2. home-theater
  3. 1252098712

Buy new TV now or wait for 3D technology?

I saw an article on Yahoo today that announced Sony unveiled a new 3-Dimensional LCD TV at an electronics convention in Germany. Didn't give a release date or price though.

I'm buying a new TV in the next year and have been looking into the new Samsung LED's. I've read about the complaints of the glow effect around the frame in dark movie scenes though. Does anyone have one? Would you recommend it?

There are some nice plasmas for good prices but those are on their way out. Would you buy a plasma now if the technology is being discontinued?

I've read articles that 3D technology would require a different HDMI standard which would mean you would have to buy a new receiver, TV, Blue-ray player etc. to handle the new cables.

I don't want to buy a TV and have it obsolete the next year. What do you think? Will you be waiting for 3D before you buy your next TV?
brooks1856
11 responses Add your response
macdadtexas
1,794 posts
 
I have put 4 of those Samsung TV's in friends houses, and they are stellar, never seen any of the 'Halo' effect we heard of. We actually paid to have the setting done by a pro on one of them, and it was worth the $300 he charged. They have come so far down in price, buy the LED now, and by the time the new 3d prices become reasonable you can toss your LED into the bedroom! You can expect a minimum of 5yrs until the 3d becomes the norm. I bought my first CRT based HD TV in 1999, then my first Plasma (don't want to say how much I paid) from the Enron we-screwed-all-the-shareholder-counterparties-and-employees auction in early 2002. It has taken some time.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
I would get plasma, I have had both and plasma is better. I paid $1200 for a 50" Panasonic over a year ago , they are probably cheaper now. The only problem is how bad a lot of the HD is,I have Direct but they have no control over the original signal.
Post removed 
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
I think the Sony organic displays will show up first. If you have seen the twelve inch model you will want to wait. 3D is almost a decade way, at least at price points you can afford. I have a Samsung CRT HD set and a Sony front projector for movies. I did look at the LED's, both Sony and Samsung but did not feel they were a significant improvement over the current LCD's. I also have a Sony 32' xbr6 LCD as a computer monitor and I am very happy with it.
unsound
7,311 posts
 
I wouldn't hold your breath for the 3D technology, especially in this economy.
wader1971
77 posts
 
I bought a Pioneer Elite PRO-111 Kuro in June 2009 and I am very satisfied!!! Supposely Panasonic is coming out with a Premiere Plasma this Fall - OLED will be a long while before hit mainstream and the cost wil be out of reaqch even longer! - So, Go Plasma and it is not phasing out, just like vinyl - there still making them.....
soix
8,655 posts
 
"I don't want to buy a TV and have it obsolete the next year. What do you think?"

I think whatever you buy will be obsolete within a year. Panasonic seems committed to plasma and you can get an excellent 50" 1080p for $1100 or so. If it works for 3 months it'll likely last for a long time with no problems. Way too soon to be an early adopter of 3D technology in my opinion, so better to wait it out with a relatively cheap plasma that will look great until 3D technology improves and gets cheaper (and has a decent selection of quality programming worth watching). Best of luck.
hifisoundguy
630 posts
 
Get a Pioneer krp-500m plasma before they are all gone! This was the last plasma that pioneer made and they put their (10thG parts) in this plasma!.. Its even better than the Elite pro-111 !.. Its going to take 10 or so years before the price of OLEDs goes way down....
paulsax
275 posts
 
If you want a new TV now I'd go for it. Some really good suggestions above. Theres no reason to expect that 3D will be out/available/reasonablypriced anytime soon. I remember a coworker about 10 or 12 years ago passed on getting a new car because he read in USA Today how the fuel cell car would be out in a year or so. Actually deferring the car purchase was likely a good idea as it did not kill him but it sure drove him nuts I'll bet. If you can swing it, get it and enjoy it.
vicdamone
850 posts
 
The Pioneer Krp 500m plasma is the hot deal out there. You absolutly DON'T need a dark room to use a plasma of this quality. If your worried about obsolescence a plasma has a much longer life cycle than LCD.

With any LCD you get motion blur, it's getting better but it's still there. If there's a downside to plasma its that it uses a bit more power.
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
Pioneer Elite Kuros is THE ONLY WAY TO GO.
Log in to respond
More to discover
80x80
Wilson Audio XS
THX Select Powered Subwoofer
80x80
California Audio Technology CAT MBX S8
80x80
Lyngdorf Audio MP-60 2.1