LCD or Plasma + some other noob questions...

[Speky]

I'm on the verge of buying a 37" HD-ready TV, I believe that support for 720P is going to be fine for me... may get an Xbox360 in the coming year.

My first question is that LCD screens seem to have a slightly higher resolution than the plasma equivalents, does this have a noticeable impact on picture quality? i.e. is the picture sharper on an LCD because of this? I would assume the higher the resolution the better, is this something I should be concerned about?

Next up is, I keep looking through lots of great and informative reviews, but its difficult to pin down what is a good buy right now i.e. currently available and comparable to other recent models.

Basically I'm looking to narrow down my search to 2 or 3 models of either LCD or Plasma and my requirements are that it has a good quality built-in Freeview tuner, will display a 720P image, has a sensible range of inputs i.e. single HDMI and it is a recognised brand i.e. Tosh, Samsung etc. My budget is £700 - £800. Eventually it will be used with a HD-DVD player, prob 2nd half of next year.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

One last question, is it true that plasma tv's are significantly heavier than LCD screens?

Thx in advance.

 

[robin78]

The higher resolution is only noticeable when sitting close to your TV
as you can see in this thread you´ll need to sit closer than about 6.5 feet before you can begin to see the difference on a 37 inch screen.

In 37 inch you only have two options in Plasma the Panasonic 37PX60 and Panasonic 37PX600. (Both have excellent freeview and 2X HDMI, 3X scart, 1X component and 1X vga inputs) The good news is that for the same price of a 37" LCD you easily can buy a good 42" Plasma.

I´m personally not a fan of LCD screens but you´ll have to look for yourself. Make sure you compare your selections (preferable side by side) in the same conditions like you would have at home. (Same viewing distance and lighting conditions) Look various types of sources and programs, Freeview/DVD/Movie/Sports

Plasma screens are generally more heavy than LCD (but lighter than equal sized CRT's) as most of the plasmas use glass instead of plastic for the screens. But unless you want to move it all the time I don´t think there will be any issue with this.

One last thing, I would not consider Samsung as a (well) recognized brand not for LCD nor for Plasma

 

[Speky]

Thanks very much for the advice, I have seen my cousin's 42" Panansonic and was very impressed, but for the 37" that you suggest while I'm sure it is the best one to get, it is out of my price range. Is there anything that although not quite as good as the Panasonic 37", that can be had for around £800?

Thx again, Andy...

 

[robin78]

The Panasonic 37px60 & 37px600 are the ONLY plasmas left in 37 inch. You should be able to find a 37px60 for around 800 euros) (at least here in Spain you can, but for 20 pounds more you have (here) the 42 inch version)

 

[Speky]

Might have take a trip to the continent to get one then, the cheapest I can find on the Uk mainland at the moment including tax and delivery is £920!!!

800 euros is a fantastic price compared to what its available for here!

I'm going to investigate the possibility of getting one of these from abroad, the saving is too good to ignore. I wonder why they are so much more expensive over here.

Thanks again.