$700 off Dell 42in HD Plasma

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Thuleman

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Use 022KD$MHN0S$9N at checkout to get the price down to $2,299.

Edit: This through Dell Small Business, won't work on the Home.
 
I just bought my 42" plasma for $1898 with a free DVD recorder from Best Buy. I also signed up for the rewards club thing, and got $85 in gift cards so far.

Not saying that isn't a good deal, but there's other deals to be had similar to this as well.
 
SarverSystems said:
I just bought my 42" plasma for $1898 with a free DVD recorder from Best Buy. I also signed up for the rewards club thing, and got $85 in gift cards so far.

Not saying that isn't a good deal, but there's other deals to be had similar to this as well.
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im willing to bet yours isnt an hdtv.
 
Mine does 1080i.

I just finished watching CSI at 1080i.

And yeah, built-in tuners woulda been reeeeeaaaaalllllll nice. My cable box is so friggin huge!!!!!
 
psychoace said:
also plasma are psuedo high def. If it can't do 1080i then it aint HDTV
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That's not true. HD is considered either 1080i or 720p. And actually, 720p (which the HD plasmas do) is a better resolution than 1080i, and a lot of people who invest in very high end gear tend to prefer it because it looks more filmlike.

Now, there are plasmas our there that are not HD, known as EDTVs. ED is 480p, basically just standard resolution in progressive scan.
 
SarverSystems said:
Mine does 1080i.
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Well, no, it doesn't. The vertical resolution is 768, so, what it actually does it takes 1080i signals and converts them to it's native 720p display rate. Coincidentally, most CRT RPTV HD sets take native 720p signals (if availible) and convert to 1080i.
 
FWIW that Dell is a much better screen than that Maxent garbage. I'm not alone on this either. The "AV community" also considers the dell to be a much better quality screen than the maxent. Just pick up some magazines and you'll see. Just a month or two ago, there was an article comparing the maxent to two other budget screens (dell's being one of them)
 
Great! Most 42" plasmas display 1024 by 768 unless I am misinformed. So if I want a true 1080i signal, then I would need at least a 50" or bigger plasma? Maybe I should look into projection lcd screens instead? The problem with lcd is the viewing angle. The image gets so washed out if you are viewing from the side. My budget can only go so far though. 50" plasmas are at least $3000 and up.
 
bubblethumper said:
FWIW that Dell is a much better screen than that Maxent garbage.
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I know you didn't mean to, but I take offense to that. I love my Maxent. No complaints whatsoever, other than 1 tiny one. When running in lower resolutions, the screen does not stretch. For example, running from the RCA jacks, I get black bars on both sides of the screen.

But anyways, lets get this thread back on topic.
 
superostrich said:
Great! Most 42" plasmas display 1024 by 768 unless I am misinformed. So if I want a true 1080i signal, then I would need at least a 50" or bigger plasma? Maybe I should look into projection lcd screens instead? The problem with lcd is the viewing angle. The image gets so washed out if you are viewing from the side. My budget can only go so far though. 50" plasmas are at least $3000 and up.
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Even 50" and above plasmas are usually 720p displays, ditto for most LCD, LCD projection, DLP, and D-ILA sets. I know of some LCoS, DLP, and SRXD sets that do 1080p, but they are very pricey. I have not yet seen a direct view LCD or plasma designed for home use that does 1080p.

You will not see a fixed pixel display that is optimized for 1080i, it would just be dumb to make a display like that biased towards an interlaced display mode.

The big point is though is that 720p is just as good, if not better, than 1080i. In 720p you get 720 lines of information every field, in 1080i only 540 lines per field.

EDIT: The best looking Plasma I have ever seen, the Pioneer Elite 61", is 768 vertical res. The thing is just like looking through a window when it gets a good signal, you don't need anything higher for HDTV.
 
psychoace said:
also plasma are psuedo high def. If it can't do 1080i then it aint HDTV
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I own both and like my 720P plasma more than my 1080i set.
 
who told Kyle he could post with the commoners :rolleyes:

Its amazing how much crap with these HDTV's there is to sort through. Someone like me who doesn't keep up with the tv's really has his work cut out. I've heard people weigh image quality back and forth so much I have no idea which is the best picture. LCoS? DLP?? Does it do any good to have the tuner built in? Can it tune my hdtv cable service without having ot have the cable box??? For some reason I doubt it. I could be wrong..
 
