HDTV recommendations

In our main upstairs living room we have a 37" Sharp Aquos that is 3 years old. At the time it was the best t.v. to get. It still is a great display and I honestly don't know if it really has been eclipsed that much. I received the Aquos as a 'gift' for myself for Father's Day and my wife ended up taking keeping it for herself (liked it so much). I also just purchased a 40" LG for my 'own' room downstairs this past April and I really like it. I did get the 120Hz model so my wife does not enjoy the upgraded motion compensation. I love it for high action - watching sports, playing video games and is stunning with the blueray player too.

Everyone has a chance to get a lemon no matter what brand so customer service should also factor in to your pricing.
 
Tek7 said:
Eh? Do you have an article you can link to as a source? That's quite the claim.
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This.

XionTawa said:
I was listening to a podcast (Leo Laporte, the Tech Guy) and he had an HDTV expert on there...and he said that all of the companies are lying to you about their TVs...yes, there are 1080p cables...yes Blu-Ray players, PS3's, and 360's produce a 1080p signal...but ALL HDTVs can only support up to 720p...he said once it hits the TV it is converted to 720p...you you never know the difference... He said that current TVs are not far enough in tech to handle a 1080p signal...and that it will still be a few years and even then the TV's will cost a lot more than they do now...

Now given...he could be just lying himself...but all the stuff he was spouting and the fact he was talking with Leo Laporte...makes it pretty reliable...
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But really I have no idea...but the guy sounded very believable... :p
 
I purchased a TV a month ago. I know two solid facts from my electrical engineering genius friend. First, unless you're going to sit less than 6 feet from the TV, you CAN'T tell the difference between 1080p and 720p, so there's no reason to spend that extra money. Second, Samsung is very, very good, and according to the same genius friend and a host of Best Buy employees, they are the best.

One last note. Best Buy has a 3-year no interest financing plan. That helped my wife and I a great deal. We both grew up with the mentality that when you buy something, you buy great quality that you know will last, even if it's more expensive.

And one laster last note. My TV is LED backlit. It is more expensive, but the quality is outstanding. There's no flickering or pixilation, even while watching Earth on Blu-ray. It displays the thousands of fish swimming all over without breaking a sweat. If you want more details, let me know and I'll dig out the manual to give you the product name.
 
If you ever want to hook up any of these things to your TV you will want 1080p:

1. Blu-ray player
2. A Computer
3. Google TV Box


Otherwise 720p is fine for these:

1. Xbox 360
2. PS3
3. Apple TV
 
Lloren said:
Amazon does too supposedly. We have one coming next Friday so I can't be 100% sure yet.
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Let me know how that works out for you, Lloren. I haven't had a negative experience with Amazon yet, so I expect good news.

XionTawa said:
This.

But really I have no idea...but the guy sounded very believable... :p
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When I asked for a source, I meant a news article or link to a video with the information. I'm not doubting your information; I'd just like an article to read over to see for myself.

tjguitarz said:
I purchased a TV a month ago. I know two solid facts from my electrical engineering genius friend. First, unless you're going to sit less than 6 feet from the TV, you CAN'T tell the difference between 1080p and 720p, so there's no reason to spend that extra money.
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I measured the distance from the entertainment center to the couch and found that we're sitting approximately 10.5 ft. away from the television.

tjguitarz said:
Second, Samsung is very, very good, and according to the same genius friend and a host of Best Buy employees, they are the best.
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I have no trouble believing that. Samsung will definitely be one of the top brands we're looking for, though budget restrictions may push us to buy a different brand (unless we find an amazing sale, of course).

tjguitarz said:
One last note. Best Buy has a 3-year no interest financing plan. That helped my wife and I a great deal. We both grew up with the mentality that when you buy something, you buy great quality that you know will last, even if it's more expensive.
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Aye, my wife and I are of the same mindset. Financing likely won't be a concern, but it's good to know nevertheless.

tjguitarz said:
And one laster last note. My TV is LED backlit. It is more expensive, but the quality is outstanding. There's no flickering or pixilation, even while watching Earth on Blu-ray. It displays the thousands of fish swimming all over without breaking a sweat. If you want more details, let me know and I'll dig out the manual to give you the product name.
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Aye, if you could post the make and model of your TV, that would give us something to keep an eye out for.

