ok so i just moved into a new place and I have some extra money and im looking to buy a flat TV. this will be my first tv purchase ever hehe. i need some advice.

i will be mainly using it for video games, xbox 360. i will also be using it to watch either dvds on my xbox 360 or mpg xvid divx etc files froma thumb drive THRU my 360. the tuner will more than likely see minimal use

i plan to keep my living room dark, heavy drapes during the day and lights off at night. i will be sitting about 6-8 feet from the unit.

id like to spend as small amount of money as possible, while still getting a good set.

here are a couple i found in my area/online
Panasonic TH42PZ80U Plasma HDTV - 42", 16:9, 3 x HDMI, 20000:1 Contrast Ratio, 1920 x 1080, 1080p, NTSC, ATSC, HDMI In (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3921383&Sku=P333-4272) - Circuit City has this for 979.00 i saw it and fell in love with it. then checked tiger direct and saw this price. i would love to see if circuit city can meet or beat that price since the circuit city store is closer to me.

Philips 42" Class Full-HD 1080p LCD HDTV, 42PFL3603D/F7 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10376355) - this one looks like it would be nice, its a philips and is full hd 1080p, but is an LCD. i heard plasma's get blacker blacks and handle fast motion better. since id be playing alot of video games i assume the set would need to handle alot of fast motion. however, circuit city is going out of business, walmart is not. ill be going to see this set tonight after work...

i really dont feel like looking TOO much more for a tv, really id like help deciding between these 2 sets but. if anyone has input on a different set at comparable pricing please let me know.

thanks !!!

Get the Panny. I have the 50PZ80U, and it's an amazing set.

You're spot on about Plasmas having better blacks and less artifacting on fast moving images, but the only thing I'm worried about is a 6-8 feet viewing distance. You might get a slight amount of screen door effect on a plasma at that distance, but I doubt it will be very noticeable on a 42".

The other advice I'll offer is to order the DVD Essentials calibration disc and fix the crappy settings the TV will ship with. Read my thread HERE (http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-forums-lounge-member-introductions/158457-attention-hdtv-owners.html).

I'd get the Pana ... they are currently on about their 11th generation of plasma tv's, and have the best service ratings.
Phillilps is an entry level machine, not using proprietary technology.
I don't know who's panel they use (probably LG), but Phillips doesn't make a plasma panel to the best of my knowledge.
Pana uses their own plasma panels, which are still mfg'd in Japan.
My 3 yr old TH50PX60 has zero burn issues ... the Samsung's on our sales floor burn as soon as you freeze a frame.
The Pana operates on 480hz speed ... your best LCD is 120hz ... go plasma for gaming.

Wow, thanks guys! Not only did you respond quickly but you responded from experience. I was wrong in thinking philips was a better brand. Also the philips is an LCD.

Also thanks for the link to calibration settings. I read about lcd,s plasmas and hd in general all day today and had already put that on my list of to do's. Thanks for making it easier

Just left walmart and I must say I was impressed. It looked much better than the 42 inch bravia sitting besides it. It didn't give me the "oh my gaaah that's awesome" that the plasma did but to be fair the plasma was in a darkened display room and was showing cars from a bluray. I wish there was a way to compare side-by-side.

A couple more things. You mention 480 hz vs 120hz. What's is this and is it a valid spec?
Also I was looking at HDMI cables and one claimed to support up to 120hz. None of the others mentioned this spec at all. Assuming that was the best cable, and assuming this was a valid spec, would it be rendered useless due to the fact that the cable can only handle 120hz? Or are there cables that will handle more?

Again thanks for the input

I have the 55" Pana and love it.....


F

here are a couple i found in my area/online
Panasonic TH42PZ80U Plasma HDTV - 42", 16:9, 3 x HDMI, 20000:1 Contrast Ratio, 1920 x 1080, 1080p, NTSC, ATSC, HDMI In (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3921383&Sku=P333-4272) - Circuit City has this for 979.00 i saw it and fell in love with it. then checked tiger direct and saw this price. i would love to see if circuit city can meet or beat that price since the circuit city store is closer to me.

Though I don't know how shipping would run, this one is well rated on the AVS forums. And their price is right on it.

