Plasma Screens

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devicemanager

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I have a friend that is in the market for a Plasma Screen TV. If I help him find one I get his 36" Somy WEGA at a great disount. Anyone know anything about these things? Is there anything to look for? Not to look for?

Thanks...
 
RE: Plasma Screens

Some of the cheapest ones cost-wise are from Gateway....affordable, even! And they have a "up to $500 off" special going on. $2799 for a 42" plasma, $4000 for a HD Plasma, $3500 for a 46" plasma, and $6500 (ouch) for a 50" plasma HDTV.
 
RE: Plasma Screens

Echo on what RRocket said. Gateway is the cheapest plasma TV I have seen in Texas
 
RE: Plasma Screens

No, it's an EDTV which means "Enhanced Definition", does not have the same resolution as a HDTV. However there are very few HD programs available right now, so ED is definately worth a shot. DVD's resolution falls in between the two so either will give you a great DVD picture. The Gateway is actually a "Sampo" which runs pretty hot compared to other brands, this could affect the plasma cells life. I've done A LOT of research this summer as I WAS very hot to buy a plasma. The Panasonic TH42PA20U seemed to be the one for me, until I was finally able to view regular satellite tv broadcasts on the plasmas. For this type of standard TV viewing THEY STINK!!! Broadcast HDTV sources are good, but no better than a good CRT. DVDs are incredible, the best! Video games are WOW! But Broadcast shows MUST be stretched to 16:9 to avoid burning lines into the plasma screen. This leads to distorted and very grainy images. Tried to watch a live feed from CNN, should have been dead sharp, NO WAY! It was so grainy and blurry (digital artifacts around the newscasters)that it was unviewable. This was on TVs from $4500 to $7000!!! In this mode(90% of my tv viewing)they're comparable to old second generation rear projection sets.
I held off buying until I could see broadcast tv on these sets. ALL of the large chain stores around here demonstrate only closed loop DVD feeds on the plasmas (this should tell you something) when asked to demonstrate broadcast TV they claim their hookups prevent it. I then went to a privately owned store (Plesser's, Babylon NY) where I could view actual broadcasts on 8 top brand plasmas. When I asked the salesman why they were the only store around that did this he replied, "Because I'm tired of taken them back, I want the customer to see here, exactly what he's going to see at home before he buys. He also warned me that fast action sports are not very good on the plasmas, a lot of blurring occurs. He tried to clean up the images and then gave me the TV's remote. I tried for a good 15 minutes to adjust the set to make the standard broadcasts viewable (I really wanted to buy that TV) but couldn't do it. How depressing it was.
If you've got $3000-$6000 to spend on a TV thats perfect for video games, DVDs, a few HDTV broadcasts, and NOTHING else then plasmas are the way to go. Personally, I just can't justify spending that kind of money on a part time TV. Heard that Sony has a 40" CRT out now, might be worth looking into...
 
RE: Plasma Screens

You said "No, it's an EDTV which means "Enhanced Definition"

Errr... 2 of the Gateways ARE HDTV Plasma.....
 
RE: Plasma Screens

You said "No, it's an EDTV which means "Enhanced Definition"

Errr... 2 of the Gateways ARE HDTV Plasma.....
Click to expand...

Do they come with an HDTV tuner, or are they just HDTV capable?
 
RE: Plasma Screens

Heard that Sony has a 40" CRT out now, might be worth looking into...
Click to expand...

I have a 42" Sony rear projection, and absolutely love it. I was in the same position last year, lusting after the plasma 'picture' until the real world feeds(digital satellite or digital cable) revealed their quality(or lack thereof). Then I looked at larger CRTs, but the price was exponential to the size. Amazing how DVDs can make mediocre displays look good.

IF a plasma display is what is wanted regardless of cost or other criteria, IMHO you must see the set in operation in person. I would never buy that price range of any display without seeing it firsthand using the media it will be used for most frequently.

On a related note, it also amazes me how good my ancient(technology age) big dish satellite performs in comparison to new age digital satellite and digital cable. With the 42" screen, picture defects hitherto not noticed become distracting to say the least. Digital does not impress me, as I fell for the digital sales pitch when I bought a 4DTV receiver. The occasional artifacts mentioned are extremely annoying at times. If I watch a HBO broadcast in digital, I often find myself switching to the analog satellite broadcast. But quite a few subscription channels are only available on digital feeds as for some reason, they have dropped their C-Band broadcast(economic reasons I presume).
 
RE: Plasma Screens

Has anyone checked the resolution on the plasmas they were watching? The person that is looking into this tv has BIG bucks and would pay whatever it costs, but they won't pay a lot for junk. I'm sure a cheapo plasma will play like a cheapo should, but the top notch ones like the Pioneer for instance?
 
