I have convinced my wife that a 42" plasma would look really nice in our bedroom. Does anyone have thoughts on what is the best out there?

Why a plasma?

Our bedroom is such that putting in a standard TV would take too much room. I like the look and space savings with the plasma. Why the question? Any thoughts in another direction?

I'm no expert on plasmas by any stretch but there seems to be a growing movement of thought that they are over-rated and overpriced. Maybe somebody with a better background in plasmas will jump in. I know a few people who have them and there is no doubt they kick ass in the picture department but I have also seen dead spots on them. They show up after only a few months use. Granted not all of them but I have seen it on more then one.

I think this site may be affiliated with some online dealers, so don't necessarily take its reviews as gospel, but it still has some useful information: http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/

I'm very pleased with my Panasonic TH42PWD6UY monitor, and I got a good price and great service buying it from visualapex.com.

I would whole-heartedly disagree and say that plasmas can be INCREDIBLE. Of course I may be slightly defensive since I'm an owner, but I think justifiably. I would be cautious Neverhappy, since we would all bash a non-Axiom owner for trashing Axioms. Let's give the plasma owners the same courtesy!

Not sure what you mean by deadspots. If you mean burn in, that is somewhat of a legend. It really depends on the content you watch and how you care for your plasma. The first thing EVERY plasma owner should do is calibrate it via an professional ISF or at the least, w/ Avia or DVE. One the biggest newbie no-no's is to leave your plasma at default settings because almost all sets (including CRTs) are set to TORCH mode, i.e. the brightest setting possible. This is not the best thing if you want your display to last, plasma/LCD/DLP and CRTs to some extent.

Last year my plasma was going for $3K. I got it on sale @ 20% off. Now, it's under $2K, that's a deal.

Check out this thread for further info:

Plasma thread

im no tech guru,but the best pictures ive seen on a plasma screen were a hitachi 50" at circut-city,and a nakamichi at a local bjs warehouse store,they were the only plasma pictures that really impressed me,my advise would to try a couple of different video sources and bring a few dvds of your own,finding nemo seems to be real popular for stores to display picture quality around here and its definitly a good demo,it looks good on almost any screen,so make sure you audition the picture with a lesser quality video or scan through regular tv channels to see what everyday tv will look like

I have the Panasonic 50" HD. (it's been a while since I bought it so I no longer know the exact model #... I think I’m getting close to the 2 year mark) A few things I hear about plasma I’m beginning to view as fallacies: the High definition picture isn’t as good as other technologies, and they have burn-in. Both are plain not true. If you got the green light from the boss to buy one, I’d stick with the Panasonic.

From a price/performance standpoint, there are other technologies that probably provide more bang for the buck. But, like you pointed out, the plasmas are great for smaller rooms and space problems. I’ve been really happy with mine thus far, and continue to look at it as one of the coolest thing I’ve every bought. Was it a lot of $$$, yup. Do I ever regret buying it – nope! As far as break-fix issues: the industry is at a “board level” fix mode, which means there are 4-6 major boards that make up the majority of the system. The repair techs will swap out the boards if you have a problem. The cost of the boards will continue to fall, and I would venture to say – some of the earlier problems reported by some brands are fast getting fixed as they collect more and more data about what issues these units have. At any rate, the break-fix cost are a bit high once off of warranty, but not as bad as one might imagine. For example, if out of warranty – replacing one of the boards in these units will run 300 – 500 dollars.

But, I never get tired of looking at my plasma – it’s just too cool to see a 4 ½ inch deep TV mounted on the wall. Very cool. I had a Belmont Stakes party to watch Smarty Jones… There were about 10 guys standing around within 5 feet of the TV, and I could see a little drool in the corner of their mouths. It’s like standing directly behind a Ferrari, and having someone gun the engine. Nothing like the sound that the pipes of a Ferrari produce. Does a plasma TV have the same reliability as a Ferrari? Probably not quite as bad. I say buy the 42. “Once in a while you have to say, what the f#ck”

Amen Bilbo!!! Ha!

