jf says:

First off, be willing to go with a smaller TV if your budget is limited. Go smaller and get higher quality rather than going with a mediocre TV of a larger size. I think you’ll get a better viewing experience going that route.

Things such as 1080p (vs 720p), 120Hz/240Hz refresh rate (vs 60Hz), LED LCD (vs LCD or CCFL LCD), and Plasma (vs LCD), come to matter more as you break 40″ and moreso 50″. So in your target range, you’re in a bit of the grey area as to whether you should spend money on the higher end LCD options or go Plasma. Personally, I think at that size, go Plasma (or if you’re super confident about LCD go with an expensive LCD).

Plasma will give you better color, truer blacks, and deeper contrast. Plasma has a near instantaneous response time (like CRT) so can playback fast motion flawlessly. It is the better viewing experience.

Plasma only suffers from myths and misconceptions. Plasma no longer suffers burn-in. Plasma works in high altitudes. Plasma does not have a short life span (most sets are 60,000 – 100,000 hours which is equal or greater than any LCD). Not all Plasma sets are power hogs, there are many models which are energy star certified now.

LCDs are inherently flawed with fast motion playback. They suffer from motion blur (ghost trails). This is compensated for with 120Hz or 240Hz refresh rates. This helps a lot, but doesn’t entirely correct the issue. And you pay a heavy price premium for this feature.

Traditional LCDs, or ones based on CCFL backlights, have weaker color, blacks, and contrast compared to DLP, CRT, and Plasma. To compensate for this, there are now LED LCDs. These have color, blacks, and contrast at vastly greater quality levels. But you pay a steep premium for this feature.

For Plasma, I would hands down recommend the Panasonic 46″ S1 series. I think that is your best image quality bang for the dollar. If you want to kick it up a notch go with the G10 series. But the S1 is a beautiful image in its own right, and I think you can save some money going with it rather than the G10. If Panasonic just doesn’t do it for you could settle with Samsung or LG plasma.

If you do feel you must do LCD, then look towards the big “S’s. ” This would be Samsung, Sony, and Sharp Aquos. These are your LCD friends for sure. From Samsung I would go with a 6 series or new LED LCD. From Sony I would go with a W, Z, or XBR series. I can’t recall the Sharp better models off by hand, but its like D65 or D85 I think that you want. But again, personally, at the size of TV you’re looking at, I wouldn’t go with LCD.

bbt91945 says:

The best flat panel tv made is by Pioneer Elite and Pioneer, they are a Plasma tv in size of 42″, 50″ and 60″ they are alot higher in price and also will not make anymore tv’s at the end of this year. Panasonic, Sumsang, Sony and Toshiba makes great tv’s that are high in quality and reliability. Plasma or LCD is your choice, recommend you go to a retail store and demo the tv’s, spend at less 15 minutes on each brand and write down the pro’s and con’s. Plasma is better for watching movies and sports, LCD is better when playing games from PS3 or XBOX but has motion blurness when watching fast action sports. You can reduce the blurness by getting a 120HZ or 240HZ LCD but the price then goes up. Also on screen small than 46″ you can’t tell the difference between 720P or 1080P, but to take advantage of the Blue ray movies you’ll need the 1080P. Go online to home theater magazine and read revies about plasma and LCD. Hope this helps and enjoy whatever you get.