HDTV suggestions
 

Hey All,
I need some help. I'm looking to purchase an HDTV over the summer and I am looking for suggestions on brands to look at. I've browsed around review websites and company websites, but I want to get some posters opinions on TV's they have, have used, or have watched.

Here are some random tidbits of information about my wants/usage.
Wants:
40+ inch, maybe a 36...but 40+ is more preferred.
LCD, I don't want a Plasma. 'Nuff said.
1080p, I know the whole "a human couldn't tell the difference line" but still..might as well.
Less than $1,500 (this is going to be hard to do, I know)

Uses:
General TV watching
Watching sporting events...80% of my TV usage (aside from games) is sports related
Xbox 360 (I've got a 20 inch screen tube tv now...and if I play any sports game (again, most of what I play) it comes out fuzzy and just isn't as fun as it could be)

That is really it I think. I plan on getting a DVR at some point and possibly a better audio setup...but those aren't big concerns as it stands.

I plan on waiting at least a month or two as well. I know their are massive price cuts occurring soon so I will be holding off at least a little bit.

Any help/suggestions would be awesome. Thanks

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I've seen a few Visios, both plasma and LCD and they're both very good. The price point Visios have makes them a very good choice.
Whatever TV you do get, spend a little money and get a calibration DVD. I've used this one and it made a real difference.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

How did I know you would be one of the first to post on this Jeff. :P

Yeah, I've been looking at Vizio's already but I've had some people tell me not to look too deeply into them. However, the price is very reasonable and right now, it is my #1 choice due to the relative cheapness and just solid looks.
The calibration DVD is a good idea as well. I was planning on something of that nature. My family just got a 52" Sony Bravia and had some calibration issues that they had Best Buy or someone come out and fix it (I've got no idea really what they did, but they had someone come out I know.)

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I've been looking at them too, although we don't really need one...since we have a couple 42" projection TVs we got for free recently (I sort of fixed one, and the other works but has some wierd blue lines across the screen that are sometimes bothersome).

Looks to me like the smaller sets that you can get 1080P you pay a premium for that, and it's not worth the extra money.

Also do some research into the remote control, apparently some sets don't let you easily change aspect ratio (zoom, or crop, or whatever it's called) without going into a setup menu. That would drive me nuts.

I would treat this purchase like buying a computer...don't spend too much money, because in a year the high dollar set you bought will be available for half what you paid for it....that bugs me....

Also on the calibration thing, if you search the forums on home theaters you can usually find people who've tweaked the set and they offer suggestions on how to do it.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I highly recommend the Logitech Harmony remotes. They are super simple to setup and allow all sorts of customization. If the menu system is bad, the Harmonies allow you to create macro functions to do multiple things with one button push.
I have the Harmony 550 and love it.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Well, in terms of technology I guess mine is old now.

If you consider a Vizio... consider an executive Costco Membership (or find someone who has one) and reap the cashback rewards.

I have a 32" Olevia.... that I paid $350 for in 2006 in a Black Friday Frenzy. I think the HD channels (that I pawn off of Comcast through my tuner) are outstanding.

I can say that I have notice that p does make a difference, and over the summer, you will be seeing fluctuations as even newer technologies replace and advance p.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Cashback rewards? Hmmmm. This is something I haven't thought of. I did think that if I were to get a Vizio to get it from Costco. I'll have to look into that now.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

My room mate picked up the 32" Vizion and we're in love with it. No complaints.

THOUGH I want to say unless you are getting that 42" or higher display, there's no point to 1080p, and most TVs won't come with it if you go under.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I'm going 42 or 47. I definitely won't go below 42.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I am watching my 40' 1080p Vizio right now and I love it. I paid about $650 for it a few months ago at bestbuy.com on a sale. i love this t.v It has 2 HDMI ports and everything else you need to hook up multiple game systems.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I bought a 42" 1080p LG about 3 months ago, and I've been loving it. I got it on sale at Circuit City for about $1200. If you're not set on one particular make or model, you can usually find one or two that have a great deal going at any point in time. Just find out what the current promotions are, do your research, and if it sounds like a good deal, go for it. Otherwise, if you're not in a hurry, you can wait until one you do like comes on sale. They bring out new models all the time, so you can probably catch a good deal on something that's being phased out.

