I'm in the market for a 42" plasma, and have pretty much narrowed my
search down to these two models and their equivalents - now I'm looking
for real-world testimonials and experiences with them.
I'm looking at the Panasonic TH-42PX50U (consumer TV) (and maybe the
TH-42PHD8GK/S (the commercial monitor) against the Pioneer PDP-4345HD.
They all seem to be about the same price, $2,600 - $3,000.
Here are some of my specific concerns/questions:
1) Glare is a big issue, since the TV is on the wall across from a big
bay window. We close the curtains for movies, but daytime TV is in a
fairly bright room with the sun coming in directly behind the couch.
There's some reflection now with my 32" CRT, which I can put up with,
but I don't want anything that will be worse.
2) Regarding the Pioneer "media receiver," does this have to be used? I
already have a Pioneer VSX-D711, which, although it's not HDMI-capable,
controls my whole home theater system. I'd rather not add a component
if I don't have to, especially when I'm not sure what purpose it serves.
3) The commercial Panaosnic doesn't have a tuner - which I don't think
is a problem, since I wouldn't use it to catch any OTA signals - at
least I don't think so. I have Dish Network, and their HD offerings are
pretty slim at the moment, so am I wrong here? I'm in suburban NYC, so
I think I might have OTA HD signals available for my local channels and
networks?
4) Pioneer still has a link to the 4345 on their web site, but at least
one retailer says this isn't their newest-generation plasma. Anyone
know about this?
Thanks in advance for all the comments!
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