Buying a Big Screen

[scotty34]

So we are looking to get a big screen TV for the house. Boxing Week seems like as good of a time as any to go for it.

Specifically, I believe we are looking for a 50" Plasma TV. How do Plasma's compare to LCD's (price, quality, etc.)

So what recommendations does everyone have for this? What brands are good, which to avoid? Where would be a good place to look for deals? Do you have one - what size, what brand, how long have you had it, what did it cost, etc.?

Any information is appreciated.

[Clarkmeister]

www.cnet.com (http://www.cnet.com)

[shant]

I just got a 50" Sony 3LCD Rear-Projection TV but I haven't taken it out of the bo yet so I can't tell you if I like it or not.

[fluxrad]

I'd be wary of plasma burn.

I recommend this (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7299014&type=product&productCate goryId=pcmcat31800050029&id=1118841724921) Sony 50" LCD RP (edit: it's the same one shant mentions above). I've had the 42" version for a couple of months and love it. It does have a bit of a red push, but this is a minor annoyance that can be mitigated with a bit of image tweaking.

I'd go with either the Sony...or as I understand it Mitsubishi makes a good DLP unit. I'd head over to AVS Forum (http://avsforum.com) if you want to find the skinny on any unit in particular. I went there on the recommendation of some people here when I was shopping and am extremely glad I did.

Personally, I'm a fan of either DLP or LCD RP. Plasma just has too many downsides.

[scotty34]

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www.cnet.com (http://www.cnet.com)

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Excellent

[diebitter]

don't even know if it's available in NA, but try and look at a 50" Sagem Axiom(sp?)

awesome picture and great price - I never thought I'd see a decent rear proj TV in a well lit room till I saw this.

[renodoc]

I think sony makes a 50 inch SXRD set. I would look into it.

I'm considering the Qualia 006, but its a crapload of cash. Also looking at the "Ruby" front projector.

Have a Sharp Aquos 45 in and like it.

[kenberman]

[ QUOTE ]
www.cnet.com (http://www.cnet.com)

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www.avsforum.com (http://www.avsforum.com) is the 2+2 of Audio/Visual gear.

it's the best place to study specific sets and technologies

[busguy]

If you are interested in the 50" Sony LCD rear projection . . .

Costco has the previous year's (2004/2005) version of the one recommended by shant and fluxrad above. I'm pretty sure I saw them at the Burnaby location for $2399 Cdn.

After reading this thread (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2226287&page=0&fpart=all &vc=1), I picked one up in July from Future Shop for $2200 and change and absolutely love the thing.

busguy

[pyroponic]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
www.cnet.com (http://www.cnet.com)

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www.avsforum.com (http://www.avsforum.com) is the 2+2 of Audio/Visual gear.

it's the best place to study specific sets and technologies

[/ QUOTE ]

AVSFORUM is for fish, check out HT Guide (http://www.htguide.com)

I personally would not be wary of plasma burn. It's not very common and the picture on a plasma is like 5x as good as an LCD. Burn-in is like an LCD fanboy's wet dream. Can it happen? yes. Does it happen in real world applications? No. Think how many CRT monitors you have seen with burn-in compared to how many without. A 50" LCD would cost more and have a worse picture than a plasma. I recommend a Panasonic plasma, but other good brands are pioneer and Zenith. And yes, cnet is your friend.

[exist]

[ QUOTE ]
I personally would not be wary of plasma burn. It's not very common and the picture on a plasma is like 5x as good as an LCD. Burn-in is like an LCD fanboy's wet dream. Can it happen? yes. Does it happen in real world applications? No. Think how many CRT monitors you have seen with burn-in compared to how many without. A 50" LCD would cost more and have a worse picture than a plasma. I recommend a Panasonic plasma, but other good brands are pioneer and Zenith. And yes, cnet is your friend.

[/ QUOTE ]

i agree with this entire post. especially the part about the panasonic plasma.

[Blarg]

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I just got a 50" Sony 3LCD Rear-Projection TV but I haven't taken it out of the bo yet so I can't tell you if I like it or not.

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How's the box, though?

[Jesse Kidd]

I bought the Sony 42" LCD Rear Projection a little over a year ago, and loved it. I upgraded to the current model in the 55" about a month ago, and love it as well. I got it with 5 year warranty, delivered for around $2550 on PriceGrabber.Com. If you can afford the SXRD (I think the 60" was around $4800), go for it, as those are really amazing.

