Need a new TV...

[Strangletooth]

Just as it says, 50+" Plasma, LED, LCD what are the pros and cons, anyone with any hardcore/professional experience?

I've had a 42" Plasma Pioneer Elite for about 8 years in the bedroom and it's awesome and just like the day I brought it home, but the old rear projector in the family room has to go!!! it's a 65" HD Hitachi and it still has a great pic, but I'm tired of that old monster! So it will be a gamer for the kids till it dies!

What to buy? Where to buy? Whatcha got fellas?

Thanx in advance!

[Bert]

I recommend going to Costco and picking up the Sony "motion flow" (120hz) 50" .... I can't remember the model #, but they are basically the same as the Sony XBR models minus a few useless features so Costco can sell them cheaper. they are still expensive, and I generally hate Sony, but after looking at dozens of brands nothing else came close in picture quality, especially if you're into Blu Ray. Costco also doubles the warranty, which is cool.

[LouSiffer]

Well, I would stay away from plasma if its going to be a gamer TV. Plasmas don't burn in as bad as they used to, but, they still do burn. Plasmas do have a better picture in my opinion and they are more vibrant looking.

An LCD flat panel works well and if it burns in, just put it on a white screen for about a minute or so and it is fixed.

Everyone says to go with Sony, but, I think the Samsungs have a better screen to my eyes.

My main TV is a 56" JVC 1080P LCD projector. It was sitting in the mix with the Sony's, Hitachis, Magnavox's and it had a much better picture and was a lot less.

I use a 32" flat panel Phillips for my gaming/PC. It was great when I first got it 3 years ago, but, you can get them bigger with better contrast ratios and finer pixelation for less money than I gave for this one, nowadays.

Of course, I haven't looked at TVs lately so maybe someone who has can give more input. -Lou

[Hellbat]

When I was going to a small mom and pop store that does 90% of their business repairing all makes of TV's, I spoke to the head technician and he said the LCD TV's he saw the fewest of for repairs were Toshiba and to my surprise LG. I got a 52" toshiba 1080P 120Hz model after he told me that.

I liked the picture quality and features the best too out of all the others in it's price range. It's been rock solid for over a year now with 6 hours use a day.

For plasmas he said Pioneer was the best brand as far as defect rates and repair costs but I wasn't interested in the plasma because I have a PS3 and XBox 360 running through it.

[Endrik]

Last month went through many huge stores and warehouses... when it came to picture quality LG beat them all (the usual, normal priced brands). The overall quality for big screen TV's have drastically improved over a couple of years. A few years ago I didn't want them because movies looked like shit no matter how much the TV cost. But now I'm considering buying a big screen TV. And to my surprise LG had the best colors and definition.

[Strangletooth]

Thanx guys! As for games, it will be used for games, but at the most, 6-10 hrs a week, I wouldn't guess any longer than that.

I've always been partial to plasma, and the family room isn't real bright, no direct sun, they are a lot heavier, etc. I can sit here and read review sites till I'm blue in the face, but I guess I need to get out and look. I guess it's going to come down to product history and lifespan.

If anyone has any more info, I'd certainly appreciate it, I'll snag one up next week sometime.

Thanx again!

[OnlineStageGear]

Just make sure you get a 1080P 120Hz or better since they are still making new 720 Plasma's.

[DonP]

I'm for reliability. If I spend a grand or two on a TV, I don't want to be buying a new one in a few years.

[jcs21]

Check out the Panasonic P54V10 or wait until the P58V10 or P65V10 come out. Or pick up a Pioneer Kuro PRO-151FD or PRO-111FD. I'm not sure of your budget but the KUROs are near top of the line plasmas.

[Musician78]

I'm for reliability. If I spend a grand or two on a TV, I don't want to be buying a new one in a few years.

Man... I don't like tv enough to pay 399 let alone a couple grand.

[wilkinsi]

Being as I work for a technical helpline, I would suggest avoiding the plasma's (usually have a green screen or green blob on screen) and OHP type TV's (screensavers burn logos into the screen).

[Soap]

May I suggest a color wooden floor model era 1978ish.
Those TV's were massively large for wooden floor models.
Remember? K-Mart and Sears walking through the television department?
The wow factor, when walking through the dark section with all the TV's on and admiring which looked better and had the better picture.

Get whatever you want bro.
Any of them today are worth having.
Its all about the longevity and the warranty anymore.
Features are about the same, the quality of the picture with the exception of some, they all are pretty good. Features? Sky is the limit really.
Even the very basic model has most features that many households will ever need.
Don't think too much about it, just get one and you'll be happy.

[442w30]

Look for an RJ45 port on the back - and support for DLNA.
I am having a blast right now with my netflix ondemand queue and a PS3 connected to a computer running "playon" by themedimall.com
$15.95 a month for netflix and a one time purchase of playon for 39.95 and you can watch CBS, HULU, and your netflix movies live. It's not high def stuff, but it's 1/6th the price of cable and you can fast forward.

Watching all of the Alfred Hitchcock shows, the outer limits, twilight zone, cheech and chong and then flip over to NFL Network on directv for some good HDTV!

Anyway, magic words nowadays are DLNA, 120Hz, 1080P.

Ooh - HULU has the movie "Black Sabbath" on ! I never saw it before! Go check it out. Playon is free for 2 weeks on trial and works with the Wii, PS3, and Xbox360 if you don't have a tv with DLNA.

[Jayster]

Everyone says to go with Sony, but, I think the Samsungs have a better screen to my eyes.

I don't really watch that much tv, but my wife does. So we had bought a samsung (blah blah blah) and it crapped out within 6 mos. ~ best buy told us they would not help or replace it, so we contacted samsung and they sent out one of their techs the next day. He determined that it would be better to replace than to fix, long of the short; We got a brand new tv (free replacement from samsung). I will remember that when I buy my next TV.

Their customer service was polite, expedient and standing behind their product: qualities I remember as a consumer!

[Spivonious]

It seems that plasmas are on the way out (they're expensive to make small, can burn-in, and use a ton of electricity).

I'd pay the premium to get an LED-backlit LCD screen. The colors and brightness will be much more even compared to an older flourescent backlit screen.

If size is important, then I'd forget about LCD and plasma and go with DLP. It's not the best picture quality, but you can get name brand 72" screens for under $3k.