change of plans - no Sony 55" LCD - going with 42" Plasma instead

whiskeytown · #1 10-10-2005, 02:28 AM

minor change in plans...

went with this TV instead

at the end of the day, I just hated the way standard TV looked on the LCD's - SO, I went with plasma -

I'll have to be a bit careful - turn down contrast for games to keep images from being burned in - tomorrow I'm upgrading to the HD cable box and DVR - and then my entertainment should be complete-

oh yes, I almost forgot, I need friends to watch TV with - I have none "sob"

RB

WackityWhiz · #2 10-10-2005, 02:36 AM

cool, i hope you enjoy it. Did you check out projection monitors at all? We have one at my apartment and it's pimp.

But, you'll be happy as hell with the plasma too.

I'm just south of ya, maybe I'll see ya at my next shakopee trip

whiskeytown · #3 10-10-2005, 02:44 AM

yah -

forgot if I said this in my OP, but I just did a visual and realized Plasma was the best viewing technology for what I was doing - the kid I bought it from said that's what he had at home. As it stands, I'm not super thrilled - I need to watch the HD channels, and as it stands, I'm not getting them till tomorrow - and most of the programming on them ain't great.

but it was a bit cheaper overall then the set I was looking at anyways...but of course, you need cables and I needed an upscale converting DVD player (Old player was built into the damned TV)

left my cell phone at the practice space...better go get it..

RB

exist · #4 10-10-2005, 02:55 AM

Best Buy is selling 42" panasonic plasmas for $1800. There is still time to return the Samsung right?? Also, did you check out www.avsforum.com to figure out which plasmas have the best picture quality? When I was searching for a plasma, I remember reading panasonic and pioneer (and 1 other brand that I can't remember) generally had the best picture quality, but I don't remember reading much about Samsung. I like that you went with plasma though!

whiskeytown · #5 10-10-2005, 02:56 AM

I used AVS forum for the damned Sony - never investigated plasmas - went with my eyes -

I know the samsung has some extra features (picture in picture) - Unless I find something wrong I probably won't return it though - very easy for me to get buyer's remorse and I need to fight that - LOL.

RB

astroglide · #6 10-10-2005, 12:15 PM

notice the 1024x768 native resolution? that's 4:3, not 16:9. the pixels are stretched in order to achieve the "widescreen effect". 1280x720 is 720p/hdtv.

for hd content you're going to be seriously missing out if you go with a 42" unless you're sitting (i am not exaggerating here) like 6 feet away from the screen. of course you're going to see it and say, "this looks great!" it will - but it would look way better if it were bigger.

as you noted, plasmas have burn-in. in addition to concerning yourself with static logos, video games, etc you're presented with the shitty choice between stretching 4:3 content so that it takes up the entire screen or blackboxing it on the sides. if you blackbox the sides, you have to balance your viewing if you're concerned about the black burning into the screen itself. plasmas also use intense amounts of power, generate lots of heat, and have a finite brightness lifetime (although this has been improved in recent models i'm not sure that it's going to translate to the el cheapos).

basically, i think this is a really bad decision. if you want a plasma, ante up for one with actual hdtv native resolution and 50" or more.

CrazyEyez · #7 10-10-2005, 12:41 PM

[ QUOTE ]
for hd content you're going to be seriously missing out if you go with a 42" unless you're sitting (i am not exaggerating here) like 6 feet away from the screen.

[/ QUOTE ]
Really? I just got a 42" RPLCD and I sit about 12' away. If I get inside 8' it doesn't look very good.

astroglide · #8 10-10-2005, 12:52 PM

watching high definition content? is this because you can see the pixels/physical screen?

i sit about 10' away from a 60" rplcd and i have no such problems.

look at http://www.myhometheater.homestead.c...alculator.html - the recommended distances for thx, etc might surprise you.

CrazyEyez · #9 10-10-2005, 12:56 PM

[ QUOTE ]
watching high definition content? is this because you can see the pixels/physical screen?

i sit about 10' away from a 60" rplcd and i have no such problems.

look at http://www.myhometheater.homestead.c...alculator.html - the recommended distances for thx, etc might surprise you.

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, hi def content on a sony KDFE42A10. I see pixels. Edges look jagged. It looks very smooth but still detailed from 12'. Maybe you need glasses? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

astroglide · #10 10-10-2005, 01:02 PM

i wear glasses in order to have near-perfect vision. i don't need them to read or function normally, it's a very light prescription. as you may has surmised, television quality is a matter that is pretty close to my heart. i would be disappointed if i experienced such effects.

my set is a sony xs, which i believe has a (lighter) screen cover like the xbr, so perhaps that is the difference.