Tell me about your new(ish) TVs

[binny]

We are thinking about a new TV as all of ours are ancient and have various issues.


There is SO much information out there though I am completely lost.

LCD or not? Plasma? I have no idea what to even look for. Obviously it has to be HD

I am on information overload and need some help!

Thanks

 

[Scurvy]

You will find some people who greatly prefer plasma, and others who love LCD. The two are much closer, quality-wise, than they used to be so in general I don't think there's a huge advantage to getting one over the other. For me, the most important factor was the picture quality and I think the best way to see what you prefer is to look at the different types. I would recommend spending some time looking at display TVs without looking to see which type they are, and choose your favorites. (Keep in mind that different stores might set their screens differently - some places they'll be brighter, some dimmer, etc. so you might want to check the displays in several different stores if possible.) When we did that, we discovered we had a very strong preference for LCD - every one of our favorites was an LCD, and all of those we disliked were plasma. LEDs are newer and look really good, though they were significantly more expensive when we were shopping for ours so we ruled them out. Their prices might be more in line with LCD and Plasma by now.

I'd recommend getting 1080p rather than 720p, assuming you are getting a large screen. I'd also suggest a minimun refresh rate of 120 Hz. Some people swear by 240 Hz, and my TV will do that, but I honestly don't see much difference. (In fact on some things the 240 actually looks a little odd or unnatural, for some reason.)

I have a Samsung and I love it - I would highly recommend that brand and I think they are usually very highly rated.

 

[binny]

Thanks Scurvy, Samsung is a brand we are really considering. We have a Samsung fridge a few other things and we have never been disapointed.
Thanks for the info I really appreciate it!

 

[Disney Daniel]

I purchased a 40" Sharp Aquos LCD a few weeks ago and could not be happier with it. I ended up paying a bit extra in order to ensure I got a 120Hz television rather than a 60Hz and I would recommend spending the extra money to ensure you have a quality model in terms of Hz and contrast ratio.

I know what you mean about information overload, and I "studied" so to speak for weeks prior to deciding on the Aquos. Best of luck and if you have any specific questions, just send me a PM.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

I'd recommend getting 1080p rather than 720p, assuming you are getting a large screen. I'd also suggest a minimun refresh rate of 120 Hz. Some people swear by 240 Hz, and my TV will do that, but I honestly don't see much difference. (In fact on some things the 240 actually looks a little odd or unnatural, for some reason.)

I have a Samsung and I love it - I would highly recommend that brand and I think they are usually very highly rated.

ITA. We recently bought the Samsung - 40" / 1080p / 120Hz / LCD HDTV
Model: LN40B630
Rated 4.8 of 5 stars (150 reviews)

The picture on this TV is fantastic. We are very pleased with this Samsung and highly recommend it. You should be able to find some great deals on TVs right now in time for the Superbowl.

 

[luvmyfam444]

yes - there's tons of info out there - I got my info from here of course

We just bought a small tv after Christmas. A Philips 32" LCD -720P plenty big for us.

It has been great - THOUGH I have learned just because you have an HD capable tv - you are not gonna see everything in HD. And thru DirecTV you have to pay $200 to get the HD box - so we don't have it

SO we have some shows that don't look great & others (like movies) are AMAZING.

We chose the lower resolution 'cause from what we read it didn't matter for how small the tv is we got. I believe if you go bigger than 32 then you must go 1080p

Just remember in the showroom you will be viewing the tv in HD - and you may not see all channels as good as you see in the store if you are not getting HD coming in.

Clear as mud -right?

 

[dizluvah]

We bought a 52" inch Samsung LCD more than a year ago and we love love it. I put DH off as long as I could because I didn't think HD was necessary, didn't want to spend the money, etc. Now I think I love the tv picture quality more than he does! Good news, our model has come down in price recently (I assume most have) we paid $2500 and the same tv can be had for 1800 now.

Good luck picking the one that is the best for your family.
Here is the link to our tV
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/.../LN52A650A1FXZA/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail

 

[bicker]

More recent reviews of the industry have resulted in Sony dropping to #3, behind #1 Samsung and #2 LG. Panasonic is also highly rated.

Toshiba has dropped a bit, putting it into the same, second-tier category as Mitsubishi, Sharp and Vizio.

Do yourself a favor and don't consider any television brand other than those in the first or second tier. There is just too much that can go wrong, and the cost of repair, and the cost of disappointment, is simply not worth the risk.

I'd go with an LCD, because its peak power consumption is typically lower. Otherwise, it is a matter of personal choice. However, unfortunately, retail store showrooms are typically a horrible place to compare televisions because the stores tweak the sets into a dynamic mode that exaggerates the picture quality while lowering the life of the television. (Which is a good reason to not buy a floor model.) (Your best bet is to try to find friends and family with televisions that they're happy with and check them out yourself, but the problem with that is that friends and family don't often have two television brands sitting next to each other in their living rooms. )

 

[binny]

Thansk everyone! I really aprecciate the input!

 

[BunsenH]

I've had a 50" plasma Panasonic for 2 years. No problems and I still enjoy the picture quality.