What were you watching on TV when this picture was taken?fmzip wrote:Here's my 65" Panny
Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
Get a 70 inch 1080 and you'll immediately wish you did it sooner. I sure did.
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
The vizio 4k 70 tvs are under 1500 now. Might as well get one in case 4k matters over the next 10 years. For most people size matters more than picture quality (exclude the super cheap sub TVs). In the store you will notice the quality difference. In your house, you will notice the size. 70" fits in most family rooms.miles monroe wrote:Get a 70 inch 1080 and you'll immediately wish you did it sooner. I sure did.
- TomatoTomahto
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
That's a lovely setup, but it's missing the least expensive upgrade: 6500 Kelvin bias lighting.researcher wrote:fmzip wrote:Here's my 65" Panny
What were you watching on TV when this picture was taken?
https://www.amazon.com/Vansky-Lighting- ... B01A9RN0UK is one example, there are many others
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
I tend to wait because the technology will get better. Do the "big upgrade" every 10 years or so.retiringtype wrote:Hi all. I have to regrettably admit that I'm feeling needy, and when the feeling hits, that often results in a large-ish purchase. So bear with me.
Currently, I own a 2010 46" Panasonic plasma TV. The other day, I wandered into a Best Buy and happened to see the new 55" Sony XBE 930D LED TV. For those of you who are into the details, it's 4K and HDV-ready. Frankly, the picture was quite awesome. And the increased size sure seems to make a difference in the viewing experience.
So for those of you who are into the technology: Is it worth upgrading to the Sony, or am I just a victim of, well, boredom?
Should I wait for Black Friday when, presumably, prices will drop? Should I wait for OLED technology to become more affordable?
Thanks in advance for your time and answers.
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
I am in the same dilemna. My bedroom TV is 50" LED ($150 during black friday 2015). I WILL get a 60" LED if the price is right on black friday. Need something bigger
Only question is does your budget allow it? If yes, then go for it!
Only question is does your budget allow it? If yes, then go for it!
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
TomatoTomahto wrote:That's a lovely setup, but it's missing the least expensive upgrade: 6500 Kelvin bias lighting.researcher wrote:fmzip wrote:Here's my 65" Panny
What were you watching on TV when this picture was taken?
https://www.amazon.com/Vansky-Lighting- ... B01A9RN0UK is one example, there are many others
Thank you
Had the bias lighting, I hated it.
- TomatoTomahto
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
And that, as the saying goes, is what makes horse races. I love mine. Perhaps, as you get older, your eyes will appreciate it; I find that it cuts down on eye strain, but I'm in my mid 60s.fmzip wrote:TomatoTomahto wrote:That's a lovely setup, but it's missing the least expensive upgrade: 6500 Kelvin bias lighting.researcher wrote:fmzip wrote:Here's my 65" Panny
What were you watching on TV when this picture was taken?
https://www.amazon.com/Vansky-Lighting- ... B01A9RN0UK is one example, there are many others
Thank you
Had the bias lighting, I hated it.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (TV).
My 63" Samsung plasma is 7 years old and going strong. 63" was the largest I could get at the time. My prior TV was a 67" DLP, so I consider this down-sized.
It works fine for 1080p content. I do see 4k offerings on Netflix, but I don't see any incentive to upgrade.
Don't forget about the audio. My Dolby 5.1 (and DTS) audio works just fine.
All of the above depends on getting your viewing and listening environment right. See: HDTV Set Up Note that proper viewing height is at eye level.
My 63" Samsung plasma is 7 years old and going strong. 63" was the largest I could get at the time. My prior TV was a 67" DLP, so I consider this down-sized.
It works fine for 1080p content. I do see 4k offerings on Netflix, but I don't see any incentive to upgrade.
Don't forget about the audio. My Dolby 5.1 (and DTS) audio works just fine.
All of the above depends on getting your viewing and listening environment right. See: HDTV Set Up Note that proper viewing height is at eye level.
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
I'm still rocking a 2007? 2008? Panny plasma, 42". It works fantastically and has enough component / HDMI inputs to do what I need it to.
I hope this thing never dies
I hope this thing never dies
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
Still getting by just fine with my 2003 32" lcd. Could get a much nicer one for a few hundred at costco, but can't justify.
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
Interestingly, I went into Best Buy again yesterday and they had just installed the 65" model of the new Sony Z Series.Just came out. It's an LED but, supposedly, better than OLED, with equal black levels and terrific off-angle viewing. It was pretty darn amazing. Like being at the movies.
Unfortunately, at 65", it's too big. (The biggest I can go is 55".) And at $6000, WAY too expensive.
