I'm moving to Seattle on Friday and its time to leave the free 27" CRT behind. Hoping someone can reccommend me a good tv. I am willing to pay a little bit more to pick it up locally (best buy/target/whatever) so I can have it sooner/don't have to deal with shipping. I'm looking to spend around $700 but that budget can go down or up a little bit. I'll use it for gaming and TV/movies. I will have a HTPC hooked up. All I know is I want preferably 1080p and something around 42" or smaller if thats what fits in the budget. Thanks!
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Reccomened me a TV (~$700)
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visionviper
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This Panasonic plasma is what I was looking at getting when I was planning the same budget you have.
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SJetski71
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OP visionviper found you a very nice 1080P plasma at a great price, and from a good retailer to boot.
You don't have to take our word for it but most people here will tell you the same
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That looks pretty nice. Only thing I see is it not having a VGA port. Is there an easy/cheap way to do VGA>DVI>HDMI? If not I think there is a DVI output on my HTPC (old computer with cheap vid card) but not my notebook. Other TV I have been looking at is this Samsung LCD. The advantages to that are the USB port, VGA input and I can get it locally (around 675-700 plus tax). Looks like the panasonic would probably have to be shipped (about $50 more at best buy vs. amazon). Any advantages/disadvantages of LCD vs. plasma? It seems everyone has their own opinions and either one seems a good bet. Thanks for the suggestion!
visionviper
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Generally speaking a plasma is going to provide much better black levels and an overall better picture. This is not to say there aren't good looking LCDs or bad looking plasmas, but I tend to like the picture better on a plasma then a LCD.
Also, I would look more into getting a cheap replacement video card with digital output than finding a TV with VGA. You also cannot cheaply go VGA>DVI>HDMI. VGA>DVI is easy as long as what you are plugging into has a DVI-I port and not a DVI-D port (which only accepts a digital signal). Do you frequently have to hook up your laptop to your TV?
I know the HTPC has a dvi output that will be fine for the HDMI inputs, only issue is it can't do HD very well (old single core). I have been looking at getting a cheap card for it that supports hardware acceleration for it to fix that issue. So only time I need the laptop is for HD. The girlfriends laptop does have an HDMI port so I suppose that would be used until I get another card for the HTPC.
I also noticed that the panasonic does not have an audio output besides the digital one. I am debating if this will be an issue or not. Anyone have any opinions on the sound? I currently use an old stereo when watching movies but I am really not too picky.
I also use a old stereo amp to watch movies and it sound great or good enough for me. It does not have 7.1 but I am happy that it has Dobly Prologic.
So I would not worry about the TV. I would not use its speakers if you have a stereo.
So I would not worry about the TV. I would not use its speakers if you have a stereo.
The problem is that the stereo doesn't have any digital inputs so I could not use it with the Panasonic. Thats why I was wondering if anyone here had any personal experience with the speakers on the TV.
visionviper
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As long as you have onboard sound or even an add in sound card you have analog audio you can hook up to your stereo.
Oh yea, duh lol. I am used to watching TV with the regular speakers anyways and these can't be any worse than the ones on my TV now. Going to look at both at Best Buy tonight for an idea of picture/sound quality.