I'm in the market for a new 42" flat panel tv. I don't care whether it is Plasma or LCD.

I don't really want to spend more than $2500.

I'm not interested in 40" as it's too small. Likewise 46" or bigger is too big as I'm only about 2mtrs from the screen.

Ideally I'd like 1080p, however I'm willing to go down to 1366x768 if the other aspects of the screen make for a better picture.

What do you recommend?

Thanks
B.B.

broadbander writes...

Ideally I'd like 1080p

I'm willing to be corrected, but I was under the impression that 1080p was pretty much wasted on anything smaller than a 50". Considering you can get a 42" Panasonic or Samsung plasma for $1200-1300 these days, why would ya spend more? With the leftover of your $2500, you can buy me one too.
=D

So which TV do you recommend?

broadbander writes...

So which TV do you recommend?

Saw this in another thread;
www.jbhifi.com.au/tv-pla...cd/big-screen-tv

42" Panasonic plasma for $1191. It's sposed to be a pretty handy little TV too. Although it's not 1366x768 like you mentioned, it's 1024x768. Still, it get's a lot of praise and it's dirt cheap.

I rang around a couple of JBs and they were out, but considering they are advertising that special til May 26, you should be able to get The Good Guys or HN to match it if you can't find a JB that has one.

Thanks "i_like_chicken"

I'm sure this panasonic is good value for money, however I'm looking for something a little more upmarket.

If I was going to buy a panasonic right now I'd get the:

VIERA TH-42PZ700A 42",

However I hear that panasonic are bringing out a new 8 series TV within the next month or so. It might be worthwhile waiting given they have contrast ratio of 30000:1 and black levels almost as good as the Pioneer.

Anyone have any other suggestions for good Plasma or LCD TV's?

broadbander writes...

I'm sure this panasonic is good value for money, however I'm looking for something a little more upmarket.

The benefits of 1080p at 42" aren't worth the extra cost IMHO. Each to their own though.

However I hear that panasonic are bringing out a new 8 series TV within the next month or so. It might be worthwhile waiting given they have contrast ratio of 30000:1 and black levels almost as good as the Pioneer.

The new 8 series have a Contrast Ratio 15,000:1, not 30,000 according to here;
panasonic.com.au/product....cfm?objectID=46

Besides, if you are worried about CR, the old, cheap 7A model has a CR of 10,000:1 while your "upmarket" 1080p only has 5,000:1.

I would suggest a look at the Sony Bravia X Series, although they don't have a product that exactly suits your requirements, closest is;

46" - $2900
40" - $2100

all are 1080P, 100Hz LCD's.

i_like_chicken writes...

I'm willing to be corrected, but I was under the impression that 1080p was pretty much wasted on anything smaller than a 50".

Correct, unless you sit about 1.5m from the TV.

www.carltonbale.com/home...eater-calculator

broadbander writes...

have contrast ratio of 30000:1

Wouldn't read too much into contrast ratios :P

hoxygt writes...

I would suggest a look at the Sony Bravia X Series

I was sceptical about spending the extra money on these (I'm looking at buying a new TV in the next few months) but every time I walk into a TV store they look so damn good compared to everything else.

jazzyjeff writes...

I was sceptical about spending the extra money on these (I'm looking at buying a new TV in the next few months) but every time I walk into a TV store they look so damn good compared to everything else.

I gave in and bought the 46X3100 yesterday :) Awesome tv's, but I always go Sony anyway :)

jazzyjeff writes...

Correct, unless you sit about 1.5m from the TV.

Precisely. OP said 2 metres. That chart pretty much sums it up.

jazzyjeff writes...

but every time I walk into a TV store they look so damn good compared to everything else.

Couldn't agree more, and I also watched the 46" in store with HD and SD tv, rather than the typical animation Blu Ray and they still looked far better than anything else, and while I slip on my bullet proof vest that includes the Kuro's!

To anyone looking at this price point I suggest going to your local store and watching your preferred media/ take your 360 etc and let your eyes decide :)

i_like_chicken writes...

Precisely. OP said 2 metres. That chart pretty much sums it up.

The chart says max distance to get the 'full' benefit of the given res.

I assume and are yet to be convinced that 1080P doesn't look better beyond these max distances. Maybe you won't get the 'full' benefit, but at 2m instead of 1.5m surely it will look better?

hoxygt writes...

I assume and are yet to be convinced that 1080P doesn't look better beyond these max distances. Maybe you won't get the 'full' benefit, but at 2m instead of 1.5m surely it will look better?

