Need help buying DH a new TV

[wiigirl]

I am trying to get my DH a new TV for is birthday at the end of the month. My budget is around $1000 and thinking of getting it through Amazon becuase it is free shipping with Prime.

My current choice:
Samsung UN50ES6100 50-Inch 120Hz Slim LED HDTV

3D is not really important but we do watch a lot of Hulu and Netflix. I also thought the Skype option was pretty cool on this.

Does anyone have one of these or can give me an option or review? I really don't know much about this stuff except that it looks cool.

Thank you!

 

[yoopermom]

I did EXTENSIVE research and found that the Panasonic Plasmas in that size are really excellent tvs. There are two on sale on Amazon right now for right around your price point. Ours in in the living room with lots of windows and patio door, and we do NOT have problem with glare (although the color at night is really fabulous, just color drenched).

My boys bought me a tv for the bedroom for Christmas, and I wish it was another Panasonic plasma. They are just super reliable and have a beautiful image.

Terri

 

[kellia]

We've also been looking for a 50" tv to replace ours since it is about ready to go. We'll probably get either a Samsung or LG LED. Plasmas do have a little bit better picture, but if you pause it, the image can burn into the screen. Since the kids mostly use ours, that isn't a good option for us! Check Best Buy and Walmart, we found cheaper prices for that kind than Amazon.

 

[wiigirl]

I did EXTENSIVE research and found that the Panasonic Plasmas in that size are really excellent tvs. There are two on sale on Amazon right now for right around your price point. Ours in in the living room with lots of windows and patio door, and we do NOT have problem with glare (although the color at night is really fabulous, just color drenched).

My boys bought me a tv for the bedroom for Christmas, and I wish it was another Panasonic plasma. They are just super reliable and have a beautiful image.

Terri

Someone once told me plasma's fade over time? Is that true, it was a while ago?

We've also been looking for a 50" tv to replace ours since it is about ready to go. We'll probably get either a Samsung or LG LED. Plasmas do have a little bit better picture, but if you pause it, the image can burn into the screen. Since the kids mostly use ours, that isn't a good option for us! Check Best Buy and Walmart, we found cheaper prices for that kind than Amazon.

I am leaning to Amazon because I have a few gift cards, Prime free shipping, and I need it delivered because I don't think it will fit in my car.

 

[Disney Addicted]

I did EXTENSIVE research and found that the Panasonic Plasmas in that size are really excellent tvs. There are two on sale on Amazon right now for right around your price point. Ours in in the living room with lots of windows and patio door, and we do NOT have problem with glare (although the color at night is really fabulous, just color drenched).

What do you mean by color drenched? My husband's been talking about a plasma as well because we get a lot of afternoon light in our living room where the tv is.

Plasmas do have a little bit better picture, but if you pause it, the image can burn into the screen. Since the kids mostly use ours, that isn't a good option for us!

Really? That I'll need to check out more. Has anyone with a plasma had this issue? We will have lots of kids using ours and games often get paused on the tv. That could be an issue.

 

[HM]

All of our newer TVs are Samsung LEDs. We currently have three. Love them. Great product.

We haven't ordered from Amazon before, though we are Prime members. Just bought at Best Buy where we have a rewards card.

 

[wiigirl]

All of our newer TVs are Samsung LEDs. We currently have three. Love them. Great product.

We haven't ordered from Amazon before, though we are Prime members. Just bought at Best Buy where we have a rewards card.

Do your Samsung TVs connect to the internet? If so, how well do the services like HULU and Netflix work on them?

 

[mrodgers]

LOVE my Panasonic 50 inch plasma. It is just fine with a lot of ambient light.

Problem I have is, there is a window directly across from it. You definitely see nothing but the window unless you close the blinds. We just close the blind when we are watching TV.

At night with all the lights off except for a small light behind the TV lighting a glow onto the wall, the picture is absolutely stunning. I didn't get any fancy options with it, bought the lowest Panasonic 1080p. LOVE it!

I hate how bright the LCD/LEDs are. I wanted something with similar brightness of the old 15+ year old tube TV it was replacing. Panasonic looks far more natural than LCD/LED.

 

[Kies99]

I am trying to get my DH a new TV for is birthday at the end of the month. My budget is around $1000 and thinking of getting it through Amazon becuase it is free shipping with Prime.

My current choice:
Samsung UN50ES6100 50-Inch 120Hz Slim LED HDTV

3D is not really important but we do watch a lot of Hulu and Netflix. I also thought the Skype option was pretty cool on this.

Does anyone have one of these or can give me an option or review? I really don't know much about this stuff except that it looks cool.

Thank you!

Consumer Reports does not rate this one, but the same TV in the 60-Inch is rated a 65 out of 100 and is a "Recommended TV".

Samsung, Panasonic and LG seem to be the top rated brands.

 

[SueInBoston]

I am trying to get my DH a new TV for is birthday at the end of the month. My budget is around $1000 and thinking of getting it through Amazon becuase it is free shipping with Prime.

