Need a new TV, dammit...

[Bobby_M]

While the contrast ratio and blacks varies a lot from model to model, be careful not to discount a TV that might just be badly adjusted at the store. They tend to crank the brightness to compete with the store lights. Go into the menu and lower the brightness to see if you can get decent blacks without crushing the whites.

I agree that you don't really want a 32" widescreen if you're used to 32" 4:3. However, the added clarity of the HD panel will make it seem bigger anyway. What I think you want is a 37 or 42". You'll see about the same 4:3 image that you always have (though there are fewer and fewer shows shot that way) and you'll get more wow with widescreen material.

 

[the_bird]

Well, we're actually graduating from a 32" 4:3, which is why I'm now leaning towards the 37" LG. I mean, I dealt with a 27" for the longest time, but I hate going backwards; the 32" 16:9, it just seems like I'm going to kick myself for getting something too small.

I know it's entry-level, but the 32" 4:3 has been a good size for the living room, so I'm thinking the 37" 16:9 will be a good replacement. 42" is budget-overkill right now. We'll hopefully be moving to a new house in a couple years, at which point I'll probably be able to get a 50" at this price point!

 

[Dalarast]

You have any feedback on that particular LG model? I really don't want to go beyond $500, since we're also going to need a new TV stand (the existing one was designed for the old TV and will look like crap with a new one, I'm afraid). BlueRay is also far, far, far down my list of needs (or even really "wants") at this point. Just want a good TV.

The LG is a decent TV for what you are needing and as pointed out not to much a hit on the wallet. You can always check out open item tv's and stands so you can save even more money. The same return policy applies on the open items so the only issue you might run into is a missing instruction manual.

I know I'm trying to get rid of some 46, 42 and 40 inch Sony's that we have left over from the Holiday that are still in boxes and I keep dropping the price of them just to push them out. Check your local store for sony tv's (32, 40, and 46) inch sony tv's with red bows designed on the box. They will be cheaper than any comparable tv since all the stores are trying to get rid of them since we do not want to stock them since it was a Black Friday tv.

 

[the_bird]

We looked at the open-box models, nothing there that hit our specs (either not big enough, or still too much money). There was a Samsung, 32", that was 1080p instead of 720p, but it was still $150 more than the non-open box model. Doesn't seem to be a good investment of that extra $150, not at that screen size. If it was 37", I might have bit.

Since you do seem to be the resident expert... I'm right in thinking the LG over that Panasonic, right?

 

[Dalarast]

Since you do seem to be the resident expert... I'm right in thinking the LG over that Panasonic, right?

Hate to add confusion to this; but I would actually say the Panasonic brand over LG. Panasonic has higher reviews by both experts and customers; but for what you need the LG would be a good choice for you. Just make sure your happy with it.

 

[the_bird]

Well, I bought the 32" Samsung. Price dropped another $20 at Amazon since last night. Now only $379. Seems to be just about as good a 32" TV as is available. Wife and I both liked it when we saw it at BB. Free shipping, no sales tax applied. Saved myself enough $$ versus buying the larger, lesser-quality LG to pay for a decent TV stand.

And, I can live with the smaller set. Looking at the current one last night... it's plenty big. Even if "regular" 4:3 viewing is a little smaller, that's fine.

When we get a bigger house, this TV'll go into the bedroom, but for now it's fine.

And, my dick's big enough where I don't feel the need to buy something more than I can really afford. Well, not really.

 

[humann_brewing]

I am a sammy (samsung) owner here, have the 630 series. It blows me away every day. I have done the research and landed on a samsung a long time ago, just waited a while before getting it. A couple generations later and I have a sweet one.

Anyways, for the < 500 market, I am not sure you can get all the bells and whistles but it sounds like you could care less about that. The 32" you linked to would be a good cheap choice if that is what you want.

Here is the 40" 630 series for $850

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001U3Y8Q8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Edit: looks like I am too late, but you will be happy with that sammy

 

[the_bird]

Cool, thanks for the confirmation.

I *thought* about jumping up to a 37" Samsung, but that gets me all the way north of $600. Wasn't worth another $220+ for five inches. The 37" is also 1080P (or 1080i).

They don't seem to offer an equivalent model to the LG/Panasonics (37", 720P), and I don't want to have to pay up THAT much. Don't want to basically pay extra for 1080P.