Lloren said:
If you ever want to hook up any of these things to your TV you will want 1080p:

1. Blu-ray player
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Yes. Specifically, we'll be using the PS3 as a BluRay player until we get a standalone unit.

Lloren said:
2. A Computer
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Yep. Though we may need to wait until we can afford to buy or build a new media center PC with a video card capable of HDMI output before this is a concern.

My wife's laptop and my laptop are both already capable of HDMI output, but hooking and unhooking the laptop to the TV every time we want to watch something is rather cumbersome. (I know from experience; we used to do exactly that.)

I have to admit, though, it would be cool to play TF2 at 1920x1080 on a 46" screen (that is, if my notebook could handle it). :D

Lloren said:
3. Google TV Box
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No purpose in a Google TV box if I already have a PC hooked up to the TV and running MediaPortal (at least, not enough to justify the additional expense).

Lloren said:
Otherwise 720p is fine for these:

1. Xbox 360
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Not a concern. I don't own a 360 and don't intend to ever purchase one.

Lloren said:
2. PS3
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Most games are in 720p, but there are a few with true 1080p output, including Critter Crunch (which is an excellent game, by the way). I know there's only a small handful of native 1080p games, but I want forward compatibility and 1080p TVs are common enough now.

Lloren said:
3. Apple TV
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No comment.
 
Tek7 said:
I have no trouble believing that. Samsung will definitely be one of the top brands we're looking for, though budget restrictions may push us to buy a different brand (unless we find an amazing sale, of course).
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Be sure the other brands you look at use Samsung panels!
 
A quick note to others looking to buy a HDTV:

There will be a few lightning deals on VIZIO HDTVs on Amazon later today. If you've done your research and decided on a VIZIO model, you may want to check in at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. Central.
 
That seems like a lot of money for only a 42" and Vizio has power problems and I have heard nothing but issues after the 2 year mark.

you can get 1080p 120hz LCD for under 499 now. Not sure LED and 240hz is worth almost $300 more.

Or you can get a 47" LG for that same price. (LCD 120hz) 47" looks significantly bigger then a 42" its totally worth it.
 
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ewoksrule said:
That seems like a lot of money for only a 42" and Vizio has power problems and I have heard nothing but issues after the 2 year mark.
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I've had trouble finding 42"+ HDTVs with above average ratings for under $1000. If you find any, please let me know.

ewoksrule said:
you can get 1080p 120hz LCD for under 499 now.
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But can you find the same at 42"+?

ewoksrule said:
Or you can get a 47" LG for that same price. (LCD 120hz) 47" looks significantly bigger then a 42" its totally worth it.
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Do you have a link for said LG?

Lloren said:
Hmmmm... 240Hz is fast enough for 3D w/o the 3D capabilities? That's strange Vizio. Most new 240Hz TVs are 3D (2 x 120Hz signals multiplexed).

Ewok is right about size though. You mentioned 10 ft away. You'll want something 46"+ at that distance.
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The articles I read on the subject differ, but the general consensus is that 40"-42" is a minimum for 10.5-ft. viewing distance. Push comes to shove, we can scoot the couch a little closer to the entertainment center. But considering we watch a 27" TV now, moving to a 42" or 46" should be a big improvement.

I'm just discouraged that I keep finding a price leap between 40" and 42" sets. :(
 
I'm taking a serious look at the Samsung LN46C630 and Samsung LN46C650...though I don't see much difference between the two. Granted, I've been reading HDTV reviews and articles for the last few hours, so my eyes aren't catching everything they were earlier today.

