Quote Originally Posted by grampi
I may be getting a new TV soon and I haven't bought one in a while so I thought I'd ask the experts in here the questions I have.

This may be a dumb question, but here goes. I was at Sears the other day looking at their TV's. They had several 50"+ HD TV's for around the $1400-$1800 price range. They also had several plasma TV's in this size range priced from around $3500-$6500. Paying particular attention to picture quality, I noticed the big screen TV's had just as nice of a picture as the Plasmas had. Is the price of the plasmas so much higher than the big screen TV's simply because they come in so much smaller of a package? Granted, it would be nice to hang a plasma on the wall, but my living room is plenty big enough for a regular big screen TV and I can't see how a plasma would be worth 2-3 more money just because of its size. Now if its picture quality was a lot better as well, then maybe I could justify the price difference, but just because it's smaller doesn't warrant the much higher price. Is size the only difference between a plasma and a regular HD big screen TV?

Also, what's the best big screen non-plasma HD TV available? Thanks.
So, what is a plasma display "worth"? FAR less than the asking price is how I'd sum it up! Value is of course in the eyes, ears, and mind of the beholder, but I've been dealing with TV sets ever since they first appeared on our planet, si I feel that I'm uniquely qualified to voice an educated opinion on the subject of what constitutes "value" in a TV set. Which is: CRT-based RPTVs represent far greater "value" than any other type of video display (except for DLP and LCD-based front projectors). If you can use a front projector, they are the biggest "bang for the buck" available today. Next come the CRT-based RPTVs. Plasma displays - after the "WOW factor" wears off, represent the bottom of the barrel. The industry has been working feverishly for half a century to produce a flat, "hang on the wall" TV display. Now that we've finally realized that dream, I must say that I'm less than totally impressed with the result. None of the flat-panel displays - whether plasma or LCD have the capability of CRTs ... none of them!

Three more comments:
I highly recommend Dish Network rather than DirecTV for a signal provider. It's a MUCH better company in every way. Thay also will set you up with an HDTV receiver for FREE (with a year's commitment to programming).

I also highly recommend Sears as a retailer to buy from. In the case of problems with a set developing, they will go farther to "make it right" than any other retailer that I know of.

As to what set is "best"? There is no such thing, but I'd pick Toshiba over the other brands as a first choice. After that, I'd pick Hitachi and then Mitsubishi. I'd avoid Sony as well as RCA, Zenith, Philips, and Panasonic.

Hope this helps you

woodman
(a great-grampi)