Need a new TV, dammit...

[the_bird]

Our TV's dying. Something's messed up, and I don't want to put money into a huge, old beast. Good TV for us for a while (32" flat-screen Sony, but an eight-hundred pound CRT beast). We got our $200 out of it.

So, given that I know lots and lots and lots of you folks have already done this research... bless me with your findings and recommendations! I don't need a huge-ass TV; I can live perfectly happy with 32", although I could be convinced that I might actually enjoy watching hockey with a 37" screen. The living room ain't that big. I'd like to not spend more than $500. Don't see myself buying a BluRay player anytime soon.

I've seen a Samsung model that seems to get good reviews (and isn't too expensive, especially with free shipping). Thoughts?....

Second... what the hell am I supposed to do with a dying, eight hundred pound CRT television?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Huge Assed Samsung Owner here.

Love the set. Worth every penny. All 270,000 of them.

 

[the_bird]

Any sense of quality of the Samsungs versus any of the other brands?

 

[springer]

I have the 37 inch RCA LCD High def . I love it I wanted to go larger but I had heard if you go to large and you have cable TV the picture quality is diminished because they compress the signal. And I wont go with Verizon TV I hate them with every fiber of my being............

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Any sense of quality of the Samsungs versus any of the other brands?

Meh. They are all "pink on the inside" so to speak. It really comes down to cost and which evils you want to deal with later. Bulbs, pixel death, noisy color wheels, etc....

 

[klyph]

Love my Samsung. Best bang for the buck IMO.

 

[mosquitocontrol]

If going for LCD I wouldn't buy anything other than a Samsung or Sony. There is a HUGE difference in picture quality in my opinion. I've had my Samsung for 3 years and it is great.

 

[springer]

Meh. They are all "pink on the inside" so to speak. It really comes down to cost and which evils you want to deal with later. Bulbs, pixel death, noisy color wheels, etc....

+1000 there is no such thing as proprietary parts anymore with electronics .

 

[Zul'jin]

We bought an LG a few months ago. 42", flat screen, LCD, 1080p and all that. Cost about $800 for the in store display unit. Totally satisfied so far.

Our old TV is an RCA crt. Had it for years. No problems.

The other even older TV is a Quasar crt with built in VCR. We don't use it much anymore. Still, no problems. The RCA does have better picture quality though.

We have 2 different model Samsung mp3 players. Each a few years old. No problems.

Our first DVD player was a Samsung. A pretty fancy one too. We had to bring the first one back because the discs would not change. The tray didn't rotate. The second one was a little flaky too. The tray got stuck sometimes.

Anyway, back to TVs. We searched and searched as we waited for flat screen prices to drop. In all the reviews we read, LG was number one. Samsung always placed in the top 3 with Sony or RCA. A few Panasonics looked good but, a few more negative reviews on them than the rest. Price wise, Samsung was usually the least expensive of same to same TVs.

 

[the_bird]

This one that I'm looking at is 720p, versus 1080i (or whatever). Not entirely sure what that means, or if it bears any relevance on a TV of this size. CNET's review (pretty good) indicated that this wouldn't be an issue. Anyone disagree?

(incidentally, WHAT THE HELL is 720p versus 1080i versus 1080p? )

 

[Tonedef131]

I recently got a 40" 1080p Toshiba for $548 at Best Buy, seemed like a good deal to me considering 2 years ago it would have been 3 times that.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

This one that I'm looking at is 720p, versus 1080i (or whatever). Not entirely sure what that means, or if it bears any relevance on a TV of this size. CNET's review (pretty good) indicated that this wouldn't be an issue. Anyone disagree?

(incidentally, WHAT THE HELL is 720p versus 1080i versus 1080p? )

quantifies the pixel count in a coulmn. p and i denotes the horizontal scanning method used to refresh the screen.

 

[klyph]

That number refers to the resolution.

The suffix refers to the way the picture scans. P is generally accepted as better than I.

 

[dataz722]

Do you have a BJs or Costco membership? I have always found them to have by far the best prices. Both of my HD tvs came from there. I just got a 32" sony LCD for $400 from BJ's.

