Plasma
 

I fell in love with my wife all over again last night when she mentioned if I was interested in spending some of our hard earned $$$ on a plasma screen. :D

I don't know much about these things and we should have a budget of about $3000 including installation.

what should we start looking at? I know about avsforum.com

what models? etc.

Thanks.

Do you want to watch HD programming? Most $3k plasmas don't show true HD (720p/1080i).

You posted that you know about avsforum.com, there is a ton of information on that forum that should help you decide what you want.

If you're looking for a plasma below $3k, you'll need to go with an ED set. You can get both commercial and consumer sets which will meet your budget. I don't know much about installation prices, most plasma owners on the avsforum tend to do their own wall installs or just have their unit on a stand.

You'll probably be directed to the Panasonic commercial series, an AVSforum favourite, which gives you an incredible picture for the buck.

ED isn't HD, but you'll also find that most users have a hard time seeing the difference between ED and HD sets showing HD contenct once you get to around 8'+ from your unit (normal viewing distance for a 42"). There are many heated debates about that, but your best bet is to trust your own eyes. Head into a local B&M such as Tweeters which has a decent set up.

Avoid viewing plasmas at CC and BB, they're generally improperly calibrated, fed a terrible split feed, and force you to stand 2-3' from the unit, and poorly lit, giving you no idea how it will actually look in your own home.

Good luck on your searching and your purchase. If you have any questions, I can do my best to help out and answer them for you.

-JR

He just saved you a ton of reading over at AVSforum :up:

I was given a new Sony and it's been down twice... gone for 4 of the 8 months I've had it.
Sony is rated pretty good for reliability but if you do get a problem unit… they don’t give a rat’s arse.