Which TV to Buy

[Gorilla]

Which one would you buy if you had a choice. Looking to buy a 46 or 52 inch Flat Panel.

Sony Bravia
Sharp Aquos
Pioneer Plasma
LG
Samsung
Toshiba
Other


I liked the picture on the Sharp Aquos the most and the price has dropped as well

[Baron O' Funk]

See my understanding was that Toshiba was lower end. I thought Sharp Aquos was up there, along with Sony and Samsung, while LG has a variety of models? :dunno: Is there really a definitive answer?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Any reason Panasonic isn't on the list? They are the king of plasmas in most people's opinions (from my research and personal experience) and from the A/V magazines I've seen.

Also I believe Sharp is now making the LCD panels for Sony, but of course Sony uses their own processing.

Sharp/Bravia/Samsung - Can't go wrong with those LCDs.

Couple things to consider: Plasmas do blacks and fast movement better, however they have glass over them and will reflect more in a bright room. LCDs are better for very bright rooms, but they can't do blacks as well and you can sometimes see ghosting on fast moving stuff (like a hockey puck). Also, LCDs generally don't look so great with a normal cable signal - Plasmas do a better job here. Of course that doesn't matter nearly as much if most of your watching is in HD. Also I wouldn't bother buying a 1080P TV unless you someday plan to put a true 1080P source to it such as a BluRay player. Lastly, please don't buy any Monster cable lol.

[Disoblige]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
Lastly, please don't buy any Monster cable lol.

Is the reason only because it's overpriced or.. ? Just wanted to know because the store I work at only sells those in their AV department

[heavyD]

If you want the best picture you should get a Pioneer Plasma. If that is a little above your price range Panasonic Plasma will have a better picture than all the LCD's.

[Baron O' Funk]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
Any reason Panasonic isn't on the list? They are the king of plasmas in most people's opinions (from my research and personal experience) and from the A/V magazines I've seen.

Also I believe Sharp is now making the LCD panels for Sony, but of course Sony uses their own processing.

Sharp/Bravia/Samsung - Can't go wrong with those LCDs.

Couple things to consider: Plasmas do blacks and fast movement better, however they have glass over them and will reflect more in a bright room. LCDs are better for very bright rooms, but they can't do blacks as well and you can sometimes see ghosting on fast moving stuff (like a hockey puck). Also, LCDs generally don't look so great with a normal cable signal - Plasmas do a better job here. Of course that doesn't matter nearly as much if most of your watching is in HD. Also I wouldn't bother buying a 1080P TV unless you someday plan to put a true 1080P source to it such as a BluRay player. Lastly, please don't buy any Monster cable lol.

Have you read anything regarding improvements to Plasmas and the "burn-in" issue. When I am at the store I always feel that the Plasmas have a better picture, but for watching any channels with a solid ticker or gaming it with the XBOX Ive always thought Plasmas were a no no. Too bad. Another downside is the energy consumption, arent Plasmas pigs?

[dj_rice]

I like my Toshiba Regza I just bought recently...decently priced and good picture


If your doing lots of gaming, I would go for the Sharp Aquos...

[gqmw]

I'll be more clear. I believe it's going to be between the sony, samsung, sharp and the toshibas are pretty good for their price.

Panasonics are great quality as well.

[anarchy]

I have a Samung 5265
It's been pimp for me so far, love it!

[copynpaste]

Dont bother with LG or toshiba, they're meh...not bad but not great either.

[Rocky]

Sony or Samsung. Sharp's not as good as what they used to be. I prefer LCD but if you want to go plasma then Pioneer and Panasonic also have nice units. Otherwise, stick with the aforementioned.

[Stealth22]

Samsung. 'Nuff said.

[analbumcover]

I Voted other - Panasonic, i have a panasonic 42" plasma and it is the best tv i have ever used especially for gaming, people comment on it all the time when we play xbox

[drtoohotty1]

Originally posted by heavyD
If you want the best picture you should get a Pioneer Plasma. If that is a little above your price range Panasonic Plasma will have a better picture than all the LCD's.

