Posted on 12/19/2008 3:35:31 PM PST by RayChuang88
Hey, just heard. The government will give you one for free. Just call 1-800-BAILOUT. :)
And be sure to stock up on plenty of beer because we get thirsty.
;-)
1. HDMI inputs for your cable box, blu-ray player, xbox 360 etc. If you get an HDMI compatible receiver for sound you can run all those things through your stereo and get amazing sound from blu-ray discs as well.
2. Never ran my computer to my tv’s.
3. The burn in problems of plasmas are long gone as is the life cycle of them, plasma’s are great now. My Sony LCD’s are “rear projection” (not the rear projection of years back) and give an incredible picture, I haven’t seen any DLP that compares to it, it can be subjective though. Personally I’ve never liked the DLP picture, it’s good not great, a friend of mine had a top of the line samsung dlp and it didn’t compare to my lcd, a couple of 3rd party friends who saw both tv’s strongly agreed.
4. PIP seems to be standard in most tv’s.
5 Wall mounting is nice, but my lcd’s at the time were a LOT less than the panels, prices have come down on the panels recently.
6. I, like most people prefer all the connections in back, it’s nice to have one in the front though too, I’ll occasionally pop something in the front, the ones in the front are usually hidden by a flap when not in use.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889101137
There’s a 65 inch for 3500, you have money left over for a PS3 (blu-ray) and an hdmi compatible Onkyo receiver, hdmi cables for 5 bucks a piece at monoprice.com and you’ll be set.
If she’s going to let you spend 5k, you should also give a look at the Pioneer and Panasonic plasmas, check how much the kuro line is selling for. The Kuro gives the best picture on the planet.
If you have cable, you can get your locals in HD without an upcharge. FCC laws prohibit cable companys from charging for free HD TV. But you will need to rent the HD box.
We have basic cable without the box, I rented (this Summer) the timewarner box for $8, added to the basic cable, around $20/mth. (dogpile.com search and you will find the laws, also tvpredictions.com had an article some time ago.)
We also have DISH top250 with HD, free Cinemax package (for paperless billing for two years at 1 cent per year). When/if the deal expires I will not pay for any premium movie stations.
BTW:
cable HD and DISH HD are both good, OTA is also if you have a good TV antenna.
SD cable is poor, digital is good (on an HD set), HD is excellent, enjoy!
Right you are. Things are moving so fast, it’s hard to keep up. Used to be, not too long ago, you had to buy at least a 42” set to get native 1920 X 1080.
Here’s the chart of viewing distance vs screen size:
http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/
However, given that the VO32L is only 720p max resolution, should I also consider getting a DVD player with HDMI connections so the player upconverts to 720p resolution? Given the small size of the VO32L, I don't think I'll see the difference between 480p through component cables or HDMI connections easily.
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype=lcdtv&model_cd=LN32A550P3FXZA
We spent $799, saving a little over $150 from the list price.
Several weeks before that, we had bought an Insignia Blue Ray for $199 (thanks to the info from Las Vegas Dave) from Best Buy. When we watch a blueray dvd on our Samsung, it's like being in the movie theatre while laying in bed. Now if I could only make it through one of the movies without falling asleep.....
Muuuust SSSuuuuppppresssss UUUuuurge tooo Maaaake CCooomment about BBBBose.
Whew.
If you are ready to spend $5000, I would not look at LCD. You can get into very high quality plasma at that price.
I can’t quite understand how you are wiring up your current component. A high dollar set is going to have inputs on the back and side. This allows convenient wall mounting and the ability to add a component without pulling the whole thing off the wall.
I have several HD sets, none of them have PIP but on the otherhand, my budget was not $5000. You can check the features on the internet.
Personally I prefer to shelf mount a TV but that is just me.
With HDMI, you will need a separate cable for each device that you use with the television. I have 3 devices connected to my TV.
1) No video or sound in internal tuner mode.
2) I do heard the sound from my VCR connected to the TV when I switch the input to line input mode.
3) I can hear the slight "buzz" of the power supply when I turn on the TV.
The fact that I still have sound through the TV's speakers in line input mode tells me either I have a blown fuse, a blown capacitor or the tube is dead. Do CRT TV's have multiple internal fuses? If they only have one protective fuse, I wouldn't get any signs of power on the TV in the first place.
Same with optical cables. I had a choice of a 29.99 one, or a 1.99 one. So far, the 1.99 one has worked flawlessly.
I have a 50” Panny plasma on cable, my buddy has a 47” Vizzy LCD on SAT. We watch the big games at my house. For sports, I think the plasma is better for regular shots, but LCD is better for close ups. Regular TV shows their equal. Nature shows, plasma wins.
Wall mount: Unless you already have a $1600 piece of furniture for your set, wall mount. My buddy's is in a beautiful piece, and it looks great. Mine is wall mounted, and I love it. (hint, buy a small A/V stand for your components, then you can poke a hole in the wall behind the TV, and another behind the stand, and snake the wires through the wall. Nice clean look.)
You want back connections for your cables, but some front connectors (behind a drop down panel) are nice to have for quick, short term hookups.
Take some extra cash and get a good quality theater system. Just be sure both TV and system have optical hookup. Then you can have full time “surround” sound ( not true surround all the time, but close).
However big you decide to get, buy the next size bigger. Trust me.
I had a busted up old 27” TV that had bad black levels. The wife and I used to watch the X-files every week. The show tends to be dark with most of the action happening in the shadows. We’d turn down the lights to watch the show and the black levels would just drive me nuts.
It may never bother you but....
MADE in America??
ping
ping
If you are thinking about fixing it, get it evaluated at an independent TV repair shop. They can fix TV's cheaper than an official manufacturer authorized service center.
For example a couple of years ago my parents had a 9 year old 50" rear projection CRT TV whose picture was unstable, and after a while would show no picture at all. I asked the technicians at an independent repair shop if it was worth fixing, and they said that if the problem was what they thought it was, it would cost a couple of hundred dollars to replace a few capacitors on a daughter card. The hardest part was getting the TV safely loaded in the back of an SUV to take it to the shop. They evaluated the TV, cleaned out the dust inside, and determined that the problem was in fact some worn out capacitors. We authorized them to replace the capacitors. They told us that a factory authorized shop would have just ordered a whole new daughter card that cost more than the whole repair cost my dad, and the total bill would have been about double what he paid. My parents have used that TV for a couple of years since the repair, and it works just as well as it did when new.
I can't imagine why they would make them in America. I doubt they, or any other company, could compete in the global economy by manufacturing in America.
We have a slightly smaller Vizio than what you want. Great tv and fantastic picture. DO NOT ever, never, under any circumstances buy an RCA.
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