large screen HDTV

[dpratt68]

My DH and I have been in the market for a 50+ inch HDTV. Has anyone recently purchased one and gotten a great deal? Are there any brands we should avoid as people have had trouble with them? Any info is great

 

[aero99]

We got one last year. I did a LOT of research on it first. After a lot of reading, and checking the tvs out at best buy we got a toshiba 51" rear projection hdtv READY tv from onecall.com. This tv was a consumer best buy from consumer reports, always ranked well on other sites and a good friend bought one the year before and loved it.

Onecall is a pretty well known site with great prices and service. Make sure to join their program for an additional 1% off (every bit helps). In our case, even though their delivery person was only supposed to take the tv to the door, he helped us carry it in and everything (and at first didn't want to accept our tip). BTW when we ordered they had FREE shipping. Make sure to watch the site cause the specials do change.

As for HDTV vs HDTV ready, we did this for two reasons: 1) we don't have to replace the tv if the technology changes and 2) my husband is a computer guy and is creating his own hdtv pvr (like a tivo).

Good Luck!
Melissa

 

[harleyquinn]

I did a lot of research too! We were told that the best time to buy a TV is at the end of July/into August. That's when all the new model's of TV's come out so you can get amazing deals on last season's floor models and things like that. We got a 52'' Panasonic that was prices $1799 one week, then 1599 the next, and we bought the floor model the week after that for $999! Its a fantastic TV. I swear by Panasonic. Most of the electronics we own are Panasonics, and we never have a problem with anything.

So can you wait a year? Probably not. HTH somehow though!

 

[momto2inKC]

We have a 52 inch Toshiba HDTV. We've had it for 2 or 3 years now. We love it! Have never had any trouble out of it. The picture is beautiful on it! We also went with one that had an extra audio/video jack in front which really comes in handy when the kids have a game they want to play on the big screen.

 

[OzFan]

Just a quick note, we too did our research and wound up with a Sony LCD 52 inch. Beautiful picture, but we went through 4 of them. They ALL had burnt pixels.The first one had about 12 in an 1 inch area, very noticable when veiwing the HD channels. After our 4th one we decided to get a DLP (Digital Light Projection) It has a beautiful picture. I do highly reccommend the extended warranty with whatever you buy! We bought ours 46 inches (beause I was getting sick from the 52 inch models) for only $1999. The prices are still coming down. Good Luck!

 

[Donna]

I did a lot of research too! We were told that the best time to buy a TV is at the end of July/into August. That's when all the new model's of TV's come out so you can get amazing deals on last season's floor models and things like that. We got a 52'' Panasonic that was prices $1799 one week, then 1599 the next, and we bought the floor model the week after that for $999! Its a fantastic TV. I swear by Panasonic. Most of the electronics we own are Panasonics, and we never have a problem with anything.

So can you wait a year? Probably not. HTH somehow though!

Another vote for the HDTV Panasonic 52". This has been an excellent TV. We had an Hitachi which is supposed to be the best according to the experts and it didn't last long at all.
Side note on playing video games on large screens, do this as little as possible, if at all. The game resolution can ruin these types of TVs. We have the front inputs on ours, but the kids know better to ask if they can play video games on it. Thats why they have their own tv in their room!

 

[momto2inKC]

Side note on playing video games on large screens, do this as little as possible, if at all. The game resolution can ruin these types of TVs. We have the front inputs on ours, but the kids know better to ask if they can play video games on it. Thats why they have their own tv in their room!
__________________

Oh, they don't do it often at all. I can count on 1 hand the times that we've used ours for video games. It's usually only if 3 or more players are playing as it's diffucult to see on smaller tv's when it's split into 4 screens.

 

[harleyquinn]

Side note on playing video games on large screens, do this as little as possible, if at all. The game resolution can ruin these types of TVs. We have the front inputs on ours, but the kids know better to ask if they can play video games on it. Thats why they have their own tv in their room!

I think this only applies to projection screen TVs. My husband would never think about harming his little baby, and he plays video games all the time. he wasn't allowed to on his father's because it was projection. It might not be the projection thing, but I know he researched heavily before he bought to make surehe could use it for video games.

As long as you don't leave a game paused for too long, I think it's okay.

 

[Scurvy]

I believe that the only large televisions that are not good to use for video games are the ones with Plasma screens, because images get "burned" onto the screen. Apparently they suggest using an old VCR set to a channel that comes in as static to "refresh" the screen, which helps to prolong the life of the screen. This is what I've learned through my research and watching lots of shows about video games, but I could be wrong! Still, almost everything I've read suggests not getting a plasma screen if you are planning on playing many video games.

As far as LCD and projection screens, they shouldn't be affected by video games any more than they would be by regular movies or television.

My sister recently purchased a Sony Wega 50" LCD PTV and says it's the best thing she ever bought. I'm planning to get one soon, as well. She has been thrilled with hers so far, and her only complaint was that this year's model does not have picture-in-picture, although that is a feature of both last year's and next year's models.

The prices are still dropping - and if you are a member of someplace like Sam's or Costco, be sure to check there since they often include the stand in the price and most other places sell those separately.