The list price of the Sony KDS-60A3000 is $2200, not $3600. It is available at $1700-$1800 from authorized dealers. For me, it is the budget best bet.

The LNT4053H does not have the 10 bit panel, it is 8 bit. You can verify this by going to their site and looking up parts and accesories for that TV

I recently saw info regarding a Consumer protection law, that I believe referred to reporting to the Attorney General’s Office, that requires that a retailer/mfg. provide servicing for a product for 3 yrs. after purchase. Could you tell me if that is accurate and what that law is called? Thanks, Marilyn

I note that you mention the Pioneer KURO plasmas. Have you reviewed them yet. You mentioned you had plans to a few months back.

A few weeks ago I purchased a 50″ Pioneer KURO 720p plasma, and it’s the best HDTV image I’ve ever seen! Perfect color, signal processing, contrast (w/deep blacks), 4 HDMI v1.3 inputs (accepts every signal including 1080p) etc.

An oustanding feature of this TV is it’s fantastic image processing, with full and accurate 3:2 pulldown from both video and film-based sources. All 1080i signals are correctly deinterlaced before scaling to the TV’s native resolution (720p/60hz).

Also, the bonus PURE CINEMA option (w/4 settings - off, standard, smooth, and advanced)…

With PURE CINEMA set to “smooth”, your 480i/60, 480p/60, 720p/60 or 1080i/60 signals provide a VERY smooth image within movement from 24fps sources (movies), or NO JUDDER effect. Works on both slow pans or faster pans, and with perfect 3:2 pulldown.

With PURE CINEMA set to “advanced”, a hi-def 1080p/24 signal [from Blu-ray or HD-DVD] can receive the same “smooth” processing quality on pans and moving images (as stated above), AND the Kuro “upgrades” the 24fps signal to 72fps (rather than 60fps like under “smooth”), and with 72fps the signal doesn’t need 3:2 pulldown processing, and has perfect playback of the original film source that was shot w/24fps.

On this plasma, the image quality strongly trumps any LCD or R-Proj unit available! There’s nothing better than a Pioneer KURO plasma for flat-panel!

I’m looking to buy relatively soon. Should I go with the Pioneer PDP-5080HD or the Panasonic TH-50PZ77U?
The minor difference in price isn’t a deal breaker.

I’m pretty sure the Samsung LN-T4671 does not use LED backlighting. From what I’ve read when I researched on this TV, it uses a fluorescent lamp backlighting.

I do know 100% that the Samsung LN-T4681 has the LED Backlight. Did you guys make a slip-up or am I behind the times?

I can’t believe anybody would recommend the 733 series Mitsubishi over the 734 series. Clearly the best bang for the buck.

Another plasma panel maker bites the dust.

Today,December 27,2007, Fujitsu announced it was ceasing production of its panels in March,2008. Explaining it was no longer profitable.

Soon,all that will be left for plasma,will be Panasonic and Pioneer,stalwarts of plasma tech. These two companies are now leveraging into LCD.

Plasma is on the way out. Don’t believe me? Just watch.

Look for OLED to ultimately replace even LCD.

Also,today Sony confirmed the rumors that they will stop making rear projection televisions and “focus on what people want…flat panel television. To this end,they indicated they would put more attention to LCD and OLED panels.

Etype2 said “Soon,all that will be left for plasma, will be Panasonic and Pioneer, stalwarts of plasma tech.”

Obviously, you’re not aware (or forgot) that the world’s TWO LARGEST panel producers - LG and SAMSUNG - both fully support plasma technology.

Other plasma supporters are: NEC, Runco, Hitachi, Electrograph, Pioneer, Panasonic, Philips, Vizio, Maganavox, Sanyo, HP, Akai, Zenith [LG division], Marantz, BenQ, Planar, Sampo, Insignia [Best Buy], Element [Circuit City], etc. Even some Sony models (who exited plasma in 2005) are still available (new) for sale from select online dealers.

