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Old 04-08-2006, 09:51 PM   #1
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Plasma Tvs

I was looking out shopping today and it hit me that I need a bigger TV. I noticed that plasma TVs have come down in price some since I was last looking at them. I was if anyone has had any type of expierence owning/watching plasma TVs that would like to let me know before I buy one. Do not fear as I will use hdmi and component cabling when I hook up my DVD player,HDTV receiver etc. I will shop around for a couple more weeks but I would like it within a month. Does anyone know of any good plasma TV forums?

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Old 04-09-2006, 02:55 AM   #2
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I was never really able to find one while searching for mine. I just started comparing contrast ratios, reviews, etc. and settled on a DELL 42'' plasma due to features, a friend who has one and loves it, and the incredibly low price.

The 10,000:1 contrast ratio is what did it for me when going out to compare them.
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Old 04-09-2006, 05:28 AM   #3
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This should be in the lounge not general discussions.

Regardless, I have a LG 42" Plasma and can answer pretty well any questions you have cause I'm very HDTV savvy now with all my setup etc.. It's really quite impressive now.

The site I got most of my info from is a Canadian site, but has really good info and explanations on it for many things you will want to know.

http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forum/index.php?

And their FAQ section which is really good:

http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forum/index.php?

And ignore anybody who tells you about screen burn, it simply does not exist on newer plasma TV's at all. I payed video games with static images on the screen for 8-10+ hours solid and nothing screen burned on my TV. (I was in a pretty bad motorcycle accident near the end of the year and could do nothing but sit at home over the winter. I dumped my bike racing at the track doing 126mph, completly destroyed my tibia bone in my leg and lost a lot of skin from my suit ripping open. buttttt that's another story.)
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Old 04-09-2006, 06:20 AM   #4
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TONS of useful and reliable info in the avs forums.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=40

i would recommend a panasonic, but there's plenty of good manufacturers.

best prices (and tax-free too) are internet order from one of their many sponsors. do not fear -- they use special freight delivery to ensure no damage.

good luck.
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Old 04-09-2006, 06:24 AM   #5
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Two things I want to mention. First and most important make sure you get an HD unit and not an ED unit! The less expensive plasma models usually are EDTV instead of HDTV. The other thing is to look into LCD units. Depending on the size you may prefer to get an LCD unit, as they are less sensitive to abuse. If you do decide to get an LCD unit you should look at MicroCenter. They have the best price LCD units anywhere.

The avsforum mentioned below is great. Also, when you shop for plasma realize that speakers and tuners are extra on some models so be careful
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Old 04-09-2006, 08:50 AM   #6
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i'm surprised nobody has mentioned the idea of going with a DLP. i was very impressed with the new 1080p . . . i suggest you read up on DLP's on the avs forum.
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Old 04-09-2006, 09:30 AM   #7
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agreed. i think DLP looks better, especially on regular non HDTV, than the 'affordable' plasmas. the only plasmas that truly outshine DLP or high end LCD (in my opinion) are still $10K +.
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Old 04-10-2006, 05:00 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ljd-924se
i'm surprised nobody has mentioned the idea of going with a DLP. i was very impressed with the new 1080p . . . i suggest you read up on DLP's on the avs forum.
I've had a DLP TV for a while now. Make sure when you're shopping for them that you can't see any "rainbow" or gradient type effect in the colors.. Some people can, some people can't. If you can, once you notice it you can't un-notice it.

LCD projection doesn't rainbow, FYI.

Personally, unless I didn't care about the cost, or had the requirement to hang it on the wall, I'd go with projection. You'll save a huge amount of money for very little detriment in picture quality. When I was shopping for mine I didn't think any of the sub-$5000 plasmas really looked good enough to justify their cost.
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Old 04-10-2006, 05:29 AM   #9
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I have both a Plasma and a DLP TV. The decision on the best direction to go really depends on the size and the space you want to put it in. My DLP is 61" and I don't think they even make a Plasma that size, or it would be cost prohibitive if they did. Picture quality is pretty good, excellent for DVDs and HD programming but not that good for a standard analog cable signal. The best bang for the buck for Plasma is Panasonic. We have a 37" Panasonic hanging on the bedroom wall, looks great. I think it looks better than the DLP but it is also smaller so that is an advantage for picture quality. Also has the built in tuner etc.. so no need for the cable box.

I think CNET (cnet.com) has excellent reviews on televisions and explanations on how the technologies differ.

Good Luck!
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Old 04-10-2006, 12:44 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rteichman
Two things I want to mention. First and most important make sure you get an HD unit and not an ED unit! The less expensive plasma models usually are EDTV instead of HDTV. The other thing is to look into LCD units. Depending on the size you may prefer to get an LCD unit, as they are less sensitive to abuse. If you do decide to get an LCD unit you should look at MicroCenter. They have the best price LCD units anywhere.

The avsforum mentioned below is great. Also, when you shop for plasma realize that speakers and tuners are extra on some models so be careful
Funny thing is that this is largly untrue, but people think that the HD tv's are better overall. Well currently they are not. There's a few reasons for this.

All Plasma TV's have a native resolution. ED is 852 X 480 (or something along that line) and HD is 1024 x 765. They picture is always upconverted or down converted to the displays native resolution. So typically what you see on HD tv is is 480P which is 852x480. So your HDTV is upconverting the signal, but that doesn't make it better, because the picture is only as good as the source. So in that scenario the EDTV displays better as the source is in it's native resolution not being upconverted to HD resolution needlessly by the TV's engine.

DVD's are all 480p so again they are up converted needlessly. When BlueRay comes in that will be 1080i which will be the native resolution of your HDTV and you will see the difference then. As of now there are no cheap Blue ray systems out there and they won't be the standard for a long time.

Eventually all HDTV will be real HD resolution, but that wont be for a few years yet, maybe 5 or so.

http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5137915-1.html

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