Time to Purchase a TV HDTV Input please HDTV PING LIST PLEASE

12.02.11 | Chickensoup

[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

[Sea Parrot]

Just my opine, but in one word, “Vizio”.

Got ours little over a year ago and could not be more happy with it. They are one of the cheapest brands, but come with more to offer than some of the much more expensive ones.

It is loaded with apps and the built in wireless transmits excellent video quality for movies from Netflix etc. We watch Netflix movies a lot, especially foreign ones and really like South Korean crime flicks etc. Indian ones, forget the Bollywood tripe, the Indians make some great movies and the “Delhi Belly” comedy had us LOAO throughout.

[Mister Da]

I'm no expert, but I do have 4 HD TVs. I like Samsung products, owning a Samsung TV & a monitor.

Prices are MUCH cheaper AFTER Christmas - mid January or later. Stay away from returned merchandise. People don't usually return TVs unless they suck.

Don't know about 3D viewing, so wont comment on that.

As for old tech, I suspect this early 3D stuff will change dramatically over time, so the Samsung 3D tech may obsolete quickly.

Internet TV capability & connectivity may be a better long term bet.

Be sure the TV is 1080p & 120 Hz for a large TV. Speakers can be small & tinny, so listen to the TV before buying, if possible, & get the biggest internal speakers you can or a home theater sound system.

An antenna can be connected to receive local broadcast channels.

I don't imagine you will have problems in 50-60 temps. The TV will generate a certain amount of heat, itself. Power saving modes can be manipulated to keep the TV circuitry "warm" at the expense of a little extra power usage. Humidity is the greater enemy.

Before I buy electronics, I read as much as I can about the product on the Internet. Go to the manufacturer site, & look at the owners manual in the support section. This will tell you a lot about the functionality of the TV & remote. Some remotes are terrible. Some TVs have "gotchas".

Go to sites like Best Buy or Walmart that sell the TV you are interested in, & read the customer reviews of the TV, ESPECIALLY the NEGATIVE reviews. Negative reviews will tell you everything wrong with the TV - very important.

Bear in mind that it is impractical to repair a malfunctioning TV, these days. You must ship it to the manufacturer for the simplest repairs, which will likely take weeks. So, buy the TV from a seller with a long, generous return policy, in case you get a lemon, & SAVE THE BOX for the return period. I buy many electronics from Walmart for this very reason. BubbasCheapTVs.com may be $25 cheaper, but if you are dissatisfied, you may be in for return/exchange Hell, or just stuck with several hundred dollars worth of JUNK.

[gimme1ibertee]

You can’t go wrong with a Vizio.

Amen to that! We have two Vizios-one in the BR-36"- and just got a 47" for the LR as an early Christmas present for myself and the hubster. Love em!

[yarddog]

I have a Dell monitor which is 26 inches. Besides the computer, I thought I could add a tv to it but no luck. I was able to hook up a Sony Blu ray player and it is very clear. The monitor has 1680X1080 resolution which I assume will give all the quality the Blu ray can supply.

The little 19” TV I bought has only 780 resolution yet I am not sure I can tell a difference and they are literally set up side by side so I can watch TV and Computer at the same time. If forced to choose I would say the Dell is sharper but it is not an easy call.

[Tijeras_Slim]

As you have every right to be. Best to you and yours.

[dangerdoc]

In my experience, the cheesier they are the longer they last. I donated a budget DVD player to charity that I bought a decade ago. I wanted to replace it with something better and kept waiting for it to die, and waiting and waiting.

[dangerdoc]

“Go to Best Buy and check out their smallest screen HDTVs.”

The nice thing about an HD signal is that it really looks better on a big screen. Even my non techie wife mentioned that she would like to move up from our 55” screen after watching a game on a front projector at a friends house.

[dangerdoc]

If you want HD on a computer monitor, try to snag an older dish receiver that has a built in HDTV tuner. I used one with a computer monitor in the basement for years, without having to subscribe to satellite service.

I must warn you that it is a clunky way to watch TV and I recently bought an HDTV to replace it and I’m much happier.

[eddie willers]

if there have been improvements in plasma TVs, I want to know about it! Thanks.

I was shocked too.

Long story short...an old customer finally moved into his new house taking his old $11,000 Pioneer Elite 65" plasma out of storage to put in his new place. He made a horrible mistake of wanting to put this (I guess 250~300lb) monster over a fireplace (with huge mantle) 10 ft. in the air.

Luckily, I told him let's test this before we get 4 extra vatos, 2 stools, and 2 ladders and probably drop and break this thing. Smart to test since the $11,000 Pioneer Elite 65" plasma was shot.

Since he was hot to trot I told him I would accompany to the local HH Gregg.

The whole way over I am trying to talk him OUT of a plasma due to the weight. I knew it was really a disservice to him since one of the main advantages of a plasma over an LCD (whether LED or CCT backlit) is that a plasma will retain full brightness and color from virtually any angle while an LCD only shows its best when viewed straight on. (Think of how your laptop monitor 'grays' out as you adjust it up or down). I honestly believed that a TV of the weight of his original could not be mounted by anything short of building scaffolding or renting a Genie air-conditioning lifter.

When I saw those stunning new Panasonics and that they were maybe one-third the weight, I said..."Go for it".

Yeah....it still took 4 extra vatos, 2 stools, and 2 ladders but that new 65" went straight up and and looked great....even with the necessary 20°+ angle.

