Advice on 42" Plasma TV please

warnerwh · « **on:** 14 Mar 2006, 12:12 am »

I know diddly about tv's but bet there's some that are better than others for the money just like audio gear. What are the better 42" plasma's. I'd like to know from medium sets to the best. Price is an object but so is quality. Thanks for the help!

bubba966 · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 12:16 am »

Pioneer, Fujitsu, & Panasonic have been the best 3 brands in Plasmas. Not sure on current pricing. But it's always kinda been if the $ of the Pioneer Elite was too much for 'ya, go with the Panasonic. I think the Fujitsu's are price closer to the Panasonic's than the Elite's. The regular line Pioneer's are good too, but the Elite's are a bit better...

JoshK · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 12:22 am »

way back when I got my 3G Panny 42", the value was to go with the pro version, since the consumer version was thousands more for little good reason. Now, plasma's dropped a lot, I doubt this is still true, but might be something to look into.

I am not sure I'd go with a 42" plasma again. This one will eventually get retired to my bedroom when I finally get around to buying a FPJ. The shortcomings are the transcoding from whatever resolution (oncoming HD standard) down to the lower native resolution of the 42"s. IIRC, even the HD versions aren't quite real HD and the conversion can be detrimental to the picture from what I've read. If you aren't a huge HT buff, like I am not, then it might not matter.

Brian got the brands right from what I have heard.

Kishore · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 12:36 am »

What is your viewing distance and $$? The major brands are mentioned in above posts have great Pic Quality- my nod goes to Fujitsu -pricey but has excellent warranty and pix.

As always bigger is always better ...esp with plasma

Cheers,
Kishore

kyyuan · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 12:38 am »

Quote from: warnerwh

I know diddly about tv's but bet there's some that are better than others for the money just like audio gear. What are the better 42" plasma's. I'd like to know from medium sets to the best. Price is an object but so is quality. Thanks for the help!

Just follow the below link as there should be plenty of information. In short, for 42", Panny, Pioneer, and NEC provide the best value; you'll have to pay a premium for Elite and Fujitsu.

Just don't research too much...because that's when analysis paralysis sets-in. Of course, we ACers don't know anything about that.

(I've been looking for a 50 for 1.5 years. Will pull the trigger in the next 6 months, I hope.)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=40

Ken

95bcwh · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 01:47 am »

If you want 42", then go for this one:
http://www.visualapex.com/plasma/Plasma_details.asp?chPartNumber=TH-42PWD8UK&MFR=Panasonic

If you want 50", then go for this one:
http://www.visualapex.com/plasma/Plasma_details.asp?chPartNumber=TH-50PHD8UK&MFR=Panasonic

There's no point going for 42" HDTV, because by definition of HDTV, 42" cannot give you the resolution of a HDTV.

I don't think you can go wrong with Panny. Visual Apex does not offer the lowest price but it has the best reputation as online vendor.

Caution: these TV above are professional model, doesn't come with speakers, you need to provide your own sound system.

95bcwh · « **Reply #6 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 04:40 am »

By definition, HDTV has minimum resolution 1280x720

The many so-called 42" HDTV in the market only has resolution 1024x768, not enough to be classified as HDTV..

jonwb · « **Reply #7 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 05:07 am »

Actually (per this) both 1080i & 720p are considered HighDef. The numbers basically correspond to the minimum number of vertical scanning lines; 1080 interlaced or 720 progressive. So, technically a display w/ a res. of 1024 x 768 ought to be able to do 720p natively. I have a 50" panny (1366 x 768) and run my cable box output at 1080i. Frankly I can't really tell the difference between 1080i and 720p on my set. They are both so good it makes my eyes hurt

I would no longer recommend a EDTV. A few years ago maybe, but now there is plenty of HDTV content. I rarely watch much SDTV anymore. I have an HDTV DVR cable box, so I generally have a bunch of HD shows waiting for me. There is some stuff that's not available (like F1 races) in HD... and for those I "rough" it. Sure SDTV content looks mediocre, but what do you expect. You're taking a low res. signal and scaling the crap out of it.

What is also nice is most of the newer HD sets have a built in HD tuner so you can get HD content w/ a regular antenna. Which brings me to my last point. You can save a few hundred bucks getting the Panasonic pro models, but in addition to having no speakers they also have no built-in tuner. You'd need an external tuner or a Sat./Cable box.

I'd second the earlier recommendations regarding brands. Its my personnal opinion that the Panasonics represent the best value.

zybar · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 06:41 am »

Quote from: 95bcwh

If you want 42", then go for this one:
http://www.visualapex.com/plasma/Plasma_details.asp?chPartNumber=TH-42PWD8UK&MFR=Panasonic

If you want 50", then go for this one:
http://www.visualapex.com/plasma/Plasma_details.asp?chPartNumber=TH-50PHD8UK&MFR=Panasonic

There's no point going for 42" HDTV, because by definition of HDTV, 42" cannot give you the resolution of a HDTV.

I don't think you can go wrong with Panny. Visual Apex does not offer the lowest price but it has the best reputation as online ...

A 42" inch Plasma can be classified as HD as long as it can natively handle 720P, 1080i, or 1080P.

There are absolutely models out there from almost all vendors that do that.

