Hi,

I have been reading through this forum, and other online resources for about three months now.

When I first arrived here, I just wanted to see if the Maxent 42" at Costco was a good TV. I knew virtually nothing about Plasmas and decided to stick around and do a little research.

Wow! Within a night, I now thought of myself as an educated consumer and decided to read a little more before buying just to make sure I wasn't overlooking anything. As I read and read and read and read....and read, I found myself becoming more and more informed, to the point, that I am now convinced that I can in no way make a decision about my TV myself as I just do not know enough.

So, here I am with my first post. I figure that I could lay out where I am right now, and field some recommendations from all the people here with a better understanding of the technology than I have.

So here goes.

I currently have a Samsung 27" flat screen CRT, about four years old.

My living room viewing distance is about 10 feet.

My TV watching breakdown:
Sports: 20%
TBS, FOX reruns: 20%
Movies on Premium channels: 20%
Discovery, Science channel, etc.: 10%
DVDS: 20%
HD DVD: Plan to upgrade soon, 20% in the future
Games:On PS2/X-Box: 10%

Sound: I've got a 2 year old Kenwood 5.1 system. It is out of the box, and decent enough for me, atleast for the foreseeable future.

Wall mounting is not an option.

I would like to think that I will use the new TV for the next 10 years and be happy. However, I know myself bettetr than that. I figure, in about 5 yrs I'll be itching for an upgrade. Also, I am 25 and at a point in my career wherein I can expect a significantly larger income in about 5 years.

I used to think Plasmas were out of my price range. Then I noticed a Vizio 42 at Costco and was blown away by the how low the price was. It seemed like an obvious choice. My boss had just bought one as well and seemed quite satisfied.

I then read that the Maxent for the same price might be a better buy as they used Panasonic parts.

I then contemplated a 9UK, but decided that though it is quite reasonable, by the time I got a stand, HDMI etc, I was prolly adding another 500-700 bucks on and it suddenly didn't seem like such a good deal. I was also a little concerned that SD content like the simpsons, seinfeld, etc might look really bad on it.

So where am I now:

Lost.

I know that in an ideal world, I would spend $1200 for a 50", another couple of hundred on cables and get a good reliable TV that is a significant upgrade over mine and that I will be happy with for the next 5 years, until I decide to go get a 65" 1080P.

The only features that I seem to really need are HDMI, 720p, PiP. Beyond that, w/e.

However, even a Maxent is over that 1200 mark for 50s, so that seems unrealistic.

However, a 42" for about 1200 or less......ore maybe slightly more seems quite doable.

Now then, to cut a long story short, any suggestions?

Could you also please recommend a 50" for about $1800, just incase I decide to splurge, as I do think that a 50 would be ideal. However, I cannot seem to justify spending an extra 500-700 on an extra 8 inches when I have college loans and credit cards still being paid down.

Any chances of picking up a solid 50" for 1200 in the near future? That would seem to be ideal for me.

I am not a HD buff whatsoever. I have never even seen HD content outside of BB. So I doubt I would notice the fine differences between the better sets that a lot of you seem to.

Thank you very much for any input. I know that his might seem like the lazy way of doing research. However, I have realized that I have researched my way back to zero and will probably not end up buying a TV for another 2 years at this rate.

Have a great day!

Well, you're where many of us have been before & probably more than a few will be again.

This probably won't be a popular opinion on this board, but I'm going to throw a curve ball at you. Let's say you take that $1800 that you're thinking of spending of a plasma and invest it in a retirement stock market mutual fund that appreciates at an average of 10% a year. In 40 years, about the time you're thinking of retirement, it'll be worth $90,000+, without you contributing another dime.

In any case, at 25 you are likely looking at a lot of life changes within the next 10 years, possibly including marriage, kids, and a house. I think you're probably right in thinking that your display needs will change significantly by then. I'm about 35 & looking back over the last 10 years, I've bought 5 displays in that time & had my wife bring another 2 into the fold.

If you're not going to be watching much HD, then you want something that will display SD well. And the larger you go, the worse SD will look. I would recommend a 42" ED Panny plasma if you can still find them. Legendary videophiles such as Rich Harkness have been viewing on them for years. I would think they would be more than sufficient for your relatively short term needs.

Good luck!

I think you will find that people are not allowed to talk about prices on the forum. However at the moment you are way within your price range for a 42" Plasma, tho at your distance most would agree that you should be looking at a 50" range, especially if you want to follow any of the THX standard or etc.

I am new to this forum but there is a strong loyalty to the forums sponsors and to certain brands. This comes from honestly people being smart about their money and not wanting to go over board if they can get something that fits there needs and helping those who help you.

