Looking for a new TV......any help????

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Bruce B

Bruce B

Master Chef
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
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Location
Utica, MI
The better half and I have decided to get a new LCD HDTV as our Christmas present this year...from talking to some people they say I should look at an LCD, 1080 resolution with 120hz...I guess what I'm looking for is any help from those of you who may have taken the plunge on a new TV in the last year or so and have gone through this process and what you have learned and what you ended up buying, brand names, etc. and are you happy with it?

Our budget will be will be in the $1,500ish range and we'd like to go at least 46".

Thanks for any help you might offer!
 
Bruce, we recently purchased a Samsung 50" for the family room & we are very pleased with it. A Panasonic brand Home Theater System was added. Certainly not high end equipment, but we are amazed at the sound & video quality! Both were well within the price range you mentioned.

8)
 
We have two Vizio brand LCD's. One for the bedroom and a bigger one in the living room. Have worked very good so far. Much cheaper now than when we bought the ones we have. The Plasma versions have too much glare on the screen for me. Warden's Aunt has a Plasma and you cant hardly see it unless you watch at night and turn out all the lights. Walmart is hard to beat pricewise. Hope this helps.

bigwheel
 
Make sure you have enough or the right ports for equipment you hook up. Or do you have a receiver? I use my TV as a HTPC. I don't have enough HDMI ports for what it could be... My only regret, but next year I'll pick up another TV.
 
Very pleased with our LG 42" 120 HZ, they now have a 240 HZ model. Saved a few bucks with LG, it was on sale. I to was looking at Samsung.
 
JamesB said:
Samsung TVs have some reported problems syncing with certain cable and satellite boxes via the HDMI ports... have ya'll encountered any of that?

We have 2 Sony's and 3 Vizios... The Vizios are 32" 720P units and are in the bedrooms, We also have a 46"1080p 120 hz Sony Bravia in the computer room (too big for the room, but I like it!) and a Sony Bravia XBR 52" 1080p 240 hz in the living room... I really like the Sony's although I can't tell a difference in performance/picture between the 120 hz and the 240 hz models...
Click to expand...

HDMI cables and devices come in different versions (ie) a b c d ect...
All connected HDMI units need the correct cables & be the most current version. Older HDMI equipment is not forward compatible with the newer stuff. Certain newer versions are backward compaitble , but not all of em.

The newest badest TV technology is Laser TV's that can be easily veiwed outdoors in direct sunlight
http://www.technologyreview.com/nanotech/17651/
 
Bruce B said:
The better half and I have decided to get a new LCD HDTV as our Christmas present this year...from talking to some people they say I should look at an LCD, 1080 resolution with 120hz...I guess what I'm looking for is any help from those of you who may have taken the plunge on a new TV in the last year or so and have gone through this process and what you have learned and what you ended up buying, brand names, etc. and are you happy with it?

Our budget will be will be in the $1,500ish range and we'd like to go at least 46".

Thanks for any help you might offer!
Click to expand...

This may be more than you want to know:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=166
 
Bruce if you're a costco member it might be worth going and taking a look. Try and remember that what looks good on the show floor under fluorescent lights might not look the same in your living room with incandescent lighting. Their return policy will allow you to come in and return/trade until you have the right one.
another thing to help get a bit more bang for your buck is to know that unless you are watching blu-ray or playstation 3 then 1080 wont matter as much since the FCC has stated it will never be a broadcast standard. Dish or Direct might have some special offerings
http://gizmodo.com/5031461/dish-net...u+ray-quality-video-now-possible-but-unlikely

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081028175515AAsoUPs

I have a Phillips 42" LCD. (It looks good but the menus are horrid.)
a 42" Panasonic Plasma and a 50" Plasma in the same Panasonic line. Both look beautiful and the games never looked better in HD (even if the cable company compresses the life out of the signal)
good luck on your search
 
I vote for the Sony. Have a 52" Bravia XBR 120mhz for the last two years with no issues. Love it on game day.
 
I want to thank everyone for their assistance. After a lot of reading and viewing at two different stores I settled on the Sony Bravia KDL52Z5100 and I paired it with a Sony Blue Ray BDP S360 player.

Couple of issues that swayed me away from the Samsung; after looking at both sets side by side at two different locations the glare on the Samsung screen from store lighting and ambient lighting was definitely more distinct than on the Sony. The picture on the Samsung, while vibrant and more bright, after viewing it for approximately 20 minutes began to look "fake" as opposed to a more natural look on the Sony. Picture quality is a personal thing and what one person sees may not be what the other sees; just my opinion here.

The Z series from Sony is just below the XBR9 series and is built on the same panel as the XBR and for the sale price at Best Buy after doing some looking it was the cheapest I could find anywhere except Amazon, and if I'm spending this kind of cash I want someone to bitch at if somethings not right, I don't want to have to deal with shipping it back to Amazon, etc.

So, tomorrow I'll spend some time hooking it up and hopefully have it set for Sunday's NFL games.

Once again, thanks for all your help.
 
Good luck getting it set up. I know exactly what you mean about picture quality being an individual thing. I settled on the Samsung the same way you selected yours, by comparing side by side picture quality at several stores. What amazed me was how one brand seemed great in 40" display, but a different brand looked better in a 50" display. You'll love it. I hardly ever watch a channel if it's not HD.
 
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