Hey guys, im about to buy a new tv for the living room, it's between two models.

Insignia® - 42" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV
Insignia® - 42" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV
(http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8463076&productCategoryId=abcat0101001&type=product&tab=2&id=1184767921005#productdetail)

or

Insignia® - 42" 720p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV
Insignia® - 42" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV
(http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8453648&productCategoryId=abcat0101001&type=product&tab=2&id=1184767919174#productdetail)

I'm sort of torn between the two for a couple reasons, mainly the 720p plasma has a 15,000:1 contrast ratio and the 1080P LCD has a 1200:1 contrast ratio.

It's defiently between these 2 tv's but what are your thoughts..

Thanks

do some searches, nobody's going to be friendly about insignias around here

Panasonic TH-42PX75U at the least, very cheap units. (High quality) At the least, Hitachi P42H401 real cheap, still a nice unit.

Depends if you are going to play video games or not. I have the 1080P LCD that I bought because my wife won't let me use my 50" Panasonic plasma.

I can tell you I am extremely happy with the PQ of the LCD, and I love that I can beat on it and play video games and leave the screen paused with no burin-in worries. It looks pretty good too!

I had the 42" Insignia plasma and returned it after a 1.5 weeks. It had the dreaded plasma buzz going on, and it was noticeable even at low volume levels. Also, the IR on it was horrible. The worst offender to the IR problem was the menu itself as it was very high contrast and the IR would still be prevalent after a couple of hours of whitewashing. I took it back and upgraded to the Panasonic 75U and haven't looked back. Hardly any IR after watching a 2hr DVD with black bars, and absolutely no discernible plasma buzz.

I know plasmas are known to buzz, but it shouldn't be audible unless you stick your head around the back of the tv. The Insignia was audible at 10' away with low volume. There's another user on here who has the Insignia plasma and has reported the same issue with his. Although, he said it wasn't quite as bad as mine and that he could live with it. As far as picture quality goes, it definitely had a great picture and the sound quality was very good too. If it weren't for the other issues, I'd still own it.

why can't I find the contrast ratio on any site for the hitachi P42H401?

Thanks for all replys thus far..

from what i've learned, don't put that much stock into contrast ratios given by manufacturers because those numbers can be manipulated. you can get caught up in stats, but more important is whether the picture looks good to you and whether the tv(s) has a good track record.

pardity,
Reliability is the biggest concern with 3rd Tier manufacturer's. The price looks great, but what will happen after a year. I have a Panasonic 42PX60U without any issues whatsoever. Stick with a Samsung or Panasonic you will be much, much happier.

Chris

The Insignia® - 42" 720p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV is actually last years LG (sorry I forget the model number)

That being said, having seen them, the plasma has a better image than the LCD, the LCD looks badly washed out (to me at least) and lacks just about anything in the realm of detail...

If I were you, I'd put my money back in my pocket and wait until I can splurge and go for the panasonic.

I'd go with a Panasonic or Samsung Plasma.

Panasonic 42" TH-42PX75U
www.frysoutpost.com $999.88 with free shipping

Samsung 42" HP-T4264
www.vanns.com $999.00 with free shipping

If you don't want to order from the net Sears will Price match Fry's & Vanns & sometimes Best Buy & Circuit City will match them too. Only Sears has the Sammy 64 model though.

And If You Want To Go Crazy, Fry's has the Panny 50" 75 model for under $1,300 delivered!

Also BrandsMart USA in FL & GA has the 42" Panny & Samsung for $998.88 so under a $1,000.00 for these sets is not a giveaway price & in fact BrandsMart USA did have a give away price one week of $799.88 on the Panasonic 75 & the Sammy "54" model.

we'll I pulled the trigger with the hitachi, I got it hooked up and love it in my house.. I was nervous at sears when I was looking at it next to the new samsungs. It was incredibly dark compared to some of the others, But once I got it home and have it hooked up im happy with it on HD cable and xbox 360. But I had some questions, when I was there they had a hitachi 42" 1080p LCD for $1299 and then the one I bought which was the 42" 1080i plasma that was $999. On sears website it calls the tv I purchased full 1080p, on hitachi's website it says it's 1080p compatible. Im confused, how can a resolution that is 1024 x 1080 be 1080p compatible?

Thanks in advance and thanks for all your help..

I think that just means that the set will accept a 1080p signal and then scale it down to the native resolution of the set. Same goes for all the 720p and 768p displays - no problem. What's important is that the set looks good to YOU! Congrats on your purchase!