New TV or Not? HELP!

[britbill4000]

Hey All,

So my Toshiba 72HM196 DLP needs a new Ballast and Lamp..it'll cost around $450 to get it repaired...debating if I should bother.

Right now I'm considering buying a new TV. I'm really out of touch with TV tech but have come across a couple of possibilities. Which of these 3 options would be better and why? I would use it for a equal mix of SD, HDTV, BD and PS3.

1) Sharp LCD - LC-60E78UN - $1300
http://www.amazon.com/Sharp-Aquos-LC...1201445&sr=8-1

2) Panassonic Plasma - TCP60S30 - $1600
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIER...1201967&sr=1-1

3) Repair my TV, hope to get another year out of it...and then buy something.

I would really appreciate any advice...

[Mahatma]

Originally Posted by britbill4000

Hey All,

So my Toshiba 72HM196 DLP needs a new Ballast and Lamp..it'll cost around $450 to get it repaired...debating if I should bother.

Right now I'm considering buying a new TV. I'm really out of touch with TV tech but have come across a couple of possibilities. Which of these 3 options would be better and why? I would use it for a equal mix of SD, HDTV, BD and PS3.

1) Sharp LCD - LC-60E78UN - $1300
http://www.amazon.com/Sharp-Aquos-LC...1201445&sr=8-1

2) Panassonic Plasma - TCP60S30 - $1600
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIER...1201967&sr=1-1

3) Repair my TV, hope to get another year out of it...and then buy something.

I would really appreciate any advice...

If you have the money,go with option 2.

[britbill4000]

Originally Posted by Mahatma

If you have the money,go with option 2.

Thanks. Can you expand on why please?

[Wingman1977]

Originally Posted by britbill4000

Thanks. Can you expand on why please?

Because plasma is better. End of story.

[punkguy03]

Originally Posted by Wingman1977

Because plasma is better. End of story.

Plasmas are not just better. That is an opinion. There are pluses and minuses to both, don't be so cut and dry.

[britbill4000]

The room I will be using it in has alot of light (stupid modern open concept design!)...I thought LCD would be slightly better for this..Or does it not make much of a difference now with the new Plasmas?

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by punkguy03

Plasmas are not just better. That is an opinion. There are pluses and minuses to both, don't be so cut and dry.

In terms of overall picture quality, they absolutely are. They're also better for gaming due to extremely fast response times and little-to-no input lag. As for motion resolution, they display a full 1080 lines without adding false frames (and artifacts) associated with motion interpolation.

But....for the OP's use in a brightly lit room, he may be better off going with an LCD, as a plasma may wash-out too much during the day, which is about the only 'negative' there is with plasma.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by punkguy03

Plasmas are not just better. That is an opinion. There are pluses and minuses to both, don't be so cut and dry.

Really they are. We used to say they both have their pros and cons, but that shite was just to be nice. I'm tired of this beating around the bush bull. Gloves off, back up or get put out of your misery ...

[britbill4000]

Thanks for the replies all. Unfortunately I suffer from upgraditis. Based on all your replies and the research I've done in the last few days I've decided that I want a Plasma. I think the Panny ST series would be the minimum but in reality I won't be satisfied unless I get the VT series. When I factor in a new stand and taxes I'm now looking at a cost of $2600 - $4500. This is considerably more than the $1600 for the LCD route. I have decided based on this to go ahead with the repair which will give me a little time to say goodbye to my Toshiba and also possibly give me an oppourtunity to pounce on any Boxing Day deals....anything over 3 months usage is going to be a bonus!

[Mahatma]

Originally Posted by britbill4000

Thanks for the replies all. Unfortunately I suffer from upgraditis. Based on all your replies and the research I've done in the last few days I've decided that I want a Plasma. I think the Panny ST series would be the minimum but in reality I won't be satisfied unless I get the VT series. When I factor in a new stand and taxes I'm now looking at a cost of $2600 - $4500. This is considerably more than the $1600 for the LCD route. I have decided based on this to go ahead with the repair which will give me a little time to say goodbye to my Toshiba and also possibly give me an oppourtunity to pounce on any Boxing Day deals....anything over 3 months usage is going to be a bonus!

You dodged the upgraditis bullet,and went the sensible route.Wise decision

[ewsjr]

Originally Posted by britbill4000

Thanks for the replies all. Unfortunately I suffer from upgraditis. Based on all your replies and the research I've done in the last few days I've decided that I want a Plasma. I think the Panny ST series would be the minimum but in reality I won't be satisfied unless I get the VT series. When I factor in a new stand and taxes I'm now looking at a cost of $2600 - $4500. This is considerably more than the $1600 for the LCD route. I have decided based on this to go ahead with the repair which will give me a little time to say goodbye to my Toshiba and also possibly give me an oppourtunity to pounce on any Boxing Day deals....anything over 3 months usage is going to be a bonus!

Good choice but just make sure you get a Panasonic display with their new panel technology even if you're not interested in 3D. There is a huge difference in PQ (I have one of the 42ST30 displays and it looks great). You should be very happy with an ST or VT display.

[britbill4000]

So the TV has gone in for repairs. I will find out in a couple of days if the Ballast is all that is wrong. Fingers crossed...

I did stop by a couple of places to have a look at some new TVs. I have to say that yes the Plasmas, LCD & LEDs are slimmer and have a bright and glossy picture compared to mine...but in terms of quality they don't come close to DLP. I checked a variety of brands and one simple test was to check the satellite guide. The text is so bad...especially the letters N, W, C, S etc...so Jagged even with the sharpness turned down to 0. TV logos looked very pixelated and the picture up close was really ghosty...Some were connected via component and some via HDMI all running 1080i. The SD picture was terrible on all. I know I'll get a little better picture once calibrated and going through the service menus and with the help of Qdeo/Onkyo but am I right in thinking that DLP has better picture quality for TV (HD & SD)??

[britbill4000]

Got my TV back last night..it's as good as new now...No more flickering when I turn it on which is a huge relief. Hopefully the bulb lasts a while...So glad I didn't smah it up!