Sound & Vision magazine, page 47, September 2005. They review the Dell W4200 plasma HDTV very favorably compared to two others. According to the review: PLUS Crisp HDTV and DVD picture Natural color and contrast Excellent built-in HDTV tuner Clear, detailed onscreen menus MINUS Dark gray Black via S-video inputs (who uses S-video?) Onscreen guide lists wrong times (so what?) $2600 MSRP ...I Think I'll be gettin' a Dell, Dude.
Thanks heavyd. Just got the issue tonight. Here's my concern. What if I get a pixel blowout? Dell customer service is getting low marks these days and I would hate to argue with them about a replacement. I wonder if they have an extended service plan...?
Flat screens are dropping. Even Samsung DLPs' which a year ago cost nearly 4K or now down to 2.5K for the latest model.
Extended Service Contracts are not widely recommended for most purchases. I think HDTV is an exception. The technology and reliability of such sets is getting better all the time, but still not in my comfort zone.
I've been told that extended warrantees on plasmas are essential because you can have dropped pixels and need a replacement. I never buy extended plans otherwise. Generally they are a profit engine for the retailer.
What is the life expectancy for a plasma tv? My brother told me seven years. I would hate to drop $2500. and have junk in 7 years.
The new plasmas are said to last 50K to 60K hours, which is roughly 15 years depending on how heavy a user you are.
Be sure to understand (and get it in writing), what the replacement policy is on dead pixels. Different companies have differing standards -- at least on LCD sets, most companies consider a few dead pixels "part of the manufacturing process", and have a set number of what they consider to be "acceptable" within that process.
Whatever sets you are considering, you can mitigate an enormous amount of brand differences by hiring an ISF-trained calibrator to come out and adjust the set. It is the best $300-400 you'll ever spend, I promise. And plasmas rarely have "dead pixels", unlike LCDs. It's typically more of a vertical row of failed cells.
The best DVD I've come across so far to check a plasma for stuck pizel-ettes is that first Superman film, Reeve type, all that white on Krypton will reveal any pixel-letes stuck on red or blue. Those are the only colours I've seen stuck on several in-store demos of plamas with defects. I saw a Samsung plasma in Busted Buy that had, perhaps, 75 pixels stuck, most on red but some on blue. I've been discouraged by so many samples I've seen in stores. I've sat and watched several sets that had 2-5 stuck pixels so many times. Superman is a good disc to reveal burn-in too. I saw the very DVD reveal that a 38" WS tube in a local store had two burned areas in the tube, proably from DVD menus forever... I'd take it along any place I shopped that will let you play before you buy.