42' Plasma HDTV help!!!!!!

Prepster

Prepster

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Alright, I tried asking this question in another hd post but got no response.

I already tried searching the forums but I wasn't even really sure of what to search.

I am going to look at tvs tomorrow and would love to know what you guys think the best 42' Plasma or LCD I can get for at the most $1,500....

I have seen a couple but do not really know enough to come to a final decision so all feedback is always welcome :D

And yes I checked out CNET.com for reviews and that didn't make anything easier at all for me.

The only thing I am really looking for is that is can display in 1080i and that there is pc input.

One last thing......I would rather purchase at Best Buy since I have a 12% off coupon for tv's and the fact that they are running a deal where there is no interest for 18 months.

But if you find me a better tv that Best Buy doesn't carry and is a lot cheaper than anything at Best Buy let me know.
 
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Why would you want 1080i?

You need a display that is 720P or 1080P. Interlaced flickers. I was just shopping for such a tv and came it looks like this is the model my parents are buying.

No PC input though on this model. You need to get the TH-42PX600U if you want PC input.

Panasonic 42" Plasma HDTV

Model: TH-42PX60U
 
The 720p\1080i\1080p debate will rage on forever. I have 2 HDTV's, one is 720p and the other 1080i. The games look equeally as good on both. Many of the HDTV's nowadays handle both 720p and 1080i you can set your preference. As far as 1080p goes, they say the difference is not noticeable unless you are sitting like 5ft from the tv.

Take a look at the Panasonin 42 in plasma. You can get it when it's on sale for $1,000 ordinarilly it's $1,500. I was going to get one myself but went with LCD since they do not suffer from burn in. I was a little nervous about burn in on the plasma since I frequently have some 4-5hr gaming sessions and then when freinds are over it's more like 10hrs. Just beware of the burn in issue\non issue with plasma. The newer models protect against it with pixel shift and white screen features.
 
[quote name='Indiana']Why would you want 1080i?

You need a display that is 720P or 1080P. Interlaced flickers. I was just shopping for such a tv and came it looks like this is the model my parents are buying.

No PC input though on this model. You need to get the TH-42PX600U if you want PC input.

Panasonic 42" Plasma HDTV

Model: TH-42PX60U[/quote]

Lmao alright, I guess I really didn't know what I was talking about then why I said I wanted 1080i......I will look into that Panny but I was really hoping to get pc input. Thanks for the input :D
 
Some advice, if I may:

First of all, this set has a native resolution of 1024x768. Thats a 4:3 resolution on a widescreen set. Thats a native resolution that is lower than 1280x720. The set will scale every game down to 1024x768, the panel's native resolution.

Second, its a plasma...plasmas suffer from image retention and burn-in, sometimes even when you are careful. For every person who says "Plasmas dont burn in!" there are an equal number of people saying "I burned in my plasma...now I see my HALO 2 health bars on every movie I watch". If you use this as a PC monitor, you're doomed with all those little icons never moving on a screen (if you leave the desktop up for any great length of time). With games its not so bad, but dont even think of using this as a PC monitor unless you use the pc for like...a half hour here, a half hour there.

For gaming, for PC use, go LCD. You'll never have to worry about burn in, and that is a huge big deal...particularly the first time you see image retention on your plasma...and if you are a serious gamer, eventually, you will. Also, LCD image quality has improved and prices have come down.

I bought a 37" 1080p Westinghouse for $999. Now, understand, the Plasma will have darker blacks due to a greater contrast level...but unless you compare the two side by side, I doubt you'll care too much if your emphasis is on gaming.

No displays will do 1080i anymore natively, because that technology is inherently native to CRT's. Most new displays will accept a 1080p signal and then display it at the native display resolution of the panel....720p, 1080p, etc.
 
I was just recently on the quest for a new 40-42". I went through panasonic, sylvania(plasmas, had temporary image retention within 2 hours of playing bully), 2 samsungs (LCD's, had horrible ghosting on dark backgrounds, even in game mode lag was noticable, and VGA on these always had this weird line in it), and finally ended up with the 42" 720p LG LCD (model # 42LC2D)for about $1399 from circuit city.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/LG-4...49321/catOid/-12869/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Looks great with HD Cable, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360. No discernable ghosting, no game lag, good black levels, and burn in is not an issue. I have both the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player and the PS3 for blueray, and movies look amazing on either player on this tv. If you get one of the new ones, they actually upgraded it to have 2 HDMI ports. I have my ps3 and cable through HDMI, my 360 through VGA, and my Wii through component, and everything looks great!
 
