280gty

Lookin' for a new 42" HD tv... any recommendations?

I bought a Sony 42 plasma for $7,000 5 years ago and something inside went snap... at least thats the sound it made... and no picture... that actually happened 2 years ago and i don't want to bother with repair since it was already obsolete by then and new models were getting cheaper.

I wasn't happy with that Sony... didn't seem to be quality worthy of its reputation or the hefty price tag.... Is LCD better than Plasma in quality & reliability?

You guys recommend any brand or model?

NismoPick

Do you want 720p or 1080p resolution? How much are you willing to spend? Do you have HD cable / satellite? Do you watch movies on Blueray?

There's lots and lots of websites comparing LCD & Plasma tv's. There's pros & cons for each. The main ones are that certain LCDs can lose brightness depending on the angle you are viewing. Cheap LCDs can have motion blur (DO NOT BUY THE CHEAPEST LCDS). Plasmas use a lot more energy, the glass cover can reflect outside light, and for the first few hours can have image burn.

I typed "LCD vs Plasma" into google & got lots of results:

http://reviews.cnet.com/4351-12658_7-6583301.html

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtv-plasmavslcd.shtml

I bought a JVC 42" 1080p last fall for $999 & I love it. It's now on sale at the same store for $839.

ZBRICK

The day you bring home your plasma home is the best picture you will ever see. They degragate over time. LCD's are much better these day's. The rap used to be they were to slow for good sports viewing. The technology has improved and LCD compairs well to plasma.

I have 4 LCD's and they are great.

260zturbo

7 grand ouch. i was looking not to long ago for a 42 man walmart has some killer deals.

KasbeKZ

yeah my parents got a sweet *** 42" phillips HD from best buy and it is f-ing awesome. i'm not really the pickiest in the world about picture, but i can say that it's pretty damn near the best that i've seen. i like it a lot. and it only cost $1k

icice9

i just picked up a LG 42LG70.. gotta say after doing weeks and weeks of flat screen homework i decided to go with this one... its 1080p with 120HZ refresh rate and a 5 ms pixel response time.. at the time i bought it that was the highest you can get them.. now i believe that they just came out with a 240HZ refresh rate...its got 4 HDMI ports and the picture quality is way up there.. and i got the set for $900... but honestly.. you should do some research before buying.. look for brands that make their own panels like samsung and LG.. Sony doesnt make thier own pannels in fact they use Samsung panels in them.. but best thing you should do is go out and look at them yourself...

apollo

Plasma? LCD? Way to live in the past guys. Its all about Organic LED HDTV's . . .catch up with the times!!!

Z_WRECKER

yup. 11" OLED for $2499.99

280gty

Organic LED's... I haven't heard about those... I'd be interested but maybe it's too new to be reliable... gotta checkup on it.

280gty

Hmmm, googled up and found a Samsung 40" LED, not OLED.... Plasma, LCD, LED, OLED's ... I gotta read up on what all the differences are...

http://www.electronicexpress.com/pro...source=froogle

apollo

Yea, its nutty. Still way too expensive and exclusive. You cant get them just anywhere, or at all if im correct. Its just the latest and greatest HDTV tech. Stupid clear picture though.
Right now Im loving my philips 42" plasma. Came with the apartment. Using the VGA setup, it makes even the most garbage of garbage Chinatown dvds look good. For the longest time i thought HDMI was the best connection but i guess i was wrong. . . .

DropTopTwin

I picked up the Panasonic TH-50PZ80U last June and I still enjoy the quality viewing.

thxone

Just my opinion but there are only two brands I would consider for HD LCD TV's. That would be Samsung first and Sony second. Sharp would be third if I wanted to add it but just because the Aquos TV's are kick ***. Plasma TV's were great and pretty much had the best, most natural HD video reproduction but screen burn-in was and is still a big problem. If you decide to get an HD LCD TV make sure it has good specs, if possible, go see one in person. Most Best Buy stores have an HD room to demo these TV's with HD content. Make up your own mind on what looks best to you, don't let the salesman tell you that "you NEED this one". How many HD sources do you have or want to connect to the TV? Are you going to connect your computer to the TV?

