[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

[Figment]

Stay away from 3d. Go withe the standard HD. The only arguments are between plasma and lcd. Don’t buy any less than 120 MHZ

[bobby.223]

Picked up a Vizio 42 inch hdtv 2 years ago. Has run 8-10 hours per day since new with zero problems. Great picture, even when viewing from angles other than straight on, (unlike some other brands), good sound also. I live high up in the Mountains/boonies and use Dish Network with it. I am replacing another room’s TV shortly and I am buying this exact same model again simply because of the first one’s dependability, performance and competitive price.

[John W]

We have had a Sony Bravia 46” LCD for a couple years and love it. Yes, by all means an aerial and the right one pointed the right way will find many channels in this digital age.

[FryingPan101]

We have a 55” HDTV Samsung LCD. I don’t know what to compare it to. We bought it at Sam’s Club online a year and a half ago. I can only tell you the picture is spectacular. People who have their own big screens come to watch ours during football season. We have a home theater system hooked up and watching DVDs is like being center stage. We use Time Warner cable but like you, we don’t do a lot of actual broadcast watching. I don’t think you can go wrong with just about anything nowadays. AND if you purchase at a place like Costco, you get a fantastic return policy and tech help. Our other tv which was replaced by this one was a Hitachi 42” plasma. I guess I’m not sophisticated enough for plasma. I have no clue about 3-D and will be interested in what advice people offer you on that. Good luck. You’re gonna love HDTV.

[rlmorel]

I got the Samsung 55” UN55D8000, and I love it. I researched for about a year before buying it. Thin, beautiful picture, lots of features, but the teeny bezel around the edge makes all other large screens look clunky...this looks like a plate of black glass on the wall...:)

I will say, though, that the only way to get a good, natural looking picture is to be sure to put the unit into “Game Mode”. If you leave “Game Mode” off, then you get what people call the “Soap Opera Effect”. For sporting events, animated features (such as Pixar material) and so on, I turn “Game Mode” OFF, it makes everything crystal clear and brilliant...it really pops.

But when I watch movies or television, I turn “Game Mode” ON.

Other than doing that, it is a great machine with so many features you can’t count them.

And by the way...don’t keep putting off a purchase waiting for the next technology. There will ALWAYS be “next” technology...:)

[Iron Munro]

Our old tube TV died two days after the Black Friday specials were gone.

So - we just bought our first HDTV - A 43” Samsung plasma.
$398 at Sams Club cyber week sale. It’s not the 3-D set.

This is it: http://tinyurl.com/7bvmerw

The picture is fantastic.

BUT - the front of the TV is highly reflective and acts like a mirror, reflecting everything and reflecting it well.
We even see reflections of people and objects 20 -25 feet away in another room. When the picture is dark, as in a movie night scene, the reflections overpower the picture. The only way to defeat the mirror effect is to totally darken the room (rooms) that reflect - turn off all the light and shut the blinds tight.

It’s driving us nuts!

As this is our first widescreen, HDTV TV we didn’t think to look for this characteristic in the showroom and no one mentioned it.

I don’t know if other brands or types of TV’s (LCD, LED)have this problem but it is something to take into account.

[jcsjcm]

Sony Bravia would be an excellent choice!

My son wanted the Samsung, but they ran out - so he got the Sony 40” as well. What an awesome picture this TV gives out. The contrast ratio is 3000:1 which is quite impressive.

To explain what I mean:
Quote:
If you take the brightest white on a screen, and the darkest black and compare the luminosity, you get the contrast ratio. For example, a 1000:1 contrast ratio means that the brightest white is 1000x brighter than the darkest black.
End Quote

I want one of these TV’s now that I think about it!

[yarddog]

I bought my first digital LCD TV today. It was one of the cheap 19” models which were left over from Black Friday. Cost was $98.00 and I was not expecting too much.

I have it attached to my old outside antenna and I was a bit surprised that it works just fine. I get a total of 13 channels tho one is weak. This is exactly the same as my old standard TV with an adapter.

The picture is definitely clearer than the old style. I am now wondering if an expensive one would be even better but still I am pleased so far. Also has a whole lot of features that I was not expecting for the price.

[spankalib]

After 5 years of being completely without a TV, I went out and bought a big Panasonic plasma, 55”. It SAYS it has a 600mhz refresh rate...

For sports I chose plasma, mainly thanks to EVERYONE ON HERE & the rest of the ping list, FReepers are so helpful. Thanks everyone!

I made sure the 3D function can be turned off, so I’m not required to wear the specs - hey, I’m a noob to tv! - This thread has helped me decide NOT TO sign up for cable. You guys are so smart, thank you for helping. I’ll probably be back, asking lots of dumb questions, hehe...but FRiend, for sports...color, movement...E T C...I chose plasma.

[spankalib]

I KNOW!
Aren’t these guys amazingly helpful?
Fantastic bunch of people. Thank you all!

[Signalman]

To get High Def, your TV must have either an HDMI connection or a component (not composite) connection to connect to your cable/satellite box. HDMI only requires one cable because it transmits both video and audio. Component transmits video only, so you need a separate audio cable.

Both HDMI and component give virtually equally good pictures.

[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.

[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!

[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!

[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...

HDTV PINGS!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Interested in the HDTV ping list?
Please Freepmail me(freepmail works best)if you would like your name added to the HDTV ping list,(approximately 375 freepers are currently on the HDTV ping list).
The pinged subjects can be HDTV technology, satellite, cable, and OTA HD reception (Over The Air with roof top or indoor antennas), Broadcast specials, Sports, Blu Ray/HDDVD, and any and all subjects relating to HDTV.

LVD

Note: if you search Freerepublic using the keyword "“HDTV”, you will find most of the past HDTV postings.

[Varda]

FIRST to get the most out of ANY Hi Definition display they must be calibrated. What you see in the store isn't what you get unless you keep the TV in "torch" mode (bright default setting for store lighting).

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.

[freekitty]

I wouldn’t buy a 3D if you gave it to me.

[Hot Tabasco]

I'm partial towards plasmas.....I've got a 60" Pioneer Kuro, 1080i that is absolutely marvelous.

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......