+1 i love my pioneer elite

[Alterac]

Samsung or Sony

Samsung A650 series is great, same panel as the A750 series. 1080p 120hz

A550 is what I have, I like it, Its 1080p 60hz

Sony has comparable lines, but they are more $$

[ZMan2k2]

I voted for the Sharp Aquos. I have had mine for a year-and-a-half now, and it's been a great performer. I've not had any problems with it at all. No burnt pixels or anything like that. Fast motion can be a little blurred at times, but overall the TV has been the best I've had.

[Kloubek]

Pansonic and Pioneer make the best plasmas, imo.

[beyondmike]

Panasonic for sure....plasma Veiro! PZ series. Best value.

[syeve]

I have 2 panasonic plasma's and love them both. 50 1080p and a 42 720p. Both are great, zero issues (have had the 42 for 2 years).

[snoop101]

I also agree on Panasonic.

After working in a electronics shop doing repairs I would never ever buy a Sony. In the 80's they built there TV's like tanks and got a good name from it. Since then they have gone down hill a lot. For reliability toshiba and Panasonic are the best. (keep in mind this was a while back when i was in electronics)

[Davetronz]

Originally posted by dj_rice
I like my Toshiba Regza I just bought recently...decently priced and good picture


If your doing lots of gaming, I would go for the Sharp Aquos...
I'm also a fan of the Regza's for their price/features. If I had the money I'd definitely for for a Sony. Sharp makes good stuff, as does Samsung, but at a slightly higher price bracket.

[Rocky]

Regza's won't compete with any better Samsung/Sony sets but it's the cheapest you'll get 120hz for. Toshiba's gaming mode actually increases controller response times (making for more accurate feeling Rock Band and Guitar Hero games) and their "native mode" gives about 1-2% wider of an image on each side of the picture -- good for FPS games, in particular.

[TeamBestBud]

Samsung LNT4681

I have a 46d64U but i fell in love with this tv

[Tomasz]

xbr4

[GTS Jeff]

Wow, you are all stupid beyond belief. Every manufacturer makes a range of TVs that encompass everything from barebones, entry level TVs to top model TVs.

A low end Aquos will look worse than a high end Bravia XBR, whereas a low end Bravia S series will look shittier than a high end Regza.

So basically, anyone who says "oh yeah LGs look better than the Toshibas," is operating with 30 IQ. :rolleyes:

[calgarys_finest]

I really like the hitachi director series tv. The lg scarlet has a amazing picture but the caseing is ugly. Any top of the line tv would be great and if people still think burn in is a issue is pretty much not at all. Stores leave their tvs on all day long go to futureshop right at closing and turn off one of the plasmas and it wont have any burning. i play games on my plasma all the time and its awesome havent had any problems with it. I wouldnt buy a sony because they dont make a plasma but thats the only reason.

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
Wow, you are all stupid beyond belief. Every manufacturer makes a range of TVs that encompass everything from barebones, entry level TVs to top model TVs.

A low end Aquos will look worse than a high end Bravia XBR, whereas a low end Bravia S series will look shittier than a high end Regza.

So basically, anyone who says "oh yeah LGs look better than the Toshibas," is operating with 30 IQ. :rolleyes:

Wrong.

It's a fact that Pioneer Elites plasmas have the best picture quality in the industry...

Panasonic plasmas are the best value if you want the best picture quality you can get for a reasonable price... $2000 for a 50 inch 1080p and it will blow the doors off an XBR4 or XBR5 ..

The only reason I would buy an LCD is if you're going to use it mainly as a PC monitor. I know burn in isnt an issue with todays plasmas, but as a PC monitor it still freaks me out a bit.. If you were to buy an LCD then you'd want either a Sony or a Samsung if you want the picture quality... Sharps were great 2-3 years ago but have been going downhill huge... Toshiba's suck... bad.. even if you look at their upper end Regza series... a S series Bravia will have way way way better colour and blacks.

