series G10 plasma.
You can get a 42" for $1100.00.
 
Not what you're looking for but I just bought a Vizio 22" 1080p LCD for $299 for my daughter for her all-year straight A's. :D:thumbup: I'm not sure that 1080p would look any better than 780p on such a small screen but it's a darn good TV for the price. I bought a 42" 720p LCD Insignia late last year for $650 and it is a great TV. Insignia is the Best Buy store brand but the guy said he thought that particular model was manufactured by LG. When I set it up, this seems to be supported by the universal remote code, which is one of the ones used by LG.

Right now the only 1080p signal you will get is from a Blu-Ray player - probably PS3 as well but I'm not 100% sure about that.
 
Thanks! Costco had a small Westinghouse LCD for $300 that looked darn good. If I unexpectedly get short of funds before I buy, those would both be cheaper alternatives.

DancesWithKnives
 
In the end, I decided to buy one that simply looked really good to me: The Sony 46" with the 1080p and 120hz specs. It ended up being closer to $1350 than a grand but I like the colors/sharpness and the semi-matte finish of the screen. It seemed fast enough for my purposes. The Samsungs were also great but the somewhat shinier finish of the screen didn't appeal to me as much (and they were a couple hundred bucks more for a comparable unit). I couldn't see a big difference in the 240 hz models for my applications. Same with the LED sets: Great looking but not orders of magnitude better for my uses (and a great deal more money).

I liked the Panasonic plasma models fine and one Samsung plasma too. However, the mid-level Sony just looked great for what I'll be watching. It may not be the best technology or the best bargain, but I think I'll be quite satisfied with it.

I'm very grateful for all of the excellent advice you all provided---it was a huge help!:thumbup: Thanks again!

DancesWithKnives
 
That's awesome man, glad you made your choice and I'm sure the Sony will serve you well. I was at Best Buy on Sunday talking with one of the staff about the new LED screens...talk about thin!! He said the LEDs give the best of both LCD and plasma and is likely where big screen tvs will be focusing in the future, eventually replacing LCD and even plasma.
 
Yes, it seems pretty likely that LED is the wave of the future. However, they are at least $1,200 more than what I paid. I figure that if I want to get another TV in 3-5 years, a 46" LED may cost only $1,200 (in constant dollars---we all fear inflation is coming). So as long as the Sony LCD holds up for that period, my net cost over the next ten years probably won't be any higher than buying an LED now. And the LEDs will undoubtedly be even better by then.

DancesWithKnives
 
Oh yeah, agree totally. I was just mentioning what he said about the future of big screens. I wouldn't buy an LED now either at their current prices.

Enjoy the world of HD my friend, it's awesome!
 
The 46" Sony arrived on Friday. I pulled it out of the box and had it set up on the pedestal and connected to the Direct TV box in about 5-10 min. The TV located the signal in a few minutes and everything worked fine.

I do not yet have the HD box from Direct TV so I'm using only the old coaxial cable feed. It looks OK but not as good as the HD setups at the stores I visited. I'm looking forward to getting the HD service in a few days. I like the semi-matte screen Sony produces better than some of the other manufacturers' really shiny ones.

The sound quality from the sound bar along the bottom of the set is a lot better than I expected. I read that a couple manufacturers have the speakers mounted in the frame, facing 90 degrees away from the viewer, and that those don't sound as good.

Thanks again for all the great advice!

DancesWithKnives
 
If you'll look through your Sony book carefully you'll find the instruction subset to place a volume limit on commercials, etc. No more being 'blasted' during station breaks and so on. I've wondered for years why all TVs didn't come with AGC or AVC (automatic gain or automatic volume control). Anyway it works great on my Sony.
 
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