The Fujitsu's are king. Their video engine is tops IMHO. Why don't you go out and try to find a 40 series from a local guy. They might be willing to work with you on a price. Think, your only going to buy this thing once, so why not get the best of the best. It's not a set of kitchen knives after all.

They still are crap, but at least they have a great picture.

Mike

Not a fan of Toshiba TV's since my 32" CRT was a T.O.A.D. Don't know if Toshiba has addressed the problem w/ IR commands for discreet on/off, so if you want to incorporate the tv to your existing home automations scheme, look elseware.

When selecting the plasma its worth it to spend the extra $$ and get the 1080p. Its over 1,000,000 more pixels on your screen.

Recommending 1080P right now really puts your opinions in question. This is the CUSTOM INSTALLER forum and I see that you are not one. If SLEVY wanted a consumer opinion he would have asked in the other forums.

1080p right now, especially for a plasma, is a joke. Since there is no true 1080p content right now EVERY thing must be "upconverted." This adds NO extra resolution. All it does is add more artifacts. Add to this that even when 1080p content does become available most of these devices will not accept 1080p. That means 1080p would have to be "down-converted" by the TV and then "upconverted" back to 1080p. Bad idea.

Please be careful what advice you dish out in theis forum. Good luck SLEVY.

I used to say Fujitsu in the 42HD set. But I have now spent some time with the 43 inch Pioneer elite and its black levels are incredible. PQ is head and shoulders above the Fujitsu 42HD and its ALIS glass. Too bad it has the stupid outboard media box.

With that said the new Fujitsu 42 is built with the panasonic glass and as such is not ALIS. 1024x768 HD resolution. The one I saw earlier this week with Trainer Dave looked great. Plus the new Fujitsu's have 3 year warranty on the glass and the internals - bumper to bumper. No one else can say that.

Good luck.

Personally, I think the Vidikron 42" ED is the best dollar for dollar 42" on the market. For $3995 list you get grade A glass, superb processing (perhaps THE most important factor in pic quality), IntelliWide mode for watching 4/3 programs, 3 year warranty with zero dead pixel protection, great black level and a real brushed aluminum frame. Also, this set can be calibrated dead on. Many cannot. A set that cannot be accuratly calibrated is garbage and a dealer selling a set and not calibrating it is not worth your while.

It is? I thought Fujitsu and Hitachi were in bed for all panels now, and Fujitsu just finished building a ginormous plant at the base of the mountain...maybe I got bad info?



Marantz still does 3 year warranty, don't they? Looks like I have some homework to do this week.

Fred

Fred, the 55 is now the only glass out of the Hitachi (former Fujitsu/Hitachi) plant that Fujitsu America uses for the plasmas. The 50 was always Panasonic, and now the 42 HD is too. The 63 is from Samsung. Dont know and dont care where the 42 ED is from.

As for warranty, Pretty sure Marantz is 3 year on everything but the glass - 1 year on that. Same as most other companies. Now Fujitsu is 3 years on both.

Better check on that.

If you haven't looked at an HD next to an ED, both from the same manufacturer and bith calibrated, you are in for an eye opener. There is virtually no difference from 7 ft plus. I did this comparison for a customer and I was shocked. The customer did choose the pick the HD.

To all-

Thank you so much for all the info/opinions. I've learned alot from all of you.

As to the subject at hand, wife and I talked about it over the weekend. We decided we're going to wait a bit longer before we pull the trigger. Based on what we generally watch isn't in in HD. I know the cable company has HD content but I really don't like them and don't like paying them. My OTA HD is only like 5 locals right now. Anyway, you guys get the idea. Plus, I figure prices will come down some as time goes on.

Thanks again.

Scott

Thats too bad. You're missing out on a bunch of great programming and technology.

Pioneer Elite all the way man! The pro-930 is the nicest tv ive seen in a while, the 50 inch 1130 has a little bit better processing but Im saving my pennies for the 43..
Mike

Well, yes, for now. But I see the technology and programming getting better, and prices going lower.

If I had that attitude I'd be programming my Crestron systems with an abacus.

Speaking of, how do I get an abacus to talk simultaneously to multiple gateways, and how come they don't support TIFF files yet?