Also, this year i'd tend to lean more towards Sony's upper end product for an LCD simply because Samsung has made some huge errors in my opinion... LCD's are known for having less glare because they don't have a glass panel on the front of them. This years 120HZ Samsung A650 models all have a reflective screen on the front that has over double the reflections of a pioneer/panasonic plasma... and in addition to that, you cannot see the buttons on the TV at all unless you have a very very bright room with very good eyes, they are horrible... Some of the above issues is probably the reason that they discontinued the TV half way through the year.. it was probably a temporary solution. We'll see what the new a850/a950 series of LED backlit LCD's will look like next month when they start appearing in stores in Calgary.

The new Sony Z series has a nice thin bezel and it is 120HZ with a way better GUI and button system compared to the samsung... If I were a betting man i'd say the new Sony Z series is almost the exact same TV as last years XBR4/XBR5.. if you for what ever reason need an LCD that's XBR or Z series is the way to go if its in your budget.

Anyways, all of the above being said, if you want the best picture quality for the price and want to go inexpensive go either Panasonic for plasma or Samsung for LCD. If you want to go upper end go Pioneer Elite for plasma or Sony XBR/Z series for LCD.. but keep in mind both Sonys and Samsungs new high end LCD products are only a few weeks away.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Disoblige


Is the reason only because it's overpriced or.. ? Just wanted to know because the store I work at only sells those in their AV department

Yes thats pretty much why, they are grossly overpriced. Lots of the time also salespeople just take like 80% off the price of the cable and make you think your getting a deal on the TV or whatever your buying because of the markup its so easy to do that.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Baron O' Funk


Have you read anything regarding improvements to Plasmas and the "burn-in" issue. When I am at the store I always feel that the Plasmas have a better picture, but for watching any channels with a solid ticker or gaming it with the XBOX Ive always thought Plasmas were a no no. Too bad. Another downside is the energy consumption, arent Plasmas pigs?

I don't think burn in is a huge issue, and I know at least the Panasonic plasmas have a "picture shift" feature that prevents burn in by shifting around the picture every now and then in such a way that you can't see it. For a TV to burn in it needs to be projecting the same image for quite some time, and even in video games you usually don't have the exact same thing on the screen for hours and hours and hours.

[Toms-SC]

For those serious about getting the best TV for your money you cannot go wrong with checking out consumerreports.com

[Mitsu3000gt]

Also a note on the Pioneer Elite Kuro TVs, I believe they stopped making them or aren't going to be making them after the current production run. I think they are getting out of the Plasma business. Maybe someone else can confirm, but for whatever reason I don't think you will be able to buy plasmas from them soon. Either that, or they will be buying plasmas from other manufactuers and putting their name on them. I can't find the article I read.

[TYMSMNY]

Samsung LCD or the Sony XBR LCD. Samsung makes extremely nice computer LCDs too!

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
they will be buying plasmas from other manufactuers and putting their name on them.

They will source from Panasonic after passing on all the Kuro technology to them. They will no longer engineer their own panels just like Sony.

I do agree with GTSJeff. Even within Aquos, Bravia, there are series that have different qualities. In Aquos, D94U>D82U>D64U. In Bravia, XBR > Z > W > V. With Samsung 7>6>5.

You must compare within the same line of product, not just brand and model name.

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by Xtrema


They will source from Panasonic after passing on all the Kuro technology to them. They will no longer engineer their own panels just like Sony.

The only thing Panasonic will be making for Pioneer is the glass panel itself, to Pioneer specs.. Once Panasonic makes the glass, Pioneer makes all of the electronics do drive it, along with the chassis to put it in... they have mastered the plasma technology, in the next year or two elite plasma's will no longer have a numbered contrast ratio because they will reach absolute black...

It will still be another year or two before you start seeing pana panels in the pioneer products in a store. It's a win/win for both companies because Pioneer has essentially priced them selves out of the market... once they get the panels from Pana they will still have the worlds best plasma, at a better price... i'm sure the only reason they did this is because both plasma and lcd are almost at their peak in the market place, new technologies will start to roll out again in the near future at the high end 20k price range for 40-50 inch screens, then over the next 5-10 years price errosion will put them at the same level as todays panels. Pioneer TV's have always been the latest and greatest technology and at the top of the high end tv market.

[DGill]

panasonic plasma ftw!