Thoughts on these two TVs...

[Moto-Brian]

So, need to buy two new TVs for the house. Bought one already and want to keep the second under $1k.

Was thinking Plasma or LCD as I was a 50"-55" if possible for the wall I want to mount it to.

Plasmas are stupid cheap right now. Have never owned one, heard great things as far as watching sports, but have also heard (older stories) issues...

So, figured the ever educated OR folks might be able to shed some light.

First choice:

LCD 55" $999 - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+55%22+Class+/+1080p+/+120Hz+/+LCD+HDTV/2363655.p?id=1218323020288&skuId=2363655

Second choice:

Plasma 50" on sale $799 - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasonic+-+50%22+Class+/+Plasma+/+1080p+/+600Hz+/+HDTV/2120201.p?id=1218310004114&skuId=2120201

Just figured with a $200 savings, I can get the extended coverage and some HDMI cables, etc... Maybe a new Blue Ray player.

The room is a basement room with can lights and minimal outside window light. Heard Plasma doesn't do well in really well lit rooms and this seems to be the perfect or as perfect a room as I could put it in.

Thoughts ol' wise ones?

[Tomcat0403]

Personally i never would sell a toshiba to anyone...neither would my associates.

[magley64]

I'd go samsung plasma... did it before, and i am quite pleased with it... just be conscious of what you're putting on the screen, plasma still has a pretty high risk of burn in if you're not careful.

[TheBrown57]

I'd go samsung plasma... did it before, and i am quite pleased with it... just be conscious of what you're putting on the screen, plasma still has a pretty high risk of burn in if you're not careful.

^this

[RVTPilot]

Personally i never would sell a toshiba to anyone...neither would my associates.

I'm interested in your commentary on Toshibas. I just replaced a 57" rear proj unit with a 60" LED Sharp, but in all fairness, the Toshiba still had a very nice picture for a 10 year old TV. Not challenging your postion on them, just curious as to what someone else's experience and knowledge of them might be for future reference.

[jblosser]

Never had a Panny, so can't comment on it.

Have a Samsung 42" plasma, 1.5 years old, no isues at all, beautiful picture.

Have a 10 year old Toshiba rear projection CRT 60" (the big mother, weighs in at around 300 lbs), no issues at all, beautiful picture when fed component HD (doesn't have HDMI, too old).

***edit - echoing what RVT says about the Toshiba

Have two Vizio LCDs (47" & 32"), 4 or 5 years old, no issues at all, beautiful pictures.

Guess I'm just lucky with televisions...

[Mykill]

I'd go samsung plasma... did it before, and i am quite pleased with it... just be conscious of what you're putting on the screen, plasma still has a pretty high risk of burn in if you're not careful.

^this

Actually with the new ones you are pretty safe after their break in period. Just be careful for the first few hundred hours after that your fine.

Oh and I have a panasonic plasma and its been great so far. I wouldnt hesitate to buy another.

[TheBrown57]

Actually with the new ones you are pretty safe after their break in period. Just be careful for the first few hundred hours after that your fine.

Oh and I have a panasonic plasma and its been great so far. I wouldnt hesitate to buy another.

Did not know that Thanks for the info

[Moto-Brian]

When you say be careful what gets put on the screen, you mean what you show or what you clean with?

[conn-e-rot]

Don't leave anything paused for long periods of time or channels with logos or info bar.

[Tomcat0403]

Toshibas are generally two years behind on tv technology, they do not make their own tvs like samsung, lg, and sharp. The picture quality is substandard for the same (or little higher) priced tvs, and i handled quite a few of them on returns and service. Unparalled for the amount we sold. Plus the style is ugly on most of them. Goof to hhgregg ask them about thia particular model and see what they have comparible. Probably going to be an LG.

[conn-e-rot]

It looks like the Panasonic prevents burn in

http://toplcdhdtv.com/panasonic-hdtv/panasonic-viera-tc-p50s30-review/

It is also good to take advantage of the image retention tools that the TC-P50S30 provides to prevent unwanted burn-in. The Pixel Orbiter is an essential feature that should be turned on so any static images that appear on the display for too long won’t burn in. You will often encounter these images when watching certain channels where the logo is constantly shown on the corner of the screen.

