Posted on 11/04/2009 8:49:48 AM PST by navysealdad
Wife's TV went out. Looking for a 42 in or bigger LCD or Plasma. Any ideals what brand you would recommended.
don’t go with plasma; lcd’s are the best
I don’t know which one you should get but buy several before they’re outlawed!!!!
We have the Samsung LCD LED and love it. It’s t-h-i-n!
Vizio is probably the best price.
I recommend a 15 inch flat screen. Mrs. Genoa and I have ours hidden away in the library on a bookshelf. We watch it only on rare occasions. We’re readers, and we love avoiding the trash that’s dished out even on the best of channels.
Love my 47 Vizio and great price.
I have a “47 Vizio. $1100 at Wally World. I love it.
Plasmas don’t have a very good reputation. They don’t last very long and they cost quite a bit to run.
LCDs are not quite as crystal clear.
Check out some of the discussion/comparison sites and previous purchaser comments.
==
I bought a VIZIO 32” LCD in the spring of 2008. I am very pleased with it. VIZIO has a good reputation.
Sweet!
Sharp LCD.
I have one and I love it.
I agree Samsung is the best
Sony would be my 2nd choice although I would prefer Samsung.
I have a Samsung in my daughters room - excellent picture and TV overall.
My oldest son bought a Sony Bravia - also really great TV.
Next son has a Polaroid - although nice picture and color, would have preferred 2 first posted.
Have an RCA in the living room - hate it! Color is not as crisp and bright as the other TV’s.
That’s my take!
Spend the $30 or so and go to Consumer Reports and look there.
Are projection TV’s worth looking at? Your screen could be as big as your whole wall.
Mitsubishi’s line of 60” + DLP’s 1080P HDTVs are absolutely wonderful (and affordable)! Check them out if you’re not completely set on LCD/Plasma.
I was always a Sony fan until I purchased a Samsung. I own a 34” and a 60” Sony as well as a 52”, 32” and 22” Samsung (I know I have too many TV’s). The picture on my 720p Samsung is crisper than the one on my 1080i Sony and the Samsung cost a lot less. I believe the cost and performance of the Samsung is far and above that of the Sony.
Also if you can go for 1080p rather than 720p. That is probably the difference between my living room TV and the Sony and Samsung both are 1080p where my living room is only 720p.
Also, stay away from the plasma tv’s - they don’t have the lifespan of a lcd.
Go to Amazon, ton of info and they have a super sale item every week.I bought two 52” Samsungs, which I’m vert happy with, last May as I had to go to digital. After researching the prices (store and internet) Amazon came ahead, and if you got your eyes open they slip in free shipping quite often.
Now dealing with Cablevision to properly hook everything up was a one week nightmare!
Yet...I've looked at the comments and found nothing worth even reading...especially those who state that they are readers and don't watch TV. One must wonder why they even bothered to respond at all!
At any rate, head for your local library; first, pull a copy of Consumer Reports that deals with new TVs and how to choose.
Once you've done a bit of "narrowing down", head for the library PCs, and look up the manufacturers of your selections on the net. Read the tech specs.
Then...look in your local newspapers to see what the prices are on the models you like.
You can also use the net to "purchase" the exact model you like (after actually looking at your model at a retail outlet - say "Best Buy"); sometimes, the pricing on the net is superior to that in retail outlets. But if you buy from the net, you'll have to wait for the time to ship and returning a "bum" unit can be a bit of a challenge.
Hope this helps....
I’m in the market too. I have an old 50” CRT projection model that’s gone on the fritz and needs replaced. I’m looking at LCD’s... but there’s so many on the market I still haven’t quite figured out what to look for.
I have a 42” plasma in another place, and it’s awesome, but nowadays plasma is pretty much on the way out. It sucks an enormous amount of juice and tends to burn-in. I use that one almost exclusively for movies.
The OLED models look good... but I think they’re still on the expensive side of the adoption curve.
Anybody got some advice on what to look for— what features or specs really matter in a 50-ish inch LCD?
Samsung 50” plasma has been very good to us. I get lots of comments on the great picture.
plasma getting cheaper cuz the technology is going away — being replaced by LCD and then LED / OLED.
plasma ARE high energy consumers AND will heat up a room.
We have both LG and a Sharp large format 1080 LCD HD TVs and are happy with both.
LEDs are the ‘next big thing.’ currently pricier.
OLEDs the next NEXT big thing. very VERY PRICEY.
NET: BUY an LCD 1080 TV at a good sale price. LG, Sharp and the VIZIO (WalMart brand) are all good. Think about how you will mount it on the wall or on a flat surface.
**AND** also buy a decent UPS/ surge protector ( I recommend the APC brand) to protect your investment. Plug your TV and your fancy schmancy cable box into the UPS. You’ll thank me later.
