Need advice on a TV

[KB1]

We are looking for a 47" TV, we looking to spend between $750-$1000

Basically I'm TV stupid with all the new technology!! Any help would be appreciated...LED, LCD, Brands etc.

Thanks,
Kevin

[PaulFiveOh]

Kevin,

I don't have any real advice for you other than to consider Craigslist.
Put some time in to find someone moving, or upgrading to a bigger TV (not a hoodboy selling 20 tv's) and buy used.

You can get a TV for about half and I personally feel like it's "worth" the fact that there is no warranty. Just browse under Electronics and see what you find.

[djom1cincy]

I picked up a 1080p 50" panasonic viseo plasma about 2 years ago. I paid like 1300 for it. My friend just picked up the same tv in the 55" for just under a 1000. The tv is great with a good pic and sound. I've had no problems with it at all. Everyone always raves about the pic. I'm 100 percent happy. If the tv gets no direct sunlight I would highly recommend it.

[AntiRice427]

I love my 47" LG. It had the best picture in the store. It's a 1080p LCD. I know alot of people that have Phillips and JVC's and when they come over to my house they say that my picture is way more clear than their's. I have had good luck with other LG products also.

[04 Venom]

If there is a lot of ambient light in your viewing room, you are better off with LCD or LED (the latter being more expensive). If you do a lot of viewing far off axis, plasma has advantages. For that size screen, buy a set with 1080 resolution (not 720) and at least 120 HZ (with 60 HZ, you may notice blurring in a LCD on fast action scenes). Probably the best bang for the buck is an LCD/120 HZ. Regarding the prices on Craig's list, many are within $100-$200 of what you can buy new. You will have no problem finding a good set in your price range.

[04 Venom]

If there is a lot of ambient light in your viewing room, you are better off with LCD or LED (the latter being more expensive). If you do a lot of viewing far off axis, plasma has advantages. For that size screen, buy a set with 1080 resolution (not 720) and at least 120 HZ (with 60 HZ, you may notice blurring in a LCD on fast action scenes). Probably the best bang for the buck is an LCD/120 HZ. Regarding the prices on Craig's list, many are within $100-$200 of what you can buy new. You will have no problem finding a good set in your price range.

In terms of brands: Samsung, LG, Sharp or Sony. LG and Sharp may be a little cheaper in price than the Samsung or Sony-- depends what is on sale.

[Paul408Notch]

This is a big, long post I typed up on another board a couple of weeks ago...


I'm amazed at how well the marketing people at Samsung have convinced people that the "LED TV" is the end-all, be-all tv. It definitely has its advantages, but it just isn't what people think.

Plasmas still have the best picture from a flat panel tv. Best black levels, best colors, best viewing angle, etc. They're just energy hogs and still have some potential for burn-in. My 54" V-Series Panasonic Plasma averages about 400W of power consumption when I'm playing a very bright video game. Sounds like a lot, but if you figure 1kwh of power (1 hour of something using 1000W) is less than 10 cents, you may be looking at an extra 30 bucks a year in power consumption over an LCD.

LCDs are more energy efficient, and have good colors, but the black levels aren't anything to write home about.

Edge-lit LED TVs are no better than a standard Fluorescent backlit LCD, except they use even less power, and can be thinner. The only time they're better is when the entire screen is black, where they turn off and show no picture. And really, you're better off just buying a standard LCD unless you want the thinnest TV you can get. They're way cheaper and have just as good a picture.

Local-dimming LED TVs have the ability to produce great black levels, because they can shut off LEDs behind certain sections of the picture, and leave the backlighting on in others. You can get great black levels, and still have great contrast. The only problems are that the black levels you see are highly dependent on your viewing angle, blooming, and they're still very expensive.

If you go into a store and sit down to watch a local-dimming LED set, wait for a dark scene, then move about 3 feet to either side, and watch how much brighter the black levels get. And notice the halo of light you see around bright letters on a dark screen. That's the blooming.

The only TVs out now with better pictures than the good plasmas are the Laser TVs, but I have yet to see one in person. It won't be until the OLED TVs that we'll really see a standard consumer-level TV that will out-perform a plasma.

And yes, LCDs are better for a brightly lit room, unless you're buying a higher-end Plasma.

[Maximus]

Get a stick and ball and go outside. :D

[Goldenpony]

I bought a 50" Pioneer plasma and I love it. Every time I turn it on, I am amazed all over again. :D

[DeckerEnt]

I am with Cracker on this. Go outside and play!!!

[KB1]

I'm with you Craig & Keith!!! However I need to finish my remodeling project:)

[evil8]

If you are into action and sports, you might want a plasma. 600hz>120/240hz. I just picked up a Panasonic 65" plasma and am not disappointed. Finding a 47 in your price range will be gravy, cross shop the stores and beat them up.

[cstreu1026]

Comparatively speaking they are "giving away" plasma TV's these days. We picked up a 60" LG for the basement is finished for about $1400. The higher end Samsung has a slightly better picture but it was considerably more expensive. I don't remember the actual price but I want to say it was in the neighborhood of $500 more than the LG.

[Paul408Notch]

Oh, and as much as I hate shopping there... HH Gregg is probably your best bet locally for getting a good deal on a TV. Normal price on my TV at the time I bought it was $2400, and I got the guy down to $1680, which is $24 LESS than Best Buy employees can buy it at their employee price. I still don't know how the guy made any money on it, but I guess I don't really care.

