whats the best 42in panel to buy?

[rainman671]

hi i am looking for a new 42in panel i am leaning to a panny plasma, anyone have any other ideas, and if a panny what model they have like 4 different models,also like,hitachi also any help will be great,

 

[markw]

Well, that depends on your needs and preferences.

There are a lot of good ones and a lot of "OK" ones but, ultimaterly, you get what you pay for.

When I did my search for a 32" HDTV a few months ago I came home with a Toshiba 32HL66, which IMNSHO, had an excellent picture, all the I/O and features I needed and came in a good price. And, had I been looking for a 42", odds are I would have gone with a Toshiba as well, but I had a price and physical size ceiling.

You may want to list the features and I/O you need and use that to narrow down your list.

As it now stands, I'm in the market for a 42+ set, but with LCD prices (I'm an LCD guy) sinking faster than a stoolie with cinder blocks tied to his feet, I'm in no great hurry.

FWIW, here' a a post I made about my selection process:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26866&highlight=caveman

 

[moverton]

hi i am looking for a new 42in panel i am leaning to a panny plasma, anyone have any other ideas, and if a panny what model they have like 4 different models,also like,hitachi also any help will be great,

the 42" panny plasma's are excellent displays and very inexpensive for the quality. I would look at the commercial panasonic line in addition to the consumer line. they are basically the same display but they come with diferent prices and options. I like the commercial line because you don't pay for a tuner and speakers which many people don't need.
The only possible alternative I would think about are the sharp 1080p lcd aquos. They are more expensive but they will look better with 1080p content when that becomes more mainstream (blue ray/hd dvd). It just depends on how long term of an investment you want to make.
Just remember though, both of these tv's will be obsolete in 5 years.

 

[BMXTRIX]

I like the Panasonics and while I like the commercial line, they do not typically have an HDMI port on board. This is a huge screw up IMO, because the 'discount' they give you for not having speakers, tuner, etc. is less than what you end up paying to get one HDMI port added to the display!

For example:
http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_Sku_Y_TH42PX600U
is only a couple hundred more than this:
http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_Sku_Y_TH42PH9UK

Yet it includes ATSC, dual HDMI, and other features that you may find of use for convenience alone.

If we are asking what the best 42" display is regardless of money?
http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_Sku_Y_PDP4270HD

Pioneer Elite rocks the overall image quality category and would be my first choice if I were buying... and could afford it.

I also find that most people go undersized when getting a display as a 42" display really should be viewed from about 6-9 feet. If you are sitting at typical 10-14 foot distances, you should really consider 50".

 

[moverton]

I like the Panasonics and while I like the commercial line, they do not typically have an HDMI port on board. This is a huge screw up IMO, because the 'discount' they give you for not having speakers, tuner, etc. is less than what you end up paying to get one HDMI port added to the display!

Just get a dvi-hdmi cable. no need to buy the hdmi card I don't think. dvi and hdmi are compatible

 

[moverton]

For example:
http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_Sku_Y_TH42PX600U
is only a couple hundred more than this:
http://www.bestbuyplasma.com/Plasma/Product.asp_X_Sku_Y_TH42PH9UK

Yet it includes ATSC, dual HDMI, and other features that you may find of use for convenience alone.

boy have prices changed. It used to be $1000 difference between those two, so now I would agree; for the $125 difference, the consumer one makes sense.

Although there is one other advantage for the commercial. It just looks better. plain black narrow frame, no wide silver for speakers, etc.

 

[rainman671]

hi thanks for the posts, and opinions, the price thing in not a big thing,i would pay more for a better panel, i have a 52 in 1080p lcd in my living room and i am looking for something for my bedroom, i am about 6 to 7 feet from where it will be, i will look at the pioneer panel i like there products very much i just got a vsx-82 for my 52in lcd in the living room, thanks and any more opinions please post,

 

[stratman]

hi thanks for the posts, and opinions, the price thing in not a big thing,i would pay more for a better panel, i have a 52 in 1080p lcd in my living room and i am looking for something for my bedroom, i am about 6 to 7 feet from where it will be, i will look at the pioneer panel i like there products very much i just got a vsx-82 for my 52in lcd in the living room, thanks and any more opinions please post,

I have the Panny 42" ED, 2 years strong, not a problem, beautiful picture especially with hi-def material, excellent black rendition, price here in Miami-975.00 Brandsmart USA, brings HDMI if that's a concern. When I bought it 2 years ago 2600.00 (ouch.)

