SONY 34 Inch Super Fine Pitch(TM) XBR(R) Television KD-34XBR960
Perfect TV - You just can't get better
This TV rocks - but if you're someone scanning tv's and are in the classic \\"Plasma / LCD / Tube\\" dilemma let me tell you how I ended up buying this TV: <br /> <br /> I had been looking for an HDTV  for several months to replace the standard 31\\" TV in my den.  After lots of research the end result seemed to be plasma.  It was brighter, you could get a wide and big screen, and you could mount it to the wall.  Gone would be the massive entertainment center and now I could have the same capability with very minimalist appearance. <br /> <br />Projection TV's were out, didn't like the side views and all the talk about picture abormalities.  Plus even with the small ones this thing is still a tank.  LCD's were too expensive and too new plus more talk of issues with them.  <br /> <br />I didn't want to spend more than three grand on a TV.  After reading a lot of pros and cons, my thought process was to buy an EDTV Plasma (Enhanced Def TV).  The logic was 90% of the TV plus all the DVD's I watch aren't any higher resolution than what an EDTV puts out.  Why put down an extra 1200 bucks to get something you rarely will notice?  Some HDTV purists say otherwise, but bang for bucks wise EDTV seems to be the way to go.  Also, my gut tells me that odds are, anyone with a plasma TV will toss the thing in less than ten years either due to burn in, fading, or a newer technology.   <br /> <br />After all that, I found myself thinking why am I spending three thousand dollars on a TV that isn't full HD with known issues such as burn in (which will make we want to replace it in 5 years) and is a compromise?   I also know I'm probably going to move with my job in under a year and mounting a plasma to the wall professionally would cost me $300 more (I checked).   <br /> <br />What I ended up doing was buying a tube TV.  The top of the line Sony KD-XBR960 which if you check sites like cnet.com, they use that tv as the reference TV for other HDTV sets to compare it to.  It's a 34\\" wide screen tube and the picture is absolutely perfect and bright.  Knocked my wife over when she saw the Steelers play in HDTV (Jets should have made those field goals by the way).   This thing has all the latest toys on it which makes it relavent for the long haul (cable card, built in HDTV tuner and HMDI inputs).  Only downside is that it's the size of a tube tv but for me that's no big deal, it replaced the same thing.   <br /> <br />My logic on this is I bought a Sony tube tv and it will last me 15+ years.  It's known technology that no matter what comes our way this thing will be up to speed.  It's comfortable knowing the plasma and LCD folks are spending tons to try and just reach the picture performance of my tube tv.   When I have more money, I take this tv and move it to my bedroom or a game room and then I buy the plasma or whatever to put on the wall.   <br /> <br />Hope this helps you.   <br /> <br />  <br /> <br />