That's a question for the individual. Will it look better? Maybe. I guess it depends on how good the watchers eyes are.

The bigger question is will it look $1000+ better on a simple 42" screen? Hell no. Not IMO. If having 1080p on a 42" screen helps you sleep at night though, go for it. I'm not saying 1080p isn't better. If I had the cash i'd be getting a nice big 58" 1080p plasma. But as it stands, for a 42", I see it as a waste of money. Just marketing hype, nothing more.

hoxygt writes...

but at 2m instead of 1.5m surely it will look better?

the chart looks at what your eyes are capable of.... to take it to an extreme, if you have a 40" screen 30 metres away could you tell the difference between SD and 1080p? Probably not. Eventually it will get close enough to make a difference, but you need a bigger size to make it worth your trouble.

I may also hook up a Media Centre PC to browse the net from the lounge, so I was thinking that the higher resolution 1920x1080 will have much clearer text than 1024x768.

^ In that case, yes, 1080p would be better. But if it's only a maybe, you can still save a grand or so.

Also,

Why is it that with LCD's, almost all new models come with 1080p, or at least 1366x768 resolution (even for the 40" models), and people are paying a premium for them, yet with plasma, I'm hearing that it's not worth spending the extra for higher resolution in a 42" TV?

jazzyjeff writes...

Eventually it will get close enough to make a difference, but you need a bigger size to make it worth your trouble.

I understand what the chart is trying to say. However if you look at say a 50" at 1080p the chart says to get the 'full' benefit you should not sit further than 6' away (correct me if wrong).

What I'm saying is, well does 1080p look better than 720p at 7'?

In the case of the op for example, they intend on sitting at 2m and the chart says 1.5m I would not believe that 1080p would look the same as 720p at 2m.

broadbander writes...

I'm in the market for a new 42" flat panel tv. I don't care whether it is Plasma or LCD.
www.kogan.com.au
www.kogan.com.au/shop/category/lcd-tvs

saw this on today tonight - looks good

hoxygt writes...

In the case of the op for example, they intend on sitting at 2m and the chart says 1.5m I would not believe that 1080p would look the same as 720p at 2m.

You would probably notice some difference and clarity, but it would be somewhat diminished...

I'm looking at a 46-50" tv at around 3m... and I'm not bothering with 1080p. First cost, second content. I would rather a really nice 720p than a crappy 1080p.

It's hard to compare in stores because they usually have 1080p in one are and 720 in another... *and* they will often play SD (480p or so) on the 720 and something decent on the 1080p.

broadbander writes...

Why is it that with LCD's, almost all new models come with 1080p, or at least 1366x768 resolution (even for the 40" models), and people are paying a premium for them, yet with plasma, I'm hearing that it's not worth spending the extra for higher resolution in a 42" TV?

Standard manufacturing, mass production reduces costs?

Also everyone WANTS 1080p because that is the THING to have...

even if there is hardly any content
and you need a giant tv to get any decent benefit out of it

jazzyjeff writes...

even if there is hardly any content
and you need a giant tv to get any decent benefit out of it

Hmmm you make a good point.

So perhaps a 150" display via a projector would be well suited to 1080p at say 4m view distance?

hoxygt writes...

So perhaps a 150" display via a projector would be well suited to 1080p at say 4m view distance?

lol

Jazzyjeff, you seem to know your stuff. Most of my content is sitting on my computer as various formats of video files that I watch via XBMC. It's not low quality, but it's not HD either. Would this content actually look WORSE on a 1080p set than a 720p TV? Ie. Would it show up the flaws more? Or would it still upscale it and make it look better?

i_like_chicken writes...

Jazzyjeff, you seem to know your stuff.

Good Lord don't trust someone on the internet!

Most of my content is sitting on my computer as various formats of video files that I watch via XBMC. It's not low quality, but it's not HD either. Would this content actually look WORSE on a 1080p set than a 720p TV? Ie. Would it show up the flaws more? Or would it still - upscale it and make it look better?

As I understand it depends on the make and model of the TV, more to a point, the video scaler it uses inside. Generally it shouldn't make a huge difference. I would be amazed if it looked worse, and if it has a nice upscaler it might look better, and by better I mean a bit crisper which could be looked upon as not so beneficial (as I understand it, need to find this good article on video scaling I read ages ago)

(and here comes a digression)
See for me... when I finally buy my new TV (when I move out of current place... sigh) I'll be getting a 720p as I can get either a nicer TV or a bigger TV for the same amount I would spend on a 1080p TV. All my content is DVD's and downloaded content, with no 1080p content and I have no plans to start getting it. Although the price difference between 1080p and 720p is shrinking.