One key thing to keep in mind is the size of the room - you don't want it to be so large that it overwhelms the room, and you also don't want to be sitting so close that you don't get a good view of it all. I've got a pretty decently sized living room, and my 42" is about the largest that would comfortably fit. If I'd gone up to the 46", it likely would have been too big for the room.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I'll probably be buying an HDTV soon, as well, as I'm tired of trying to see the ridiculously tiny text on many XBox 360 games. I have a 32" TV right now and will probably end up with an HDTV that's about the that size -- or maybe 37" or so. If I go much larger than that, I'll run out of walls large enough to accomodate the TV.

I've been curious what effect the switch from a 4:3 aspect ratio to widescreen makes, though, in perceived viewing area. Regular TV shows will appear smaller on a 32" widescreen TV than on my TV, but is that difference really noticeable?

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Sorry to say this, but...

Vizios are cheaper for a reason.

Before I would buy, I would compare whatever I'm interested in with either a Sharp or Sony. Preferably Sharp.

BTW - I'm not disappointed in the least with my Panasonic plasma. When the lights burn out in 10 years or so, I'll buy the latest technology.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Thats an interesting question. Seems that right now TV is in a transition to the widescreen format, and everything is a mess! SDTV is 4:3, HDTV is 16:9, and as a result of both systems being used at the same time, it's confusing.

I personally don't like scrolling text, and having the ability to crop off the top and bottom of a 4:3 picture on a widescreen set is nice. But if you want to see the full width of a widescreen video on a 4:3 screen, then you end up with the little letterbox.

Right now we have 2 TVs in the living room, one is a 4:3 32" and the other is a 16:9 42", both have similar vertical size, but widescreen shows look much better on the wide screen, and normal old TV looks "right" on the small screen.

And my wife and I have different ideas about which way to watch which shows, there is a lot of personal preference involved. For exmaple, I'd just as soon watch the old TV shows on the widescreen and zoom in and lose the top and bottom, and she's ok watching widescreen movies in the letterbox on the narrow TV.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Take a look a the new Samsung LCD. 50,000:1 contrast ratio and 120 hz.
I saw the Samsung 4671 and 5271 (46" and 52") and the picture was very sharp (25,000:1)

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The majority of the things I own are the "not known/top brand" or I buy used/second hand on eBay, etc. There is a large mark-up on things just because they have a name on them, and for other things as soon as they have "rolled-off the lot" they loss the majority of their value.

I would rather spend $350 (or similar) for a TV that is under warranty for one year with a no name brand than a TV that costs $1500 under warranty for one year and have the same thing happen to it - Break!



As for the CostCo deal. Unless you yourself is a CostCo shopper the majority of the time, it may not pay off. The executive membership is $100, whereas the regular membership is $50. You get 2% back on all purchases. Therefore you need to spend $2500 (correct?) in order to get that extra $50 back. Everything else you buy during the year after that you get cash back on too.

Thats why I noted if you happen to know someone, or can get someone to go in on a membership with you - its a win win.

We have been eying a new 50" ($1200) I believe at CostCo for some time now. One benefit of that is it comes with a nice little surround sound system. Nothing fancy, but good enough for movies.

I'll post some links if I can locate them.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I know our TV allows you to choose between the ratio you want to display in.

I have the benefit of having both the HD channel and the SD channel. If I decide one is not displaying how I think it is 'correct' I just switch to the other channel to get rid of "squashed heads"

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Corey,

If you are looking for the best quality tv (i.e. sharper image, longer life, etc.) i'd stick with the following brands:

Samsung
Panasonic
Sony

These are the top 3. They are a bit higher in price than the rest of them, but i'd say spending an extra $100 would be worth it. And remember you only get the most basic cables when buying a tv, so you will have to get the HD cables etc.

Right now you can get the following for under $1500

Samsung 42" $1100 - only 720p however.


Samsung 32" $1000 - 1020p.


Panasonic 42" $1400 - 1020p


Sony 40" - $1150 - 720p only


Sony 40" - $1400 - 1020p

* I use the Circuit City Website simply because i have worked their and know it the best.*

I would suggest looking around stores such as Best Buys, Circuit City, and the manufacturer's websites as well to see where you can get the best price once you figure out the TV you would like.

