Best 42" Plasma?

[stiltman]

I'm in the market for a new TV
I looked at the LCD and the Plasmas, and Plasmas seem to have better Black.

So what should I get
Pixel count?
ED or HD?
How will it look with standard cable as appossed to HD cable/sats?

Should I just wait a year?


BTW, I have about 3-4k in the budget for it

[BJ_M]

great buy for the money = Pioneer PDP-424MV

really awesome pic overall but more expensive = Samsung HP-R4272

[BJ_M]

also the Panasonic PT-42PD3-P is just as good as the samsung but Pana's customeer service is rather weak .. but the picture is great

[enstg8er]

i'm with bj_m, those are the three winners. prices are coming down, but that will continue for some time. you could wait for 2 years to get much cheaper sets. if you want one now, those are the ones to check out first......

[Faustus]

also the Panasonic PT-42PD3-P is just as good as the samsung but Pana's customeer service is rather weak .. but the picture is great

Every time I check the HDs out the picture on the Panasonics just blows me away.

[enstg8er]

sound and vision mag oct issue rates the panasonic best, followed by the pioneer and the best deal a dell....
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=5&article_id=862

all out of my price range

[BJ_M]

you might want to check out the new DLP 1080p rear projection units also -- 10,000:1 contrast and true HD ..

samsung has several models in thier 68 and 78 series that will do both 720p and 1080p (mitsu'd only do 1080)

they have a nice 50" unit that is not to expensive

[stiltman]

After some reading, It looks as though I should get an EDTV Plasma. From reading, it will handle 480i (525i) and 480p much better than the HDs. Then if ABC and the others that use 720p, it will look pretty good. I suppose I could go with something that handled 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i, but I'm worried about what a standard NTSC broadcast signal will look like on it....

I can just hear Mrs. Stiltman.....WOW that's a pretty big TV...WOW, The Matrix DVD looks 100% better compared to our old 27" TV.

Off to work I go.
Mrs. stays home and watches her favorite soap

I get home

RETURN this piece of shit TV you got. I have a splitting headache trying to watch my favorite soap. Completely blurred!!!! What a piece of crap you bought....Don't you research this stuff before you spend 3K on a Freakin TV???

[stiltman]

BTW, I was looking at the Philips 42PF9630A
CNET gave it crappy reviews, but CNET is pretty bias now. However, the users gave it great reviews
http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_shopping.jsp?coe=0&oidPath=0%3a-23542%3a-23589%3a-2...cfkjdgoodflh.0
It's only 2k at samsclub....$800 less than costco
Yeah you can shut off the ambient light thingy

Here's another I was looking at
Samsung SP-R4212
http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_shopping.jsp?coe=0&oidPath=0%3a-23542%3a-23589%3a-2...cfkjdgoodflh.0
Less pixels on this one though


Overall, I think I want something with at least 1024 x 768.....there's models out there with more, but they just don't seem to have the good reviews to back it up

[BJ_M]

crip - just go look at them .. stay away from edtv .... look poor ussually ...

for low end i would not consider anything less than a samsung 4252 ... the 4212 is not to bad for edtv though ..


dont know what reviews you mean ... higher pixel count is better .... maybe you are looking at old reviews on cnet ... which are 2 years old most often

[stiltman]

The problem is, all the store feed them HD signals. I don't have HD

Plus, store have pros come in and calibrate them courtesy of the manufacturer...Usually, what you see in the store is not what you see at home

[Conquest10]

Plus, store have pros come in and calibrate them courtesy of the manufacturer...Usually, what you see in the store is not what you see at home

I sure hope that's not true.

The displays I see at the store are some of most horrid ones i've ever seen.

[rhegedus]

I bought a Philips 42PF9946 this summer and I've been more than pleased with it.

The problem is that, as you fear, it shows up the deficiencies of some cable/satelite/broadcase signals and poor DVDs.

[BJ_M]

Plus, store have pros come in and calibrate them courtesy of the manufacturer...Usually, what you see in the store is not what you see at home

I sure hope that's not true.

The displays I see at the store are some of most horrid ones i've ever seen.

99.9% of the time store displays are just factory default -- which is horrid most often

if any get tuned -- it is ussually the stock boy fooling around (as they are the only ones who can figure out the remote control) ..

in a few higher end shops - do they accually atempt to set them up properly ..

[stiltman]

I bought a Philips 42PF9946 this summer and I've been more than pleased with it.

The problem is that, as you fear, it shows up the deficiencies of some cable/satelite/broadcase signals and poor DVDs.

1024 x 1024 PAL model

Guess your version doesn't include the cablecard slot either


Thanks for the feedback though.

Everyone (4 ppl) that own a 42" plasma with ambient love it
2 ppl I know with other models like it but are completely satified.
The deal is, if it's not going to look the same as regular TV with my regular cable, The Mrs, will complain........and we don't want that, do we?