NulloModo said:
Even 50" and above plasmas are usually 720p displays, ditto for most LCD, LCD projection, DLP, and D-ILA sets. I know of some LCoS, DLP, and SRXD sets that do 1080p, but they are very pricey. I have not yet seen a direct view LCD or plasma designed for home use that does 1080p.

You will not see a fixed pixel display that is optimized for 1080i, it would just be dumb to make a display like that biased towards an interlaced display mode.

The big point is though is that 720p is just as good, if not better, than 1080i. In 720p you get 720 lines of information every field, in 1080i only 540 lines per field.

EDIT: The best looking Plasma I have ever seen, the Pioneer Elite 61", is 768 vertical res. The thing is just like looking through a window when it gets a good signal, you don't need anything higher for HDTV.
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Nicely done, about the most accurate post in this thread.

1080i is not a “standard” at this point and to date has been a bit of a failure because of all the math needed to get existing broadcasts and DVD’s to even play on the things. Samsung tried it with a DLP and matching DVD player. It was an interesting novelty but the consumer could see no compelling reason to buy either unit.

defuseme2k said:
<snip>Its amazing how much crap with these HDTV's there is to sort through. Someone like me who doesn't keep up with the tv's really has his work cut out. I've heard people weigh image quality back and forth so much I have no idea which is the best picture. LCoS? DLP?? Does it do any good to have the tuner built in? Can it tune my hdtv cable service without having ot have the cable box??? For some reason I doubt it. I could be wrong..
Click to expand...

Forget LcoS, which has been a dismal failure since day one. Toshiba ended up buying back or replacing something like 98% of all the sets they sold, Philips is in the same boat. The technology suffers from way too many moving mechanical parts to be even remotely reliable let alone provide a great picture.

A built in tuner is only useful if you have an outside (in most cases) antenna with a rotor and local stations that have converted to HD, most have. Your cable company is usually the best bet for your HD signal, and yes it takes a different cable box. Satellite is ok, but the HD selection is very limited and isn’t looking good for more channels. Add to all this, the less you pay for any HiDef set the worse the picture is going to be.

The defacto standard at the moment is in fact the Pioneer Elite sets. I’m not saying you have to buy one, but it’s the best place to see what HD can really do, then make a buying decision from there based on all the other factors everyone must consider, especially cost.

Lowest cost of ownership over the long term right now is still a “good” Plasma set.


Hope that helps a little, it's a tough business trust me ;)
 
SarverSystems said:
I know you didn't mean to, but I take offense to that. I love my Maxent.
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dude, why would you get offended by his opinion about your TV?

Jesus man, its just a TV. it isnt like he's talking about one of your family members or something like that.

man, some people need to learn how to mellow out.

*on a different note*

how would these Dell TVs rate to the same sized TVs made by Sharp? are they as good, better or the same?
 
BillR said:
The defacto standard at the moment is in fact the Pioneer Elite sets. I&#8217;m not saying you have to buy one, but it&#8217;s the best place to see what HD can really do, then make a buying decision from there based on all the other factors everyone must consider, especially cost.

Lowest cost of ownership over the long term right now is still a &#8220;good&#8221; Plasma set.


Hope that helps a little, it's a tough business trust me ;)
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The Pioneer Elite sets are truely drool worthy, but I ended up going with a Hitachi Ultravision just because it was 96% as good for less than half the price. I'm curious, have you had a chance to see any of the Sony Qualia displays? (either the front projectors or their RP set). I have heard some incredible things about them, but I'm not even sure if they are in the main high-end AV store market channel yet, I'd love to check one out if given the chance.
 
NulloModo said:
The Pioneer Elite sets are truely drool worthy, but I ended up going with a Hitachi Ultravision just because it was 96% as good for less than half the price. I'm curious, have you had a chance to see any of the Sony Qualia displays? (either the front projectors or their RP set). I have heard some incredible things about them, but I'm not even sure if they are in the main high-end AV store market channel yet, I'd love to check one out if given the chance.
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Heh, here we go, just a bit OT again huh?