Also, anything over 120hz on the refresh rate is just bragging rights. I have viewed the same sports content on 120hz and 240hz HD LCD's and I tell you my eye's, which work without the aid of ocular correction devices, could see no difference...except price. However, the use of LED's over wide spectrum florescent bulbs was noticeable for the better...but just. The Sony TV's I thought had a better image but I would choose Samsung first for pricing reason only as the Sony's picture was only marginally better. Lastly would be looks. How does the frame of the TV look to you. How is the stand? How are the VESA mounting options? Are the connections for the TV easily accessible? One last thought, 46" is only a little more money for alot more screen.

My Choice:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_30546B7...ures_and_specs

SpeciallySpiked

My parents just purchased a sony 52" (I think) and it is absolutely amazing. Granted I'm still working off our tube tv so anything seems better than that!
But hooking up the computer to it allows you to read even the fines details beautifully. It's very surprising, I wish I had one as my monitor~!

nismo619

one day i will own a hdtv ! haha when i rob a bank haha joking

entropy31

bleh, so much misinformation flying around concerning display technology. just to get it out of the way, i am Imaging Science Foundation certified. in laymans terms, i know more about display technology than i ever knew i wanted to. in short, if you are looking for the best picture i would get a plasma, panasonic specifically. we have a 103" panasonic at my office and it's truly amazing. in 42" it doesn't really matter if you get 720p or 1080p. unless you plan to sit less than a foot away from it your eye is not capable of resolving that much detail. 1080p is of course more detail, but if you can save a good chunk of $ it's really not worth it, as you will never see the difference in a 42". the drawbacks of plasma are weight and possibility of burn in, but both of these issues are basically negligible with todays technology. quality plasmas today have features that pretty much eliminate the burn in issue. as for LCD, they typically weigh less, cost more, and have worse color accuracy and black levels than plasmas. the benefit of LCD is that they typically do not have as much glare if you are using them in a room where ambient light is an issue, and they don't have any chance of burn in. quality brands include Sharp, Toshiba and Samsung. don't worry about OLED right now. it's not practical yet, and likely won't be for 4-5 years. i could go on and on about this subject, but i don't feel like typing that much right now. i'll be happy to answer further specific questions in more detail.


edit: and i could go on and on about why HDMI is the biggest worthless piece of stinking crap in the world, but i'll save that for later.

thxone

Just look at the bottom of E's sig...the quotes

ZLover4Life

HD projectors FTW





~85"

duowing

I bought a little over a year ago a 42" Sharp Aquos LCD 1080p TV. It's pretty nice. I know it had higher contrast rate than what I was looking at. Everything is pretty good with it. I'm not sure of the refresh rate and what not. I paid right around $1500. They've probably come down by now, but when I got it this was actually a pretty good price and even for a good while after that I never saw them that cheap.

I paid as much for my 280ZX Turbo....

thxone

Doh!!!!!!!!!

RodMoyes

2 words:

Sam Sung!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

entropy31

if you want a great picture for a low price take a look at the 720p Panasonic Viera plasmas. trust me, at 42" you won't notice the lack of 1080p at normal viewing distances. and the color accuracy and black levels are great.

also, keep in mind that comparing displays at the store is a bad way to choose. the TVs on display are not properly calibrated, they usually have the brightness and contrast levels WAAAAAAAAAY too high. and the fluorescent lights in most stores do no justice to the picture either. proper calibration makes a HUGE difference in picture quality.

apollo

Haha. . .Mr. Grumpystiltskin over here knows his TV's. Respect his authoriteh!!

What ever happened to that record breaking plasma you had a hand in at that office. 120" or something nutty like that? Now thats what every home needs. Personal movie theater.

thxone

True...however, the Best Buy near me has a dedicated room for viewing HD TV's which is darkened and has couches and recliners for a more "at home like viewing." It also has two smaller rooms attached to the main large room that are about the size of average living rooms for more private viewing. They gave me full control over the remotes and actually had the HD TV's hooked up to Brighthouse Cable for HD channels and Blue Ray DVD players. I just assumed that all Best Buys had added these HD rooms, I could be wrong. I would not compare pictures at Wal-Mart or the like, I know for a fact that they use video splitters to connect their TV's anyway...plus the light thing like E said.

entropy31

still have it, as mentioned earlier in this thread. it's only 103", but still amazing.

i still doubt that what they have in their little demo rooms has been properly calibrated. if you check the menus i bet the brightness and contrast are cranked up all the way. in my experience, best buy/geek squad guys don't know much more than buzzwords, and can't back up anything they have to say.