Looking at a 42" Plasma TV

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
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Walmart has a bunch of Samsung Plasma TVs for $548...trouble is, they are 720p, not 1080p.

This is going in the bedroom though so I really don't think it matters much. I'll have to upgrade to a hi-def DVR for the bedroom through Directv but that's pretty much it.

Update: They sold out of the Plasma so I ended up picking up a 40" LCD Samsung for $50 more. This one is 1080p though. I'm very pleased with it so far. Just need to get the HD DVR for the bedroom now.

I made a shelf for the DVR to go on out of oak, I stained it ebony and am putting a satin clear over it. I'm going to mount the shelf to the wall just below the TV.
 
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sivart

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2000
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If you are more than 6 foot away from that 42" Plasma, you won't be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. Now if you are also going to use it for a PC monitor, then you probably will want 1080p.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
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If you are more than 6 foot away from that 42" Plasma, you won't be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. Now if you are also going to use it for a PC monitor, then you probably will want 1080p.

Nope, just a TV...and the main viewing area will be between 4 and 10 feet.
 

SphinxnihpS

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2005
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I'm not saying that 720P is bad; I'm just saying that the people who say you can't tell the difference from such and such a distance are wrong. You can tell the difference in any reasonably sized room.
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
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I'm not saying that 720P is bad; I'm just saying that the people who say you can't tell the difference from such and such a distance are wrong. You can tell the difference in any reasonably sized room.

Only difference I could really see between a 42" 720p setup and a 46" 1080P was when I had my PS3 dashboard up and the web browser. You could actually see the resolution difference.

Otherwise for typical TV and movie watching from modest distances the difference is pretty much non-existant.

I wouldn't lose any sweat over it. I'd buy a quality 720p set over a no-name 1080p any day in the 50" and under range.
 

sivart

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2000
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I will say that from 20' away with a 42" TV you won't be able to tell a difference between 480p /720p / 1080p set. They will all look the same. Sure, the source may make a difference (I.e. a source with better contrast).

See http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html -- It assumes that you have 20/20 vision. I guess if your vision is better or worse you will have to adjust the chart.

When using the TV as a PC monitor, I say 1080p all the way. Otherwise, it depends on the distance from the TV and the majority of your viewing material.
 

smitbret

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2006
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I'm not saying that 720P is bad; I'm just saying that the people who say you can't tell the difference from such and such a distance are wrong. You can tell the difference in any reasonably sized room.

Maybe you can, but 99.5% of the population can't tell the difference from any reasonable distance. I dare say that no one that hasn't gotten acclimated to 1080p could tell the difference, and even after that, most never will. When I first got my HDTV I couldn't tell the difference between 1080i and 720p, but now after watching hours of television I can't pretty easily discern the difference.

Going back to the original question, the only true 1080p media that is readily available for the general population is a Blu-Ray Disc. I've watched maybe three true Blu-Ray Discs in the last year, but countless hours of HD broadcasts in 720p and 1080i via Dish Network, DirectTV and OTA. Xbox 360 - 1080i. Wii - 480p. PS3 - can be 1080p, but rarely is. I've also hit up quite a few streaming .mkv and .mp4 broadcasts and the jump from 720p to 1080p is almost nill in all of these situations.

If money's a factor for the OP, then he'll get better picture for the buck on a 720p than he will on a 1080p LCD, and it won't be close.
 
Mar 15, 2003
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Just chiming in - at 20' at 42", I'd much rather buy a higher quality 720p set than a no name 1080p set. Heck, I did just that (my living room set was a 42" 720p mid-end Hitachi and my bedroom tv is generic "sylvania" 42" 1080p tv) - the resolution difference is not noticeable at 10', but the colors just pop more on my my better made 720p set. In fact, SD stuff looks better on the 720p set and looks quite terrible on the 1080p set.
 

lifeobry

Golden Member
Oct 24, 2008
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I was browsing TVs online and prices have really dropped. You can get a noname LCD 40/42" for $500. Quality one for well under a grand.

Times have changed for real. I'm seeing a future with dumpsters filled with broken LCD TVs...
 

bl4ckfl4g

Diamond Member
Feb 13, 2007
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I'd go with Panny over Samsung for Plasma. I have a 46in 1080p panny and it is by far the best tv ive ever owned.
 

prism

Senior member
Oct 23, 2004
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Maybe you can, but 99.5% of the population can't tell the difference from any reasonable distance. I dare say that no one that hasn't gotten acclimated to 1080p could tell the difference, and even after that, most never will. When I first got my HDTV I couldn't tell the difference between 1080i and 720p, but now after watching hours of television I can't pretty easily discern the difference.

Going back to the original question, the only true 1080p media that is readily available for the general population is a Blu-Ray Disc. I've watched maybe three true Blu-Ray Discs in the last year, but countless hours of HD broadcasts in 720p and 1080i via Dish Network, DirectTV and OTA. Xbox 360 - 1080i. Wii - 480p. PS3 - can be 1080p, but rarely is. I've also hit up quite a few streaming .mkv and .mp4 broadcasts and the jump from 720p to 1080p is almost nill in all of these situations.

