Moderators Youthman Posted September 22, 2008 Moderators Share Posted September 22, 2008 I'm considering starting out with an LCD or Plasma (probably 50") in my theater room, then later saving up for a projector and screen and have a motorized screen that will drop down in front of the LCD or Plasma so that we can use the tv for majority of the time and the screen for DVD's. Just wanted to get some feedback from those who are using an LCD, Plasma or Projection unit in their HT. What model are you using? What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it? Circuit City has this Samsung 50" Plasma on sale for $1500.00. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White_Hawk Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 A) get plasma =) the pq is just better! (better blacks, no motion blur...) (unless you have an obscenely bright room...) http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9996541-1.html tidbit on lcd vs plasmas I have a Panasonic 50pz800u, I love the colors, the depth of the black, and watching football has never been better. Dislikes? None really. Its a little heavier than comparable LCDs and has a higher power consumption, but I wouldn't trade because the pq isn't there in the LCDs. This set got cnets "best overall picture quality: http://reviews.cnet.com/best-hdtvs/ I researched different sets for 60+ hours and settled on this set. I've only had it a couple weeks but it is fabulous. Unless you can afford the Pioneer Kuro Elite like the EAR, this set is probably your best bet =) Its really nice to finally have a picture that matches the sound I have! I picked mine up from Abes of Maine online for ~$1900 with free s&h + a wall mount and no tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Ditto: Plasma over LCD IMHO. Although we use a Sharp DLP front projector in our main theater, we use a 50" Panasonic TH-50PZ700U (1080p) in our living room and absolutley love it! No regrets, no down-side; just outstanding performance and a quality picture at an affordable price. We bought ours at Sears (of all places) last November for less than anyone else offered it! Check Sears for exclusive sales and specials; they sell most of the major brands. -Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 23, 2008 Author Moderators Share Posted September 23, 2008 Thanks guys, that's exactly what I'm looking for. Keep them coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Panny plasma. AVS has hundreds of pages of people discussing various models & brands. I signed up so I could do some searching but i'm not up to posting over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliss53 Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Buddy of mine got a 50" panny plasma at costco for $1,400. It looks very good. Front projection is not that expensive if you have a room that you use at night or that you can control the light with blinds. There are some 720p projectors that do a great job with HD for around $700. If you are handy there are great screens for under $200. I have done two diy screens (one formica and one sonically transparent) and it is pretty easy. http://www.projectorcentral.com/diy_screen.htm I had an Optoma HD70 that was a bargan for the quality it produced on a 100" screen. I replaced it with an older runco cl710lt (720p) and the electronics upgrade provides a improvement in blacks, color saturation and image stability. The difference was not huge, the optoma was pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Sony KDF-50E 2000, 720 RP 50" DLP. For us was the best way to go. The life of the a display is measured in how long it takes the image to get to 1/2 the brightness of new, with a plasma this is a one way down hill curve. With a DLP, you replace the bulb and you have a "new" set again. I did the numbers and I can replace the bulb 5 times for the difference in price, thus we have a new set 5 times in the same time a plasma only gets one life. I have watched a lot of HD content on this set as it is about a year and a half old and I have yet to see any issues with the DLP projector in the set. I also have a DLP in the projector in the HT and that image is 120" with no problems of artifacts or screen door or ....etc. Our set tends to get left on a lot so the new set 5 times was the way to go EDIT: This thread has got me thinking that I needed to replace our bulb (4000 to 8000 hour life) so I went on line and checked for them. The price has dropped to $125 down from the $200 it was when I was looking at displays the first time, this makes a RP DLP EVEN BETTER of a deal for us! WHO HO, I am ordering a new bulb as soon as I post this, Look out home, a "new" tv is comming soon! [][] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bliss53 Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 I agree with the plasma info. I have a sony 37" plasma that is about 4 years old and it still looks good but it is darker overall. Just like a fluorescent bulb... they tend to dull over time. It still hurts to think what i paid for it 4 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Plasma is definitely the best. I have a 50 inch Panasonic Professional model plasma TH-50PH9UK, the Panasonic Professional models are my favorite for many reasons. The Panasonic Pro models are monitors which are best suited for home theater, they have no built in speakers (you will be using your own high end surround sound system not cheap built in speakers), the Pro models also have no built in tuner ( Perfect for use with a cablebox / satelitebox or DVR). The Pro models have a sleek bezel frame one of the most attractive for home theaters with a very thin frame that looks great, the Pro models have Panasonics best picture quality a better picture than the consumer models and also more adjustment control to fine tune the picture. The Panasonic Pro models also are one of the most reliable dependable plasma displays built and have double the warranty of the consumer models 2 years warranty instead of 1 year. I have owned my display almost 2 years and still have not seen another I would trade mine for. Also when I bought mine Panasonic had a special offer 5 year free warranty on their professional models. Here is a link to Panasonic Professional model website: http://www.panasonic.com/business/plasma/plasmas.asp One of the best places to buy is Visual Apex great prices and one of the best reputations around http://www.visualapex.com/plasma/plasmamfr.asp?MFR=Panasonic-Plasma-TV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I have the Samsung