LCD tv's

[Rick93coupe]

I'm in the market for a LCD tv, something in the 47-50" area. A few yrs back you used to hear a lot of bad things about them and plasma's. Whats the deal these days? I see all sorts of LCD's that are pretty inexpensive, any particular brand I should stay away from? There's some good deals down at the micro center too.

[fst 5pto]

LG makes a good LCD for the price.... not a bad quality either. If you want a top of the line picture I would say go with a Sony.. but a little more expensive obviously.

[89notch]

For 800.00 youcan just get one of these. Mine is 1080i High def with a super clear picture. I was in the market for an LCD until I looked into projectors
http://pic15.picturetrail.com/VOL591/4226507/8860969/217389971.jpg

[Rick93coupe]

I looked into those too, but I never did the see the price for a screen. I dont think my living room is setup right for a projector. I used to have a 60" rear projection, but damn that thing took up a lot of space.

[89notch]

I looked into those too, but I never did the see the price for a screen. I dont think my living room is setup right for a projector. I used to have a 60" rear projection, but damn that thing took up a lot of space.


I bought my screen open box deal for 100+ shipping my screen is an 84 inch high def

[Black Hole]

I LOVE my 50" 1080i Sony LCD.... :bigthumb

[cstreu1026]

out of curiosity, why do you want an LCD?

[04 Venom]

I just recently went through this process of selecting between DLP, LCD and plasma. I ended up with a 56" Samsung 1080P DLP. The picture was comparable to the better plasma and the matte finsih of the screen did not pick up nearly as much relections in the room ( I have a room with a lot of ambient light, so that was a concern and the 10,000 to 1 conttrast ration of the Samsung helps as well). LCDs have a wider viewing angle than the DLP sets, but not as wide as the plasmas. The burn-in problem of the plasmas has largely been addressed. The knock on LCD sets is the refresh rates of the screen used to cause blurring of the image when there is fast moving images (sports) on the screen. This too has gotten much better, but you want to pick a set with the lowest refresh rate (4 microseconds or less if possible--some LCD computer displays are in the 2 mcrosecond range). In terms of reliability a friend of mine who is a dealer, considers the Pioneer Elite at the top of the hill. He also gives high marks to LG and Samsung. The Sonys are high quality and have an average repair record, but he finds the factory reps to be a pain on service issues.

[Timido]

I have a rear projection lcd zenith I think it is made by LG. I have never had a problem with it it only weighs about 50lbs which for a 42" TV is not bad. I have seen Kellys projection TV if you have a Dark room to put it in thats what I would get.

[ewalt]

Samsungs are beast for the price. Sony's are very nice too, but obviously more costly. You may want to look at going 1080p, even if you don't really need it, but if you ever play video games, 1080p is cool.

LCD's aren't going to have much if any glare, and that's a real plus if you're using the tv in a living room or whatever. I'd take LCD over plasma all day. To get a plasma that does 1080p you gotta spend 20 grand. Most if not all the samsung LCD sets do 1080p. Sony's do 1080p as well, but not with the xbox 360. It's a known problem, I believe caused by the fact that Sony's only do 1080p on the HDMI input even though you can do 1080p over composite and the xbox doesn't do hdmi. I don't know if you're into gaming at all, but that is something to keep in mind.

1080p isn't all that important now, but think about the fact you're going to likely have this thing for some time, and 1080p doesn't add much to the cost as long as you're going LCD or DLP.

As far as the projector, you should only do that if you've got a room that can be nearly completely dark, no windows. And it cost money to get up to resolutions that are good while still having good light output. Like the 1500 dollar projector at best buy does do 1080i, but only has 1000 lumens, and for me that's not enough. You want 2000 or around there. Newegg.com has some really good projectors for a lot less money than best buy....

[IWRBB]

Problem with LCDs is view angle. If you have off center seating, you won't be happy with it. I bought a plasma for that reason. I have a couch right in front and one on each side. The picture from the side seats still look great on a plasma. Plamsas suck for video games though, you could get burn in. Like said above, you need a dark room for a projector.

Whatever you do, don't buy a Vizio LCD, those thing are junk.

[ewalt]

Man, I dunno. I think the LCD's have great viewing angles. I just looked at a samsung and it's at 178 degrees. Compare that to a 7000 dollar Pioneer and they spec it at 160 degrees. All the LCD's I've looked at recently have been really good.

[Timido]

I think SAMS is where I will buy my next TV. Good prices and if their is a problem with a TV while it is under warrenty they exchange it. I think 331Twistedwedge got his there and had a good experience.

[HDmstng]

Problem with LCDs is view angle. If you have off center seating, you won't be happy with it. I bought a plasma for that reason. I have a couch right in front and one on each side. The picture from the side seats still look great on a plasma. Plamsas suck for video games though, you could get burn in. Like said above, you need a dark room for a projector.

Whatever you do, don't buy a Vizio LCD, those thing are junk.

LCD's usually have really good viewing angles, unless you are thinking rear projection LCD's, (Same with DLP or CRT rear projection) then there are some issues with viewing angles.

Here's a great site for lots of info.
http://www.avsforum.com/

[BOOSTGLI]

Trust me the DLP is the best picture and quality. The only bad thing is your bulb will burn out. I have had my 52" Toshiba for a year and i have already had to replace the bulb. $250 later the picture is once agian awsome. Installation is very easy though.

[ponyboystroker]

I just set up a 56" DLP Toshiba for my Grandpa. He ended up paying something like $1300 + tax; not bad for a hi-def widescreen.