This one that I'm looking at is 720p, versus 1080i (or whatever). Not entirely sure what that means, or if it bears any relevance on a TV of this size. CNET's review (pretty good) indicated that this wouldn't be an issue. Anyone disagree?

(incidentally, WHAT THE HELL is 720p versus 1080i versus 1080p? )

A 32" tv, unless you have your nose against it, you won't notice a difference between 720 and 1080.

 

[Bobby_M]

I agree with the others that say brand does matter. The same panels are used across many brands within the same type (720p, 60hz refresh, 5,000 CR) but there are a lot of different panels out there. It means nothing if your eyes can't see the difference, e.g. coors lite drinkers are happy consumers.

Samsung and Sony Bravia models @ 1080p, 120hz with the high contract ratios spank the hell out of the LG, Vizio, and other semi-off brands when you compare them side by side.

Whether or not you NEED 1080p depends on what kind of sources you have, what size panel you want, and how far you'll be viewing from. I think anything smaller than 37" from typical living room distances wouldn't benefit from 1080p (720p is fine). Once you have an HD TV, it's silly not to get an HD source like cable, satellite or Blu-ray which will all put out at least 720p source material.

One thing you can do is go for a smaller 720p TV now and keep that in mind for a bedroom TV if and when you want to upgrade the "family" TV.

The discussions about 720p vs. 1080i are probably more about what input signals the TV will support but it says nothing about what the native panel resolution is (in other words the screen is literally made up of a fixed number of dots, either 720 high, or 1080 high. Any signals that come in besides the native, needs to be rescaled)

 

[the_bird]

No Costco's or BJ's (hell, I *am* married) within an hours' drive, so no membership.

 

[Bopper]

Here's a guide for figuring out the best resolution based on TV size and distance sitting from the TV. Generally speaking, the smaller the TV the less resolution you need.

1080p is probably a waste of money if you don't get a blue ray since your picture will only be as good as your source signal. I don't see Comcast carrying 1080p anytime soon. Even if you did buy a blue ray, you need to sit very close to a 32in 1080p to see the resolution improvement over 720p.
http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter

 

[dataz722]

1080p is probably a waste of money if you don't get a blue ray since your picture will only be as good as your source signal. I don't see Comcast carrying 1080p anytime soon.

Thats because comcast sucks. Both directv and verizon and putting out 1080p

 

[the_bird]

Found a 32" Sony at Amazon for the same price as the Samsung I linked earlier. Any insight as to one being better than the other?

Right now, I do have digitial cable through Time Warner, which includes a fairly significant number of HD channels, so I *will* get some direct benefit just by buying a better TV. Other than that, it'll be DVDs and the Wii.

 

[dataz722]

Another thing that most people overlook s the type and number of inputs that it has.

 

[Bobby_M]

I think it's somewhat warranted to overlook because even the cheapest LCDs have a minimum of 3-4 HDMI which is about all you'd need unless you're a game console junkie.

That Sony Bravia on Amazon is a decent unit for $399. I think Walmart has it too for the same deal.

Please don't spend more than $10 a piece for some 3' HDMI cables. Also, the LCDs have built in ATSC tuners so grab yourself an antenna and get some local over the air HD.

 

[dataz722]

For any sort of cables at all www.monoprice.com is by far the best I have ever found. They also have very cheap mounts for LCD's and plasmas. I just put in a $300+ order with them.

 

[Elshauno]

I have a 32" Toshiba 720p that's pretty nice. Heres a 37" version thats 1080p
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889253227R

 

[Elshauno]

For any sort of cables at all www.monoprice.com is by far the best I have ever found. They also have very cheap mounts for LCD's and plasmas. I just put in a $300+ order with them.

Oh and dont buy into the expensive HDMI cable crap read up on this cnet article. As long as they work there is no difference between the cheapies and the high end cables. http://reviews.cnet.com/hdmi-guide/

 

[Reelale]

Vizio 1080P. You won't be sorry. I have an 1081 I that I bought long, long ago and it's still working just like it was when I bought it. Best buy for the money....check the reviews.

 

[mmb]

For any sort of cables at all www.monoprice.com is by far the best I have ever found. They also have very cheap mounts for LCD's and plasmas. I just put in a $300+ order with them.

