Posted on 12/02/2011 4:36:08 PM PST by Chickensoup
I am now ready to buy my HDTV. I have been looking at the big Samsungs. Remember this is the first tv for a non tv home. We will mostly be watching CDs and downloads, not much broadcast...except for the Superbowl for my son (if I can figure out how to stream it on the net).
The big Samsungs often have 3D. Will the 3D affect the regular view? I am looking for a clear viewing set that will manage action
I keep reading that TV is changing and I wonder whether these TVs are old technology?
Can I actualy put an aerial on it?
Can these tvs live in a room that in the winter sometimes go down to 60's or even 50's? I would heat the room before I use it.
I have a BJs card and they sell them there. CNET also has them by price at their site.
One last question: is it better with respect to price, to buy now during the Christmas season or wait for the football season.
HDTV PING LIST PLEASE
Agreed:
Faulty Capacitor problems.. < snip > Do your research well!
I lurk and have occasionally posted on the following;
http://www.satelliteguys.us ,
http://www.highdefforum.com ,
and http://www.avsforum.com .
All three are worth checking out for HDTV information ; reviews, equipment, latest news, etc…
(BTW: texas booster pinged chickensoup; FYI: I am not in the electronics business.)
Good find on monoprice.com
I bought a Vizio yesterday. I bought it because it had plenty of
inputs. After hooking it up I learned it lacked an input for my WII that was hooked to my failed Sharp. I had three Sharp failures, two under warranty.
I may be able to connect the WII or the DVR via the HDMI port but don’t have another HDMI cable
Shop online first. AVSforum is a great place to learn. Once you discover what you want that place also has user threads with settings that seriously improve picture quality.
Smart shoppers look at returns too. My son got a nearly new highest rated TV, Panasonic plasma (TC-PVT25), at a Best Buy Magnolia store for thousands off the list price. The store clerk didn't know how to check for number of hours used and we did.
I wouldn’t buy a 3D if you gave it to me.
Right. Because it's their duty to make sure you're provided with free entertainment.
As for 3-D, (I think it's a brief novelty) what DVD's are available?
Do you like the thought of having to wear stupid glasses when watching your movie?
There's also some reports of people getting headaches when viewing the 3-D movies.....
Forget the 3-D since the vast majority of your television viewing will probably be your cable or satellite programing stations......
As a side note, whatever size you decide on, change your mind at the last minute and buy the next size bigger........that way you won’t kick yourself in the butt for not buying bigger when you had the chance.....LOL!
Wow, that’s a bizarre article. It seems to be arguing that because there’s more than one HDTV standard, there’s no such thing as HDTV, and even if there is, it doesn’t look any better than non-HDTV.
It even sounds plausible at times, as long as you’ve never actually seen the difference for yourself.
Thanks Eddie, yeah..we have all HDMI cables hooked up.. no component cables at all..so; you’re probably right..it’s the tv itself. I figured as much.
I agree. I have three Samsung flat-screens and all have been perfect.
I remember when we were looking for our first flat-screen TV we went to Best Buy (only because of they had different types) - we saw the LCD, Plasma, that ‘mirror’s’ thing (said it had millions of tiny mirrors for whatever reason). We settled on the LCD. It’s bright, great color and least expensive. The Plasma looked ‘smeary’ in that the colors seemed to be humid (???) damp, not very sharp.
Store-bought HDMI cables are the biggest rip-off on the planet. That, and ANY cable with the work “monster” on the package!
I have a Samsung computer monitor, and a few years ago, it started going dark at random intervals. I opened it up and resoldered every joint I could find in the power supply area, and that fixed it and it’s been perfect ever since (built in 2004).
But that still left a bad taste in my mouth, and I recently bought a Panasonic 32” Viera LED TV, which is excellent.
My only regret was not holding out for a 37” (which I couldn’t locate at the time), which would have just barely fit in the space I had for it.
Anything bigger would have meant a major reorganization of my living room. I don’t watch enough TV to justify that.
Yesterday and today I bought a new tv and new medicare advantage. I don’t know which was more difficult. They are both very complex and so many variables that it is difficult to get a handle. My head is throbbing from the extremely difficult purchasing chores
The discussion here is around brands. But when you get to the store or on line you are confronted with perhaps several different models of the same size of the same brand. Although they appear similar they can be different. The rule seems to be that for a given brand and similar specs, the cheaper is the older superseded model. The 720 p is less than the 1080 for the same size. Also to confuse the issue , the units on line are different models than in the same store.
I went to walmart simply because they have a wide selection and prices are reasonable. I did not go to best buy because it is all the way across town.
My suggestion is to go to where you like and find a size and then look over them all within that size. I think you will find that it is difficult to tell much difference. It is hard
Then there is input and output. The Sharp that just puked had many inputs and the new vizio has them but they are different. I am going to need to buy some new cables to use HDMI because the existing cables don’t match the new inputs.
I have a cable box, a DVD player, a computer and a WII to connect to it. Increasingly, we are watching from Boxee via the computer. If it were not for Fox news I would abandon cable
The Plasma looked ‘smeary’ in that the colors seemed to be humid (???) damp, not very sharp.
My problem with plasma is that it flickers; most people don't seem to be able to see it though.
Fatama,
(1) popping sound may be a capacitor going bad..
(2) buy a new 42in plasma or 42in LCD, TV deals will be available most every week this month (Most credit cards give you an extra warrentee of one year, call the 800 number on the back of the card to confirm...)
I am planning to buy the biggest I can, At least 55 or bigger.
Now that you mention it, I saw it too but just out the corner of my eye. If I looked directly at it, it was okay but if I looked off to the side I could see a flicker. I wonder what the difference is between the two. I know the plasma uses gas to make colors and the LCD uses some sort of electrical charge (had all this explained to us). But the mirror thing, I’ve forgotten. But it seems the LCD is the bigger seller.
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