I know nothing about TV's and Dad's went out and he is buying a new one. A 60" plasma beats a 70" projection in terms of quality etc., right? Or no?

Hi Sue,

We just went through the same thing. What we found is that the plasma TVs are 10 times better than the projection units and 5 times better than LCD screens.

To see one of the differences, step to the side of the TV when you're checking it out in the store. With a plasma TV, you can view the screen from just about any angle. We didn't find that was the case with the LCD.

We went with a Panasonic and we love it. It's also the first time we've been able to view High Definition channels so that's also made a huge difference.

When we were shopping, J&R had great prices (even though I'm not crazy about their customer service).

Andrea

I agree with Andrea - we used to have a projection (we left it behind in our California house) and upon moving to Texas, we purchased a Samsung plasma and love the Hi Def. The strange thing is, we've found that these plasmas give off a lot of heat. I guess because there's a lot going on in that compact little area.

Good luck, Sue, and let us know what you decide on!

We recently bought a LG Plazma and really like it.

Projection screens are probably the lowest on the totem pole when it comes to clarity.

Would probably considered a LCD if the Plazma had not been on a super sale.

We are leaving our projection behind when we move, too; it's bulky and heavy, and would probably do major damage to the staircase if we try to put it upstairs.

We'll be buying two or three, so that's going to be a major outlay.

Plasma screens are a little thicker. and I liked the quality of the LCD better. We went with the Sony Bravia. I can view ours from any angle, Andrea.

Also to consider is a all-in-one remote from Harmony. We got the Harmony One. It's amazing. You load the disk into your computer, select what actions you would like your components to execute and connect the remote via USB and it programs it for you. It's the most amazing thing. Super easy. All the million remotes, buh-bye!!

Here\'s a link to the Harmony site.

That all-in-one remote sounds great, Robert. If I had one, I could throw away my "cheat sheet." I can hardly turn anything on plus I'm bad about punching buttons until something works which can create quite a mess!

Editing to add that last year we went from an apartment-sized TV (all of our friends made fun of us) to a wall-mounted plasma. All I can say is why did we wait so long.

We should have bought the all in one. I remember they were asking an outrageous price, something like $300 for it and we said "Are you kidding?" so instead we've kept our 3 or 4 remotes. We have remotes all over the place, always grabbing the wrong one. Maybe the price has come down now. I long for simple ON and OFF geebies for the tech challanged.

Unfortunately, there is no single "right" answer to this question in my opinion, and I've been an audio/video nerd for years. The first question you should ask yourself is how far away the screen will be from the normal viewing positions. LCD's and plasmas are generally not available in as large screen sizes as a rear projection TV. This is if you care about a "true" home theatre experience (there is a formula to calculate screen size form the viewing distance. Probably the next question is how bright the ambient light is in the viewing room. In a bright room, LCDs will typically outperform plasma because their light output is far greater. However, plasma has the edge on black resolution although LCDs are getting better. (black resolution is the ability to resolve different shades of black accurately.) Plasma screens, while improved, are still vulnerable to image "burn-in" where the screen is damaged by having a single image, or a scrolling stock ticker along the bottom of the screen. For this reason, plasma would not be my choice for gaming. As noted above, plasmas run hotter. Rear projection TVs have also improved, much thinner than they used to be and picture clarity has been improved as well.

Sets I like right now:

Pioneer Kuro plasma (raises plasma to a whole new level of performance but expensive.

Mistsubishi 52" LCD (I own this set and it is unbelievable.)

Sony XBR is also very, very good

Happy shopping!

BTW, we are now South Carolinians, having completed the move from NH a few weeks ago. Probably should become SCcruisers!
Bill

Granted, the remote was $250, M, but (IMO) worth every penny. Touch screen technology (like the iphone) set up (for me) in the following categories:

Watch TV (on TV speakers, SAT box + TV)
Watch a DVD (TV + DVD + audio)
Listen to CD's (audio components only)
Listen to Radio (ditto but no CD player)
Watch TV Plus Stereo (TV plus audio)

The most amazing thing is you do not have to futz around with all the buttons on your components. The remote 'knows" them and does it for you. Adjust the volume and you are good-to-go.

Blu-ray is next but that is the subject of a different post...

Bill is right on ... :) I'm drooling over the Kuro plasmas. May need to upgrade my Panasonic plasma at some point in the future (though it's primarily used to watch Elmo these days), LOL

Marcie,If you just want to change the channel on your tv ,change the volume, turn things on and off, or fast forward your dvd, you can buy a $10 RCA Universal remote, you don't need the expensive ones to get the job done. I only have need it to control the digital cable box, tv and DVD so I buy the 3 funtion remote.

Robert,

You will love it when you go with Blu-ray. We just made the switch. I wasn't so sure when Len wanted to upgrade, but it really did make a difference.

Andrea

Went with the Pioneer Plasma. Thanks for all the helpful advice!!

That's what we have, Sue. We love it!