RE: Plasma Screens

I don't really have much to contribute as far as what plasma TV to buy, but I would like to concur with Driller and Boomer on the picture quality of digital satellite and cable. It sucks. And a HD (or even HD-Ready) TV will show the defects of digital to the max. The crappy digital picture is noticable enough on my eight year-old Sony. On a HD set I'm sure it'd be unbearable.

That's the problem with digital: By simply adjusting the compression, you can make it look fantasic (DVD) or like a bad jpeg (DirecTV). The satellite and digital cable companies like to advertise "digital quality", but the phrase is getting to be an oxymoron. Of course the reason it looks so bad is because they compress the hell out of the signal so they can squeeze more channels into the same "pipe". Unfortunately, most people are willing to sacrifice picture quality for more channels.

It's just like digital cell phones. They compress the hell out of the signal to fit more calls in. Find someone who has an analog cell phone and compare the sound quality, not to mention the reception. With digital, if the signal gets below a certain level, it just cuts out completely. With analog, it may fade in and out, but you're much less likely to get cut off. And there isn't all that awful distortion at the fringe.


Anyway...
Don't let any of this necessarily scare you off. If you watch a lot of DVD's or live in a metropolitan area where you can get the local HDTV channels over a regular (outdoor) antenna, you'll love it. If all you're likely to watch is cable, you might want to test drive it first before you spend the dough.
 
RE: Plasma Screens


I don't really have much to contribute as far as what plasma TV to buy, but I would like to concur with Driller and Boomer on the picture quality of digital satellite and cable. It sucks. And a HD (or even HD-Ready) TV will show the defects of digital to the max. The crappy digital picture is noticable enough on my eight year-old Sony. On a HD set I'm sure it'd be unbearable.
[/quote]

Mark, don't hold back, tell us what you really think!

To answer the resolution question, for example, my Sony is HDTV ready at 480i, 720p and 1080i compatibility. I forget all the plasma jargon, but understood it to be more pixel count as a LCD computer screen rather than comparable to CRT technology. IMHO, once a certain level of resolution is reached(for room sized displays), it takes a much more discerning eye, a much higher level of scene detail or a much larger screen to tell significant differences. It reminds me of the total harmonic distortion levels of high power amplifiers. No one is really going to be able to hear the difference between 0.05% and 0.01% even though obviously one is five times worse than the other. It's all about bragging rights after a while.

In summation, once you step up the plasma level, I don't believe resolution will be the deciding issue. I mean go see them in action... the plasma screens outshine most other technologies(CRT, LCD, projection...) in side by side comparison. But look at a half dozen or more plasma screens together and you can hardly tell a difference in like-size screens.
 
RE: Plasma Screens

Peter, you have a good point. But I don't know if resolution is the only answer. There are some that have low resolution that are more expensive than the higher resolution. Maybe it is a gimic or maybe it is the difference of ports, like S-Video, composite and HDTV. I think those are some of the options that really cost money.

I will definately have to see them running live tv in person.

All I know is I want that 36" Sony WEGA...
 
RE: Plasma Screens

All I know is I want that 36" Sony WEGA...
Click to expand...

I did too my man, til I seen these:

http://www.circuitcity.com/IMAGE/product/hires/son/PC.SON.KP43HT20.JPG
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&catoid=-8041&qp=03742&bookmark=bookmark_0&oid=41462

But if the Wega is your finders fee, I totally understand.

Go to a local electronics store... not a national chain IMHO. Usually you find places that are home theatre specialists and will spend the time necessary to allow you to feel comfortable.
 
RE: Plasma Screens

That TV does look pretty fierce. I am just worried about burning the screen. I am a big kid and still play video games, I love my XBOX and I have a TIVO so the screen may be paused while I am making a sandwich or something. The price is reasonable.

I am in the process of framing out my basement and building a actual theater in my basement.
 
RE: Plasma Screens

XBOX is nothing short of awesome on this Sony rear projection set I have(we're all big kids, aren't we?). I find no burn in from stills in the year I've had it, and I've discovered it on pause quite a few mornings after the kids stay up late. Most games seem to have a rotating scene or cut to a movie loop after a predetermined amount of time on pause anyways.

It would be too cool having a real home theatre with one of these sets(or even bigger if the viewing room allows it). The features list is quite long as well. It's a natural progression from the direct view WEGA series. IMHO it stands out from the crowd of rear projection sets. This same series of TVs grow to 60" plus and 16:9 widescreen as well. For me the 43" was big enough for my viewing and light enough on my wallet. :)
 
RE: Plasma Screens

I don't think you've got to worry about burn-in with a direct view TV. I've got a TiVo, and I'll bring up some menu and then leave the room and forget about it, and I've never had any burn-in on my 8-year-old 32" Sony XBR. I don't have any game boxes though (I do all my gaming on the PC).

Even projection TVs are supposed to be much better at avoiding burn-in these days.
 
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