Unfortunately, at 65", it's too big. (The biggest I can go is 55".) And at $6000, WAY too expensive.
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
Wow! We pretty much sit in front.retiringtype wrote: It's an LED but, supposedly, better than OLED, with equal black levels and terrific off-angle viewing. It was pretty darn amazing. Like being at the movies.
I never thought once about upgrading our 10 year old Sony something or other.
Sheesh, this thread has me wanting to get a 4k tv and a playstation 4 pro to go with. Think I'll wait till the current t.v. is out of order, prices on 4K models are down and more content out. 5 years?
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
I have a 42" 2008 Panasonic Plasma. Thing weighs a ton.
I'll keep this until it dies.
I don't see the point in buying an expensive TV because today's state of the art is 3 years from now "economy set". With the exception of having a 70" screen I've yet to see someone else's TV that looks any better than my own.
I'll keep this until it dies.
I don't see the point in buying an expensive TV because today's state of the art is 3 years from now "economy set". With the exception of having a 70" screen I've yet to see someone else's TV that looks any better than my own.
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
We have a 7 year-old Panasonic Plasma that has just started to give us problems. It has to be turned-on 4 or 5 times (over 5 or 10 minutes) for it to stay on, it turns itself off. It appears to be a power-supply issue and is relatively common for the Panasonic Plasmas. It's an energy hog besides so we're not interested in having it live a longer life so we're not making any heroic efforts to keep it. We're shopping for a replacement set. Spare yourself some grief and just go ahead and upgrade while you're in the mood.
The closest helping hand is at the end of your own arm.
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
I has been kind of mentioned but not really so let me add my 2 cents:
Your plasma TV is better than most LED TVs out today. Panasonic plasma has the best contrast and blacks compared to any of those LED TVs. Your panasonic plasma also does not have that weird soap opera affect you get from LED televisions. To be fair 2016 models have improved drastically and are very close to plasma but your TV is awesome. I have two panasonic plasmas a 60" and a 65" and would not replace either of them except for a 120" projector.
Stick with what you have or consider picking up a used panasonic plasma at 65" if size is an issue.
I would otherwise wait until OLED technology becomes more mainstream and improves and then buy that in about 2 years. By then we will have plenty 4k content.
Your plasma TV is better than most LED TVs out today. Panasonic plasma has the best contrast and blacks compared to any of those LED TVs. Your panasonic plasma also does not have that weird soap opera affect you get from LED televisions. To be fair 2016 models have improved drastically and are very close to plasma but your TV is awesome. I have two panasonic plasmas a 60" and a 65" and would not replace either of them except for a 120" projector.
Stick with what you have or consider picking up a used panasonic plasma at 65" if size is an issue.
I would otherwise wait until OLED technology becomes more mainstream and improves and then buy that in about 2 years. By then we will have plenty 4k content.
A time to EVALUATE your jitters: |
viewtopic.php?p=1139732#p1139732
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
We replaced our 9 y/o aquos with 75" Samsung and many shows have a 3D effect. We are very happy with the replacement!Ervin wrote:I own a 2009 Panasonic 46" plasma. Then, 2 years ago, I gave in and bought a 51" Samsung award-winning plasma, at great price reduction, right before they stopped making them. I am watching the US Open on it right now, and it's an amazing picture (truly). But this was a great deal, a $1500 plasma everybody was raving about, bought for $1000 from Amazon.
The reason I bought the 2nd TV that I did not need was the amazing picture quality (the other TV also has an excellent picture, but not THIS good, and 5" extra actually matter at 6-7 feet viewing distance), the fact that $1000 great OLEDs were still far away (still true today), and mostly that they were stopping making the plasma TVs I loved, so it was relatively cheap insurance for the following 5 years.
The $1000 LED TVs of today still don't look as good as my 2013 series plasma. If I were you, I would wait until a truly different and amazing technology matures (probably another 3 years).
Regarding the resolution, it depends where you sit. If you don't sit within ~7-8 feet from your 60" TV, you won't see a difference between 720p and 1080p, and you definitely won't appreciate 2160p (4K). The latter is really worthless for less than 70-80" (1080p will suffice).
Sam
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
A good 1080p plasma is pretty sweet tech. The black levels and color are hard to beat. I wouldn't upgrade to 4K until 4K content is actually being offered regularly. Cable TV doesn't even do 1080p, it's still stuck on 1080i!
The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. - Thich Nhat Hanh
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
Home theater stuff is one of my hobbies so I keep on the bleeding edge a bit. We have loved plasmas mainly because their overall picture has been hard to beat with LCDs, especially when it comes to motion resolution and black levels. Still have 4 in the house, Panasonic and Pioneer ones from 50-65".