While I haven’t seen the newest Sony set you mentioned Sony has always had one quality that people either love or hate. While companies like Mitsubishi and Pioneer base their color palettes on “Earth Tones” Sony has always taken the “Pastel” route. When you walk into a store with a wall of TV the Sony does stand out, it’s a great marketing tool. My issue with that is the colors are not “natural” and eventually as much as I like the sets they drain me visually for daily use. Their other trick is simple, be the brightest. Again, on a daily basis it’s an issue I can’t deal with.

Every company has their peculiar combinations of how to make colors which of course makes that final buying decision so hard yet so important. When paying that much your purchase should be one you can live with long term so I suggest people spend lot’s of time “looking” at any unit before they buy.
 
Ok, let me try again.
A 1080i signal only show 540 lines because the image is interlaced.
A 720p signal shows 720 lines because it is progressive.
My question is based on resolution.
42" plasma tv resolutions are usually 1024 x 768. I know that a 1080i signal is downgraded to fit on the plasma. Now, if I want a true 1080i signal, then should I buy a larger plasma? I've seen 50" and larger plasmas which have a native resolution of 1366 x 768. Can those support a true 1080i image?
Last question, should I wait for 1080p plasmas to drop in price or should I just bite the bullet and buy one now?
 
superostrich said:
Ok, let me try again.
A 1080i signal only show 540 lines because the image is interlaced.
A 720p signal shows 720 lines because it is progressive.
My question is based on resolution.
42" plasma tv resolutions are usually 1024 x 768. I know that a 1080i signal is downgraded to fit on the plasma. Now, if I want a true 1080i signal, then should I buy a larger plasma? I've seen 50" and larger plasmas which have a native resolution of 1366 x 768. Can those support a true 1080i image?
Last question, should I wait for 1080p plasmas to drop in price or should I just bite the bullet and buy one now?
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The physical size of your plasma is not relevant. HD is broadcast in 720p or 1080i in 99% of the cases today. In the end the signal is up-converted to the max resolution of your set. With a set with native 1080i a your 720p signal will be remixed back to 1080i. (With very few exceptions) How well that is done (read cheap VS not so cheap sets) is the determining factor in what you see.

If you have a set with native resolution of 1366x768 the 720p or 1080i signal is going to be converted to “fit” the resolution of your set.

As far as I know from most manufactures (and the broadcasters I have spoken to) this situation will remain that way until the broadcasters make a change to a “new” as yet unapproved broadcast standard(s).

Since all TV stations were forced to make the change in the first place at great expense none are anxious to make any more changes until some new better standard is added, and some incentive is provided since there was/is no financial benefit for any station (not to mention the cable and satellite companies) to make any additional changes.
 
superostrich said:
Ok, let me try again.
A 1080i signal only show 540 lines because the image is interlaced.
A 720p signal shows 720 lines because it is progressive.
My question is based on resolution.
42" plasma tv resolutions are usually 1024 x 768. I know that a 1080i signal is downgraded to fit on the plasma. Now, if I want a true 1080i signal, then should I buy a larger plasma? I've seen 50" and larger plasmas which have a native resolution of 1366 x 768. Can those support a true 1080i image?
Last question, should I wait for 1080p plasmas to drop in price or should I just bite the bullet and buy one now?
Click to expand...

The actual resolutions needed are 1280*720(p) and 1920*1080(i/p) something that I haven't seen in any plasma (LCDs and DLPs yes but not Plasma.)
 
Going back to the Dell, I am sure I read in a few spots about some sort of hum or buzz that they make. I think MaximumPC mentioned that in a review. I have enough issues with the psu in the htpc. I am sure that it does not need any competition...
 
akelly999 said:
Going back to the Dell, I am sure I read in a few spots about some sort of hum or buzz that they make. I think MaximumPC mentioned that in a review. I have enough issues with the psu in the htpc. I am sure that it does not need any competition...
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I had a Panasonic Plasma which is the most popular in the AV community. It exhibited the hum or buzz you mentioned. Others who own the Panasonic plasmas have noticed that too. Not all though.
 
superostrich said:
Ok, let me try again.
A 1080i signal only show 540 lines because the image is interlaced.
A 720p signal shows 720 lines because it is progressive.
Click to expand...

