The best 40-42" flat panel HDTV money can buy

[Artisan Fan]

Originally Posted by Jumbie

From what little research I've done on TVs, I came to the conclusion that 120 refresh was more personal preference than anything else.

Some people like 60 more.

Hmmm, not true in my experience. It definitely eliminates motion artifacts.

 

[von Rothbart]

Originally Posted by ratboycom

Runco is where its at. Sure its not a household name but every tv is hand built and calibrated. Picture quality is amazing

Runco Stuff

They have plasma and LCD in your 40"-42" range. Though why buy that when you can have the full size 103 incher

Thanks for the suggestion, I looked into its 40-42" model, which was introduced in 2006, I don't know if I want to pay top $ for 2-year old technology, it doesn't even have the 120hz motion thingy. I'll look into Samsung like AF suggested. But I think Panny plasma will suit my needs.

 

[romafan]

I'm the farthest thing from an expert, but we recently got 2 flatscreen TVs (LCD?). The smaller one is a Samsung (32", I think) and the other a Sony (40 - 42&quot. Can't tell the difference btwn the 2, picture quality-wise. Both look good, and we don't have cable - just a rabbit ears when we want to watch regular boobtube. For movies they are quite enjoyable.

 

[gamelan]

Sony Bravias hands down.

-Jeff

 

[unpainted huffheinz]

There are only a handful of plasma glass and LCD panel makers in the world. Runco does not make any of the glass or panels, but they do program the electronics. The same goes for Sony. Both of them use Sharp for LCD because Sharp makes the best LCD panel at the moment - consider that Pioneer dropped their best in class plasma line for Sharp LCDS. Samsung and LG make their own and are also quite good. The latest Samsung plasma is nearly the match of the end of life Pioneer glass. Panasonic is the only other option for plasma.

Prices for the larger brands (Panasonic, Sharp, Samsung, etc) at discounters has been slightly above wholesale for at least a year. Margins are in the single digits. You might as well sell Apple products if you like that sort of abuse.

 

[A Y]

Originally Posted by unpainted huffheinz

consider that Pioneer dropped their best in class plasma line for Sharp LCDS.
Pioneer will still be selling plasmas, but the glass will be made by Panasonic. As part of the exchange, Pioneer shares some of their secret sauce with Panasonic, who will reap some of the benefits. Pioneer will retain their proprietary tech for driving the plasma displays that are partly responsible for their darker blacks, and this will still be Pioneer only. Or so they say. If you want to get all-Pioneer manufactured plasma, get the current sets now, and there are significant discounts to be had. It will be interesting to see if Pioneer can make LCDs look good. --Andre

 

[ratboycom]

Originally Posted by unpainted huffheinz

There are only a handful of plasma glass and LCD panel makers in the world. Runco does not make any of the glass or panels, but they do program the electronics. The same goes for Sony. Both of them use Sharp for LCD because Sharp makes the best LCD panel at the moment - consider that Pioneer dropped their best in class plasma line for Sharp LCDS. Samsung and LG make their own and are also quite good. The latest Samsung plasma is nearly the match of the end of life Pioneer glass. Panasonic is the only other option for plasma.

Prices for the larger brands (Panasonic, Sharp, Samsung, etc) at discounters has been slightly above wholesale for at least a year. Margins are in the single digits. You might as well sell Apple products if you like that sort of abuse.

True, but (and this is a big but) the labeled manufacturer does all the electronics (as well as like you said, programing) on the inside of the TV.

**** I wish margins were that low over here. TVs are expensive as ****. Same model of Sony Bravia 32" that I want here can be had in the US for just a few hundred bucks (I think like 500 or 600$). Here I will be paying close to $1000.

 

[turboman808]

I can kinda be a dick about this stuff. Truth is most people how brag about this or that really couldn't tell the difference between a top of the line TV and a Walmart special.

Then again if you don't know how to tweak the tv and the source material it really doesn't matter wether you spent $1000 or $10,000.

Then when you finally get the TV home and thats the one you watch everyday it really doesn't matter much since you aren't gonna sit there and compare it to any other TV.


That being said you do want something with really good contrast ratio. This looks really bad and can be spotted from a mile away by even the least knowledgeable person.



I found a good RCA at Walmart that looks very good. Not the best but this is my 3rd HDTV in 5 years. I don't want to spend much money on this stuff anymore. Mounted a picture frame around it and unless I tell you it's a cheap walmart TV you would never guess. The picture looks just as good as that would have cost 5 grand 3 years ago. The technology hasn't gotten that much further along.


-I will however spend thousands on speakers and saving up for that tube amp right now.

 

[unpainted huffheinz]

Originally Posted by A Y

Pioneer will still be selling plasmas, but the glass will be made by Panasonic. As part of the exchange, Pioneer shares some of their secret sauce with Panasonic, who will reap some of the benefits. Pioneer will retain their proprietary tech for driving the plasma displays that are partly responsible for their darker blacks, and this will still be Pioneer only. Or so they say.

If you want to get all-Pioneer manufactured plasma, get the current sets now, and there are significant discounts to be had.

It will be interesting to see if Pioneer can make LCDs look good.

Pioneer will be using LCD for their commercial displays which is always been a strong market for them. Panasonic doesn't make a bad plasma, but it is just not as good as Pioneer. The costs of plasma manufacture are just too high to compete with LCD now. I don't know how LCD manufacturers are claiming 10,000:1 contrast unless that number is just taken from the registers on the DSP chip.

Also, NEC started using some Chinese glass in their commercial plasma screens that is really a step down from even previous generation (614MX) glass.

 

[Cary Grant]

Samsung 42" plasma here. 2 years old. Love it.

 

[unpainted huffheinz]

Originally Posted by ratboycom

True, but (and this is a big but) the labeled manufacturer does all the electronics (as well as like you said, programing) on the inside of the TV.

Runco has excellent scaling, deinterlacing and other post processing software. That doesn't make much of a difference if your source is screen native size and progressive though.

 

[raley]

check out www.avsforum.com - the guys there are really knowledgeable and should be able to tell you quickly what the right answer is. But yes, calibration will probably be essential to getting the best picture.

 

[A Y]

This article from HDGuru has recommendations for both LCD and plasma for every size available and for different price levels:

http://hdguru.com/hdtv-christmas-buy...s-part-ii/323/

--Andre

 

[Full Canvas]

With my verifiably poor vision I tend to think that Plasma > DLP > LCD from some of my limited comparison viewing. When will the next generation of DLP televisions appear?

Somehow I am under the impression that next gen DLP chip technology may give serious competition to plasma. Is that a genuinely possible in the near term? What do you more knowledgeable gents think?

___

 

[A Y]

Originally Posted by Full Canvas

With my verifiably poor vision I tend to think that Plasma > DLP > LCD from some of my limited comparison viewing. When will the next generation of DLP televisions appear?

3-chip DLP projectors are amazing, but cost $$$. THe Mitsubishi rear projectors that use lasers are also very good, and aren't terribly expensive. For a flat panel, however, we'll have to wait for new light emissions technology before LCD becomes competitive. In that area, plasma is still the best.

--Andre