Jesse

[shant]

[ QUOTE ]
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I just got a 50" Sony 3LCD Rear-Projection TV but I haven't taken it out of the bo yet so I can't tell you if I like it or not.

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How's the box, though?

[/ QUOTE ]
I'm not impressed. Simple, one color design and really it's just not much to look at. It does do a good job as a shelf currently for folded clothing and a couple misc. things I can't find a spot for.

[Blarg]

Just curious about people getting expensive t.v.'s/video set-ups one year and then upgrading the next. I just seems like an astounding amount of money to tear through. What do you do with the old sets, move them to another room? Or take a thousand dollar bath on them or whatever by selling them?

[scotty34]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
www.cnet.com (http://www.cnet.com)

[/ QUOTE ]

www.avsforum.com (http://www.avsforum.com) is the 2+2 of Audio/Visual gear.

it's the best place to study specific sets and technologies

[/ QUOTE ]

AVSFORUM is for fish, check out HT Guide (http://www.htguide.com)

[/ QUOTE ]

I am a fish though. I'm sure if I went to the the pros' forum, I would have *** and be banned for my first post being so n00bish.

[ QUOTE ]
I just got a 50" Sony 3LCD Rear-Projection TV but I haven't taken it out of the bo yet so I can't tell you if I like it or not.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've owned this TV (Sony KDF-E50A10) for a couple months now - it's good, not great. How much you're willing to spend is a big factor. I spent about $2400 on this TV (+5 year extended warranty) from some random online store in Brooklyn. It was basically between that and the 50" Panasonic plasma. There was no question when I did side-by-side comparisons in Sears that the plasma's picture blew the Sony's picture away. But, the plasma ran up around $3500, and I didn't want to spend that much. I haven't seen any Sony SXRD's in person, but they're supposed to be amazing (true 1920x1080 HD resolution, whereas the LCD is 1280x720 or something and the plasma is 1366x768? this is off the top of my head but the #s are somewhere around there) and only slightly more expensive than plasma.

AVSForum is a great resource. I did a lot of research there.

[astroglide]

the sony sxrds don't accept 1080p on any of the inputs (same as most "1080p" sets)

[B00T]

I picked up the 60" Sony LCD (not XRD) from Circuit City for $3050 (after tax) last week. These models are being discontinued because Sony is strictly pushing the $4500 XRD at the 60" size. I love the TV so far and I found it to be the best picture out of any LCD out there.

[Jesse Kidd]

[ QUOTE ]
Just curious about people getting expensive t.v.'s/video set-ups one year and then upgrading the next. I just seems like an astounding amount of money to tear through. What do you do with the old sets, move them to another room? Or take a thousand dollar bath on them or whatever by selling them?

[/ QUOTE ]

In my case, I bought the 42" a year ago, with no extended warranty, for $2300. I sold the 42" when I bought the 55" for $1400, and the 55" TV would have been just over $2000 to purchase without the 5 year warranty. So I spent $600+ to upgrade my TV, and an additional $400 to get an extended warranty. If I hadn't been able to sell the old TV for such a good price (my friends all loved it and wanted it), I wouldn't have been able to justify the new model.

[astroglide]

sales tax is notable on multi-thousand dollar purchases

[citanul]

[ QUOTE ]
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I personally would not be wary of plasma burn. It's not very common and the picture on a plasma is like 5x as good as an LCD. Burn-in is like an LCD fanboy's wet dream. Can it happen? yes. Does it happen in real world applications? No. Think how many CRT monitors you have seen with burn-in compared to how many without. A 50" LCD would cost more and have a worse picture than a plasma. I recommend a Panasonic plasma, but other good brands are pioneer and Zenith. And yes, cnet is your friend.

[/ QUOTE ]

i agree with this entire post. especially the part about the panasonic plasma.

[/ QUOTE ]

here here.

i bought a 42" panasonic plasma a few months ago and have loved everything about it.

i picked up teh th-42px50u (i think that's the right string of stuff, it's the 42", hd, non-silly one).

when i looked at the aquos next to the panasonic, it was the clear winner. when i looked at hte panasonic next to the philips, clear winner, next to the sony clear winner.

do the reading, but when it comes down to it, what looks good and feels good to you is important too. find a store where you can look at a bunch of models, from a decent distance away with clear sight lines, and from up close. don't be fooled by promo crap they sometimes play through them to make them look good. it's like diamonds on black velvet.

avsforums = good. your own shopping = more important.

c

We put up a 55 inch Fujitsu plasma about 3 mos ago. It was expensive but worth it. Highly recommended.