I'd also recommend not only getting a set of HD cables, but also getting an extended protection plan. (i know i sound like i still work for them). But in all honesty the number's of tv's that we would have people come in and talk to us about that had broken say a year or 2 after they got it was amazing. (most manufacturer's protections plans only cover 3 - 6 months on TV's)

Good luck and let me know if you need anything else.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I forgot to mention one of the most important things. Trust your own eye.
Sony's may have amazing color and the Samsungs may have a contrast ratio through the roof but if they look the same as a Visio or LG or NoName brand to you, consider it.
You're going to be the one watching it the most. Trust your eye.
Also, bring a DVD with you to the store when you go looking and ask if they can play it (no offensive material). The signal that stores run to every TV in the place is not always the best quality. Use your own signal to judge.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Yeah, the wide screen TVs generally let you select the way you want to view--either "normal" (with bands at the sides when viewing 4:3 material), "full" which is how widescreen video should be, or "zoom" also called "fill" which crops the top and bottom of a 4:3 show to fit the full width of the wide screen, or "wide zoom" or "wide fill" which stretches out the edges of the 4:3 show to fill out the whole width of the screen.

I generally watch 4:3 stuff in the zoom mode.

Also, we have a couple digital TV tuners that do SDTV, not HDTV, and they also have a zoom feature, so you can select how the display looks. Typical choices are "set by program", "letterbox", "cropped", "sqeezed". I usually set it to cropped, so the sides of the widescreen content is cut off on a 4:3 TV.

What's fun is connecting the SDTV tuner to a widescreen TV, watching content that was originally HDTV (widescreen) and figuring out how to get all the zooms set so that it shows up like it should. Works well once you get it figured out...for example, I watched the Carrier show on PBS on the widescreen in full digital clarity, although it is pretty low resolution because the only PBS transmissions we get are from an SD repeater instead of the HD transmitter (the problem with living 75 miles from a big city)

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Phillups and Magnovox are giving up their naming rights, their pulling out of the US TV market, so some of their TV's will go on clousout later this summer

Sony TV's are expected to get a price cut sometime in June...

If Best buy comes out with their HD Advantage deal, you can get a 42" 1080p tv for as low as $400, as long as your willing to do a bit of work for it.....(i did this....)

one of the best places to find deals on tv's and other things is www.slickdeals.net , check out the forums there, their set up A LOT like ChiefDelphi. your gonna find all sorts of deals there

personally, i have a Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD HDTV, and it works great

hopefully my $0.02 helps you out.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

If you go the Costco/Sams route, be aware that they often are carrying older models. When I got our Sharp Aquos LC37D90U LCD last year, Costco was carrying a year-older model with fewer features. I'm quite happy with the Sharp, BTW.

You can get the Sharp LC37D64 for $1275.55 at Abes of Maine (where I got ours).

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Unless you are OCD about things, ask employees at stores if they have any "damaged" televisions.

Back in August, my dorm room floor pooled money and bought a "damaged" 42" 1080p Visio LCD television for $800. It was about $500 cheaper than normal retail price at the time because there was a two inch long scratch on the plastic stand, that was purely cosmetic. Literally, that was it; everything was still 100% functional, but it was still given the "damaged return" label.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Also when considering a HDTV, be sure to see how it looks like with standard analogue TV. Some HD TVs are horrible at converting analogue NTSC signals. Problems like pixelating, aliasing, and color matching could occur. Digital SD signals are much better if you can get those. If you have DirectTV then it shouldn't affect you that much. But if you have cable (Cox, Comcast, etc) it will most likely definitely affect you.

Sony seems to be the best with this, with Vizo being in the middle of the road.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Although we only have less than a year of most analog broadcast...except that repeaters, low power, and Class A stations will be allowed to continue broadcasting analog after Feb 2009.

http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#faq22

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Yes and cable companies also have to keep there analogue stations until 2012

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I would get a Sony Bravia xxV3000 or xxW3000 Series or a Samsung xx61f or xx65f series (replace xx with the size you want). AVS forums is a very good resource for anything A/V related

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

-edit Last time I did any research on HDTV's was last Christmas when my family got a Bravia 46v3000. It looks like since then, newer models have come out such as this Bravia v4100

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Bravia-KD...44547& sr=8-2

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Also, if you do buy some HD cables, don't go for the expensive cables they sell in the store as they are incredibly overpriced. Just look for some cheap cables online... you really won't see the difference between them.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

I just bought this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...E=WEBLET03SHIP

and installed it this morning.

