Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Suggestions on a New TV???

I once again come hat-in-hand to you great folks, looking for some help on selecting a new tv. To give a bit of the background story, i currently own an older model 36" flat screen tube tv that is in our upstairs living room. The room isn't very large and once i finish up the basement, it will be moving to that location (but it too won't be long for the world; i'll be looking for a replacement for it soon after). So that move leaves us short a tv in our living room/open kitchen area that gets the majority of use.

I haven't done any thorough research on the decision, but i have browsed some different shop displays. At this point i'd probably lean towards something in the 36-46" range, probably an LCD (I like the look of the Samsung, both pic and aesthetics but otherwise no bias towards any one brand). Small footprint is definitely a must, it will need to support large viewing angles and also can't be subject to washout since the room has numerous windows and won't be light controlled. The other question would be resolution and since i'm looking at smaller sets, i don't see a compelling reason to look for anything better than 720p (looks like primarily 768 on the LCDs). This should save me a few bucks. Price-wise i wouldn't say there is really a limit, though i'd like to keep total cost to not much more than $2K Canadian.

Anyone have any suggestions/comments/ideas?

The biggest change you are going to see other than great HD is not so great SD. If you watch a lot of SD tv then try to get sales people to show some SD while you shop. Compare tube and LCD/Plasma in the same shop.

Just bought a 46 Sony 2000 (720) tv for the bedroom. Very pleased.

While researching new TVs I came across a few that people really rave about. One is the Panasonic 42px60u plasma. They can be had at Best Buy and the like for around $1500. It will do 720p (768 really) no problem. I took a good look at this PDP while doing my research and it is a great set, especially for the money. One problem is that source components like the OPPO 971H using the Faroudja DCDi chip can cause macroblocking issues on the Panny set.

It seems that the 9th generation PDPs have gone a long way towards fixing problems like stuck pixels, faded phosphors, screen burn-in, and such. Plus the brightness had improved dramatically. Plasmas also have a wider viewing angle than LCD sets although the LCD sets are getting better.

For the purposes of full disclosure, I ended up buying a JVC HD56FN97 HD-ILA (LCos) rear-projection tv. LCoS has been the technology I've been watching for quite a while and the price/performance calculus finally hit the sweet spot for me.

Yep...that panny is very nice. I just helped my brother with his tv purchase. He ended up with this

Panasonic TH-42PX60U. $1499 delivered. No tax. No shipping - AND he got the free Harmony remote!

We had some issues at first. The first tv delivered was NG, but Vanns sent a new one with no questions asked. The new set is stunning. I bought my brother the Oppo 971H for his birthday to go with his new tv, and I must say I was dumbfounded at how good some DVD's look. Wow!

I have to ask Spiff...how do you like it compared to your Sony?

Spiff-

Any problems with macroblocking with the Oppo on the 60u? That is a problem that seems to be somewhat common yet erratic with that combo. I'm suggesting the 60u/971H combo to a friend here in PDX on the premise that the macroblocking is an occasional nuisance rather than a continuous problem. From what I've read the 60u/971H is a nearly unbeatable value for a PDP/upconverting DVD combo.

Just yesterday we took delivery of a Panasonic TH42PX60U 42" plasma to replace the old Sony KE37XS919 37" plasma in our bedroom that went south after almost three years of good service ... good thing we did get the extended warranty on the Sony, it paid for the new set.

The Sony developed a 2" wide horizontal black stripe about 2/3rds on the right hand side of the unit and the service tech determined the stripe was fatal so the old plasma put to pasture. RIP Sony!

The biggest difference that I noticed right away was the PQ on the Panny's SD channels, the HD channels are simply stunning. Hopefully this set will last longer than the previous plasma ... time will tell.

Craig, Joe & Mark, thanks for the suggestions and ideas. Does anyone think there would be issues with a plasma washing out a bit in high ambient light areas? It appears that 42” Panny plasma is around the $2k mark in Canada and I believe it would be available locally too, so I’d be able to have a look at it at least. Good to know there could be potential macroblocking issues as I’m thinking about ordering a new DVD player and will likely end up with either a Panny or an Oppo. Craig, has your bro noticed any issues yet? Is there any specific reason you ended up selecting that set – price, performance, size, etc?

(by the way Mark, good choice on the LCoS set, when I finally get the theatre settled in downstairs and replace the old tube, I’ll be looking at either an LCoS or DLP set)

Scott, the Panasonic plasma that others have mentioned is fine, but for an LCD within your budget consider this .