Why LCD and Plasma? 37

I have not, what is/are spiff?

That is interesting Semi; I suspect I need to spend more time looking at TV's next time. I had my wife and son with me yesterday and my wife is not patient in these things, I was very pressured.

I know that the DLP TV I bought a few years ago was a very nice one and I starting to think it is superior to most or I am less sensitive than others, because I don't have the issues some mention about it, such as Semi seeing the bulb and bothering the eyes.

As irritating as it was to deal with a salesman that didn't know much, I will say that CC sales people do not work on commission so what one buys or doesn't buy means little to them.

When I posted this last night I was about to go to bed and should have taken time to further mention that my "main" TV is DLP and I have been quite happy and find SD to be acceptable as well.

When I was at CC yesterday I asked if I could watch a particular TV in 4:3 and the answer from the young salesman was "no", this after explaining what 4:3 was. I went there with intent to purchase a 32" Panasonic (TC32LX70), but as I suspected, I questioned if I would regret the size. This same salesman highly recommended I consider a particular Samsung, I believe it is model LNT3242H; he was high on Samsung. I recall reading that it is a safe bet to stay with the P's, Panasonic and Pioneer, yes/no?

He also highly recommended I purchase the extended warranty due to pixels burning out on LCD models, which he showed me some floor models with some out, although it was a brand I would not consider. Is this a common issue with LCD's? The guy clearly didn't know a lot, but this issue did raise a concern for me.

55dok, do you have a model number for that 42" Panasonic plasma?

Too funny about wives, my wife does the same thing and also doesn't care.

Swampwalker, I am happy with my DLP set, and I wouldn't rule DLP out for the bedroom set we are looking to replace.

I went to town last night considering solely LCD and plasma and after looking at that Sony 3LCD rear projection TV I started wondering if I had gotten caught up in marketing, LCD and plasma being THE only real options, and maybe they are, if so, I am fine with that. Thus far, it seems the main issue for most is with bulb replacement in rear projection TV's.

I did look (rather quickly) at a DLP set at CC, but its picture quality was not as good as mine, so I didn't give it much thought.

What sucks at CC is they play a video loop that is fast moving so it is hard to view one TV to another.

I have yet to see a high definition LCD or Plasma TV displaying a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio signal that didn't look like crap. Do any exist?

I purchased a 42" Panasonic plasma and I hooked it up today; I don't have the HD receiver yet so I can only watch SD programs. I wouldn't know your standards for SD TVAD, but what I have been watching tonight looks very good to me, after making video adjustments.

I am also impressed with the stretch mode, called "JUST", this surprises me. It depends on what you are watching though. When watching some Karate on ESPN2, most of the viewing from the camera was away, it looked quite good. ESPN2 followed up with boxing and the announcers being near field of the camera, I don't like that as much.

I agree with you for the most part TVAD on streych mode, but I think some programs could surprise you, as it did me, maybe.

As for your second part, if I follow you, you are talking of only a few channels, your local channels, yes?

Also, keep in mind, when purchasing a HDTV, generally people purchase a larger TV, this obviously makes things bigger, including the distortion that was always there in your tube set. Not to mention you view HD content, with vastly more content, going back to SD will never compete.

Well, I am not sure we can compare apples to apples anymore. My new 42" TV plays a 4:3 picture at 34 inches, I am not aware of a high quality 34" SD only set to compare with. My new TV replaces a 27" tube TV and my new TV has a better picture than my tube TV when both playing SD, without question.

Either way, I suspect none of this matters, as you are settled/happy with where you are at as am I.

But as for your classifications of who buys HDTV's, I have no problem being in the latter. The programs I watch in HD are so much better than SD and I enjoy it very much.