My current choice:
Samsung UN50ES6100 50-Inch 120Hz Slim LED HDTV

I'm no expert...I shopped Amazon but we just bought Samsung 55 inch, 240hz from costco for $970 (orig 1370, $400 off). Even the Comcast cable guy commented on how crisp the picture is.

 

[wiigirl]

I'm no expert...I shopped Amazon but we just bought Samsung 55 inch, 240hz from costco for $970 (orig 1370, $400 off). Even the Comcast cable guy commented on how crisp the picture is.

Do you know what model that you got? Does it have Netflix and HULU built in?

 

[albarellic]

Do you have a Best Buy near you? I would recommend going to the store and actually seeing which one has the best picture. I'm not saying you have to buy it from best Buy, just check them out. The TV we went in for was not the one we ended up with. I really didn't want a TV larger than 42" in our living room, but when we got there the one we both thought had the best picture was a 46" Sharp Aquos.

 

[SueInBoston]

Do you know what model that you got? Does it have Netflix and HULU built in?

This maybe a Costco specific model #UN55EH6050F

This doesn't have built in internet for Netflix and HULU, another model does and I think it was 100 or 150 more. Our BlueRay player has internet so we already have Netflex, HULU and Amazon Prime Video.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

Do you have a Best Buy near you? I would recommend going to the store and actually seeing which one has the best picture. I'm not saying you have to buy it from best Buy, just check them out. The TV we went in for was not the one we ended up with. I really didn't want a TV larger than 42" in our living room, but when we got there the one we both thought had the best picture was a 46" Sharp Aquos.

The best picture in the store is not always the actual best picture. There are stores that will adjust the pictures so the higher profit margin TVs have the better picture.

We have multiple Samsung in our house. I did have to fix the 55 in when it was about three years old. I think that power supply issue has been fixed in the newer models. Our next TV will be either a Samsung or a Sharp.

 

[yoopermom]

From what I have read, the most modern plasmas do not have the problem with screen burn that the original ones did. My DH/DS have been known to be careless and leave it "frozen" for quite some time, and we haven't seen any ghosting yet (after two years of owning it).

And don't trust what Best Buy tvs look like, because they set them to different standards than what you or I would.

Our tv doesn't have all the "extras" but I bought a nice blu ray player that does have it all (internet, Hulu, Netflix, etc), and it was much cheaper than buying the tv set with it all built in....

Terri

 

[ssawka]

I bought the LG 3D 47" last year from Amazon and I've been quite happy with it, especially given the deal I got (TV + XBOX + game = $900) Last year, that was an awesome deal, now it's a pretty average price.

Amazon was great, they had two guys bring it to the house, unpack it, and set it up. They also offered a 5 year extended warranty for about $50, I think.

 

[Fyrefly]

My dad recently upgraded to a Samsung LED and he's very pleased with it. My one suggestion would be check in the store or with a tape measure or something that you can really handle a 50" TV. He got a little greedy and brought home a 50" first and he has a reasonably large living room but it was just large enough that it was a bit headache inducing. He ended up going down to a 47" which worked much better.

 

[wiigirl]

I bought the LG 3D 47" last year from Amazon and I've been quite happy with it, especially given the deal I got (TV + XBOX + game = $900) Last year, that was an awesome deal, now it's a pretty average price.

Amazon was great, they had two guys bring it to the house, unpack it, and set it up. They also offered a 5 year extended warranty for about $50, I think.

The two guys that set it up were purchased/arranged from Amazon? Would they mount it to the wall if I bought a wall mount for a TV?

 

[Lewisc]

The best picture in the store is not always the actual best picture. There are stores that will adjust the pictures so the higher profit margin TVs have the better picture.

I'll go one better. The Toshiba DLP set I wound up buying was a new model, on sale, low margin. The picture didn't look that great. Other sets, also DLP sets which should have had a similar picture, looked much better. All sets were on the Discovery channel. The Toshiba set was tuned to the regular (SD) Discovery channel. The other sets were tune to Discover HD (High Definition). I think the store was Circuit City, it might have been Best Buy.

Salesmen said there wasn't an easy way he could change the channel on the Toshiba set to the HD version of Discovery.

 

[timmac]

Just some generic suggestions, as I'm not intimately familiar with the TV you are looking at:

- Even if you plan on buying through Amazon, consider actually visiting a Walmart/Best Buy/etc, in person, to see how it looks in person. No amount of discussion, specs, or advice online, can really tell you which models look better than others.

- Consider getting 3D capability. Even if you don't think you'll use it, or won't use it right now, it might be nice to have it there for the future if/when you need/want to use it. Along with this, understand the difference between active and passive 3D, and take it into consideration. The former has more expensive and heavier glasses, and usually has a picture that looks dimmer, and in some cases bothers the eyes more. The latter loses half the resolution, but is a less expensive option, without the strange eye-flipping effects, although visible scan lines can sometimes be an issue.

- I wouldn't worry about built-in Hulu, netflix, or anything else. These services are becoming pretty Ubiquitous on any number of devices (think Bluray players and gaming systems, in addition to a few dedicated devices as well).

- Do make sure there are plenty of inputs available... I'd say at least three HD and one component/composite at a minimum.