Plasma Screen Dealers in Calgary

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

There will be OLED and SED televisions coming out maybe by the end of this year that will simply make plasma and LCD almost obsolete.

So what?

It's not like when those TV's comes out Plasma TV's are just going to stop working.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

So what?

It's not like when those TV's comes out Plasma TV's are just going to stop working.

They are also going to be about 11 grand US. It is at least 3 years before either of those technologies produce reliable, price competive consumer displays. I am sure if you wait 3 years, there will be something else around the corner you'll want to wait for then.

As to the original question, why not buy online? You can get the Panny commercial unit for just over $2000. Panasonic services these in house too, so there really is no reason to buy locally. http://www.avdeals.ca/panasonicplasma/TH42PWD8UK.htm

As to the other arguments 1080i/720p sources both look excellent on my 768 50" panasonic plasma. Nearly perfect. I see no need for 1080p on screens that size. I've never seen a DLP or any other projection technology that really does look the same from any viewing angle.

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by mbrown

Plasma is on it's way out people. GO LCD if you want flat panel.

LCDs picture quality is just not close to a good Plasma yet. I've looked at all the best LCDs, and their blacks just aren't near Plasma's and there is motion blur on every one I've seen. The only advantage they have is they are bright, if you like to watch in a sunny room. Plasma is still the far superior technology for normal viewing conditions.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

So what?

It's not like when those TV's comes out Plasma TV's are just going to stop working.

EXACTLY! I love peoples arguments of "oh those will be phased out in a year... your Plasma will probably spontaneously self destruct in a smoldering heap"

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

LCDs picture quality is just not close to a good Plasma yet. I've looked at all the best LCDs, and their blacks just aren't near Plasma's and there is motion blur on every one I've seen. The only advantage they have is they are bright, if you like to watch in a sunny room. Plasma is still the far superior technology for normal viewing conditions.

I agree with you about the black levels, that is the biggest drawback to LCD's. I happen to own one though that no person has ever been able to detect motion blur on.. but maybe I just have blind friends/family.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

Dude, didn't you write on here around Christmas time that you were struggling to get by and that the Ralphbucks would allow you to have a Christmas?

Sounds like you got a new, considerably higher paying job if you're looking at buying a $2000 dollar t.v. congrats man!

Actually, my wife has started working more and I'm in the process of getting a second job so we can afford this. If you can believe it, my wife was the one who told me that we needed a new television. Not that I argued against it or anything.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by ken0042

By this time next year we should have 1080p available, making the current 720p TV's the "new" EDTV standard. However; because of most providers' current bandwidth issues, I can't see anybody broadcasting in 1080p for a while.

I don't think 1080p will be that common come this time next year. I know panasonic is putting it in their new PX60, but only in the 50" + models. I'd be surprised to see many 1080p TVs in 42" or less within a year.
But maybe you know something I don't.

[mbrown]

Yes, motion blur on LCD's and ghosting on Plasma's. Also, the plasma's don't last long. ie: 5-7 years.

[EVERLAST]

http://www.hitachi.us/tv/browse/plas...a/plasma.shtml

I own this mofugga......I loves it. I watch this TV and drink Samuel JAckson beer........a few SJ's and youll be f'ing fat chicks in no time and you might even fight a or 2

[Draug]

Originally Posted by mbrown

Yes, motion blur on LCD's and ghosting on Plasma's. Also, the plasma's don't last long. ie: 5-7 years.

Why do you think that?

The half life on my 42" Panasonic Plasma is 15,000 hours. I have owned it, since new, for 4 years as of this past January. The hour counter just rolled over 4000 hours.

It looks exactly the same as the day I unpacked it. It is as good as new, and I dont expect it to fail in the next number of years.

[Indi]

IF you've got some room...go front projection with a screen. You can get a very decent 720P projector with a 92" screen for around the $2000.00 mark nowadays. I have a BenQ 7700 beaming onto a 106" screen.....I tell you, HDTV hockey is almost better than being there.
About the comments with DLP...yea, there are people that will see rainbows, but with the newer DLP's, the mirror segments are more and the speeds are quite a bit faster, and this is really eliminating rainbows. DLP's have way better black levels than LCD's, and the viewing angles are very good as well. A good way to put it is that DLP's are very film like, LCD's give a very sharp/defined picture, but suffer on blacks and viewing angles, and plasmas have great blacks, but can suffer from burn in. LCD's and DLP's now have user replaceable bulbs, not sure about plasmas though. Even if you are just going to watch dvd's, go for at least something that will shoot 720P (Still HDTV) as the newer upconverting dvd players will process the image at up to 1080i......it looks far better than a regular dvd player. By the way, if anyone is looking for a good, cheaper upconverting player, future shop has some LG LDA-531 players for $160.00. They upconvert via HDMI, and there is a service menu 'crack' that will allow them to upconvert on component as well....they even have the farjouda (sp) processing chip in them...usually only found in the higher end units. There was a problem with these players, they were pulled from the shelves just after the new year, sent back to the factory for a flash upgrade to help with some hdmi sync issues and some white crush....but the one I bought ahwile ago is a really, really nice unit.........

James

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by fotze

I just got a projector too, not as good as Indi's but cost $1150, I am just beaming it on the wall and it looks great. Infocus X3 from Costco. You need a dark room though, if you don't have one it is a non-starter, but DAMMMNNN it makes me horny, 100 inches of glory.

would be hilarious to throw some Pron on there... 12' instead of 12"

[fredr123]

Bumping this up since the wife and I are looking at new TVs.