I was hoping someone would pimp Monoprice. I've bought all my cables for my front projection setup and for the two 19" LCDs I bought for behind the bar as well as the mounts.

Great hardware and cables.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

I recently picked up a 50" panasonic plasma 1080p for a REALLY decent price. I have really enjoyed it though it is much bigger than what I was orriginaly looking for. The price was right so I went with it.

I know there is the debate between LCD and plasma, and from what I understand the plasmas are better for movies/TV, and the LCD is much better for gaming. Besides, when plasmas are 1/2 the price and I personaly cannot see a difference in image quality...

I made my choice and am very happy with it.

 

[Blender]

I would get a 40" personally. You won't spend that much more and you will be set for awhile. There are not many 720P LCD 40" sets available unless you go with plasma. I think the key to buying a set is how do they handle standard definition signals. Most of our basic cable is SD and the Sharp TV we had did a real good job of displaying that signal. I beleive the consensus these days are that Samsung and Sony are the best displays.

 

[Bobby_M]

Well, the rub is that once you get to 40", I can't recommend 720p so you end up with a price bump on the size and on the res. Of course, just go to a store and stand 7 feet away or whatever your viewing distance is and compare a 720 and 1080 40" panel.

 

[thunder]

If going for LCD I wouldn't buy anything other than a Samsung or Sony. There is a HUGE difference in picture quality in my opinion. I've had my Samsung for 3 years and it is great.

I have looked at vizio and sony side by side sony has a little better picture
for the price i would go with vizio!

 

[kornbread]

I read a consumer reports article when I was shopping for my 42" Plasma TV several years ago. The at that time Samsung and Panasonic were pretty close in all of their tests. Panasonic seemed to score slightly better so I bought the Panasonic and I haven't regretted it for a minute.

Mine will show either 1080i (Interlaced) or 720p (Progressive). I'm using Dish Network set at 1080i and an Antenna for locals which seem to all be broadcasting in 720p.

I love my set. I have gotten so addicted to the HD that I can hardly watch programs in Standard Def. I got a blu-ray player for christmas and it even makes standard DVDs look amazing.

I bought mine right before 1080p sets started showing up on the market. Since then the prices of 1080i sets halve come way down. I could buy the same set now for less than half of what I paid.

 

[Dalarast]

TV's... my civilian job I work with TVs all days long so this is my cup of beer if you will...

If the size your looking at is a 32' a Samsung LCD is the way to go... if you bumped the size up to a 42 inch or higher I would recommend a samsung plasma. Sony makes great TVs too; but you are really spending more money on the brand and not a quality factor. Samsung and panasonic are perhaps the only brands that actually make their entire tvs where as the remainder of the brands outsource to other companies to complete their television.

720 to 1080P Okay if you are planning on going the BLU-RAY route get a 1080P resolution television so you actually can utilize the resolution of the higher quality images that Bluray does. If you are going to just hook it up to cable/satellite/fiber optic than you would be fine with a 720p...but if you ever plan on moving up to a higher quality source such as bluray than you might want to invest into the 1080 caliber.

Other things to consider.... if you want to spend right at 499.99 you can get a 720p plasma from BestBuy right now (Insignia (which is made by samsung)) and its a great tv.


Oh and don't know if it was covered yet.. but the 720/1080p vs 720/1080I is the P is a progressive scan (meaning it shows the entire image at one time, where the I is interlaced meaning it processes half the image at a time). P is better and the I is fading out (BestBuy doesn't even sell any interlaced tvs anymore).

Other factors to look at to is your refresh rate (up to 240htz for lcd/led and 600htz for plasma). The refresh rate is how fast the tv processes the image. Imagine watching football.. a slow refresh rate you will see a football appear as a blur when thrown; but on a higher rate you can actually see the football and spiral.
Contrast ratio... higher the better to get a higher quality/detailed image.


Good luck!

 

[Chad_C]

I didnt read thru all the posts but I do want to add a comment about the different brands. I have a Sanyo LCD that uses the exact same screen (from online researc) as a Samsung, but the picture is not of the same quality. A lot of the quality comes with the onboard software settings. While I have no complaints about the picture quality of the Sanyo ($548) its just not the same as a higher quality unit, but for the price it is a fantastic TV.

