HD TV's. Which one?

[lone_star_dsl]

I close on the purchase of my first home on the 25th of this month. I figure it is time to get rid of my old school projection tv and step up to either a newer projection tv or a flat panel LCD. That, plus the fact that I always have to dismantle it to get it through doorways and it wont make the turn at the bottom of the stairs at the new house, is really pressing the issue for me.

My current tv is a 64" whopper. Since my new living room is quite large, I want to stay with something close to that size. I measured the viewing distance to be 12'-16' depending on which wall the tv will be on.

I was scoping out some of the new projection tv's and they were all 780p. The LCD's I was looking at were all 1080i. What is the difference?

As far as price is concerned, I would rather spend no more than $1200-$1500. I know this limits my choices somewhat, but that brings me to my next question. Where are the deals? Should I just check out the big box stores for sales or are there websites that offer good deals.

I need any advise you guys have to offer. Favorite brands, sizes...etc.

Thanks

[KINGTUT]

Ok, I'll go first in what is going to be a long thread with so many different opinions that we all will bet dizzy. I like Plasma, it has the best picture period of anything out there. It costs more and many will say not as dependable as other technologies. I paid 2100 bucks for a 58 inch Panasonic from Buydig.com, free shipping. Love it. Let the games begin.

[Hook'em Horns!]

Originally Posted by KINGTUT

Ok, I'll go first in what is going to be a long thread with so many different opinions that we all will bet dizzy...Let the games begin.

Funny...
Plasma is the best, vivid colors way beyond other types and the 720p plasmas are selling cheaper than 1080p LCD's now. Just don't use for gaming.

720p is 1280 x 720 progressive scan video format, 1080i is 1920 x 1080 interlaced video format both delivering 24-30 frames per second. Progressive scan presents one full frame at a time. Interlaced video delivers each frame as Two Fields interlaced as one.

1,080 lines of resolution is better than 720 but, progressive scan is better than interlaced. Viewing 720p compared to 1080i… about the same.

You mentioned scoping out the projection sets. Do you mean LCD projection and DLP? Or, the drop down from the ceiling overhead projector with a wall screen?

The first time I walked into a home theater room with an 80” screen and overhead projector, I stumbled a bit, it was truly amazing, but that system was many thousands more than the budget you mentioned.

You'll need about 74" in 16:9 format to achieve the relatively same viewing size as your 64" 4:3 now.

[Hook'em Horns!]

Originally Posted by lone_star_dsl

I close on the purchase of my first home on the 25th of this month. I figure it is time to get rid of my old school projection tv and step up to either a newer projection tv or a flat panel LCD. That, plus the fact that I always have to dismantle it to get it through doorways and it wont make the turn at the bottom of the stairs at the new house, is really pressing the issue for me.

Giving guys ideas here...buy a new home to convince her that we need to go HD...

[lone_star_dsl]

Originally Posted by KINGTUT

Ok, I'll go first in what is going to be a long thread with so many different opinions that we all will bet dizzy. I like Plasma, it has the best picture period of anything out there. It costs more and many will say not as dependable as other technologies. I paid 2100 bucks for a 58 inch Panasonic from Buydig.com, free shipping. Love it. Let the games begin.

I was told that plasma tv's werent that great at my altitude, about 6500 ft. Is that true or just a myth?

Originally Posted by Hook'em Horns!

Funny...


You mentioned scoping out the projection sets. Do you mean LCD projection and DLP? Or, the drop down from the ceiling overhead projector with a wall screen?

I was talking about DLP. I will probably check out some LCD projection sets tomorrow.

[Hook'em Horns!]

Originally Posted by lone_star_dsl

I was told that plasma tv's werent that great at my altitude, about 6500 ft. Is that true or just a myth?
I was talking about DLP. I will probably check out some LCD projection sets tomorrow.

DLP is better and smaller enclosure. Sony is discontinuing production on LCD projection sets.

[KINGTUT]

Originally Posted by lone_star_dsl

I was told that plasma tv's werent that great at my altitude, about 6500 ft. Is that true or just a myth?



I was talking about DLP. I will probably check out some LCD projection sets tomorrow.

I was watching one at my cabin in Leadville a few weeks ago. Looked fine to me.

[Sushibar]

I have a 50" plasma with 720p. I went to BestBUY and put 2 50" exact same tv's side by side, one 720p, the other 1080p. The TV's were Viera's from Panasonic. I had 4 staff help, they hooked up a PS3 with a blu-ray disc in it. I tried 3 different movies. Could I see the difference? No. Could the 4 salespeople see the difference? It was a unanimous decision that they couldn't see the difference, but the 720p actually looked better even thought the other had more resolution. We were standing 10 feet away and the default tv settings were used.

