Starting to shop for an HDTV - Need help!!

DavidandLeahZ

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
873
So - I think we're going to start looking for an HDTV to buy around the holidays. I've never really looked seriously before so any advice on the following would be great:

1) Brand?
2) LCD or Plasma?
3) Contrast (I think it's called) one TV I saw said 4,000:1....is that good?
4) are the TVs with built in DVD players worth it? Only if blu-ray?
 
The only advice I can offer is to stay away from HITACHI. There's a class action law suit over bad TV's they sold. HITACHI *knew* there were defects with one of their models and put it on the market anyway. One particular model was recalled in 2005 and now another has been recalled. I own one of them! :rolleyes:

I keep reading good things about Sony and Sanyo. :thumbsup2


ETA: That should have been "Samsung", not Sanyo. Don't know where I dredged that up from. :confused:
 
The two best brands for HDTVs are Samsung and Sony. They win, hands down, for quality, reliability, workmanship and service. The only category that they don't win on is price; for price, Vizio is the current leader, but of course, you sacrific on the other aspects, especially reliability and workmanship.

LCD vs. plasma is a religious issue, these days, and we cannot talk about religious issues here. :) Seriously, there are enough pro's and con's of each that you'll never get a clear delineation for the two, except in a couple of aspects:

Plasma has a much higher peak energy consumption than LCD; essentially it is a power-hog. So much so that most plasmas on the market today will not qualify under California's proposed ban on energy-hogging HDTVs:

http://www.dtvusaforum.com/home-theater-news-articles/2341-california-ban-hdtvs-2011-a.html

A lot of people feel that plasmas tend to have better video qualities, better contrast, more consistent color reproduction, etc. However, some people disagree, and many people feel that the difference is too slight to really worry much about.

An HDTV with a contrast ratio of 4000:1 isn't a great television, especially not for LCD or plasma. Many projectors (which have a much harder time achieving great contrast ratios) are providing 5000:1, and you'll regularly see LCDs and plasmas providing 10000:1. However, don't get caught up in the numbers. It is an engineering metric, with so many contravening factors that one HDTV with 5000:1 could be better than another with 10000:1. You just cannot what the contrast will actually look like with that number alone. (But you can tell a "cheap" television by the fact that the manufacturer didn't even invest the little bit necessary to get their device up to an impressive contrast ratio.)

Don't buy something with something else built-in. There is no guarantee that the two devices will age, both from a component perspective and from a technology perspective, at the same rate. It also makes dealing with a problem much more difficult.
 
This was my thread a few months ago! LOL
I got great advice and info from the good people here on the DIS and bought a 46" Samsung(1080p 120HZ).I absolutely LOVE my TV! I shopped around for the best price and ended up buying from Best Buy(they had a great price with delivery and set up included). Do your homework and ask a lot of questions before buying! good luck! :goofy:
 

We also got a Samsung similar to yours and love it. People are blown away by the picture ... the black contrast makes a big difference. It has a beautiful picture in a sunny room, too, which was important to us. I recommend getting the fastest processor available if you like sports so that you do not get the jerkiness watching football or tennis, etc. The processor is what refreshes the screen.

Our only problem was that we had problems getting the cable box to stay at 1080 but we finally solved THAT problem.
 
We have a 46' Samsung as well. I did LOTS of research and found the one I wanted. We have absolutely no problems what-so-ever and the picture, out of the box, is amazing. Of course you can find lots of opinions as to what your picture needs to be set at but, this is not what your asking for.

I bought my Samsung from Amazon.com. They have a whitel glove delivery. I was very satisfied.
 
I recommend getting the fastest processor available if you like sports so that you do not get the jerkiness watching football or tennis, etc. The processor is what refreshes the screen.

What's a good processor "number?"
 
We got a Samsung and we love it. It took us three months and I really wanted to get a Sony, but comparing them side by side, we really love this model.
This particular model has a gloss screen and we just love it. It is not reflective at all..not what I was expecting. Just a pleasure to watch.
Here are some reviews. We did wait for a pretty good sale, and have a Best Buy rewards card, and bought on a special night, so we got an extra $70 gift card to spend.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9299831&type=product&id=1218079754976


It took us three months and I really wanted to get a Sony, but comparing them side by side, we really love this model.
This particular model has a gloss screen and we just love it. It is not reflective at all..not what I was expecting. Just a pleasure to watch.
Here are some reviews. We did wait for a pretty good sale, and hae a Best Buy rewards card, and bought on a special night, so we got an extra $70 gift card to spend.


This is something that even though it was pricey, I haven't regretted for one nano second. (I watch the food chanel and I'm always wanting to hand them a spice..just reach right in and be part of the picture, since it looks like I'm a part of it already LOL!).


Samsung - 40" Class / 1080p / 120Hz / LCD HDTV

Model: LN40B640 | SKU: 9299831ENERGY STAR Qualified
4 HDMI inputs; PC input; black cabinet with gray bezel; 16:9 aspect ratio

5 of 5 (9 reviews) Enjoy lush images in stunning detail with this HDTV that features an 80,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and a Wide Color Enhancer 3 and Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp for vibrant picture quality. A fast 4 ms response time reduces blurring and streaking.
 