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I would be cautious Neverhappy, since we would all bash a non-Axiom owner for trashing Axioms. Let's give the plasma owners the same courtesy!

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Relax and re-read my post. I didn't bash anything. Nor have I ever bashed Axioms.

No worries, no offense meant. Didn't mean to infer that you bashed Axioms, just my feeble attempt at an analogy...

No problem at all! I don't know enough about Plasma's either way to really say. I was just throwing out stuff I have seen. As for Axiom's, I could not bash them if I wanted to. Great company that makes a decent product at a decent price!

The plasma TV's I've installed have been wonderful. Granted that it's relatively new technology. The Plasma's have yet to give any of my customers any problems. Some of them are going on 2+ years. I don't have one yet my next purchase will be a front projector and then I will have to worry about bulb replacement costs. I have also been considering a plasma for our bedroom too. I think most manufactures make good plasma's however, I'm partial to Hitachi.

Hitachi is my thought as well. I picked up my 63" rear projection from www.uecweb.com and now see that they are selling plasma's. They are "factory refurbished" but I am a little hesitant on picking up such a large purchase with only a 30 day backing. I can get the extended warrenty for a couple hundred dollars. Has anyone picked up a refurb plasma?

I would definitely pick up the extended warranty on this large of a purchase. Hitachi's customer care is outstanding.
I have a Hitachi rptv and love it. I had to call Hitachi once since purchasing it. They sent out a tech that replaced a bad board and did a complete convergence on the set. They told me if it did it again that they would replace it with DLP set.

Why do you need a TV that big in the bedroom? Therapists say there are only two activities that should be happening in there - and neither involves a TV (usually ).
I'm considering a small LCD for the bedroom just to be able to hear the news as I nod off. PQ sucks but the prices are dropping.
Plasma & Ferrari is a good analogy.

mines in my family room... i was referring to the poster's question. But, no doubt you have a good point about having some priorities in that room. Unless of course they are going for a ceiling mount and have a very "eclectic" taste in movies... hehehe

I was planning on putting it in my bedroom. Since the wall that it will be mounted on it far from the bed and my eye sight is not the best, I thought of the 42".

Great post, Bilbo! I agree with your thoughts and I, too, love my 42" Panny!

Panasonic plasmas are selling extremely well, according to their popularity on PriceGrabber.com:

Plasma Televisions
(sorted by popularity)

