Which Big Screen tv to get?

tsagona

tsagona

Cathlete
Ok, so we are about to move into our new house. Therefore, time to make some TV adjustments. Here's my dilemma:

1) want a new big screen. Which is the best one out there. The least amount of problems and the best all around choice.

2) Does anyone have a tv above their fireplace? I see that alot but never had one there. Does it work ergonmically. (did I spell that right, lol)

3) plasma vs led - I'm thinking plasma because you can still see the picture from the side without distortion.

Can anyone give me some guidance here? Did you buy the right or wrong tv and want to share.

Thanks,
 
Tracy - My DH and I did a lot of research on the this back around "Black Friday". We settled on a Panasonic Viera 1080 Plasma tv. We got an AMAZING deal on it after shopping around all day (ended up getting a 54" for the same price my nephew bought his 50" that day.) We LOVE it. I don't watch a lot of regular tv, but for movies it is amazing especially blu-ray. I got a PS3 for Christmas and rent all Blu-ray movies from netflix. I'm soooo spoiled with this tv right now. It's my baby. ;)
 
W have panasonics, too! LOVE THEM! We opted for the plasmas and are very pleased. They are said to "burn out" easier if you leave them on with a black screen, but we have left ours on by accident for a week and nothing happened. (not that I recommend that!!??)
Also, regarding the tv above the fireplace, our decorator said that it is too high and sometimes too far from the viewer. You should be around 13 feet for a 54", for example. At eye level.

Also, don't forget about the acoustics being so high up and fire/smoke damage of the tv.

Good luck with your decision!
 
Jennifit said:
Also, regarding the tv above the fireplace, our decorator said that it is too high and sometimes too far from the viewer. You should be around 13 feet for a 54", for example. At eye level.
Click to expand...

VERY true and one of the most common mistakes that people make with their flat screen tv's. You DO NOT hang it like it's a picture. It needs to be much lower on the wall than you think. There are guidelines online for how best to hang it. You will KILL your neck if you hang it like a picture and then sit down and have to look way up to see it.
 
I've heard that long-term the LCD is the better choice. The plasmas "fade" over time. The LCD is also supposed to be a better picture overall. I'm not in the market (yet), but if I was I would go LCD.
 
NY25 said:
I've heard that long-term the LCD is the better choice. The plasmas "fade" over time. The LCD is also supposed to be a better picture overall. I'm not in the market (yet), but if I was I would go LCD.
Click to expand...


I did extensive research on the internet and plasma still provides the best picture - truest colors and blackest blacks - even compared to new LEDs. You get no picture distortion from all angles. You have to watch LCDs pretty dead-center.

Pioneer made the best plasmas, but they found that the profit margin was not worth it and are contracting Panasonic to make their plasmas now.

The disadvantage of plasma is that it DOES "fade" over time - if you leave it on for 8 hours a day for TEN years. That's a pretty long time.

The other disadvantage is that it is not as energy efficient as the LCDs and LEDs. After watching our plasma for a few hours, it is quite warm.

Also, it looks like LEDs and LCDs are the future since it costs more to manufacture plasmas and consumers are satisfied with the picture provided by LEDs and LCDs, so if you ever have to have a plasma serviced, you may find problems.

I LOVE my plasma!!
 
Sony Bravia LCD XT. Best one out there. The Samsungs are next, but they reflect more, so if you have a relatively bright room, the Sony is better.
 
NY25 said:
I've heard that long-term the LCD is the better choice. The plasmas "fade" over time. The LCD is also supposed to be a better picture overall. I'm not in the market (yet), but if I was I would go LCD.
Click to expand...

That may have been a problem with the original plasma tv's, but they have since improved that and it's pretty much impossible to watch it the amount of time required for it to fade. DH and I figured it out once and figured we'd be long dead before our TV started to lose any of it's color and even at that, you'd never notice. They've also almost completely eliminated the burn in issue as well. I don't know how much this holds true, but I was told if you do a lot of tv watching and like your picture to be sharp as if you are watching a newscast, then LCD is for you. If you primarily watch movies, Plasma is recommended.
 
Last edited:
We just bought a Sony LED. We decided on the LED vs the plasma due to the glare issues in our TV room. One thing I would recommed if you go with LED is get a 1080p and at least 120 hz. The 60hz are cheaper but they can't keep up with the speed of the images on the tv. If you find a deal on a 240hz get that, but the 120 hz is great.
 
Thanks for all the info. It's great to know what people like or dislike depending on the situations in their homes. I spoke with a guy a Best Buy today and he was telling me that plasma has better blacks, is better for movies than regular tv watcing and has a higher glare. He said for me in my situation (I have a wall of windows that bring TONS of natural light and would be big with glare) that the LED would be a better fit for my room. He personally likes Samsung and then Sony. I'm not sure what I would get if I were to buy tomorrow but I understand what everyone is saying about their nice big tvs. They are great.
 
Tracy - All of the Samsung LEDs that DH and I looked at were really NICE. They had some of the sharpest pictures. If we hadn't gone with the Panasonic Plasma, we probably would have gone with a Samsung LED.
 
Ah man, you guys are getting me jealous.....I am still waiting for my Big Rear Projection TV to die. It's one that has the three blubs and takes up so much room. It's a nice tv with a good picture but only goes to 1080i and it ginormous!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top