Hello Nebish. Love the thread but am not as up to date as a lot of folks. If I were in the market I'd start here:

http://www.cnet.com/topics/tvs/buying-guide/

I'll appreciate any updates on your buying voyage. I'll probably be in the market in another couple of years.

What are you doing about sound? The wife made me get rid of my super huge Yamaha/Klipshe set up. Now I have an outdated Yamaha sound projector. (YSP 5100) The fake surround works well but I sometimes have trouble with dialogue. It sucks for music. I have an old HiFi to meet my music needs.

As for the sound that is another bummer for me.

I watch sports and news primarily...and some South Park episodes. I've never really been into the surround thing and for everything except for music the TV speakers in my current TVs are more than adequate. Unfortunately the speakers in the next TV are going to suck (if they even have them at all).

Not excited about getting into the soundbar thing. Maybe a left, right and center channel setup through a receiver/amp...but I really don't want to have a remote just for sound. Maybe the TV remote can control the sound rather than the receiver/amp remote.

Sony has some speakers on the side of some of their units, but they look bad I think.

I have no blue-ray DVDs, am not into watching any of the popular movies with all the heavy graphics and action stuff.

An older plasma TV is probably perfect for me, but they are all discontinued now. Sometimes I hate technology. Seems I always like what is old and out of fashion better than cutting edge or even up to date things. When you are that type of person nothing is ever easy unfortunately.

I have a 65" Panasonic top of the line Plasma which I absolutely love and was sad when they discontinued that technology. Plasma has many advantages over LCD/LED TV's

1. Little to no motion artifacts. You really see the difference with sports
2. Fantastic black levels
3. No picture wash out when viewing off axis.

There are a few drawbacks but for me they were minor
1. Picture burn in while not really an issue these days but you really should precondition your new plasma before you watch programming. Also you may not want a plasma if you are a gamer as the static images can be an issue if your not careful.
2. Picture not as bright as an LCD/LED set. This is only an issue during a bright sunny the day if you have a room with a lot of windows without shades. My family room has a lot of windows and I have no issue with daytime viewing.
3. They do take more energy then LCD's
4. No 4K picture capability: there is still some question if 4K is really better than HD for screens smaller than 85"

LCD/ LED has advantages in that the picture is very bright but they have major disadvantages that made me select a plasma

1. Motion blur: not as big an issue as in the past but even the best sets still have this at some level. I have heard you get used to it but I could not get past that.
2. Poor black levels and shadow detail: LCD TV's require some form of backlighting to illuminate the picture. The cheaper ones are edge lit which makes it difficult for them to render black images. You can also get ghosting and "flashlighting" or bright spots on the screen during dark scenes. They also struggle with gray shading so during very dark scenes you lose subtle details as they can't reproduce shades of black and gray very well. More expensive LCD/LED have zone backlighting and illuminate the screen from the back instead of the edges. The more zones a set has the better it can render black and gray shades. The very best and most expensive backlit LCD sets can come close to Plasma but are expensive.
3. Of axis viewing: With LCD /LED TV's the farther you sit off center the more washed out the picture gets. Again the more expensive sets have less of an issue but all LCD/LED TV's have this issue.

As you can guess I am a big fan of Plasma TV's and not so much for LED/LCD technology.

If you decide on an LCD/LED TV I found you get what you pay for. As you go up in price the issues I mentioned above are minimized but they can never be eliminated as they are a limitation of the technology.

There is a new Technology just starting to be seen in TV's called OLED which solves a lot of the issues LCD/LED TV's have but it will be a while before we see really affordable TV's as it is very expensive to make the panels right now. LG seems to be the leader in this technology right now but there are not many choices so far.

Here is a good article on differences between plasma and led/lcd

http://plasmatvbuyingguide.com/hdtv/death-of-plasma-tv.html

As far as sound systems I probably am not the right person to ask as I am a audio geek and have a 9.2 surround system but I have heard some sound bars which sound fantastic and give you some semblance of surround.

[Edited on 6/2/2015 by Bill_Graham]

I hadn't had a new tv in 15 years and bought one last year. Now, I'm no techie, but I was going from an old box that weighed a ton to something flat that mounted on a swivel on the wall. I looked at lots and lots and found a nice JVC that wasn't too large and had a great picture. It also was rated pretty well on consumer reports and was a good price at Costco. I hooked it through my stereo speakers as I mostly watch/listen to live music.

But the biggest revelation (for me) was the usb slot! I filled up a thumb drive with downloaded youtube whole concerts (ABB, Tom Waits, James Brown, Marley, Lou Reed, Dead, etc.) and can hit play and it plays them all! I used to burn them to dvd's, but having them on the drive is so much easier and nicer! I know, I'm late to the party, but if you haven't had a tv with a usb slot, you're missing out!!

An older plasma TV is probably perfect for me, but they are all discontinued now. Sometimes I hate technology. Seems I always like what is old and out of fashion better than cutting edge or even up to date things. When you are that type of person nothing is ever easy unfortunately.

