 OT: buying a plasma/flat screen, any ideas on the best one? |
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| meares |
 Nov 14 2005, 07:30 AM
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#1
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Member  Group: Members Posts: 403 Joined: 23-March 05 From: Atlanta Member No.: 3,800  |
i'm about to buy a plasma...i'm doing some research, but wanted know of any personal exper. in your purchases...which ones to buy/stay away from.....
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Replies(1 - 19)
| MJHanna |
Nov 14 2005, 07:55 AM
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#2
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Does this 911 make my butt look big? Group: Members Posts: 806 Joined: 23-January 03 From: Lowry Crossing, Texas Member No.: 185 |
do you really want a plasma? have you looked at DLP? I could not stand to buy a plasma knowing their life span is about 8 -10 and when they go bad you just throw it way. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/ohmy.gif)
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| meares |
Nov 14 2005, 07:59 AM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 403 Joined: 23-March 05 From: Atlanta Member No.: 3,800 |
oh...see it's stuff like that, that i don't know...thanks
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| carr914 |
Nov 14 2005, 08:55 AM
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#4
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Racer from Birth Group: Members Posts: 124,877 Joined: 2-February 04 From: Tampa,FL Member No.: 1,623 Region Association: South East States  |
I'm in the hunt as well. From what I've learned, Plasma 8-10 years, LCD 10-12 years. I've decided against DLP as there seems to be a visablity problem from angles. I'm leaning towards Philips LCD.
T.C. |
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| MJHanna |
Nov 14 2005, 09:15 AM
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#5
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Does this 911 make my butt look big? Group: Members Posts: 806 Joined: 23-January 03 From: Lowry Crossing, Texas Member No.: 185 |
I guess it depends on the size of the room regarding off axis viewing on a DPL.. I don't have that issue in the room I keep mine. Other benfit is when the bulb goes out it is user replaceable. The tv I replaced was a gun rear screen.. I though I was going to have that TV for a long time... right up until one of the guns leaked on to one of the boards..... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/ohmy.gif) so I was concerned bout life span....
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| MJHanna |
Nov 14 2005, 09:23 AM
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#6
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Does this 911 make my butt look big? Group: Members Posts: 806 Joined: 23-January 03 From: Lowry Crossing, Texas Member No.: 185 |
http://pub1.ezboard.com/bdigitaltelevisionhdtvforum
good info on this site (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) |
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| Richard Casto |
Nov 14 2005, 09:33 AM
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#7
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Blue Sky Motorsports, LLC Group: Members Posts: 1,465 Joined: 2-August 05 From: Durham, NC Member No.: 4,523 Region Association: South East States |
I have been casually followed flat panel stuff, but am not as up on it as a serious shopper would be. Plasma vs. LCD is an interesting decision right now. It used to be that the price premium for an LCD made it hard to not buy a Plasma. Many people are concerned about the lifespan of the Plasma and potential for image burn in. A previous line of thought was to just buy a nice Plasma now (and save many thousands of dollars that you would have spent on an LCD of the same size). Use the Plasma for as long as it lasts, then when it dies, take whatever you saved from your original purchase and then buy some type of next gen LCD that should be cheap at that point.
But, the prices for LCDs have been dropping pretty quickly and unless you want something larger than about 40 inches, the LCDs are attractive at this point. Especially as they are HD and not ED models. I am not a fan of rear projection units. I have a CRT rear projection right now and I will never do CRT again and I probably will not ever do any type of projection in general (rear or regular projector). So for me, DLP and LCD projectors are out of the question so I am not as well read on those. Rear projectors ARE cheaper for a given screen size however. Regarding brands, many people are fans of the Panasonic Plasmas and currently the Sharp LCDs have a large following. There are plenty of others that people are happy with. If you are considering an off brand or specific model (such as found at places like Walmart, Cosco, Sams Club, etc.), I would research it. Many of these use panels that are built by some of the bigger manufactures, but will have skimped somewhere else (type and number of tuners, number and types of video inputs, response time of the panels, speakers, etc.) to achieve the lower price point. You generally get what you pay for, but you sometimes pay for a name and sometimes good deals can be found in the off brands (but not always). I would suggest reading up here… http://www.avsforum.com/ http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/ (second link is directly into the forum area) They have a flat panel display area that is pretty active. There are lots of “What 32” LCD should I buy” or “I have $2000 t spend, what should I buy” types of threads. Good luck! |
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| seanery |
Nov 14 2005, 09:43 AM
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#8
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waiting to rebuild whitey! Group: Retired Admin Posts: 15,854 Joined: 7-January 03 From: Indy Member No.: 100 Region Association: None |
I'm a big fan of SONY products, BUT if you want LCD the Sharp AQUOS 45" line offers the best specs. The 45" (and 65" coming soon) offer 1920 x 1080 resolution - which is FULL 1080i/1080p resolution. This is HDTV as it's meant to be. Almost every other panel is 1366x768 or similar resolution. That's ok, but it's not the best res for HDTV. It will show you 720p resolutions 1:1 but 1080i/1080p HDTV will be down scaled to fit. These aren't cheap panels, but they really are the best choice for an HDTV panel at the moment.