I would recommend staying away from Hitachi. The 55" LCD projection Hitachi I was going to get had major "screen door effect," looks like you are watching the TV thru a screen door. The Hitachi looked like crap compared to the Toshiba. I saw the same TV as I got for my G'pa in the Best Buy add this week on sale. I think it has an awesome picture with nice bright color for the $.

[PaulFiveOh]

Heh. Paid $725 (HHGregs Cost) for a 42'' Plasma Pioneer 1080i.

Woot for me.

[331TwistedWedge]

I think SAMS is where I will buy my next TV. Good prices and if their is a problem with a TV while it is under warrenty they exchange it. I think 331Twistedwedge got his there and had a good experience.

yes sams is the place ... good warranty (3 year) and cheap ... i have a phillips lcd, pixel plus and its booming with color ... the first words out of everyones mouth is, "wow that picture is beautiful" ... i paid $1888.00 with my 3 year warranty, i think they are as low as $1300.00 now + tax and warranty ... i was afraid of the plasma's because "best buy" told me, there is NO repairing them yet ... this was 4-5 months ago ... here are some pics of mine ... i love it and its light as a feather 42" ....

we have a 32" vizio at the office, its nice as well ... just go and browse and see what looks good to your eye ...

[mach_u]

Your center channel is a little off center. :lol:

[331TwistedWedge]

i know ... lol ... i dont know where to put it? ... oh well it works ... the wiring all looks like ass, but its just me here, i dont mind ...

[ponyboystroker]

i know ... lol ... i dont know where to put it? ... oh well it works ... the wiring all looks like ass, but its just me here, i dont mind ...

my friend that works at BB said they sell shelves that go on the top of the TVs for the center channels. I think that is the same center channel that I have, JBL studio series?

That is a nice looking picture. your TV isn't a projection LCD is it?

Hey AJ don't you miss your big screen and surround sound yet? :booty: jfwy, you know all the shit I went through with mine when it was at Blue Chip shit hole for repairs and I'm sure you remember me bitching about not having my tv.

[ewalt]

Put the dvd player or reciever up next to the cable box and stick that center channel on the bottom shelf. If it will fit down there. If not, I'd buy a shelf like ponyboy is talking about if they make one that will work on your tv. Or, if it comes down to it, a good weekend project will be building you a shelf on the wall above the tv.

Looks like it will fit on that bottom shelf though, or better yet, if you can fit it on the top shelf next to the cable box. That would work too.

[Camaro86SHOCKER]

if looking into a rear projection the Sony SXRD 1080p's are the best tv. PERIOD. no dlp or other manufcature has the same processing capabilities or 3 chip design without a moving projector like the sony does. if you want a flat panel lcd over plasma always just make sure your refresh rate and contrast ratios are good and in my opion the best flat panels are Sony Bravia, and Sharp Aquos. I Worked for Sony so i do have quite a bit of knowledge on them if your looking into one.

[Black92LX]

Trust me the DLP is the best picture and quality. The only bad thing is your bulb will burn out. I have had my 52" Toshiba for a year and i have already had to replace the bulb. $250 later the picture is once agian awsome. Installation is very easy though.

Not true.
The best picture comes from your CRT (Cathdoe Ray Tube) television. It's physics CRT is able to change your pixels at a much faster rate than your , LCD, DLP, or Plasmas. I had no need for a huge TV so i went with the Samsung CRT 32" widescreen. The only picture that I have seen that comes even close to the quality it the Pioneer Elite Plasma but that is also running you $8,000 where mine cost $600. And will last at least 10 times longer than LCD, Plasma, or DLP. Only downfall of CRT is the screen size restraints 34" is about the largest you will get Sony makes it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/Black92LX/IMG_5186.jpg
Absolutly amazing picture quality! I know have an upconverting DVD player and it makes a huge difference copared to my standard DVD player. I can't wait for the BluRay HDDVD battle to end. Iwant high definition disks so bad but I am not willing to pick a format just yet.
Match the beautiful picture quality with my 7.1 surround sound. and it's great!! ATalk about watching a movie!:popcorn: :popcorn:

Bonus points for anyone that can name the movie on the screen!!!

331TwistedWedge
you need to get that center channel off of your sub!! You will notice a huge difference in sound quality. Gt the bub in the corner of the room and center up the speaker and you will be rolling!

[Rick93coupe]

Well guys, I ended up going with a 42" Panasonic plasma. Its got a great picture, so I'm pretty happy with it. The half life on this tv is the same as the LCD's, and I'm sure it'll last forever. I hooked up the Denon 7.1 to it and now movies rock!!!! I appreciate all the input, even though I dont think anyone recommended what I ended up with. :lol:

[jrmylmach1]

Not true.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/Black92LX/IMG_5186.jpg

Bonus points for anyone that can name the movie on the screen!!!



Ok, so is that "The Patriot?" It looks like the character in the back, facing the camera, is wearing a revolutionary era hat and shirt.

Jeremy

[ponyboystroker]

Well guys, I ended up going with a 42" Panasonic plasma. Its got a great picture, so I'm pretty happy with it. The half life on this tv is the same as the LCD's, and I'm sure it'll last forever. I hooked up the Denon 7.1 to it and now movies rock!!!! I appreciate all the input, even though I dont think anyone recommended what I ended up with. :lol:


Rick,

If you don't mind me asking, where did you get it and how much did you pay? Did you do an extended warranty? My girlfriend will be needing a new t.v. before long and we are looking around.