Possible Upgrade

[Raiders12]

Ive been browsing a HDTV upgrade for my bedroom, and was curious about a 32" 1080p set.
I currently have a 32" 720p Westinghouse I bought about 1.5 yrs ago, got it real cheap. I am a college student on a budget. I use my Tv for HD Cable, 360 gaming, and Bluray of course . Now with MS Cashback and BIN on eBay, I have found Toshiba 32" 1080p for $680...and with CB and selling my old HDTV I would pay about $200 for the upggrade. Would this be worth it?
** also I ususally sit swivled in my PC chair about 3 ft from my TV..or sometimes in my bed about 6-7 feet away. Would $200 justify this slight upgrade?

[My_Two_Cents]

Personally (and this is just me), I wouldn't spend any money to upgrade a 32" set to 1080p, especially for that kind of $$. You'd be better off saving for a larger set. If it were me, I would save for a 42" Pany plasma. You could get this 720p model for $743, or this 1080p for $1,060. Both would blow your old and proposed new sets out of the water in terms of picture quality. As a college student, though, you'd be better off living with your current set until you graduate and can afford a real upgrade. My two cents.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Personally (and this is just me), I wouldn't spend any money to upgrade a 32" set to 1080p, especially for that kind of $$. You'd be better off saving for a larger set. If it were me, I would save for a 42" Pany plasma. You could get this 720p model for $743, or this 1080p for $1,060. Both would blow your old and proposed new sets out of the water in terms of picture quality.

I agree. Go for the $750 Panasonic or the $750 Samsung 37A450 from Amazon.

As a college student, though, you'd be better off living with your current set until you graduate and can afford a real upgrade. My two cents.

Wait, I'm supposed to wait until I graduate to upgrade?

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Wait, I'm supposed to wait until I graduate to upgrade?

LOL. I don't know where the heck these high school and college kids get their $$ and gear. When I was in college, I had a 12" B&W TV, stereo, phonograph and tape deck. And my meager setup was better than what most of my friends had.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

LOL. I don't know where the heck these high school and college kids get their $$ and gear. When I was in college, I had a 12" B&W TV, stereo, phonograph and tape deck. And my meager setup was better than what most of my friends had.

Well, my job last summer paid for my first BR player, a DMP-BD10 which I then upgraded to a PS3. I won a $1,000 radio contest prize in January, which I then combined with $600 I made from selling my old 32" Vizio to help pay for my Philips 47" (ironically two days after my birthday). The money I made working over the summer all went to pay for my UM tuition, but when they told me they had made an accounting error and I was due a substantial refund check, I took the opportunity to upgrade. And now I'm set for many, many years, with a setup made well before I get married so WAF isn't a factor at all anymore. Whooo!

[ixlegitballinxl]

its called... CREDIT CARDS!! lol

idk.. most college kids have extra money after tuition costs

or they have generous parents

[JJ]

Originally Posted by ixlegitballinxl

its called... CREDIT CARDS!! lol

idk.. most college kids have extra money after tuition costs

or they have generous parents

Credit cards? I barely use them, I always pay with money I have, I have way too many friends in debt to even imagine going down that road.

UM, I wish it was that cheap!

And I wish my mother and pops weren't!

I've just been fortunate, I like to think, scholarships, good money decisions, so forth. But I don't like to brag and start getting into one-upsmanship, so I will cease on this subject.

[ixlegitballinxl]

not directed towards you, just in general.

doesn't matter to me where your $$ comes from, just making a generalization on how most college students get by, and still fun toys

[JJ]

Originally Posted by ixlegitballinxl

not directed towards you, just in general.

doesn't matter to me where your $$ comes from, just making a generalization on how most college students get by, and still fun toys

Ah, gotcha. What I find sad is that a lot simply spend their money on (what I believe to be) frivolous pursuits, or even worse, on cheap booze and hallucinogens. In any case - OP, go for the Panny 42" PX80U @ $750 from Amazon!

[ixlegitballinxl]

been to miami many a time, people blow a lot more money on illegal activities and parties then what most here spend on ht/blu's LOL

can't go wrong with a panasonic plasma, GL!

[Raiders12]

Well I work throughout the school yr, and I dont live at college haha. So I save money since I dont pay for dorms and such. Anywho...I suppose I could wait til graduation, if I hopefully get a decent engineering job haha. But I was chosing the 32" because they are a few hundred bucks cheaper, and I just spent a good chunk of change on my surround sound components

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Raiders12

Well I work throughout the school yr, and I dont live at college haha. So I save money since I dont pay for dorms and such. Anywho...I suppose I could wait til graduation, if I hopefully get a decent engineering job haha. But I was chosing the 32" because they are a few hundred bucks cheaper, and I just spent a good chunk of change on my surround sound components

Ooo!! Sound components...do embellish! And, seriously, living at college is a huge ripoff in most places. I commuted the 35 miles from my mother's house to UM my first semester, moved to campus for my second, and moved off-campus since my sophomore year to my final fifth one now, and couldn't be happier.

Ah ha! An engineer! You'll be making sure my buildings stand up properly.

[Blu-Raider]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Credit cards? I barely use them, I always pay with money I have, I have way too many friends in debt to even imagine going down that road.

Good for you!!

[Raiders12]

Yes indeed. A mechanical engineer. Hopefully Ill survive. Halfway through sophmore yr whew. Yeah I drove 15 miles each way, to my university, was going to go to VaTech but didnt want the extra expenses. As for the sound components, I bought a Sony STR-dg820 and Polk Rm6750 speakers. Using live search. Gotta love that cashback deal.

[Raiders12]

Also, with the Panny plasmas, Ive read very good reviews for the 720p 42". And that Amazon price is very tempting. Ive done a little reading regarding plasmas and know that burn-in isnt a major concern anymore, unless you seriously leave one still image there for like a day straight..correct? But you can also have the temporary image retention?

[Bizdady]

Originally Posted by Raiders12

Also, with the Panny plasmas, Ive read very good reviews for the 720p 42". And that Amazon price is very tempting. Ive done a little reading regarding plasmas and know that burn-in isnt a major concern anymore, unless you seriously leave one still image there for like a day straight..correct? But you can also have the temporary image retention?

Correct but I wouldnt be too concerned about the IR anymore either as well.

[Raiders12]

What about the color fading? Im sure the technology is definitely better where that isnt as bad as previous generations right?

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by Raiders12

What about the color fading? Im sure the technology is definitely better where that isnt as bad as previous generations right?

Where the heck did you hear this? Pure FUD. Today's plasmas will go 60K-100K hours before they "fade" to HALF brightness. Do the math. You'll have replace the set long before you reach that many hours.

[Raiders12]

Wow, didnt realize the life span inscreased that much. Haha. When I did a comparison/contrast research between LCD/Plasma for 12th grade a few yrs back it was like up to 50,000 hrs, which is stilla lot of hours.

[Raiders12]

Yeah, I bought the cheapest one of course back in 07. I was like...Xbox360...HDTV...$500...sweet. But now that I know better and such, Ive been looking around. Also, with the Panny Plasma, Ive been reading about the break-in period of like a 100 hrs or so? And you should be pretty strict on that?