Of those models the 50" 720p Panasonic and the 55" Vizio
LCD are the standouts on value.
First, Im a fan of DLP front projectors, however, Im not a fan of rear projection TVs as primary television viewing devices. Stick with Plasma and
LCD.
Plasma has clearly the better picture quality. Panasonic is a leader in plasma technology and picuture quality. Plasma has a clear advantage on fast motion clarity (resolution). Its 2 biggest drawbacks are reflections off the glass front (which many LCDs arent much better at now except the few matte screens now available and they tend to not have teh best black levels)....and image retention, burn in.
Unfortunately on both counts you really have to experience them to realize whether they are going to be issues you cant live with. Gamers are especially susceptable to the image retention, burn in issue because of the static status information bars on games. Though some report little ot no problems, others curse having bought a plasma. There is unit to unit variation within models with regards to this, however Panasonic is known to be better than LG with regards to image retention.
One more on plasma is that it doesnt get as bright as
LCD, you can see this especially if you go to the store and an all white or nearly all white image comes up...the plasmas just cant put out the lumens (power consumption goes way up on all white screens) to match the LCDs. This gives LCDs the advantage in bright ambient light (especially full daylight with lots of windows) viewability. Plasma beats
LCD in the finer points of low controlled light viewing, however
LCD performs better (good enough) over a larger range of environments.
My recommendations are for Matte Screen LCDs which are a vanishing breed, because of there less than stellar black level performance. The majority of LCDs now have Glossy or Semi Glossy(not as bad as Plasma) layers over the front of the screen which helps with black levels...which is very important in video...along with shadow detail. Black levels also affect other areas of the screen, making colors look punchier, for example. But if you have windows in full daylight, or a lamp on beside the couch...watch out for the serious degradation of the image (and enjoyment). The better compromise is matte IMO, better a decent picture in almost all environs(no plasma or
LCD will do well with direct full sunlight striking the screen)....than superior picture in dark environs and nearly unwatchable in others.
A good thing to do would be to go to the store and look for reflections off the screen (overhead lights oblige well), also note black levels, and then look for full white backround screens. Make your choice and buy from somewhere where you can return....in case those reflections during the football game are killing you, or you refuse to live in a cave.
Help choosing first HDTV
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