Suggestions for a Plasma Television, and 5.1 system

[devlish]

Well, it's tech talk, just not car related tech talk.

anyways, i'm in the market for a 42" plasma television and small home theater setup. I'm wanting to stick with Panasonic (for both), as i've always had good luck with them, and they make great products. I just thought i'd get some opinions here. maybe some of you have been looking at similar stuff lately and can help me out. with either opinions on products, or good places to purchase. keep the BS out please. looking to purchase within the next month or so.

1st, looking for a 42" plasma... the television will be used mainly for cable television, and the occasional movie. little to no video games. rarely hooked up to the laptop for online or streaming video. it will be the new "upstairs" television. normal viewing distance will be approx 8-10 feet from couch, or approx 15ft from dinner table (yes, i watch tv while i eat). It will be wall mounted at standard height from floor. it definetely does not need to be top of the line for picture quality, as it will mostly be used for cable tv, rarely for movies. I'm thinking of using my old panasonic theater in a box setup for when the occasional movie is played on it, and it is NOT an upscaling dvd player. so 720 is probably enough. looking to keep costs somewhat low, but still get a decent tv, as it will be on the main living level of the house, and used daily.


2nd, looking for a new Panascronic 5.1 surround system for basement. it will hooked up to my 50" 1080i Panasonic plasma. most likely running off a Windows Media setup, so hi-def will be in use here. again, not looking to break the bank, as it's not an actual "theater room" just a lower level family room, that i want to use for movies and stuff. but must have good clear sound, and decent subwoofer, the room is quite large, 12x28. Viewing will be done from the front half only mostly, but its still a large room to fill with sound. So I don't plan to go too cheap, but i don't want to spend a buttload of money either. just something nice. I'm not an all out freak with movies and sound, but i do appreaciate loud and clean. i'll consider 7.1 as well.

any helpful suggestions or things to look for would be great. i don't mind reading review after review, but don't know where to start or what to look for to meet my needs. I did my best to describe what each will be used for. please give me some 'technical' suggestions. Thanks!!!


(also considering 32" lcd for my bedroom, not junk, but cheap is key here... it's rarely used. but the current 22" is just too small for me)

[matt]

Panasonic has always been a very good brand, and I sold them for many years (Furniture and ApplianceMart). We don't currently carry them because of their less than stellar service records lately, but I still like the picture quality. One thing I would be concerned with is the lighting situation in the room you will be viewing the TV. Plasmas in general have a rather shiny screen, so if there are a lot of windows, I would keep this in mind when viewing these in a showroom. Some Panasonic plasmas have an anti-glare coating which will combat this to a point, but at a sacrifice in contrast ratio. Whether you want to get 1080p right now or not, I'd suggest doing it anyways. Almost everything is going in that direction, and within a year or so, 720p will be obsolete in that size. I can get very technical with lots of numbers if you'd like, but quite frankly, its not important. I know Best Buy has the 42" 1080p Viera for $699 right now, which is a pretty decent deal. When you're talking hertz (Hz) on a plasma, don't pay any attention to it. Whether it says 60Hz or 600Hz, at the end of the day, its still 60Hz. Again, if you want further mathematical explanation, I'd be happy to oblige, but its really not necessary.

These are the models Id check out;

TC-L42U12 - 1080p 42"
TC-P42X - 720p 42"

Good luck, pm me if you have any other ?'s

[DirtyBird]

plasma bad, if you want something that will last a good amount of time go with a LED or at least a LCD

plasma tvs have a habit of burning if you pause something for too long and then you get stuck with an image. also, earlier models were known to leak or bleed if tilted by accident during use.

I have a run of the mill 32" Sony Vizo LCD, and i really like the way it makes my xbox games look. pretty cheap too.

[StephaniEvo]

^I agree. Get a LCD or LED. The picture is more crisp.

[VPT]

Plasma bad!

[VPT]

I have always liked onkyo sound systems. Had mine for about 10 - 12 years now and everything still works like new and the sound is great. I do have pinnacle speakers though.

[Deadly_Evolution]

Yes why would you want a plasma? LCD, LED guy. Samsung would be my only choice. Plasma technology is on the way out, it was the "in" thing about 5-8 years ago before LCD's were available in 46+ " sizes and before high contrast was available on LCD. I've been reading for the past year that plasma is about to get the boot. To expensive, to much heat, to much energy consumption, for virtually no gains in performance these days a 120 hz lcd with high contrast and fast response time will put a plasma to shame. They are also a lot heavier compared to an LCD.