When I move back to LA, I plan on putting a 45" on the new boat. Sharp AQUOS |
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| Jeffs9146 |
Nov 14 2005, 09:50 AM
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#9
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Ski Bum Group: Members Posts: 4,062 Joined: 10-January 03 From: Discovery Bay, Ca Member No.: 128 |
This is what I have heard. Over the past year or two the plasmas have been getting better.
I bought a Panasonic 50" (see photo below) Plasma Life expectancy Jeff Attached image(s) 
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| iamchappy |
Nov 14 2005, 10:08 AM
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#10
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It all happens so fast! Group: Members Posts: 4,893 Joined: 5-November 03 From: minnetonka, mn Member No.: 1,315 Region Association: Upper MidWest |
Depending on what it is used for and if you are able to control the darkening of the room consider a projector. I choose the projector and find it is way more pleasing to view than any tv i have seen. The plasma's and lcd are great if you enjoy tv viewing, if you enjoy movies or the experience of film like quality take a look at the projectors. HDTV on a projector watching football or the world series on a wall sized screen is awesome. I plan on replacing some of the tvs in my house with 26" plasma or lcd flat screens but they could never replace or come close to the quality picture i get from my projector in a darkened room.
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| iamchappy |
Nov 14 2005, 10:14 AM
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#11
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It all happens so fast! Group: Members Posts: 4,893 Joined: 5-November 03 From: minnetonka, mn Member No.: 1,315 Region Association: Upper MidWest |
Here is a picture of my projector setup with the screen up.
Attached image(s) 
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| Katmanken |
Nov 14 2005, 10:54 AM
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#12
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You haven't seen me if anybody asks... Group: Members Posts: 4,738 Joined: 14-June 03 From: USA Member No.: 819 Region Association: Upper MidWest |
Ahhhhh.....
Plasma screens.... Military used them in the 80's. DOD asked us to bid on a movie theatre sized screen for a secret underground site... Then we figgered out that that many plasma screens would produce enough radiation in the room to kill everyone..... Hadda tell them the truth.. Often wondered how much radiation is beamed to the head from a CRT monitor a couple of feet away... Kenny likes liquid crystal displays... Just something interesting about making color pictures from Jell-0 and lighting them up with a backlight.... Low rads too.... Ken |
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| Joe Ricard |
Nov 14 2005, 11:00 AM
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#13
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CUMONIWANNARACEU Group: Members Posts: 6,811 Joined: 5-January 03 From: Gautier, MS Member No.: 92 |
Plasma screens are only made by Toshiba, Panasonic and Samsung.
That's about all I know except I can't afford a TV and Race tires. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) |
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| Richard Casto |
Nov 14 2005, 05:34 PM
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#14
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Blue Sky Motorsports, LLC Group: Members Posts: 1,465 Joined: 2-August 05 From: Durham, NC Member No.: 4,523 Region Association: South East States |
There are only a handfull of OEM manufactures for Plasma and LCD. Everyone uses one of these and then puts their name on it. Some use the basic "panels" and build their own electronics that go in the unit. I think the plasma list is... NEC (now ownded by Pioneer) Panasonic Fujitsu/Hitachi (partnership) Samsung LG I think the LCD list is... Sharp Samsung/Sony (partnership) LG/Philips (partnership) AUO Chi Mei I might be missing something from those lists. |
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| scottb |
Nov 14 2005, 05:49 PM
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#15
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who wants a PEZ?! Group: Members Posts: 1,993 Joined: 27-December 02 From: south-(not north)-wick, MA Member No.: 32 Region Association: North East States |
i bought a sony 42" projection lcd hdtv. for a table top unit it is very thin. much thinner than a std crt but not so thin as to hang on the wall. bulbs should last about 2 years with my viewing habits then replace and good as new. great angle of viewing and sound. just my .02.......