If I was going to get into 1080p content (bluray, ps3) then I would make sure that the TV I bought showed it off to the best use of my investment. (I say investment because for a decent 1080p TV you're looking at >$4k)

Logically for me you have the following 'variables'.

- Viewing distance from couch to TV
- Content you will be watching (quality / resolution, and to a lesser extent type*)
- budget
- 'WAF' aka wife acceptance factor, some people don't want a 100" TV in their living room (crazy, I know!)

Once you have all those worked out then you can go shopping and comparing TV's.

* movies, sport, games all look better on different TV's, some TV's they look great on all of them.

jazzyjeff writes...

Logically for me you have the following 'variables'.
- Viewing distance from couch to TV

About 3 - 3.5m I believe.

- Content you will be watching (quality / resolution, and to a lesser extent type*)

20% FTA TV. 10% DVDs. 70% downloaded contnet via XBMC.

- budget

Would spend up to $2K. But if a few hundred more was going to get me a 1080p set, i'd jump on it. Alas, 50" 1080p sets are still nearly 1 grand more than a 50" 720p.

- 'WAF' aka wife acceptance factor

No comment. She doesn't even know were are in the market for a TV yet.
;-)

jazzyjeff writes...

- 'WAF' aka wife acceptance factor, some people don't want a 100" TV in their living room (crazy, I know!)

Believe it or not, this is actually the number one priority. If she doesn't like the look of it then it doesn't matter if it has the best specs, at the best price, she'll say NO!.

(I had this happen to me when buying a digital camera)

That's why I got her involved early. At this stage she has said no to anything bigger than 42", and she doesn't really like the asthetic look of the Sony with the Glass looking frame (aparantly it's "too bulky", Damn :-( that was one of my potential options).

i_like_chicken writes...

Would spend up to $2K. But if a few hundred more was going to get me a 1080p set, i'd jump on it. Alas, 50" 1080p sets are still nearly 1 grand more than a 50" 720p.

One of the reasons I'm looking around at 720p lol. Look at the Panasonics and Samasungs you can get under $2k and trial some content on them that you know well.

broadbander writes...

Believe it or not, this is actually the number one priority. If she doesn't like the look of it then it doesn't matter if it has the best specs, at the best price, she'll say NO!.

Ha! Yeah I read about this sort of thing a lot on forums... go to a tv store and walk around with her and see what she likes the look of I guess. It's not an issue for me personally.

^^ didn't suffer that myself either, wife was letting me go for a new theatre setup for our place an basically let me have free reign, only thing she stipulated was that the screen cant be too big. Reason for this is that it will look like it is 'dominating the room'. Was thinking of a Sharpe 46" LCD (dont like Plasma, dad has one a Panasonic 42" one and it is shocking to watch normal tv on, almost like watching Youtube all day long /o: ) as it was a good price. Checked out a stack of sites and reviews plus forums and a lot of ppl suggested the Sony Bravia series as being really good. Went into JB Hi-Fi, spoke to the bloke there and as they had them side by side you could see the difference. Ended up with the Sony Bravia W-Series 40" LCD. With it in the room, its all in proportion so it doesn't look like its a shrine to the tv. No the room my tv is in is a lot smaller than my dads one but due to the layout of the room, his 42" plasma seems to dominate everything in it, strange i know but it really looks out of place.

Highly recommend the W-Series, X would obviously be better but hey costs more too...

jazzyjeff writes...

One of the reasons I'm looking around at 720p lol. Look at the Panasonics and Samasungs you can get under $2k and trial some content on them that you know well.

1080p is the current retailer buzzword despite 720p being more than adequate unless you have a huge screen or projector.

If I were buying a new display I'd wait until next month. Sony are about to drop prices of all their displays in June in a concentrated effort to increase market share. LG did a similar thing when they released their second generation DLP TVs a couple of years ago and this pushed all prices down for a few months.

hughjorgenn writes...

1080p is the current retailer buzzword despite 720p being more than adequate unless you have a huge screen or projector.

Agreed.

If I were buying a new display I'd wait until next month. Sony are about to drop prices of all their displays in June

Might actually be May.
gizmodo.com/385729/dealz...cheap-next-month

jazzyjeff writes...

Might actually be May.

I thought that too, but have Sony actually dropped their prices yet? Samsung/LG still seem cheaper. Maybe it takes a while for their price drops to make it to Oz?? It may well be June.