[JCS]

Ok, here is the deal. I have been a stereo junkie since high school - I had four or five systems before I left for college. For the last 10 or so years, the fetish has been dormant as I was "content" with the system I had. However, about a year ago my neighbor buys a new home theater system and invites me over to check it out. I was amazed by the sound and video quality from the DVD source. That was it, like a smoker having a single inhale, I was hooked again. Gradually I have been ramping up the quality of my system - you know how it goes - you buy a new amp, but then the speakers become the weak link in the system, so you buy new speakers (6 of them), but then the DVD player needs upgrading - the never ending upward spiral. Fortunately my wife has been tolerant, bemused, but tolerant. She enjoys all the electronic stuff, but doesn't understand why I "have to have" this or that, or why I spend half my waking hours reading about AV equipment. I am sure most of you can appreciate this situation.


Anyway, now I have my eyes on a plasma display - the Panasonic 42" (without HD). I work in Manhattan and have been to J&R, Circuit City and the Wiz about 10 times each in the last few weeks (no exaggeration)- Circuit City is right across the street from my office!


My problem is that I cannot bring myself to pull the trigger. My wife has given me the green light, but makes me feel guilty - do we really need it? aren't they still expensive, yada, yada, yada. Then of course I have developed my own concerns from reading this forum - buzzing noises, glare, burn-in, small children knocking it over, etc.


Therefore, I am turning to you, the similarly fanatic, to help me pull the trigger. Any words of encouragement you could give me are greatly appreciated.

 

[chucko]

I bought the very unit you're considering, and I've never regretted it. it's a great unit, at a great price.


Chucko

 

[sat_uplinker]

Sure, if you like the plasma look, go for it! Im a broadcast engineer and I think its the future of television. You can pair it with a computer and scale all your video sources to get the best picture you can on a panel. They are more versatile than RPTVs and CRT's. Its really a big computer display, and you can easily take advantage of a computer's processing power to improve your HT experience without spending a lot on other hardware.


Bob

 

[avsforum]

I too was faced with a similar problem and needed answers to these questions before I could make the decision. These are the answers that I got from various threads and from the FAQ page:


Kids: Use a wall mount instead of a stand so they can't knock it over.


Glare: Plasma's have glare, but panny's have the anti-reflection coating that helps. It is no worse than a CRT reflection. To neutralize the glare, you can tile the plasma (on a tilt mounting) a few degrees down. In the end, go to CCity in an illuminated area and look at it and make your own decision.


Burn-in: Plasma's require more attention to viewing habits than CRT's. Normal viewing habits will likley cause you burn in problems. Adjust your viewing habits as set forth on the FAQ page and you should not have burn-in problems (e.g., no black bar viewing, no video games or static images, use Panny white out feature, etc.).


Cost: Buy through Dell and you can get get the unit for about $3.5k.

 

[aleet2600]

JCS,


Hehehehehhe Deep down you know you are going to buy it. Come to the dark side. Hehehhehe


Seriously, it all depends on how happy it will make you and your family. Imagine impressing your friends with it? You are the first to have such a technology. I wish I could find out Plasma Display is not impossible to afford or I would have bought it long ago.


BTW, Dell has all Plasma on sale today. And darn, my credit limit has not been reset. I am going to buy Pio 503CMX. I was thinking of getting Panny 42"HD for the black level and lower price. But after I saw one 50" next to three 42", I said to myself, I gotta have the 50". Watching 42" is like watching CRT TV. Somehow, 50" gives me the feeling of "Wow" Later I also checked out 60" but that's too big. Too big in a sense that same number of pixels, all the aritfacts stand out too much.


Sorry got carried away. Hehehe Back to you. You want it, your wife said yes, what are you waiting for! Your post is just waiting for people to tell you to do it.

 

[merlinn]

JCS,


Well I too had trouble "pulling the trigger" but all I have to say is I am soooo glad I did. My whole family loves it. The best analogy I can thing of is comparing an oil lamp to a halogen bulb...


Just do it, you will be gad you did!!!!

 

[s236]

JCS, Next time your back to that store have them change the channel from HD to a SD channel and see if your happy with the picture quality because you'll be looking at a lot more SD then HD until more channels jump on the HDTV band wagon.


Tony

 

[srgilbert]

JCS, I demand that you remove the cameras from my house immediately. It's obvious from your post that you have been watching my home life and are passing it off as your own! Seriously, I could have written that exact same post myself! I did promise my wife that I would wait until after Christmas for my Panny SD though.

 

[zambaretzu]

It really is nice here on the dark side. Specifically, 3000 times darker than the light side.


Well, I'm getting my plasma tomorrow, and right when ordering it three weeks ago, I felt intense guilt for spending so much on a simple consumer item, after all, it's just a TV. But you know what? It's your hobby, your passion, and you know you want it. Just do what makes you happy, and you'll never regret it.

 

[Jim Scarbrough]

Just to make your decision harder...large screen LCD's are starting to appear and will probably replace plasma technology. They produce almost no heat, have a longer life expectancy, and are nearly immune to burn-in. Currently, they are only a little more expensive than plasmas, which is not bad for a new product type. As more large LCD's appear, it will be hard to resist the bargains that will appear on the plasma market in response to the threat.

 

[sanjiva]

I think the LCD technology for larger screens is still far behind when it comes to fast moving video. They may come out with 40"+ models with faster response time to depict videos clearly but that is at least 2-3 years away from becoming as prevalent as plasma technology is currenty and even then the prices would be very high, as it were for plasmas earlier.


Frankly, plasmas have become slightly affordable and a choice for more common consumers only after the prices have come down below $4000 and that took a while. LCD technology definitely has some advantages but for them to become a common consumer product, we are looking at a time horizon of at least 3 years if not more. For LCD to compete with plasma on both price and PQ perspective, especially price perspective, it may be beyond 3-4 years from now. Mind you, the plasma technology would also evolve with better blacks, connectivity, lesser burn in problems and bigger sizes. And pricing for plasmas would further go down making them good value for money in addition.


So, the bottomline is - Is it worth waiting for 3 years to let the market settle and then buy the "right" display. I doubt it.


Hence, for the value conscious consumers who want the best display at the least price (who does not, but I am talking about people who typically won't spend more than $3,000-4,000 on a TV), it is a tough choice deciding what to buy at present. However, IMO, for such consumers, it is probably the best to buy a 42" plasma now, enjoy it for 3-4 years, retire it to the bedroom and then look at plasma or LCD market at that point of time for the next ultimate display device. By then hopefully, most of the dust in the display devices technologies would have settled. At that time, the HD broadcast hopefully would be much more common and may be HD-DVD would take off and hence you could really appreciate the PQ on a 1920x1080 screen in 60" + sizes, be it plasma or LCD. And you may also not have to pay more than $6,000 for such a screen then.


In the meantime, relax and enjoy your plasma.


Cheers.

 

[cheridave]

Here you go Rogo, please be gentle!


DAve