I think the Samsung LN46C650 has web applications, which would be a moot point if I have a media center PC hooked up. I've also read that the ultra clear panel on the LN46C650 is somewhat reflective. The LN46C630 also seems to sell at a lower price point.

Given those three points, I'm leaning toward the LN46C630--but the decision is still far, far from final. But if I saw an amazing sale on the LN46C630 tomorrow (or, more likely, on Black Friday), I'd seriously consider making the purchase.

EDIT: It's also worth mentioning that Consumer Reports awarded the LN46C630 a score of 74--two points lower than the highest-rated model.
 
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ewoksrule said:
http://bit.ly/dCmcNu
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I don't know Hannspree from Adam, so I'd have to pass on this one without overwhelming evidence of the brand's quality.

ewoksrule said:
http://bit.ly/9R06Dm
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The LG 46LD550 does look like a strong contender and my wife and I love our LG washer and dryer. (I know, I know, washers and dryers are completely different from TVs.)

Consumer Reports hasn't reviewed the LG 46LD550 yet, but that's not a surprise. It makes me sad to say it, but I think CR is less and less relevant as time goes by. It seems they just can't keep up with tech-specific review sites.

EDIT: $850 ($750 + $100 shipping) is still a bit more than my wife and I were looking to spend, though I'll admit the LG looks great. We may be delaying the purchase after all. With the baby coming in February, we may be making do with a 27" standard-def TV for quite a bit longer. :(

EDIT#2: Consumer Reports hasn't tested the LG 46LD550 yet, but they did test the LG 47LD450--and gave it an excellent score (72). That's a point in the 46LD550's favor.
 
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Is there any reason why I would dismiss plasma TVs? A quick glance at the Consumer Reports ratings suggests they may be cheaper than comparable LCD TVs and power usage costs are roughly the same.
 
Plasmas are generally more power hungry (higher electricity bills claimed by some) and generate a decent amount of heat. You can always detect a plasma on display by putting your hand in front of it. If it feels warmth coming from the screen... it's plasma.

Plasmas are also susceptible to ghosting and burn-in. LCD and LED on the other hand can stay powered-on to the same still image for days on end and have zero burn-in.
 
Lloren said:
Plasmas are generally more power hungry (higher electricity bills claimed by some) and generate a decent amount of heat. You can always detect a plasma on display by putting your hand in front of it. If it feels warmth coming from the screen... it's plasma.

Plasmas are also susceptible to ghosting and burn-in. LCD and LED on the other hand can stay powered-on to the same still image for days on end and have zero burn-in.
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I've also read that plasma TVs, in general, have better image quality (richer color, darker blacks) and handle fast motion (which is important for gaming) than LCD TVs. LED-lit LCD TVs seem to have addressed those issues in part, but the price increase from LCD to LED-lit LCD is too much for our budget.

But burn-in is a concern since I still want to play some old consoles (especially my PS2) without black bars on each side on whatever HDTV we get.

As usual, when researching possible electronics purchases, I feel like I'll have much better options in 6 months...but I know it will just be as confusing in half a year. :(

Let's hope Black Friday deals make the decision easier to make.
 
Like I said, my friend's 42" plasma moves the picture around to help prevent the image being displayed from being burned into the screen. It looks great too.

All for $400 - not bad.
 
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Ember said:
What about black bars though? It seems like that would still be an issue.
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Black bars are important but i'm afraid you'll have to live with them. You could stretch out the picture but it takes away part of the bottom stats in games and such on tv. Until every movie or every tv show is 1080p then black bars will be necessary.

You'll not notice them once you start watching tv or a dvd. blu ray will even have bars due to the film screen ratios. look on a dvd or blu ray disc you'll see the ratios listed.

On of the most important things is the contrast ratio 10000:1 is low by todays standards. Get something 30,000 or more . The better contrast ratios will have the black bars less noticible because they are truly blacked out.

I am a Samsung fan.

Samsung LN46C630 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black)
$987.99 - Quantity: 1 - In Stock
Condition: New
Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
 
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