George

zybar · « **Reply #9 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 06:52 am »

Quote from: jonwb

I would no longer recommend a EDTV. A few years ago maybe, but now there is plenty of HDTV content. I rarely watch much SDTV anymore. I have an HDTV DVR cable box, so I generally have a bunch of HD shows waiting for me. There is some stuff that's not available (like F1 races) in HD... and for those I "rough" it. Sure SDTV content looks mediocre, but what do you expect. You're taking a low res. signal and scaling the crap out of it.

Jon,

Depending on your screen size and viewing distance, you won't be able to tell the difference between an HDTV plasma at 1366x768 and an EDTV plasma at 1024x768. As such, the EDTV is still a very good choice.

George

mcgsxr · « **Reply #10 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 01:03 pm »

Interesting about the HDTV vs EDTV, with respect to viewing distance.

I am considering a 42 for our family room, mounted over the fireplace, to replace the big 32inch Sony Vega.

Viewing distance would be roughly 8-10 feet...

Thoughts?

Tweaker · « **Reply #11 on:** 14 Mar 2006, 07:57 pm »

The recommended viewing distance for a 42" hd is 5.7ft. If you sit any farther than about 6 or 7ft. you are wasting your money buying a hdtv because you can not tell the diffence in pq between the two at that distance. The recommendation for the Panasonic pro series edtv plasma is a sound one. It has no peers for the money and will outperform some of the hdtvs on the market.

jonwb · « **Reply #12 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 12:01 am »

Quote from: zybar

Jon,

Depending on your screen size and viewing distance, you won't be able to tell the difference between an HDTV plasma at 1366x768 and an EDTV plasma at 1024x768. As such, the EDTV is still a very good choice.

George

Actually the 42" Panny that has that resolution IS their HDTV model. The EDTV model has something like 480 vertical lines (as opposed to 768).

We can agree to disagree on the EDTV v. HDTV choice. I think HD is worth the extra money unless all you're going to watch is movies (even then I think the HD sets generally look better).

dave_c · « **Reply #13 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 01:02 am »

Although native resolution on a 42” Plasma HDTV is often 1024x768 thus exceeding the horizontal requirements, the vertical scanning lines still fall short of the 720p description (1280x720). To compensate for the rectangular pixels and reduced scanning lines, 42” plasma’s must scale all their incoming signals regardless of format. So although many companies use similar panels, a difference in the electronics that drive them will make a difference in picture quality. I think the best 42” I’ve seen is the NEC XR4A. The picture was excellent and the frame itself is gorgeous. Simple black with just enough gloss to make it look lux. It also has 2 HDMI inputs which is better than the last Panny TH-42PH8UK’s 1 HDMI standard upgradeable to 2. I’m definitely not bad mouthing the Panny as many love it. I think the NEC is underexposed due to weak dealer network, but don’t sleep on it, it’s very nice.

michaelv · « **Reply #14 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 07:40 pm »

side questions:

Does anyone know Pioneer PDP-5060HD any good? How does it compare to Sony SXRD 50"?

I'm in the market for HDTV but torn between these two technologies, especially between Sony SXRD and Pioneer Plasma.

thanks very much.

philltubes · « **Reply #15 on:** 15 Mar 2006, 10:25 pm »

If you are looking at the Sony's, do yourself a favor and have a look at the HP, thats right the Hewlitt Packard DLP TV's, the smallest is a 50 inch and it is terrific, 2 HDMI connections, connections are made at the front of the TV behind a fold down door. From what I undrstand, HP developed the DLP technology then sold it to Texas Instruments, since HP knows all about the technology of DLP, they developed a feature called wobulation thats has something to do with pixelation. The unit I purchased was the 5020 (720 res.), beautiful picture with HD, bought at brands Mart, the best feature was the price $1795.00. This thing is quite a bit heavier than other comparible TV's, better parts, heavier chassis, who knows but its one hell of a TV. Oh yeah, it has all kinds of adjustment features for sound and picture.

John Casler · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Mar 2006, 04:19 pm »

While you didn't list "budget", you might want to consider the Pioneer 505CMX.

Pioneer is running a $300 rebate on the 50" which should take it down to $3500ish range (or less) plus less than $200 for the card.

50 inches of plasma is a beautiful thing, and the 505CMX is (some claim) as good or better than the 50" Elite model.

Tubo · « **Reply #17 on:** 18 Mar 2006, 01:11 am »

I just bought a Panasonic TH-42PX60U, a 42-inch plasma with 9th generation glass, released last week. The picture quality is better than last year's models (including the Panasonic professional models recommended above), and the price is several hundred dollars less: $2,250 including free delivery. It is being delivered tomorrow, Sat Mar 18.

You can order it from Panasonic Direct. If the website will not take your order, call them on the phone. Unfortunately, there has been a "feeding frenzy" for these sets, and delivery may not be until sometime in April.

You can also check your local Best Buy or Sears and see if they will price match Panasonic Direct. They may have it in stock and you could get it sooner.

goskers · « **Reply #18 on:** 18 Mar 2006, 02:14 am »

Just checked the pannie site and it states the 9th generation panel at 2500. Is there a code or something that gives you the extra smidgeon off?

Tubo · « **Reply #19 on:** 18 Mar 2006, 03:47 am »

Quote from: goskers

Just checked the pannie site and it states the 9th generation panel at 2500. Is there a code or something that gives you the extra smidgeon off?

Join Club Panasonic (free) and you get 10% off, free shipping, 2-day service on your warranty, double points if you charge it to Amex, etc.