tv - 50" or better?

[mrsboz]

Our 12 year old tv just gave out. My husband brought it to be fixed and he said that it would be over $300.00 to fix. We don't want to put that kind of money into it. Any suggestions on a reasonable tv? he would like a 50" or a little more. We don't want to go over $1,000.00. The repairman told him that he should look for the cheapest tv. He said that he's seen just about every brand and can't say one is much better than the other. What do you think?

 

[csss31399]

We have a Samsung 50" plasma. We bought around Christmas for $1000. I did a lot of research. I did not want to pay the $$ for an LCD. We love it. I am sure there are crisper pictures out there, but for the money and since we are upgrading from an old tv, it's awesome.

 

[JB2K]

Our 12 year old tv just gave out. My husband brought it to be fixed and he said that it would be over $300.00 to fix. We don't want to put that kind of money into it.

Definitely more than it's worth (IMO)...

Any suggestions on a reasonable tv? he would like a 50" or a little more. We don't want to go over $1,000.00.

That said, I am seeing some 50" Samsungs out there for around $1K. LG, Sony, and Panasonic are excellent brands, too (but you might pay more). Shop around the discount stores and warehouse clubs, as they seem to have a sale on something, every week (if you are a Costco member, they have an industry-leading return policy on their TVs).

The repairman told him that he should look for the cheapest tv. He said that he's seen just about every brand and can't say one is much better than the other. What do you think?

Of course, he said that -- after all, he IS the repairman (and could eventually use the business).

 

[PinkRhombus]

How far away from the couch will it be?

We're around 12 ft from ours, and we have a 46". I don't know if we could have gone much bigger. You don't want it to be too big for your area.

I'd take a piece of paper the size of what you're looking at getting and tape it up on the wall.

 

[wgqual]

I beg to differ there is a big difference between tv's. Now they all may be made by the same few companies just branded different but there is a difference. If you are dropping 1k i would make sure to do your homework. I researched over 3 months trying to find the "best" tv for my budget. I ended up with a Samsung DLP LED. A good place to start looking is Amazon. They have reviews from customers and if its sold by them and not a 3rd party vendor you usually get free delivery(Plus no sales tax). Costco is also very good.

I suggest go look at tv's and write down the model numbers of the ones you like and google them when you get home and see what people say about them and what the best price is for them. My tv cost 400 bucks more at Best Buy and that was before sales tax. Amazon is hard to beat IMHO!!

Of course I'm a guy so maybe thats why i was so picky with my research
but my wife appreciated it

 

[ColleenG]

Is there a PC Richards near you? We just a 46" Sony Bravia LCD there on Saturday for $998. It looks A LOT bigger in the room than it did in the store. The picture looked great in the store. DH has it all hooked up be we are just waiting for the Direct TV guy to come tomorrow to hook up the HD stuff. Maybe check out PC Richards website. Good luck.

 

[PinkRhombus]

Sorry, wgqual, but I wouldn't go with a DLP if I was interested in plasma or LCD. The picture isn't as good, the viewing range is much smaller....and those lamps that have to be replaced are over $100 to start. My brother's went out two years after he bought it.

 

[mrsboz]

Thanks for all of your input. I love the Amazon idea and the Costco idea. We will probably look some more this weekend. My husband went today to look. I will also check out consumer reports.

I'm not worried about the size of the tv - our tv now is 46" and doesn't seem that big. The room is a pretty good size. It is 20 x 22. so i think that 50" won't be a problem. Thank you for suggesting that though. One of our neighbor's has a tv that looks absolutely ridiculous in the room. I don't know what size it is but it is enormous. I would think that it would hurt your eyes. The room is a good size but they put everything in the middle of the room.

Thanks everyone. My husband is so sikked that the tv is too expensive to repair. He has been desparately wanting a new tv for a good year. I just didn't want to spend the money.

 

[Adi12982]

I highly recommend Costco - not just for price, but they also have an excellent return policy and customer service. they also put an insane amount of research into the products they sell in order to avoid returns/issues. We got my grandparents a Vizio from there for Christmas and the picture and quality is amazing.

http://www.costco.com/Service/FeaturePageLeftNav.aspx?ProductNo=11204333