What is the choice of the experts?

[TokeR]

There are plenty of you helping people pick the perfect TV for their needs, but I am curious what
you the people giving the advice have for yourselves?

Just to try and keep it kind of in range of what I am looking for:

-35" - 42" Set. (Found out 42 is more standard Thanks Jid)
-Really Clear Crisp Images, super sharp. (so obviously 1080p)
-Good for watching action movie's (Very little motion blur)
-Affordable! Max: $994 (CAD) ($1000AUS) Pretty important lol, this is like a Christmas gift to myself and I don't have a big budget.

The TV will be in a well lit room, with horrible curtains that hardly block out the sun at all. I will be watching it on a angle too I suppose because it will be wall mounted above my bed. One of the big reasons I am trying to get advice is because the TV I got for my lounge does not look very nice, but it was cheap cheap cheap lol on sale a while back, but still feels like I was ripped off.

I have a PS3 but hardly ever use it for gaming. I am connecting it to my PC Via a long HDMI cable and watching movie's off of my PC, Also watching Blu-ray off my PS3 and HD Cable. I will be hooking up my old 5.1 Logitech speakers so the audio does not have to be anything special.


-Even if your HDTV does not fall into any of these categories but you are pretty good when it comes to picking out TV's Please still post what you have so I can take a look-

Thanks!

[ipaine]

I know you say affordable but I think it would be best if you gave a price range +/- a bit. It can really help out a lot. Also are you buying down in Sydney? If so then that makes it a little bit more difficult on prices but I'm sure you will still get great help.

[rjbarker]

There are TONS of great deals / flat panels out thier....I just picked up my 3rd for my patio last summer...have a 50", 46" and 40".....any reputable brand at a sale price is a given, look for Toshiba, Sharp, LG, Sony, Panasonic to name a few.
120Hz is more the standard now with 240 Hz getting cheaper. Do you want 3D....lots of em out thier as well. Personally my next purchase will be a 60" Sharp Quattron...next summer.

[jid]

My choice would be whatever Panasonic Plasma you can afford, but that is only if you are ok with; a) 2" more than your maximum because I think smallest plasma is 42", b) reflective glass, I'm not sure what your budget is but lower models have more reflective glass which may or may not be a problem for you (think where your windows are and whether you often shut the blinds and turn off lights for movies)

I picked out a Panny plasma because I have similar needs to yours, lots of movies either Bluray or from the laptop as well as sports, the advantage for me is in the motion and color. When I was shopping for TVs I had a chance to look at an LCD and Plasma right next to eachother playing an action movie which was fantastic for comparing the two types of panels. I noticed that watching a plasma is a lot like watching the old CRT in terms of colors and motion, the LCD was 120Hz but it was just a tad harder on the eyes when following the action.

If I had a different situation and needed to buy an LCD that would be OK too though because they are still great HD displays, my parents have an older LCD (60Hz) in the living room and HD movies and sports are still very fun to watch when I'm there, plus with the stylish but useless window shades right across from the TV I think a reflective screen would make for a crappy TV watching experience durring the day. If you decide on LCD I believe Sony and Samsung are pretty much leaders in that area, I was recently considering a Sony 32"EX400 for my bedroom for instance which I've read has very good color and black level for a budget TV.

That's all I've got to share, I'm sure if you provide more information about your viewing environment and budget you'll get better help from someone more expert here.

[TokeR]

Thanks guys, really detailed responses. Rjbarker I like your style lol, you're soon going to have more TV's than you have rooms!

Ipaine & Jid Thanks I will list more information. Thanks so much for that detailed response Jid the more I know the better!

I think I will update the first post with the new details so new viewers can see it before they reply to the old one.

[ilya]

Pfft, that's a huge budget for a screen of that size IMO. Unless prices down under are overly inflated you should have no problems getting a Panasonic plasma in the price range. A TCP42S2 should be well within your budget, however it uses an older anti glare filter than the G/VT series, you're going to have to see the unit for yourself physically. I watch my TCP54G20 in a VERY bright room, the picture quality isn't as good during the day, but it's still better than most similarly priced LCDs on the market. You can still see reflections in the screen, but it honestly doesn't affect the viewing pleasure. The problem with the G series though, is they don't make them smaller than 50", although those can be had for ~$1200 CAD on sale.

On another note, Panasonic is one of the few manufacturers out there to use IPS panels on lower end LCDs, so something like the TC-L42U25 could be another consideration, it should fit all your requirements. However, motion blur would be something you would have to see in person yourself, as most IPS panels sacrifice response times for better colour reproduction and image quality. (but for me personally it's a non issue)