A lot of posts in here that keep mentioning 4K.... but you need to think about WCG and HDR. All 3 combined are what will make the next gen sets really shine. Resolution is really fools gold, the equivalent of the megapixel race when it came to cameras. Factors like contrast, light control, motion resolution, color accuracy, black levels, and your source content all need to be considered.
Standard wars benefit noone. 4K standards (especially for 4k ultra bluray) are finally to the point where if you are willing, it makes sense to jump in. But you're going to be on the beta testing side of the house, e.g. figuring which streaming content provider does HDR10 versus Dolby vision. Or which ultra blu-ray player and cable combo will support DCI-P3, or if you'll need a HD Fury to convert HDMI 2.0 to 1.4 to use an older receiver..... it's not very plug and play friendly at the moment.
But if you love tinkering, it can be quite rewarding! We replaced a 65" plasma with a Sony 75" 940D this year. Excellent set and the ZD9's are even better. I'm looking to replace an older projector with a JVC RS500 or RS600 in a month. Really looking forward to that as well.
Ultimately I think you can really benefit from the upgrade, but only if you think you'll use the new capabilities as well as content. The smart apps built into the TV can be quite useful in this regards. Good luck and yell if you have any questions!
A lot of posts in here that keep mentioning 4K.... but you need to think about WCG and HDR. All 3 combined are what will make the next gen sets really shine. Resolution is really fools gold, the equivalent of the megapixel race when it came to cameras. Factors like contrast, light control, motion resolution, color accuracy, black levels, and your source content all need to be considered.
Standard wars benefit noone. 4K standards (especially for 4k ultra bluray) are finally to the point where if you are willing, it makes sense to jump in. But you're going to be on the beta testing side of the house, e.g. figuring which streaming content provider does HDR10 versus Dolby vision. Or which ultra blu-ray player and cable combo will support DCI-P3, or if you'll need a HD Fury to convert HDMI 2.0 to 1.4 to use an older receiver..... it's not very plug and play friendly at the moment.
But if you love tinkering, it can be quite rewarding! We replaced a 65" plasma with a Sony 75" 940D this year. Excellent set and the ZD9's are even better. I'm looking to replace an older projector with a JVC RS500 or RS600 in a month. Really looking forward to that as well.
Ultimately I think you can really benefit from the upgrade, but only if you think you'll use the new capabilities as well as content. The smart apps built into the TV can be quite useful in this regards. Good luck and yell if you have any questions!
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
I love my Plasmas and don't plan on upgrading any time soon. I am not a fan of LCDs and I have yet to see a TV that makes me want to upgrade. I bought the 64" Samsung 8500 series when they discontinued it so I could upgrade my 58" Panny V10.
Unless you need a new TV now, I would wait just to see how the FCC rulings on new set top boxes pans out. They just announced possible new rules to go in effect in 2 years.
Unless you need a new TV now, I would wait just to see how the FCC rulings on new set top boxes pans out. They just announced possible new rules to go in effect in 2 years.
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
That's nothing, my projection screen has been 106" for the last 13 years. I did upgrade the projector a few times. Wake me up when 4K projector prices come down to earth. Last projector upgrade was 8.5 years ago, to a 1080p model Sanyo PLV-Z2000.fmzip wrote: I am a tech junkie and I've opted to be smart. Stay behind the curve, well behind the curve. No sense of paying for 4K features since the content is lacking. If you need to upgrade, Upgrade for BIGGER!
Here's my 65" Panny
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
Likewise, home theater stuff is one of my hobbies. I completely agree on the misuse of specs.stm wrote:Home theater stuff is one of my hobbies so I keep on the bleeding edge a bit. We have loved plasmas mainly because their overall picture has been hard to beat with LCDs, especially when it comes to motion resolution and black levels. Still have 4 in the house, Panasonic and Pioneer ones from 50-65".
A lot of posts in here that keep mentioning 4K.... but you need to think about WCG and HDR. All 3 combined are what will make the next gen sets really shine. Resolution is really fools gold, the equivalent of the megapixel race when it came to cameras. Factors like contrast, light control, motion resolution, color accuracy, black levels, and your source content all need to be considered.
Standard wars benefit noone. 4K standards (especially for 4k ultra bluray) are finally to the point where if you are willing, it makes sense to jump in. But you're going to be on the beta testing side of the house, e.g. figuring which streaming content provider does HDR10 versus Dolby vision. Or which ultra blu-ray player and cable combo will support DCI-P3, or if you'll need a HD Fury to convert HDMI 2.0 to 1.4 to use an older receiver..... it's not very plug and play friendly at the moment.
