I was hoping some of the amazing experts here in this forum (my favorite on the web for AV stuff) might be able to help me out. I'm looking to buy a decent but not necessarily immaculately perfect TV for the rec room - Basically the best bang for the buck but it doesn't have to be a centerpiece. I currently have an older 65" Pioneer projection TV as my main home theater set (not replacing it until I move or get a bigger room for a real projector), and a 37" Vizio LCD in the bedroom which is just fine.

Downstairs, I have a large rec room, and currently have a 20" Sony TV mounted up in the far corner close to the ceiling. I'd like to replace it with either an LCD or Plasma of 37" or larger. Since I sit across the room (room is around 30 feet wide) sometimes, bigger may be better. Been looking at Vizio, Panasonic, and Olevia (Panasonic obviously only for a really good sale).

Since I only plan to use for watching TV and occasionally movies, I dunno how important 1080p is. The room has windows and will be bright during the day so I'm not sure if that affects the choice of an LCD over a plasma, however I will not always be dead center in front of the set to watch it due to the angles in the room (likely I'll be at a slight diagonal to it most of the time).

Bottom line - I don't need top of the line due to this being a secondary set, but I also like to get a decent value and don't want junk. So I was hoping someone here might help. Been looking recently at the Vizio sale for $747 at Walmart and getting tempted a bit by that. Seems like a real good price point.

Also, if anyone can recommend a good reasonably priced mount that articulates well in a corner (I notice most are for flat wall mounting) and can hold a larger set, I'd appreciate that as well.

Thanks, even just for taking the time to read this!

I would say a 42-50" panasonic 720p plasma will do just fine.
Model number TH-42(50)PX80U ought to do the trick.

Hope this helps.

I agree, I wouldn't go "above" a Panny 720p, which are very good values right now. If you want to save a little you could go with a bargain brand like Vizio, I personally think they are a good TV for the money.

LCD would be a bit brighter, but quality falls off at an angle, so unless it's extremely bright I'd get a plasma personally.

At that distance you won't even be close to being able to detect any difference with 1080p, total waste of money. Get a 720p set and save the cash.

That Vizio is a decent set. It will probably be competitive with the 720p Panasonics as far as picture quality. You might also want to look at the LG PG20 series.

Can't thank you folks enough - I may go take a peek at the Vizio, or just wait for another good sale on the Panny model - Kinda bummed as I see it was down to around $900 or less a few weeks ago via rebates and stuff.

The Olevia 747i is a bit tempting as well but I dunno if I need to go that high end, however with the shipping costs it's still a bit beyond my range.

I'll keep my eyes on the Panny 42" as well as the Walmart Vizio. I can only imagine prices will drop slightly more as newer 1080p models arrive.

Man, this is a tough decision between the 720p Vizio at $750 plus tax, the 720p Panny at around $999 plus tax, or the Olevia 47" at $1030 shipped from CompUsa. I think the Olevia is a better set and bigger to boot, but LCD so viewing angle is bad and REALLY heavy so I can't put it up in the corner.

Too bad I'm not in the market for a bedroom sized set, that Olevia is awesome.

I realize 47" is plenty big but I can't seem to downsize the main living area TV from my current 65" HD RPTV! Even if it is only 1080i...

Man, this is a tough decision between the 720p Vizio at $750 plus tax, the 720p Panny at around $999 plus tax, or the Olevia 47" at $1030 shipped from CompUsa. I think the Olevia is a better set and bigger to boot, but LCD so viewing angle is bad and REALLY heavy so I can't put it up in the corner.

Too bad I'm not in the market for a bedroom sized set, that Olevia is awesome.

I realize 47" is plenty big but I can't seem to downsize the main living area TV from my current 65" HD RPTV! Even if it is only 1080i...I'd go with the 50px80u (720p panny). I'd say it is better than the olevia, even though the olevia has the HQV (I haven't seen it in person though). The panny has the black