47" 1080ip LCD for $1100 bux, can't beat that.

And don't be scared by the Olevia name.... It's really an LG panel inside.

It looks STUNNING.

Plus, this is a glass front, which provides better color, and more scratch resistance.

-Jacob

EDIT: Yes, I misquoted. It's listed at 1080p, not 1080i

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Just because a panel can accept an input, does not mean it can natively display it. I'm pretty sure thats a 720p panel. LCD's do not display interlaced images which is a CRT thing, but rather display progressive images. LCDs do not have to redraw the image line by line like CRT's, but twist/untwist crystals for only the pixels that change from image to image. The speed in which they can do this is the response time (usually about 12 ms). I'm pretty sure that TV will just scale the image the 1080i image down 540p (sub HD), then stretch it back to its native resolution of 1368X768. A native 1080p display can just reconstruct a 1080p image from a 1080i source (typical for HD broadcasts) without the need for scaling.


As for cables. Get them at monoprice.com. If you pay more than $8 for an HDMI cable, you were ripped off. Digital is digital. There is no difference in image quality, you either get a signal or you don't. STAY AWAY FROM MONSTER CABLES!

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

My mom just got suckered into buying Monster Cables when she bought her new TV. I heard that and had her return them immediately.

Anyone know any good places for refurbs/old models? I know Pete said that Costco/BJ's/any wholesale club will normally sell older models, but does anyone else know any good places to get some? Or does anyone know any places to avoid when seeking a refurb/open box deal?
I'm wavering on how much money I want to blow on this TV and want to search out some cheaper options.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Late last year I was in Sears to get my car alignment done so I went up to the second floor to look at the TV's. As soon as I saw them one stuck out as very bright and clear. It was the Samsung 4671 LCD HDTV. It blew all the others away including the plasma's. It has the 25,000:1 contrast ratio. The new one, 46A650, has 50,000:1 contrast ratio but doesn't look any better than the 4671.

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Before making a decision on make and model check out one of the viewing distance/screen size calculator sites.
http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/12/09...o-screen-size/
http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-...me/tv_faq.html

Initially, plasma sets are the best all around display. They do not suffer from LCD lag, viewing angle drop off, backlight color change or DLP illumination failure. However, they do form a smoke like film on the interior of the glass over time and they are subject to burn in like most displays. They are also the heaviest of the bunch.
Newer versions of the LCD family have less lag, better back lights and better viewing angles. As many have reported, the Vizio line is a good buy. They do not make the display but they are manufactured in the US. The Sony XBR line is very good looking, has almost true blacks and a color correcting backlight for accurate colors. However, it was recently reported to me that Sony no longer manufactures their own sets. Samsung is producing them for Sony. No details on whether that applies to all Sony sets or not. I suspect the same goes for other manufacturers.
DLP makes a nice picture and has few of the issues that LCD displays have but a much higher price tag on the illumination device. If considering a DLP ask what the replacement cost for the bulb is and whether it can be replaced by the consumer or requires a factory service call. A friends DLP has a great picture but there is something about the display that I have a problem with. It may be the over compression of his cable system.
No matter what you buy, you will be subject to the the compression and resolution decisions of the provider. Even over the air broadcasters do not broadcast in full HD 1080i most of the time. Those that choose either 1080i or 720P still can heavily compress the signal to allow other services to use some of the 19.2Mbit spectrum stream which reduces the bandwidth of the main signal. These compressions are mostly visible in motion, such as waterfalls, rain, car races, sporting events, backgrounds of seascapes, etc.
Be aware that when viewing a signal in a store, it could be playing back from a video server in the backroom, off the air or from a cable provider. Even if it is an HD signal, it could be upconverted from a standard def program.