1. Panasonic TH-42PD25U 42" Plasma TV
16:9, 854x480, 4000:1, HDTV Compatible
from $2,169.79
(43 Sellers)

2. Panasonic TH-42PWD6UY 42" Plasma TV
16:9, 852x480, 4000:1, HDTV Compatible
from $1,874.00
(34 Sellers)

3. Panasonic TH-42PX25U/P 42" Plasma TV
16:9, 1024x768, 3000:1, HDTV Compatible
from $3,459.00
(48 Sellers)

4. Panasonic TH-50PX25U/P 50" Plasma TV
16:9, 1366x768, 3000:1, HDTV Compatible
from $4,790.00
(44 Sellers)

5. Panasonic TH-37PD25U 37" Plasma TV
16:9, 852x480, 4000:1, HDTV Compatible
from $1,848.79
(34 Sellers)

6. Pioneer PDP-503CMX 50" Plasma TV
16:9, 1280x768, 900:1
from $3,479.99
(20 Sellers)

7. Pioneer PDP-4340HD 43" Plasma TV
16:9, 1024x768, HDTV Compatible
from $4,099.95
(18 Sellers)

8. Sony KE-37XS910 37" Plasma
from $2,928.79
(13 Sellers)

9. Pioneer PDP-5040HD 50" Plasma TV
16:9, 1280x768, HDTV Compatible
from $5,349.99
(21 Sellers)

10. Panasonic TH-42PHD6UY 42" Plasma TV
16:9, 1024x768, 3000:1, HDTV Compatible
from $3,088.00
(35 Sellers)

Source: http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php?page_id=197&sortby=popular-&vendors%5B%5D=0&popup1%5B%5D=0&popup1_attr_id%5B%5D=1022&popup2%5B%5D=2%3A73&popup2_attr_id%5B%5D=73&popup3%5B%5D=0&popup3_attr_id%5B%5D=998&popup4%5B%5D=0&popup4_attr_id%5B%5D=3&popup6%5B%5D=0&lo_p=0&hi_p=0&form_keyword=&sortby=

lomb7, be sure to have a look at the following advice from Alan Lofft regarding TV screen size:

1. Choose the Right Screen Size for your Room

Your seating distance will determine your sense of picture clarity and detail as well as the quality of the viewing experience. If all you watch are true HDTV images, then you can sit as close as twice the diagonal screen size-- about 8 feet away for a 46-inch or a bit more for a 50-inch diagonal screen. But sitting that close may not be practical, because until the final conversion to all-HDTV broadcasting is complete—and that's at least 5 years away-- a lot of your TV viewing may well be conventional analog TV, and those images may look fairly crummy up close. (Remember early big screen TVs?) If you watch regular non-HD TV sitting too close to a big screen, you'll see all the flaws. Figure on three times the diagonal screen size as a minimum viewing distance. So if you want a 60-inch diagonal screen, you should be 15 feet away to watch regular TV and still be pleased with the picture. For HDTV or DVDs, the picture will be fantastic at that distance; you could even move your chair up closer, to perhaps 10 feet.

Source: Chasing the Big Picture: Ten Tips to Getting a Big Screen TV

The list of Panasonics from Pricegrabber may be a bit misleading when it says "HDTV Compatible." A unit with 852x480 resolution may down-convert an HD signal and display it, but it won't be HD. That's EDTV resolution, not HDTV.

Actualy, the difference between an HDTV and EDTV isn't all that great. Especially when you look at the difference in dollars. If you want something thin and hangable, you might look at the flat panel LCDs. The Sony XBR950 is an excellent choice.

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The list of Panasonics from Pricegrabber may be a bit misleading when it says "HDTV Compatible."

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True dat, denver. However, the fine line between EDTV and HDTV was not the point I was trying to make here...

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Panasonic plasmas are selling extremely well, according to their popularity on PriceGrabber.com:

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Panasonic: the top five plasmas in the list...six of the top ten most popular plasmas in the list...consistently larger numbers of retailers than that of the competition. This is what I was trying to illustrate above.

Yeah, DZ, I understood your point and assumed you had just copied and pasted from Pricegrabber, and I was just trying to clarify their wording. I have an EDTV Panasonic, and I think it's great. Side by side in the store, the HDTV units look better up close, but as you back off to 10" or so, I didn't find much difference (for a 42" display). For folks who have HDTV and will be sitting close or buying a 50 or 60" display, an HDTV unit might look significantly better. For my room and for mostly watching DVD's, I didn't think it worth the money.

denver, those 42" Panasonic EDTVs have been extremely popular choices. Everyone that owns one and critiques it loves it and compares it very favorably to the 42" HDTV models: I'm glad you like yours as well. Plasma TV Buying Guide has an interesting treatise on this subject: EDTV PLASMA vs. HDTV PLASMA.

Prices on all plasmas have been dropping nicely over the summer months. Now my dad sees that VisualApex is selling the brand new (seventh generation) Panasonic TH-42PWD7UY EDTV monitor for just $2195 and he's getting very interested in one too!

I bought the 42" HDTV monitor, but admittedly, I paid a lot more for it six months ago. I don't even subscribe to DIRECTV's HDTV package as of yet: I'm just waiting a while longer for additional HD program offerings. It's still pretty early in the SDTV-to-HDTV transition, but I have the monitor at the ready.