As far as I know, the only major brand names that have stopped producing plasmas this year are Toshiba, and now Fujitsu.

Sony stopped plasma production years ago. Philips announced exiting the plasma market. LG recently shut down one of there plasma plants,Pioneer recently decided to hold off on construction of a new plant.
All the signs point to the eventual demise of plasma.

Plasma is best for dedicated or controlled room lighting conditions. In real world viewing most people prefer LCD. I admit that plasma has a small edge in picture quality. With world wide sales dropping on plasma,how long do you think it will take before the big guns exit plasma?

The ever increasing technowledgy advances in LCD will have LCD leapfrog plasma. As I said above,look for OLED to eventually become dominant display device. Now that Sony began selling there 11 inch OLED in Japan,with an announcement of US availability to come at CES in January,you will see more OLED set’s soon. Sansung will show a 14 inch model slated for production in first half of 2008 and a 31 inch model at CES. Look for surprise announcement from Sony. Others companies are said to be developing OLED.

Plasma best picture from all angles PERIOD!. They were the first flat large screens and the general public was too stupid to read the manuals and they got a bad rap for burn in. Love them and will buy them until they die!!!!! DLP user’s went for the saving’s and LCD user’s got sucked in buy the salesman. THAT IS IT IN A NUTSHELL

question re: 1080P/24fps
fantastic information-thank you for doing it.
i have sony 40v2500 it has a big 1080P sticker on the front.
i just ordered from amazon a toshiba A30 hd-dvd.
my question is will the sony give me the best hddvd picture the A30 player outputs ?
if the sony doesnt give 1080p/24 what would be best lcd in 40+” screen(price area 2.2K) for my new toshiba A30 ?
thanks in advance for takeing time to answer.
regards
paul

SONY KDL-40V2500 (2006 1080p model)

From my understanding of this Bravia LCD flat panel, it’s a holdover from the 2006 production line, and offers decent HD quality, poor SD quality, but unfortunately does not properly deinterlace film-based signals from DVD, HD-DVD, or Blu-ray, so it’s best to send it film signals in progressive form (rather than interlaced), whenever possible.

Also, this Sony model doesn’t offer the 1080p/24hz option, for the super-smooth playback of 24fps film signals (as I explained in the previous comment, above, as seen in the Pioneer plasma models).

Sony did however add the 1080p/24hz option to some of thier premium Bravia LCDs this year (2007 line), and the Playstation 3 and other Blu-ray/HD-DVD players also offer movie playback with this smooth 1080p/24fps signal option.

Conclusion: yes, the Sony 40V2500 LCD has a native 1080p resolution, but (again) it’s not capable of the 24fps option described above. All signals will be scaled to fit it’s native resolution, or 1080p/60hz, which is still very good, although Sony improved the performance of standard defintion signal processing in the 2007 line, as the 40V2500 (and others from 2006) offered mediocre (poor) SD processing of 480i cable/satellite/DVD signals. If you play DVDs on this display, be sure to get a player that “upconverts” the signal to 1080i (or preferrably 1080p), if possible.

what advantages does blue ray have over hd dvd? i have a toshiba hd- a30 1080p. should i have bought a blue ray or did i make the right move?

ryan,
Blu-ray currently has the best chance of winning the war, having greater studio support and CE support.
However until there is one format, you have to have both in order to enjoy movies from Universal, Paramount/Dreamworks, 20th Century Fox, Disney/Pixar, Sony/Columbia/Tri-Star, MGM/United Artists and Lionsgate (Warner is neutral).
Your A-30 was likely an affordable player and the discs your purchase likely won’t stop working anytime soon, so I wouldn’t sweat it.
You can add a cheap Blu-ray player too like the $270 Samsung BD-P1400 (won’t play PIP featurettes or access online content) or wait to see what’s announced next week at CES.

