Buying My First HD TV & Need Help

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

I'm a Panasonic guy myself, they make top notch plasmas.

But if you're going in the 37" range, don't be afraid to check out Vizio. I have a 37" Vizio LCD in my bedroom and it's great. At that size you can get by with 720p too, no need to go full HD.

I recently got a Vizio 46" 1080p LED/LCD with 120hz, and it's fantastic. Got it with a Sony blu-ray player for under $1K at Costco. The TV has that ambient light sensor that adjusts the brightness of the picture based on how much light is in the room. Pretty cool. I would have liked a 240hz, but honestly sports and action movies look pretty awesome to me.

[BDBohnzie]

The links Matty posted might be old, but the basics of buying a HDTV really haven't changed much (aside from the burn-in scare that has all but disappeared).

I have a Sharp Aquos 37 inch 720p LCD in my bedroom and it's been great. Had it a year and a half, and the only complaint is the extremely dark scenes in movies are a bit hard to see sometimes. My sister has a 37 inch Vizio and she seems to like it.

Like it was said before, go to the store(s) and check them out. Be sure to play with the settings (most stores jack up the video settings to make the TVs look better) and see which one you like best. Then come home and find the best price online.

[BleedBurgundy]

I have 3 flat panels, a 55" Sharp Aquos that's about 4 yrs old now, a 32" Aquos for the bedroom and a 46" Sony in the basement. l echo what Saden says, go as high as possible on the refresh rate (measured in Hz). For LCD/LED, I think the current best in class is still 240Hz. Personally, I like Sharp's picture quality the best but it's really, really close with Sony.

[mredskins]

Folks may laugh but I have a LCD in my bedroom (Philips), a plasma in family room (Panasonic) and a rear projection DLP in my basement (Samsung). Out of 3 IMO the DLP has the best picture.

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by mredskins

Folks may laugh but I have a LCD in my bedroom (Philips), a plasma in family room (Panasonic) and a rear projection DLP in my basement (Samsung). Out of 3 IMO the DLP has the best picture.

I had heard once that DLP had the longest life expectancy of the three (LCD, Plasma and DLP) because they made an easily replaceable part the fail point on the tv's. I think the fact that you can't hang them on the wall killed DLP.

[Ruhskins]

Originally Posted by BleedBurgundy

I had heard once that DLP had the longest life expectancy of the three (LCD, Plasma and DLP) because they made an easily replaceable part the fail point on the tv's. I think the fact that you can't hang them on the wall killed DLP.

I have a 46" DLP that's five years old. Picture looks fine and I also play a lot of XBox 360 on it. Recently, the lamp burned out (after 5yrs) and all I had to do is replace that part (cost 130 bucks). But you're right, the fact you can't hang these TVs is not a good selling point.

[saden1]

Originally Posted by mredskins

Folks may laugh but I have a LCD in my bedroom (Philips), a plasma in family room (Panasonic) and a rear projection DLP in my basement (Samsung). Out of 3 IMO the DLP has the best picture.

I don't get it...can you elaborate?

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by saden1

I don't get it...can you elaborate?

Rear projection has kind fallen by the way side, so a lot of TV snobs turn their nose up on them.

[FRPLG]

Remember size wise TVs are usually measured diagonally...so if you have 38 inches wide you can go bigger than a 37. Probably a 42

[FRPLG]

Samsung, Toshiba, Panasonic, Sony--that's your wheel house. Get a good model in one of those and you'll be happy.

Visios are pretty good too.

Anything you go to from a CRT is going to be awesome.

[firstdown]

Thanks for all the feed back it confirms some of the stuff I some what knew. I've been busy at work and while I did not resond back right away all the info was very help full. I might wait a month and see if prices drop even more. As for budget I'm thinking around $600 to $800.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Thanks for all the feed back it confirms some of the stuff I some what knew. I've been busy at work and while I did not resond back right away all the info was very help full. I might wait a month and see if prices drop even more. As for budget I'm thinking around $600 to $800.

In the price range yo ucan get a real nice 42 inch plasma.


There are folks out there that will come to your house calibrate your TV to get the best picture. Kind of crazy.

CNET's quick guide to TV calibration - CNET Reviews

[takethecake]

I just bought a Panasonic 46" plasma for $800 on Amazon a few months ago, I'm extremely happy with it. I'm no tv expert or anything, but I've been told by a lot of people that its best to stick with well known brands for TVs. I would check out Amazon, they have some fantastic deals

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[MTK]

Searching? No, it's right on the first page of the parking lot.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Searching? No, it's right on the first page of the parking lot.

You seem to know about TV's do you know the answer I asked above? Thanks