Plasma HDTV Help

[Thordic]

Ok, so I'm in the market for a plasma HDTV. Right now I'm looking to spend under $2k, and hoping to get a 42" or close to it.

My initial research led me to this Panosonic model:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_TH_42PX60U/4505-6482_7-31788615.html

I don't have any fancy equipment I need to hook up to it, but this model seems to have a lot of hookups to allow for anything I may buy.

Two component video inputs aren't a requirement but would be nice.

Anyone have any other reccomendations or whatnot?

[Steelrat]

What do you plan on using it for?

Here is a threat about that one on AVforums http://www.avforums.com/forums/showt...onic+TH42PX60U

Here is one of many threads on AVSforums http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...ight=TH42PX60U

[Thordic]

Mostly DVDs and XBox360, I don't watch much TV, but I do watch a lot of movies.

Also, hockey in HD. Thats big.

S-Video would be nice to I could hook it up for my computer just for convenience. It'd be cool to see some of my photographs in huge format when I'm looking them over in photoshop, but thats more of a novelty than a real need.

EDIT: 101 pages on that thread over there, jeez. I'll take a look through it, thanks.

[Crighton]

I just picked up an Epson Cinema Pro 800 for about 1600. It's Polysi LCD though.

Went projector over flat panel because I want a HUGE screen. Nothing like a 120" inches worth of Xbox 360 gaming goodness.

[teufelhunden]

My family -just- got the same TV, albeit the one with a PC hookup, SD card slot, and a cable card thingy.

It's nice. We run it with a HD digital cable box which does a lot on its own [iO, from Cablevision if that's an option for you, being in Jersey and all] including PiP [which the CNet thing specifically cracks on the TV for]. In all honesty, I've probably only watched 3-4 hours on it in the weekish we've had it, so I can't give you a great review, but what I can say: HD looks great, sound is so-so [my sound standards are higher than my image standards], but an audio system has always been planned, haven't gotten to it yet. Its menus are sort of silly, but not unusable. It's an attractive unit, comes with a really sturdy stand, and it's done everything my family has asked of it. As with anything else, it's only going to look as good as the signal coming in, so I had to beat the parents into getting HD iO [they wanted to run regular cable straight into the TV...], so consider that. X360 obviously already has HD capability, presumably your DVD setup does as well [though it isn't HD].

I think we paid just around 2K from it, we got the Panasonic employee price, as my dad has a client who works for them who probably owes him money.

[PumpPlayer]

I've got my eye on the Visio 37" LCDs for under $1k.

500:1 contrast, 8ms refresh rate and it goes up to 720p (1080i) resolution, and is compatible with everything below that with the built-in tuner. 12-month (almost) unlimited warranty is nice to have too.


Previously I had been peeking at the 32" Panasonic LCD but I think the Visio is a better deal for less money and is a more reliable brand and warranty.

Haven't quite saved up enough clams to pick up the Visio, though.

[Steelrat]

I just got a 360 myself, and have been running it on my backup tv, which is a 42" projection that can do 1080i. The picture is AMAZING.

Now, I know that the whole issue of plasma burn-in has supposedly been addressed by manufacturers, but I still consider them less-than-optimal for video games due to possible burn-in issues. I think that model can do 1080i, but the 360 is now capable of 1080P, which only the LCD tvs are doing right now.

I'll make some recommendations a bit later. Not that it's a bad set, I'm just not a huge fan of the plasmas.

[Steelrat]

I've got my eye on the Visio 37" LCDs for under $1k.

500:1 contrast, 8ms refresh rate and it goes up to 720p (1080i) resolution, and is compatible with everything below that with the built-in tuner. 12-month (almost) unlimited warranty is nice to have too.


Previously I had been peeking at the 32" Panasonic LCD but I think the Visio is a better deal for less money and is a more reliable brand and warranty.

Haven't quite saved up enough clams to pick up the Visio, though.

That contrast rating isn't that great, and 8ms response MIGHT lead to ghosting, though response time isn't a perfect indicator of that.

[PumpPlayer]

True, but it's under $1k for a 37" HD screen.

I'm not really a videophile and I'm not looking for the best of the best - I just want a good value that isn't going to wipe out my bank account.

Besides, the Wii isn't going to have HD capability so my gaming needs are met with this. The built-in backwards compatability to 480i is important to me.
And I think movies and sports will look plenty fine on it even if it's not the best.


Anyone have any experience with Visios?

[Armory]

Aviod PLASMA FOR GAMING!!! Plasma burns the screens faster then any other TV, your better off getting an LCD DPL. Sony has a 50" for about 1.5k at Best Buy and Target (Can you tell what I'm looking at buying?)

[Thordic]

Call me retarded, but I don't understand how gaming would damage a screen any faster than a movie. Care to explain how that works?

[Thordic]

Also, I've seen a lot of text around like this:

Burn-in: You may have heard that plasma has a couple of drawbacks. One such downside is called burn-in, which occurs when an image--such as a stock ticker, a network logo, or letterbox bars--gets etched permanently onto the screen because it sits in one place too long. In our experience, the danger of burn-in has been greatly exaggerated, and people with normal viewing habits have nothing to worry about. The potential for burn-in is greatest during the first 100 or so hours of use, during which time you should keep contrast rather low (less than 50 percent) and avoid showing static images or letterbox bars on the screen for hours at a time. After this initial phase, plasma should be as durable as any television technology. Many panels also have burn-in-reduction features, such as screensavers and pixel orbiting, or settings to treat burn-in once it occurs, such as causing the screen to go all-white.

[smilestyler]

Call me retarded, but I don't understand how gaming would damage a screen any faster than a movie. Care to explain how that works?

Some games have images that don't change. (ei "player 1" or maps, health levels, etc) and if they remain on the screen for extended lengths of time, they leave ghost images in older plasma screens when you play a diff game or watch TV.

[Steelrat]

The plasmas have issues that the manufacturers have tried to overcome, like burn-in and loss of brightness. Their ads claim that they have fixed all the issues, but I don't think they can be completely resolved. I feel LCDs are a superior technology, though more expensive, and with worse blacks, at least at this point.

But, unless space is a concern, have you considered a nice DLP or LCD rear projection TV? My Sony XBR 60" projection has as nice a picture as anything else out there, and was considerably cheaper than a plasma of that size. Sure, it a bit thicker, but the new projections are a lot thinner than the boxes of years past. Mine is just a bit over a foot or so deep, and fits easily on a thin shelving unit.

I have a 42" Toshiba rear projection (tube even!) that I use my new 360 with, and on the 1080i setting, it looks phenomenal. Easily as good as any plasma I have seen. And this one was well under $2K 5 years ago. I think hype is what drives a lot of big-screen plasma and LCD sales, as the only thing they have on nice rear-projections is the ability to be stuck on a wall. Well, that and a higher price tag.

[kosmo]

Vizio 37" LCD $675 OOS for now.

50" Vizio plasma $1500

Thats supposed to be a pretty good plasma. Dont know how good the LCD one is, but it has built in OTA tuners, which is nice.