50inch + hdtv's

[Bill]

I'm no longer a neo-ludite. I now have fios tv and am in the market for a large hdtv. I'm looking at 50 inchers. Who has one and who has some advise for me?
Consumer reports says that at 50 inch and larger that plasmas are the way to go. What has been your experience?

[gosao]

I just got a new 50 inch plasma 2 months back. From the little research that I've done I learned that LCD's are better in rooms with sunlight and Plasma's are better in rooms without a lot of bright sunlight. Plasma's have better black levels than LCD picture so the darks are really dark and rich instead of greyish like on an LCD.. Plasma's also produce a more analog tv tube-like picture vs. the LCD's slightly more artificial appearance. Plasma's are heavier than LCD's and a little thicker than the latest LCD's but if you don't mind Plasma's will give you superior picture in dimmer rooms for the price vs. an LCD for 50" and above. Pioneer used to make the best Plasma's but they've since stopped so the maker sitting at the top of the plasma brands is probably Panasonic. Maybe in another 2 years LCD's will get good enough and cheap enough to replace Plasma's but for now Plasma's still best bang for the buck on larger sized sets. I got my Panasonic 50" G15 series myself but the S1 series should be fine too. Oh and don't judge a sets' quality by visiting a store like Best Buy or Sears. They don't hook up every set the same so there's no point in comparing sets in store for picture quality, do so only for size and appearance.

Here's a good site to do your own research.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=9

[Bill]

gosao

Thanks for that site. It is a big help. I saw the S1 and it looked great. They seem to be going for 1099.00.

[gosao]

No prob Bill.

If you're looking at the S1 This site has it on sale for $969 with no sales tax and free shipping. It's where I got my G15. Mine arrived in perfect condition.

http://www.us-appliance.com/tcp50s1.html

[gosao]

Oh and forgot to tell you that if you use Bing and have a Cashback account with them tied to your Paypal account you can get an additional 2 - 5% back as well!

[shawnsegler]

I love our community.

[Bill]

That's a great price !
Thanks for that site.

Why did you go for the G15 over the S1?

[gosao]

I think the picture is pretty much the same except the G15 has a few more adjustment settings available in the menu, Viera Cast which is basically internet connectivity for their online channel so you can watch youtube w/o a PC attached and some video on demand stuff. I haven't hooked it up online yet so can't tell you if it's worth it or not, oh and it's a little bit thinner as well.

One thing bad however is the speakers. They're really weak! Picture is awesome but sound quality doesn't match the TV I think, so make sure if you get a Panasonic to have some alternative speaker setup like a soundbar or home theater audio system hooked up.

[gosao]

Oh and this is for anyone with a blu ray player and a decent HDTV set. You guys MUST get this one disk called BARAKA as a showoff disk...It's friggin awesome. First time I fired that baby up on my new big screen I think my eyes started bleeding from the quality of it.

http://www.amazon.com/Baraka-Blu-ray-Ro ... B001CDLATE

[qiphlow]

baraka is a fantastic movie.

[nianfong]

eff the plasma. LCD or OLED all the way (they call OLED TV's LED).

-Fong

[qiphlow]

yeah, that philips LED tv is pretty bitchin'. the pricing should be right about where i want it by the time my current tv dies.

[Bär]

Samsara is a large format non-narrative film currently in production. The film is directed by experimental filmmaker Ron Fricke, and it will pose as a sequel to the highly acclaimed 1992 film Baraka.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_%282007_film%29

[gosao]

LED TV's are cool but if going 50" and above the Plasma is still the best bang for the buck, a comparable LED will cost you more than twice the price for similar quality. Today's plasma's no longer suffer as much from burn in and matte screen coatings should minimize glare in brighter rooms. They're just not as cool anymore cuz they're bulkier than LED's. I say don't go overboard on buying any HDTV right now... 3D optimized hdtv's are coming out soon!

[gosao]

Samsara is a large format non-narrative film currently in production. The film is directed by experimental filmmaker Ron Fricke, and it will pose as a sequel to the highly acclaimed 1992 film Baraka.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_%282007_film%29

Cool! Definitely gotta see it when it comes out!