Listen to HeadRusch...he is very HD wise and helped me when I was looking for a TV. Ended up with a Panasonic 32" LCD TV and I've never been happier!
 
Also LCD are lghter, which makes them easier to wall mount or just move around. Go at least 37". Pay attention to contrast ratio and brightness ratings.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys and thanks a ton Headrush for that info. I will try and remember all this info for when I am shopping today...

I guess I am now leaning towards an LCD since I would really like to use the tv as a monitor for gaming. Any more suggestions are always welcome and hopefully I will see them before going out.
 
Contrast Ratios with LCDs and DLP's are all basically about 1200:1, because thats about as good as the current style of LCD panels can do. Better ones are out there, but not on budget sets.

When you see LCD's with 2000:1 or 4000:1 contrast ratios, those aren't really accurate. In order to achieve those values, the set has to do a little image trickery....its not a native contrast ratio, its a contrast ratio with "Image AI" or whatever term the brand of set you are looking at is using...

Some are better than others, but in all fairness you need to step up to the higher end LCD's in order to get the significantly better contrast ratio. Otherwise the Syntax Olevias, etc, are all about the same, generally.

Plasmas are better in this regard than LCD flatpanels because of the way they operate, but the image retention and burn-in thing is something you really need to consider.

There are plenty of threads with people talking about burn-in, and how "dont worry it goes away after a couple of days". A couple of days!!! Dunno about you, but that means you can't play that game again for "a couple of days" or you'll make the problem worse.....it also means...hello, you're fucking up your TV......so IMHO (and your mileage may vary), skip plasma for gaming and go right to LCD. Some people game on plasmas and never have a problem...really depends on your gaming habits. Me, i'll burn up an entire day playing the same game.....for me, a plasma would be suicide.


The image quality you may lose wont be anything you'll miss......movies will still look great, but perhaps not as great as they would on a plasma....so you have to decide whats more important to you.
 
Do not buy an HDTV that doesn't support 1080p AND 720p. At this point in time it would just be a silly mistake. That said, I have the Panasonic Plasma HDTV (1080i) and it is so freaking sweet. It's been 3 years and I still get the "wow" factor every time I watch something in HD or play my 360. Even the PS2 and Gamecube look great over component. I can recommend Panasonic without hesitation and when I decide to upgrade to 720p/1080p in a couple of years I'm just going to buy whatever Panasonic is offering.

Also, burn-in for Plasmas hasn't been an issue for years. I've never had a problem with it at all and I do ALL of my gaming on it.
 
[quote name='javeryh']Do not buy an HDTV that doesn't support 1080p AND 720p. At this point in time it would just be a silly mistake. That said, I have the Panasonic Plasma HDTV (1080i) and it is so freaking sweet. It's been 3 years and I still get the "wow" factor every time I watch something in HD or play my 360. Even the PS2 and Gamecube look great over component. I can recommend Panasonic without hesitation and when I decide to upgrade to 720p/1080p in a couple of years I'm just going to buy whatever Panasonic is offering.

Also, burn-in for Plasmas hasn't been an issue for years. I've never had a problem with it at all and I do ALL of my gaming on it.[/quote]

Is there a Plasma in my price range that you could suggest for me then? Since I would rather have a Plasma but all I have been hearing is that for gaming go with LCD.....so now I'm even more confused lmao :lol:
 
Well, I have the Panasonic 42PX6U 42" plasma HDTV (bought for $1100 at Costco -- plasma prices rock) and I love it. Resolution is fixed at 1024x768 which is not 1:1 HD conversion but I still find both 720p and 1080i through HDMI to be distinct and both to be absolutely stunning. 360 games through component? Absolutely stunning. DVDs through component? Absolutely stunning. PC games through DVI to HDMI? Absolutely stunning.

As to burn in, well, I tend to think of it more as "ghosting." Anything that is viewed for an hour or more tends to have a slight, temporary retention effect. Is the effect visible with normal viewing, e.g. if I watch ESPNHD for an hour and then switch to DiscoveryHD, do I see the ESPN ticker on the bottom of the screen? No. Not at all. However, if I change the channel, turn of the lights, set the output on the TV to a blank, black screen, and then walk up to the TV and put my face about 6 inches from the screen I will be able see a faint shadowy sillouhette of the ticker (or logo, or health bar, etc... depending on what I was watching). And I will continue to vaguely see that image from that 6-inch distance for as long as I leave the screen blank. But I don't do that. I watch TV. I change channels. I play games. And I do it just about as normally as everyone else. And the TV quickly fixes itself...say within a half-hour. After that time, if I turn off the lights, set the TV to black, and stick my face right in front of it, I can no longer see the ticker. Of course, maybe now I see a shadow of the Discovery HD logo. Maybe not. I once played Hexic HD through the Live Arcade for 6 hours (before I soiled myself) and, after I switched off, I was able to see the entire Hexic box with shadowy polygons and all -- from 6-inches away. I turned off the TV, went to bed, got up in the morning, turned on the news and by the time I was off to work an hour later, Hexic was gone. I know for sure because I turned off the lights, stuck my face in front of the screen and checked. Get the point? It really doesn't matter. I don't watch blank black screens from a 6-inch viewing distance. I watch TV. From 4 feet and 5 feet and 6 feet. Sometimes 2 or 3. Sometimes from 10. Sometimes from upstairs (in addition to awesome black levels, plasma viewing angles rock) and the ghosting is just not relevant. At all.

