13 Responses for "Picture of the Day: Dave’s New (non) Tube"

1. Dave Zatz August 31st, 2007 at 8:27 pm 1

   There’s no question in my mind that this set has better picture quality than the 40″ Samsung LCD (720p). (There’s also no question that my camera and photography skills are still mediocre.) Problem is, the set looks so sexy I need to invest in a more modern stand.

2. TiVoBlog September 1st, 2007 at 4:44 am 2

   Nice TV. I have last years model (TH42PX60U) and I am extremely happy with it. Why don’t you just wall mount it?

3. Dave Zatz September 1st, 2007 at 6:31 am 3

   Our apartment building was constructed in the 60s and it doesn’t seem to use the typical drywall+studs. We’ve had a hard time hanging simple things, no way I’m going to try it with my new prized possession. But hopefully we’ll be moving one of these days and can mount this in the bedroom.

4. Ben Drawbaugh September 1st, 2007 at 12:27 pm 4

   Very nice Dave!

   I’m glad you’re happy, as for taking pics. Don’t use the flash and if you do, try to avoid capturing the reflection in the TV. You can do this by backing up, or not centering the image, and cropping it afterwards. Either way, a tripod goes a long way.

   Now for the real question, how does college football look?

5. Sam Lowry September 2nd, 2007 at 9:26 pm 5

   There is a serious lack of decent media/tv stands for the new LCD/Plasma tv world. Been struggling to find a media/bookshelf combo that fits in a 80″ wide space and that isn’t made of crap wood. OK, so my wife won’t even let me buy the TV until I find something. Will to spend the $, but I think it’ll be a custom-made one at this point.

6. Dave Zatz September 2nd, 2007 at 9:40 pm 6

   Ben, I rarely use my flash but this just wasn’t working at night. I shot it from an angle to try and limit the glare. Football and Xbox both looked great, I only wish I had been home to watch Notre Dame stink it up.

   Sam, I’ve found a few decent smaller sized pieces - though most aren’t made for corners like my current set up. Also the trend seems to be to leave everything exposed, but I have so much cabling, remotes, DVDs, games, etc - I’d like a little storage to hide it all. (My current stand has enclosed shelves on both sides.)

   Of the larger pieces, most I’ve seen over the years have been that crap wood and look pretty cheap/cheesy. The nicer Ethan Allen stuff had Ethan Allen prices. I avoided the large entertainment center furniture issue way back when by choosing the projector over a rear projection set.

7. TiVoBlog September 2nd, 2007 at 9:45 pm 7

   Sam,
   Check out Hookerfurniture (http://www.hookerfurniture.com/). This is where I bought a console table for my plasma and I am extremely happy with it.

8. Mike Trogolo September 4th, 2007 at 9:16 am 8

   This is the exact Panasonic model I’m considering too (waiting for positive cash flow, though!). I’ve seen some reviews say it has a tendency for false contouring - have you seen that? Also, is the antiglare coating effective?

9. Dave Zatz September 4th, 2007 at 9:29 am 9

   I haven’t done a detailed analysis yet or even calibrated the inputs (got the set Friday afternoon, flew out Saturday morning), though the anti-glare coating on the screen seems decent. I assume it’s better than the 75U, but without having them side by side - who knows. Now if only they’d put the antiglare coating on the bezel.

   So far I’m just using default settings: standard at night, vivid during the day since it’s a bright room and I’m very pleased with the pq. In my limited viewing time and limited types of content (and uncalibrated), I haven’t been distracted or even noticed false contouring though I have seen more noise than I’d like. My TiVo remote isn’t quite as responsive as it was, sometimes requiring multiple clicks, and I’m not sure if the batteries are low or if the plasma is interfering.

10. Big John September 5th, 2007 at 12:40 am 10

    Even though I work in an HD medium (FSN), I’m still pretty happy with my 27″ old-style SDTV that I paid $400 for. Paying $4000 for a tv just seems silly, it’s not even worth 10x what my SD is worth. (Yes, I’ve seen HD and it’s great)

11. Paul C. September 6th, 2007 at 12:33 am 11

    Sweet TV, Dave!

    To the above poster, you don’t need to spend $4000 to enjoy HDTV.

    I bought a Sony 30″ floor model CRT HDTV two years ago for $600 and it’s given me several times that much in enjoyment and value.

12. Big John October 3rd, 2007 at 12:28 pm 12

    Alright, I’ve softened my stance a bit since Sept 5th. Dave, did you get the anti-glare treated 77U?

13. Dave Zatz October 3rd, 2007 at 12:43 pm 13

    Yah, I did get the anti-glare… though you can’t tell from my camera flash above. It’s a great set, does have a little more noise than I’d expect but within the realm of acceptable. The 77U is also the model Consumer Reports just rated as their top 42″ plasma. They had high marks for some of the 40″ Samsung LCDs I was considering too.