Big Screen TV's

[BRDof3]

Hey all, I need some entertainment advice. DW wants a flat-panel HDTV for Christmas this year. I can't really argue the point, considering the toys I got this year. I haven't shopped for a TV since our oldest DD was in diapers and know nothing about HD.

Can anyone tell me what type to look for, what pixel count is decent, etc? We can't afford to just walk into Best Buy and follow the salesman's preference, but I want to get something that would make it worth the investment. If I am going to pay that much I want to know something about what I am looking at.

Wish me luck!

 

[LONE-STAR]

Wish I could help but this is not my area of expertise. But about 2 years ago I walked into Wal-Mart and they had 42" LCD flat panels for $450.00 with tax. Its been a good tv plus it bigger then my old 32" tube tv.

 

[PanFanAL]

I'm no expert, but i do know you don't want plasma. They have found they burn out in a few years. So I'd say go with LCD.

 

[2goofycampers]

You can also get more TV for the $ with projection. Take a look at sam's club.com. You might want to sign up at Wal-Mart also, last year before black Friday they had one day only specials that the prices were killer cheap on.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

I agree....LCD is the better choice. I bought a plasma when they were relatively new to the market, and loved it....for about 5 years. Then the screen slowly turned whiter and whiter.

I just picked up a Phillips 42" from walmart for a pretty decent deal...no where NEAR as good a deal as LONESTAR got....DAMN Michael...did you have to wear a ski mask with that purchase????

Vizio's are well rated also and are on the lower end of the price span. I think you'll find better deals at Walmart/Target/Sams/Costco than you will at BestBuy/CircuitCity...although I heard CircuitCity just filed bankrupcy...they may be having some good "going out of business" deals soon

 

[LONE-STAR]

I just picked up a Phillips 42" from walmart for a pretty decent deal...no where NEAR as good a deal as LONESTAR got....DAMN Michael...did you have to wear a ski mask with that purchase????

Just walked in at the right time.

 

[des1954]

This time last year I bought a 50" Panasonic, 1080P plasma to replace my LCD that crapped out after only 3 years. The Panasonic is the Consumer Report's top Plasma 2 years in a row. I love it! Wait for a deal at either Best Buy, H H Gregg, or Circuit City (if you still have one), where you get 1 year financing for no interest. That's what I did. It's like lay-away, but you get to take it home with you!

 

[DisCamper]

I have 3 Vizios & 1 Samsung and 1 LG for the price the Vizio looks just as good as my high-end Samsung and LG witch where a lot more money.

 

[Shan-man]

This time last year I bought a 50" Panasonic, 1080P plasma to replace my LCD that crapped out after only 3 years. The Panasonic is the Consumer Report's top Plasma 2 years in a row. I love it! Wait for a deal at either Best Buy, H H Gregg, or Circuit City (if you still have one), where you get 1 year financing for no interest. That's what I did. It's like lay-away, but you get to take it home with you!

Deb, it sounds like we have the same TV, or pretty darn close. I love it. And the horror stories about short lives and burn in do not apply to modern plasmas. The "half-life" rating for my screen is 19000 hours. That is 11 years of 5 hours a day before my screen will have lost half of its current brightness. I can live with that. The picture is far smoother and considerably better at producing shadow detail than any LCD I've seen. The picture is very film-like, perfect for movie watching. And there is no stroboscopic effect or motion artifacts when watching fast action, so I think it is better for sports too (though the colors are more natural rather than video-game-brilliant).

The only real reason I know of to avoid plasma is that a set purchased at low altitude may not work at high altitude (and vice versa, I suppose), so if you are getting one to use in the RV as well, that may be a consideration. Basically LCD is a nice bright screen available in small to medium sizes, and plasma is a high quality picture available in sizes where you can appreciate the extra quality. If I was to get a 42" or smaller set I would consider an LCD, for 42" or larger I would give plasma a serious look.

 

[big kahuna1]

I have an LG and really like it.

Just make sure it broadcasts in 1080P and not 1080I although I doubt any of us would be able to see the difference or even care.