You may also need to reset the pixels by activating the Scrolling Bar for a few minutes. This writes a gradient bar to the screen that should start from white to black. The Pillar Bar Brightener also changes the pillar bars to bright gray so image retention is prevented.

[r1crusher]

If you and/or kids ever plan on playing any kind of console games on it, I'd stick to an LCD. I personally don't care what manufacturers say about plasma not burning in on today's models. There will always be a chance that they will burn in, period. And if I'm dropping $800 on a TV, I won't mind spending another $200 for the peace of mind that I or my kids can never hurt it playing games on it.

By the way, you can easily get BD players as well as other things bundled with sets today. HHgregg will just about bend over to get you where you need to be price wise so do not be afraid to push any sales guy to the limit.

Now, for TV's I have owned Sharps, Toshibas, and LGs. The best pictures I've seen were on the LG and it's more than likely because of the 240Hz refresh rate when watching sports. The Sharp is a close second but not as good as the LG because it's only a 120Hz. Lastly the Toshiba was okay but I don't know that I'd buy one again.

RVT has a pretty much top of the line Sharp Quattron 3D 60". Beautiful TV and it's 240Hz as well. When shopping in the store keep the features in mind more than the picture you're seeing. The feeds to the sets are split dozens of times and you WILL NEVER get the full effect of the sets picture quality until you get it home. Just do your homework, find a couple models you like then start your shopping for a good deal.

[Mykill]

When you say be careful what gets put on the screen, you mean what you show or what you clean with?

Like playing video games with a logo thats there or how the olympics symbol never leaves the bottom left. With normal tv viewing youll be fine and I dont worry about it all with mine now.

[r1crusher]

Like playing video games with a logo thats there or how the olympics symbol never leaves the bottom left. With normal tv viewing youll be fine and I dont worry about it all with mine now.

This is a big problem with broadcasts today. Just about every channel you watch will have their stupid little logo in some corner of the screen which is present there about 90% of the time. There's no avoiding them and if you're partial to news channels like Fox News, the ticker at the bottom will ruin a plasma in a matter of time.

This is why I just avoid plasma. No offence to those that own them, I just won't be taking the chance with them.

[Mykill]

This is a big problem with broadcasts today. Just about every channel you watch will have their stupid little logo in some corner of the screen which is present there about 90% of the time. There's no avoiding them and if you're partial to news channels like Fox News, the ticker at the bottom will ruin a plasma in a matter of time.

This is why I just avoid plasma. No offence to those that own them, I just won't be taking the chance with them.

Agreed. It was the best I could get for my money though. I would get a LED if I was shopping today. Plasma's give you the most for your money.

[r1crusher]

They certainly do Mike. There's plenty of pros/cons to each style so you're basically picking the lesser of two evils based on you're needs and use.

[vf1000ride]

Agreed with the comments so far on the plasma sets. On the other hand I have the 50" plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U and love it. The picture is fantastic, black and color reproduction in movies can't be beat except for the most high end led sets. Until the last year or so I would have argued you could not beat the plasmas for picture quality but I think these days the full backlit led sets are just as good and for the lack of screen burn they may even be better. That said, mine has been going strong for 3 years now with no issues and I would probably have to think long and hard before moving away from the plasma format. I am kinda intrigued by the specs on that Panasonic you linked to because for it still being a 50" screen like mine, it weighs 30 pounds less and draws over 300 watts less power. They did something inside the chassis over the last few years to make it lighter and more efficient.

My only faults with the plasma are the following.

It uses a lot of power compared to an lcd or led set. Mine is rated to max out at over 600watts and on a very bright white screen the ammeter I have in the power conditioner reflects that.

Heat, that 600watts from above makes plenty of heat. It actually has three fans across the top of the tv to make sure the electronics and the screen stay cool enough. When you walk up to the tv after it has been on for a few hours, that end of the room is noticeably warmer.

Screen burn, yep it happens. I have the pixel orbiter on mine and the screen wipe features just like the modern sets do. It still does it. You fall asleep watching the History channel and 6 hours later you wake up to change the channel and that stupid "H" is burned in the corner. Gaming can be done but you have to follow the same precaution as with tv logo's, limit screen time to 1-2 hours at a shot. I had my pc hooked to the plasma for a while and loved playing Crysis and Call of Duty on it. Ammo/health counters and your crosshairs are stationary. They burn in very nicely.

