# "Enhanced" HDTV plasma screen good enough **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 1, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enhanced-hdtv-plasma-screen-good-enough/272218 "2004-11-01T00:50:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enhanced-hdtv-plasma-screen-good-enough/272218/1 "2004-11-01T00:50:52Z")
I finally decided that my trusty, 27" Triniton’s time has passed. A good TV but a letterboxed DVD ends up looking pretty small from across the room. I went shopping for a plasma TV and found that so-called Enhanced HDTV with 852x480 resolution are reasonable with a 42" available for under $2k. To get proper HDTV resolution the price at least doubles. I’m not ready to spend that money this year but I want a bigger TV. I justify the TV in my price range now by saying to myself, “self, these things will be cheaper in a year, much cheaper. If you get the lower resolution one now it will work fine for NTSC stuff like widescreen DVDs and when you get a better one this will make a hell of a nice bedroom TV.” It this a smart way to go or should I bite the bullet, drop $4k+ and have TheLadyLion divorce me? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enhanced-hdtv-plasma-screen-good-enough/272218/2 "2004-11-01T10:38:26Z")
I recommend that you stay within your means. If can afford the better unit, go for it. With respect to the divorce, all you need to find out is whether you would get to keep the TV. ---
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enhanced-hdtv-plasma-screen-good-enough/272218/3 "2004-11-01T11:43:16Z")
Or do the smart thing and don’t buy a plasma TV. Both plasma TV’s and LCD TV’s have inferior picture quality compared to normal CRT TV’s. For around 2000 USD you should be able to buy a very good wide-screen TV in stead of compromising. You probably won’t be able to find one bigger than 36" though. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enhanced-hdtv-plasma-screen-good-enough/272218/4 "2004-11-01T12:31:31Z")
If that’s measured on the diagonal, then it’s a pretty small HDTV, isn’t it? If the ratio is 16:9, and the diagonal is 36", then the screen is only about 31.4" x 17.6", right? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enhanced-hdtv-plasma-screen-good-enough/272218/5 "2004-11-01T14:01:33Z")
After doing a little research I found this 42" plasma display at Sam’s club. [http://samsclub.com/eclub/main\_shopping.jsp?mt=a&n=0&BV\_SessionID=](http://samsclub.com/eclub/main_shopping.jsp?mt=a&n=0&BV_SessionID=)_SC\_0249451458.1099317155\_CS_&BV\_EngineID=cccdadcmmdgkheicfkfcfkjdgoodfkh.0&coe=0&oidPath=0%3a-23542%3a-30641%3a-39131%3a-39739%3a877759&fid=P20 Oddly it has 1024x768 resolution which isn’t a square ratiop for 16:9 but I think I can live with that compromise and it’s within my budget. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enhanced-hdtv-plasma-screen-good-enough/272218/6 "2004-11-01T14:06:23Z")
I went with a 42" panasonic EDTV. When going to the stores, and standing back at least 10-15ft, I couldn’t tell the difference between EDTV and HDTV. Up close, yes, I could tell, far away, not really. EDTV is perfect for DVD, I’ve heard some reviewers say that EDTV is superior to HDTV when viewing DVD, because EDTV is the exact DVD resolution, so there is no upconverting of the signal. If you don’t have HDTV signals coming in, and only plan to use it for normal TV and DVD, then you should be fine with an EDTV. HDTV signals still look damn fine on it. Now, the question of plasma vs. not plasma is a good one. If you just want a bigger TV, maybe one of the newer, more compact, projection TVs is an option. They are significantly cheaper than plasma and usually offer HDTV resolution. ---
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enhanced-hdtv-plasma-screen-good-enough/272218/7 "2004-11-01T15:15:43Z")
Indeed your TV’s are superior in size. 😃 Our homes aren’t that big, so it is big enough for us Dutch people. As for projection TV’s : forget about it, that is such a scam. There are 2 no-no’s when shopping for TV’s : no rear-projection TV’s and no LCD screens. If you need a BIG screen, go for plasma, otherwise go for conventional CRT.