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Follow Up On TV Querry For 2007 Purchase......

Hello Again All:

Remember a few months ago, I was inquiring about what would be the best TV to buy if I was buying a Plasma TV??? I was eyeing a Visio 42" Model at the time, and the consensous was that I should pony up and consider buying a Panasonic or a Toshiba (which I do not disagree with that assessment 100%).

Well People....... I'm still stuck (kind of).

Yesterday, after leaving my part-time job at a local shopping center in Prince Georges County, Maryland, I went to the new Circuit City that happens to be across the street from the mall I work at. I met a gentleman who seems to be QUITE knowledgeable about HDTV's in general, and he pretty much gave my ass a crash course on the difference between Plasma and LCD TV's. I am beginning to start saving up for the TV at the end of this month. Until yesterday, I was set to go with a Plasma as Plasmas as a whole seem to provide better blacks than an LCD model could ever dream of. But after looking at a Toshiba 42HL167 (a 1080p LCD set, mind you) hooked up to a Toshiba HD-A20 HD-DVD Player yesterday, I was stunned at the black level this set was producing, as well as the fast refresh rate this set was doing when it was doing a sports scene. This set was producing a picture that was close to any Plasma set that inside the store. If I didn't know any better myself, if I hadn't known that it was an LCD set yesterday, I would've said that had to be a Plasma set. The picture was so crisp, so sharp and so vivid, my jaw just dropped inside the store. After seeing that set, I also asked the saleman to show me the 720p variant (the Toshiba 42HL67) of the same set (so I can see if I can see enough of a difference to warrant paying an extra $400.00 for the 1080p version of this set (the 42HL167)), and quite frankly, I couldn't see that much of a difference off the bat. After looking at these sets yesterday, I still kind of want to go Plasma because of the quality of blacks they tend to produce. But after looking at these Toshiba LCD's yesterday, I'm starting to have second thoughts and starting to second guess myself.

I guess, the question I'm am getting at is are LCD as a class are really THAT good today (as far as picture quality, black level and fast refresh rates are concerned)??? Because these were the VERY things that LCD's took a lot a flack and criticism for in the past. Are the differences between LCD and Plasma really THAT narrow??? Because after looking at these two Toshibas yesterday, I am almost sold on the pictures these sets produce, and that's not to say that they're attractively priced to boot.

Any feedback on experiences between LCD and Plasma, as well as any opinions are appreciated in advance.

Thank you for your time.

--Charles--
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shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
I have both in 42" size. I still prefer the plasma. I would have bought plasma again but could not find a 1920 x 1080 pixels in a 42" size TV and I wanted something that would take proper advantage of Blu-ray.

I don't like mercury back light of the LCD's. I find it is slightly uneven across the screen and this is noticeable in a darkened room for movie watching. Also the contrast is still better on plasma's for night scenes or movies shot mainly with dark scenes, IMHO.

As Chadnliz says....neither is quite as good as a perfectly setup older Sony Wega XBR CRT HDTV...but the alignment on my Sony was a bit off in the corners and it also had a curve on the horizontal axis and it died after only six years (power supply) ....so I went LCD to replace it whilst staying with plasma in the kitchen.
elevick
2,636 posts
 
Do you plan on using a 1080 source all of the time? You may want to compare them in the store with your own dvd and maybe even a non high def local channel.
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dbphd
1,628 posts
 
My understanding is that LCDs use less power and weigh less than equivalent size plasmas, but they tend to be more expensive. The new upper end LCDs, e.g. 1080p Sony XBR, have excellent picture quality and high refresh rates. The new Pioneer Elite and Fujitsu plasmas look great as well. I too have an old well loved 36" Sony XBR CRT, and its black level may be superior to our two new Sony LCDs, but not the overall picture quality in my judgement.

I don't go to either Best Buy (not sure there is one in Santa Barbara) or Circuit City (heard they were closing the store) to look for a TV set. Making judgements about picture quality without knowledge of the signal being fed to the TV or how it is set up makes little sense to me. In my experience, mass marketers drive a zillion TVs from a single source and do a horrible job (if not right out of the box) of setting up their TVs. Specialty stores will usually match their prices model for model, but may not carry the lower end of a product line. Caveat emptor!

db
htnovice
13 posts
 
shadorn,
panasonic just came out with a model chek bestbuy.com its liek the 42px700u or something like that its 1080p and only 2300
goatwuss
877 posts
 
I would only buy a plasma. They look way better than LCDs to me, much more vivid colors and deeper blacks. Burn in is a non issue unless you are negligent.

With that being said, it is up to you of course.
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