Panasonic TH 42PX80U (http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1435483)

They also have the PZ for $919

I personally have a Sharp Aquos LCD (LC-45GX6U) and I love it, even though I paid WAY more than they go for now (I've had it since sept '05)

You mention 480 hz vs 120hz. What's is this and is it a valid spec?
Also I was looking at HDMI cables and one claimed to support up to 120hz. None of the others mentioned this spec at all. Assuming that was the best cable, and assuming this was a valid spec, would it be rendered useless due to the fact that the cable can only handle 120hz? Or are there cables that will handle more?

Again thanks for the input

You can google up on hz levels to get detailed info.
Basically, film stock is 24 frames per second. 60hz shows 60 frames of info per second, as opposed to 120 frames or 480 on plasma.
With LCD, 120 hz is a far more important stat than resolution.
For HDMI cables, do a google search for shopping on line.
You should be able to get good cables for $5 to $10 from a computer supply company ... the markup on cables is absolutely insane.
I run basic HDMI cables to our 60hz and 120hz lcd sets ... the difference,
on hd feeds and bluray, is staggering. For LCD, I would look at the Sharp Aquas or Samsung 600 series.
If you view mostly HD and BluRay content, a 120hz LCD is the best picture out there. You can adjust most Bluray machines menu systems to optimize the 120hz speed.
If you watch a lot of standard def, then ask to view the LCD tv on a standard digital feed ... I find them seriously lacking, blurry, on standard def, but amazing on a 1080i or 1080p feed. On a standard feed, the plasma will upgrade and clean up the pic to the tv's native resolution ... kind of like upconverting, and give a better picture.
Have fun.

I've owned both plasma and LCD. The plasma burned badly and was finally the reason for taking it to the dump. The problem comes with shifting formats when you switch fron HD to non-HD programming. The 47" Philips LCD that I have now has an excellent picture, even in a well lit room, and smoothly shifts formats in response to input as I switch programming. A Plasma screen will dim and burn with extended use but an LCD will last for many years until the backlighting fails.

Plasmas technically don't "burn in", but 1st generation plasmas did sometimes have image retention problems. The (quality) current models do not, and include features like automatic pixel orbiting to prevent it and even a screen wipe option just in case you screw up and do something stupid like leave a static image on for 24 hours.

i looked up the whole 120hz vs 480 hz thing and this is what i found

plasmas are inherently "faster" than lcd. to market against this, LCD manufacturers released 120hz technology, which is indeed a faster refresh rate and does in fact make a difference. however it still doesnt out-perform Plasmas, even when they run at 60hz

Plasmas that claim 480hz are talking about the sub-field totals. in other words plasma mfgrs can play the word play game too. i dont know the terminology or how exactly plasmas work but heres what i take from it.
they basically divide the display into 8 "subfields" each running at 60 hz. 60hz x 8 subfields= 480hz. again this is unecessary word play since supposedly plasmas switch 1000 times faster than lcds (again this is regurtitated info, im no expert and i may have read wrong)

ive decided on the plasma, now im going to see if sears best buy or circuit city will match tiger drect pricing :)

the only reason is i work 5 minutes from each of these stores, but live/work about an hour from tiger direct...

Comparing TV specs is like bench racing cars using dyno numbers. Refresh rates and contrast ratios are some of the figures that are constantly being manipulated by manufacturers to "out advertise" the other brands, but have very little impact on the actual picture. As a matter of fact, some of these "features" (like the frame fillers used in 120hz LCDs and artificial black crushing in the 30,000:1 contrast sets) actually degrade the picture by adding artificial processing.

I have both an older Panasoinc TH42PX60U, and a newer Panasoinc TH50PZ85U. Both have been absolutely great TV's. I would be hard pressed to purchase a different brand.

IMHO nothng really touches a Panny for under $5k.

