Planar 42" 16:9 Plasma display $2899 @ Dell(1 day only??)
- Thread starter murphy55d
- Start date
KAMAZON
Golden Member
Not many cheap ones are 1080.....in fact a majority of plasmas are not 1080 yet... Mainly HDTV CRT's.
The specs aren't too bad for the price - the big question though is - what is it under the covers? There are only a handful of 42" plasmas out there, someone needs to find out what model this actually is...
UNCjigga
Lifer
- Dec 12, 2000
- 25,416
- 10,009
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I'm really confused about the 852x480 native resolution on some plasma displays. Many of the 42" 'budget' displays in this category are NOT HDTV and they are primarily intended for network video applications. HOWEVER, some displays (such as the LG plasma with Faroudja chip I'm thinking of jumping on at $3200) claim to be HDTV-ready (only require a tuner.) They claim compatibility with 1080i and 720p! Does this mean that they are merely signal compatible (they downconvert the signal before displaying it) or are these displays capable of different resolutions just by adding the daughtercard/tuner module??? I also noticed that most 1st-generation plasma TVs that were available in stores like Best Buy are really 852x480 displays yet they are branded HDTV!
How important is the native resolution of a plasma display???
How important is the native resolution of a plasma display???
Resolution is important but not *necessarily* anything to not buy a TV over.
As far as I know, almost all of the sub $4000 plasmas are 852x480. These are usually referred to as EDTV (extended definition). Most of them are HDTV ready in that they will accept a 720p or 1080i signal and yes, downconvert it to fit.
My understanding is that 852x480 is "just right" for watching a DVD through a component input. You are correct though in that it is NOT true HDTV.
There is some debate, however, about watching regular TV on one of these sets. Since I don't have an HDTV tuner and don't anticipate getting one for the next few years, I wouldn't mind a "low" resolution plasma. The general concensus seems to be that if you are talking about a standard non-HDTV signal, these lower res sets will give you a similar picture to the higher resolution ones. In the case of the very cheap high res ones, you could _possibly_ get a BETTER picture on the low res plasmas because less processing will have to take place to display the signal.
In brief: the fact that it isn't HDTV is a downside, but it isn't necessarily a show stopper. Obviously a true HD set would be preferred - the question you have to ask yourself is, would you pay $1000 more now to get an HD one if there are only 4 HD channels in your area?
But, having said all that - there is definitely a big difference in quality between the various manufacturers. That's why I'm wondering who "really" makes this TV.
As far as I know, almost all of the sub $4000 plasmas are 852x480. These are usually referred to as EDTV (extended definition). Most of them are HDTV ready in that they will accept a 720p or 1080i signal and yes, downconvert it to fit.
My understanding is that 852x480 is "just right" for watching a DVD through a component input. You are correct though in that it is NOT true HDTV.
There is some debate, however, about watching regular TV on one of these sets. Since I don't have an HDTV tuner and don't anticipate getting one for the next few years, I wouldn't mind a "low" resolution plasma. The general concensus seems to be that if you are talking about a standard non-HDTV signal, these lower res sets will give you a similar picture to the higher resolution ones. In the case of the very cheap high res ones, you could _possibly_ get a BETTER picture on the low res plasmas because less processing will have to take place to display the signal.
In brief: the fact that it isn't HDTV is a downside, but it isn't necessarily a show stopper. Obviously a true HD set would be preferred - the question you have to ask yourself is, would you pay $1000 more now to get an HD one if there are only 4 HD channels in your area?
But, having said all that - there is definitely a big difference in quality between the various manufacturers. That's why I'm wondering who "really" makes this TV.
Does this thing have a tuner of its own ?? guess it wouldnt matter for most users ie tivo, new cable boxes.
i know the 42" sampo that was at BJs near me specifically stated EDTV on the side of the box. And also on that model TV tuner was an optional addon. Of course it looked good showing episode II in wide screen, but you know some suckers brought that thing home and are still scratching their heads about where to plug in the coax cable...
i know the 42" sampo that was at BJs near me specifically stated EDTV on the side of the box. And also on that model TV tuner was an optional addon. Of course it looked good showing episode II in wide screen, but you know some suckers brought that thing home and are still scratching their heads about where to plug in the coax cable...
Bingo. Also I need mind everyone that if a static image is left on any Plasma for more than a few minutes it will burn in. Sometimes even over a minute. The burn in can be fixed by playing a static grey image.
I highly doubt this will happen on a tv these days. As a matter of fact, this did happen back in the days on old sets but I don't believe it can happen unless the TV was on for over a few weeks showing the same static image.
Matter of fact, I had a 24" widescreen monitor on for about 3 or so weeks (24-7) showing a static image of the WinXP background, taskbar, and the start menu extended out and it is perfectly fine.
Boy they are eager to make their January sales look better. They are offering $500 off today (so $2899) plus you can use today's $35 off coupon as well... so $2864.
This happens rarely to CRT's but it happens very often to Plasmas. Plasmas are what im referring to, and we have one on site here that burned in very badly after a few hours use. But most of the image is static anyway, so it doesn't matter too bad.
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