I have a 47 inch LG that I love. We got a great deal at the end of the tv season and have had it for 2 years now and not one problem with it. Great picture even a closer viewing.
 
:goodvibes
So - I think we're going to start looking for an HDTV to buy around the holidays. I've never really looked seriously before so any advice on the following would be great:

1) Brand?
2) LCD or Plasma?
3) Contrast (I think it's called) one TV I saw said 4,000:1....is that good?
4) are the TVs with built in DVD players worth it? Only if blu-ray?


1. We are big fans of Sony. Do you have a Sony outlet near you? we got pretty lucky at the one in Mass.

2. We are fans of LCD, they are both nice and you will love either one, but Plasma used to have a problem with "burn in" so if you pause your tv the image can be burned into the screen and never go away. The newer models should not have that issue, or so I am told.

3. I know nothing about contrast, sorry! The higher the better, but I dont know how high they go.

4. I would say you are better off getting a separate Blu Ray player. Imagine your blu ray or dvd player breaks, do you want to drag the whole tv in for service, or would you rather just bring in the small part? And when technology improves, you are more likely to replace the smaller items then the larger.

5. I would suggest 1080P, the older models have 720I which is not full HD. I had a sales person try to tell me they are the same, and I promise they are NOT.

Also if they have an option to buy an IN HOME service plan, get it. If the TV breaks, its much easier to have someone come to your home to repair it. And make sure you call your cable/satellite company in advance to get them to get you a new box if you havent had HD before. It may re new your contract. We got our Tv then had to wait a few weeks, which nearly killed my fiance. He was like a little kid on Christmas eve, but for two weeks.
 
A note about 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. These are all HD resolutions, but 1080p is superior to 720p and 1080i. This difference, though, is only noticeable on larger sets, 42" and larger. For smaller sets, 720p is a fine resoluion, and for small displays, such as for portables, even 576i (EDTV) is okay.

I echo the advice about getting IN HOME service. Plasma should not be transported, except in all of its original factory packaging. (Projection televisions also need to be kept perfectly level during being transported; not angled or laying on side, back or front!)
 
I bought a Panasonic 50" plasma in Jan. 2008 and am very happy with it. Based on our viewing area, budget, my technical research, etc. it was an appropriate choice at the time. Technology and pricing may have changed since then, but we still enjoy the plasma.
 
I'm a plasma lover. Bought my first one a Panasonic 50", 720P in Nov. of 2006. A long time ago by HDTV time. It's been a great TV, but when it came time to replace the TV in the bedroom we moved the Panasoinc in there and went with a Samsung 50" 1080P, 240 Hz LCD for the TV room. It does have a better picture then the Panasoinc but it's little like comparing apples and oranges since they are different resolutions.

Id love to take a close look at the new LED TV's that are starting to come out.
 
Most people get LCD because its cheaper than plasma but Plasma is superior in every way except energy consumption.
 
Please keep in mind that contrast ratio is essentially a useless number. Since there is no standard among the industry on quantitatively measuring contrast ratio, manufacturers tend to just throw out number to sound fancy. I think the important thing to do is read reviews (avsforum is a great site to get real user reviews from people who know what they're talking about) and to see the sets in person. Are the blacks deep and rich without overtaking the picture? Do bright colors and bright lights pop without being oversaturated?

LCD vs. Plasma is a heated debate, and there's no right or wrong answer. A good LCD will beat the tar out of a poor plasma in picture quality, and vice versa. As far as brands, I personally have a Vizio that I've been very happy with. Sharp, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, and Pioneer (especially Pioneer) are all great.

Keep in mind as well, simply calibrating the set properly will make a huge difference in picture quality as well. I calibrated my set, and people consistently tell me how great my TV looks, even compared to their more expensive brands.
 
I am by no means an expert in any way, shape, or form, but we bought our first HDTV last year. We went with LCD since it consumes less energy. We bought a 42" Vizio 1080p HDTV. We have been very pleased with it. The picture quality is quite good, and the TV was affordable as well. Of course buying the HDTV necessitated the purchase of an HD TiVo. ;)
 
Another vote for Samsung LCD here.

We bought this one:

Samsung model # LN52A650 52" LCD TV

LOVE IT! The picture is fantastic and they are going for just under $2,000 right now which is a great price.

DH researches everything and this TV received great reviews so it was a no brainer when it came to buying this one for him.
 
What about something to guard against the possible damages from a power surge such as a power conditioner and/or filter?

The techie at the store suggested a Monster Power device - but I've heard bad things about their quality. Any advice one way or the other?
 
Generally, don't buy anything a techie at a store suggests, if its brand-name is "Monster". (Seriously.)

It is important to have your HDTV protected by a high quality surge protector. I have my DLP on a UPS, so that if we have a power outage while watching television, there would be enough power left to run the fan for a while after I turn off the disaply.
 











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