Purchasing a new tv...

[jerzdawg]

Budget is about $2500

I am currently looking at:

Panasonic VIERA TC-P55VT50 (currently $2300 @ Amazon.com)

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIERA-TC-P55VT50-55-Inch-Plasma/dp/B00752VKTG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355770070&sr=1-1&keywords=TC-P55VT50

Samsung UN55ES8000 (currently $2300 @ Amazon.com)

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN55ES8000-55-Inch-1080p-Silver/dp/B00752NJMC/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355770044&sr=1-2&keywords=samsung+es8000

Sony BRAVIA KDL55HX850 (currently $2278 @ Amazon.com)

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BRAVIA-KDL55HX850-55-Inch-Internet/dp/B006U1VGNS/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355764394&sr=1-3&keywords=sony+55+inch+led+tv

This TV will replace a Samsung LN-52A650, its the main living room so light cannot be controlled 100% during the day. My first choice is the Panasonic as I have never owned a plasma and would love to experience the "true colors" I always read about. I don't have any real feature requirements as I havent used any of the "apps" built into my bluray player (netflix, youtube, hulu, etc). Am I missing anything in the decision process? Going again today to Bestbuy to look at them but I always feel like showrooms dont do any justice to actual home use picture..

[neufuse Veteran]

noticed the first one is a plasma... I've had plasma before, and it makes a good bit of heat and uses drastically more electric then LCD take that into consideration also and I've had plasma and better quality LCD side by side, the color difference isn't really noticable

[WAQT]

I've had plasma before, and it makes a good bit of heat and uses drastically more electric then LCD

Agreed, Plasma always had me worried about heat (its hot where I live), and I definitely 'felt' the electricity bill go abnormal after my purchase, sold as second hand after 2 months, got a Bravia, cant be more happy, but do look at its remote, its a very bad design and hurts the thumb if you like holding the remote like me.

[neufuse Veteran]

Agreed, Plasma always had me worried about heat (its hot where I live), and I definitely 'felt' the electricity bill go abnormal after my purchase, sold as second hand after 2 months, got a Bravia, cant be more happy, but do look at its remote, its a very bad design and hurts the thumb if you like holding the remote like me.

my first plasma used almost 500 watts with the screen changing quickly, and got very hot, they got the wattage down some but its still a lot compared to a LED backlit LCD screen, my largest LCD screen only uses 80 Watts

[LUTZIFER]

LED is the way to go, but if you're on a budget, then go Plasma, but LCD is no good.

Plasma is a really nice picture for the price that's for sure. You can pretty much get 2 Plasmas for the price of 1 LED.

And like someone stated, Plasma is really hard on electricity.

Going better to worst would be... 4K, LED, Plasma, LCD.

But it also depends on the size you want. You could get a pretty big Plasma for the budget you stated, so if you want size over quality, get the Plasma.

[DrakeN2k]

LED is a must the energy plasmas use is stupid.

[jerzdawg]

Well I am pretty much limited to 55" due to my entertainment center, possibly 60" if it has little to no bezel.

The "Enery Guide" tag from Amazon says it costs $24 yearly

http://g-ecx.images-...PDFs/55VT50.pdf

not sure how accurate that is.

I dont think I am too concerned with electricity... I do hate the heat (I have my AC going as soon as temps hit high 70s/low 80s) so that may be a drawback for me.

So for right now I am most interested in picture quality above all else.

[neufuse Veteran]

LED is the way to go, but if you're on a budget, then go Plasma, but LCD is no good.

Plasma is a really nice picture for the price that's for sure. You can pretty much get 2 Plasmas for the price of 1 LED.

And like someone stated, Plasma is really hard on electricity.

Going better to worst would be... 4K, LED, Plasma, LCD.

But it also depends on the size you want. You could get a pretty big Plasma for the budget you stated, so if you want size over quality, get the Plasma.

4K? Seriosuly?.... talk about waste of money right now and for years from now

[Ambroos]

The Samsung suffers from quite a bit of backlight bleeding/clouding compared to the Sony (in general, every panel is different). Both will do pretty well with the right settings. For the Samsung that'd be the "Movie" preset, for the Bravia you should be using the Cinema1 or Cinema2 preset with the color balance on the Warm2-preset (if you're not calibrating).

Personally, I'd go with the Sony here.

Also, those are some enormous tv's. Everyone in my family has a 32" and a 40" TV would be regarded HUGE :p

[jerzdawg]

Also, those are some enormous tv's. Everyone in my family has a 32" and a 40" TV would be regarded HUGE :p

I think 50" is the average here (at least with friends and family I know). I have a 46" in our bedroom (never used), a 42" in my daughters playroom (finally getting used to watch Elmo and other kids shows) and the 52 Samsung which will be donated to my dad once I get my new TV.

