Posted on 12/19/2008 3:35:31 PM PST by RayChuang88
Help. My old 27" CRT TV died and I'm in need of a replacement TV. Any suggestions for a good 32" LCD model that won't burn a hole in my pocket? I'm thinking about getting a VIZIO VO32L 32" TV, where Costco is selling for US$449 (and they have plenty in stock).
Since I have a Costco membership, I do plan to get the VIZIO VO32L from there--they're US$18 cheaper than even Wal-Mart. I had considered getting an LCD TV with more HDMI inputs but since I plan to keep my Panasonic DVD-S35 DVD player, I will be using the component video connections and leave the HDMI connections for future upgrades like connecting a DirecTV DVR box.
Hi everyone,
I just got added to this list as my wife and I are ready to purchase a new television. Our current one is...nearly twelve years old.
I don’t watch any television at all, except for sports (football mostly) but I rent and watch movies a great deal. My wife does watch a great deal of television (I don’t know how she does that, but I am sure she thinks the same of my Internet habits...:)
Anyway...I know you folks are going to laugh at this. We decided it was time to get a new television, so...we took a walk through Best Buy, and after we walked out, my wife said to me...guys, get ready...
“Well, I guess we are going to have to spend about $5000 dollars to get something decent...”
LOL...I nearly fell on the ground! It was all I could do to kind of mumble “Yeah...looks that way...”
Anyhow...my way of doing this kind of thing is to buy the biggest and best I can afford, and keep it for a long time. So, I started asking around. My buddy works at Bose, and he asked some of the engineers he works with, and he heard them say Vizio a few times. I notice there are a few folks on here who like them as well.
I am looking to get a 60” model, 1080p, but...I have a few questions:
1.) Why do you need more than one HDMI input? I guess the old way (my current way) of doing things requires that you wire stuff through one component to the next to the next...if you use HDMI, do you plug every component directly into the HDTV set? Does it all automatically interact and interopt that way? I had bought a Harmony remote a few years back, and my wife thought I was whacked out paying $250 for a remote (something you can do when you don’t have a DOG that eats them, like a friend of mine does!)
2.) I am a computer guy, and I noticed the ethernet port on the back of some of the sets I saw, but not all. What do they use them for? Are they for streaming from your computer, to be used by a company for diagnostics, or do you connect some cable systems that way?
3.) It sounds like some of the disadvantages of plasma that were present in the past have been somewhat overcome, but on the other hand, it sounds like LCD is getting larger and cheaper. I am definitely not interested in DLP or projection. Any thoughts on this?
4.) This is going to sound like a kind of silly question, but remember...we don’t have cable, and our television is 12 years old...are things like picture in picture standard on these things, or is that more a function of peripherals you would buy or install?
5.) Wall mounting looks like a great option to me...is there anyone out there who has mounted their unit and wished they didn’t, or the other way around? Anything to look out for?
6.) What is the best location for the connections...I presume the back kind of bites especially if you want to wall mount, but should I go for the bottom, the side or both? (I saw only a few sets that offered both...is it worth being that picky?)
I know these are a lot of questions (and might be kind of noob-like) but having been on FR for a few years now, I don’t expect to be tortured much for my ignorance...
I hope...:)
We have a 37” and 52” Vizio... for the money we think they are a great deal.
Out 52” is wall-mounted; IMHO that is the way to go.
The bottom line: The Vizio VO32L's mostly solid image quality and fully packed connectivity package make it a top choice among small-screen LCDs.
Just bought a 60” DLP from Best Buy. I’m wondering why you’ve ruled out DLP so quickly...It has a great picture, incredibly realistic, slimmer than the 32” it replaced and goes a whopping 60 lbs. Not to mention that it’s half the price of a comparable LCD or Plasma unit.
It also has several HDMI connections. I have the Blu-ray plugged into one, the cable into another, I can plug the computer into the third if I’d like...I can change between input sources via the remote, they were all auto-detected by the television. I also have a USB port so I can view photos from my digital camera or computer flash drive, also auto-detected. Anyways, I’m very happy with mine—and I wish you luck whichever direction you go.
Any suggestions for a good 32” LCD model that won’t burn a hole in my pocket?
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With the economy the way it is and it’ll get even worse, I would think you could buy a brand new, never opened in the box TV for peanuts after Christmas and early next year.
1080p doesn’t matter @ 32” screen size, which is why almost all of them are 720p.
Very few people can see any difference between 720 and 1080 on a 32” panel - or on a 37” panel, for that matter.
And most people think the ones who can are FOS.
How close will you be sitting? Do you care whether you can distinguish the difference between standard def and high def while watching it?
If so, and if your viewing distance is farther than about 4 feet, then you’ll want a larger screen size,
Sorry, but that’s the way it works with HD stuff. There’s a chart I could link you to that shows the set sizes required for various viewing distances. But only if it’s important to you to see the difference between SD and HD.
Can you get a 32” set that’s native 1080?
A couple of years ago when I was looking for our 1st HD TV I saw much mention of SD (standard definition) vs HD (Hi Def) quality in HD TVs
The point then was that a lot of TV watching was still likely to be in SD for a number of years. Every store shows HD demos and looking at a major investment I found that Sears (strangely enough) was the ONLY place that was set up to show a fair number of HDTVs with both SD and HD reception.
Based on both SD & HD I went with a 40" Sony Bravia - any bigger wouldn't fit our Entertainment Center.
The Sony was clearly superior in SD rendition - still happy after 2 years. Comments re SD of your HDTVs?
Have you looked at all the review sites? They’re as good or better than the anecdotes here. That’s how I picked up my Hannspree model which was, surprise!, identical to a much more expensive recommended JVC model. There are over 80 LCD TV brands on the market, I learned, but certainly not the same number of manufacturers. (Hint: few manufacturers produce 80+ brands.) That is the insight I can pass on.
Also, some survey discovered that most buyers regret not getting a bigger screen, which is why I picked 37’’ after thinking I wanted a 32’’, and it is the reason why Circuit City, when I went there, had lots of discounted returned models. I bought from Buy.com, by the way.
Yes, click on the link I posted in reply #24. The list is sorted by price. Notice the 1080 sets tend to be at the bottom of the list.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2151667/posts?page=24#24
It has a crucial moving part, doesn’t it?
I don’t know about their TVs but my 22 inch ViewSonic computer monitor does great.
I have a Bravia and love it, but a friend has a Samsung and LOVES it. Plus, Best Buy is blowing them out... great prices!
Just asking about my observation that when the conversion happens in Feb, high demand will drive prices up for a few months. Anyone know why this wont happen.
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