What kind of TV for HTPC use ?

[Plugers]

Oh Billy.... I just pulled the trigger on a Panasonic 55" Viera Plasma !

I'm sorry, but if Assasin has it, it's automatically good enough for me.

Good choice.

 

[wirednuts]

we just got an LG plasma 55" in the shop. the customer bought it on amazon, and it came with a cracked screen. amazon would not take it back, and LG sent the customer to us because we are an authorized service center. so the customer is pretty much dumbstruck, and we had to comfort him to make him happy. we also had to stress that we arent amazon or LG and this first class service all comes locally from OUR shop

but the reason i bring it up was the 55" plasma weighed just 62lbs. i was quite impressed. i forgot to check the max power draw though, im curious about that.

 

[assassin24]

The newer Panasonic plasmas use less glass than the older ones. Have some of the Kuru technology as well since Panasonic bought Pioneer's plasma technology. (All from what I have been told)

 

[piasabird]

I think you should wait for Black Friday and see what goes on sale. I have seen a lot of prices dropping on LCD HDTV's. LCD's and the LED's are basically the same TV. LED only refers to the backlighting being from an LED. A lot depends what you want to do.

Look at the options for the sepcific TV. Are 2 HDMI ports really enough for you? Do you want it to be a Smart TV with Apps? Do you want Ethernet or wireless Ethernet? Do you want it to be 3D Capable? What are you willing to pay for?

As an example you may want to hook up an antenna, a Sound Amplifier, 2 Game Systems, and then Satelite/Cable and maybe a DVR. That is a lot of plugs and wires. I purchased a TV with just one HDMI for one black friday sale, and I should have just spent more money. However, I just learned to deal with it. Not enough inputs can be a real problem.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I use my 65 inch Panasonic plasma primarily with two HTPCs. Its a great choice.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I recently upgraded from a 40" Samsung LCD to a Panasonic P50ST50 and have been quite pleased with the improvement in picture quality. The framerate processing that converts 24p to 60Hz is especially impressive--looks much better than the "native" 24Hz mode on my old LCD.

My only quibble with the Panasonic Plasma is the buzz it generates in very bright scenes. GF doesn't even notice it, but it irritates me occasionally (I'm quite sensitive to electronics noise).