 

[IrregularPulse]

My parents have a 42" Sammy and it has a Fantastic picture!
We just got a 720P LCD last year because we are not movie people really just wanted something big (42") and flat that looked nice. I am happy with mine. Plus I had $500 BB Gift Cards from Hotel points so I was limited to buying from there.
I did research until my head hurt just said F it. I know LG is good, This is the size I want, It has the ports I want/need and the picture looks good. Here's my money.

 

[lamarguy]

I haven't read this entire thread...If you're a Sam's Club member, the TV Auctions site is an excellent bargain.

For example, here's a 40" Samsung Series 540 LCD that is selling for less than $500 (ending in 30mins). I bought my 52" off the same site over a year ago for $900 when the same model was selling in the store for $1500+.

Just realized it...Happy 1000th post to me!

 

[IrregularPulse]

Whoa, never knew about that. Are they new, or like floor models?? come with warranties.

 

[lamarguy]

Whoa, never knew about that. Are they new, or like floor models?? come with warranties.

Brand new...Full warranty...

They're typically one time specials or overstocked merchandise. Not everything is cheaper, but most items are. Just be sure to account for the shipping cost (calculated in your cart).

 

[Synovia]

Well, we're actually graduating from a 32" 4:3, which is why I'm now leaning towards the 37" LG. I mean, I dealt with a 27" for the longest time, but I hate going backwards; the 32" 16:9, it just seems like I'm going to kick myself for getting something too small.

I know it's entry-level, but the 32" 4:3 has been a good size for the living room, so I'm thinking the 37" 16:9 will be a good replacement. 42" is budget-overkill right now. We'll hopefully be moving to a new house in a couple years, at which point I'll probably be able to get a 50" at this price point!

Honestly, theres almost no difference in prices between the 32-42" TVs. You can get a pretty good 42" TV for $600 if you keep your eyes open, but you can't get a 32 for any less than about 450-500.


Honestly, if you're on any sort of budget, stay the hell away from Sammy. They make great TVs, but between them and Sony, you're spending a lot of money on name.

They've been clearing out a lot of the Sharp Aquos TVs lately.

 

[the_bird]

Honestly, theres almost no difference in prices between the 32-42" TVs. You can get a pretty good 42" TV for $600 if you keep your eyes open, but you can't get a 32 for any less than about 450-500.


Honestly, if you're on any sort of budget, stay the hell away from Sammy. They make great TVs, but between them and Sony, you're spending a lot of money on name.

They've been clearing out a lot of the Sharp Aquos TVs lately.

Well, no. Just bought a 32" Sammy for $380. Came in quite a a bit below my upper-end target, not above it. Didn't see any 32-inch "Tier II" brands (LG, Panasonic, et al) much cheaper. I'm not convinced I spend an extra dime on the "name" - I didn't buy a lot of extra features that I didn't need, or extra connectors that would stay unconnected, or 1080P when it sure as hell looks the same (at that screen size) as 720P.

Reading the reviews (and a lot of insight from smart folks here), I've also convinced myself that it's a lot more than just the name, too. We *could* see a noticable difference between the Sony/Samsung models (about the same) and the lesser brands. Might not notice it from across the room, but that's why I was hesitant to buy anything else.

 

[Synovia]

Bingo, if you watch sports pay attention to this advice! Do not get a 60hz tv, they blur like hell! This is one area where plasma spanks an lcd. That being said the 120hz sets are much better.

I've got a 60hz Tv. it doesn't blur, and its a cheap TV.


When you're watching sports, you're only getting a feed at 30/60hz (depending on channel). A good 60hz TV will display sports just fine. As long as it doesn't have all sorts of "auto correction" processing crap turned on.

Samsungs, for instance, have a ton of post processing going on, and render slowly, and look terrible with sports(for the 60hz models). So you really need a 240hz model if you're going samsung. (or, atleast the last time I looked at Samsungs, you still couldn't turn this stuff off).

The real advantage of 120/240hz is dealing with 1080p24 (IE, 24hz video). When you try to put 24 fps on a 60hz TV, you get serious judder. With a 120hz tv, you have even multiples, and no judder.


Most big theatrical films (that are filmed, or were, on film) run at 24fps. So its a big deal.

 

[mmb]

Most big theatrical films (that are filmed, or were, on film) run at 24fps. So its a big deal.

Not really. That is handled in whatever device is doing your decoding, not the TV. It's known as 3:2 pulldown when looking at reviews of DVD players and the like.

You get jitter on the display when the scalier internal to the TV has to change the input resolution/refresh rate to match the panels native display mode.

 

[Synovia]

I haven't read this entire thread...If you're a Sam's Club member, the TV Auctions site is an excellent bargain.

