Finally purchased a Plasma.. how did I do? (1 Viewer)

SO I finally made the plunge. After sometime of browsing the forums I decided to buy a Plasma. Ive heard good things about Sony but the price was way to expensive. Finally I went with the Philips 42PF9976.

what sold me on hat unit was the ambilight in the rear and the glass stand. I think the looks are stunning. I paid 4200 after taxes. How did I do guys. Give me your honest opinion. Thanks

I have been using the Monster Screen Clean. This things leaves glass and screens spotless!!! Maybe thats why its 30 bucks. Is there anything cheaper?
Sean

you guys dont seem interact much on this board.

can you turn off the ambilight? That would seem to distract me from movies etc. etc...

I read an article about the Philips with the ambilight and thought it was a great idea and a nice display design. The issue of the light being distracting would depend on the individual, but it is there primarily as a "bias light" to prevent eye strain. Do a search on "bias light" for more information about the reasons for having one.

I think plasmas are beautiful pieces of equipment, but I have honestly never gone beyond a cursory glance due to my budget. I would say as long as you are happy and not breaking your budget, you did just fine!

Well, your sort of on the fore front with this purchase.

I think a lot of us, are really eager to get your impressions of it, after some use, and viewing lots of different sources on it.

I was really opposed to the ambi light at first, but the recent commercials of the display, sure make it look cooler than I ever imagined. Seemed to make the display well, seem larger to me than it really is.

Kind of sideways from your topic but it's been my understanding that Monster screen cleaner shouldn't be used on a PDP at all. Only warm water and/or a mild detergent solution at most.

Mort

Put in Digital Video Essentials, calibrate that bad boy and tell us whether you did good or not. I'm a CRT RPTV man myself and it's always good to read how this plasmas perform especially with black levels.

My father has this television too, I just could not get over the price tag, I thougt it was a waste for a 42" tv, especially when the JVC-D-ILA is out there 51" for $2999. And my dad doesn't even have it on the wall, I'm like what's the point?

The picture on it is pretty nice though. The ambient light looks a lot better on tv than in person. I thought a tv this expensive would have more inputs on it. My tv has like 10 inputs on it, this one has I think 4 (AV1,2, HDMI,and Side).

Im having fun with this TV. I was never a TV person. This purchase actually made me watch TV. Can spend that kind of money just to watch TV. Well the ambi-light is a great feature. It can be turned of if you like with the touch of a button. Most of my guests love the ambi-light feature. You can choose from different background colors. I purposely leave the ambilight on with low music playing when I know a lady friend is coming over. Females always love it.

In terms of the fellas... Monday night football is now better. My close friends done seem to want to leave. Im in love with the detail of HDTV. I can post pics but I dont have 15 posts yet. I dont have it on the wall though. I have a nice table. Im not to fond of the wall.

I read the manual about cleaning the screen after I used WIndex. Windex left all kinds of smears. The cleaner that I bought is terrific

opps typing to fast... I meant to say couldnt spend that kind of money just to have the TV there doing not a thing.. Now im forced to watch it

I was in the mall today and I stopped into the Bose store. They have the same Philips ambi-light units for sale. Anyone interested should check it out. However their price is a bit inflated. If your in NY I can get a good deal for you @ 3799.

This tV is tits..lol

SeanHen,

You will likely get more performance out of your purchase by taking a look at our web site. What Philips has attempted to do is partly founded in legitimate imaging science and video display standards. Philips actually used our bias lighting product information to base their marketing materials upon, at least in part. They don't do a very good job of explaining to their customers how to use the ambient lighting correctly. Most of the options will actually diminish the perceived image quality of their TV. There is a correct setting that is somewhat accurate. Reviewing the data in the "Ideal-Lume" section of our site will help you determine how to use their options to your greatest advantage [ www.cinemaquestinc.com/ideal_lume.htm ].

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

Sean,

LOL. I have the same TV....same story with me too. I never would watch that much TV. I can't get over how awesome it is to watch football in HD.

I keep hearing that plasma tv's have 'burn in', have any of you experienced that yet?

Besisdes the price, one of the main things that scare me about plasmas is that the screen will need to be recharged in a about 5 years. I am not big on spending $4000-$5000 on something that will reqire me to spend a few hundred more in a few years.

Right now, I am leaning heavy towards lcd rear projections, I currently have my eye on a 60" Panasonic.

KEVIN THANKS An OLD TALE. Plasma never need recharging. I just bought a panny 7uy 2g's out the door. It is being delivered tomorrow. The thing with plasmas is that they are not as heavy as RP lcd's or big screens. With the new tech out there burn in is the thing out the past if you get the right one. With Panny they have not seen any burn in.
just do research here you find you could get you a nice plasma for a small cost.

Ok, lets say I am looking for an HDTV plasma, 50inch minimum, what is a reasonable price I should expect to spend? What models currently out have the technology to prevent burn in, and/or don't need to be recharged?

Sheldon, that's not quite right. 50" plasma (Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY) 94.8 lb and $4599 online, 50" RP-LCD (Panasonic PT-50LC14) 83 lb and about $2600 locally.

Plasma can burn in, though it is less prone than RP-CRT. RP-LCD cannot.

Kevin, RP-LCD, DILA, LCOS, DLP, and LCD never burn in and never need "recharging." All will need replacement bulbs at some point at or under 10,000 hours except LCD, which may need new backlight but this is not common AFAIK.

RP-CRT, Plasma, and CRT (in decreasing likelihood) can burn in.

I don't know of any set that needs recharging.

I don't mean that the tv itslef needs to be recharged, I have heard taht the plasma begins to die out after 5 years and that needs to be recharged. At least that is what I have read.

There is no recharging available...urban myth. When it dies, that's all folks. Newer model Panasonic panels advertise 60,000 to half brightness. That's a loooooong time.

Mort