Best HDTV?

Question

My husband and I are looking for a new HDTV. We were looking into DLPs but I guess they are discontinuing them so those are hard to come by. We are unsure about plasmas and how well those hold up. What tv do you recommend?

Answer 1

It depends on what you are looking for from the TV.

Plasma screens are great if you like to watch sports b/c the pixels are better at capturing the constant movement of the athletes. However, plasma screens do not absorb light so if you have a lot of light in your house it will reflect on the TV screen.

LCD screens are a bit more matte and absorb the light therefore there is not as much reflection. If you like video games and play a lot then LCD is the better option.

Then you have to decide if you want 720 or 1080. Right now most cable and tv networks only broadcast in 720 and it will be awhile before all are cable to broadcast in 1080. But if you have a lot of blue ray discs those are shot in 1080 which is the higher resolution of the 2.

I have both Plasma and LCD and both in 720. By the time it is ready to upgrade to the 1080 the life of my TVs will also be ready for the upgrade. HDTVs last about 5 - 7 years.

Answer 2

pioneer kuro if you have the money £4000 or more for a top end one. Or a Sony Panasonic Viera or sharp Aquos

Wouldnt go for lg, bush, grundig or any other cheap make as you will only regret it in the long run.

Answer 3

Sony Bravia...Just bought one. Tested through the roof by Consumer Reports.

Answer 4

Jessica,

The first question is unfortunately, how much do you want to spend?  The best HDTV's on the market right now happen to be plasma's.   The Pioneer Pro-111FD is the best television made, but will cost your thousands.  The Panasonic line (commerical and consumer) plasmas are next (price performance perspective).  If you are on a budget and are looking for the best picture, I highly suggest these.  Samsung has dramatically improved their LCD line as has Sony.  Vizio makes a couple of nice panels as well in the low budget range.

To answer your question, plasma is not going anywhere.  OLED is around the corner, but large screen sizes are a way down the road.  LCD's are going to dominate soon, but not quite yet when it comes to picture quality.  Plasmas will hold up.  Turn them off when you are not using them and while burn in is not a huge factor anymore it still can happen.  If you refrain from a static image on the TV for a long period of time you will be just fine.

Answer 5

Panasonic makes excellent plasmas. Samsung and Sony make very good LCD TV.