What is the best 50 inch tv to purchase?
Monday, February 8th, 2010 at
11:22 am
By best I mean best brand and best quality tv. I was also wondering which is better LCD or plasma. I want to get my boyfriend a tv as a present when he gets back from iraq and Afghanistan. He’s been wanting a good 50 inch so i’d really appreciate any ones advice. money is not an issue.
Tagged with: Best • Inch • Purchase
Filed under: Question & Answer
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samsung lcd.
Depends on what you can afford. The top brands are Sony, Samsung, and LG. Lower brands are Sharp, Visio, Sanyo. Then the no name brands. I would for sure go with an LCD though.
If you want to get him a plasma, go with Panasonics Viera line or Pioneer’s Kuro. For LCD I’d go with Sony or Sharp Aquos. The plasmas are still the better picture but they do use more power than LCDs and are much heavier (if you care). If he’s a videophile, tell him your mother wants a new tv and ask him which is better. People have different opinions (mine is that the plasma picture is worth the extra $70 or so per year in electricity). If he’s not a videophile, he’ll probably want a high quality lcd.
Samsung and Sony. You dont really need anything else. LG is good and there are others like Sharp. But samsung and sony are it. LCD, thats the way to go. Break out the pocket book. Nothing less than 1500 and it can go up too 2500. You pay for what you get.
for the best of 50-inch hdtv, i suggest Samsung PN50A650 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV with RED Touch of Color.
The Samsung PN50A650 HDTV features Touch of Color – a unique design which adds a hint of color to the bezel. Plus, advanced features like Ultra FilterBright protect against glare and a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio delivers stunningly realistic images. Create the ultimate home entertainment experience in your home with the Samsung PN50A650 widescreen plasma HDTV.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0015PFUO0?ie=UTF8&tag=yahanswer-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0015PFUO0
If you want LCD TVs 50 inch, I suggest that Samsung PN50A450.
In terms of overall picture quality, Plasma trumps LCD. LCD fanboys will tell you otherwise, but industry professionals will show you a multitude of consumer tests that prove otherwise. Sorry to the LCD lovers, but its not the greatest technology known to mankind.
Plasma will provide stronger color, blacks, and contrast. It also handles fast motion better as it has near instantaneous refresh times (much like old CRT tube televisions). Plasma is a bit softer in SD (think major motion films). This isn’t a good vs bad issue though, its personal taste more than anything else. Also, the Plasma colors tend to have a bit more ‘pop’ to them. Again this is purely a matter of taste.
Plasmas myths – (1) they experience burn-in, (2) they don’t work at high altitudes, and (3) they have short life spans. The burn in issue is really no longer an issue. Just condition the TV. For the first 100-200 hours keep the contrast (picture) and brightness settings cranked way down. Then go ahead an optimize. For the high altitudes, its no longer an issue, you can own a Plasma in Denver, so you’ll be fine. As for the short life spans, the better Plasma models out there are good for 100,000 hours, which means if you ran it for 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, it would last for 34 years. I think that’s a respectable life for a TV.
Plasma’s though are made of glass. So they are a glossy finish. If you have to put the TV in a room with too much uncontrollable ambient light (you can’t turn off lights, you can’t close blinds) then glare might become an issue.
LCD’s are the everyman HDTV. They are cost effective. They are thinner and lighter than Plasmas (though the new Panasonic Plasmas are going to change that). On the whole they will tend to draw less electricity than Plasmas, but the better Plasmas can give the LCDs a run for their money.
LCDs have issues with fast motion. They experience a motion blur. This is a ghost trail behind the fast moving object. Better LCDs try to counter act this with 120Hz or 240Hz refresh rates. These still don’t match Plasma (and CRT and DLP). But they help move it in the right direction. But you pay a price premium for those speedy refresh rates.
LCDs are sharper in SD (think the evening news). This isn’t a good vs bad, its just personal taste. LCDs have a bit more muted colors. Again this isn’t good vs bad, its personal taste. LCDs are though a matte finish, so a stronger option for you if you’re in a room where glare issues are a big concern.
If you go Plasma stick with Panasonic Viera or Samsung. You’ll get the best bang for the buck from them. The Panasonic Viera 50PZ80 or 50PZ800 are both solid options. The Samsung PN50A550 or PN50A650 are both solid choices.
If you go LCD, I would really try and stay with Samsung at that size. You could look at the Sony XBR lineup too, but I think you’ll get far more picture quality bang for buck with the Samsungs. Specifically look at the Samsung LN50A550 or LN50A650 models.
The #1 TV of all time: The Pioneer PRO-111FD. It’s a 50″ plasma, but Pioneer recently announced they won’t be in the plasma business for much longer, so they may be in high demand. If you buy this TV and get it professionally calibrated (by an ISF technician, not Best Buy) you can’t have a better TV for sports, movies, TV, etc. The colors are perfect and the blacks are as deep as can be.
Here’s Cnet’s “Best HDTVs” list:
http://reviews.cnet.com/best-high-definition-tvs/
Most of them are plasma and almost all of them are over 50″. I am a cheapskate, so I went with the least expensive TV that received an “Excellent” rating, the Samsung PN50A550. However, you may want to stick with LCD. They’re lower maintenance.
If you want the best LCD for the price, I recommend the Samsung LN46A950 or the LN55A950. The reason I think these are the best is because they are LED-backlit, meaning it alleviates the main criticism of LCD TVs–the issues rendering deep blacks. The 46″ is about $2,500 on Amazon and the 55″ is closer to $4,000. Expensive yes, but you asked for the best.
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/subtype/compare.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype=lcdtv&prda=LN55A950D1FXZA&prdb=LN46A950D1FXZA
Finding an ISF technician: http://www.imagingscience.com/isf-trained.cfm
You can get the PRO-111FD 50″ Pioneer plasma from Vanns for $2,999 shipped and that’s a $1,500 savings. It’s the best TV on the market.
LCD is for first time buyers who don’t know any better and that’s just facts. The only people recommending LCD are people who bought one and are too proud or too inexperienced to know they got shafted by an inexperienced salesman.
Check out all the shootouts!
http://www.hometheatermag.com/lcds/208hdface/
http://www.hometheatermag.com/lcds/face_off_at_the_hdtv_corral
You cannot go wrong with this TV and your boyfriend will have the BEST HDTV on the market – how can you go wrong with that?
most off brand tvs are lgs inside with a different logo on the front i would get a sony or a toshiba ive had the same toshiba for about 10years and still use it today never had a problem