SDTV? Where'd they go?!

[shams]

Cobretti said:
Kwaad is right shams the samsung LCDs kick ass. The new M8 and R8 series.

They beefed up the stats on these:
Full HD 1080P
Contrast Ratio 15,000:1
Brightness 550nits

and they cost liek $3400 in Australia.

Not interested in LCD.

They make for great monitors, or display devices that you use at close range - for extended periods of time. But not for movies. And the Wii doesn't look great on LCDs either.

The best quality screens I have seen (vibrant colour, richness) have all been Plasmas. Plus the medium-low end models (720p) are actually cheaper than matching LCD models.

Some of the newer plasma sets also have updated tech to improve display life (various tricks) - so they fade much slower than old plasmas. I have never owned one, and I won't know for sure - until I do own one.

Whatever happens, I won't be spending more than $2000 ($2.5k max).

I have been extremely happy with my current TV. Its just turned 3, still works perfectly. It was a factory 2nd (has a "scratch" on the top of the set) Phillips set, 100hz/NaturalMotion (etc..). Does 1080i, 480p, 576p. And it cost me $1500 (three years ago).

Apart from running 480p on my Wii - main reason I want to upgrade, is our current set is now a little small for our living room - and its too big/heavy. Really want a flat screen of some sort.