But if you love tinkering, it can be quite rewarding! We replaced a 65" plasma with a Sony 75" 940D this year. Excellent set and the ZD9's are even better. I'm looking to replace an older projector with a JVC RS500 or RS600 in a month. Really looking forward to that as well.
Ultimately I think you can really benefit from the upgrade, but only if you think you'll use the new capabilities as well as content. The smart apps built into the TV can be quite useful in this regards. Good luck and yell if you have any questions!
My 2009 Samsung 63" plasma behaves poorly on a white test pattern. It's more like splotchy shades of gray on a noisy white background. I'd never purchase it if I only watched test patterns. However... the incredible black levels, dynamic range, and other aspects make it one of the best displays I could get at the time.
(Only looking at the number of pixels on a digital camera is also misleading, but this discussion is about plasma TV.)
Speaking of test patterns, I recommend firing up a calibration DVD and rechecking everything from time-to-time. Consider it part of routine maintenance.
I'd like to reemphasize the most important point - get your environment as close as possible to what the program directors intended. Movies are shot assuming the viewers are in a standard environment.
- Be sure your speakers and display are placed properly.
- Acoustics should be dead quiet.
- Lighting is minimized. For plasma, no lights behind you as it will be reflected off the display's glass front panel.
I like this reference: HDTV Set Up
Pet peeve - I have no idea why people place TVs high up on a wall, such as over a fireplace. Perhaps this practice started from home improvement shows where the TV was considered the same as an art photo. It just doesn't work.
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
VS fashion showresearcher wrote:What were you watching on TV when this picture was taken?fmzip wrote:Here's my 65" Panny
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
Argh! What do these home improvement people know about Home Theater setup (the majority anyway)?LadyGeek wrote:Likewise, home theater stuff is one of my hobbies. I completely agree on the misuse of specs.stm wrote:Home theater stuff is one of my hobbies so I keep on the bleeding edge a bit. We have loved plasmas mainly because their overall picture has been hard to beat with LCDs, especially when it comes to motion resolution and black levels. Still have 4 in the house, Panasonic and Pioneer ones from 50-65".
A lot of posts in here that keep mentioning 4K.... but you need to think about WCG and HDR. All 3 combined are what will make the next gen sets really shine. Resolution is really fools gold, the equivalent of the megapixel race when it came to cameras. Factors like contrast, light control, motion resolution, color accuracy, black levels, and your source content all need to be considered.
Standard wars benefit noone. 4K standards (especially for 4k ultra bluray) are finally to the point where if you are willing, it makes sense to jump in. But you're going to be on the beta testing side of the house, e.g. figuring which streaming content provider does HDR10 versus Dolby vision. Or which ultra blu-ray player and cable combo will support DCI-P3, or if you'll need a HD Fury to convert HDMI 2.0 to 1.4 to use an older receiver..... it's not very plug and play friendly at the moment.
But if you love tinkering, it can be quite rewarding! We replaced a 65" plasma with a Sony 75" 940D this year. Excellent set and the ZD9's are even better. I'm looking to replace an older projector with a JVC RS500 or RS600 in a month. Really looking forward to that as well.
Ultimately I think you can really benefit from the upgrade, but only if you think you'll use the new capabilities as well as content. The smart apps built into the TV can be quite useful in this regards. Good luck and yell if you have any questions!
My 2009 Samsung 63" plasma behaves poorly on a white test pattern. It's more like splotchy shades of gray on a noisy white background. I'd never purchase it if I only watched test patterns. However... the incredible black levels, dynamic range, and other aspects make it one of the best displays I could get at the time.
(Only looking at the number of pixels on a digital camera is also misleading, but this discussion is about plasma TV.)
Speaking of test patterns, I recommend firing up a calibration DVD and rechecking everything from time-to-time. Consider it part of routine maintenance.
I'd like to reemphasize the most important point - get your environment as close as possible to what the program directors intended. Movies are shot assuming the viewers are in a standard environment.
- Be sure your speakers and display are placed properly.
- Acoustics should be dead quiet.
- Lighting is minimized. For plasma, no lights behind you as it will be reflected off the display's glass front panel.
I like this reference: HDTV Set Up
Pet peeve - I have no idea why people place TVs high up on a wall, such as over a fireplace. Perhaps this practice started from home improvement shows where the TV was considered the same as an art photo. It just doesn't work.
I gave away my Panny 42" 720p plasma to a friend that is still working, after upgrading to a 50" Panny 1080p in the FR where DW rules.
My main setup is a JVC RS45 and the backup is the LG pf1500 LED 1080p wifi projector, which "never" needs changing bulb.