-Chris

Well, Circuit City wont price match because they are going out of business

Sears wont price match because Tiger Direct is too far from them. (at first they said it was because it wasnt an actual store but when i told him there was a brick and mortar in raleigh he said, o thats too far.)

however the sales guy at sears seemed cool and said. "if you go to Sears in raleigh though, they should match."

so, sears normal price is 1099, circuit city is saying 979 tiger direct is saying 879. tiger direct is out of stock, and if i order from them shipping is 100 bucks.

the Circuit City sales guy was also cool and said he would use his personal truck to help me move the tv to my place. BUT Circuit City is going out of business and all sales are final. i also dont know how panasonic would handle a warranty on a tv bought at closeout pricing. Circuit City has 36 units left. i COULD wait for a price drop, but i dont really wanna.

however, i only own an eldorado and my work schedule doesnt really allow driving to raleigh with one of my brothers one day, in their truck, to buy a tv, and drive all the way back to fayetteville, set it up etc.

do you guys think its worth a $131.39 difference (including tax). Sears pricematch policy states that theyll beat the competitor by %10 of the difference. also am i right to be cautios of buying from a store that is going out of business?

CRAP!!! all the sears are out of stock. even the warehouse doesnt have any. maybe they will sell me the display model...

not sure though because the display model will not have been handled or used with as much care as i would...plus it would technically be used...

i wonder how much i could get the display for...

Panasonic is going through their annual model changeover.
Up here in Ontario, I haven't received any new Pana's since mid December.
New models will be out in late March to early April.
Our cupboards are bare, so we've even sold our floor displays, at full retail.

For fun, check out any Samsung plasma for image retention.
Go to picture options, burn protection, and then "white screen".
At any point in time, I can see image retention on any given Samsung on our floor (on white screen) ... these tv's are
running in a full "torch" mode, and the image starts to form very quickly.
By comparison, the Panasonic plasmas do not retain images ... both mfg's employ pixel orbiting, but Panasonic
has far more successful results.

BTW, I googled ISF calibration settings, and found suitable ones for my Pana plasma.
The factory sharpness was preset at +17 ... ISF called for -7.
Basically, the ISF settings set the tv up to film levels, around 4500 Kelvin (color temperature).
I noticed that skin tones became far more natural ... as soon as I flipped back to factory preset, I
noticed that skin tones became blotchy and unnatural on the overly bright preset.
The added bonus is less image retention once you back off on the preset settings.

Panasonic is going through their annual model changeover.
Up here in Ontario, I haven't received any new Pana's since mid December.
New models will be out in late March to early April.
Our cupboards are bare, so we've even sold our floor displays, at full retail.

For fun, check out any Samsung plasma for image retention.
Go to picture options, burn protection, and then "white screen".
At any point in time, I can see image retention on any given Samsung on our floor (on white screen) ... these tv's are
running in a full "torch" mode, and the image starts to form very quickly.
By comparison, the Panasonic plasmas do not retain images ... both mfg's employ pixel orbiting, but Panasonic
has far more successful results.

BTW, I googled ISF calibration settings, and found suitable ones for my Pana plasma.
The factory sharpness was preset at +17 ... ISF called for -7.
Basically, the ISF settings set the tv up to film levels, around 4500 Kelvin (color temperature).
I noticed that skin tones became far more natural ... as soon as I flipped back to factory preset, I
noticed that skin tones became blotchy and unnatural on the overly bright preset.
The added bonus is less image retention once you back off on the preset settings.

since you're in the business, do you think it would be wise to buy the display model if i can them to match or beat tiger direct? i figure i can maybe try to bargain since the set was technically used

otherwise ive decided to go to circuit city and pay $974.99 since
- Sears stores AND warehouse. is sold out (except for display models)
- Tiger direct is sold out in store, and it costs 100 to ship, (879.99 + 100=979.99)
- Circuit City has a guy that will deliver to my door.

:( tiger direct took the listing down. i no longer have a bargaining chip, or a choice...

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3921383&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf%20mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq

It still shows their price (for now)...

As Ted pointed out, display models will have been running in the factory "torch" mode (vivid, probably) for thousands of hours, which will have prematurely aged the phosphors in the set. I'd spring the extra $100 or so and get a brand new one.

Just my opinion.

thats probably what i will do...today! thanks guys!

http://www.buy.com/prod/panasonic-th-42pz80u-42-widescreen-1080p-plasma-hdtv-1-000-000-1/q/loc/111/207388757.html

FREEE SHIPPING Plus only $900

Sears is having a weekend sale here that includes a panasonic plasma in 42"
get the cheapest HDMI cables you can find, HDMI is a digital signal and cheap cables do not "degrade" it you will either have a picture or nothing