Advice on 40 - 50" ish LCD vs Plasma...

[BrocLuno]

Well we played the "temporary" Sanyo DPD 42848 (1080p LCD) until we could no longer take it. To many artifacts, blotchy blacks, more difficult to manage that need be, and it started making glitchy sounds and exhibiting screen flashes. OK, it's going back - now what?

Two more evenings looking at Plasmas, reading specs, trying to decide. Then it hit me, we are still in a mostly SD & ED world. We are not going to give the satellite man any more money. We are not going to replace the A/V stack. We still watch video tapes occasionally. Our old Sony plasma had dark panels on both sides due to burn in from the 4:3 masks, so I can't go back to plasma - I'll ruin it

LCD does not burn in with a lot of 4:3 source material. So how to get a better picture and experience with LCD? Answer turned out to be a floor model Samsung LN46A850. Got it out the door for $1724. Brought home and we've been blown away by the picture and ease of use. No artifacts to speak of and with EDGE SHARPNESS at 80, it looks very close to Plasma for overall definition. It's a keeper and we ain't going back. Plasma is not a good match for those of us who still live in a mostly SD & ED world. Heck, this thing even looks great with library check out video tapes

BTW - even though we live in the vicinity of the SF Bay Area, we are up a canyon/valley with NO over the air signals. We are either captive to cable or satellite. Both cost too much to get our level of programing in HD and you no longer own your receiver - it's a lease that they can jack the fees on anytime they want. Not a place we are going for now. We'll live with SD & ED over the sat, Netflix and library DVDs and tapes for now. LCD all the way from here on out with our mix of signals.

 

[Blackstone]

Two more evenings looking at Plasmas, reading specs, trying to decide. Then it hit me, we are still in a mostly SD & ED world. We are not going to give the satellite man any more money. We are not going to replace the A/V stack. We still watch video tapes occasionally. Our old Sony plasma had dark panels on both sides due to burn in from the 4:3 masks, so I can't go back to plasma - I'll ruin it

Plasma is not a good match for those of us who still live in a mostly SD & ED world. Heck, this thing even looks great with library check out video tapes

This is a good example of how experiences vary. I purchased my plasma because it was better at SD content than a number of the other tv's I tested. It's better on SD than both of my lcd tv's. And it can be set to display all pictures in a 16:9 or wide format without distortion. So no 4:3 side bars.

But I was in the same boat as you. I have SD satellite and I'm not paying any more for HD. My local stations looked the worst on satellite. But now that I've hooked up an antennae for digitial signals, that problem is gone. I don't blame you for not wanting to pay any more for satellite than you have to.

 

[gyusher]

I stretch 4:3 material for the most part with excellent results. Some stretch the image better than others. I've had some displays that you couldn't watch stretched because of what it did to fatten up the people. I've had others that leave the center alone and gradually stretch the edges. Better but not enough. My new Pio plasma does it in a way that looks just fine.

Even with my Sony Grand Wega LCD I still stretched 4:3 even though it did not suffer from IR.

Funny thing I sold my 4 year old 4,000 dollar Sony, actually I gave it to a good friend for free. Long story short soon as he got her hooked up in his house the bulb failed. I keep track of my hours and she had just under 20,000 hours that bulb. I noticed it getting slightly dimmer but had no idea it was that close to failing.

I had zero trouble with that TV. . . I guess like automobiles they like one owner better than multiple owners. . .

 

[Zeromancer]

.....this Pioneer Elite KURO 60-inch TV has done got me spoiled....word is, Pioneer is going to stop making wide-screen TV's....all I can say is, get a new one while you can....Pioneer is not going out of business, so they would be liable for the warranty periods of these tv's, would they not?....I may get me a spare .....

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/04/24/pioneer_4_panasonic/

Pioneer and Panasonic are to align their plasma TV operations and integrate their research and development efforts, the new partners said today.

The announcement comes a month after Pioneer said it was to end in-house plasma panel production. At the time, it said it made the decision because of the difficulty it foresees in maintaining the cost-competitiveness of plasma technology in the face of ever-cheaper LCD TVs.

That's why Fujitsu, the first company to introduce plasma screens, ditched the TV technology back in December 2007.

But hence Pioneer's deal with Panasonic. The two will combine their technology development efforts to reduce the cost of coming up with bigger and better screens. Panasonic parent Matsushita will manufacture the displays, which will then be sold by Panasonic and Pioneer under their respective plasma TV brands, Viera and Kuro.

Both lines will ultimately take advantage of Pioneer's ultra-thin, high-black Kuro techology and Panasonic's Neo PDP energy efficiency drive.

Pioneer's first next-gen Matsushita-made plasma TVs will debut on the market in autumn 2009, it said.

The partners didn't give much else away today, but promised to provide more details next month when the alliance is set to be formally cemented.

 

[dgwojo]

Someone posted a 60" 1080P plasma Pioneer on CL??

Dollars and Sense