Now one of the few technology shows to be aware of is CES the consumer electronics show. At this show all the vendors either release their new products if they haven't done so and demonstrate there new technologies. At this point you may or may not find prices start to change again as vendors will try to clear out old inventory before they release new inventory. This shows is happening here shortly in around 5 days goes from the 8-11 of January so sit tight maybe for a few days or buy from a store that gives you some kind of price protection.


Now you will find prices for Plasma really range in pricing and that usually due to display properties mostly to resolution. Here is a fast break down
DVDs are 720x480 interlaced which is called 480i.

Interlaced means it refreshes half the screen every other line, progressive means every line is refreshed in full cycle. Thus most HD-DVD displays and HD-Players all work on doing 720p and 1080p, 720p is actually 1280x720 and 1080p is 1920x1080 resolution, the higher the resolution the more pixels (or dots) there is the better the picture if produced for that resolution. Sometimes just blowing up an image will actually cause things to look bad. For example if you look at a bill board from your car you may think it looks great walk up to it and you will see all the imperfections and etc. Hmm maybe a better phrase would be "garbage in garbage out" if you feed a 1080p plasma a bad signal you will get a bad picture.

The highest display technology is 1080p only a few plasmas support this like the Pioneer PRO-FHD1, the 65" Panasonic TH-65PX500 and the new 50" Panasonic TH-50PF9UK. Now LCD are whole different story and any LCD out in the market that is of any quality will display 1080p. Almost all the 50" 1080p plasmas are over 4.5K and usually just a monitor and don't include speakers or tuner or even a stand.

There is on going discussion on if you really need 1080p versus 720p and the general consensus is that unless you are sitting closer than 6' on 50" screen you will not be able to optically able to tell the difference.

Anyways my point is for you understand the technologies and what exactly you are buying. The current highest resolution for Plasmas besides the 3 I mentioned before is a odd ball display of 1368x768 or somewhere close to that, which is really not any specific display format at all. So any HD input would have to be 720p that will get upconverted to the screens resolution or 1080i that would be deinterlaced and downconverted. I have seen many sets that are 1280x720 versus 1368x768 and I have always found the 1368 sets to have a better picture, this can be two fold as the 1368 sets always have new panels and the extra few pixels (1280x720=921,600 versus 1368x768=1,050,624) around 14% more pixels. At this time I think most vendors are upto 7th generation Plasma Panels and usually with each new generation there is an improvement. So I say buy current technology Plasmas.

Thus when shopping for a plasma in 50" you may find some great deals real cheap but you need to sure of you are getting as they maybe EDTV or a lower resolution HD-TV or just an older panel.

Also there is a loyal following in this forum and it will come down to people always liking either the follow plasmas ( it funny because they would be also the ones that are sticky threads on top of this forum)

Panasonic TH-50X600 or 60U or TH-50PH9UK (monitor)
Pioneer PDP-5070 (full set), PDP-507CMX with a Key Digital card, or the Elites
Samsung 5073 Plasmas (I have been really impressed with this one)
NEC 5XRA

Anyways for cheap sets some of the options are

Westinghouse
Vizio
Which both are 1368x768

If you want a 50" display then get a 50" display there is no point in buying 42" or 46" if you are going to be looking back and saying dammit I should have gotten the 50" you would waste your money and be unhappy.

Also many will recommend you support or AVS sponsors I would also recommend that. Everyone has there favorites I like Chris @ Cleveland Plasma because he is actually active on the forum.

A good deal of what you watch is SD so be sure to get a set with a good internal scaler-makes a big difference when watching SD. Most sets look good when watching HD or DVD's, but SD can be another matter. Find a store where they can show you SD on the set you are interested in.

Wow,

Thanks for taking the time to write such a nice comprehensive response Carlos.

I don't think there is any way I can squeeze a 50 inch plasma from any brand besides, Vizio, Maxent, Polaroid, Westinghouseetc into my budget. Additionally, I have looked into an ED set, but there does not appear to be much of a price saving over HD. If I could get an ED 50" for like a grand, I would probably go for it. However, witrh the prices being comprable, and with stations moving to HD, it seems like HD is the better option.

I guess, in a nutshell, I am looking for a reliable lower end, 720P set that will not be a downgrade from my current CRT when it comes to SD.

Does such a set exist? For the right price, I could live with a 42". I think the difference is, a 42 would satisfy me, a 50 would make me ecstatic. Right now I am just unsatisfied. So either set would do it for me, just at a different level.

I am keeping an eye out on the internet and at the local CC, BB, Costco for any good deals.

Is there a post with links to the websites for the AVS sponsors. With shipping, extended warranties, etc, are they competitively priced with the major stores?

For 42" Plasmas there is alot and I mean alot of options called Chris at cleveland or Invision Displays and tell me your budget and have them recommend it to you. At 42" I can think of the elite, the NEC 42", the Pioneer 425 CMX + key digital card, Pioneer 4270, maybe a Sumsung 4273.