I would go into American TV in Madison and check out their selection. They have the better line of products of the same manufacturer, compared to best buy and walmart and so on. They have everything on display, will let you watch real movies and media and so on first hand to get a real feel for what you're getting. They also have a very nice assortment of home audio system. From basic to holly shit!

[devlish]

. One thing I would be concerned with is the lighting situation in the room you will be viewing the TV. i thought of this after i posted and crawled in bed... there is a average amount of natural light, but i don't think ANY of it will be directly on the television. I have a plasma now in a room with more light than the new house will have, and with direct sunlight... and i know what you mean. while it is not horrible, it is noticeable. i do not think the direct light, or even light in general will be a problem in the new place.

My parents have a Hitachi UltraVision LCD, one of the highest rated televisions at the time they bought it around 3yrs ago... and i prefer my "viewability" over theirs at different angles. Plasmas have a better viewing angle, which i like. i am aware of the "burn in" with plasmas, but so far after 2.5yrs with my current Panasonic 50" plasma, i have no noticeable problems, even with countless times hitting pause on the DVR or when the 9yr old pauses it and leaves the room for god knows how long!! ha. I'm still thinking panasonic plasma.

Matt, thanks for the two suggestions, i will start with those. the $699 price is where about where i'd like to be, so i'll check into that tonight at bestbuy i guess. any suggestions for a cheaper 32" for the bedroom? any brand is fine for this, lcd or plasma, whatever is a good bargain dollar for dollar. i might end up with 2, one for the basement as well. (at some point, cannot afford all this right now!! wish i could though.)

[devlish]

Yes why would you want a plasma? LCD, LED guy. Samsung would be my only choice.

viewing angle
no dead pixels
color accuracy, room is not too bright (plasma tends to be better in average to lowlight rooms. i feel LCD is too bright sometimes)
cost ratio on larger screens (42"+ seems to have better pricing on plasma, money is a concern for some of us... :-)

[Deadly_Evolution]

viewing angle
no dead pixels
color accuracy, room is not too bright (plasma tends to be better in average to lowlight rooms. i feel LCD is too bright sometimes)
cost ratio on larger screens (42"+ seems to have better pricing on plasma, money is a concern for some of us... :-)

Have you not checked out the newer LCD's? Viewing angle..side is side, while I don't have specs. I can tell you you wont find an out of view in any house hold room. As for up and down, unless you sit on the ceiling and the have a trap door you stand in down in the basement it will not be an issue ever either. You're probably thinking pre 1080 days when there were very few vertical pixels in comparison.

Color accuracy, again this is pre HD days. Maybe an issue with some low end brands, but I know with our 2 year old Samsung colors are amazing, we picked out tv out by starting at every one in two different stores, watching various media. What kind of LCD tv do you own? I only ask because all the issues you seem to have with LCDs are not really present in current model LCD's

In my life time I have never had an LCD with a dead pixel, unless you leave your tv day in and day out, or drop the thing, it's not really a common thing. Also I know in our case our warranty coves dead pixels.


Yes LCD's do take a price jump at 46" and up, but you'll save that just in energy consumption cost over the life of the TV, maybe sooner depending on use. The average LCD uses 1/3 to sometimes over 1/2 less energy compared to a similar sized plasma. It's so bad they are banning large plasma tv sales in Cali. Just to give you something to think about.

I can't make you buy an LCD, but just thinking you should check some of them out, before you make a decision.

[SgtRauksauff]

LCD FTW.

I've got a 32" Sony Bravia that I got a few years ago. Only 720P, but it works frickin' awesome. At the time, I was playing a lot of Forza2, and renting DVD's all the time. Anymore, I tend to just stream Netflix through my 360, or hook up a laptop and watch anime.

We got my dad a 52" Samsung 1080p awhile back, the thing is freakin' awesome.

In my time of being a consumer of home electronics, Panasonic has never been bad, but they were never really super-good, either. Just average run-of-the mill quality. Personally, I think they've rested on their laurels a bit the last few years, just relying on brand loyalty rather than R&D for the newer (better) technology.

--sarge

[VPT]

Its not pushing pause and leaving an image on the screen that causes burn in. It is watching the same tv station that has a constant logo down in the corner or playing the same game for hours that has health bars, timers, etc. in the same place the whole time. That is what causes burn in.