[kingpin]

You can find some good deals at sears as well. If you wait for the tv you want to go on sale anyway. Plasmas are great however if the room is smaller or you watch a lot of tv be warned the plasmas put off a lot of heat. We have a 42in in our bedroom which is kind of small but if you leave it on the temp will go up considerably in there.

[IWRBB]

I like Panasonic plasmas.

Oh, The heat thing.. I call BS. My 50" Panasonic plasma gives off WAY less heat than my GFs 32" Vizio LCD.

[bascom123]

Go to best buy, then sams club, then pick the one with the prettiest picture you can afford, but think about how many HDMI inputs you need or will need.

I have two LCD's one is a 47 inch Sharp,1080P the other a JVC 32 inch 720p. I woud suggest that ultimately you stick to a brand name. JVC, LG, Sharp, Panasonic, Sony...

[kingpin]

I like Panasonic plasmas.

Oh, The heat thing.. I call BS. My 50" Panasonic plasma gives off WAY less heat than my GFs 32" Vizio LCD.
Well I guess I get to call the rare double B.S There aint no way brotha. I know it probably varies from tv to tv but we had a 32" LCD in that room. It took a crap so we replaced it with the 42" plasma and the heat the tv produces is crazy. I have a 42" panasonic plasma in the living room and its not an issue but the room is a lot bigger.

[cstreu1026]

I'll second Sears. We shopped and shopped and shopped. We went to every store and I searched online a lot and ended up buying our last TV at Sears. I've also had pretty good luck in the past with HH Gregg as well.

[05yellowgt]

I try to get my TV's from Morris first. I've always been able to get great deals from them. My last purchase was a 52" XBR9 that came with a Sony Blu-Ray 5.1 surround sound for $1850. I added a 5 year warranty for like $200. Probably won't need it but it was cheap enough to be worth it if the TV goes out before I buy a new one.

The Sony is a back lit LED with local dimming and the picture quality is very good IMO. It takes some time to get the TV calibrated, which a lot of people don't take the time to do, but it makes a big difference. I'd also reccomend to go to a small home theater shop to review the TV's you are in the market for. It's VERY hard to make a good comparison in the big electronics stores. The lighting is wrong, the color, brightness, and contrast settings are normally all cranked to try to make the TV's stand out, etc, etc.

Good luck in your search!

[Johnny O]

I have a Samsung LCD 1080p that i bought from HH Greg almost 2 years ago and haven't had any problems with it. What ever tv you buy make sure you get HDMI cables for your cable. Also you should invest in a blue ray DVD player if you a want clear picture. Normal DVDs/DVD players don't have as clear of picture.

[JA04GT]

I have a samsung 50" plasma i got from hh gregg about two years ago. I think i gave like $1300 for. But i know the same exact tv there is like $850 now. But i have never had a problem with it and the pic is great even with just a set of rabbit ears, cause i dont have cable.:lol:

[Goldenpony]

My Pioneer 50" plasma does give off a bit of heat, but I can't say it is a problem.

[IWRBB]

Well I guess I get to call the rare double B.S There aint no way brotha. I know it probably varies from tv to tv but we had a 32" LCD in that room. It took a crap so we replaced it with the 42" plasma and the heat the tv produces is crazy. I have a 42" panasonic plasma in the living room and its not an issue but the room is a lot bigger.

Thought about it yesterday and checked them again.. the plasma had been running for 6 hours straight and I had to put my hand an inch or two from the top to feel any heat at all. Turn on the Vizio and within 10 minutes you can feel heat just rolling out of the top from a foot above the screen. Maybe the Vizio is just crap- but from what I've seen, all the non-LED backlit LCD's are similar in construction.

Edit: For the original poster, do NOT buy HDMI cables that cost over 10~15 bucks. The ones at Best Buy and the like are so overpriced it's insane. Buy em off the internet, or try finding a low end cable at Target or WalMart or something like that.

[ffmueller81]

^^ agreed... you can buy the cables for a tenth of what they cost at Best buy (or any other chain store) by purchasing online

I use http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

picture is still amazing, might suffer just a bit during blue ray (not noticable by the human eye though) so it really isn't a big deal...

[FireStang02]

I would recommend Sears or HHGregg. Stick with Sony, Samsung or Sharp. Best price to get HDMI cables is the cable company. Insight sells them for 12 bucks.

[skeptiq]

^^ agreed... you can buy the cables for a tenth of what they cost at Best buy (or any other chain store) by purchasing online

I use http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

picture is still amazing, might suffer just a bit during blue ray (not noticable by the human eye though) so it really isn't a big deal...

+1 for www.monoprice.com

I have a Panasonic Veira (42") Plasma and love it. I have had it for a couple years now and I am still amazed at the picture. One of my favorite scenes is the beginning of Transformers when the chopper blasts the control tower and the shards of glass go flying, you can litereally see every little shard of glass. That is the scene I always play when people come over and say "show me your setup" and they always say wow... Of course the surround sound setup isn't bad either ;)

Anyway, def go with monoprice for cables, speaker brackets, TV wall mounts, wire. They will save you well over 75% of what Radio Shack / Best Buy / etc charges.

Later,
Ben