BTw the sponsor links are on the top of the forum just click the buttons :-)

Also many will recommend you support or AVS sponsors I would also recommend that. Everyone has there favorites I like Chris @ Cleveland Plasma because he is actually active on the forum.[/QUOTE]


I will get there :)

Roman

Invision Displays - A FORUM SPONSOR

Since you seem to have a penchant for Panasonic, what about the Panny PX6U? Dunno if any forum sponsors carry this model, but they're often marked down below your budget at Costco or Sams. Might even have a few bucks left for that retirement fund.

Hmm, thanks for the advice. I looked around a little. The PX6U appears to be priced the same as the 60U. Am I just really bad at looking for good deals....

I think I may need a PM from someone who is better at this than I.

Ha. No. It's probably not your imagination. The PX60U has been severly reduced from it's original MSRP, I guess because many people dislike the look of it's bezel, and perhaps it didn't move off the shelves the way Panasonic planned (or maybe that was the plan, to move customers into other models that might be more profitable). I've seen both the 6 & 60 42-inchers discounted to ~1K though. There are often "in-store" specials at some of these places as well (especially BB) that aren't advertised on the web.

I'm not necessarily recommending these over other brands/models btw. But thought the 6U should be mentioned since you seemed interested in the Pannies. Still not sure what to go for myself.

I actually prefer the Pannys as I am a big fat sheep and most here seem to prefer them at the bang for the buck price point. And I follow along.

I am sure, if I got one, I would be quite satisfied. All I need to do is find a 42 for ~1k and then convince myself that I do not need a 50. ;)

I have only found the ED 42" pannys at the same price point as the vizios, akais, etc from Costco.

If I saw an HD set, I think I might just forget the 50 as I don't think I could justify 800-1200 more for 8 more inches.

Garrrr. I am becoming quite frustrated.

Not a fan of the ED's myself, though I understand the logic re SD. If a majority of your viewing was analog SD content, then an ED might make more sense, but it looks like a pretty good percentage is already, or soon will be digital and HD, which should look pretty swell on a 1024x768 high resolution plasma. The dirty laundry may hang out a bit more on analog 480i channels, but I think you might appreciate the extra rez for just about everything else. And once you've got an HD display, you might find your percentage of HD viewing also going up. 1024x768 isn't really full-blown HD anyway, so even if you got a 42" "HD" plasma, you'd still be sort of in a middle ground between the highest-rez 1080p HD content and 480p DVD rez. A 50" might be doable as well, if your timing is good. I've seen some of the brands mentioned above already dip to ~1.5K for a 50".

Really? I have not seen any of the first tier 50s at ~1500. If you see any floating around, please send me a PM as that would seem like a no brainer to me.

Luckily, I live 30 min from NH and can run down there for the 0 sales tax. :)

I wish I could afford 2.5k. That would make this all soo much easier. Alas..

Roman I would recommend you stay active on the forum I think the users would benefit the most. Besides I think Chris is getting bored he probably sits around twidling his thumbs so I am sure he is so bored and probably wants some competition. *waits for Chris to chime in*


Also many will recommend you support or AVS sponsors I would also recommend that. Everyone has there favorites I like Chris @ Cleveland Plasma because he is actually active on the forum.


I will get there :)

Roman

Invision Displays - A FORUM SPONSOR[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=carlosrg]Roman I would recommend you stay active on the forum I think the users would benefit the most. Besides I think Chris is getting bored he probably sits around twidling his thumbs so I am sure he is so bored and probably wants some competition. *waits for Chris to chime in*



I have some posts to go to catch up to his numbers :) But yes I am on here for the users and they can always get in touch with me.

Roman
Invision Displays - A FORUM SPONSOR

Really?Honest engine.

if you have a Comp USA in your area..check out the price on the Panasonic 42 inch plasma..i think you will be surprised

I don't think there is any way I can squeeze a 50 inch plasma from any brand besides, Vizio, Maxent, Polaroid, Westinghouseetc into my budget.

Actually, the Panny 50" 60U is now only marginally over your budget if you catch a good deal (eg flyer from a chain store in the mail today); the 42" is well within your budget.

OK, I feel liek I'm in the know now lol. I see how to get the 42" for just a tad over what I would have paid for a Maxent 42, which IMO is awesome.

Hopw is Panasonic's product support. i.e. if I do not get the extended warrantly from a store like BB or CC, will they cover burn in, or some catastrophic failure?

I actually prefer the Pannys as I am a big fat sheep and most here seem to prefer them at the bang for the buck price point. And I follow along.:) Sometimes that's a good strategy, and sometimes not. When it comes to TVs, I think it's also reasonable to give your own impressions of the display a little weight. And I guess that's part of the mental block for me on the px60Us. Even after tinkering with the picture controls on the display, there are still certain qualities about the picture, screen and display itself that don't quite work for me.