Of course, money is money, a TV can be a significant investment and there's always a level of anxiety associated with a significant investment. And, when you add in blatant fear-mongering from your peer group, it can all become quite overwhelming. So, if you feel the fear overwhelming you, I recommend LCD. LCD is a known quanitity and it's always safer to go with something known then something unknown. Just ask everyone who voted for Bush in 2004. Which reminds me: you probably shouldn't fly in a plane, either. A terrorist might blow it up. Drive instead. Sure, it'll take longer but they're much safer than planes. Right?
 
[quote name='slothroplt']Well, I have the Panasonic 42PX6U 42" plasma HDTV (bought for $1100 at Costco -- plasma prices rock) and I love it. [/quote]

You speak the truth. Once 1080p prices come down a little more I'm buying another 50 incher.
 
[quote name='Prepster']I am going to look at tvs tomorrow and would love to know what you guys think the best 42' Plasma or LCD I can get for at the most $1,500....[/QUOTE]


That's the biggest damn television I've ever heard of- except for that one in Vegas.
 
[quote name='Prepster']Is there a Plasma in my price range that you could suggest for me then? Since I would rather have a Plasma but all I have been hearing is that for gaming go with LCD.....so now I'm even more confused lmao :lol:[/quote]

Honestly, I'm with Headrush, I originally replied for you to be careful with plasma if you are going to be doing any serious gaming sessions, 2-3 hrs or more on a regular basis. I passed up on a plasma and got an LCD for that reason. There are just as many threads like Headrush says that say " I don't have burn in on my plasma" and the same amount for " I have burn in on my plasma". I was not going to take the chance of buying a plasma and then having the burn in. The games look awesome on my LCD 32in 720p Westy and they also look awesome on my 47in HD 1080i Panasonic.

If you make the choice to get plasma, the Panasonic that I originally suggested and others have also will do the trick for you. The normal price is aound $1500 but it's on sale reglarly(through the holidays anyway)for$1,000. The Panny supports both 720p and 1080i.
 
I love how you guys are recommending plasmas and then saying how you get image retention every time you game "but its no big deal for me, and shouldn't be for you either!".... Then someone else says "its not a problem and never happens" :)

Hence, the problem with Plasmas. You might not get any image retention. You may get some that will go away with regular use (assuming youd ont mind seeing the ghosted images while you are watching a movie, playing a different game, whatever). Others get permanant burn-in...and then go buy an LCD or SXRD/LcOS set.

But, ultimately, just look at the resolutions. With 360 games at 720p and PS3 games at 720p or 1080p, why spend the money to downconvert to 1024x768.
Get a 1080p 37 or 42" set for less than $1500.
 
[quote name='psiufoxx2']Dude.
RCA Scenium 50" DLP Projection HDTV (M50WH187)

$999.99 with FREE shipping at Circuit City right now.

Buy it.[/quote]

Nice.

But if size and price are all that matter -- if technology trends, contrast, color, black levels, resolution, viewing angles, weight, footprint, inputs, outputs, manufacturer, etc... are to be ignored, then why not this?

Hitachi 65" CRT Projection HDTV

$1199.99 with FREE shipping at Circuit City right now.

Huge. Cheap. Impress your friends with fifteen more inches! The size alone is enough compensation for any technological shortcomings it may have. :drool:
 
Actually, that 65" set will destroy any LCD or Plasma set currently on the market.

Just make sure you get it focused properly and you're good to go....the thing even auto-converges...nice.
 
I'm going with LCD. I'm also in the market for an HDTV and LCD looks like it would fit me better. The main issue with me was deciding where to buy it, b&m or onoline. I think if I don't find a deal in a store I'll buy one online.

Also I have the need to find a TV that has 1080P input. It seems not all tvs with 1080P are able to take an input of 1080P, they just upscale to it.

