I'm considering purchasing one of these two 42" plasma tv's. Any advice, encouragement, or warnings about either of these?! Or do you have a better suggestion in the $3000-$3300 range?
I have no suggestions, but just want to educate you about one thing. These are probably what are known as EDTVs. There are different ways of displaying a picture, described as a number followed by a letter (either i or p). 480i means that the TV will display 480 lines of resolution in interlaced mode. Interlaced means that it will scan 240 lines, skipping every other line and then come back and do the other 240 lines. The next step up is 480p (progressive mode). In this mode the lines are scanned in order, instead of skipping every other one. This is what is known as EDTV. Then you have two HDTV modes; 720p and 1080i. Assuming these sets are EDTV (I'm GUESSING they are in this price range), then if you ever decide to get an HDTV decoder you will not be able to display HDTV on these sets to its fullest.
Anonymous
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yea, I did know these were EDTV. I have to give up HDTV due to the cost. Unless you know of a similarly priced plasma with HDTV?
No, that's why I'm still using my Toshiba analog tube TV. About a month ago I read an article about plasma TVs losing their brightness after several years and needing repair. So I'd rather let the technology mature a little before taking such an expensive plunge. If I were to go for one now I saw some nice Sony LCD TVs between 42 and 60" that were real nice and in that price range. They're only about 17 - 18" deep. But again I'd rather let someone else find out about their problems.