Personally I don't like the new lcd/led high def tv's that make all the colors bright. Also when there is movement everything starts to get blocky and blurred and crappy looking.

I am not sure if plasma does that same thing.

Not trying to brag up my 10 year old cabinet mitsubishi but I just love the picture on my laser projection 55" hd mitsu! No matter ho fast the movement the picture always keeps up, the colors are natural and not brightened to try and get that high def feeling. I can see it just fine no matter where I sit in the room, and it makes a nice shelf to hold all the extra junk like the vcr, dvd, receiver, center channel, etc.

Only draw back that I see is that the tv is heavy at 400 pounds. But I have only had to move it twice in the last 10 years so I don't complain.

[matt]

i thought of this after i posted and crawled in bed... there is a average amount of natural light, but i don't think ANY of it will be directly on the television. I have a plasma now in a room with more light than the new house will have, and with direct sunlight... and i know what you mean. while it is not horrible, it is noticeable. i do not think the direct light, or even light in general will be a problem in the new place.

My parents have a Hitachi UltraVision LCD, one of the highest rated televisions at the time they bought it around 3yrs ago... and i prefer my "viewability" over theirs at different angles. Plasmas have a better viewing angle, which i like. i am aware of the "burn in" with plasmas, but so far after 2.5yrs with my current Panasonic 50" plasma, i have no noticeable problems, even with countless times hitting pause on the DVR or when the 9yr old pauses it and leaves the room for god knows how long!! ha. I'm still thinking panasonic plasma.

Matt, thanks for the two suggestions, i will start with those. the $699 price is where about where i'd like to be, so i'll check into that tonight at bestbuy i guess. any suggestions for a cheaper 32" for the bedroom? any brand is fine for this, lcd or plasma, whatever is a good bargain dollar for dollar. i might end up with 2, one for the basement as well. (at some point, cannot afford all this right now!! wish i could though.)

Any of the LCD's I sell nowadays (Sony, LG, Toshiba, Samsung, etc) have a 178* viewing angle, which means you can be standing almost perpendicular to the tv both up and down and side to side with no real loss of picture.

Most of the plasmas have a few different anti-burn in features to help prevent burn in. Though they aren't perfect, they're better than they used to be.

I have a 32" Sony (KDL32L5000) on sale til Thursday for $379, which is $70 cheaper than anyone else in town (as far as I know). Its such a good deal that I bought one for my parents.

[devlish]

hmmm, well lots of pros/cons for both sides. i guess i'll have to compare some 42" LCD to Plasma, picture and price. Matt, any suggestions for comparisions on that??

and like VPT said, i'm not a fan of how bright LCD & LEDs can be. sometimes too much for me. some like that, some dont. i agree that some of the colors can look 'blown out' depending on what your watching.

i'll keep LCD in mix for now, guess i'll have to make a few stops and see whats up with both. thanks again for the opinions. models to compare are now what i'd like to see! as far as brands go, i'm still keep panasonic at the top, unless a screaming deal comes through for something else... i also like having all the same stuff. both large tvs and surround sound setups i like being the same.

[matt]

I like Sony and Samsung in LCD. Might be a little bit more than you want to spend, but I have a brand new Samsung LN46B630 I could sell you for $900. Couple that with a Blu-Ray home theater system for $399 (HT-BD1250) and you'd have a rockin' set up.

I agree that LCD's out of the box are waayyyy to bright, but that's easily customizable.

Sony: KDL40S5100
Toshiba: 40XV648 (better than the 645 series, but we have it for the same price)
Samsung: LN40B550
LG: 42LH30

I share the same general opinion that others have said. I personally wouldnt buy a plasma, but if thats what you want, then thats what you should get.

[devlish]

that panasonic TC-L42U12 for $699 at best buy looks like a nice piece for a decent price. i'll do a little searching on LCDs as well. i'd love to buy a TV from you matt, but i'm stuck on panasonic for some reason! ha. do you work tonight though? it's possible to sway me to another brand still. i could stop by when i'm done with work if you'll be there.

[05Saab]

I also love Samsung. I've had many of their products (cameras, old Tv's and Monitors, LCD Monitors) My roommate had a 42" Samsung TV in our dorm room, and it was crystal clear from anywhere in the room.
Not saying any other brand is junk, but I do love Samsung.

[matt]

Yep here til 8.