42 Inch TV - Plasma or LCD, 720 or 1080? Argh so many questions

valve90210

valve90210

valve90210

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Hi All

My girlfriend and I are looking at upgrading from our 32inch CRT as we'd like something larger and that will give us more space and also be able to have different/better tv units etc.

we're looking to spend as close to £500 as possible as we aren't made of money

Had a bit of a look in the usual highstreet shops just to get an idea but now it's thrown up even more questions which has left my head spinning...

Firstly some info which I imagine will be useful.

We want the TV for the lounge where se watch quite a bit of TV and a lot of films. We also do a bit of gaming.

At present we only have SD sources, Freeview (through a humax pvr), dvd player and Wii (along with various other old consoles). At present we have no plans to upgrade to any HD sources though we might get a blu-ray player at somepoint in the near future (it would need to be good at upscaling cos we have over 400 dvds which we won't want to be rebuying on blu-ra..).

The viewing distance is 10feet.

For audio, we would mainy use the tv's inbuilt speakers for normal TV viewing and the occassional film. For more serious film use I have a surround setup.

so onto my questions:

1) is it worth going for 1080P for future proofing?
I've read that at 10ft we wouldn't be able to tell the difference from 720p to 1080p on a 42inch screen, so it is worth going for full HD?

2) Plasma or LCD?
I've heard that plasma is better for SD sources? But then with plasma there is the worry of image retention etc?

While looking, we saw two LG screens which seemed to be pretty good and in our price range, both 42 inch, one 720p plasma (LG PG3000) and one LCD 1080p (LG5010).

However upon doing a lot of reading I've read a lot of people saying that LG screens can be rather unreliable, so I'm to sure about these screens...

Some more reading threw up the option of the Samsung PS43A457, but I've read that the sound quality is pretty poor... and I don't really want to have to be using my amp all the time such as just when watching tv.

Can anyone give me any guidance or suggest any other options...

TIA

Valve
 
I have a 42" plasma, couple of years old now and there is no image burn or whatever on it.
Used for Sky, Wii, 360, DVD and is the screen for my Mac Mini and is used daily.

I prefer plasma, but must admit when I was looking for a new TV the LCDs were not as good as they are nowadays.
 
This without doubt. I've had mine a couple of weeks now and my set up is virtually identical to yours. :cool: If your budget can't stretch to that then the 37" can be had for about £525 if you search online. :)
 
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The LG plasmas are about the only ones that still suffer from serious screen burn so steer clear of them. Go for a panasonic plasma, either 720 or 1080 depending on budget.
 
approx 550 would get you a 42PX80 with a 5yr warranty I would think.
Paid 710 for mine and would pay that again, great screen, not had any image burn whatsoever.
just run it in properly and ye'll be set
 
TBH, 3D TV will be here in a few years and HDTV will all be out of date. I would either hold off upgrading for a while or invest in new (and very expensive) 3D TV.
 
demoneye said:
OK - On topic :cool:

No - 1080p will not future proof you because 3DHD will be the standard in about 2 years...!!! Deciding on which 1080p TV is just going down a rat hole, and is not a future proof solution!

For example... http://www.3dtvscreen.com/
Click to expand...

Please stop posting this crap. 3DTV will not replace HDTV anytime soon. HDTV hasn't even started properly yet. SkyHD only has 33 HD channels, when every single Sky channel goes HD, then maybe yea people will start to talk about 3DTV.

Wanna post a source that says 3DTV will be standard in 2 years?
 
Ignore demoneye, he is spouting absolute rubbish.

An older 42inch panasonic px80 would be the best bet for you, and if you can squeeze together the funds, then get the latest panasonic set.

Don't worry about 1080p, it's the last thing most people should worry about when buying a tv set.
 
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