Best plasma 37" - 42"?

Fat Tony

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Hello all,

I am in urgent need of a new TV (10 yr old Sony 29" 4:3 set blew-up, much sooner than I planned). I am in the unfortunate position of not having really started researching & looking at AV gear & all this new technology is starting to blow my mind.

I have found large retailers pretty unhelpful or clued-up & they often contradict each other, which does not give me much faith in them. I just found this forum & am pretty amazed by all the knowledge & great advice so far ...

To cut to the chase ... what I want is a new monitor in the 37" to 42" range. Main usage will be (in order): Sky, dvd's, video & possibly using as computer monitor, which I think is possible.

Can anyone recommend 2 or 3 of the best displays up to around £2,700 (maybe a little higher) that can narrow the choice down a bit. Main priority is a great picture and good reliability/quality. Wish list would also be a slim frame (I like the Panasonics!) & good connectabilty/ease of use. Sound is not key, as I intend to use a home cinema system for films, but I would like some for day-to-day viewing.

Any help (or reference to similar posts) would be really appreciated - I am sorry if this is question already on the forum, but I need to get something pretty quick ... thanks!
 
panasonic is the best IMHO PWD6 available for around £2300 ish

also available is Hitachi 5000 range.

both can be viewed in swiss cottedge NW London.
 
Add the Fujitsu P42VHA30 to your viewing list. Panny 6 glass with Fuji electronics, AVM and excellent scaler. Does very well with SDTV.
 
if you want 37" then the Panasonic 37PA20 is great....even better now as Empire Direct have it for just £1999 !!!! I paid over £3k just two months ago :(
 
Thanks for this - very much appreciated. Fishbones - sorry about dumb questions, but what does AVM, scaler & SDTV mean?

Looks like I'll shortlist Panasonic PWD6, Hitachi 5000 series & Fujitsu P42VHA30 - enough fow now, unless someone really feels strongly about anything else. Just need to have a viewing & check out best prices & what's included (stand, tuner, speakers, etc) ... can anyone suggest a good & knowledgeable retailer within 10 miles of Finchley, London? If you can give me a person's name as well, that would be even better.
 
AVM = Advanced Video Movement. Basically, a video processor that redraws pixels faster providing clearer, flicker-free picture.
More info on this feature on the official site.

Scaler or video board. Internal conversion from analogue to digital then scaled to the panels resolution.

SDTV = Standard Digital TV..ie Sky, Digital Cable TV etc.

You may want to take a look at this thread. Comments and opinions on the VHA30.

Hope this helps....and good luck.
 
Originally posted by Fishbones
SDTV = Standard Digital TV..ie Sky, Digital Cable TV etc.

sorry but to be pedantic ;)

SDTV = standard definition TV (eg interlaced current broadcasts)
HDTV = high definition TV (eg new progressive ~1080p broadcasts)
 
Make sure you have all of the following inputs that you anticipate needing:

vga, rgb, yuv(component), DVI or HDMI (with HDCP perhaps), svideo, composite

Personally I don't see the point of a built in tuner, since you'll almost certainly be using freeview and/or sky+ in preference. That's why I've got the "commercial" version of the 433.
 
Thanks for tip on inputs - the more I look at this new area of plasma's, the more I realise I need to learn before taking the plunge ... it's not like I buy a new TV frequently. Me thinks I'm just going to move the 14" from the kitchen into the living room for a few weeks & spend some more time digging into this fantastic forum - there's some great knowledge in this community.

My shortlist still contains the Panasonic TH-42PWD6, the Hitachi 42PD5100 & possibly the Fujitsu P42VHA30 although there appears to be far less info/posts on the latter.

One thing is for sure, but the new Panasonic PE30 is out as JL mentioned that it can only go on Panny stand (£400!) which simplay cannot take a largish amp - ideally I really need it to stand on my Soundstyle AV rack.

Another sure thing is that I'm going for a 42" now (so long as it has a slim frame, I have space) - I get a bigger picture & WOW! factor when my mates see it.

I have one question: assuming the set (one of the above ones) is on for say 8 hours a day (I have a wife & kids at home!) how long can I expect this set to last? My old Sony CRT lasted well for 10 full years, with nil faults/repairs.
 

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