That's not accurate. 1080i is not the same as 540p by a long shot, but that's what all the HDTV snobs would like you to think. You do absolutely get the full 1080 lines of resolution -- it's just displayed with even and odd lines sequentially.

Interlaced signals work because of persistence of vision (I think). The human eye continues to perceive an image for nearly 1/16th of a second after the image has disappeared. So, after the 540 even lines are drawn, the odd 540 lines are drawn while the eye still sees the even lines.

I agree that 720p looks better, but 1080i DOES display more information at once.
 
v3rt1g0 said:
That's not accurate. 1080i is not the same as 540p by a long shot, but that's what all the would like you to think. You do absolutely get the full 1080 lines of resolution -- it's just displayed with even and odd lines sequentially.

Interlaced signals work because of persistence of vision (I think). The human eye continues to perceive an image for nearly 1/16th of a second after the image has disappeared. So, after the 540 even lines are drawn, the odd 540 lines are drawn while the eye still sees the even lines.

I agree that 720p looks better, but 1080i DOES display more information at once.
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I’m not entirely sure why you refer to people as “HDTV snobs”. Comment wise it tends to be less then productive. It won’t be long before every one has and HDTV; it’s fast becoming a non-choice issue.

Most of the rest of what you are saying is in fact true except one part. I have yet to do a demo where any customer could tell the difference between a 720p VS 1080i signal fed to the same set, and I do it all the time if for no other reason but to help dispel all the mis-information that currently pervades the market place.

As for the Dell everyone is talking about, if you were to put it between a mid priced Panasonic and a mid priced Mitsubishi, Pioneer, Hitachi etc there is very little chance you would buy the Dell unless you simply had to have plasma at any price. They just don’t measure up, it’s a “price unit” like the Gateway was and performs as such. Washed out colors, bad off angle viewing and a host of other problems.
 
Theads like this show why we need home theater subforum. This stuff is confusing, especially if you just go to BestBuy or CC and try to pick one based on how they look.
 
Jonsey said:
Theads like this show why we need home theater subforum. This stuff is confusing, especially if you just go to BestBuy or CC and try to pick one based on how they look.
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That’s a pretty valid point. Face it, for the thread we are in we are indeed way off topic to say the least ;)

My only fear is that it would become a huge fan dude thing like the avs forum that is already on line. :rolleyes: ;)
 
Jonsey said:
........... especially if you just go to BestBuy or CC and try to pick one based on how they look.
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while that is absolutely necessary, my fear is that the displays will be abused, not set right, poor placement and lighting, as well as poor calibration. I worry about gooing by looks inside a B&M store alone. You could come across a display and say "that's awesome!" only to find out that unrealistic lighting and that the other closest displys were trashed made that one look good- also, you could come across a really good display and say "that one sucks!" becuase lighting goes against it, and it's been scratched/fucked up, bad calibration, etc.........

when i make my decision to buy HDTV, the one thing I've decided is that I will NOT be rushed into it. I'll take the time it takes for thorough reasearch. No impulse buy for me! :p
 
Rest assured that the lighting in most BM stores will not flatter any TV. The indirect bright halogen thing isn't good for any, though the blacked out HT rooms are sometimes different. If you are worried about picture settings, just ask for some remotes and set the sets you are looking at to similar settings.
 
At this point it's almost worth to move this thread to Displays or HTPC, lots of good into here.
 
Hot deal? I went to Fry's and bought the Sony 50" rear projection lcd tv model KDF-E50A10 for $1999. Best Buy and Circuit City had it for $2499 and $2409 respectively. I could not pass up on a deal this good.
 
I work for COX cable and can tell everyone that you need to have a cable box to get HD programing. So it is worth less to have a hdtv with out a cable box. Most of the new boxs are very very small. It is in 1080i for most of the stuff and for things like football games on ESPNHD it is usally in 720p
 
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