help with a gift

[phynias]

i am looking to get a gift for my parents and i wanted suggestions for a 40-42 inch plasma or lcd tv. preferably 1080p but will settle for 1080i. i was looking to spend around $999. any help would be appreciated, even telling me what to stay away from.

thanks!

 

[Pyrrho]

At that price point, I would be willing to settle for a good 720p set. There is more to picture quality than just resolution, but you must decide such things for yourself. I would probably go with a Toshiba LCD 42" set.

Here is a link to help you decide whether you want to go with LCD or plasma:

http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-J9BYbCiCpqg/learningcenter/home/tv_flatpanel.html

I personally would never buy a plasma; some other people would never buy an LCD. Read the information at the above link, and decide for yourself which virtues and vices are most important to you. No matter what you buy, it will not be the best in every way.

 

[Vivienyuan]

Yes indeed your budget is not good enough for a 1080p plasma tv, so you should decide between the 1080p and plasma, if you want to get a plasma you can have a look at the SAMSUNG PN42A450 42 inch 720p Plasma HDTV, newegg has it for $900. And if you want to get a 1080p lcd you can have a look at the Toshiba 40RF350U 40" tv, a recent deal on the Toshiba 40RF350U LCD TV is $1100.

 

[canIscream]

a google shopping search of a 42" panasonic returned a bunch of promising results in your price range. i'd never buy an LCD personally. i also wouldn't worry about 1080P in a screen that small. if your parents are going to be more than 6 feet away, they won't notice the difference.

this is the model to look into. panasonic th42px80u

 

[Pyrrho]

Yes indeed your budget is not good enough for a 1080p plasma tv, so you should decide between the 1080p and plasma, if you want to get a plasma you can have a look at the SAMSUNG PN42A450 42 inch 720p Plasma HDTV, newegg has it for $900. And if you want to get a 1080p lcd you can have a look at the Toshiba 40RF350U 40" tv, a recent deal on the Toshiba 40RF350U LCD TV is $1100.

I did not mean that the budget was not good enough for just a 1080p plasma, I meant that if buying anything at that price point, I would settle for a good 720p set instead of buying some off brand junk TV that happened to be 1080p. The reason being, picture quality is more than just resolution. For example, 1080p and 720p tell one nothing about color accuracy. It is better to have a high quality 720p set than a low quality 1080p set. This applies regardless of type of TV (LCD, plasma, or whatever).

And, as I said previously, I would never buy a plasma. But, of course, there are others who would never buy an LCD. One should read up on them both, and select according to which virtues and vices matter to whoever will be using the TV.

 

[Pyrrho]

a google shopping search of a 42" panasonic returned a bunch of promising results in your price range. i'd never buy an LCD personally. i also wouldn't worry about 1080P in a screen that small. if your parents are going to be more than 6 feet away, they won't notice the difference.

this is the model to look into. panasonic th42px80u

If they have 20/20 vision, it is more than about 8' with a 42" screen where one cannot tell the difference between 720p and 1080p:

http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html

And the full article:

http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/

Or the same information in a somewhat easier to read chart:

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/assets/download/0602_tech_talk2_large.jpg

I, however, would go with an LCD instead of a plasma. Again, anyone who is reading this should look at the link I provided in my first post in this thread, and decide which virtues and vices matter most to the person who will have the TV. Neither is a perfect TV.

 

[Adam]

First, I'd like to say that's a generous gift on your part. I bet that your parents like it.

I agree that a good 720P model in that size range from a top-tier manufacturer would be better than a 1080P model from a bottom-tier manufacturer. I would suggest that you read up on the web (including some threads here) about the reliability and warranties of brands. I remember a thread here last year about some flat panel TV brands that (if I remember correctly) can't be serviced after the first year...or something like that. The price is seductive, but the long-term story is not so rosy.