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So here's the deal. I've been a diehard plasma guy for ages (for flat panels). I love my blacks. I still have a lovingly-calibrated 65" CRT-based RPTV in the living room, as an example.
I've had a low end Akai EDTV plasma in the bedroom for years that I've wanted to upgrade forever. It's holding me back.
Thing is, my wife doesn't give a fig about TV. She's happy with the Akai, but we want to upgrade to the new AppleTV (for NetFlix streaming mostly, else our existing ATV would be fine) and need at least 720 and HDMI for that.
I DO care. I really really want the Panny G25 plasma. But realistically, it's just not in the budget.
I've been eyeing the Panny TC-42PX24 at Costco for some time. It's plasma, which I prefer, but I just can't quite bring myself to pull the trigger on a set that's so barely HDTV, IMO. It's not even "really" 720p, since it's a 1024x768 panel (native res).
Today, Best Buy has both the Samsung LN40C500 and Sony KDL40EX400 panels on sale for a similar price to that bottom of the barrel Panny plasma. But both LCD's are true 1080p. And one thing I very much appreciate about LCD is the lower power consumption and utter no-burn-in worry aspects. (The wife is not great about remembering to turn the set off when she leaves the room, and often leaves it on pause or on menus for long stretches... although so far no burn-in issues with the current EDTV plasma.)
I've read the official thread on the Sony set, and am cautiously optimistic about being able to live with it, but I haven't found many mentions of the Sammy set. The Sony does have a lot more AV inputs, though, so that's a big point in it's favor. And I'm usually a fan of Sony in general, although I haven't looked too closely at their LCD lines, since I've been mostly a plasma fan, and have preferred a true 42" set.
Audio is utterly unimportant to me, since all audio is routed through my AV receiver. Viewing position is pretty much dead-on, so that's barely a blip on the radar, too.
Black levels are important to me, though, esp. since the bedroom in question is fairly dark. Non-glare isn't much of an issue since the windows are to the side and don't really produce a lot of glare.
We don't game (rarely, but never on this TV). We're not big on sports. We watch a lot of movies, though (DVD at the moment, ATV-streaming (DVD-quality stuff) and some day perhaps a BR), and my wife watches lots of TV. The channels she watches (DirecTV) are a mix of HD and a fair number of SD channels, too. I've toyed with some day setting something up to connect a dedicated computer to the TV.
I hate losing 2" of screen... going from 42" plasma to 40" LCD hurts my teeth, but perhaps I can live with it. There are a few advantages to LCD, of course (power consumption, burn-in, computer use), not to mention the higher native res makes them considerably more future-proofed.
Should I seriously hold off until I can afford the plasma of my dreams (Panny G25 or successor)? Or buy the bottom barrel plasma? Or should I cave to LCD and get one of these panels instead, now? And if so... which one?
Sorry for the long post.
I try to think of all relevant details I would want to know when giving someone technical advice...
Opinions very much appreciated.
I've had a low end Akai EDTV plasma in the bedroom for years that I've wanted to upgrade forever. It's holding me back.
Thing is, my wife doesn't give a fig about TV. She's happy with the Akai, but we want to upgrade to the new AppleTV (for NetFlix streaming mostly, else our existing ATV would be fine) and need at least 720 and HDMI for that.
I DO care. I really really want the Panny G25 plasma. But realistically, it's just not in the budget.
I've been eyeing the Panny TC-42PX24 at Costco for some time. It's plasma, which I prefer, but I just can't quite bring myself to pull the trigger on a set that's so barely HDTV, IMO. It's not even "really" 720p, since it's a 1024x768 panel (native res).
Today, Best Buy has both the Samsung LN40C500 and Sony KDL40EX400 panels on sale for a similar price to that bottom of the barrel Panny plasma. But both LCD's are true 1080p. And one thing I very much appreciate about LCD is the lower power consumption and utter no-burn-in worry aspects. (The wife is not great about remembering to turn the set off when she leaves the room, and often leaves it on pause or on menus for long stretches... although so far no burn-in issues with the current EDTV plasma.)
I've read the official thread on the Sony set, and am cautiously optimistic about being able to live with it, but I haven't found many mentions of the Sammy set. The Sony does have a lot more AV inputs, though, so that's a big point in it's favor. And I'm usually a fan of Sony in general, although I haven't looked too closely at their LCD lines, since I've been mostly a plasma fan, and have preferred a true 42" set.
Audio is utterly unimportant to me, since all audio is routed through my AV receiver. Viewing position is pretty much dead-on, so that's barely a blip on the radar, too.
Black levels are important to me, though, esp. since the bedroom in question is fairly dark. Non-glare isn't much of an issue since the windows are to the side and don't really produce a lot of glare.
We don't game (rarely, but never on this TV). We're not big on sports. We watch a lot of movies, though (DVD at the moment, ATV-streaming (DVD-quality stuff) and some day perhaps a BR), and my wife watches lots of TV. The channels she watches (DirecTV) are a mix of HD and a fair number of SD channels, too. I've toyed with some day setting something up to connect a dedicated computer to the TV.
I hate losing 2" of screen... going from 42" plasma to 40" LCD hurts my teeth, but perhaps I can live with it. There are a few advantages to LCD, of course (power consumption, burn-in, computer use), not to mention the higher native res makes them considerably more future-proofed.
Should I seriously hold off until I can afford the plasma of my dreams (Panny G25 or successor)? Or buy the bottom barrel plasma? Or should I cave to LCD and get one of these panels instead, now? And if so... which one?
Sorry for the long post.

Opinions very much appreciated.
