best 42" TV under $3000

[Slick92GS-R]

gonna be in the market for one very soon ...
no projections or DLP...
anyone have input ? thanks

[Jon325i]

I've heard that plasmas don't last as long as LCD TVs.....burnt out pixels and whatnot. There are a few brands of 32" LCDs out there for under $2000. I would read up on the Consumer Reports webpage (or other consumer feedback site) re: electronics to see what's worth getting versus what to avoid.

Jon

[che13]

Re: best 42" TV under $3000

gonna be in the market for one very soon ...
no projections or DLP...
anyone have input ? thanks

Any reason why you are ruling out projections?

Sony makes an excellent 42 grand Wega HDTV(built in tuner) LCD projection tv. Read all the reviews, they are great tv's, plenty of features, very high contrast ratio, and unlike plasmas, you can replace the bulb for like 300 bucks once it goes out. Once Plasmas burn out they are done.

the sony I'm talking about weighs 70lbs and is 14" deep for 2500 bucks.

also It will be hard to find a 42" plasma of quality (most for that price aren't even HD compatible) no HD=not worth it

[PeterCip]

I've heard that plasmas don't last as long as LCD TVs.....burnt out pixels and whatnot. There are a few brands of 32" LCDs out there for under $2000. I would read up on the Consumer Reports webpage (or other consumer feedback site) re: electronics to see what's worth getting versus what to avoid.

Jon

Rumors... for the most part..
the first Gen plasmas saw some pixel loss, and were covered by warrenties. they have since fixed this problem. and for the record, LCD's lose pixels as well, but they appear black, not green(because of the nature of an LCD Crystal)

The new plasmas are quite nice, but dont' have the contrast ratio's of the DLP's or LCDS.. they do however seem more vibrant than the LCD.
Figure out what native resolution you are gonna use the most, and narrow down the TV's from there.
-pete

[KenC]

Re: best 42" TV under $3000

gonna be in the market for one very soon ...
no projections or DLP...
anyone have input ? thanks

Any reason why you are ruling out projections?

Sony makes an excellent 42 grand Wega HDTV(built in tuner) LCD projection tv. Read all the reviews, they are great tv's, plenty of features, very high contrast ratio, and unlike plasmas, you can replace the bulb for like 300 bucks once it goes out. Once Plasmas burn out they are done.

the sony I'm talking about weighs 70lbs and is 14" deep for 2500 bucks.

also It will be hard to find a 42" plasma of quality (most for that price aren't even HD compatible) no HD=not worth it

My Dad just bought the Sony mentioned above. Small footprint, incredible TV.

[Beej '86 325es]

My friend has been a manager in the video dept. of a Circuit City for a few years now. He talks to the guys who do the repairs and warranty claims and such. According to him, the Hitachi projections have the best color guns. I haven't asked about the DLPs or anything though. Plasmas have a life of about 4 years. He's had one for about a year, and I guess he can already see it's wearing out.

[Slick92GS-R]

my reason for no DLP/projection is for the 'glare' when viewed at an angle/side view .. unfortunately the set will be placed in a spot where daylight viewing will only make this condition worse. i must admit that all the major concerns that have been mentioned dlp vs plasma vs lcd are so very interesting. all this 'burn vs bulb life vs color gun' .. oh man .. time to be an educated consumer and read ..*sigh*

appreciate it !

[che13]

my reason for no DLP/projection is for the 'glare' when viewed at an angle/side view .. unfortunately the set will be placed in a spot where daylight viewing will only make this condition worse. i must admit that all the major concerns that have been mentioned dlp vs plasma vs lcd are so very interesting. all this 'burn vs bulb life vs color gun' .. oh man .. time to be an educated consumer and read ..*sigh*

appreciate it !

yeah there is plenty of info out there for you to make the best decision for yourself. I'd hate to say it, but you are going to have a problem with glare from a plasma as well because of the hard surface of the screen is highly reflective.

good luck, not matter what you choose, it sounds like you will be getting a sweet tv soon, so enjoy.

[seqo]

I personally recommend DLP. I think they have the best image (in general) compared to that of Plasma and LCD.

Thought about a digital projector and a screen? (wouldn't suffer from glare... however, it would drown out colour and the white/black's won't appear very well when viewed in Daylight.)

[86325e]

Glare and sideview on projection tv's have improved substantially in the past few years. I have a sony grand wega in my family room, the back of the room is all windows to the ceiling and the room attaches to the kitchen that has a huge skylight. I can see the TV fine in the daytime. Glare isn't all that bad compared to the old tube tv that used to be in there. The side view is great too its not like the old proj tv's where the color and picture is all funny if you're not directly in front of it. Too bad you can't try a TV out first to see how it would work out in your room.

[sparticus]

Yeah, I got a 50" DLP a couple months back and no complaints. the kitchen is to the side of the family room and I can see shows perfectly with no glare. I actually went to Borders and bought a few HDTV magazines to see what people are saying. Even projection TV on big wall screens are getting popular!! I even went here to get ideas http://www.tvauthority.com/default.asp . Good luck in your decision.