What TV would Axiomites recommend in the 32-40" range? the set would be mostly for watching cable provided TV with the occasional movie and will eventually be relegated to either bedroom or family room duty as the renovations progress. My Sammy 52" LCD has been bullet proof but it'll be in the way at the moment with the ongoing work. I'll look at LED's and Plasma's too, including other brands.

Thks, from the guy who has trouble logging in lately...

I doubt they make plasmas that small now a days. I'd look for an LED backlit that gives as wide a viewing angle as possible. Other than that, there's probably not a lot of difference between them.

Hey, Adrian!

We've got two 42" TV's - a Panasonic plasma and a LG LCD LED. Love them both.

My personal preference is toward plasmas. But the LG really is terrific, too.

Thanks.

Tom, what is it you prefer in the Plasma? refresh ratio?

If you watch any sports on TV, plasma has a definite advantage because of refresh rate. Black levels and shadow detail are still better on plasma.

I think first off, it all depends on what you will be watching the most.

Do you have a HD signal? or just RCA cables to a cable box
If just RCA then I'd say get the cheapest you can find.

If you're going to setup HD programming, then I'd recomment a Sharp Aquos 40"-42" LCD/LED tv.

I think Fred basically described it, and more properly than I could. I don't think plasma is "better"; I have just learned over the years that I prefer it for reasons I don't fully understand. YMMV. the lowest line I can read on the eye chart is OFLC3. I do watch a lot of sports.

That being said, I didn't hesitate to get the LCD for our bedroom since its kind of a secondary zone and I really liked the ultra thin form factor for that installation.

42" seemed to be the sweet spot when I was shopping a year ago.

Adrian, plasmas come 42" and up. In the December Consumer Reports the Samsung PN43E450 was rated a "Best Buy"(i.e., price weighted).

Having never shopped for a plasma TV, I was unaware they didn't come in smaller sizes(-40"). I know it's less of an issue on smaller sets but do you think I'd notice the difference(excluding price) between 720p and 1080p?

I can notice a difference, you would have to see them side by side to really notice.

it depends on screen size, viewing distance and quality of your eyesight.

I've always liked this chart, which suggests that - for a screen that size - you'd probably only be able to see a difference if viewing closer than about 8 feet.

http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter/

Lot of LED/LCD's can still have the soap opera effect too which ruins movies. Thou usually that is a setting you can turn off.

I hear a lot about this soap opera effect, but have never noticed it. My problem is noticing all the movement problems. I'd probably accept the soap opera effect as an improvement.

this is the first time i hear about the "soap opera effect".
anyone care to explain?

The Soap Opera Effect is when the TV changes the media....killing off characters, making some pregnant, making some have Amnesia and making pretty much everyone devious!

OK, really, it's when a film-based media has the look of being shot in video instead. I've seen it a few times since buying an LCD TV, but have since changed the "Tru-Motion" settings to OFF. It has to do with frame rate on LCD TVs that are able to use 120MHz, 240MHz, etc. motion settings.

Some day, I'm going to learn to use all the features on my 1 year-old TV!

I got the Thx modes calibrated on my TV, then I started noticing all the motion problems. Only the ISF modes on it has the ability to turn on motion smoother. It's a plasma. I tend to watch things, especially animation, in the uncalibrated ISF modes instead so I can enjoy the motion smoother quality. Much less blur on pans and less ratchety movement. It can be so bad on some action movies as to make action scenes unwatchable. such as the battle scene in the cave of Fellowship of the Ring. My calibrator only thought I'd need the THX modes like 99% of everybody else. Going to cost me $550 to get him back out to do the rest. He's expensive, but he's the only one I know that is good and has the equipment to do 3D as well. All others I've talked with won't do 3D.

Mark, on my tv it automatically switches (if set for that) to "24p" for movies and that will not produce artifacs like jerkiness.
On video programs, 24p switches off and then images are also smooth.
I've never had problems with fast moving scenes.

Could these be called Anti Soap Opera Effect ?

Whoa.

Oh, go eat more birthday cake!

I believe the soap opera effect is caused when the TV creates extra frames to match it's native refresh rate from material that has less. The result is a crisper image with less judder. The problem is movies (film) are mastered differently than video (TV) shows in that they are usually less detailed and smoother partially due to the fewer frames per second. This technology make everything looking like soap opera TV.

AFAIK all LCD's have this problem because they have fixed refresh rates while plasma's do not. It seems that some newer LCD's have gotten more sophisticated about fixing this issue but when I tour Best Buy or Costco I still see many TVs with the soap opera effect. It's not caused by the LCD technology per se, it's the software in the TV which can usually be turned off.