Etype,
Plasma is not going anywhere anytime soon. It is still the premiere display technology and the difference in PQ over LCD is a lot more than “slight” at times.
The Pioneer and Panny’s here tested 900/1080 and 880/1080 respectively for motion, while most LCD’s including the 120Hz models couldn’t test above 600/1080.
With the price of a 50″ 1080p Viera now found close to $2,000 shipped from several sites, plasma is no longer a rich man’s HDTV and I don’t see signs of sales declining at all.

I just ordered a Sharp Aquos 32″ 32D62U 1080P for $879.00. Is that a great t.v. and is it wise getting like a 4 year extended warranty?
Thanks Danny

You have given the Panasonic TH-50PZ750U high ranks in the past that continue today. Yet the only mention I see of its 58″ sister model is a reference in the 46-50″ section.
Does the 58″ model’s quality differ from the 50″? Or does the quality of the 58″ not compare with other models in the 50-70″ size range? Perhaps you decided the Panasonic 750U models had a reference already, and shouldn’t get a second one?
Appreciate all your input,
Ian

Marilyn, it sounds like you are referring to consumer protection laws specific to your state. Call your state attorney general’s office for more information.

You definitely meant to name the Samsung 4681 and not the 4671. The 71 does not have LED backlighting.

You really should correct the entry as it is confusing.

Do you publicly reply to any of the questions posted here?

Just bought a pioneer elite pro-1150 What are the benefits of using a HDMI cable besides easier hook up of components??

looking for help or suggestions.
a have a sony 46in hdtv (kdl46s2010) and a toshiba(hd-a2 ku)hddvdplayer, with a vip622dvr hd dish box and im looking for the best set up for viewing and settings on the tv for the best viewing capable if someone could please help out a novice

I am in the market for my first LCD HD TV. I am wondering if there is any noticable difference in a 52″ 1080p with 60Hz versus 120Hz? Could I tell the difference in the motion blur?

I am looking at the Samsung 52″ Full HD 1080p.

Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Marryl

I read your review on the panasonic th-50pz750u and was going to buy it until I found out that the th-50pz85u was coming out in early April. I know that it is supposed to have a contrast ratio of 30000:1. Will this new model produce a better picture than the 750u. I want to buy the best tv of the two, price doesnt matter.

I currently have a Panasonic 1080i HDTV. I am waiting for Panasonic to release their new 800U and 850U HDTVs (in April or May 08) that are 1080p and are supposed to very good. I would appreciate your candid feedbak on this unit.

In the meantime I was thinking of buying a Blu-ray DVD player. My question - Will my current 1080i HDTV display better picture with Blu-ray DVD player than what I am getting with a DVD player that does up-compression?

I’m in the market for a LCD. I had my eye’s set on the samsung LN4681. I don’t think it has 120hz, but it has LED and motions plus. Which is better?

THE HD LAW….ISNT IT THE FAMOUS Y2K…
I MEAN IT GOT TO BE A LAW….TODAY GOVERMENTS CONTROL EVERYTHIG AND NOW THEY WANT TO VIOLATE
OUR DEMOCRACY…ISNT IT BETTER TO SAY , YOU ARE FREE TO USE ANY KIND OF SIGNAL TO HEAR OR WATCH A TV …………..NO FOR ME IS THAT WE THE PEOLPLE ARE LETTING THEM TO CONTROL US.

JB

j belt: shut the hell up you damn conspiracy theorist. Worry your life away.

I am planning to purchase a 37 in 1080 LCD TV. I notice that this size is not on your list/ Can you tell me which is best

Thank you

Harry

To All: I am planning on buying either a 22″ or 26″ LCD TV for my bedroom (viewing from 6′-8′) Right now I have Comcast cable, but may soon go to AT&T U-Verse system. What does anyone know about the Westinghouse 26″ model SK26H540S which is presently selling for $399 at Costco. Also, what about the Sanyo 26″ model DP26648 which is selling for $397 at WalMart on a special offer. Your comments please.