I guess when it comes to TV's you could say I'm one of those old and out of fashion types. I do have a 32" Toshiba HD LCD flat screen in my office. But the one I watch 90% of the time is my Philips Magnavox 32" tube TV in the living room. I bought it in 1999 before everything had gone to flat screen (yes, it's amazing how much everything has changed in 16 years).

I resisted going to a flat screen in my living room, I just couldn't see getting rid of this one when it's got a great picture. And the reason I'm glad I didn't let it go is that it's got some great sound, actual speakers mounted on the lower front panel. It's got four sound settings: Voice, personal, theater, and music. Voice and personal are great for sports when you want to hear what the announcer is saying. A movie? It's theater or voice. A music DVD? If it's late at night and I don't want to bother the neighbors, instead of going through the stereo, I'll play it through the music setting on the Philips Magnavox and it actually sounds real good. The sound on my Toshiba flat screen is ridiculously inferior.

[Edited on 6/2/2015 by robslob]

You might check out a sound base instead of a sound bar. The television sits on top of the speaker.

ZVox has a line running from about $170 up to $700.

http://www.zvoxaudio.com/

I'd also check out "Clearance Sales" online.

Amazon has several options for under $100 that will probably give you much better sound than a new flat screen TV. Personally I'd up the budget but just the TV without a new sound bar can be pricey.

Although there is a lot to consider there are many affordable options.

Here's another primer from CNET:

http://www.cnet.com/news/read-this-before-you-buy-a-sound-bar/

Consumer Reports gives this a "best buy" rating at well under $200

Vizio S3821w sound bar

[Edited on 6/2/2015 by BillyBlastoff]

So I've never bought an LCD TV, but have issues when I watch them at my friend's houses - something with the motion treatment leaves me always asking where their remote is so I can adjust it or turn the artificial motion thing off.

Anyway, I went to Bestbuy tonight and was pretty overwhelmed at what I was trying to take in.

LCD TVs used to (7-8 years ago) have slow refresh rates compared to plasma, which was bad for sports. They've caught up by maybe 2010, which is why plasma TVs mostly got phased out.

There shouldn't be any motion issues or tonal issues, the important thing to know is factory settings are HORRIBLE. You need to know how to calibrate a TV and your friend probably hasn't done this.

A lot of TVs have a horrible factory setting called "motion smoothing". If you are watching something on the floor at Best Buy and it makes you sick, it probably has motion smoothing on. This is because most US TVs display 30 frames per second, but movies and some TV are 24 frames per second, so manufacturers tried to "fix" this but ended up creating a feature that will hurt your brain. It's also called "the soap opera effect" because it adds frames that aren't there and makes your picture look cheap. If you switch to cinema or 3:2 pulldown (depending on the manufacturer) it should display the picture properly.

If you can, I suggest getting a smart TV that can pull up the internet, streaming, etc (most TVs have this feature these days). It will make your life easier and you won't need so many external devices. Samsung and Sony tend to be my go to manufacturers, but the lower shelf TVs have a come a long way as well.

[Edited on 6/2/2015 by porkchopbob]

So I've never bought an LCD TV, but have issues when I watch them at my friend's houses - something with the motion treatment leaves me always asking where their remote is so I can adjust it or turn the artificial motion thing off.

Anyway, I went to Bestbuy tonight and was pretty overwhelmed at what I was trying to take in.

LCD TVs used to (7-8 years ago) have slow refresh rates compared to plasma, which was bad for sports. They've caught up by maybe 2010, which is why plasma TVs mostly got phased out.

There shouldn't be any motion issues or tonal issues, the important thing to know is factory settings are HORRIBLE. You need to know how to calibrate a TV and your friend probably hasn't done this.

A lot of TVs have a horrible factory setting called "motion smoothing". If you are watching something on the floor at Best Buy and it makes you sick, it probably has motion smoothing on. This is because most US TVs display 30 frames per second, but movies and some TV are 24 frames per second, so manufacturers tried to "fix" this but ended up creating a feature that will hurt your brain. It's also called "the soap opera effect" because it adds frames that aren't there and makes your picture look cheap. If you switch to cinema or 3:2 pulldown (depending on the manufacturer) it should display the picture properly.

If you can, I suggest getting a smart TV that can pull up the internet, streaming, etc (most TVs have this feature these days). It will make your life easier and you won't need so many external devices. Samsung and Sony tend to be my go to manufacturers, but the lower shelf TVs have a come a long way as well.

[Edited on 6/2/2015 by porkchopbob]

I respectfully disagree PCB. Improvements in motion handling in LCD's is not what killed Plasma's.

While LCD/LED technology has improved greatly Plasma technology is still noticeably superior in many areas.

Also there is still motion lag in even the best LCD /LED TV as I am in the industry and get to check different brands out all the time. While it may not be as noticeable it is still there.

Here is a pretty good write up why Plasma died

http://plasmatvbuyingguide.com/hdtv/death-of-plasma-tv.html
[Edited on 6/2/2015 by Bill_Graham]

Sorry but this is not true PCB. Improvements in motion handling in LCD's is not what killed Plasma's.