I'm willing to spend about 2K on it so I hope I won't have trouble finding one. Also I hope once CES rolls around we'll see how the next wave of TVs look and cost.
 
[quote name='HeadRusch']Actually, that 65" set will destroy any LCD or Plasma set currently on the market.

Just make sure you get it focused properly and you're good to go....the thing even auto-converges...nice.[/quote]

Agreed--CRT HD > LCD & Plasma. Too bad my TV is 250 pounds, otherwise I would never replace it.
 
[quote name='HeadRusch']Some advice, if I may:

First of all, this set has a native resolution of 1024x768. Thats a 4:3 resolution on a widescreen set. Thats a native resolution that is lower than 1280x720. The set will scale every game down to 1024x768, the panel's native resolution.[/quote]

Not quite. 1024x768 is a 4:3 resolution when you have a square pixel array. 1024x768 can also be 16:9 if you have a non-square pixel array (ie: rectangular pixels).
 
I have the same tv love it, u can find optimal picture settings on this site for it.

AVS Forum theres evena dedicated thread for this particular tv.
 
I am currently looking at getting the Vizio GV42L mainly because the reviews werent horrible except for sound quality...and the fact that since its from Costco I have forever to return it if I do not want it.

If anyone can come up with anything better than that, please let me know because I now know for sure I am getting this TV in the morning unless you guys can convince me otherwise :)
 
[quote name='Prepster']I am currently looking at getting the Vizio GV42L mainly because the reviews werent horrible except for sound quality...and the fact that since its from Costco I have forever to return it if I do not want it.

If anyone can come up with anything better than that, please let me know because I now know for sure I am getting this TV in the morning unless you guys can convince me otherwise :)[/quote]

Another question.....I am probably going to be gaming from my pc on this tv and wanted to know if there is any side effects to using a lcd or plasma for gaming sessions that last longer than say 4 hours....

I know I have heard of plasmas burning in but I also read that they do not really do this anymore? Is there any truth to this?
 
Plasmas, much like CRT Rear PRojection TV's do still have the potential for burn-in and image-retention. While modern plasma sets can do things to help reduce the potential for a problem, such as pixel shifting the image, you can still wind up with uneven phosphor wear.

For every person who says "Plasmas dont burn in, its B.S.!" there are an equal number of people who will tell you that they do. Sometimes you can make the effect go away by simply running the TV as normal....but other times, the image is permanant and wont ever quite go away.

Proponents will say "If you just leave the TV on for a few hours on random channels, the image-retention will go away'. Which to me seems like an alcoholic justifying his drinking :)

The real problem is.....in that time while you are trying to "fix" any image retnetion problem you may have, you *can't* play the game because you'll only make the problem worse. Now, i dunno about you....but I really dont want my display to dictate what games I choose to play, and when :)

I would very seriously stick to the LCD or DLP side of things...DLP if you want to go rear-projection but have to deal with the cost of replacement bulbs every once in awhile.

You can go with plasma, and its excellent image quality, but you're taking a risk for sure.
 
[quote name='HeadRusch']Plasmas, much like CRT Rear PRojection TV's do still have the potential for burn-in and image-retention. While modern plasma sets can do things to help reduce the potential for a problem, such as pixel shifting the image, you can still wind up with uneven phosphor wear.

For every person who says "Plasmas dont burn in, its B.S.!" there are an equal number of people who will tell you that they do. Sometimes you can make the effect go away by simply running the TV as normal....but other times, the image is permanant and wont ever quite go away.

Proponents will say "If you just leave the TV on for a few hours on random channels, the image-retention will go away'. Which to me seems like an alcoholic justifying his drinking :)

The real problem is.....in that time while you are trying to "fix" any image retnetion problem you may have, you *can't* play the game because you'll only make the problem worse. Now, i dunno about you....but I really dont want my display to dictate what games I choose to play, and when :)

I would very seriously stick to the LCD or DLP side of things...DLP if you want to go rear-projection but have to deal with the cost of replacement bulbs every once in awhile.

You can go with plasma, and its excellent image quality, but you're taking a risk for sure.[/quote]

Alright, I am going to go with LCD then. I would go with DLP but my room isn't big enough so the LCD is going to be hanging on the wall.

HeadRusch.....since you know so much about tvs, whats the best LCD out there for say around $1,500?
 
I would also go with LCD for gaming. Is ghosting still a problem with modern LCDs? The only LCd i have is from a 5 year old laptop and it was pretty bad back then.

The problem i had with my 50 in panasonic plasma now is that im afraid to play ps2 or gamecube on it since both of them since they both have underscanning (inch wide vertical bars on both left and right side) on all the games that will possibly burn in with long gaming sessions.
 
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