Is this the right TV for me?

nick9

BestBuy-Panasonic TC-P42X1-$599-Sorry can't link yet.

1. How far away will you be from the display when watching it?
12' - 15'

2. What TV will it be replacing (i.e. 27" tube TV, etc)
27" Sony 7 or 8 years old

3. What will you be watching on it (i.e. 1/3 movies, 1/3 TV shows, 1/6 Sports, 1/6 gaming console, etc)
1/2 TV shows, 1/4 Auto Racing or Football, 1/4 DVD or DVR movies

4. Will a computer be connected to use the display as a monitor? If so, what percent of the time?
No

5. Will you be getting a Blu-ray player to watch movies and will you be getting any HD service from cable/sat, or will you just be watching SD programming, and upscaling SD DVD player?
No blu-ray in the near future, HD programming possibly if Dish will upgrade reasonably

6. Are you looking for the best in class display, the best bargain display, or best bang for the buck in the middle display?
Reliability, decent picture(I can barely read the ticker on the bottom of the screen while on news channels), bargain

7. What is the room lighting situation? (i.e. can you control the lighting? Can you use light blocking blinds, etc to control it?)
Lighting can be somewhat controlled. This will be in a Kitchen/Living Room. When the queen is in the kitchen she will have the light on but even then it isn't that overly bright in the living room.

8. What is your budget range?
I want to get out as low as possible. Definitiely under $800 but closer to $600 hopefully.

Thanks for all of your help. I have been lurking for a week or two and wondered if my fathers day present needed to come home. I think the hints are working.

Also if I don't get HD right away will I get a decent picture with just the SD channels until I upgrade?

Thanks

Nick

Loves2Watch

Sounds like you made the right choice.

__________________
Theater 1 - Panasonic TH-85PF12U Plasma TV, 6 Conrad Johnson LP275M Amps, Anthem Statement D-2 Pre/Pro, 6 Thiel SCS4 Speakers, 2 REL T-1 Subs, Infinity Interlude 120S Sub, Simaudio MOON Orbiter Universal Disc Player, ELP Laser Turntable, 2 Dish Network ViP 622 DVR's, Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player, Onkyo DV-HD805 HD DVD Player.
Friends don't let friends buy Korean brand TV's.

mobiushky

The only comment I'll make is that you might be disappointed with the quality of the SD on an HDTV. A lot of HDtv's are returned because people are expecting it to make SD look better too, but it doesn't. In reality, SD tends to look worse on an HDTV than it does on an SD tv. It has to upscale so much it can look kind of bad. But the HD looks SOOO much better than SD it's worth it.

__________________
DRM is roughly the equivalent of poking you in the eye, repeatedly.
----------------------------------------------------
Main Setup:
Pioneer PDP-5070HD
Pioneer VSX-80TXV
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PS3 (120Gb), someone tried to tell me my BD player could play games too, what an idiot.
Logitech Harmony 1000 remote
All Klipsch speakers

Bedroom Setup:
Sony KDR-40XBR4
Dish Vip622
PS3 (80Gb, no BC) I think I have too many PS3s.
Sony Commander RM-AV3000

Bigloww

Nice TV at an exceptional price.

At 10-12 ft viewing, stepping up to the 50'' 720p Panny would be a better fit to reap the HD rewards, but the the 42'' will do as well. I understand your budget concenrs so that may not work. And stepping up from a 27'' CRT will make that puppy look bigger than it is for at least a while. but if most of your viewing will be SD perhaps the 42'' will be better.. But if you will be stepping up to HD soon (a must IMO), the 50'' will shine.

Sears and BB has the 50'' version for $899..

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...nasonic+plasma

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nick9

Thanks for the replies.

I just ordered online and will pickup tonight.

Nick

nick9

Anybody on the fence about this model should run and get it!

I love this thing. Even though I am only on SD programming right now I can finally see the TV and all that writing that they put on the bottom of the screen.

Thanks for the recommendations.

Nick

Loves2Watch

Now you understand what some of us here have been saying all along!

Enjoy

__________________
Theater 1 - Panasonic TH-85PF12U Plasma TV, 6 Conrad Johnson LP275M Amps, Anthem Statement D-2 Pre/Pro, 6 Thiel SCS4 Speakers, 2 REL T-1 Subs, Infinity Interlude 120S Sub, Simaudio MOON Orbiter Universal Disc Player, ELP Laser Turntable, 2 Dish Network ViP 622 DVR's, Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player, Onkyo DV-HD805 HD DVD Player.
Friends don't let friends buy Korean brand TV's.

iserum

for 15 feet i would have picked 50 inch, u could still change your mind.

__________________
Panasonic 50PX80U/Pioneer BDP-51FD /Toshiba HD A1/Tivo HD
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Yamaha RXV1700
Def. Tech. Mythos III, V & Gems,
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Power Conditioner: Belkin PF40

nick9

I don't know about that. My neck hurts now as I keep having to turn my head to see from one side of the TV to the other!

I really like it to say the least.

Nick

GailLA

Congrats Nick. I got my 42 in. LCD TV in December. It is a great all around size when price matters (and it did to me).

Now go get that HD as soon as you can. We lived for about a month on SD and what OTA HD we could get rather unreliably, before the transition.

We have DirecTV and the only charge was $99 for a new box -- no charge for the new dish or the installation. It sure cost us less than we anticipated to upgrade to HD. Hope you have a similar experience with your provider.

In the meantime, make sure you hook up an antenna and enjoy what OTA HD you can. It will freaking amaze you!

nick9

That was me as well. Price was a very important factor.

While it might, I honestly don't see decent 42" flat screens going for much lower than what I paid. I did a lot of research and decided that Panasonic was one of the top choices but I figured I couldn't afford them. I couldn't be any happier at this point.

Now to find a good mount. I am looking at monoprice.com for either the 3724 or the 4926. Leaning towards the 4926 as it would swing out giving easy access.

Nick

nick9

Well I skipped both of those and ordered the 3725 after reading reviews here and avs.

Who is volunteering to mount it for me?

Nick

Loves2Watch

For $150 per hour and travel expenses I will be glad to.

__________________
Theater 1 - Panasonic TH-85PF12U Plasma TV, 6 Conrad Johnson LP275M Amps, Anthem Statement D-2 Pre/Pro, 6 Thiel SCS4 Speakers, 2 REL T-1 Subs, Infinity Interlude 120S Sub, Simaudio MOON Orbiter Universal Disc Player, ELP Laser Turntable, 2 Dish Network ViP 622 DVR's, Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player, Onkyo DV-HD805 HD DVD Player.
Friends don't let friends buy Korean brand TV's.

nick9

No more than a 1 pound Rib Eye and a cold iced tea.

Nick

nick9

OK, I'm resurrecting my own thread, but I just got my monoprice.com wall mount. That thing is a HOSS! I sure hope the wall can hold it, much less the TV.

Seriously, it seems to be well constructed and very sturdy. The installation seems simple enough.

My install is a little different as I am spanning the back of a doorway that was once a closet that was converted into a entertainment center. I know it sounds weird but it works.

I checked out a picture of another install on here and I just going to span the distance by using a 2"x10"(or 12"), securing to the inside of the closet. Then I will bolt the mount to the board using bolts, washers, lock washers and nuts. Friday is my go day.

Any tips or pointers are welcome.

Nick