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I'm not very good at doing comparison shopping so I'm hoping someone will help me. I'm looking to replace my current Hitachi 42" tv which I paid $2400 for about five years ago. Now it's not bright or large enough.
So here is my criteria:
Panasonic, possibly Samsung
50 or 52" (I could go as high as 55 if speakers are on bottom to minimize width)
Best picture
Bright
Built in Amazon Prime
1 composite minimum
2 hdmi minimum
audio output (monitor to 1970's stereo) with variable audio level
networked (wireless or wired)
speakers are irrelevant
budget is $2k or under
I don't do surround sound or 3d so that's not an issue. Thanks for your input this is all very confusing for me as there are so many options.
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I have an ST series 60" and love it. You can go up to the GT or VT but you only gain features you probably dont want. 60" was $1500 last I checked.
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Specific models would be great. Tell me what you think is the best and meets the criteria and I'll buy it.
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Lazy,
Aside from what Lew offered, there are other differences that are model specific. Plasma, glare. Some LCDs, glare. Other LCDs, no glare. Plasma, great viewing angle. LCD, some are good, some bad, depending on model. The best LCDs rival plasma models when it comes to picture to the point that the vast majority of the universe wouldn't care about the differences. That said, if you want plasma, go for Panasonic. It's the only brand making truly great plasma TVs now. If you go for an LCD, you have many more options, i.e. Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic, etc.
Although it's convenient to have Internet features built into the TV, you may do yourself a disservice by making Amazon VOD a must have feature. The TV that suits you best may have everything except that feature. Given the choice, I'd seriously consider going for that model and use it in conjunction with a Roku type device. Just something to think about.
I can't offer you specific models because only you can decide what is the right model for you. For example, given the choice between an awesome 46" TV vs a pretty darn good 50" model, I'll go for the 46" TV. My dad recently bought an LCD and he went for the larger TV with a good picture over the smaller TV with a better picture. Given the choice between LCD and plasma, I'd likely choose LCD. Given the choice of lots of Internet features, I'd go for a better TV and use a Roku or AppleTV or PS3 type box for Internet/media streaming features. You get the idea.
Robert
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I've owned a Panasonic 50" plasma for not quite 2 years. We love it.
It's located in a very bright room and glare hasn't been an issue for us.
Beautiful picture, awesome color.
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We have a 54" Plasma (TC-P54G25) and it's been great. not sure about amazon prime, but it has netflix and hulu built in. i'm guessing the newer models will certainly include amazon prime.
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Panny's ST50 series is the way to go. It's knocked the socks off of just about every reviewer this year.
