"Professional" or "Commerical" Display Monitors

Cw,

OK, by highly popular, I mean among the "informed". You are correct, these commercial versions are not generally available in you local B&M stores.

For lots on forum information on commercial plasmas, check the display forum at www.AVSforum.com. They are THE videophile geek forum on the net.

Now, about table stands, I'm not talking about something that you sit the TV on. Commercial Plasmas do not have any "feet". They are made to be wall mounted, or you must buy an optional "table top" stand that connects to the TV to give it some legs to stand on.

Another thing is that some commercial plasmas do not actually have built in HDMI connections. You must buy and install a "blade" (add-on card) to get HDMI.

As far as models to research, here are some popular one:

Panasonic TH-37PWD8K (37" EDTV/852X480 resolution)
Panasonic TH-37PHD8K (37" HDTV/1024X720 resolution)
Panasonic TH-42PWD8K (42" EDTV)
Panasonic TH-42PHD8K (42" HDTV)
Panasonic TH-50PWD8K (50" HDTV)
Panasonic TH-65PHD8K (65" HDTV)

There are also commercial models of NEC, Pioneer, Sony and Samsung TVs. They are similar in function to the Panasonics listed above.

Here is how I would find models. Go to http://www.pricescan.com/electronics/03010105.asp?displaytyp=plasma and check the manufacturers that interest you. Each page has a thumbnail photo of the TVs. It is fairly obvious which ones do not include speakers.

They Pannys are probably the most popular commercial plasmas, but they others have their fans too.

Enjoy,

TIC

I went with the Professional model Panasonic 42" EDTV model, and have been extremely pleased with it. Make sure it has the inputs you need, or purchase the add-on boards to satisfy your current and future needs. Each year when the new models come out, the add-on boards are not necessarily compatible with older models. I know that my unit which is only 3 years old cannot take any HDMI boards that were released after after that model year.

Since I get all my programming via a cable box or DVD player, I also appreciated not having to pay for an onboard tuner. The professional models do have some amplification for optional speakers.

Does anyone know if this type of monitor only device might also be available in small sizes of < 15"?

Industrial pannys are a good way to go. Pioneer doesn't introduce their technology breakthroughs in their commercial displays til later. Panasonic introduces them right off. So you can get a 65 inch 1080P Panny industrial this year whereas there arent any industrial 1080Ps on the horizon at all. Just got back from CES and asked all of these questions.

One retailer for industrial Panasonic plasmas is visualapex.com.

Be careful on purchasing a commercial or professional model Panasonic Plasma. If something goes wrong with the unit, you will have to transport the plasma to a local service center of Panasonic's choice. There is NO in-home service like with their consumer models. I found out this fact after I had already purchased a Panasonic commercial plasma TH-42PHD8K.