It IS the time parasite and there's NOTHING worth the time to watch, unless you are brain dead.
I wish my book shelves were deep enough to tuck one an way in there. (Then where would I put my books?) TV is a L A S T resort for entertainment and the MSM has made TV the L A S T resort for information as well! If I have ANY leisure time, I am with my book.
First, turn the TV off.
Second, choose from the following:
Make love with your spouse.
Read to your kids.
Paint the porch.
Change your oil.
Cut your elderly neighbor’s grass.
Ask your pastor what needs to be done.
Stop in to check on your out of work neighbor.
Meet with your neighbors about upcoming elections.
etc . . .
Repeat until the day is done.
Start over the next day.
Just make certain to not buy a Muntz!
slickdeals dot net in the hot deals section will show you the best possible prices you could find.
They also have a bunch of people on there that are tech gadget geeks that will be able point you in the right direction about LED vs. LCD vs. Plasma.
There is also a section on Black Friday deals that are coming out. If you can wait until then you will probably score a great deal.
I have no interest in the referenced website other than I use it a lot to save money
If you have a truly dark home theatre room, then consider a projection TV. Otherwise you’ll have to spend WAY TOO MUCH money for an HD project with sufficient lumens and contrast.
We have a truly dark home theatre room and project from a $1900 home theatre HD projector onto a 9 foot DA-LITE screen. Love it. This same projector would be a disappointment anywhere else in the house.
Hear, hear! The little 15-inch flat screens are very shallow. No deeper than a 15-inch computer monitor. Check ‘em out!
Ernest_at_the_Beach has HDTV ping list.
Read up about HDTVs here:
I found the forum pretty useful when I bought my TV/sound system. It was a few years ago, so I can’t recommend specific brands or anything.
See my post #27 for my experience and my opinion resulting from my experience.
If you buy a 1080P LCD from Sharp, Samsung, LG or VIZIO you’ll be pleased with the viewing and owning experience.
I *DO* strongly recommend the companion UPS to protect your investments.
Won’t hurt to go someplace like Best Buy where you can compare the lot side by side. Looking at CR narrowed us down to 3 brands, then seeing those 3 in operation at Best Buy helped us choose. Definitely go with 1080P.
Avoid Toshiba. Have had issues with mine, but since I purchased the service plan, it’s Sears’ problem.
I would not purchase size first, go with quality then size.. and always purchase the service plan.
Not sure of your status but if you can get to an NEX or AAFES exchange, purchase there. You should be able to get a slightly larger set (Sharp and Samsung come to mind) for the price of a smaller one in a civi store.
Can’t say this enough, regardless of where and what you purchase, read the online reviews and purchase a service contract. The sum total of all the repairs on our Toshiba would have purchased a newer, larger Sharp, but we purchased the service contract so it costs nothing but a tip for the guy repairing the set.
Sony Bravia 1080p. You can’t go wrong.
I agree. Plasma’s are very delicate and easily damaged.
nowadays plasma is pretty much on the way out. It sucks an enormous amount of juice and tends to burn-in
not so much anymore... Panasonic Plasma 50” from Costco delivered for $1000 is awesome for sports and side room viewing, and not longer prone to any burnin...automated feature and Viera allows for multiple components to all interact. PC connection on a 50” is a sight to behold!
ymmv
What I really don’t like is to visit someone who won’t turn off their TV.
I mean... if I wanted to watch TV, I would have stayed at home-wathced what I wanted and made myself REAL comfortable instead of driving over to your house to watch ‘whatever’ and sit on your lumpy sofa while you look at the TV without looking at me while we talk.
It is the height of bad form to leave the TV on with guests!!
I love my Vizio 42”. Got it at Sam’s Club for $699.
Wouldn't you be embarrassed if a stranger came in and caught you watching that crap?
Make sure it is a 1080P and has plenty of HDMI inputs and a PC VGA connector.
My new Sony (6 months old) just blew the motherboard. Replaced with new one (warranty). Speakers are 4 ohm terrible. I love my Samsung. I would also buy LG, super.
LG LCD, have two of them and they’re great.
If you can afford the extra bucks the BEST TVs out there are LEDs. Next would be LCD but if price is your point then go plasma most bang for the buck ( upfront long term not so much)
Go to Fry’s or Costco or Best Buy, or even Walmart. take a look at them side by side and see which one you like the looks of. Your vision and how you respond to the cooler or warmer tones are all that’s really important. Most LCD manufactres actually buy the display from one of two manufactures and then they add electronics and bezels and other bells and whistles.
I like Mitsuibishi and Toshiba but that’s just me (I like the way Sony looks but I won’t pay the extra money for it)
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