Posted on 12/21/2005 11:34:13 PM PST by Rca2000
I am posting this out of concern for those who may not know btter, and who may had been "fooled" by all of the hype out there. DO NOT buy a plasma tv(which should be called a "fluorescent tv" anyway, due to the way it operates).
These things are NOT holding up very well. This is NOT my opinoin, but info gathered from discussions with other techs around the country. They are getting problems ranging from blown power supply and driver boards(about a $500-1,000+ repair, ) to the PDP or plasma cell needing replaced(2500+, IOW, a loss). within a year or two. I know that they were hyped to last 20 years without needing repairs, but thihs is NOT happening in the field!! The worst offenders seem to be the "bargain" plasma sets from Costco and others, but even more expensive sets, such as Mitsubishi and panasonic and LG,(AKA Goldstar) are having these problems (about the ONLY thing not happenig is the "gas leakng out" rumor-- that does not happen,(unles sone gets cracked) but a lot of other things do).
Then too, there is a TOTAL lack of support for technical help from many mfgrs, which leads to having to send the whole thing back to the Mfgr, at a huge cost. Also, many parts are not available or very hard (and expensive) to get.On top of this, Plasmas are fargile, and burn VERY easily-- MUCH easier than a projo set!!
I know some here are of the "in" crowd, and repair costs do not matter as much to them as it does to me, but as a tech, who keeps up on this, I would NOT sink $2000-6000 on one, realizing that it WILL most likely need major repairs in the near term.
Stick with a CRT!!
What about LCD tvs?
I have a 42" Panasonic EDTV plasma in my restaurant and the one thing I can say for certain is that it doesn't have nearly as good a picture as my 7 year - old Trinitron.
I only paid $1600 for it and it was a business expense. So I'm less concerned than I would be were it for the home.
LOL!!!!!
ok
"There she is, the old 'Radiation King'..."
I, too, have read that CRTs are better quality than plasmas.
What do you thnik of the DLPs? If I buy one, I'm getting a projector unit (not the actual screen apparatus) and spraying it all over a blank wall.
Advantage of living in the sticks, if I bought one I'd still be able to only get crappy reception on ABC and CBS.
That TV looks exactly like the one my family got in 1950! It was the "Revere" model,17" screen,the FM band was on the bottom of the dial between channels 6 and 7.
My Mom may have wired the set you picture because she worked at the DuMont plant in NJ.
We got the employee discount when we purchased it.We paid ONLY 525 1950 dollars for it...which was half-price!
Wondering same thing, I just dropped $1100 on an LCD that's still in the box till Chistmas.
OK, I wouldn't spend $2000 on a TV anyway.
What do you thnik of the DLPs? If I buy one, I'm getting a projector unit (not the actual screen apparatus) and spraying it all over a blank wall.
That's probably the best way to go. The major problem with plasma and LED is the loss of pixils over time, not to mention the expence if something should go wrong. I understand the projectors are not very expencive either.
"What do you think of the DLPs? If I buy one, I'm getting a projector unit (not the actual screen apparatus) and spraying it all over a blank wall.'
DLP units, like LCDs, have their visual pluses and minuses. Plasma can have a great picture, but they run hot and I would definitely but the extended warranty. Projectors need to be in a darkened room. The best thing so far is a Sony SXRD rear projection set. I have a LCD type front projector and love the floor to ceiling image during a game. You almost feel the need to get out of the way!
I can vouch for this.
My sister and brother-in-law just the other week had to have their year-old PLASMA TV looked at, as it just plain stopped working.
Frankly, Caveat Emptor regarding any new technology. Give it a few years at least before buying. Too many times the 1st items stink. Engineers take a while to figure out how to make them *reliable*, not just work the 1st time it's turned on. Something expensive as a TV you should'nt just barge ahead and "get the latest" w/o it proving itself 1st. Let other people be the suckers! ;-)
A typical wall will scatter any light that hits it. A quality projection screen will deflect much of the light back toward its source with much less scatter. To understand the difference, consider that when traffic signs are covered with snow, the signs will show up much more brightly when illuminated by headlights than the snow.
Different screens scatter by different amounts; the less light is scattered, the better the image will be for people seated in-line with the projector, but the smaller usable the viewing angle. I'm not positive, but I believe some types of paint are available which could be used on a wall which will be used for projection. Such paints would likely be neither cheap nor attractive for doing an entire room, however.
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