Bought a nice Plasma

[budda]

Wife wanted new furniture, I got a new T.V.  PN58B550T2 Samsung 58, This is the best set I have ever had. My old large set was a JVC HDILA set 56, I have a Vizio 32, samsung 32 720P and a Samsung 37 1080P 120 HZ, the 58 was 1669.00 From Bestbuy also got rewards points, free delivery, and 36 no interest , don't need that but will float it till after holidays. The picture for Bluerays and Dish HD is the best I have seen. I never really knew what people meant by "the blacks are better"  Set is still on line for 1769.00 well worth it. JMO

[Matt Heebner]

I was amazed at how incredible the picture of a plasma was...and this coming from a fully calibrated Mits RPTV.
I often wondered why I waited so long to jump into the flat panel game.

Enjoy your purchase !

[budda]

A few things, 1st 600 HZ is junk. LCD's need the 120 or 240 to maintain a clear picture for motion. Plasma states 600 witch is deceiving. Plasma is fine just the way it is has no problem with motion. I think the hurts is listed for marking. As this is my first Plasma I feel like I am in a special club. I know it is just a T.V. But my wife who really could care less even really has a jaw dropping response to it. Peace:)

[Ralph Kramden]

I'd like to upgrade to a flat screen one of these days. Do today's plasmas still have high energy consumption? How bad is the glare off the screen?  These are 2 things I've read about with plasmas. Thanks.

[Matt Heebner]

From what I've read, most plasma's use between $40 and $80 a year in energy costs averaging about 5 to 6 hours of use a day.
If you break that down, that comes to roughly $.22/day to use....

Check out this chart:

http://reviews.cnet.com/green-tech/tv-consumption-chart/

As far as glare, really depend on your viewing environment. I have mine in a living room with one entire wall of windows, and  windowed french doors and I have absolutley no issue with glare. In fact is is soooo much better than the Mits RPTV it replaced.

[budda]

Well most of the energy talk is for tree hugers. As flat panels go, it does use the most energy between LED,LCD and plasma. But put into perspective is just fine. Most if not all Plasma's are energy star rated. Mine even has a energy saving mode. Make the pic less bright less juice. I also have 6 windows in this room and no problem with glare.  Burn is all but a no starter. moves the pixels. Honestly, say a place like BB has the size you want. there is a 30 days no questions asked return option. Try it, if it sucks, take it back and get a LCD or LED in the same size. I bet you keep it.

[ddeerrff]

Plasma typically uses 30% more power than LCD.  Turn off one 100 watt light bulb and you have compensated.

Plasma has somewhat limited brightness.  But if your CRT TV was bright enough, the the plasma probably will be too.  Burn in (image retention) is mostly a thing of the past.  Plasma does not have motion artifacts, and has deeper blacks.  The screen is flat glass and can be reflective, but many sets do have anti-reflective coatings (ex. Panasonic Neo-PDP panels).  Plasmas are available only in 42" or larger sizes.  If you are setting up a home theater where you have fairly good control of the lighting, a plasma is the way to go.

Newer LCD panels also are flat glass to improve contrast ratios, and can suffer some of the same reflection problems as the plasmas.  The Samsumg 'B630 is an exception with a semi-matte screen (I've got one of these on order).  Some older models also have less reflective screens.  LCD's can be set to run very bright.  They may suffer some motion blurring, but the 120 and 240 Hz models do a pretty good job of reducing this problem.  Careful though, as some of the settings to reduce motion blur can induce other artifacts.  If you have a bright room where you have little control over the lighting, then an LCD may be a better choice.  

LED LCD's use multiple LED backlighting instead of fluorescent flood.  That allows zone control of backlighing and allows the set to produce somewhat better blacks.  IMHO, the added cost of LED LCDs is not worth the slight improvement.    

If you want a huge screen (>65"), consider a projection model.

[Ralph Kramden]

Thanks guys. We already have a projector setup in our basement. The flat panel would be for our family room. First we need a new computer.