 

[the_bird]

Thanks for all the help, folks. I'm leaning towards the Samsung that I originally posted, sounds like people think it's a good brand, the reviews I've read are all very positive (given that it IS an entry-level LCD).

I've even found a fellow HBT'er who's wants my old TV to take a crack at fixing it! I just can't stand the idea of paying someone money to look at it; worst-case, I'm out probably $50 - $100 if they tell me they can't fix it, and it'll cost me probably half the price of a new one if they can!

 

[wildwest450]

Other factors to look at to is your refresh rate (up to 240htz for lcd/led and 600htz for plasma). The refresh rate is how fast the tv processes the image. Imagine watching football.. a slow refresh rate you will see a football appear as a blur when thrown; but on a higher rate you can actually see the football and spiral.
Contrast ratio... higher the better to get a higher quality/detailed image.


Good luck!

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.

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I've been happy with a 46" 1080p Sony Bravia LCD.

One thing that made a big difference in mine was setting up the picture. I went online and found some settings from techs that had tuned the picture on many Bravias and posted some hints/tips/sample settings. Basically it amounted to turning down the backlight (to about 3), cranking up the contrast (to about 92%), turning the sharpness (I think that's what it's called) to zero, and turning off all those BS filters. The picture after setting it like this was way better than any of the factory settings.

Also, plasma vs. LCD can also depend on the room light conditions. Plasmas can have some glare problems where LCDs won't.

 

[the_bird]

We're close now. Went to the local Best Buy, they've got a couple 37" models selling for $500. Would like to have a few extra inches (wouldn't we all?), an LG and a Panasonic.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001V5J7PW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001U3YIQ8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Panasonic, I'm leery of because it seems to primarily focused being integreated with an iPod, which we do not have. CNET review seems... meh. Black wasn't terribly black. Not a lot of controls. Wonkiness with how some standard 4:3 programs were shown (can't control whether stuff is cropped or not). The LG seems fine except for a lighter black level (although not as bad as the Panasonic).

So... 32" Samsung and save $100, or 37" LG and maybe not have quite as nice a picture? The 32", 4:3 CRT we have now is just about the perfect size for our room; I'm worried about stepping down from the 32" non-HD to a 32" HDTV, the actual viewing area (for 4:3 broadcasts) will be smaller. Hence thinking that I really want the bigger screen.

Any last advice?

 

[Dalarast]

Also, plasma vs. LCD can also depend on the room light conditions. Plasmas can have some glare problems where LCDs won't.

That is true; but some of the newer LCD/LED's are going with a stronger screen to give a better picture which also leads to glare. The plasma with its nice hard screen also means less likely to damage the tv. At BestBuy have the sales associate tap the LCD screen and tap the Plasma. Plasma can take 20lbs of weight on it (I bang on them all the time) where as the LCD/LED if you tap it you actually hit the light panel and the image hesitates.

Last minute advice: Get a calibration on your tv if you want the best image possible. Techs go into it and change the temp of the colors (nothing to do with the brightness and contrast that you an I can fix) with a little laptop type device. Really brings out the picture and can make two identical tvs look worlds apart.

BestBuy has a sale on 42'' insignia (1080/120 htz) with a bluray player for like 800 for all of it plus networking services. The tv mentioned is also a samsung tv and so is the bluray player; but with BestBuys insignia's name on it.

Oh if your local BestBuy has a magnolia department have one of their guys show you the tvs not just your standard home theater associate. They are higher trained and will show you in detail why one tv over another.
Good luck and let us know what you end up getting!

Note: My civilian job is a Magnolia/Home Theater supervisor at BestBuy so I think its fair I mention that for fear of being biased against sanyo like products.

 

[the_bird]

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.

 

[Blender]

Go with the one you like best. I think Best Buy has a 30 day return policy so if you are not satisfied you can return it. (Don't throw out the box)You could search the AVS forums for opinions but it seems that it is an entry level television so don't expect great reviews. You will like the larger screen of the 37 vs. the 32.