 

[Gatordad]

we have a 13 inch that when you sit real close, looks as good as any of those fancy smancy big screens, just get 3 inches away and you'll be fine. and the cost is good, $69 bucks.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

LOL......if ya splurge a little and get 2 13", you'll have one for each eye...set the one on the right back about 3" further away and you'll get a 3D effect!!!!

In defense of the plasma we had...it WAS a Panasonic. Im sure they've improved them in the last 6 years, but to be honest..it NEVER got turned off, with the wife and kids having it on all day, and me working night shifts, it was also on ALL night at least 4 nights a week, usually 7 nights a week because when Id come home, theres always SOMEONE asleep on the couch with the tv going.....so considering it practically didnt get turned off for 5-6 years, and at the time...the life expectancy was about 25000 hours, I guess we probably got all 25000 of our hours out of it!

 

[F4disneyfan]

Hey all, I need some entertainment advice. DW wants a flat-panel HDTV for Christmas this year. I can't really argue the point, considering the toys I got this year. I haven't shopped for a TV since our oldest DD was in diapers and know nothing about HD.

Can anyone tell me what type to look for, what pixel count is decent, etc? We can't afford to just walk into Best Buy and follow the salesman's preference, but I want to get something that would make it worth the investment. If I am going to pay that much I want to know something about what I am looking at.

Wish me luck!

To be honest best bang for the buck and have gained marketshare in the LCD flat panel HDTV's in the US are VIZIO and with good reason the panels are excellent great customer service and a 1080P set for a price that no other company can touch. I would also reccomend the Samsung lineup but for the money you can't beat the VIZIO and my suggestion is get it at costco.

http://www.vizio.com/products.aspx?id=1504

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...x?guid={E51E87EC-BE94-4B3B-8090-54BF37C6E09A}

 

[des1954]

The only thing I didn't like about my LCD was that you could not view it from an angle. I think that issue has since been corrected, but for me it was a big issue. We have an opening in the wall between the kitchen & living room & if I was working in the kitchen I couldn't see the danged picture!! I was looking from approx a 45 degree angle. It was a 50" Hitachi 50V500 model that we bought in April 04 & the light generator burned out in October 07. We did get the set repaired at a cost of (IIRC) about $375, but IMHO a set that gets watched 4-5 hours a day and one that cost over $2300 initially should work a little more than 41 months. We later read that Hitachi's were probably the most troublesome TV's.

If you're looking at a particular brand, google it first & see what others have to say about it. We now do that with just about every big ticket item we purchase & have yet to be let down by what the other guys have to say.

 

[SCGal]

Go with a Vizio. We have several and they are great Tv's for the money. You can get them at Sam's Club, Walmart and Costco.

 

[LarryJ]

I have 3 Vizios & 1 Samsung and 1 LG for the price the Vizio looks just as good as my high-end Samsung and LG witch where a lot more money.

We bought a 27" Vizio HDTV last year at WW for around $450 and so far it's been great. I just want a decent picture and with something that doesn't weigh 130lbs like my 32 to 36 tube sets do at home. I can't lift those anymore ... not so much from the weight, but how unwieldly they are to manage with just one person.

Larry

 

[bradisgoofy]

Keep in mind that a plasma TV uses more electricity then an LCD and they generate more heat, too. I have two Sony Bravia (46" & 32") a 40" Samsung and a 30" Toshiba, all 1080p. Both my sons work at Best Buy.

 

[BRDof3]

lol, maybe I need to get Brad's sons to buy one and ship it to me.

On this same subject, how do the HDTV's handle non-HD broadcasting and/or DVD's? Someone told me that the HDTV's have a fuzzy picture when the program is not HD-formatted. I don't know how much of Cox's programming is in HD, and none of our DVD's are blu-ray.

 

[2goofycampers]

We have a HD TV but not HD signal thru Dish and the pic is better than the old tube TV, also some DVD players have progressive scan which DS says gives a better pic, but regular old DVD players look fine on ours also. It is a 56 inch RCA projection TV.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Regular programming looks just as good if not better on the HD versus non HD. I havent noticed any fuzzying or bluring at all....and mines fed through cable as well.