First off, this TV isn't for me, but for the rest of my family's house. I already have had a Samsung 52A750 that I purchased years ago with the help and research from everybody here. Personally, IF IT WAS ME, I would just be going out and getting a 60ST50 plasma, but unfortunately this is boiling more down to what the father wants for his house, which makes the situation infinitely more complicated.
I've done a lot of reading on here in the past month, so I'm leaning towards either a:
Panasonic 55ST50 plasma via Amazon
Sharp 60LE640 LED LCD via whatever for $1200ish.
Now I know these TVs are quite different and at different levels, but it's not quite that easy with who I am trying to persuade.
My father comes from no HDTV background and has just last week upgraded to HD digital via TWC(I know right?
). Anyways, he has a pretty poor older Vizio 42" 720p 60hz cheapo TV he has, but of course he is in that age bracket where he thinks it's the best thing ever and because it's SUPPOSEDLY "Made in the USA". At any rate, my brother and I are trying to persuade him into making a viable upgrade to a large flatscreen. Now I am not sure exactly what his budget is, but he has considered the Vizio 65" 650MVSE at Walmart which is $1398(plus $100 tax)...he is more or less banking more on Vizio than anything else. I would say the budget is around $1500 with the lesser the price being more attractive(obviously).
Some requirements are mostly just picture quality in general and screen size. 3D would be a nice perk, but we are talking about people that have never operated a blu-ray player before, so it's in no way mandatory. The same goes for smart features which I doubt they will ever even attempt to use. So, the predicament begins....
Based on what I've seen, the Panny ST50 seems like a great bang for the buck and I think the 55ST50($1199) is in his reach. However, he will be competing with the idea of the 60" Vizio E601i($999) and the 65" Vizio 650MVSE($1398) for a "Vizio" and screen size.
Now I've read some of the info on both these Vizio models here and the picture quality seems to be commendable for the price, but they seem to have a myriad of auto screen shutdown problems after 2-3 months, which is beyond scary for ME. About the only thing scary about getting the plasma for HIM, is the idea that he watches a lot of sports and I might have some concern about "responsible" use of a plasma to prevent burn in when he falls asleep watching ESPN or the like.
Likewise, the Sharp 60LE640 is on sale around here for around $1100, and I know it's a step down in picture quality, but it doesn't seem to have the massive picture failures that the Vizios do, plus burn in is pretty much a moot issue with it since it's an LED LCD. My biggest question would be would the Panasonic 60UT50($1299) plasma have a better picture than the Sharp 60LE640 despite the large amount of extra glare(TV will be going in to a room with windows in it on north and west sides)?
I know I'd rather it just be me, because I would have my mind made up, but it's harder sometimes when I have to think for other people that aren't in the "realm" of making knowledgeable decisions.
Should I just let him have his way with the less expensive and bigger Vizios at a possible risk or what other TVs should I strive for him to pursue that I'm not thinking about? I'm all ears.
I've done a lot of reading on here in the past month, so I'm leaning towards either a:
Panasonic 55ST50 plasma via Amazon
Sharp 60LE640 LED LCD via whatever for $1200ish.
Now I know these TVs are quite different and at different levels, but it's not quite that easy with who I am trying to persuade.
My father comes from no HDTV background and has just last week upgraded to HD digital via TWC(I know right?
). Anyways, he has a pretty poor older Vizio 42" 720p 60hz cheapo TV he has, but of course he is in that age bracket where he thinks it's the best thing ever and because it's SUPPOSEDLY "Made in the USA". At any rate, my brother and I are trying to persuade him into making a viable upgrade to a large flatscreen. Now I am not sure exactly what his budget is, but he has considered the Vizio 65" 650MVSE at Walmart which is $1398(plus $100 tax)...he is more or less banking more on Vizio than anything else. I would say the budget is around $1500 with the lesser the price being more attractive(obviously).Some requirements are mostly just picture quality in general and screen size. 3D would be a nice perk, but we are talking about people that have never operated a blu-ray player before, so it's in no way mandatory. The same goes for smart features which I doubt they will ever even attempt to use. So, the predicament begins....
Based on what I've seen, the Panny ST50 seems like a great bang for the buck and I think the 55ST50($1199) is in his reach. However, he will be competing with the idea of the 60" Vizio E601i($999) and the 65" Vizio 650MVSE($1398) for a "Vizio" and screen size.
Now I've read some of the info on both these Vizio models here and the picture quality seems to be commendable for the price, but they seem to have a myriad of auto screen shutdown problems after 2-3 months, which is beyond scary for ME. About the only thing scary about getting the plasma for HIM, is the idea that he watches a lot of sports and I might have some concern about "responsible" use of a plasma to prevent burn in when he falls asleep watching ESPN or the like.
Likewise, the Sharp 60LE640 is on sale around here for around $1100, and I know it's a step down in picture quality, but it doesn't seem to have the massive picture failures that the Vizios do, plus burn in is pretty much a moot issue with it since it's an LED LCD. My biggest question would be would the Panasonic 60UT50($1299) plasma have a better picture than the Sharp 60LE640 despite the large amount of extra glare(TV will be going in to a room with windows in it on north and west sides)?
I know I'd rather it just be me, because I would have my mind made up, but it's harder sometimes when I have to think for other people that aren't in the "realm" of making knowledgeable decisions.
Should I just let him have his way with the less expensive and bigger Vizios at a possible risk or what other TVs should I strive for him to pursue that I'm not thinking about? I'm all ears.