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| Ray Warren |
Nov 14 2005, 05:56 PM
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#16
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Member Group: Benefactors Posts: 415 Joined: 1-October 03 From: Canada Member No.: 1,214 Region Association: None  |
I have been researching this for the past couple of months and
decided on the Dell 37" LCD. It has an amazing pictue especially on High Deff channels and on my upconverting Samsung DVD player. There is a lot of info out there on all types of tv's. Take your time and do your homework, there is lots to choose from. |
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| D0ctorg00se |
Nov 14 2005, 06:06 PM
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#17
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 7 Joined: 31-October 05 From: Blacksburg, VA Member No.: 5,032 |
I'd say choose on what you like the best. Plasma's ARE getting better and it looks like life span will be at least 10 years on a new one. LCDs dont last forever either, and neither do the DLPs. Don't buy a tv based on how long it MIGHT or might not last because unless you REALLY are sure you will be keeping the same tv in 10 or 15years, it doesnt matter. How many tvs have you had in the past 10 or 15 years. Now for my opinions (i sold tvs and electronics for a while so i looked at them all day, haha). Plasma's have much richer colors, LCD color is wonderful but they just aren't the same (its mainly a brightness thing). LCD and DLP has a certain crispness that plasma's lack. An LCD has a slight lag on it and the occaisonal expert (not me) can notice trails and drag lines which the DLPs dont have and plasmas really dont have at all. I really like the newer DLP tv's because i feel they are a good balance of everything you could want in a tv. They exhibit great viewing at angles, but not as nice as a plasma or an LCD. All this stuff that everyone is saying basically translates into the fact that you should just pic what you like best. Look at them, look at friends and neighbors. Don't just look at it online, and don't beleive everything people tell you. To be honest, if i could pick, i'd buy a top of the line projector D-ILA and a top of the line screen. It pretty much beats them all in every category. You really cant beat that, especially with the new projector technology. But look at where you want it, is it going to be in direct sunlight, are you going to need to see it from an angle, do you want to mount it on a wall, do you want more of a sports tv, or a movie theater, or more of a stylish accent. I feel like ALL the options are amazing right now and it just comes down to personal preference. My old HDTV is still great. But this is just my opinion, and here is a more expert OPINION on the technologies its a pretty good comparison of each of the technologies
Hope this helps |
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| roundboy914 |
Nov 14 2005, 07:43 PM
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#18
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Member Group: Members Posts: 210 Joined: 16-October 03 From: Chicago, IL Member No.: 1,251 |
My question is - Is there a barrier that these technologies are going to overcome to lower prices? I mean, will there be larger than 37" LCD's two years from now? Will Plasmas drop another $1000 in two years? Will the LCD projection be relegated to the land of Betamax and colecoVision? Basically, pull the trigger now, or is it smarter to wait antoher 12-18 months?
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| Ray Warren |
Nov 14 2005, 07:46 PM
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#19
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Member Group: Benefactors Posts: 415 Joined: 1-October 03 From: Canada Member No.: 1,214 Region Association: None |
There are LCD's larger than 37" now and yes prices are dropping every day on LCD's and Plasma's. Costco has some good deals. |
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| soupbone |
Nov 14 2005, 11:15 PM
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#20
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 43 Joined: 21-November 04 From: Hayward, CA Member No.: 3,157 |
I second front projection depending on your room and lighting. I have Sony VPL-HS10 w/ *90" screen* but considering Panasonic AE900. So for $2000 you can have a small "short or long throw" front projector that can be mounted on ceiling, coffee table, or even the back wall bookshelf. http://www.visualapex.com/lcdprojectors/LC...U&MFR=Panasonic Then use the wall or a cheap $150 screen. |
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