 

[The Dukester]

I agree with BMX on the Pioneers. From what my admittedly untrained eye can see, they have the best picture. I bought one, but not the Elite. Still a little too rich for my blood, but they have a really good picture.
The Pannasonic 600 series have a better picture to me than the 60 series, but they are more expensive, also.

 

[rainman671]

hi does any one have any opinions on this panel HITACHI
42HDS69 42-IN UltraVision Plasma HDTV any thoughts liks or dislikes,

 

[Tomorrow]

As it now stands, I'm in the market for a 42+ set, but with LCD prices (I'm an LCD guy) sinking faster than a stoolie with cinder blocks tied to his feet, I'm in no great hurry.]

Mark, you crack me up! (Only a New Joiseyite would think of that!) (And you're right about the pricing.)

FWIW, I have a friend that is a corporate officer at Panasonic, and he believes that the company is putting it's faith in the LCD market rather than plasma. As others have posted...I love my Panny, but it's not plasma.

If you happen to live in the northwest, there is a membership store company named Bi-Mart. At the beginning of March, they will have a sale on 42" Magnavox plasmas (I cannot, because of ignorance, speak to the unit's quality) for something under $1,000! That's plain ol' amazing to me. So it looks like prices for plasmas may be going through the floor, too.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[WmAx]

I am going to recommend the current Panasonic HDTV Plasmas as best value, based on what I have seen and based on popular opinion on reputable video forums and review sites. The only units of which I know that are considered overall better are the Pioneer offerings(which are substantially more expensive).

Note: the factory defaults settings (vivid mode) are horrific on the Panasonics. I spent around 20-30 minutes per television in the store(s) adjusting each set in which I had some interest. The sharpening 'system' on the Panasonics is not as good as many others is my conclusion, so you will never get an as perceived sharp picture as many other units. If you use the factory default degree, or even close to it, to get an equivalent degree of sharpening as compared to other units, the sharpening system seems to be internally linked to some other adjustment as well that causes an effect best described as 'clay-like' in effect on faces. But even considering this, there is no other current plasma I would desire more, except for offerings from Pioneer.

-Chris

 

[rainman671]

hi ok with all i have read, i am leaning to the panny 600u if i were to buy online who is the best online store to buy from,(cust service,no bull,instock,and no hidden charges, i have looked at a few and i just want to get some opinions,

 

[Hi Ho]

hi does any one have any opinions on this panel HITACHI
42HDS69 42-IN UltraVision Plasma HDTV any thoughts liks or dislikes,

I setup and callibrated that Hitatchi and a Panasonic TH-42PD60U on the same wall in the store I work at. The EDTV Panasonic has a better picture, in my opnion.

First off, the Hitatchi looks horrible out of the box with factory settings. Colors are way too intense and overblown. Contrast is terrible and blacks are a light grey.

After numerous adjustments I was able to get a respectable image from the Hitatchi, though black levels are well below par and there is a noticable amount of noise in the picture.

The Panasonic required very few tweaks to get an excellent image, mainly changing the image mode from "Vivid" to "Cinema".

The wall consists of eight displays from Hitatchi, Pioneer Elite, and Panasonic. In comparing all of them side by side, Panasonic and Pioneer Elite are pretty damn close in performance, even the EDTV Panasonic holds it's own against the $7,000 Elite 50". Pioneer Elite is still a step up from all of them but you pay a (big) premium for it. The Hitatchi is a noticable step down. It is, notably, the lowest priced plasma we carry and with more tweaking I'm sure it can look perfectly fine for someone looking for a low cost option but I still recommend Panasonic.

My lowly "by eye" calibration doesn't compare to the more thorough calibration done later by our certified ISF tech. He hasn't gotten to those two TV's yet. He doesn't do a full ISF calibration for store displays but he can make just about any TV look great.

 

[manofsteel2397]

so wich is the way to go plasma or lcd ive always been afraid of plasmas because i heard they burn out over time and fade in brightness every year but now im hearing that they last just as long as lcd s is this true and if so should i buy plasma vs lcd..... any help would be apprecieated.

 

[evilkat]

If you want the absolute best in plasmas, go with the Pioneer Pro series. My god your eyes will bleed because the image is THAT sharp. On the other hand, if you don't have $7K to burn, then I suggest you go with the Panny plasma. I myself settled for a TH-42PX60U and am extremely satisfied with it.

It's no Pioneer, but at $1.3K, you really get a HUGE bang for your buck. For what I've spent, I'm completely satisfied with what I'm seeing (given that I haven't seen any native 720p content on it yet). I'm sure I'll be blown away once I do get some decent content!