If the OP's budget allows it, go for a 4k LCD (LED backlit, pure marketing term) for under $1k. There is better and cheaper technology than OLED. Sony's products are not what they used to be. Check out TCL in Costco. There are limited 4k streaming contents out there. It's always the chicken and the egg syndrome with new tech.
It's fun shopping.
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
LCD/LED will be a substantial letdown in picture quality from your plasma. Unless you really want something bigger, stick with the plasma until OLED comes down to a reasonable price. It's the only thing that can even touch plasma in terms of black level, contrast, refresh rate, color accuracy etc.
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
We just picked up a 55" TCL from Amazon. Extremely impressed. I'm hardly an expert, until last year I had never owned a TV (our 32" Sanyo), but the picture is great and I love the Roku interface. Hard to beat for $400.htdrag11 wrote:Check out TCL in Costco.
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
Yes, BIL was happy with it and actually bought 2, the 48" and the 55. The one key feature missing is HDR.stoptothink wrote:We just picked up a 55" TCL from Amazon. Extremely impressed. I'm hardly an expert, until last year I had never owned a TV (our 32" Sanyo), but the picture is great and I love the Roku interface. Hard to beat for $400.htdrag11 wrote:Check out TCL in Costco.
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
Does anyone else think these big screen tv's are too bright at night? I have a darker movie mode that I use during the day, and a preference mode that I adjusted to movie mode settings, but with the backlight way down for night.
Years back I used to see tv's with an auto dimming feature for this, but I'm not sure if any are made with that feature anymore. If it's still available, that's one thing I would look for in a new tv.
Of course I may be in the minority, but I just don't want to look at a bright screen when it's getting within a few hours of going to sleep. I even have a program on my computer that dims the monitor at sunset, taking the blueish tint out of it.
Years back I used to see tv's with an auto dimming feature for this, but I'm not sure if any are made with that feature anymore. If it's still available, that's one thing I would look for in a new tv.
Of course I may be in the minority, but I just don't want to look at a bright screen when it's getting within a few hours of going to sleep. I even have a program on my computer that dims the monitor at sunset, taking the blueish tint out of it.
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Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
To me the only reason to upgrade is for the screen size. If you move forward i would get the biggest screen that will fit your room. At first it will seem too big, but after a few days you might even think it could be bigger. This is especially true for movies with the black bars on the top/bottom.
good luck
good luck
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
I would certainly upgrade a 46" TV if I had the space for a larger screen!
BIGGER really is better. And if I was buying today I'd also get 4K.
For myself I currently have a 70" regular HD screen. No hurry to upgrade it until cost of the 77" OLED screens comes down. My bet is 2-3 years as both Samsung and LG are making huge investments in manufacturing facilities.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lg-di ... JY20151127
BIGGER really is better. And if I was buying today I'd also get 4K.
For myself I currently have a 70" regular HD screen. No hurry to upgrade it until cost of the 77" OLED screens comes down. My bet is 2-3 years as both Samsung and LG are making huge investments in manufacturing facilities.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lg-di ... JY20151127
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
That was one of the reasons I bought my second plasma, too. However, 3D is overrated and still expensive (disc-wise). We watch less than 20 3D movies/year, usually with visiting family.exoilman wrote:We replaced our 9 y/o aquos with 75" Samsung and many shows have a 3D effect. We are very happy with the replacement!Ervin wrote:I own a 2009 Panasonic 46" plasma. Then, 2 years ago, I gave in and bought a 51" Samsung award-winning plasma, at great price reduction, right before they stopped making them. I am watching the US Open on it right now, and it's an amazing picture (truly). But this was a great deal, a $1500 plasma everybody was raving about, bought for $1000 from Amazon.
The reason I bought the 2nd TV that I did not need was the amazing picture quality (the other TV also has an excellent picture, but not THIS good, and 5" extra actually matter at 6-7 feet viewing distance), the fact that $1000 great OLEDs were still far away (still true today), and mostly that they were stopping making the plasma TVs I loved, so it was relatively cheap insurance for the following 5 years.
The $1000 LED TVs of today still don't look as good as my 2013 series plasma. If I were you, I would wait until a truly different and amazing technology matures (probably another 3 years).
Regarding the resolution, it depends where you sit. If you don't sit within ~7-8 feet from your 60" TV, you won't see a difference between 720p and 1080p, and you definitely won't appreciate 2160p (4K). The latter is really worthless for less than 70-80" (1080p will suffice).
Sam
RIP, Mr. Bogle.
Re: Should I upgrade my 6 year old plasma TV?
Those plasma TVs are like space heaters. If you can afford it, go for it. Then again, I'm not one that gets excited about televisions.