While LCD/LED technology has improved greatly Plasma technology is still noticeably superior in many areas.

Also there is still motion lag in even the best LCD /LED TV as I am in the industry and get to check different brands out all the time. While it may not be as noticeable it is still there.

Here is a pretty good write up why Plasma died

http://plasmatvbuyingguide.com/hdtv/death-of-plasma-tv.html

Well, I wasn't giving a whole history on the HD TV war since it doesn't really matter at this point. Plasma is still clearly better in picture quality, but like VHS v. Beta or HD-DVD v Blueray, it was out-marketed involving a lot of factors. I didn't think it was worth listing all of them, which you're right, there were many others. However, had the gap in quality that LCD/LED TVs closed in refresh rate (which was pretty huge - LCD TVs could barely keep up with a baseball play just 10 years ago) the rest of the factors wouldn't have mattered nearly as much (well, except maybe price - a 32" LCD went from about $2000 in 2005, to about $400 in 2010).

[Edited on 6/2/2015 by porkchopbob]

Sorry but this is not true PCB. Improvements in motion handling in LCD's is not what killed Plasma's.

While LCD/LED technology has improved greatly Plasma technology is still noticeably superior in many areas.

Also there is still motion lag in even the best LCD /LED TV as I am in the industry and get to check different brands out all the time. While it may not be as noticeable it is still there.

Here is a pretty good write up why Plasma died

http://plasmatvbuyingguide.com/hdtv/death-of-plasma-tv.html

Well, I wasn't giving a whole history on the HD TV war since it doesn't really matter at this point. Plasma is still clearly better in picture quality, but like VHS v. Beta or HD-DVD v Blueray, it was out-marketed involving a lot of factors. I didn't think it was worth listing all of them, which you're right, there were many others. However, had the gap in quality that LCD/LED TVs closed in refresh rate (which was pretty huge - LCD TVs could barely keep up with a baseball play just 10 years ago) the rest of the factors wouldn't have mattered nearly as much (well, except maybe price - a 32" LCD went from about $2000 in 2005, to about $400 in 2010).

[Edited on 6/2/2015 by porkchopbob]

Panasonic definitely dropped the ball with their lack of marketing for their Plasma's as they hands down beat just about every LCD/LED TV on the market as far as performance is concerned but as you said that is old news now and LCD/LED is the market leader tech wise.

Hopefully OLED becomes cost effective to manufacture as it has many of the positive attributes of Plasma and LCD with fewer of the negatives.

JMO based on experience but you do get what you pay for with LCD/LED TV's. The less expensive LCD's still have noticeable motion lag, marginal black level and narrow viewing angle. The more you pay the better the performance related to motion handling, dark level and viewing angle.

All I am trying to say is don't expect miracles for a sub $1000.00 big LCD flat screen TV. If it was me I would grab one of the Samsung plasma's while you still can. They are discontinued so there are deals to be had.

Lots of good posts here.

I like tube TVs too! In fact I have a multi-TV basement setup for football viewing and 4 of the TVs are 25-27" tube TVs. I have a friend that atleast once a year looks at the tube TV and says "look at that picture".

But time moves on whether we always like it or not.

Samsung made their last plasma sometime in fall 2014 I'm pretty sure, don't know on the other manufacturers, but I can't find any in online retailers and two tech people I'm speaking to locally say you can't get them anymore. Now I did see some on ebay and amazon (used/refirbished) and then I found some NIB listing on online forums, but I don;t know if I want to go down that road. Prices aren't cheap, people know what they have and they know some people will come looking for them. Some of the NIB listings I saw for the last runs of plasma TVs are in the low $3000 asking price range. If I would've started looking earlier this year I bet I could've got one out of inventory somewhere.

My stepdaughter and son-in-law have a newer Samsung, I think it is kind of a fancy TV, probably on the mid to upper mid or low high end I'd guess. They don't know anything about TVs, but one of their friends does. Anyway, it has terrible motion problems. My wife was watching an episode of Bates Motel and I was in the room and I couldn't stand it. I turned off the motion thing, and it was better, but there was something still pretty unnatural about it.

Now my one friend has a 70" Sharp that I have watched football and nascar on and it is the only newer TV that I haven't had an issue with motion display. I should go up and watch his display a little more.

So while I've seen some horrible pictures on 1st generation Vizios, I think some of the newer somewhat high end displays (daugther's Samsung) still has motion issues.

I was at Bestbuy already. Saw their 1080 LG OLED 55". Funny thing is that they were running movie trailers from a USB drive on the display. I watched it for a while and I expected so much more, it was grainy and not very vivid. I told the salesperson and he put it on demo mode and it was awesome. But it makes me wonder, if I am going to be watching some 480 and 720 content (which I will watch way more of that than any 4k) I wonder what it will look like?

I'm going to visit an old school TV shop locally this week and take some stuff to plug into their display models and see what it looks like.