Home theater

[nordwulf]

My 13-year old Sony Trinitron decided it had enough of entertaining me a few days ago. So I am looking for a new TV. I wanted to upgrade a few years ago but couldn't really make myself getting rid of perfectly working TV. But now I have no choice.

I have been browsing around to get up-to-date with current offerings and found this Panasonic 50" 3D tv that seems like a very nice deal right now. $1049 from Amazon and includes a 3D Avatar with 3D glasses kit. I have been looking at reviews and it seems like a good TV.

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MME76K/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=saab0b-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B004MME76K">Panasonic VIERA TC-P50GT30 50-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=&l=as2&o=1&a=B004MME76K&camp=217145&creative=399373" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />



I like Panasonic. My first amplifier and tuner were from National which is one of the retired Panasonic brands. Also had a lot of Technics stuff.

Does anyone have any recommendations? Is 3D a gimmick or the future of TV? Internet connectivity seems very cool and would be easy to watch stuff from Netflix, Hulu and so on.

I am also wondering if I still need Satellite or Cable TV. I have Directv right now but am not sure if it is really worth $65 a month for the few channels that I regular DVR. Is Netflix DVD's and other online internet programming enough?

Oh, and then there is the audio part including speakers. Blu-ray DVD player. And probably more.

[Aero]

Not into this really so I can´t tell much about it, but regarding 3D, my advice is test the system first. There is a lot of rumbling around here over the goods and bads of 3D TV sets and it would seem the bads win.

[Hirsch]

Are you sold on Plasmas?

Maybe they gotten better in the last few years, but usually their life span isn't as long as an LCD TV

[nordwulf]

They seem to have better picture quality and are less expensive than a comparable LCD display. And the newer ones seem to last longer.

Thanks to a newly designed phosphor process and new panel technology, our plasma panels last for up to 100,000 hours before the brightness decreases by half. That's more than 30 years of viewing 8 hours a day.

[Hirsch]

Plasmas are cheaper than LCD's now?

[Shazam]

Big plasmas are usually cheaper than LCD.

My brother is looking for a new TV, and he is pretty much set on plasmas because of how much cheaper they are once you get up to 40"+. A big downside of plasma is that they are prone to glare. My other brother has a 50" Panasonic plasma that he loves. It's 3 years old, only 720p, but has a great picture and he's had zero problems with it. Can't say that for my folks 42" Samsung LCD.

Regarding 3D, I'd never get it. It always looks like a pop-up book to me, and I don't want to wear big doofy glasses when I sit down to watch TV (not that you always have to). This is a good read regarding 3D, and why so many people don't like it.
Why 3D doesn't work and never will. Case closed. - Roger Ebert's Journal

[SpecialTool]

3D is more of a once-a-year gimmick at the cinema for me; can't imagine ever wanting it at home. Big plasmas are certainly appealing pricewise. Others have mentioned some of the plasma cons; another is high power consumption. I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you get, plasma or LCD. Naturally, go for Full HD if you're going to watch blurays.

[sptsdn]

I am also wondering if I still need Satellite or Cable TV. I have Directv right now but am not sure if it is really worth $65 a month for the few channels that I regular DVR. Is Netflix DVD's and other online internet programming enough?

It certainly has been enough for me. I cut our cable a couple years ago and haven't missed it at all. Netflix DVD and streaming has been more than enough for me. Any TV show worth watching eventually comes out on DVD. Plus you get to watch them back-to-back and without commercial interruption; it's well worth the wait. Of course Hulu has a lot of shows too that you can watch just after their original air date.

Netflix streaming content is limited (although they have a huge selection of children's programming if you need/want that) so I still have a 2 DVD subscription. Plus if you have a Mac you could always get Ripit and copy DVD's to your hard drive and watch them on your own time without holding up your Netflix DVD rental cue. At least that's what I've read other people do....yeah, that's it, other people do that.

[J-Rod]

You have to be careful with Plasmas. Yes, they have a better picture, and FAR better refresh rate over LCD's and LED's (Hello 600hz!) but you can never lay them flat (They will crack) and if the room it's going in gets a lot of sunlight, they're not as good as LCD/LED with the glare and I've been told they fade qicker too.

I have a 46" Sharp LED in my very bright living room and I love it, but for the same price of the LED, we're getting a 52" Plasma for the basement.

[nordwulf]

I have been looking around in a few stores. Even the cheapest 32" LCD at Walmart is going to have a better and larger, higher res display than my old Sony so it'll be an improvement no matter which one I choose. Thanks for the great advice so far but it is difficult or impossible to find the perfect TV. But shopping around is part of the fun.