Off to buy a Flat screen!

i don't know what your budget is, but american is having a deal right now where if you buy 2000 or 3200 bucks wort of furniture, you get either a 32 inch lcd or 50 inch plasma, respectively. we recently got a 42" lcd w/ surround sound, i love it, the neighbors hate me,

 

I love our 50" Panasonic Plasma (1/2 the price at the time of the better Pioneer), but don't forget you'll probably need to upgrade your sound system (a lot of panels don't come with speakers), and of course you'll need an HD video source from your cable company (=more $'s), and you may be tempted to go BluRay or HD DVD to get the full benefit of your new panel. Standard TV only uses like 5% of the new TV's capabilities, even HD TV is 1/4 of the capability.

TV's come in either 720p or 1080p these days, and I believe 1080p is overkill for any panel 50" or less. I'm sure others will disagree.

Used to be 1) Plasma, 2) LCD, 3) Rear Projection. Now RearProjection is officially dead, and LCD has greatly improved this year, making LCD a much more reasonable choice (cheaper, lighter, likely longer lasting, almost as bright, almost as fast).

An Xbox360 makes a good addition to a new TV

Oh - and make sure you get the right connections on your new TV, there's a lot of HDMI stuff starting to appear now, but can your sound system and TV box deliver an HDMI output? I'm using Component Cables at $9 a set, rather than the Monster Stuff the store wanted to sell at $50-70 a set! with 4 sets of cables needed in our setup, plus audio cables, it does add up!

 

I would agree that 1080p is overkill on a TV smaller than 50" at least for now as very few channels are broadcast in that format. Plasmas draw a lot of power and I believe will go the way of the dinosaurs soon as the LCD's now are up to 52" I believe (Sony). However, if you want to watch a BluRay, a 1080p makes it look 3d...it's an incredible picture. For a budget of $1200, you should get a DLP if you can live with the depth of about 11".

 

best buy has a good deal on a 50 inch LG Plasma ($1400). Plasma has more color but not great in rooms with a lot of light. Plasma also burns in so if you play video games or watch cnn a lot think about it.



Antony

 

Pete,

There is a ton of misinformation out there (I dont necessarily mean in this thread) but you probably wont get a straight answer from a salesman.

There is LCD and Plasma. Plasma is a bit cheaper but I think LCD's have come far enough along that they are better than Plasma TV's in just about all ways, and in some ways are way better than plasma.

There are also rear projectors. There are DLP rear projectors and SXRD (Sony's flavor of DLP). These ain't the old fashion projectors, they are new and they look as flat as a plasma but they have IMO significantly better picture quality in general. They are also less expensive for an equal size vs. LCD or Plasma. But the downside is they use bulbs that occasionally need replaced and they aren't flat.

There are TV's that take HD signals but they are not all the same. If the "native resolution" (the number of pixels) is anything less than 1080, then the TV is going to scale (take out some lines) to make that 1080 line signal fit onto a 720-line (or 693 or 704 or whatever it is) screen.

On a smaller screen you wont notice. My dad has a 43" 16:9 screen with 720 lines and it looks great. No worse than my brothers 1080p screen.

Some folks will say "oh you need a 1080p screen". I disagree. For a smaller TV you likely wont notice ANY difference. And there isnt that much being sent in 1080 anyway. Since 1080p screens are the new hotness, you will pay more for one of similar size vs. a non-1080p HDTV. I'd say for $1200 you can get a pretty good flat screen or you can even go with a DLP or SXRD and they are pretty damn cheap. I believe my brother has a 60" SXRD Sony that he paid $1400 or $1300 for and it's 1080p and it looks amazing.

Good luck!

 

congrats, thats a really popular tv. I know alot of people with this tv, when your upgrading you need the 67"
I got mine on Black Friday, amazing TV.

 

I would avoid plasma if I were you.

 

I have a Panasonic HD LCD 34" (iirc) for the past two years. Works like a champ and looks great. I haven't had much experience with plasma, but isn't there something about having it tipping over and ruining it?

 

congrats Peter, sounds like a great deal - enjoy!

 

My gf has a panasonic LCD and the HD is great but it looks like they made the other channels fuzzy. I've got regular tube TVs and the regular channels look better on mine than they do on hers.

I've been noticing that the LCD seems duller than the plasmas I see in bars. Is this the norm.

After watching some of the HD stuff at her place I want to get one too but have no idea what to buy.

 

well I don't have a flat sreen but I do love my 57" dlp,I bought it 4 years ago at $4700 and today I'm sure you could get the same one or simalar for 1/2 or less its the right time to buy so good luck,I wish I was buying a new tv today with prices down and tech. up should do just fine happy new year!

 

That's too bad, Pete - coulda gotten one for 372 bucks.

 

Turn on Animal Planet in HD and watch Zippy lick the screen ....

 

42" is about the right size. I've got a 40 in Truckee, an LCD, Samsung. They work well, and the pictures are great. Have fun with your Pete.

Art

 

HeHeHe.....Wax drives a white van!

 

Yeah - by the river, remember ? LOL

 

Yeah, (HUFF HUFF HUFF) they f*cked up at the warehouse and gave him two pairs instead of two speakers!!!!!!

 

Considering how small these three-way speakers are, they're kinda heavy, too. And - they really pack a punch - have been known to bust a window or two.
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What's that (HUFF HUFF HUFF) You don't have a hundred buckson you???? We'll follow you to your bank..oran ATM!!!