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HDTV Suggestions


tkam

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Just wanted to update. We've had our panny 55" gt50 and absolutely love it. Both the wife and I were impressed with how much more pop the image has than our g25. The blacks are pretty insane.

This past Wednesday we had a calibrator come in and calibrate the set and wow did it make a difference. I was using the thx modes and they were really nice, but after his service menu grayscale adjustments and user setting adjustments in custom mode the picture is in another league. Even my wife commented how much better it looked as soon as she saw the post calibrated set. Normally it is $400 but the guy I went through offered a $200 calibration for sets that have limited calibration options like the gt50. Was easily worth it IMO.

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Just wanted to update. We've had our panny 55" gt50 and absolutely love it. Both the wife and I were impressed with how much more pop the image has than our g25. The blacks are pretty insane.

This past Wednesday we had a calibrator come in and calibrate the set and wow did it make a difference. I was using the thx modes and they were really nice, but after his service menu grayscale adjustments and user setting adjustments in custom mode the picture is in another league. Even my wife commented how much better it looked as soon as she saw the post calibrated set. Normally it is $400 but the guy I went through offered a $200 calibration for sets that have limited calibration options like the gt50. Was easily worth it IMO.

I am tempted to purchase some equipment to do calibrations now that I have enough stuff in the house to make it worth it. Good to hear it makes that much of a difference. 

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I'd recommend against the Spyder line of products. I have a Spyder 3, which I tried to use on my Macbook Pro, and my Mac Mini/Panasonic TV. On both, the Spyder gives an obvious red tinge. Datacolor's technical support is terrible, so I've not be able to do much about it (except not use the colorimeter).

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  • 1 month later...

I went to a Criminal Law Seminar on Saturday and won a Vizio 47" HDTV ( http://store.vizio.com/lcd-hdtvs/e471vle.html ).  I don't need two HDTVs and already have a Pioneer 5070 ( http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Plasma/PDP-5070HD ), which I bought in 2006 and quite happy with.  

 

If I was to replace my HDTV, I would probably get larger screen, like 70+, and something substantially better than I currently have...

 

In any event, should I keep the Vizio and sell the Pioneer?  I am leaning towards keeping the Pioneer.  

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Maybe sell both?...

Normally, I'd say keep the Pioneer, but it's using an outdated resolution and, by selling both, you'd be within striking distance of new Panny...

 

the HDTV I want is very expensive (or think I want)... Samsung ES9000.

 

And right now, my war chest is for my law firm, new car and house. 

 

Craigslist the Vizio for a couple hundred and take the wife out to dinner.

I've been thinking about that option... :)

 

In fact, I've already been approached by another attorney that attended the seminar that wants to buy it.

Edited by 909
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If happy with the Pioneer & have a buyer for the Vizio sure sell it...

That Samsung is nice, but you may want to keep in mind that LED LCD technology is still chugging along backwards as it has been for the last few years...The focus is still on slimming down & pumping 3D when the full array local dimming of older models is vastly superior to edge lit...Sony & LG still have a few models on the high end with proper features...& LG uses IPS panels...

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Just saying they developed a bunch of really nice technology for LCD screens & now they don't use it because they're obsessed with making TVs .5" thick instead of 2"...& they're not so much focused on quality as they are gimmicks like 3D & widgets...

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  • 3 months later...

My brother is selling his Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U 42" (2009 vintage), and was asking $400 for it. It has about 4100 hours on it. Anyone have an idea of what a reasonable price would be for this if I was interested in it?

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He's just liquidating all of their stuff as he and his wife are moving to S. America for a year or longer.

 

He indicated that plasmas typically have a 20k-30k lifespan... not sure how accurate that is, but he usually knows what he is talking about.

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My father's day card came with a coupon good for one big screen 3D plasma TV.  I'm considering this:

 

LG Electronics 60PH6700 60-Inch 1080p 600Hz Active 3D Plasma HDTV with Smart TV $1199

 

 

Any thoughts?  Reviews have been favorable, and it's several hundred cheaper than competitors, but it's new and there aren't that many out there to know about longevity.  All brands have complainers, and I went to Amazon to see about 10% very unhappy with Panasonic, Samsung, and others.

 

My primary concern would be reliability and picture - I do want blacker blacks than my old 60" LCD with good protection from burn-in, but most of all I want something that will run and run for years.  My Sony 42" and Panasonic 60" rear projection LCD HDTV's were bought in 2004 and 2005 respectively and still run great, with one bulb change in each one during that time.  They might keep going another 5 years if we didn't want 3D or 1080p.

 

I don't really care too much about smart TV features since I can use the internet connectivity and apps my xBox 360, PS3 and Apple TV (for netflix, hulu, amazon prime video, etc.)  Sound is also not a major concern because it will be hooked up to a 5.1 amp and speakers.  It is a pain that it doesn't come with the active glasses std, but I only need to add two pair for my son and I to use with PS3 or Xbox 360 games.

 

 

 
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If I were shopping for a plasma TV, I still think I'd stick with the panasonic recommendatoins that have been made repeatedly throughout this thread. That said, I'm still using my 6 year old 37" 720p set, so what do I know?

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  • 3 months later...

Ok, so the wife appears to be prepared to buy a new TV but our space won't permit the easy purchase of one of the previously highly recommended Pannys.  Based on dimensions that I'm seeing it looks like 47" is another sweet spot and the largest that can be accommodated.  Budget is a grand(ish) and I'm not looking for bleeding edge tech.  The leading candidates so far are the Panny TC-L47E50 or WT50 but I'd love to hear some alternates.

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We just got a 46" Samsung (UN46F6300) which we like. It has Netflix, HBOGo, Plex, and Amazon Prime built in (among other stuff) so we were able to do away with a separate Roku. Wifi seems a bit spotty, but running an ethernet cord works fine (and we had to run one to the AT&T box anyway). It was well under your budget, too.

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I just read news that Panasonic is leaving the plasma business soon.  Shame.  I love mine.

 

I am baffled as to why there has not been a huge breakthrough in screen tech yet.  I mean, OLED is nice and all, but I worry about color longevity.  SED was supposed to be huge, but that never panned out.

Edited by roadtonowhere08
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We just got a 46" Samsung (UN46F6300) which we like. It has Netflix, HBOGo, Plex, and Amazon Prime built in (among other stuff) so we were able to do away with a separate Roku. Wifi seems a bit spotty, but running an ethernet cord works fine (and we had to run one to the AT&T box anyway). It was well under your budget, too.

 

My concern with Sammy is the class action suit against them last year, specifically related to this type of TV and capacitor failures on the power supply pcb. 

 

I may just push the wife towards the 50" panny and hope that she can live with it.  A trip to Best Buy is scheduled for this afternoon.

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Just throwing my 2 cents in. I've got a Sharp Quattron 46" from 2011 (I think the LC46LE830U) and it has some of the best blacks and colors I've seen out of an LCD. It sounds like you are leaning more towards plasma but the LED backlit LCDs have come a long way in just the past few years so it might be worth the comparison.

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