Thanks for the info on backlight bleeding, I was hoping that was a thing of the past as it seemed to be the biggest issue (even on the high end models). Does plasma suffer from any sort of bleeding or halo issues (I am assuming no due to the tech used)?

[shakey]

While I have a Samsung LN55C630, and would recommend another Samsung LCD TV to another, I'd say to go with the Sony. Just because of how much better it can possibly "connect" with future purchases. Get a PS3 or PS4 (when it comes out) and it could have special functions alongside the TV. Same with your receiver and other devices that will all be connected to each other.

Both are great though. Picture quality is amazing on both of those displays, and which ever way you go, you will be happy and it will be a great upgrade. But choose either Sony or Samsung.

I think 50" is the average here (at least with friends and family I know). I have a 46" in our bedroom (never used), a 42" in my daughters playroom (finally getting used to watch Elmo and other kids shows) and the 52 Samsung which will be donated to my dad once I get my new TV.

Thanks for the info on backlight bleeding, I was hoping that was a thing of the past as it seemed to be the biggest issue (even on the high end models). Does plasma suffer from any sort of bleeding or halo issues (I am assuming no due to the tech used)?

Backlight bleeding for the most part should be a thing of the past. If you do get one with some, return it. But most sets now are very very minimal if existant.

Plasma suffers from nothing at the moment, except higher electric bills :p

[neufuse Veteran]

While I have a Samsung LN55C630, and would recommend another Samsung LCD TV to another, I'd say to go with the Sony. Just because of how much better it can possibly "connect" with future purchases. Get a PS3 or PS4 (when it comes out) and it could have special functions alongside the TV. Same with your receiver and other devices that will all be connected to each other.

Both are great though. Picture quality is amazing on both of those displays, and which ever way you go, you will be happy and it will be a great upgrade. But choose either Sony or Samsung.

Backlight bleeding for the most part should be a thing of the past. If you do get one with some, return it. But most sets now are very very minimal if existant.

Plasma suffers from nothing at the moment, except higher electric bills :p

plasma is drastically easier to break too, the weight of the screen's glass can break itself it not moved right, the larger the screen the easier it can crack itself unfortuniatly... that and the heat.. which can case more wear on the inverters it uses to power the screen... it has to jump the voltage up like a CRT does to power the screen and the inverters that do that can die in heat if it gets to hot

[Ambroos]

Right now a plasma (unless it's a really high-end one) isn't interesting anymore. The cons outweigh the pros.

I've read reviews of people (in Dutch) moving from a Panasonic plasma to that exact Sony TV saying they were surprised with the excellent colour reproduction and contrast of the Sony.

What Bluray player do you have? Sometimes it's nice to keep those in the same brand to avoid CEC-issues. Sony devices communicate nicely what they are and you can basically use your TV's remote to control everything pretty nicely. It also works across brands, just usually not as good/complete.

[Rigby]

I have a plasma and it's true they are power hungry and get pretty warm, but my biggest complaint so far is glare. The glass screen reflects light so badly, every window or light shows up on the screen. It's great at night of course, but that's another thing to consider. I believe they've improved in the last few years with anti-glare coatings though.

[The Evil Overlord]

I happen to own a Viera, they do get hot, the, power consumption I really haven't noticed the difference in my electric bill, but that's not to say they're low power units, I was warned about that when I bought mine, tho I would like to recommend the panasonic, as it blows my 42 inch Sony Bravia away for picture quality.

I would ask you this tho, out of which ever TV you choose to buy, would you consider doing something similar to what I did...

That is, buy the older model and get the extended warranty, that way if it breaks on you, you get the Newer model of identical size and spec, and save some money.

(as I live in the UK I know UK warranties agencies do that)

[jerzdawg]

While I am getting a warranty, the VT50 has been on the market for a good amount of time so I expect there to be a new model released in the coming months (perhaps shown at CES in Jan?).

Amazon is running a deal right now for $500 gift card with the purchase so that usually means clearing stock.

@ Ambroos - I have a few bluray players... (PS3, 3d Sony, and a 3d Panasonic) - everything goes through a receiver so I havent run into any handshake issues and rarely use the CEC features since my primary remote is the one for my cablebox. Going to read some more reviews on the Samsung/Sony LEDs and also check out some of the plasmas from Samsung before I order.

Thanks everyone for your input so far.

[jerzdawg]

Just to update/close out the thread. I ended up purchasing the Panasonic VT50 55". TV was delivered on the 26th by Amazon and it has exceeded my expectations in every way. I think I will def get the calibration done once I have passed my 100 hours of break in. I cant imagine the picture getting that much better but I want to get the most out of this tv. Only bluray I checked out so far was Finding Nemo and it looked incredible, I have yet to check out 3d as I dont feel like shelling out an extra $120 on 2 pairs of glasses (even though I have 30+ 3d blurays).