If money's a factor for the OP, then he'll get better picture for the buck on a 720p than he will on a 1080p LCD, and it won't be close.

Almost all of my XBox 360 games are 1080p
 

IcePickFreak

Platinum Member
Jul 12, 2007
2,428
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At 42" I'd just stick with 720p. Especially if you're mainly watching DirecTV which is all 1080i you won't really miss 1080P. I say stick with a quality 720p set. As for which brand, I'd check each of them out at a B&M and read up on each. The differences between the bigger names really is preferential as they're all good, but it usually comes down to trade-offs between color accuracy/black levels/picture quality - unless of course you wanted to fork-out for a Pioneer, who are now slowly fading out plasma's.

I went through this about 2 years and finally decided on a 50" 1080p Samsung plasma, couldn't be happier with the set.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,535
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Update: They sold out of the Plasma so I ended up picking up a 40" Samsung LCD TV for $50 more. This one is 1080p though. I'm very pleased with it so far. Just need to get the HD DVR for the bedroom now (it is in the mail).

I made a shelf for the DVR to go on out of oak, I stained it ebony and am putting a satin clear over it. I'm going to mount the shelf to the wall just below the TV.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
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Everyone saying to buy 720p instead of 1080p don't make sense. The price difference is almost 0 in some cases. When 1080p is more expensive it's not huge. There is no reason, absolutely none to buy 720p just because you think you can't tell the difference. There's a lot of content I can tell the difference on, Blu-Ray included.
 

smitbret

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2006
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Everyone saying to buy 720p instead of 1080p don't make sense. The price difference is almost 0 in some cases. When 1080p is more expensive it's not huge. There is no reason, absolutely none to buy 720p just because you think you can't tell the difference. There's a lot of content I can tell the difference on, Blu-Ray included.

Really, when was the last time you price shopped a 50" plasma vs. a quality 50" LCD? By that, I mean an LCD that gives you a contrast ratio that is close to the plasma, black-levels in the same ball park as a plasma and handles motion blur even close to as well as a plasma. Given the current market, a calibrated 720p plasma will always look better than a similarly priced, calibrated 1080p LCD. You're discerning eye will no doubt be able to tell the difference.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Really, when was the last time you price shopped a 50" plasma vs. a quality 50" LCD? By that, I mean an LCD that gives you a contrast ratio that is close to the plasma, black-levels in the same ball park as a plasma and handles motion blur even close to as well as a plasma. Given the current market, a calibrated 720p plasma will always look better than a similarly priced, calibrated 1080p LCD. You're discerning eye will no doubt be able to tell the difference.

why are you even mentioning 720p plasma!!!?!??

There are 1080p plasmas 50" in fact, for around $1100 ALL THE TIME!

Is it really that hard to believe?

And 50" 1080p for $1100 is cheap really. I mean, I see LCDs in the 40" range running for those prices sometimes. Also think about what these things WERE selling for. If you're going to spend only $500 on a TV you're gonna get $500 worth of TV. When you look to $900+ then you get real value IMO. Honestly if you're buying just for size, you're buying wrong.

Here and I didn't even try looking hard... Panasonic 50" 1080p G10 for $1124 @ amazon http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIERA-TC-P50G10-50-Inch-Plasma/dp/B001UAEWUS


For the record I CAN, repeat CAN, tell 720p from 1080p. Just because you can't don't assume everyone is the same. It's much like audio. Some people can hear subtle changes in tune when others can't.
 
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smitbret

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2006
3,382
17
81
why are you even mentioning 720p plasma!!!?!??

There are 1080p plasmas 50" in fact, for around $1100 ALL THE TIME!

Is it really that hard to believe?

And 50" 1080p for $1100 is cheap really. I mean, I see LCDs in the 40" range running for those prices sometimes. Also think about what these things WERE selling for. If you're going to spend only $500 on a TV you're gonna get $500 worth of TV. When you look to $900+ then you get real value IMO. Honestly if you're buying just for size, you're buying wrong.

Here and I didn't even try looking hard... Panasonic 50" 1080p G10 for $1124 @ amazon http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIER.../dp/B001UAEWUS


For the record I CAN, repeat CAN, tell 720p from 1080p. Just because you can't don't assume everyone is the same. It's much like audio. Some people can hear subtle changes in tune when others can't.

Of course, I can tell the difference. Most people could if they even knew what they were looking for, they just won't. There are other factors that make a much bigger difference than 1080p/720p when it comes to PQ and the viewing experience, especially given the lack of true 1080p entertainment that's even available out there. Locally, I can get a 50" Samsung Plasma that's 720p for $749 right now whose PQ would roll all over 90% of LCD televisions that are currently available. 1080p is mostly just a marketing ploy right now. Maybe $400 isn't much to you, but for a good chunk of the people on this board, it is. That extra $400 adds a HTIB with 5.1 sound or a good soundbar and subwoofer that will add to the viewing experience a lot more than 1080p. Hell, if I blow all my money on a 1080p set, then I can't even afford to get a Blu-Ray player which is just about the only way to get true 1080p, anyway. Pixel peep all you want, but for the general population, 1080p or 720p means virtually nothing except for the numbers on the box and in the bank account.