Which TV should I buy?

binarysoul

The time has come for me to upgrade my TV.

I've been shopping around and not sure what I really want. I'm not planning to get HD cable, and since I don't have an HD-compatabile DVD player, I'm not sure if should buy an HD-compatabile TV. The sales guy started to 'scare' me about all bad things that could happen to the TV, e.g. seeing some lines on the screen, in the hope to sell me some extended warrenty; is he right?. I know I want an LCD flat panel TV with a PC port. But not sure about the HD and all other features that are available. I have a PS2 and don't mind playing few games once in a while.

Please give me your ideas, e.g. brand name, future considerations and featues. I just don't wanna pay for features that I won't need. But at the same time I don't wanna bring home a dianoasour-era TV

royal

I just got an LG 42" 1080p LCD. It was only $250 more than the 1080p version so I went for it. Eventually I'll probably get a hybrid HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player to go along with it. So far it's been good although the image quality right off the bat was unbearable. The t.v. was set to about 100 contrast out of the box. Once I adjusted the video settings appropriately, the picture was excellent. My parent's got a 42" 720p LCD and for some reason it gives a crackling sound for about 20-30 seconds after turning the t.v. on after only 1 month of usage. She just contacted LG today and was told that they'll take care of her and they'll forward on the info to the tech department on Monday.

jbaello

1080P is the standard for Blue Ray disc, you gotta see this one, it's super clear because they put more pixels compared to a 720 something.

JDMurray

For future-proofing, you definitely want a TV that has 1080p and HDMI 1.3 support. I've heard that you can't really see the difference between 1080i and 1080p until the TV is up around the 70" size, but this really depends on the distance from the TV, room lighting, and the person viewing. All of the new HD-DVD and BlueRay players are 1080p, as are the XBox 360 and PS3. Having 1080p in the TV also means that it can accept input from a 1080i source and upscale it to 1080p.

One of the best Web sites I've seen for researching HDTV purchases is HDTV World at CNET.com. THere is also a lot of good HDTV info and reviews at ConsumerReports.org.

If you shop at Costco, I recommend looking at their HDTV sets for excellent prices. I came close to buying a Sharp Aquos from CostCo.com last month. I haven't been too impressed with the HDTV sets I've seen at Sam's Club.

garv221

This is one of those purchases where you get what you pay for. Do not buy a middle of the road or low end brand or something from Walmart or Sams Club. Spend the extra and get the high end brand, I wouldn't buy any other brand besides Sony, Toshiba, Samsung and Sharp. You are going to want HD, trust me.

Illusionking

I just bought this one over the weekend:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8390537&st=sony+50%22&type=product&id=1179876485825 and loving it!

got it for a PS3

binarysoul

Illusionking wrote:

I just bought this one over the weekend:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8390537&st=sony+50%22&type=product&id=1179876485825 and loving it!

got it for a PS3

Oh Wow!!!! That's a nice TV you bought!

I asume you're reading this message on that 50" MegaTV

Congrats!!!!

Plantwiz

Good lord...$1800 for a tv?

There will be a day all too soon when our CRT type TV dies and we'll just go without.

Looks like a nice one though! Just can't bring myself to make a mortgage (or bigger then a mortgage) payment for a TV....no matter how 'cool' it looks.

binarysoul

Folks,

Does this look like a good TV for the price?

http://www.furniture.com/common/product/productinfo.aspx?ItemId=234371&se=633254005723675000[/url]

paintb4707

Go with a flat-tube. They have the best picture money can buy. I'm no TV expert but I haven't seen a plasma LCD with better picture. Flat-tubes basically look like flat screens from the front and are half the size as regular tube tvs.

I bought this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8293517&st=flat-tube&type=product&id=1172880154412
back in the day for $850 as a DISPLAY model. The price has dropped incredibly since then and I'd say its big enough for a living room. Its sitting in my bed room right now and its huge. Every night I watch this baby and the picture is incredible, I feel like I'm in the theater. Worth EVERY penny.

And don't be fooled by the huge projection TVs. I don't know if they improved any, but from my experience you need to be physically sitting in front of it otherwise if you're at an angle its like a black screen.

Plantwiz

http://www.dlp.com/hdtv/3-d_dlp_hdtv.aspx

Lee H

plasma screens are much brighter than rear projection, make sure you compare this instore as the difference is massive

i have a samsung 42" all black and it looks sweet and picture quality is awesome

http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/product.do?sku=383732

i bought the stand with this and its also black, was the icing on the cake for my newly decorated living room


Lee h

RussS

Me, I have to look at rediculous prices here for LCD and Plasma TVs and will make the call to go with a LCD for up to 47" (and I wouldn't go bigger because I can't afford a 2nd Mortgage ). My reasoning for that is that several people I know in the industry are concerned about the life of Plasma TVs. Looking at long-term warranties I have seen 3 yrs for Plasma, but have seen 5 years for LCD (inclufing 0 pixel). At $2000 and up I want a TV to last at least 10 years.

binarysoul

I just gave a warm welcome to my new guest, my HD TV.

Compliments, criticisms are welcome

Did I do a good job?

http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B000V88XMS/

BeaverC32

I actually bought my 50" SONY HDTV from Amazon...for an amazing price:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Grand-KDS-50A2020-1080p-Projection/dp/B000NKAXJ0/ref=sr_1_1/105-7162908-1778858?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1190763479&sr=8-1

zyc06

royal wrote:

... My parent's got a 42" 720p LCD and for some reason it gives a crackling sound for about 20-30 seconds after turning the t.v. on after only 1 month of usage. She just contacted LG today and was told that they'll take care of her and they'll forward on the info to the tech department on Monday.

I had the same exact pattern your parent did. Even though I love everything about the unit I had (Vizio VU42LF). The crackling sound is not the speakers. It appears to be something that is expanded and contracting due to heat. What kind of solution LG provide to your parent's set?
Thanks

garv221

Lee H wrote:

plasma screens are much brighter than rear projection, make sure you compare this instore as the difference is massive

plasma's are on their way out