What do you guys think?

I see the refurbs for 55" HDX go for about $1100, and the 42" HDX go for about $800. These are refurbs, with only 30-day warranty, and older models (2006). Alternatively, I can get the 42" HDX new w/ 2yr warranty for $1400 shipped.

747i 47" LCD is now about $1000 new.

I figure black levels are about the same on these (Olevia LCD / Hitachi plasma). My main concern with the Hitachis is would you buy a refurb?

Any other suggestions for really good 42" & up TV in this price range around $1200?

Here is a very reputable HITACHI Authorized Re-Seller. They have some good prices going on. Also most if not all the TV's come with the Manufacturers 1 yr Warranty:

http://www.uecweb.com

As for the 747i Olevia many people who own love-it. Traditionally PLASMA has always had better Black Level than LCD. Hope this helps a little & good luck

Thanks. That's the site I have been visiting. Warranty says 30 days. Someone just snagged the 42" HDX they had for sale last night, but I am pretty patient can wait for the right product to show up... If it is a wise decision to get a refurb.

Both of these sets have poor black levels. The 747i is popular because of the HQV chip, which apparently does wonders with standard def.

Why are you limiting yourself to these options? There are a lot of 42"+ TVs in the $1200 price range.

Like Chris said, there are many more options. Panasonic, Samsung, and LG are all in this price range with better black levels, etc..

Thanks for the input. I went and looked at the 747i today. Looked good, but I saw motion blur or motion problem while Cars dvd was playing. In a scene where they were panning across a landscape, the objects in the scene seemed to jitter across rather than smoothly move across like on some other displays. Otherwise, it looked pretty good, but colors were not as punchy as some other displays. That could probably be adjusted, but the jittery look on the slow panning across motion type scenes has me worried. Saw some pretty decent, inexpensive Panasonics plasmas though. I will re-think. I liked the feature sets of the HDX and 747i, thats why I called them out.

Check out the Vizio 42" at Walmart. It's less than $800 and should give you significantly better picture quality than either of those other sets.

Really there's no reason to get the Olevia or the Hitachi. What are the features that you liked on them?

Olevia: 2 HD Tuners / HQV / PIP / Subwoofer Out / 1080P / Bigger speakers (scariest thing is the Mfg or Olevia customer service)
HDX: Hitachi customer service / Swivel stand / Plasma / The 2 remotes / IR outs / Speakers looked good (3 way) / Black screen & gloss aesthetics

I am going to look at the Olevia one more time & Hitachi 50" P50s701. The Hitachi runs about $300 more than the Olevia.

Olevia: 2 HD Tuners / HQV / PIP / Subwoofer Out / 1080P / Bigger speakers (scariest thing is the Mfg or Olevia customer service)
HDX: Hitachi customer service / Swivel stand / Plasma / The 2 remotes / IR outs / Speakers looked good (3 way) / Black screen & gloss aesthetics

I am going to look at the Olevia one more time & Hitachi 50" P50s701. The Hitachi runs about $300 more than the Olevia.

Two HD tuners...I guess that's useful, though only relevant if you're using OTA or QAM.

HQV - Nice feature.

PIP - Nice, depending on how flexible it is, and something that is becoming less common with new TVs

Sub out - Is a sub out really necessary? Can't you just run line level to the sub and adjust the frequency?

1080p - Not important, depending on how far away you sit

Swivel stand - I guess this is useful.

IR out - I'm not sure what that means

Gloss look - virtually every new TV has a gloss piano black finish (unfortunately)

Really I'd look beyond these two sets.

The older 55HDX62 & 55HDX99 are some of the nicest looking televisions I've ever seen. Black levels are a little weak relative now to the modern Pioneers (although not as weak as the current run of Hitachis, remember the 55HDX62 and 55HDX99 used completely different panel technology than what's in all other Hitachis) but they have some of the most natural and overall pleasing image quality out there. I can't tell you anything about them in refurb state.