Consumer Reports

[gzyzwc]

I am wanting a 1080p TV, plasma or LCD. I really can't decide.

I tend to watch Movies on my oppo DVD player, and need a decent TV for less than 5,000$. I do not want, nor can I use a projection screen. it is plasma or lcd for me preferabley between 42" and 50"

What would you reccomend.

I looked in consumer reports and have been to fry's electronics.

The salesman seemed to think the http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5015395?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
Is the best deal and picture.

It did look amazing in the store, and was at 46" which is perfect, but it was not in my consumer reports, so i am not sure if the quality is good? Oddly enough 2 the same size and 1 is 500$ more, but has "diamond upgrade." What is that and does it matter?

Also, at that price range I could see myself getting a plasma at the 50" size, but I really can't tell the diffrence between the LCD and PLASMA.

From the Consumer reports it looks like the panasonic TH-50PX60U is perfect, at only $2,600 it fits in the budget perfectly, and is rated 11 in their list. I do not have any need for a quality of sound they have listed, as I am going to hook up the Axiom speakers, and the Yamaha RX-V659 Receiver.

The real issue, is that the 46" mitsu is not listed in consumer reports, actually no LCD tv's were listed over 40" but I saw several in the store.

Any reccomendations would be appreciated.

Thanks
ps. I am not sure if they are all 1080p, I do know I purchased a DVD player to upconvert to that, so I would like my tv to be compatable. so I can get the best picture, for my money.

 

[MDS]

Consumer Reports is just one source for reviews and recommendations. It is not necessarily the definitive source.

The Sharp LCD did poorly in the consumer reports guide but pretty much everyone else raves about Sharp and consider it the best of breed.

You'll have to decide which looks good to you and just go with it. None of them are perfect anyway.

 

[evilkat]

I am wanting a 1080p TV, plasma or LCD. I really can't decide.

I tend to watch Movies on my oppo DVD player, and need a decent TV for less than 5,000$. I do not want, nor can I use a projection screen. it is plasma or lcd for me preferabley between 42" and 50"

What would you reccomend.

I looked in consumer reports and have been to fry's electronics.

The salesman seemed to think the http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5015395?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
Is the best deal and picture.

It did look amazing in the store, and was at 46" which is perfect, but it was not in my consumer reports, so i am not sure if the quality is good? Oddly enough 2 the same size and 1 is 500$ more, but has "diamond upgrade." What is that and does it matter?

Also, at that price range I could see myself getting a plasma at the 50" size, but I really can't tell the diffrence between the LCD and PLASMA.

From the Consumer reports it looks like the panasonic TH-50PX60U is perfect, at only $2,600 it fits in the budget perfectly, and is rated 11 in their list. I do not have any need for a quality of sound they have listed, as I am going to hook up the Axiom speakers, and the Yamaha RX-V659 Receiver.

The real issue, is that the 46" mitsu is not listed in consumer reports, actually no LCD tv's were listed over 40" but I saw several in the store.

Any reccomendations would be appreciated.

Thanks
ps. I am not sure if they are all 1080p, I do know I purchased a DVD player to upconvert to that, so I would like my tv to be compatable. so I can get the best picture, for my money.

You should first decide if you want 1080p or 720p. If you're going with 1080p then your screen size should be not less than 50". If it's 720p, you probably want something between 42 and 50. That should help narrow it down a bit.

I own the Panny TH-42X60U and I have to say I'm extremely happy with the purchase. You won't go wrong with that model, and the price (1.3K) is hard to beat.

I would say that the biggest weakness of the 1080p version of this series would be it's de-interlacing, but the Oppo has a great rep for getting this right so I'd say you're set.

 

[supervij]

I can recommend what I've got: an Oppo 981 playing on a Sony 50" A2000 SXRD set. I'm absolutely startled by the picture quality on well-transfered DVDs. My gal and I were watching an episode from season one of the Lost DVDs, and, sitting 8.25 feet away from the screen, there were many moments when the picture looked so close to HD, I was fooled.

