Ok, 6 years ago we bought a 52" Zenith plasma (720). Now it's time to replace it as there are 4 verticle pink lines in the screen that will not, do not go away. After speaking with mfg. and service places etc. it's just not worth repairing. However, I'm thinking it may fit perfectly out in the shop (part of the plan).

So, there are now LED, LCD & Plasma TV's on the market. On top of all of those, you now have 3D as well. I know that we want two things, 1080 (so we can go to Blue Ray) and I don't want to go down in size, 50" min.

I know I can research this topic on line to no end, I was hoping for simple layman's terms and or suggestions.

Asked this same question on PY site, looking for feedback and or suggestions...

Believe it or not 6 years ago before moving to FL we sold a 68 Olds 98 455 conv. in excellent condition to buy our 52" plasma. Man do I feel stupid now! Would love to have that car now!

I still like plasma the best. Runs a bit warmer and takes more energy, but the 180 degree viewing angle and flawless picture does it for me. I have two different Samsung models, and love the picture on both. They are both 1080 as well.

I picked up a 55" Sony 3D LED in Feb and I love it... Great blacks, backlighting, picture quality. Picture is awesome, 240 HZ refresh, many apps. Got the computer wired in too. Have it hooked up to a Sony Blu Ray and Denon 3D home theater.

I replaced a 7 year old 55" Sony LCD 720.

My tv is not as sharp as a plasma with a higher refresh rate though. Plasmas are great for watching sports and the price is very comparable between plasmas and LED.

LCD's are old school and are $800-1000 less than a comparable plasma or LED and have a lower refresh rate. I believe a max of 120hz and are generally thicker.

I have mine installed on the wall. Depth of TV is 2.1"

Samsung all the way...

LED

Go for LED. Don't waste your time with 3-D.

I retired my 50" sony Wega LCD DLP which by the way was and still is an awesome picture. It's going in the mancave. I went for the Sony 55 led non 3d (not really in to that or wearing glasses.

Pretty smoking hot picture and even sitcoms have amazing clarity and depth. Non hd is fantastic as well. VERY happy with it.

And startup takes a few seconds to full color picture!

The picture is better IMO with an LED 3D. I don't have the glasses or box and don't intend on doing so.

You can get an older LED 3D model new in box for a great price. Like the Sony 800-810 55". Or you can get the updated "now" version of the same 800-810 line for $2000 more.

Mines the EX-620. I am plenty pleased with the picture quality for the amount I watch TV. Plus I got it for a smoking deal at $1300. 6 months ago

plug a plasma in and it gets worse every day, LCD lasts about five years then you have to replace the bulb and it looks like the day you bought thats what i know....I have the sony 60" had it six years now,,,replace the bulb about six months ago 100.00 and good as the day i got it.....

Same as my DLP too. Just replaced the bulb and flawless. Looking forward to having it in the 'cave. Lots Of room for the 12-14" depth.

also when i got my 60' sony it was the same money as the 42" plasma and they were side by side and well...im not 20 years old with perfect vision anymore I could not tell the difference so for me bigger was better....and the no fixing a plasma was a deal breaker...new bulb new tv sold me

I just went through all this helping my parents decide on a new TV. After much much research, and checking out TV's...

I say LED. While you might not use the 3D capability, the 3D TV's have a better 2D picture than the non-3D tv's. Plasma still has the best blacks out of all of them, but LED comes very close, and has a much longer life than plasma tv's.

Also, the viewing angle on any of them is not an issue any more, unless you buy something really junky.

p.s. if you didn't know, LED tv, is still an LCD screen, they just have a LED backlight instead of florescent like the older ones. There are also two different versions of LED. a true back lit, and a side lit. the true back lit ones are far superior to the side lit ones. The nicer ones have the ability to turn off the backlight in dark areas of the screen to give you much better blacks.

Well done, thats what I found out in my research as well... Mine does indeed turn off dark areas and the black is very good.

I did notice a very slight difference between the same unit in 3d and non 3d, but then this unit came along new in the box for $1,300 and it was a deal breaker. (it was not hot, the older gentlemen had a Sony, it had issues so had to go thru warranty, and it took 2 months to get a replacement direct from Sony, so he bought a new one and sold the replacement to me when it arrived) Unit sold in the stores for 2,000 at the time a few months ago...so I was pleased.

Sounds like your financial, health, employment, child's education worries, etc., are behind you.

I'd go for a 60" 3D LED with the Bose theater sound system. Its only a few grand...

I wouldn't say behind us by a long shot, but we have been fortunate in the fact that I have bought and sold some very elusive Pontiac parts over the past few months that has helped us tremendously. In fact, everything we have bought for the LeMans and the trip up to KY was all paid for with parts!

In the event we settle from the illegal alien that rear ended us in Dec 09, then we might be in a better long term situation. However, it does look like I will have to have a fusion as my 5 ruptured discs are not improving at all.

For now, we are thankful things have let up a bit and I think a 46" LED 1080 will do us just fine. Then the parts fund will be dried up...

First off all, just to make it clear, there is no such thing as a LED TV on the market today, it is a scam, what you get when you buy a LED TV is a LCD TV with LED backlight.

Better than an old LCD but still not as good as a Plasma TV.

3D is still overrated and there is not much material to watch, I would not have bought a TV becouse 3D but most new TVs has it, the rule is to buy a TV due to the picture in your living room after calibration, do not trust the picture at the shops.

All good advise, going to look again tomorrow. Not in a big hurry as our old plasma is still hanging in there and with my vision, the pink lines don't much matter but it drives the wife and son crazy...

I think the plus on the LED backlight is the ability to turn dark areas off to conserve energy and to achieve deeper blacks.

...now how about them Firebirds!