If you’re looking for a TV that will serve you for a long time, I’d choose and LCD over a plasma.
Are you using it for home theater? For TVs over 32”, consider a 1080p vs. a 720p.
Make sure it has more than one HDMI input for connections. One for DVD, another for cable/satellite.
A high contrast ratio is important when judging larger LCD TVs....above 1000:1.
Panasonic and Samsung are highly rated LCD TVs. If you want a lot of features for the money, look at a Westinghouse.
If you want a large TV but don’t need to hang it on a wall, look at a Samsung or Toshiba DLP in 1080p. The technology is very impressive and not too large vs. a projection TV. You can get a very large TV for under $2000.
I love my 50” Visio Plasma, but LCDs are good too.
What kind of Sony did you have? I have a RCA 56” projection television that we purchased in 94. Still going strong. I also have a 27” Radio Shack that I purchased back in 87 and it too still works.
Bump
Just bought a 37” LCD over the weekend. Toshiba. $999.00 @ Circuit City. They’re currently offering 18 months no interest financing. Looks great!
I’ve been looking at the Samsung 71 series LCDs. LNT 4071F is the 40 inch and LNT 4671F is the 46 inch version. Expensive, but appear to be the best LCDs on the market (until next month anyway).
Having had a 14” Sony for many years, when it came time to buy a new one I got an LCD Samsung HD TV. Samsung makes their LCD screens themselves, and for other manufacturers as well. I’ve had it 6 months and have no complaints.
PS. 44 inch wide screen... Makes football worthwhile.
Plasma TVs are power hogs....your local electric power company would love for you to buy one.
Sony SXRD. Just picked one up two months ago. The new models are due out now. SXRD is better then LCD and DLP, great contrast, 10K to 1.
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Pick up a copy of the Nov issue of Consumer Reports.
Everyone’s got an opinion! :-)
I love my widescreen HD-compatible HDMI-in Sony CRT, frankly. It’s a monster to move, but the screen is as good as it gets.
Go to the TV section of your local dept store and look at the wall of TVs. Pick the one that has the best picture for the price.
The Samsung DLP sets are a great bargain for the 720p models. The price increase for the 1080p models is not justified, as nothing is broadcast in 1080p resolutin. All HD signals are 1080i or 720p. I believe the picture on the DLP is better than LCD or plasma. The DLP projection sets are only 13-14 inches deep. Probably still slimmer than the Sony tube set you just lost. I’ve had mine for over 2 years and the picture in HD is flawless.
I’d suggest DLP projection, unless you’re dead-set on having a wall-mount unit. Great picture from wide viewing angles, no “burn in” or “dead pixel” issues, and more affordable for the size than the flat panel models.
I’ve got a 57” Mitsubishi rear-projection DLP that is just AMAZING.
Want biggest (up to 300”) beautiful and cheap - projector and screen. Killer setup for under $3K. Easy to relocate or put away. Needs a tuner/source feeding 1080i. Bulbs every 2-3K hours at $300 each
Want kinda big and mega cash - plasma. Will reduce in brightness by 40-50% after ~4000 hours. Subject to permanent image burn if you keep a static image on screen for many hours.
Want kinda big picture, big furnature, big $ - Projection DLP (best contrast ratio - darks are darker compared to whites) or projection LCD. Bulbs needed every 2-3K hours at $300-ish
Sensible, conventional, still sorta expensive, 60K hours - LCD. Hey, it’s only TV.