The A2000 line is 1080p, and cost me only $2500 Canadian -- something like $2137 US, or thereabouts.

I'm deleriously happy about this recent purchase!

cheers,
supervij

 

[BBigJ]

There are a number of places that do reviews online that you can look into. CNET jumps to mind, and you can also look at the user reviews at many online dealers. Just be aware of the biases that come with any reviewer. The online sites need to make sure they aren't so critical that they no longer get any review models from the manufacturer, and the users are frequently recent buyers that want to reassure themselves that they made a good purchase. CR is the more immune from these biases than most, but they still have plenty of detractors online. I'd suggest running a google search for "[model #] review", read lots of reviews from many sources to see what the potential problems are, then take a look in the store to see if these problems actually bother you.

 

[B5I8]

You can probably find a Pioneer Elite PureVision PRO-FHD1 for just under $5k if you look hard enough. That is probably the best 50" plasma you can get right now. It is a true 1080p plasma panel. There is also a Panasonic TH-50PF9UK for $4,296 which is also a true 1080p plasma panel.

 

[pbarach1]

What Consumer Reports is good for

A lot of people don't agree with the ratings that CR prints concerning audio and video equipment. If your eyes and ears arrive at different ratings, you know which to trust. On the other hand, their frequency of repair data is invaluable. I can't think of another source for this kind of information. You could ask repair technicians that you know, I suppose, but their answers will be skewed by the market share of various brands they work on, and their lack of knowledge concerning reliability of brands they don't work on.

 

[mnnc]

For 5k...Panasonic onyx series or Pioneer elite. Probably the best plasmas available. The 2-2 1/2 k 50in Panasonics are very nice. Save money and get a 720p display. A couple years from now upgrade to a 1080p and put the 720 in the bedroom!

 

[mnnc]

Pioneer elite or Panasonic onyx series are probably the best pdp's. Fujitsu's are sweet too. If you want to upconvert why not just buy a hd-dvd or bluray player for the 1080 machine? They are backward compatable aren't they? Personally I purchased a 50in 720 and will wait for the 1080's to become the 'norm' and save money while doing so. Most people have no idea about seating distance and getting the full effect of 1080 rez. It is tremendously close for most applications and would require an unobtainable screen size to get the detail at reasonable seating distance. Checkout some hd seating chart distances before getting too anxious about a 50in 1080 display. Sitting at an average 10-15 ft away, there will be very little to absolutely no difference in detail/pic quality than that of a 720p unit. Best of luck in your decision.

 

[hemiram]

I've had great luck with both Sharp and Mitsubishi TV's over the years and I went with the Sharp I bought, but that Mitsu was one I drooled over when I saw it in a place I was looking at. I had a $2K limit and I almost made it, but even the smaller Mitsu was out of my range, and the place selling it had no 18months same as cash deal like Sears did on the Sharp, so I bought at Sears.

Mitsu TV1: Turned 25 a few days ago, it's getting very green but still works ok. It cost $1000 bucks back in 82. That TV sold itself to several friends who still have them. Even the remote is built like a tank. It survived my Pit Bull mix chewing on it when he was a pup and even though he dinged it up, it still worked fine. I wonder how many hours that TV has on it. From 82 until about 98, it was on a minimum of 16 hours a day, seven days a week. That's over 93,000 hours right there! It still ran over 8 until 2006. A total of 116,800 hours! That works out to about less than a buck per 1000 hours. I guess we got our money's worth!
Mitsu TV2: Retired at 23+ years old last June. Volume control and tuner pushbuttons were pretty well shot. Pic looked great though. Cost a whopping $199 on closeout.
Sharp: Lasted 16 years, then the heater in the picture tube went out. We used one of those rejuvinators to reweld the filament, and a co-worker needed a TV for a month or two while their house got rebuilt after a fire, and I sold it to them for $20. Five years later, it finally died for good.