Buying HDTV or Plasma - Which one?

[midnightventure]

My wife is a 24 year Walmart veteran so I am prejudiced. I have bought two LCD Hdtvs there and they both work great.

[1BigDog]

I have a 65" Toshiba 1080 DLP rear projection tv and I couldnt be happier. Consumer Reports gave my particular model high marks too so I went with it over a plasma, which would have cost almost double for the same size. I paid 2k on sale here. But if your bent on a plasma, dont overlook the Visio line of tv's. They also get good marks from CR. A relative has one and it looks pretty good to me.

[cimmer]

One thing you need to take into consideration is where is the TV going to be places. Plasma is a good choice if their is no reflections of light. LCD is better if there will be outside light, ie sunshine, on the screen.

I would recommend a 1080p HDTV with an upconvertor built into the unit. This will help upgrade the incoming signal to 1080p standards and helps with old DVD movies and such.

I just purchased a Sony 40" LCD Bravia at a local electronics store. They were more then happy to let me see different video sources on different TVs. I went with a LCD as it is sitting in my living room with a big picture window facing west. I did break down and get a HD cable convertor and and HD package from the local cable company. I used a HDMI cable to connect between the two. Now some channels are broadcast in 720i, 720p and 1080i but there is still alot of programs that are still standard format.

I suggest go to a local shop and talked to them about what you want and expect and see what they recommend.

Good Luck..

Rick F.

[Mean Dog]

Hey.......I would not recommend installation of either unit on you bike......I know of one bike rider who one day was watching this set of long legs and short skirt and ran into the side of his own house..........

 

Naw, I got a 5" for the bike!

 

Dog

[sdive]

When I thought about buying a new TV I spoke with a repair man in my area that I have known for years. He told me that the life expectancy of the new LCD and Plasma's are about 5 years. I guess I will stick with my 46" Picture tube RCA Theater model I bought new in 1991 and still has a beautiful picture on it!..................LOL

 

Dog

Not sure about what your repair man said but when I bought my Samsung plasma I was told it was good for 10000 hrs before needing a charge.

 

Ron

[SledgeHammer]

There has been plenty of good advice. Most of it, I agree with. I have been into home theater for 20 years and have set up many systems. There are a lot of good TV's on the market today. I agree with the statement that everyone sees a picture differently, and therefore, choose the one that looks best to you. I conquer that plasma has the best contrast and LCD has more vibrant colors. Plasma still has the edge in best overall picture. Sony, Panasonic, Mitisbishi, and Pioneer, are top rated and more expensive. I have owned all of them (including Samsung) with the exception of never owning a Pioneer. My personal experience is that I cannot distinguish enough difference in picture quality to justify the extra expence of those name brands over some of the second tier TV's. When we bought our last house, I reviewed and viewed many different TV's,both in stores and homes. I was most impressed with the Vizio line of TV's. I based my decision on picture quality, price, and amenities (primarily dual HDMI). I was so impressed with Vizio, that we purchased 10 HDTV Vizio sets and have a TV in every room,the garage, and my outbuilding(doghouse). They consist of a 50" and 42" plasma, a 42"LCD, a 32" LCD, and six 20" LCD's. The primary is the 50" plasma. Vizio just recently came out with a 60" plama in the $2000 range(and I am tempted to get one). All of the TV's are 720p and 1080i. After considerable research, I am pleased with my decision, and it was a tough decision. Maybe you can decern between 1080i,720p,and 1080p,but I could not or it was so extremely minor that it was not worth the extra expence of the other sets. Although there are a lot of good TV's on the market, and I do not disagree with any of the asessments in the other posts, I would recommend to check out the reviews,price, and quality of the Vizio.

[Guest hank]

How you gonna get ride of all that hazardous waste in years to come?

[hig4s]

How you gonna get ride of all that hazardous waste in years to come?

 

I'm assuming as years go by, and the restrictions get tougher, we will all be shipping our broken electronics back to China where, it was made for "reconditioning service" They will throw it in a land fill (after all they don't have any laws against it) and ship us replacements for about the same price as we can buy a one locally.

[buddy]

I wanted to say THANK YOU so much on the info on the TVs, I just about covered every outlet down here and found one thing Plasma is not to be seen much at all or any at all LCD has the market here.

 

I went with the Vizio 42" VW42LHDTV10A Model PIP-POP. I check just about every TV model available sure can get lost checking out these TVs

I came back to Wallie World found that the Vizio had a excellent picture even across the store you can tell which one is the Vizio sure did stand out from the other TVs.

Plus all the opions it comes with at a price tag of $948.00 Other models were 1239.00 to 1495.00 in the 42" screen so I cain't complain much I guess but getting info from you guys made it a lot easier as for checking out the spec's on the units THANKS

 

buddy

[hig4s]

I wanted to say THANK YOU so much on the info on the TVs, I just about covered every outlet down here and found one thing Plasma is not to be seen much at all or any at all LCD has the market here.

 

I went with the Vizio 42" VW42LHDTV10A Model PIP-POP. I check just about every TV model available sure can get lost checking out these TVs

I came back to Wallie World found that the Vizio had a excellent picture even across the store you can tell which one is the Vizio sure did stand out from the other TVs.

Plus all the opions it comes with at a price tag of $948.00 Other models were 1239.00 to 1495.00 in the 42" screen so I cain't complain much I guess but getting info from you guys made it a lot easier as for checking out the spec's on the units THANKS

 

buddy

 

Hope you enjoy it.. you do realize that is a 1366 by 768 LCD screen which is 720p..

[buddy]

Hope you enjoy it.. you do realize that is a 1366 by 768 LCD screen which is 720p..

 

True,

But when it was setting beside Phillips Sony Sam Sung Polaroid that had higher resolution, Visio still has a better picture to me and much less money out the pocket it was no guessing which one I was bring home Plus Visio has a No Permanent burn in Screen Guaranteed.

Thanks

 

buddy