 

[BMXTRIX]

so wich is the way to go plasma or lcd ive always been afraid of plasmas because i heard they burn out over time and fade in brightness every year but now im hearing that they last just as long as lcd s is this true and if so should i buy plasma vs lcd..... any help would be apprecieated.

Plasma does fade over time - But think long term.... Like 13+ years before a typical plasma will reach 1/2 the brightness from the day you purchased it. How many TVs do you have that are that old? How much do you think a replacement will be in 13 years?

For example: I recently worked on a job that had 10 plasmas in the room. (security). These plasmas were installed 3 years ago and have been on 24/7 since the day they were put in. That's about 4 times+ more than the average home will run a TV. Now, out of those 10 plasmas, a couple did have colors that were going, and ONE was a bit dim. But, the rest all looked very good and would be ones that I would be happy to have in my home right now. That was 3 year old plasma technology - still running strong - and the latest plasmas are only better.

There are differences between plasma and LCD, but lifespan is not likely one of those items. It is far more likely a video board will go bad than the display itself will fail. But, remember, if you drop it, or knock something into it, you can destroy a $2000+ display pretty darn quickly.

 

[angstadt530]

I myself settled for a TH-42PX60U and am extremely satisfied with it.

Evilkat: Do you ever find yourself wishing you would have gone a little larger than 42 inches? Say...50 inches? When I got my 30" tube TV last year, I bought it thinking I wouldn't care for anything else for a long time. At the time it was a huge step up (from a like, 19" from the 70s or 80s), but after a few short months it started to seemed too small. I'm thinking about the TH-42PX600U Panny, but I don't want to end up thinking that I should have bought the 50 incher--Which I know would be plenty large enough!

 

[BMXTRIX]

Evilkat: Do you ever find yourself wishing you would have gone a little larger than 42 inches? Say...50 inches? When I got my 30" tube TV last year, I bought it thinking I wouldn't care for anything else for a long time. At the time it was a huge step up (from a like, 19" from the 70s or 80s), but after a few short months it started to seemed too small. I'm thinking about the TH-42PX600U Panny, but I don't want to end up thinking that I should have bought the 50 incher--Which I know would be plenty large enough!

We sit 12 feet from a 50" plasma... we are going bigger when money allows for it.

10-14 foot viewing distance, which is typical, demands a 50" display at least. Some people think that is to large, until they live with it for a month. I know I had a customer who insisted on a 32" display... and I talked them into a 42" display. I wasn't selling it, just installing it, but I told them they just wouldn't be happy with anything smaller (9 foot viewing). The day I put it in they said it was huge. Less than a week later they were extremely satisfied with the size and agreed that smaller would have been worse.

 

[evilkat]

Evilkat: Do you ever find yourself wishing you would have gone a little larger than 42 inches? Say...50 inches? When I got my 30" tube TV last year, I bought it thinking I wouldn't care for anything else for a long time. At the time it was a huge step up (from a like, 19" from the 70s or 80s), but after a few short months it started to seemed too small. I'm thinking about the TH-42PX600U Panny, but I don't want to end up thinking that I should have bought the 50 incher--Which I know would be plenty large enough!

There were a number of reasons why I decided to go with 42".

1. I wanted a 720p TV because the 1080p TVs in my price range had flaky technology. Deinterlacing wasn't implemented properly, and many of the TVs simply could not accept a 1080p signal (only 1080i). Given the fact that all broadcast TV is at 720p and blue-ray/HD have a ways to go before they fall into my price range (and of course the format war has yet to be settled) I thought I'd rather go with a good 720p TV at a much cheaper price.

2. Because I decided on 720p, I really didn't see the benefit of going to a 50" screen. It seemed to me that I'd see more artifacts with a bigger screen and even worse, SD broadcasts would look even worse on a bigger screen.

Given all of the above, I decided that I'd allocate more money away from my TV budget and put into my speakers & A/V receiver which seemed to be based on more solid and known tech which was far less likely to become obsolete like I fear the TV will.

At the time I made my purchase, I honestly didn't feel I'd be getting my money's worth with a higher-end TV (unless I settled for a Pionner which costs upwards of $7,000 @ Best Buy). So in the end, I feel this was the best route I could take.

Granted my Panny doesn't do a lot of fancy stuff like the higher-end TVs. But it can accept 720p, and 1080 downscaled to 720 is going to look a heluva lot better than 720 upscaled to 1080

And to be honest with you, once I got the TV in place, it's quite a bit bigger than I expected, given my viewing distance which is about 7-10Ft away from the TV. Thus far, I cannot be happier with the purchase!