For example, here's a 40" Samsung Series 540 LCD that is selling for less than $500 (ending in 30mins). I bought my 52" off the same site over a year ago for $900 when the same model was selling in the store for $1500+.

Just realized it...Happy 1000th post to me!

Thats not a bad deal, but its not a Samsung Panel. Its got a C-Grade panel (IE, whoever Samsung can get one from the cheapest).

 

[Synovia]

Not really. That is handled in whatever device is doing your decoding, not the TV. It's known as 3:2 pulldown when looking at reviews of DVD players and the like.

You get jitter on the display when the scalier internal to the TV has to change the input resolution/refresh rate to match the panels native display mode.

Jitter != Judder

Most of your films, on 35mm film, are filmed at 24 fps.


Having a frame rate/refresh rate that is a multiple of 24 fps means that the TV doesn't have to display frames an uneven number of times, IE, at 240 hz, the TV refreshes each frame 10 times. At 60 hz, it refreshes one frame twice, and then the next one 3 times (3:2 pull down), then twice again, causing "judder"


What it means is that when you put a 24p source (like many blu-rays) on a tv that can properly display 24p stuff, like modern LCDs, you're going to get frames that are the same as the actual film, not some wierd extrapolation done by the production house or your TV. Which is a good thing.

 

[user 22118]

I bought my 50" LG Plasma with 720p at Costco almost a year ago for $700. They have a 42" for $600 right now. If you are going from an old tv to a new tv, 720 is just fine unless you are so into movies that you are going to complain about it. Unless you have HD and a 60+" TV, you are not really going to enjoy the picture quality that getting 1080p is going to give you. I know a guy that has a projector and at that size you can see a difference in picture quality.

 

[jspence1]

Honestly, theres almost no difference in prices between the 32-42" TVs. You can get a pretty good 42" TV for $600 if you keep your eyes open, but you can't get a 32 for any less than about 450-500.


Honestly, if you're on any sort of budget, stay the hell away from Sammy. They make great TVs, but between them and Sony, you're spending a lot of money on name.

They've been clearing out a lot of the Sharp Aquos TVs lately.

Trust me the sharp Aquos is waaaayyyy over rated. I bought this one and it was very disappointing. I returned it and fixed my old samsung DLP.

 

[user 22118]

I love our sharp aquos TV. Beautiful image. I don't like how it has the auto brightness so that every single time it goes from bright outside to dark inside on Law and Order, the screen has to adjust.

 

[Dalarast]

Trust me the sharp Aquos is waaaayyyy over rated. I bought this one and it was very disappointing. I returned it and fixed my old samsung DLP.

I have the newer model of that TV I got from a contest for my job and I love it for what it is. Its a great TV and has alot of good bell's and whistles if you will; but if I had to buy a 52'' or any large tv for sports, movies, and regular tv viewing I would of went plasma (either Samsung or Panasonic) over any TV we have in our stock.

But once I got my TV calibrated the image is so much clearer that its as close as I could get an LCD image to a plasma image.

Did you know with a blu-ray version of the 2009 StarTrek you can see R2D2 (from starwars) flying through space?? Yeah a benefit of a great tv and bluray

 

[the_bird]

Woot! TV should be here tomorrow.

Gotta love Amazon. Not only was shipping free, but I ordered yesterday, it was shipped this morning for delivery tomorrow. Free overnight shipping, can't ask for better than that.

 

[user 22118]

Did you know with a blu-ray version of the 2009 StarTrek you can see R2D2 (from starwars) flying through space?? Yeah a benefit of a great tv and bluray

Where? I have blu-ray and that movie. Oh, and congrats on the TV Bird

 

[Dalarast]

Where? I have blu-ray and that movie. Oh, and congrats on the TV Bird

When the Enterprise enters the battle late and is dodging destroyed ships it has to "dive" below a damaged ship and scrapes the engines... it flashes to spock and then back to a viewscreen image. Pause the image and go slowly and look in the bottom left corner of the viewscreen till you see R2D2. Its like at 40-48 minutes into the movie; but so funny.

Side note: JJ Abrams is a huge fan of STARWARS and not StarTrek hence R2D2

 

[the_bird]

OK, TV came today. Got everything hooked up as best I can - cable, DVD, Wii.

Thing is, we're not getting the HD channels, and I'm looking for confirmation about what I think the problem is.

