42" Plasma TV

[Boroboy182]

got the go ahead to get meself one of these for xmas and have around £1000 to spend,any suggestions and direction from the techies on here or brands that are the best for this sort of thing?

cheers in advance.

 

[McBunny]

dont go for a 42" plasma would be my advice

 

[jay s]

dont go for a 42" plasma would be my advice

why not?

 

[McBunny]

unless your going to watch 100% standard definition id go lcd oh and for 1k your not going to get a great plasma 2k yes 1k not really

 

[Boroboy182]

seen a couple of decent ones at just above £1000,panasonic,hitachi and a couple of other decents brands....

im not the master of TV just want a decent one that i can occasionally watch the footy on.

 

[Cue]

lcd is the way forward mate, plasma's are a bit dodgy.

 

[Gareth]

i've got a Samsung 42" Plasma and its great, not dodgy at all, it cost me £1500 at the beginning of the year but can be had for around £1000 now.

 

[martynh]

I think 37" is a nice size for an LCD screen, surely you need to be sat a fair distance from the screen to get the benefit, be like sitting on the front row at the cinema otherwise!

 

[McBunny]

lcd can be had anywhere upto 65" these days and they support 1080p unlike plasma !!

 

[paddymph]

There used to be rumours that plasma was unreliable, from what i've read over past months that used to be true, but not anymore.
Having said that I would go for a 37" LCD i think,

Hitachi do a good one:

http://www.richersounds.co.uk/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=HITA-37LD6600

or a Philips one:

http://www.richersounds.co.uk/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=PHIL-37PF5321

You could prbably find those cheaper if you looked properly. There was a What-HiFi out lately that had an LCD supertest in as well, i'd have a scan through that.

 

[McBunny]

tbh the best plasma was the 436xde by pioneer

but most plasmas dont even have regular shaped pexels they use square ones and a standard 4x3 resolution


oh and sony no longer make plasmas because lcd they feel is the way forward

 

[Williams025]

Plasmas' can still be unreliable, my mates one blew up in his front room only last month and it was only 3 years old. It was a pretty good HD LG one too. Plasma TVs will always need re-gassing after about 5 years anyway, and that can cost a fortune alone.

LCDs are the better buy. They are just as good res wise (if not better) these days and they wont require re-gassing after a few years.

 

[McBunny]

re gassing is a myth they dont need it but they do get image retention and in cases screen burn.

they also have a huge power requirement oh and image issues

but lcd isnt perfect either

 

[jay s]

chicken wire....

 

[Leeshez]

I will stick with my 28" wide screen thank you.

 

[mintblue]

Try http://www.avforums.com/ there is a wealth of knowledge on there, that's where i got my info from just before buying my 42" plasma last month for the same budget you've got mate.

 

[JamesRT]

http://www.stoneaudio.co.uk/stoneaudio/products/details.asp?product=2329

Got me one of those beasts. Go with LCD.

 

[jay s]

you will be able to pick up a 42" plasma for £1000 but u should try to spend a little more if you can stretch to it, got mine from http://www.prcdirect.co.uk/productlist.php?cda=productlist&sgroup=TV-PLASMA&pg=1 i got a hitachi 42" pd7500 which was last years top 42" that hitachi done, paid £1350 for it, the one that replaces it is the 42pd9700 which is £1400 at the moment. very good displays imo...

 

[Boroboy182]

been on the AV forums and they recommend this

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/televisions/0,39030218,49279509-2,00.htm

the colour the missus wants as well but there is a hitachi in richer sounds that i might have to go back and see.

 

[mintblue]

That's exactly the fella i've got mate, so far so good, they seem to get decent reviews. I got mine from sound and vision but they don't seem to be selling it anymore beware the PC1DV, that's a lesser model and the PC1DA has got silver surround, not black.

 

[Matty]

I'd personally go with a panel, as if you are worried about HD that will be from another source and not the in built tuner.

Better to keep everything seperate too for upgradability and replacement if something goes wrong.

I waiting till we move in to our new place before buying a Fujitsu, Pioneer or Panasonic. Only 3 brands worth considering IMO.

 

[drac182]

Plasmas' can still be unreliable, my mates one blew up in his front room only last month and it was only 3 years old. It was a pretty good HD LG one too. Plasma TVs will always need re-gassing after about 5 years anyway, and that can cost a fortune alone.

LCDs are the better buy. They are just as good res wise (if not better) these days and they wont require re-gassing after a few years.

re-gassing lol

I've got a Pioneer 436XDE which is superb. However, anyone in the market for a 40-42" flat screen tv at the moment wouldn't go far wrong with a Sony (W/X2000) or a Phillips (9831d) as these are both excellent LCD tv's. These are outside the op's budget, but plasma-wise I'd stretch to the Pana 42px60 - you'll find it for around £1300-1400 at the moment. You can get lower spec Sony/Philips/Samsung etc for around the same mark.