PANASONIC TH42PD60U 42" Plasma Television --$999.00 +S/H

[fisheerman]

Originally posted by: superflysocal
edtv vs hdtv....there are countless threads on avsforums, one of the best av forum out there.


bottom line is if you are sitting at least 6 ft from the screen, you probably cannot tell ed from hd when viewing hd material. go to the store and see for yourself.


advantage of ed is for watching sdtv, it actually looks better (depends on tv of course), and for DVD it may be better or just as good as hd set. Reason is those sources have only 480 lines (480p) which is native for ED set, so no vertical scaling necessary.

So don't knock ED until you try it.

Have to agree. I have had this set for about a year and it is a very nice set. The biggest seller was the way sdtv showed. HDTV is great but over 50% of the content is still not HDTV and by the time it is the sets will be dirt cheap. Until then I want the best fit which is EDTV's.

Most people that come into my house when I have an HD signal on are always commenting on how nice my "HD" plasma is. I never even have to say " eh, its not HD!"

You will not be disappointed with this set!

-fish

 

[stinger73]

For those who are getting taxed by onecall and J&R I think buying from VANNS is a better deal since you can pick up a decent DVD player or a Harmony remote bundled for $999 + SH but no tax to anyone.

 

[SuperNaruto]

Originally posted by: XNice

Originally posted by: maxcom
these suffer from "burn-in" ?

"burn-in" hasn't beena problem for a few years now...

my company has a few of these on cnbc from 7:30am - 6pm

yes, the stock ticker scroll bar are well burned in..

 

[TekDemon]

Originally posted by: superflysocal
edtv vs hdtv....there are countless threads on avsforums, one of the best av forum out there.


bottom line is if you are sitting at least 6 ft from the screen, you probably cannot tell ed from hd when viewing hd material. go to the store and see for yourself.


advantage of ed is for watching sdtv, it actually looks better (depends on tv of course), and for DVD it may be better or just as good as hd set. Reason is those sources have only 480 lines (480p) which is native for ED set, so no vertical scaling necessary.

So don't knock ED until you try it.

You say this now, but it's much easier to hook up a media center PC (usably) to a higher rez tv than a 480P tv. I have a 480P projector and the resolution just isn't really usable for PC use.

BTW, lying on my bed more than 6 feet away from my 20" Dell LCD monitor, I can notice some subtle differences between 720p videos and 640x480 videos. Any closer and the differences are just plain obvious.

Yes I will admit that if you're engrossed in a program it's not really much different one way or another, but that's not really my point.

Anyways, I want to be able to get the most resolution I can at a THX spec'ed distance-so like 1.2 screen lengths away. In which case it would in fact be under 6 feet for this TV!

 

[Zirconium]

Originally posted by: ninjazed

Originally posted by: Zirconium

Originally posted by: MrX8503

Originally posted by: XNice

Originally posted by: maxcom
these suffer from "burn-in" ?

"burn-in" hasn't beena problem for a few years now...

I'm pretty sure thats not right.

From what I remember burn-in is a problem that has not gone away. The only screen safe from burn-in are LCD's.

If anyone can verify this that would be helpful.

It isn't right. Burn-in is still a problem. If you display a static image on a plasma for long periods of time, those phosphors will wear out at a faster rate than the rest on the TV and you will notice. Not sure where XNice got the idea that burn-in is no longer a problem.

Actually, burn-in is still possible, but it is less of a problem than it used be. The reason for this is many plasmas now incorporate "pixel shifting" technology that moves static images around, imperceptable to the naked eye and this makes the problem less likely. I've got a Pioneer PDP-433CMX and I've had some stationary images on it for up to 30 minutes. After 4 years, I have no burn-in issues. Just my experience.

Does this only happen when the entire image is static, or does it also move around network logos used in broadcast television (i.e. the ESPN logos, etc)? For instance, one reason plasmas aren't advised for hookup to computers is that it is possible to run movie programs where the overall image changes but you may have static controls somewhere on the screen. Enough usage like that and you'll have the controls burned in. I don't have any personal experience with plasmas, so correct me if I am wrong.

 

[iseestars]

Ok, for the record. You can get a 1080p LCD - a Westinghouse for $1000 on a deal, and probably cheaper in the near future.
That's for the 37" model. The 42" generally went for $1400 or $1500, but presently is $1200 (check the forums), although the vender selling for $1200 is hit or miss.

This set is not even 720p. You can get a similar 1080p LCD set for the same price or a little more if you get the 42". You should be able to get HD (720p) for cheaper than this.

On top of that, this is an old model. Someone said that burn-in hasn't been a problem for a couple years and was refuted. Well even supposing that were the case, this model is def. more than a couple years old so I would be very wary getting it.

And for the record, Plasma suffers burnin, LCD can suffer banding/dead pixels, and DLP suffers no burnin, but has short lamp-life with are expensive replacement lamps.

I love how so many people on the forums become AV experts without even looking anything up at all.

In terms of resolution, you can get something with better res at a similar price that will be much more useful in the FUTURE (having higher res and that won't suffer burn-in), unless of course you can afford to toss out a $1000 TV out when it burns, in which case why aren't you getting something more expensive and higher quality to begin with. For those on a budget I don't see this making a lot of sense.

 

[Project86]

Good points made by many posters already.

I would only add this: go to a store and compare similar models in ED vs HD, running the source you use most (DVD, SD, or HD content) and see what you like. If you plan on watching mostly SD and DVD's, my opinion is that this is still a good buy. But let your eyes be the judge. Don't let anyone bully you into purchasing something that 'makes sense' but doesn't fit your needs as well.

 

[Mr Bob]

"You can get a 1080p LCD - a Westinghouse for $1000 on a deal"
- WHAT? Where? When? I have never seen this, and I try to stay on top of TV deals. Please provide proof of your claim.

 

[KoolAidKid]

Originally posted by: iseestars

On top of that, this is an old model. Someone said that burn-in hasn't been a problem for a couple years and was refuted. Well even supposing that were the case, this model is def. more than a couple years old so I would be very wary getting it.

I love how so many people on the forums become AV experts without even looking anything up at all.

Quoted for hypocrisy. This is a 2006 model. See the Cnet review here.

 

[aphex]

If you cant tell the diff between an EDTV and an HDTV, you need better glasses.

 

[creedawg]

Click HERE for a nice review on last years TH42PD50U. This should give you an idea on performance on the TH42PD60U.

cree

 

[Mr Bob]

Originally posted by: aphex
If you cant tell the diff between an EDTV and an HDTV, you need better glasses.

- You can't when you're watching a DVD, or SD. When you are on lower screen sizes (around 42 and less), if you sit a couple ft away it is very difficult to see any difference between the TVs when viewing HD.