I'm moving back to Chicago from Miami in less than a week, and when I get there, I want to buy a new TV, seeing that I sold my old one before I moved to Miami a few years ago.
I'm looking at something in the 50" range. I'd like for it ideally to have 1080p with a couple of HDMI inputs. I've been looking at a few models from Samsung and Panasonic, but I wanted to see if anybody had any recommendations on sets that they have.
Any advice that anybody has would be awesome. Thanks in advance!
I just got done going through a TON of research, and I think my experience may be beneficial to you... here is what I found:
A) If you don't need to hang it on a wall or save space, get a DLP rear projection. DLPs offer amazing picture quality, even more amazing cost as compared to others, etc. The only downfall of these are the viewing angle. LCDs and Plasmas can be viewed at much more aggressive angles. Samsung offers the best price/quality combination (hands-down) in this area.
B) If you want to hang it on the wall or are short on space consider LCD and Plasma (obviously)
C) If you want Plasma, only consider Panasonic or possibly Samsung. Pioneers are the best, but cost way to much. The rest of the panels do not have the same quality. [Disclaimer: I just purchased a Panasonic TH-50px80u Plasma last month. I am VERY happy with it so far.]
D) If you want an LCD, only consider Samsung, Sony, or Sharp. Samsung gives you the best bang for the buck.
E) The difference between LCD and Plasma can be explained like this... Plasmas have better contrast and "blacker blacks"... they are generally considered to have better PQ (picture quality). LCDs are brighter, which is especially helpful if you are in a very bright room. LCDs suffer from motion blur (which I personally can't stand. Football games and such are almost unwatchable on an average LCD in my opinion.) Plasmas suffer from "burn in", or I should at least say "did" suffer from burn in. This problem has been nearly eliminated with modern plasmas.
F) Absolutely do not consider an LCD if you are looking at sizes larger than 46". The price comparisons aren't even close. Above 46" LCDs get way too expensive.
G) You might not need 1080p. At 10 feet from the screen, with a 50" tv (just as an example) the human eye can not resolve the difference between 720p and 1080p. You would have to move closer than 6' to see the full value of 1080p. Bottom line? Unless you are making a 'home theatre' and are getting a 56" or larger screen... it is very likely that you will never see the difference between 720p and 1080p. You simply won't sit close enough to ever see the difference. Here is a useful graph which explains it better than I can:
H) Consult a higher authority. Go to
www.avsforum.com and find the display forum you are interested in. There is a HUGE resource of individuals here with a tremendous amount of knowledge to share. Just remember to do a little 'searching' for your answers first... they don't like re-posted questions. After all of my research, I opted for a Panasonic TH-50PX80u 50" 720p Plasma set. I've had it up and running for about a month now... and absolutely love it. Gorgeous picture, especially with the Apple TV running on it!
Hope this helps!
