I am planning on getting a HDTV, and have been doing a ton of research the past few weeks (the gf made a comment today she wished she was a HDTV so she would get that kind of attention for weeks on end ). I am going to be using it mainly to watch movies/tv shows off my HTPC/server and then on occasion some gaming maybe (my gaming rig can run 1080p+ res). I have narrowed it down to 4 models all 46-50 inch: Sony XBR4/5 (46 inch), Sammy 71 series (46 inch), Sharp Aquos (46 inch), or the Pioneer Kuro (50 inch).
Currently I have it ranked as:
Sony KDL-46XBR5
Pioneer Kuro 5080
Sharp LC-46D64U
Sammy LN-T4671
I like the sammy picture the most, however the glossy screen I am worried won't work in the living room as I have windows behind the couch and on the side (they have curtains but even so, there can be a decent amount of light that gets in). The Sony I like the best as far as non-glossy screens, however is much more expensive then the other three. The Pioneer Kuro is nice, but the issue is that its only 720p and being hooked up to a PC I am a bit worried about the res (I have a Dell 2407 running at 1920x1280 i.e. basically 1080p). Finally the Sharp I have yet to see in person, but it seems from price/specs that it will be what I end up getting (I also enjoy how thin the panel is). I wont put prices in here, however for reference the Sharp is least, followed by Kuro, Sammy, and Sony in that order (and the Sony is about $1300 more then the Sharp).
I am having problems figuring out which I will get because each has a big issue with it preventing me from settling on one. Since this is my first HDTV purchase I am not sure if I am worring about things that wont even matter (like 720p vs 1080p, which the only reason I care is for PC useage so you WILL notice the difference). Any thoughts/suggestions would be helpful.
PS. I have done extensive searching on these (and other) forums and review sites, before I get told to do searches (I have done numerous for each model).
Currently I have it ranked as:
Sony KDL-46XBR5
Pioneer Kuro 5080
Sharp LC-46D64U
Sammy LN-T4671
I like the sammy picture the most, however the glossy screen I am worried won't work in the living room as I have windows behind the couch and on the side (they have curtains but even so, there can be a decent amount of light that gets in). The Sony I like the best as far as non-glossy screens, however is much more expensive then the other three. The Pioneer Kuro is nice, but the issue is that its only 720p and being hooked up to a PC I am a bit worried about the res (I have a Dell 2407 running at 1920x1280 i.e. basically 1080p). Finally the Sharp I have yet to see in person, but it seems from price/specs that it will be what I end up getting (I also enjoy how thin the panel is). I wont put prices in here, however for reference the Sharp is least, followed by Kuro, Sammy, and Sony in that order (and the Sony is about $1300 more then the Sharp).
I am having problems figuring out which I will get because each has a big issue with it preventing me from settling on one. Since this is my first HDTV purchase I am not sure if I am worring about things that wont even matter (like 720p vs 1080p, which the only reason I care is for PC useage so you WILL notice the difference). Any thoughts/suggestions would be helpful.
PS. I have done extensive searching on these (and other) forums and review sites, before I get told to do searches (I have done numerous for each model).