And though the picture was way superior to that $11,000 Pioneer Elite, he walked out with it for $1,700 plus tax!

[Biblical Calvinist]

If you wish to do some research into any brand of HDTV set, including the positives, but also the various problems that any HDTV set may have; perhaps you would enjoy going to “AVS Forum”; this website is the premier site regarding HDTV sets, Blu Ray Players, surround sound amps, speakers..any type of electronics..
Here’s the link - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

Be sure to click the FORUMS tab, then scroll down to “LCD Flat Panel Displays” or “Plasma Flat Panel Displays”.

We bought a Samsung 40 inch A360 HDTV set in September of 2008; it had a gloriously detailed High Definition picture -until a few weeks ago; the flesh tones started to exhibit a GREEN TINT..this fluctuates between what it should be, and the green tint..if this continues, we may have to have a repair man look at it..We are not looking forward to this expense.

I’ve heard other stories about Samsung HD sets made from 2005 to last year, having cheap, faulty capacitors, which fail after 3-4 years...this is due to faulty, incompetent management in their Chinese plant; (going for the cheap, instead of spending a quarter more, they put in faulty Chinese capacitors to try to save money) Samsung is now in the process of experiencing CLASS ACTION suits in regard to these events, because they not only have failed to correct the situation; but also because they refused to acknowledge this situation, and pay for the repair of the sets. (Faulty capacitors result in the tv set failing to turn on.)

These experiences are quite frustrating; I HAVE heard that Samsung has corrected the faulty Capacitor problems as of mid 2010...but who knows? And yes, my set will probably eventually fail as well, because of these faulty capacitors.

Samsung does make great HDTV sets..however; since they have refused to stand behind their products in the past..how can they be relied upon in the future? Buying any electronic product is a gamble at best, for we really have no idea how long they will last. Samsung HDTV sets do have a great picture..but, ya know, probably any HDTV set will have problems as time goes by.. so; my advice? Do your research well!

[Biblical Calvinist]

Whoops! We have a Samsung A630 Model.. I was never any good with numbers; I simply inverted the model number..Sorry!

[eddie willers]

Out of curiosity I went to the HH Gregg website to see what the weight of that TV I posted about above and noticed that it had to 60" TVs I was talking about and not 65" TVs.

That new 60" Panasonic (Model:TCP60GT30) came in at 97.1 lbs.

[eddie willers]

the flesh tones started to exhibit a GREEN TINT..this fluctuates between what it should be, and the green tint.

If you are connected using component cables (separate Red, Blue, and Green connectors) you may be lucky and only either the Red or Blue (I forget which does what) my be loose or shorting. (the Green cable carries the B&W information.... so if it goes, you get no picture at all)

If you are connected by HDMI it probably is the TV.

[eddie willers]

Oops....the above was meant for you. Here it is again:

the flesh tones started to exhibit a GREEN TINT..this fluctuates between what it should be, and the green tint.

If you are connected using component cables (separate Red, Blue, and Green connectors) you may be lucky and only either the Red or Blue (I forget which does what) my be loose or shorting. (the Green cable carries the B&W information.... so if it goes, you get no picture at all)

If you are connected by HDMI, it probably is the TV.

[BlueMondaySkipper]

I have 4 Panasonics in my house. Two 50" plasmas and two 32" LCD. They are all WAAAAYYY better than old tube TVs. One thing no one mentioned is the remotes. After having poor designs on previous TVs from the lesser brands I really like the Panasonic remotes. You can actually work them in the dark without looking.

Panasonic plasmas are simply the best thing out there. The difference in the colors and the viewing angle are huge. To make black on LCD TVs, they block the backlight to keep it from shining through. On the Panasonic plasmas, they make black by shutting off the pixel. Big difference.

Good luck

[texas booster]

Before you buy anything, please spend some time on Saturday searching for articles on FR by LasVegasDave.

He is a professional in the business, and I value his opinion and try to catch all of his threads.

My business is front projection AV, so if you want a TV that is over 100” ping me!

[randita]

My husband and I (and we’re no spring chickens) had NO trouble lifting and placing our Pan Viera 50” on a TV stand. Very easy and that might be a consideration for some.

Mounting it high on a wall would have been more difficult, but I’m sure the two of us could have done it.

[Neidermeyer]

Panasonic Viera Plasma for me too ... bought mine 2 years ago ,, Plasma is still the best for fast motion (sports) , still has the best blacks (I have a old “panablack” tube set also) ,, and most importantly for my viewing room which is wider than it is deep .. with Plasma you get a very wide viewing angle ... with lcd you need to be in front of the set more or less.

As far as an antenna goes ,, any high quality TV aerial will work fine ,, you don’t need one labeled “HD” , that’s just marketing..

The only downside to plasma is energy usage ,, but if you don’t watch 24 hours a day it’ll take years for the power bill to overtake the savings in initial purchase price.

[Neidermeyer]

DON’T BUY THE WALL MOUNT AT THE STORE!!

Buy from http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=tv+wall+mount ,, best prices anywhere ...

You can also get your HDMI cables and such there ...

The big box stores mark the TV’s down and the accessories WAY UP ... Don’t pay more than $4 for a HDMI cable or $30 for a wall mount.

[Las Vegas Dave]

Pinging the HDTV list...

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