Please help! Beginner in home audio/video picking out a new Widescreen HDTV (1 Viewer)

Hello,

I am helping my father pick out a new TV. We have came to the conclusion that it must be HDTV, Widescreen, and at least 43". This TV will go in a basement on a wall that is 12' wide by 8' feet high. We want this to be plenty big enough for the room. After going to competing stores, we are confused as to what to buy. They all seem to recommend a different brand. We are looking to spend up to $2,000 but we understand that we might have to go a bit higher. Will the 43" be big enough for the room. What is your suggestions on makes/models. Thanks for any help you can provide.

It all depends on sitting distance. That will determine the size of the set. Another thing to consider is depth of the set, weight(as you need to take it down a flight of stairs I assume). I just got a 47in Panasonic and love it to death. The set gets a big recommendation from Gregg Lowenn on here and others too. THe model number is PT47WX49. It can be bought at brick and mortar for 1699-1799 nowadays and is wonderful for the price.

The distance will be at least 10-12 feet at a minimum. Thanks for the input. BTW that was one of the sets that we are considering.

We are not worried about depth or weight. We have plenty of room and will have the store deliver it.

Another good contender is the Mitsubishi 55809. A 55in model that can be had for less than 2500 if you dig

How do you like the Widescreen compared to "conventional" for everyday TV?

Avoid sets with the following problems, otherwise you will be cursing before very long.
1. Inability to choose 4:3 or zoom mode on HDTV shows (and also progressive scan DVD),
2. Can't have plugs in both the one and only regular video input jack and the one and only S-video jack at the same time and select either video source using your remote. (With several jack banks or clusters in back you don't have this problem, connect composite to the Video 1 bank and S-video to the Video 2 bank for example.) Note that two banks each with a regular and an S-video jack mean just two things can be connected to the TV without using a switcher or A/v receiver, not 4.
3. Takes a long time for the channel to change when you push the buttons on the remote,
4. The convergence is off, a red, green, or blue, or all three split off from what should be a white line well before reaching the screen corner. (A little of this problem in the extreme corners is unavoidable in reasonably priced TV's) If the TV on display in the store has that problem, chances are the one you buy will also have it necessitating a visit from a serviceman who does the more precision things to TV sets.
Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

any other advice from anyone?

The new JVC 48" I'Art Pro has been compared favorably to the Panasonic PT47WX49, and can be had for about $1600-1800. It has a HDCP compliant DVI input too, if you actually care about that. If you can, go over to your local BestBuy. They should have one, though it'll probably not be calibrated correctly.
JVC I'Art Pro 48"

Bad thing about the JVC, or a few issues I had with it before deciding on the Panny.

1. The cabinet is horrifying to look at. But the picture quality is great!

2.It upconverts everything to 1081i and I have not found a definative answer if you can disable that feature. That was the nail in the coffin for me.

I could live with an ugly cabinet, but the upconversion was a no go for me. The set is very shallow, so it can go almost anywhere, but the top of the set is very very narrow, so no change of getting a good sized center on top of it easily. Just things to think about with it.