I plan on buying a 50" 720p plasma. I cant decide on which one. I am stuck between the:

LG 50PG20 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8753716&type=product&id=1202649765380#tabbed-customerreviews

Samsung PN50A450 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8749438&type=product&id=1202649424626

Panasonic TH-50PX80U http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8723045&type=product&id=1200703056300

I looked at them in the store, all look the same picture wise. Panasonic has slightly deep blacks, but more noise. The LG has a usb 2.0 port, the panasonic has a sd card reader, the samsung has a nice finish just like the LG.

I have heard samsung makes a better TV
Panasonic makes the best plasma cause they been making them first
I heard LG is a good too.

Panasonic also doesnt have PC inputs.

So which one? All are 997.99

9/27/2008 6:54:14 PM

why would you go 50" and do 720p?

how far away are you going to be from the TV? 12 feet or more?

9/27/2008 6:56:41 PM

^lol, people never consider that....

9/27/2008 6:58:34 PM

im going to be sitting about 12-15 feet away. I looked at the 1080p plasma but i couldnt no tell a difference. when i got close i could. I could seem more pixelation in the 720s, but after 7 feet, it all looked the same.

The best buy clerk couldnt tell from a distance either.

9/27/2008 7:09:44 PM

Buy the Panny.


I had one of the previous models and it was the ultimate sex. the reviews on the pannys usually show that they're only second to the Pioneers, which are always drastically more.

9/27/2008 7:33:37 PM

panasonic

fwiw, i notice that after 10ft+ i can't even tell much (maybe 20%) difference between an upconverted DVD and a HD-DVD/Blu-ray on my 1080p LCD, then again, i only have a 42"

[Edited on September 27, 2008 at 8:03 PM. Reason : .]

9/27/2008 8:02:49 PM

^^^ The resolution is probably the least relevant measurement once you're in HD.

The higher end plasmas/LCDs not only are 1080, they generally put MUCh better video decoders in them and/or use higher quality manufacturing processes that give you deeper more realistic colors, and smoother motion. Those aspects you CAN see from a distance, and that's what you'd be paying for by going with a better TV that also would happen to be 1080.

Of the choices you listed though, the Panasonic is going to be the best one.

9/27/2008 8:08:35 PM

Geez. If you are fortunate enough not to be able to tell the different between a 720 and 1080 display, save your money and buy low end.

9/27/2008 8:28:24 PM

Most people don't have the hawk vision necessary to discern the difference between 720p and 1080p over a large distance, nor do they feel the need to convince themselves they do.

Buy the Panasonic.

9/27/2008 9:16:34 PM

^ which is why i asked about distance

i fully agree that unless you're using it as a computer monitor AND will be <10ft away from it, then it GENERALLY doesn't matter for MOST people

go for the panasonic

9/27/2008 9:25:14 PM

After doing more research, looks like the LG has a pretty piano black frame, but the picture quality isnt there.

The samsung has the best colors, panasonic the deepest blacks. I chose the Panny.

I got two 50" pannys for $1760 both with 4 year extended warranties

9/28/2008 2:30:22 PM

I think 720p is a great decision to make unless you're right in front of the TV.

http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html

I have that panasonic and its awesome. My neighbor bought a similar sized 1080p Samsung LCD and ended up taking it back because even calibrated it looked like shit compared to mine.

9/28/2008 2:47:15 PM

vizio ftw

9/28/2008 7:17:55 PM

[image]http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:e8U0dcfuNjq_ZM:http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/1038097/2/istockphoto_1038097_3d_glasses.jpg[/image]
I'm walls1441 and i approved this message.

9/28/2008 8:42:55 PM

^^^you're comparing a plasma to a LCD

9/28/2008 9:58:52 PM

i think moron pretty much answered the question. 720vs 1080 is not going to much nearly the difference that video processing and higher native contrast ratios make. on my 50 1080p you can't tell when you set the input to 720p. but compared to my older 50"720 it's a night and day difference. bc of the best video processing ,cr, etc. i went back and forth between the panny and the sammy before i bought mine too ended up with the samsung bc of the colors and control over the picture settings.

9/29/2008 4:43:38 AM

^^ Agreed, but i'll bet the general consumer still looks at

1. Price
2. Size
3. Resolution
4. Brand name
5. Everything else

in that order when evaluating TV's. When in reality the only reason you need 1080p is for very large sets in small-midsize rooms ASSUMING you have/plan to get a blu-ray player or other (now) niche input source.

9/29/2008 11:32:45 AM

^i agree, except replace #3 resolution with picture quality. most people do not care or know about resolution unless the best buy guy tells them about it. they typically buy what looks the best

9/29/2008 11:53:31 AM

i have a samsung lcd (not terribly directly relevant but even so) i've been pleased with it

9/29/2008 1:29:01 PM

Quote :

"When in reality the only reason you need 1080p is for very large sets in small-midsize rooms "

....................?

9/29/2008 1:30:20 PM

When I've been looking at / purchasing tv's......

One thing that always stands out is how deep can the TV produce black on screen? If you look at alot of lower end tv's, black will look very washed out, with a lot of white coming through. The other thing I look at is how fine does text show up on the screen. You can find alot of 720p TV's that do alot better job than 1080p at the whole color/sharpness thing.

9/29/2008 1:56:44 PM

^^^^ I was thinking of the very uneducated buyer who takes the sales persons word and the overcompensating macho buyer who would refuse to "settle". In store image quality comparison is usually deceiving although I would agree it would be number 3.

^^ See chart above. If your TV is much smaller than 46"-50" than you will probably not be able to tell a difference. If your living room is a decent size (15+") you probably will not be able to tell a difference.

9/29/2008 5:12:08 PM

when we bought our Panasonic, it was the highest-recommended be our salesguy (and also the least expensive at the time ). He says Panasonic plasma tv's have Pioneer internals, who are at/near the top of the game. Sadly, mine doesn't have a VGA or DVI input either, but I just bought a DVI-to-HDMI adapter cable from http://www.monoprice.com for super cheap.

9/29/2008 5:27:50 PM

^^ I understand the chart is intended to present probabilities for the lay viewer, I just still think it's off base. Ah well.

9/29/2008 7:53:42 PM

IMO 720p would be horrible on a 50", but this depends what you do on it. We have a 42" 1080p and have it hooked up to a htpc. We use it for browsing, gaming, and media.

720p is less than most small laptops have for workspace. I'm used to 1920 by 1200 on a 15.4" and trying to deal with 1280 by 720 on a 50" would be insane. You can hardly fit a browser with much else on 720p.

Of course if you don't ever use it as a monitor and you can't tell a difference at 12-15 feet than go for it.

9/30/2008 3:49:30 PM

panasonic ftw

9/30/2008 3:53:17 PM