We were in Costco (as well as a few other places) today and noticed a reasonably priced 42" plasma TV. Does anyone know anything about the Polaroid PLA 4240? I can't seem to find much about it on the net.

Costco in NE Calgary has it set up with a nice Yamaha surround sound system and the whole package looks friggin' sweet. We watched it for a while and it looked really good. And the price is pretty decent too ($1899).

We could all argue about personal preferences for hours but I was wondering specifically:
a) has anyone bought this TV? what do you think?
b) does anyone have any info on Polaroid tv's (their website is pretty non-descript and I couldn't find any good reviews)
c) anyone bought a TV from Costco? if I get it home and it really sucks, are they gonna hastle me about returning it?

[Calgary Flames]

DLP is better

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by fotze

Apparently you can press a button on the screen and a screen print comes out the bottom.

Guess I had that coming. The lack of info on those TVs is probably outweighed by the return policy disregarding the hastle of hauling a giant TV across town.

Jordon: Thanks for answering my questions We looked at a pile of DLPs too. I assume at least some of them were pretty good (they were definitely expensive) but beside the plasma... I don't know. They just didn't look as crisp or sharp or wife-worth (she likes bright shiny pictures). What TV do you have, where did you get it, how much? I'd just like a frame of reference to compare with what I saw earlier today...

[CalgaryCowboy]

I woudl strongly suggest going by Soundsaround. I dealt with the NE store on a 50inch Samsung DLP HLR5064 720p HDTV and got an amazing price ($1900paid and advertised right now at FS and BB for 2700) and the staff was very knowledgable. Check out the different models and get what looks good to you. We all see a bit different and should get what fits you. I was convinced on getting the Toshiba from reading the specs but my eyes told me different. Soundsaround adbeat is great and will beat any advertised price by 10%.

Caution on the Costco stuff. Sometimes they have special production runs of tech that are not upto snuff with the retailer sales. This is why the manufactor warranty is void on Costco stuff sometimes.

I am very happy with my DLP. The veiwing angles are good but it is very sensitive to height if you are not eye level with it. If you can afford it 1080p is the way to go but DLP 720p is the most price efficient way to go right now as far as size to picture quality to price ratio.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by CalgaryCowboy

Caution on the Costco stuff. Sometimes they have special production runs of tech that are not upto snuff with the retailer sales. This is why the manufactor warranty is void on Costco stuff sometimes.

I heard they dealt in a lot of "grey market" electronics. The official Canadian distributor of whatever company decides not to play ball with Costco so they get their products direct from the manufacturer or overseas. That was why I was told the manufacturer or whatever warranty won't work in Canada. That was also the reason, I was told, that Costco has to stand by its products for so long. Haven't verified any of this so take it with a grain of salt.

CalgaryCowboy: Why did you decide against the plasma? Viewing angle problems are things I really need to avoid since the big bucks I want to spend on a TV has to be okayed by the wife. She's not going to care that the 1080p instead of only 720p if she can't see the TV very well...

[CalgaryCowboy]

Originally Posted by fredr123

CalgaryCowboy: Why did you decide against the plasma? Viewing angle problems are things I really need to avoid since the big bucks I want to spend on a TV has to be okayed by the wife. She's not going to care that the 1080p instead of only 720p if she can't see the TV very well...

From what you described the Plasma might meet your need best. For me I wanted a big screen 50+, HD, and could be placed in a smallish room, to be used for watching sports and movies. The price of Plasma in that size was too much for me. LCD was not an option because of price, size, and slow refresh rates. That left me with rear projection LCD, DLP, and CRT. Did not like the bulk or picture of CRT, the screen door effect on LCD bothered me (caused by the space between the pixels), DLP looked good to me and of those the Sammy looked best to my eyes. I had a perfectly good old 32 inch CRT but wanted to go HD so ED wasn't an option. Every tv is a bit different than other even in the same tech. My DLP is pretty good viewed from the side bet dims signifantly if I stand up (that is from a 10foot viewing distance). The toshibas were better for angles and height. The newer sets are better then the ones before. The new sets are 1080p and are also better in all other ways (colour, angle, clarity) then those before. There was one Sony (don't remember the model it was LCD based but top of the line new model) that I really liked and was the best of the crop but could not justify the $1000 difference between what I bought and it.

Check out this site http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forum/index.php? it is Canadian and lots of usefull discussion. I did a quick search there on Polaroid 42 and get a few hits on discussion on the Costco models and the smaller ones.

[fredr123]

Thanks for the link. I browsed around there earlier today but couldn't find anything specifically on the model I was looking at. The discussions on the Costco return policy is a great relief.

Like I mentioned above, the wife was not impressed at all with the viewing angle issues on the DLPs we viewed. The Polaroid 42 plasma, however, really caught her attention. I was browsing through last year's thread on LCD vs. DLP vs. Plasma and came to the conclusion that it's all a matter of personal taste.

From what I've gathered, this TV runs at 768p. It's not top of the line but it is progressive scan which (hopefully) won't look all streaky. Costco was showing Episode 3 and all the space battles and stuff looked really sharp and clear. I suppose as long as there aren't any major issues with it and we like the way it looks that's all that matters. Plus this one seems pretty cheap so...

We're moving at the end of the month so we'll probably keep looking. This seems like the one to beat though for us. Thanks for all the input!

[CalgaryCowboy]

For your needs this is probally best. 768p is great, mine is the eqivalent in DLP and looks good but direct view plasma should be better then rear projection. I use a upconverting DVD player and it looks amazing plus HDTV is the best especially hockey.