Just bought a 37" last night - would have gone bigger but our house has a TV Nitch and the dang thing is designed for tube-type TVs so it only fits so big of a set...

Trying to decide if the sound quality on most Plasmas on the internal speakers is really as cruddy as this one is. It's a Polaroid brand and if I don't run it through our home sound system, it literally is identical to an AM clock radio. It is purely mids and highs with ZERO base even if I adjust the internal bass all the way to 100. The bass doesn't appear to respond at all. Literally, take your car stereo and turn the bass entirely off and then turn the mids and highs all the way up and then put it through your tweeters and you'll hear what this TV sounds like. I then put it through my home system which is a 5-channel surround - 600W on 5 speakers and then 250W on a sub. On my old TV, if I set my amp to 35 (out of 100) it sounded terrific even on a TV show. On this one, I have to crank it to 65 and then set the sub dial to about 85% which would normally rattle pictures like one of those fart-can cars the kids drive. If I do that, the TV shows sound just barely adequate.

Went back to the store and found there's was about the same. Tested others in the same size and pricepoint and found that all except the Panasonic seemed to be like that, but in the big showroom it's so big and loud that it's hard to tell. The three brands at this size were LG, Panasonic and Polaroid.

Anyone else have some experience to share? My 6-yr old 36" Panasonic tube tv just fried itself for the 2nd time in a year and it's going to be about 10 days before the repair guy is coming out. Then whatever time needed to order the new dylithium crystals and have the guy install it all. I'm already ticked off that the old set has died twice and it's only 6 yrs old. Used to be, a set would often outlast the owner. Now this !

At this point, I may just hold on to the new thing until the old set is repaired and then return the new one. I can't believe these sets sell if this is the across-the-board sound quality!

I have 3. Two 42 inch and 1 51 inch but they're all Panasonics. Someone told me that Panasonic makes the best plasma tv's.

All the large screened TV's are really designed for add on surround systems. Because of cabinet design, there's only very limited space in the flat screens for built in speakers.

I have Pioneer 50" Plasma and it doesn't sound all that bad. I have a powered sub woofer hooked up while I shop for a new surround sound system.

You just have to turn on your stereo. I have a plasma without audio and you really get used to turning it on.
Are we not always as men trying to get the stereo on? Great excuse to your better half.
In my bedroom we have a 37" Aquos Lcd that has good sound. All brands differ in sound quality. Should have checked the forum "Team Plasma".

I've got a 50" Panasonic plasma here, and the sound quality is decent, but the volume certainly could be better. Using the stock speakers of course. A lot of sound quality/volume comes from speaker placement too.

From what I know, Panasonic is about second when it comes to plasmas, Pioneer being the best.

http://www.lilligren.com/Redneck/redneck_flatscreen_tv.htm

Cheapest flat screen I could find.... The wifes a little mad about the closet door not opening :)

http://www.lilligren.com/Redneck/redneck_flatscreen_tv.htm

Cheapest flat screen I could find.... The wifes a little mad about the closet door not opening :)


LMAO :D Awesome!

LMAO :D Awesome!OK, that goes in the redneck file :D
Ron

While your starting a redneck file you may want to add this storm shelter....
http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_apr2006/RedneckShelter.htm

I have a 46" Sony Bravia. Sound is great but I don't use it. You are much better off using a surround setup as most HD programming is in surround. Much better. I could care less if they didn't come with speakers in TVs...

I have 3. Two 42 inch and 1 51 inch but they're all Panasonics. Someone told me that Panasonic makes the best plasma tv's.

Not true

Guys, I understand that it will be better thru the surround, but the point is, sometimes I want to just kick back and hit the clicker and not have to go through the whole rigamaroo of firing up everything.

Like I say, this particular model is pretty bad - maybe I'll get a different one at some point, but this box is going back if/when the original TV is fixed...

We have a 42 inch Panasonic (th-pd4225) the internal speakers don't sound too bad, but not nearly as good as with the surround.

Rich.

panasonic 42" rocks through surround system

My 42 inch has speakers all across the bottom that sound great.

Well, took back the POS this weekend and found a 37" Panasonic Plasma.

The sound is 1000% better and of course is even nicer with the surround. The features are better, the ability to turn off the internal speakers is there, the remote is better...

Don't ask me why I bought that other sled, it's kind of like asking the guy that bought a Vega why he did it. Seemed like a good thing at the time !

Everyone I talked to about a plasma have told me they are having major problems with the gas leaking out over a 2 year period and to stay away from them for now anyone have any problems so far?

Everyone I talked to about a plasma have told me they are having major problems with the gas leaking out over a 2 year period and to stay away from them for now anyone have any problems so far?
Then you need to be talking to other people, 2, give this place a try. www.avsforums.com (http://www.avsforums.com)

Dan

Nothing on that page about it so I googled it and found this:
Not so bad for my altitude.
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It's easy to be instantly drawn to a plasma TV screen, especially one that is displaying full HDTV programming. The visual beauty is amazing. And plasma TVs tend to be among the lower cost thin screen technologies that are available today. But there are a few problems inherent to the design and you should at least be aware of them before making a buying decision.