Just my 2 bits.

[KINGTUT]

Originally Posted by Sushibar

I have a 50" plasma with 720p. I went to BestBUY and put 2 50" exact same tv's side by side, one 720p, the other 1080p. The TV's were Viera's from Panasonic. I had 4 staff help, they hooked up a PS3 with a blu-ray disc in it. I tried 3 different movies. Could I see the difference? No. Could the 4 salespeople see the difference? It was a unanimous decision that they couldn't see the difference, but the 720p actually looked better even thought the other had more resolution. We were standing 10 feet away and the default tv settings were used.

Just my 2 bits.

My findings as well. The Panasonic plasmas are beautiful machines.

[LC]

Ok somebody has to speak for the opposition. I have a 46" Sony Bravia LCD flat screen in the living room and 26" Sharp Aquos flat screen in the bedroom. I am completely satisfied with both. I don't really spend much time thinking that the blacks aren't black enough. I suspect that if a plasma was setting along side both of my sets it might look more appealing but that is not the case. Look at both and go with the YOU like best. Just mo .02 worth.

[RenoF250]

I just bought a Sony 60" SXRD (no, they are not being discontinued) and I am pretty happy with it. It is full 1080p and I paid $1,200 for it.

Plasma has the best picture, particularly because the blacks are BLACK. They also have very fast response times. But they are power hogs. A 60" will likely take over 500W, my Sony takes just over 200W. That works out to over $20/month at the rate I pay for power.

If you have the room projection is the way to go, it is about 60% of the price of a flat panel of the same size. It would be nice to have the blackness of a plasma though. In a dark room the grey bands top and bottom are a little distracting.

Also, I must agree that there is VERY little content worthy of 1080p. Even some Blu-Ray discs are no good. Transformers on HD-DVD is awesome. Fantastic 4 on Blu-Ray was pretty good. Most of Dish HD stinks, some channels are decent but not great. Compression really does a number on the picture.

[Hook'em Horns!]

Originally Posted by LC

Ok somebody has to speak for the opposition. I have a 46" Sony Bravia LCD flat screen in the living room and 26" Sharp Aquos flat screen in the bedroom. I am completely satisfied with both. I don't really spend much time thinking that the blacks aren't black enough. I suspect that if a plasma was setting along side both of my sets it might look more appealing but that is not the case. Look at both and go with the YOU like best. Just mo .02 worth.

Let the sun shine on both while viewing side by side and you may be dismayed. Oh, and I love my DLP...all 46 lbs of it.

[DIRTBIKEZ]

Originally Posted by Sushibar

...We were standing 10 feet away and the default tv settings were used.

Just my 2 bits.

Thats a big part of the problem when shopping for TVs at these large retailers. The out of the box default setting are junk and the manufactures know that. They are set up not for PQ but to catch your eye in the big line-up under the florescent lights. Vivid unrealistic colors draw most people in. I did my research for months, still have a lot more to learn but will tell you to read as many reviews as you can online or in the magazines. Visit your local high end, custom AV stores and look at their ISF calibrated sets, make your decision and then shop around for price. I cant say enough great things about my 50" Pioneer 110FD, best picture on any set I've seen. The Pannys look great too just not as great.

[Hook'em Horns!]

Originally Posted by RenoF250

I just bought a Sony 60" SXRD (no, they are not being discontinued) and I am pretty happy with it. It is full 1080p and I paid $1,200 for it.

A Sony news release several months back (I’ll look for it) stating they were moving away from LCD projection in favor of more profitable flat panels and new technology such as OLED, Organic Light Emitting Diode that uses a small fraction of the power with better viewing and contrast quality than plasma and only millimeters thin.

[LMJD]

I'm with the Tut-Man. We researched them to death and at the time Panasonic was the best rated and had terrific reviews. We bought a 42" Panasonic plasma and like it real well. The down side---at the time I couldn't find one less than $2400 and that's what I paid since our old one had quit. A year later, that same Panasonic is now about $1200. Previous to that, most of the LCD's darkened as you moved to the side of the screen, but not the new ones, so I don't know if plasma is better or not. The latest Crutchfield flyer I just got had a good pros and cons article of plasma versus LCD so maybe it's also on their website. [QUOTE]I was told that plasma tv's werent that great at my altitude, about 6500 ft. Is that true or just a myth?
[QUOTE]
Never heard of that one, I'm at 5080' and our plasmas work fine. We later also got a Panasonic 30+" plasma for the bedroom.