First thanks in advance for any assistance you may give!

I am trying to purchase my first HDTV some time within the next few days. I have a maximum budget of around $1500 to spend on the TV and if possible I would like to get a stand in under that figure as well. The TV will be used for SD and HD content (mainly sports) and I am open to all TV types (I see no rainbow effect from DLP as far as I can tell). The TV will not be used for gaming (have a PC for that) at all. It will be used to watch movies now and then (maybe 1 a week).

The TV is going into our new condo so I am not completely sure of how much light we will have but there is a sliding glass door in the living room so I suspect we will have a decent amount of light to deal with. The viewing distance will be around 10 maybe 12 feet.

Some things I have found...

I have a BJs wholesale membership and can get the Sony KDF-50E2000 for $1399.99 including the stand.

Bestbuy has a JVC HD52G787 with stand for $1250.00ish

Panasonic TH-42PX600U for $1299 at Vann's

I also saw that beachcamera has the 1080p (HD52FA97) version of the JVC above for $1379.00.

I am by no means limited by what I listed above. These are just what I have found.

I have been reading and reading over the past few days and am really not sure what is worth the money and what is not. I have read great things about the Panasonic plasma but I think 42" may be a bit small for our room and view distance. The 1080p version of the JVC above is tempting but it comes with no stand and I'm not sure we need a 1080p TV at this point in time. I have no clue which is better between the KDF-50E2000 and the HD52G787. I have seen the Sony in stores and it looks ok but I can not compare it to the JVC as it is an online only thing with Bestbuy.

Also, I am unclear as to whether I need to buy any special surge protection. I do live in Florida and we do have some nasty storms here. Up until now we have always “risked it” and plugged our stuff into the wall or into a normal strip surge protector. That said our current TV was less then $200 :).

The last thing is which type of DVD player would be best to go with the TV recommended. We currently have a cheaper Toshiba DVD player that does not support HDMI.

Thanks for suffering through my long post… your help is appreciated!

Matt

The Panasonic is a great tv and I've heard excellent things about it. The main problem with it compared to the other tvs you have listed is size.

I currently have the HD52FA97, which I ordered from Beach Camera. Everything went great and I am really enjoying the set. SSE (silk screen effect) is an issue with it as is brightness (glaring whites). The reason this set is so inexpensive is because it lacks the dynamic iris found in its bigger siblings, which affects the amount of brightness coming through.

The other set I don't have much experience with, but I do believe it has the dynamic iris, but a lower resolution compared to the 52FA97. There is definitely more to the equation than just resolution though.

If you aren't opposed to DLP, you can check out some of the smaller Samsungs that are in this same price range. You can get a HL-S5686 for a little more than the 52FA97, and you can also check out the smaller Sony E2000 models for something near the same price range.

I'd recommend a UPS for your surge protector, if for no other reason than to give you time to turn off your TV if there is a power failure and allow the fan (If you get rear projection) time to run to cool off the bulb.

All of the tvs you have listed, as well as the ones I have added will automatically scale the dvds to the televisions native resolution. So your best bet to start off with is to keep your current dvd player, and hook it up with component cables and see if you are happy with how it looks. If not then you can look into something better.

Thanks for the advice!

Another question... Should I opt for the extended warranty if offered? In the past I have declined this because it seemed to be just a money making ploy for the retail chains. For this though it seems more reasonable.

Matt

I opted for a mack warranty with the bulb replacement.

I almost never buy these, but thought it might be a good investment for a RPTV.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=727816

I have the 46E2000 and am very happy with it. Originally, I had a non-progressive scan dvd player hooked up to it and was not pleased with the results. However, that wasn't the fault of the E2000. I bought a Panasonic S52 upconverting dvd player and the PQ is now excellent. The E2000 also does a very good job with SD PQ given a good source. I am on Dish Network.

As for the Panasonic, I was at Costco the other day and they had the TH50PX6U for slightly under $2000 without the stand.

I'll be on dish in the new place as well. Do you guys think I would see much difference going to a 1080p TV? With my view distance of only 10-12 feet and the size being limited to 50-56" ish I think the charts say I won't see much of a difference. That said when my wife and I look at a 1080p TV int he store we both think we can tell a difference. Maybe they set them up that way intentionally I don't know.

I'll be on dish in the new place as well. Do you guys think I would see much difference going to a 1080p TV? With my view distance of only 10-12 feet and the size being limited to 50-56" ish I think the charts say I won't see much of a difference. That said when my wife and I look at a 1080p TV int he store we both think we can tell a difference. Maybe they set them up that way intentionally I don't know.Something to remember:

The picture quality you see is a function of the display's contrast, color decoding accuracy, video processing, and resolution. In the case of DLPs, the newer 1080p models offer 10,000:1 contrast ratio while the 720p models offer only 2500:1. That makes a big difference in the picture quality you get, regardless of seating distance -- hence, one should never choose the 720p DLP over a 1080p DLP, when the budget allows.

Because 1080p models tend to be more expensive, it's not uncommon for them to feature improved video processing over the 720p models, which provides another benefit.

Something to remember:

The picture quality you see is a function of the display's contrast, color decoding accuracy, video processing, and resolution. In the case of DLPs, the newer 1080p models offer 10,000:1 contrast ratio while the 720p models offer only 2500:1. That makes a big difference in the picture quality you get, regardless of seating distance -- hence, one should never choose the 720p DLP over a 1080p DLP, when the budget allows.

Because 1080p models tend to be more expensive, it's not uncommon for them to feature improved video processing over the 720p models, which provides another benefit.

Interesting. I never thought of checking contrast and such. How about LCD based TVs? Does the same still hold true: In general take the 1080p if your budget allows?

Interesting. I never thought of checking contrast and such. How about LCD based TVs? Does the same still hold true: In general take the 1080p if your budget allows?It's not as easy to make the same generalization with LCD, because there are so many poor to mediocre 1080p LCDs on the market. However, the best LCDs available -- in terms of contrast -- are all [relatively expensive] 1080p models.

It's not as easy to make the same generalization with LCD, because there are so many poor to mediocre 1080p LCDs on the market. However, the best LCDs available -- in terms of contrast -- are all [relatively expensive] 1080p models.

Well the one I was thinking about specifically is the JVC HD-52FA97 for 1,379.99 from beachcamera. With no shipping and no tax this seems like an excellent deal. It also scares me a little as it seems very cheap price wise. I'm also a little scared of beach camera as a retailer. I have never ordered from them and this is a pretty large chunk of cash for a trial run.

The draw for this is that I can get the 1080p version of the bestbuy deal with the stand I mentioned earlier for around the same money.

Also, the more I look at JVC the more I like what I'm reading. I am confused about the multiple versions though. I tried to google for the differences but could not find much. Anyone know?

Don't be nervous at all about Beach Camera. They were excellent for me, as many other people.

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Beach_Camera_Beachtr

Like I said before, the 52FA97 lacks the dynamic iris. This is the real main difference between it and the FH and FN models. I think quite a few people would consider this a pretty important part of the tv. The picture does look great though.