As for cables, unless the store you buy the tv at is giving them away for close to free don't get them. www.Monoprice.com or www.optimization-world.com They both have cables for way less then Best-buy and it is good stuff.

[bacchus]

Agreed with the comments so far on the plasma sets. On the other hand I have the 50" plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U and love it. The picture is fantastic, black and color reproduction in movies can't be beat except for the most high end led sets. Until the last year or so I would have argued you could not beat the plasmas for picture quality but I think these days the full backlit led sets are just as good and for the lack of screen burn they may even be better. That said, mine has been going strong for 3 years now with no issues and I would probably have to think long and hard before moving away from the plasma format. I am kinda intrigued by the specs on that Panasonic you linked to because for it still being a 50" screen like mine, it weighs 30 pounds less and draws over 300 watts less power. They did something inside the chassis over the last few years to make it lighter and more efficient.

My only faults with the plasma are the following.

It uses a lot of power compared to an lcd or led set. Mine is rated to max out at over 600watts and on a very bright white screen the ammeter I have in the power conditioner reflects that.

Heat, that 600watts from above makes plenty of heat. It actually has three fans across the top of the tv to make sure the electronics and the screen stay cool enough. When you walk up to the tv after it has been on for a few hours, that end of the room is noticeably warmer.

Screen burn, yep it happens. I have the pixel orbiter on mine and the screen wipe features just like the modern sets do. It still does it. You fall asleep watching the History channel and 6 hours later you wake up to change the channel and that stupid "H" is burned in the corner. Gaming can be done but you have to follow the same precaution as with tv logo's, limit screen time to 1-2 hours at a shot. I had my pc hooked to the plasma for a while and loved playing Crysis and Call of Duty on it. Ammo/health counters and your crosshairs are stationary. They burn in very nicely.

As for cables, unless the store you buy the tv at is giving them away for close to free don't get them. www.Monoprice.com or www.optimization-world.com They both have cables for way less then Best-buy and it is good stuff.

Are you sure it was the History channel logo that we burned in, Dave?

[vf1000ride]

Are you sure it was the History channel logo that we burned in, Dave?

If it was something more fun I wouldn't have fallen asleep.

[blue03636]

I played the shit out of call of duty on my plasma and it never burned in. Guess I didn't play it enough even though the wife said I did.

[r1crusher]

Total fabrication! I never once even saw you online, EVAR!

[blue03636]

You can sign in hidden. Lol

[r1crusher]

Smooth.....real smooth.

[madcat6183]

If you and/or kids ever plan on playing any kind of console games on it, I'd stick to an LCD. I personally don't care what manufacturers say about plasma not burning in on today's models. There will always be a chance that they will burn in, period. And if I'm dropping $800 on a TV, I won't mind spending another $200 for the peace of mind that I or my kids can never hurt it playing games on it.

By the way, you can easily get BD players as well as other things bundled with sets today. HHgregg will just about bend over to get you where you need to be price wise so do not be afraid to push any sales guy to the limit.

Now, for TV's I have owned Sharps, Toshibas, and LGs. The best pictures I've seen were on the LG and it's more than likely because of the 240Hz refresh rate when watching sports. The Sharp is a close second but not as good as the LG because it's only a 120Hz. Lastly the Toshiba was okay but I don't know that I'd buy one again.

RVT has a pretty much top of the line Sharp Quattron 3D 60". Beautiful TV and it's 240Hz as well. When shopping in the store keep the features in mind more than the picture you're seeing. The feeds to the sets are split dozens of times and you WILL NEVER get the full effect of the sets picture quality until you get it home. Just do your homework, find a couple models you like then start your shopping for a good deal.

Im not sure about how these units are now, but I know previously the room the unit was going in was a huge issue too. I believe LCDs were a benefit if the room was bit darker or if it was a basement. At least I believe that was it, or maybe the opposite.

Someone will chime in and correct me. But I know that the actual room itself plays a ton into what kind of TV you want.

I went with LCD Toshiba, and have no issues at all. I do however HATE Time Warner.