big screen tv questions.........

[NCC1701]

I am looking to buy a big screen tv and was wondering what anyones experiances are? I am looking for one that is in the 40 to 50 inch range. Also do you think it is a good time to get one or should I wait for the plasma screen tv's to come down in price? (or is tha just wishful thinking on my part??)

Which brand do you recommend? Where to get a good deal? Were to avoid? What brands to avoid?

If anyone has any thoughts, Please feel free to share

 

[The Radius Kid]

I own a 52" Toshiba with Carver sound[early 90's version] and it's fabulous.

 

[murphster]

Probably the most important thing is your budget.

No budget - Plasma is the best, look for $3,000 or so for the cheapest, most are closer to $5,000 or so. Prices won't drop too much but more things will be added such as built in HD tuners which will save you money.

Very expensive - LCD or LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon). Not quite as good as Plasma but still thin screen, almost as expensive.

good to great - HD rear projection tv's. Prices have come down so that price range is in high $1,000's or so to mid $2,000's. Widescreen is the way to go as even if you watch regular tv newer models do a good job.

ok - regular rear projection tv. If you want to save money this is the way to go but you will be sacrificing high quality when watching DVD's. Low to mid $1,000's


Since I had bought a nice 36" regular tv not too long ago, I ended up buying a projector (~$1,200) and a pull down screen (~$250) so now I can watch movies at 110" that look great. The room must be real dark though so I only use it at night. Best bang for the buck when you want a real big screen.

Of course, I hope you have a nice surround sound system to go with the tv. If not, I would get the cheaper tv and upgrade the stereo. Of course, this mainly applies if you are into movies and stuff.

If you have a budget range, post a reply and I'll recommend some good models and features to look for.

-murph

 

[CopGn]

Don't quote me but I believe Plasma tv's picture quality starts to degrade after 5 years. Look in consumer reports.

 

[fast-turbo]

I just bought a Sony 51 inch widescreen for 1700 bucks and that included the extended warr. The picture quality is awesome and you cant beat the price It even has a built in screen guard and also there is no glare. Point...tons of features and great price. Hope this helps in some ways.

 

[not-rdy]

I have a Sony 43" that I bought in 2000. The picture quality is awesome and it has the screen guard also. I bought mine through Best Buy with an employee's discount. If you know someone it is the way to go. I saved over $500 with the discount. The discount even applied to the 3 yr. warranty.

Ken

It is a rear projection TV. Left that out.

 

[NoNos38]

IMO, Plasma's are more of a pain in the butt than they are worth..

Plasma is a gas that has to be recharged every so often, and from what I hear you can only charge them so many times before they are no good..

Matt

 

[2QUIK6]

I bought a Hitachi Widescreen, 51" (I think) rear projection, but my living room is so small that my sofa is about 15' from it, and in order to see it you have to be right directly in front of it, can't see rear projection screens from an angle, so I couldn't get the sofa and the recliners in a positions so all could see it clearly.
So I returned it to Circuit City and replaced it with a Sony 43" XBR tradional tube screen, its awesome, very crisp and clear with DVDs. So, consider that if your room is small or your sitting close to it for viewing. Its hard to tell when its at the store.

 

[Scott Atk]

Right now I'm undecided between LCD and DLP. LCD's are cheaper but I've heard something about "pixels burning out" and they cannot be repaired. With the DLP you have a super bright bulb that needs periodically replaced at around $250.00. The DLP is still pretty new technology and the price should continue to drop. (already dropped in half since October)

 

[Buick From Hell]

I got a 65" Mitsu (for the wife, heh heh) xmas of '02... ($2500 and they threw in a P-S DVD player!)

Just get the biggest you can afford and don't look back...

(I would've gotten the 72", but it wasn't that much bigger for twice the bucks...)

I've owned a 55" Hitachi since 1989, so I know rear projection works...and I don't care for the picture on the LCD's (just me)

 

[NCC1701]

Keep em coming guys I am learninf alot

I can see already that I need to do alot more research before I take the plunge. But it has to be soon, the old tv isn't responding as well to the frequent smacks as it used to
Price is locked at a max of $2000. I also have a small living room and that is why I figured that anything over 50 inches and we would be sitting to close.

I really appreciate the responses and info, keep em coming

Buick from Hell, does your wife still believe that TV was for her?

 

[b231v6]

Hitachi 46w500.If you get To big in a small room it will appear blurry.46 is just right in our tv room.

 

[Buick From Hell]

Re: Keep em coming guys I am learninf alot

Originally posted by NCC1701
Buick from Hell, does your wife still believe that TV was for her?

Hey, she's the one home watching it all day!

 

[gnturboray]

The Mitsubishi Platinum HDTV 1080 series or the Pioneer HD Diamond series are the tops in big screens. FYI they both are very pricey but well worth it for the picture quality.

 

[Lee_Burough]

Buy on the cheap if you aren't motivated by the "picture" of a higher priced unit already. Its just like buying stereo equipment....Buy what sounds good to YOU. Buy what sounds good to YOU! Worth repeating. Buy what looks good to YOU when yo buy a TV, its not anybody else's decision, its yours!

I've had a Kloss projection TV (10' pull down screen & big, big bucks), regular TV's and a Pioneer 47 or 50 inch letterbox rear projection unit (bought in 1997), along with a couple 31-32 inch CRT TV's. You can throw away a lot of money if you're not careful. Sam's has a medium sized large rear projection TV with a very good picture, for $1300 right now....I'm thinking of replacing the Pioneer with one of those. I like the pic as well as the LCD and Plasma screens I've looked at.

I see some large changes in TV technology coming soon. Buy a $1300 unit now to serve you between now and the next couple interations of TV Technology. Buy big then

I use a Pioneer DX-1 for surround sound with M & K speakers and sub, Size and quality of the sound is just as important as the size and quality of the picture.

 

[murphster]

For $2000 you should be able to get a 50" range widescreen HD tv.

I've seen the Sony 51" widescreen at a friends and it is great. It does a good job on stretching non-widescreen tv to fill the screen too.

A general rule of thumb is that you should be around 2x the size of the screen away from the tv for optimal viewing. For a 50" tv that would be 100" (8ft or so). If you are too close you may see lines in the tv for big screen tv's. This may vary tv to tv but it gives you a good idea on what size tv to get.

HD tv is available on most cable systems these days, but you need a diffeent box. All satellite systems offer it. You would need a progressive scan DVD player too to take advantage of the HD tv. They will be coming out with new DVD players for HD in the next year or so that will blow you away.

The main thing to look for in a widescreen tv is how good a job it does stretching non-widescreen tv to fill the screen. Most regular tv is non widescreen, but HD tv and most movies you rent on DVD are widescreen. Some tv's do a good job of stretching (like the Sony) while others look pretty bad on regular tv.

Note: As for the Plasma tv's, there was one study done that said they could degrade after a few years, but the study was done under suspect circumstances (running the tv non-stop continuously, kinda of like testing an engine at WOT). By now some of the manufacturers should have seen problems from the earlier Plasma tv's, but none have seen this problem or seen any degradation of the tv's over time.

-murph