The cable box is a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300, DVR. Had it since we swapped to Time Warner a couple years ago. We have digital cable, and that's supposed to include the HD channels for Time Warner,

If I'm understanding things, though, I need to have either a HDMI connection or maybe a component video output to GET those signals, right? The cable box/DVR has neither; we've always just used the co-ax (which I kjnow is SDTV) and I think it's got the old analogue video out connections (two video, one audio - or maybe vice-versa, whatever).

So, I need to call Time Warner and get a new cable box, right?

 

[Dalarast]

OK, TV came today. Got everything hooked up as best I can - cable, DVD, Wii.

Thing is, we're not getting the HD channels, and I'm looking for confirmation about what I think the problem is.

The cable box is a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300, DVR. Had it since we swapped to Time Warner a couple years ago. We have digital cable, and that's supposed to include the HD channels for Time Warner,

If I'm understanding things, though, I need to have either a HDMI connection or maybe a component video output to GET those signals, right? The cable box/DVR has neither; we've always just used the co-ax (which I kjnow is SDTV) and I think it's got the old analogue video out connections (two video, one audio - or maybe vice-versa, whatever).

So, I need to call Time Warner and get a new cable box, right?

Yep all you should have to do is contact Time Warner OR if the local BestBuy has it you can go by and pick up the HD box from them or the local cable office (no charge if its the same as the local cable company in my area). Once you get the new box you'll probably get a 1-800 number to call to set up the new box and then it will load all the channels.

I always say use HDMI for any HD signal such as hd cable or bluray for better quality sound and video; but you can get by with some component cables. Once more I'll plug bestbuy and recommend the insignia cables which are only 39.99 (compared to the 99.99) monster cables and have enough speed to flow 120hz signal.

Enjoy man!

 

[klyph]

Once more I'll plug bestbuy and recommend the insignia cables which are only 39.99 (compared to the 99.99) monster cables and have enough speed to flow 120hz signal.

Please don't pay any more than $10 for a cable. If your cable is less than 6 feet, and especially at 720p, you'll be throwing your money away.

 

[DeafSmith]

Please don't pay any more than $10 for a cable. If your cable is less than 6 feet, and especially at 720p, you'll be throwing your money away.

Monoprice.com - I recently bought 4 HDMI 1.3a Cat. 2 28AWG cables - 6 feet long with ferrite cores and gold plated connectors for $3.34 each. That's right, less than $4 per cable and they work great at 1080p.

 

[klyph]

Werd, at short distances, coat hangers can carry the exact HDMI signal as a 100 dollar monster cable.

 

[Blender]

Werd, at short distances, coat hangers can carry the exact HDMI signal as a 100 dollar monster cable.

I'm not one to buy costly cables but how does a coat hanger transmit sound or a 1080P signal?

 

[Zen_Brew]

I'm not one to buy costly cables but how does a coat hanger transmit sound or a 1080P signal?

LOL. I think you must have old school coat hangers. I'm sure he is referring to the newer 16 conductor helical wound coat hangers.

 

[the_bird]

Trust me, I didn't splurge and by myself a 37" or 42" TV, I'm not going to waste the savings on cables!

I'm still a cheap Yankee basterd at heart.

 

[mmb]

I'm not one to buy costly cables but how does a coat hanger transmit sound or a 1080P signal?

The actual shoot out was monster cable audio cabling and a coat hanger, but the idea is the same. HDMI is digital, if it gets there, it gets there.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/03/audiophiles-cant-tell-the-difference-between-monster-cable-and/

 

[Dalarast]

The actual shoot out was monster cable audio cabling and a coat hanger, but the idea is the same. HDMI is digital, if it gets there, it gets there.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/03/audiophiles-cant-tell-the-difference-between-monster-cable-and/

Especially at a short distance. At long distance cables you need more shielding in the cable to protect the signal; but anything short you can go cheap especially if your just doing 720p (either tv or source).

The only big difference is certain HDMI cable's can processes higher refresh rates (such as the 120 and 240hz) with more clarity so less of a blurr or stutter affect on your screen. I personally only receiver the higher end cable for my bluray player; but I still have a short distance hence why I go cheap on the insignia brand.

Also there are plenty of local cable makers as well as online sources where you can get cables cheap. Make sure they are a reputable company first though (I have a local spot I refer all the time) and not a company that makes cheap cables that they sale to the masses and the reviews are "cheap cable, plugs in.. works" but actual informed people who can verify they have good quality cables that can handle 1080p and high refresh rate (such as the cheap dynex cable at BestBuy on the box states that it should only be used for 60hz tvs and preferred is 720p).

Wow.. I just left work... okay I need a beer now so less talk about work Now off to get taxes done!