I have 2 flatscreens: Which to use, or sell both & renew?

[texasjohn]

Here is my dilemma

I have a Sony 42" 852x480 PFM42V1 Plasma which I purchased in 2005. It has only done 6000hrs as I used it in the US and since moving back have lived in a very small house (living room 11' x 12' so too small for the 42") and it's been sat in its carton since June 06.

I bought a Sharp 32" 1366x768 LC32GA9E LCD in late 2006 which I am happy with and suits the current room size well.

I move house next week to a 12' x 17' living room. I am having Sky HD installed also.


Will I be better off using the 42" Plasma in my new house or carrying on with the 32" LCD? Or sell both and get the Sony Bravia 40 LCD that seems to be top of the pops at present?

I am not sure what HD will look like on the Plasma, but I know it can simulate 720P and 1080i from using consoles on it. IIRC it looked pretty good on the Forza and GT4 games but I never had HDTV in the USA.

Trouble is, if I were to sell the barely used yet old tech plasma I would get at best 10% of what I paid for it and most transmission is still SDTV at the present time.

I guess the main question is, given that I will be sat 10ft from the TV instead of todays 7ft, is the 32" going to be 'about right' or would I best unpack the 42"?

If I dont use the 42" in the living room it will get used for PC gaming and console duties in the second reception room (and if I do use it in the living room the LCD will get relegated to PC gaming and console duties).

The LCD doesnt have freeview and the plasma has no tuner fitted at all (its a monitor rather than a TV)

Specs for the plasma are:

Color System NTSC, PAL, PAL-M, SECAM, NTSC4.43, PAL 60 and PAL-N
Data Signals VGA, SVGA, XGA, SXGA, UXGA
TV Scan Lines 480p, 720p, 1080i

Input Terminals

Composite Video 1 (BNC)
S-Video 1 (4-pin mini DIN)
VGA RGB Signal 1 (15-pin mini d-Sub) (I have a component video to 15pin lead)
DVI Digital Input 1

Specs for the LCD are:

DisplayBroadcast format displayed 720p (HDTV), 480p (EDTV), 480i (SDTV).
Broadcast format supported 720p (HDTV).
Built-in tuner NTSC, PAL, SECAM.
Native aspect ratio 16:9.

Inputs are similar to the Sony but with 2 x HDMI also

Edited by texasjohn on Saturday 11th April 21:49

[PJ S]

The Sony will be worth next to sod all squared, since they've stopped making Plasma since 2003, iirc, and at 452 resolution, you'll lose some of the SD broadcast and DVD quality.
It really is pretty much just junk for spare parts, and even then it is limited due to being a US-centric item.

With the Sharp, you can benefit from it's HD resolution, by installing Freesat or just a Freeview box, and aerial (indoor or external if already in situ).
If you can afford to spend on new tech, you'll enjoy a much better picture with the likes of the very affordable Panasonic 37" Plasma, which would be a good compromise in size for the viewing distance and typical viewing mediums.

You could always shove the Sharp in the bedroom, with an indoor aerial or split feed, with the aforementioned Freeview box.

[texasjohn]

Cheers for that.

I guess I shall start saving towards something newer and ebay the Sony. Never know, might get £100 for it.

[Driller]

You can't have too many tellies! Put one in the kitchen or the bedroom.

[texasjohn]

we have a 26" CRT as well

Regarding the LCD/Plasma I guess the proof will be to set both up and see which looks best on SDTV and HDTV. I have a sneaking suspicion it will be the Sharp LCD...

ETA: with all the expenses of a house purchase to fund (and considering our sum total of furniture and appliances that we currently own extends to 2 sofas, a bed, a kettle and a toaster) I think new TVs are way down the list of essentials!

Edited by texasjohn on Sunday 12th April 11:49

[mcflurry]

One for the bedroom, one connected to a games console in the bloke toy room and a new shiny one for the living room.

Done