HD TV's

G

griffin

Well-known member
I'm now in the market for a HD TV. I don't really want to spend more than $1,500. I really want to get a 1080P one but not 100% but don't have my heart set on it. I'm thinking long term when it comes to a tv so I want to get something good and that will last.

Anyone have any good suggestions on brands/models or what's the best between projection, plasma and lcd.

thanks in advance
 
You want a plasma tv.

You can meet that budget and get a plasma 42"... and you're pretty close to getting a 50" plasma!

I don't think you're gonna' have the option of being really choosy about brands though...

Costco is probably your best bet. The greatest thing about Costco is that most items come with a LIFETIME warranty at no extra charge! (I see some plasma tvs are 5 years... but still... that 5 year warranty would be about $400+ at Best Buy.)

Yesterday my dad HAD to go to Sears for new tires... he was totally lured into the special day-after-thanksgiving sale... after talking to the guy about the TOTAL price, including road-hazard, etc... I told my dad we needed to check Costco across the street... guess what? Over $100 less then the Sears sale price!

You can get the TV you're wanting... look at Costco.

COSTCO LINK
 
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Best bang for your buck is DLP. I personally think DLP has the best picture -- especially for watching films -- of all the types of HDTVs.
 
Does DLP have a bulb that needs to be replaced? I've got a 56" Sony and they told us that it's likely that the bulb will go out within a couple of years... and the bulb is around $360.

With the plunging prices of plasma I've been telling myself that I should have waited... when we got this Sony it was around $2500... and back then even a 42" plasma was something like $4K... when I look at the plasma tvs I keep thinking that they have the best picture for detail and the crazy 10,000:1 contrast ratio... what do you gain with DLP? Originally I thought that DLP had a much better off-axis look then most other tvs... but the plasmas that I've seen lately seem to be pretty even (not much "graying") when viewed off axis.

I'll be the first to admit that maybe I need some education on this... why is DLP preferred over plasma... and why was a plasma tv in the 50" size over $5K less then 2 years ago... and equal or cheaper then a DLP now? (I realize supply/demand... but what I'm wondering is what allowed these sets to command such a high price then, when one could get a DLP for $2500.)
 
MUST READ for anyone who is looking to buy an HDTV

MUST READ for anyone who is looking to buy an HDTV

The guys over at CNET did a thorrough side-to-side comparison between a bunch of different flat-screen tvs with different formats (720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) and their conclusions are both astounding and surprising:

basically they say that there is almost no discerneable difference between the cheap 720i screens and the ultra-expensive 1080p screens:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6661274-1.html

mor10
 
For Plasma HDTV, Panasonic and Pioneer have been the best one. Panasonic have better prices, you can get a 42" (TH-42PX60U) for about $1200-$1300. Pioneer are a bit more sexy looking, but you pay more.
 
Are plasma units still subject to the kind of image degradation that they used to be? Last I heard, five years is about the life-expectancy of a plasma display, before the image quality starts to deteriorate.
 
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I've got a 50" Panasonic plasma, I think it has one of the best pictures I've ever seen. I wouldn't judge them by how they look in Best Buy, with the sharpness turned way up, and the brightness cranked. When the picture is dialed in it's awesome. My Buddy has a 50" Samsung DLP, it looks great but I'd give the trophy to the plasma...in fact I just gave an actual trophy to my television.

-Kevin
 
Plasma is probably a pretty bad idea.... They're contrast ratio degrades by 15 percent in approximately the first week of viewing (IEEE magazine). They're also the most unstable of the bunch and use the most electricity (which also climbs as the panel ages and the gases become harder and harder to drive).
 
I wasn't trying to be a smartass asking for the benefits of DLP over Plasma... so far I think I'm learning some stuff I didn't know... thanks guys. So what about the bulbs? No bulbs in Plasma? If not then you can take a $300-$450 (with labor) cost of bulb replacement right off the Plasma... since the DLP is going to be facing that within 5 years anyway.

Also it's pretty darn important to notice that some of the cheapest Panny Plasma sets are MONITORS only... and NOT TVs! Although the one previously posted IS a 42" panny plasma tv for $1299 shipped! Before you let somebody add $400 for an ESP, don't forget that on many TVs that's already included at Costco.
 
my friend has been doing some research on lcd's v plasma and he has been told by people at Tweeter and at Bernies that Plasma tv's won't even be sold in a few more years. He was saying that they said LCD's have been selling better, putting out a better picture and their prices are getting cheaper. I don't know if those are the only reasons on "why plasma tv's won't be sold in a few more years" but that's what he told me.

I have a 19" LCD monitor hooked up to my g5 and have watched X amount of dvd's (movies & tv shows) and am happy with the picture. After it's been on for an hour or so, it tend's to create thin pinkish lines in dark areas.
 
my friend has been doing some research on lcd's v plasma and he has been told by people at Tweeter and at Bernies that Plasma tv's won't even be sold in a few more years. He was saying that they said LCD's have been selling better, putting out a better picture and their prices are getting cheaper. I don't know if those are the only reasons on "why plasma tv's won't be sold in a few more years" but that's what he told me.

I have a 19" LCD monitor hooked up to my g5 and have watched X amount of dvd's (movies & tv shows) and am happy with the picture. After it's been on for an hour or so, it tend's to create thin pinkish lines in dark areas.
 
Part of the reason is that new manufacturing techniques are pushing the size of practical LCD displays up into the zone where plasma has enjoyed a price advantage over LCD (around the 40" - 42" range, and larger, I think it is) on a size- for-size basis. Some manufacturers are dropping or cutting back their plasma manufacturing capacity, since they expect demand for the larger LCDs to grow, and demand for same-sized plasma displays to shrink.

I'm still happy with my 13-year-old 42" Sony Videoscope rear-screen unit; laugh all you want, but the image just looks better in terms of saturation and contrast, than anything I see in showrooms right now (although of course it's rastery-looking by comparison; doesn't bother me). If I can squeeze another 13 years out of that unit, I expect that the available replacement sets will *really* be something.
 
so that would leave you with 8500:1 contrast ratio after a week?
pretty good stillllll
Click to expand...

True, but what happens after a month? A year? Four years? The IEEE magazine made it pretty clear that while plasma has some decent things going for it there are better alternatives out there. I'll have to dig it up again and remind myself what precisely was said.

Personally, I wish SED would hurry up and get here :)
 
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