I should also note that Plasmas generate of lot of RF noise. Although newer designs are better, if you require a quiet RF environment then one of the other technologies is a better choice.

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Another thing that doesn't seem to come up in discussions very much is power consumption...for example, a Panasonic plasma 46" model TH-46PZ85U consumes 628 watts, while an HP LCD 47" model LC4776N consumes 320 watts.

Finding power consumption specs for some brands is also rather difficult, you might need to look at the label on the back of the set.

The local Sears store has a rather crowded TV section, with lots of sets on closely spaced shelves. The ambient temperature is pretty high!

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I hate to keep this thread going but I'm going to be buying an HDTV soon and I have some questions.

1) Best Buy is trying to sell me a power center. I supposed to filter the incoming 120 HZ A/C to reduce the spikes. Does it work?

2) My receiver is over 15 years old. Do I NEED to replace it or will mine work just fine for video? It has DVD and satellite functions.

3) Someone mentioned they don't like Monster cables. What do you recommend for the HDMI cables?

4) I was told that it's best to get the Playstaion 3 for the Blu-Ray capability becasue you can upgrade it faster than you can upgrade the standard Blu-Ray players. Now I'm being told that playing Blu-Ray discs on the the PS3 will eventually make the PS3 go bad. Any truth?

Thanks in advance for any help :)

Re: HDTV suggestions
 

Wayne,
If power is a problem at your location then you might want to but a power center with built in spike protection. Not all that say they are protected actually are.
The government has a program to help with the move to HD. https://www.dtv2009.gov/ You make an application and receive the coupons in the mail. They are only good for a certain length of time and are not renewable.
Monstor cables are notoriously over priced and over hyped with virtually no scientific testing to demonstrate their claims. HDMI cables are available at Best Buy, Radio Shack or MCM (mcminone.com)
I will leave the Playstation discussion to someone who actually owns one.

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Make sure the TV has analog audio out (I'd be very surprised if it didn't). Then you can run HDMI to the tv (HDMI carries video and audio) and then standard RCA cables from the analog audio out from the tv to your receiver.

I ordered my HDMI (and many other cables) from monoprice.com.

The playstation 2 had several problems with the DVD drive over the years, so my guess is the person who told you it would go bad is extrapolating the experience from the PS2. I haven't heard of any long term problems with the PS3, but it really hasn't been out that long.

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We bought the previous model year's version of this TV. We'd have gone for a bigger one, but the room it went into is not very large.

It's a great TV. We love it. SDTV looks like garbage relative to a non HDTV, but that's expected of any HDTV. Most of my TV watching is ESPN, ESPN2, FSN, Discovery and then a couple shows on ABC/CBS, so pretty much all of it is in HD, and it looks beautiful.

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RCA??? :ahh: Analog??? :ahh:
:ahh: :ahh:

If you only have stereo audio currently, I'd highly recommend going to Wal-Mart and picking up a 1000 watt RCA 5.1 surround system for ~$130. The entire effect of your new big-screen and high-def player (blu-ray or whatever) is lost if you only have a stereo set of speakers....

Monster cables are totally overrated. There is no reason to purchase them over anything you can find at monoprice.

I'd recommend the PS3. For the same price as a regular blu-ray player, you can be playing some of the best video games on earth in true high definition (just wait for FF13 to come out.... it will be one of the first games to use all of the cores and system memory of the PS3, and it's graphics will be out of this world.) Not to mention you could charge admission to your neighborhood kids to play on your PS3 in your living room.... :cool:

-Jacob

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What I got
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/spec.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype =lcdtv&model_cd=LN46A750R1FXZA&fullspec=F[/url]

I also bought a PS3, and new Pioneer THX A/V receiver, a pair of Bose speakers and a Nikon D80 digital SLR

I'm happy :)

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Forgive me for tacking this onto this thread, but I don't really know from A/V stuff and this seems as good a place as any to ask about it.

For reasons that are too ridiculous to explain, I have to convert an output from HDMI to DVI, then from DVI back to HDMI. There's an intermediary device involved that only supports DVI. As a result, am I losing the enhanced quality provided by the HDMI cable?

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No, the hdmi and DVI video specs are the same. You just lose the ability to carry audio through the hdmi cable.