I’m Looking To Get A 42″ Lcd Hd Tv For Christmas This Year. Any Recommendations?
October 31, 2009 by Rich
Filed under Frequently Asked Questions
I’m not too familiar with the difference between 720/1080P, but I’ve heard that LCD is better than Plasma. I’m trying to stay as close to $1500 as possible and have seen some good deals at CircuitCity.com. Anyone have any recommendations for brands to look at or stay away from? Any help or advice would be appreciated!
Your choice will most likely come down to Plasma or LCD however, don’t write off projection TVs. Rear projection TVs (RPTVs) don’t provide quite the image quality and viewing angle of LCD and Plasma TVs but you can’t beat them for price and screen size. Front projection devices can sit on a table or hang from the ceiling and throw a very large, high definition image on a screen or living room wall. To make the process of selecting the right HDTV display for you we’ll provide an overview of the market and link to reviews and more information. Retrevo selects LCD TV reviews and Plasma TV reviews from some of the most respected reviewers of HDTV displays.
LCD vs. PLasma
By far the most popular TVs sold today are either LCD or Plasma. LCD TVs have enjoyed pricing benefits from using the same screens manufactured for computers but only up to a moderate size. Plasma TVs have the pricing edge on displays in the over 50 inch department.
Bruce Berkoff who heads up the LCD TV Association advises consumers to buy 32” and smaller sets today before they become less available and more expensive later this year. At he same time Berkoff predicts that 47” to 52” LCD TVs will come down in price in time for the holiday shopping season.
LED backlighting is starting to show up in laptop LCD displays like the MacBook Pro, replacing fluorescent backlights. White LEDs provide a brighter screen with increased contrast. Future TVs will not only offer white LED backlights but will also add red, green, and blue LED backlights that will enhance the whole image quality. Bruce Berkoff adds a dose of reality, “I wouldn’t expect to see LED backlights in affordable LCD TVs for at least a year and maybe two.”
Best Plasma TVs
Pioneer still leads the market with the highest rated Plasma displays. The Pioneer Elite PRO-FHD1, incorporates all the latest plasma technology like Deep Encased Cell Structure to produce images that reviewers say are artifact-free, rich, and natural. This 50 inch display can be purchased for well under $4,000. All the reviews for the Pioneer Elite PRO-FHD1 are on Retrevo. The new Panasonic TH-50PX77U uses an antiglare coating to reduce one of the objectionable problems with plasma displays. This TV gets high marks from reviewers and users for accurate colors and deep blacks. It costs less than $2,000.
Best LCD TVs
You’ll pay about $2,500 for the Sharp Aquos LC52D62U, a 52” LCD TV but you’ll be buying one of the top rated models that gets high marks for image quality, contrast levels, and shadow detail. The 40 inch Sony BRAVIA KDL-40XBR2 costs a little over $2,000. It offers a very wide viewing angle and has been consistently mentioned among the top rated LCD TVs for over a year. Read the reviews for the Sony BRAVIA KDL-40XBR2 at Retrevo. At $800, the Olevia Synrax Brillan is one of the best values on the market for a 37 inch LCD TV. It doesn’t support 1080p resolution but on a TV this size, that shouldn’t be a big issue.
We hope this helps. If you need more information on any consumer electronics check out http://www.retrevo.com and browse through our search engine of manuals, reviews, products or keep up on the latest consumer electronics news and insights through our blog at http://blog.retrevo.com/.
Cheers,
The Retrevo Team
Well, I have a Pannasonic 42″ LCD HD TV Now, and it working great. yes LCD HD is better than plasma. The color of LCD HD was more clear and vivid. Sony brand is great too. Good luck.