The first is that plasma TVs use inert gases that are illuminated to display colors on the screen. The way that this is accomplished makes for very high contrast, vivid images on the screen, but it also can be affected by high altitudes. If you live above 6,000 - 7,000 feet above sea level, you should know that plasma TVs have to work much harder to produce the same image than they would at lower altitudes. This may not cause an immediate problem, but over time the monitor wears out much faster due to the extra work load. So if you happen to live in high altitudes, just bear this in mind when buying a plasma TV.

The second problem that plasma TVs can exhibit is a susceptibility to screen burn-in. This happens whenever any static image stays on the screen for a very long time and is still faintly visible even when the image changes. It is said to have been "burned-in" to the screen, and can be very irritating to see a ghost pattern still visible as you watch TV. The easy way to avoid this problem with older plasma screens is to make sure that you don't leave the TV on when you are not watching it, and especially when pausing a video game for a very long time. Thankfully though, newer plasma screen TVs have technology built in to address this problem that subtly shifts the image to surrounding pixels as you watch and essentially keeps the image moving although your eye does not detect it.

The third plasma TV problem that we will discuss is the heat it generates as it runs. Plasma screens often cause so much heat inside the unit that manufacturers usually install a fan to cool it down while operating. This actually works very well, but on some models the noise that the fan makes can become an annoyance. So listen for this problem carefully before you buy.

None of these problems are major enough to say that you shouldn't buy a plasma screen TV, but they should be understood beforehand so you can use the equipment properly, and choose the right plasma TV when you buy.

Jim Johnson is a successful author and publisher on consumer related matters. You can find out more about the best plasma tv and getting a plasma wall mount by visiting our HDTV website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles

I have a 42" panasonic and the sound is quite good except for midrange and an an annoying buzz in the cabinet on certain bass frequencies. I had Panasonic come out & service it and they were very responsive. The service guy said he got some of the buzz out but that's all he was authorized to do. It's still not right. I just don't know if I'm asking too much of it, not using a surround system. The thing is, I don't care about that for where the tv is.
I have a 57" home theater downstairs.

The HD Yule log was so realistic this year!!! I got the picture of the fire and I got the heat too..... Hahahaha....

Not true

So who makes the best and who makes the best for the buck?
How does LCD compare?

I got a 50" Zenith, made by LG, and I love it. The sound is good for everyday use, and when I fire up the DVD player, it goes through the surround system. I got it just a year ago, 0 problems so far. I got the extended warranty. I was at Best Buy last week and they had the same tv in LG brand, for less than what I paid on sale last year.

dont know about the best for the buck.

best plasma out is a Pioneer Elite

LCD is good for your computer. but for a TV they turn up the color brightness to catch your eye.
they dont reproduce blacks and vibrant colors like a plasma.

dont know about the best for the buck.

best plasma out is a Pioneer Elite

LCD is good for your computer. but for a TV they turn up the color brightness to catch your eye.
they dont reproduce blacks and vibrant colors like a plasma.

You are correct with this statement but the newer LCDs are getting better. I like the look of plasma but it was too hard to find a true 1080P model without spending rediculous amounts of $. If its not 1080p, don't bother if you plan on watching 1080 content and HD DVD or Blu-ray. Also, don't try gaming with a Plasma. You may have screen burn in.... Both have their pros and cons....

I play video games on my plasma without a problem....

I have a 37" LCD by ViewSonic (who are known for making computer monitors). I can't say it is better than a plasma, but I am very happy with the colours and pciture quality - plus I can hook up my laptop to it, and it has 3 HDMI inputs. It is a great general purpose TV.
Someday I will get a projector.

Yeah, doing some more research on the care and maintenance of your plasma pet...

1) Burn in is not -as much- of a factor as it used to be on a plasma, but it is still a concern. Some of the little network bugs (the logo in the corner of CNN) are now animated so that they do not cause burn-ins. The newer systems are less susceptible to this problem, but the recommendation is that a DVD or a video game is not left paused for more than about 12-15 mins. ESPECIALLY on newly bought sets.

2) Gas and leakage - yes, higher altitudes adversely affect plasmas, but agian... newer technology is better.

3) Heat - DEFINITELY notice the greater heat expelled around the front of our set. Maybe it'll help warm the room, but the department where they had 100 of these things at BestBuy was noticeably warmer!

4) Black/White contrast - Plasma is definitely better than LCDs but LCDs are getting better and better. Color saturation is still marginally better on a plasma, but again - the gap is narrowing.

5) Size - LCDs are the only option under 37" because the cost is not beneficial in the smaller sizes.

6) Gaming - can do it no problem on either LCCD or Plasma, but be careful of burn-in issues. Again - turn off the TV if you're going to leave the game on for more than a couple of minutes !

We bought the x-warranty from Best Buy and found a MUCH better price (20% less) on the set. When they matched it, it was essentially a free 4-yr warranty...

I've had a my 40" Sony Bravia LCD for a couple months now...Im very happy with it. I got a decent deal on it, so that helped too. Ive like using it for a computer monitor for games and stuff to, the picture from the computer is excellent.