LN-T4081F Its an LED LCD, think thousands of small led that are behind the screen each capable of turning off individually. So the dynamic contrast ratio is 500,000 to 1, yes that is not a typo. I like this as I use it as a tv and computer monitor so I am not worried about burnin for computer use. Its nice but the dislikes are that the bezel is wide like an extra 4 inches on the side, also it bleeds, like say a black screen with the actors starring names the thing will have a bit halo likeness. Also its a discontinued model which is why I brought it cause it used to be 3000 dollars flagship lcd for samsung but now its affordable and still better than its similar price range lcds. ITs 60 hertz though I can see no noticeable blur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White_Hawk Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 The newer pannys have a dynamic of 1,000,000:1 =) Dynamic is a silly measurement though, native gives a much, much better idea of what the set is capable of. As far as the DLP sets go - they have a beautiful picture as well, but in those 5 replacements he is going to watch it go to 1/2 brightness 5 times, and the replacement may be a bit of a hassle. Also, when you sit to the side (viewing angle changes) DLPs tend to lose brightness very quickly - but in the "sweet spot" they are sweet =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Unless you are set on a flat screen, rear projection still offers more cluck for the buck, imho. We bought a 60" Sony rp back in January of this year and love it. Like has been said, when the bulb goes, you buy a new one and you have a like-new picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 24, 2008 Author Moderators Share Posted September 24, 2008 True, you can get a better value on a Rear Projection DLP but do they produce the same quality you can get from a plasma? (Note, that is a question, not a comment against what you are suggesting). I'm in learning mode right now since I haven't ever really looked at TV's. I still am using a 32" CRT. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 No, I had a rear projection before I had my plasma. There is no comparison plasma is the best available by far. The prices of plasma displays have come so far down the Panasonic plasma display you can buy today for less than $1,500 is better than the plasma display that was over $10,000 5 years ago. Plasma is far superior to LCD or rear projection. I highly recommend a Panasonic Professional model plasma, the picture quality is one of the very best available and the price is very reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 25, 2008 Author Moderators Share Posted September 25, 2008 I would like to stay around $1500 or less for the plasma. Was wanting to get a 1080p but with that price, I can only get the Panasonic TH-50PH11UK in the Panny Pro's which is 720. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I would recommend either the Panasonic TH-50PH11UK or TH-50PH10UKA, the TH-50PH10UKA is still available and can be found for just under $1,200. Don't worry about 1080p either of these displays are still one of the best picture qualities you will find. To be honest the 1080p "PF" versions of these models is not worth the price increase and these 768p displays look better than the 1080p competition. Blu-ray on these 768p Panasonic professional displays looks amazing, and they also look and work great with a computer, the Panasonic pro models are probably the very best plasma display available to use with a computer. I own the TH-50PH9UK, I have owned it for almost 2 years and I have not seen another display I would trade mine for (not even at 4 times the price I paid). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 True, you can get a better value on a Rear Projection DLP but do they produce the same quality you can get from a plasma? (Note, that is a question, not a comment against what you are suggesting). I'm in learning mode right now since I haven't ever really looked at TV's. I still am using a 32" CRT. LOL. I think everyone has to judge for themselves on the issue of relative picture quality. I've seen excellent pictures from plasma, lcd and rear projection. Personally, I think lcd has the best detail, while plasma looks the most film-like. I find the better rear pro's to be a compromise between the two, with the added incentive of giving you more screen size per dollar. The best thing to do (of course!) is look at them side by side, if you can. The big negative with plasma, to me, is the potential for phosphor burn. I think the life expectancy is probably good enough now to not be a real issue. And if you go beyond 50", hang on to your wallet! LCD's are still awfully high too, once you get over 40" or so. And motion blur can still be a problem, but I think it's getting better; especially with 120Hz refresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted September 25, 2008 Author Moderators Share Posted September 25, 2008 The big negative with plasma, to me, is the potential for phosphor burn. I think the life expectancy is probably good enough now to not be a real issue. And if you go beyond 50", hang on to your wallet! From what I have read, this was a problem with early Plasmas but is not an issue anymore? Is that correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich_Guy Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 From what I have read, this was a problem with early Plasmas but is not an issue anymore? Is that correct? That is correct, burn-in is no longer a problem with Panasonic plasma displays, at the worst you will only experience almost unnoticeable momentary image retention when no picture is present (the human eye even has momentary image retention). The current plasma display has a life expectancy longer than any TV ever has had in the past with 60,000 and 100,000 hours of half life brightness. The Panasonic professional models are one of the most reliable displays ever made, this is one reason Panasonic offered a special free 5 year (in home) warranty direct from Panasonic at the time I bought mine. Panasonic has doubled the std warranty on the professional models from 1 year to 2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzorn Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I have a 50" 1080P Panasonic Plasma. Bought it a little over a year ago. You'd kill me if you heard how cheap I got it for. I love it, and would buy another one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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