looking to get a new HDTV, help me decide

[ANVIL]

im in the market for a new flat panel, the one i have is a 26" LCD that i got about 4 years ago. sucks i was on vacation on black friday and if i bought a tv on vacation there would be no way for me to bring it back. im looking to get a 37"-48" plasma. i was thinking 42". i want to spend 800 max. what do you guys recommend? know of any good deals online? if u saw my other thread i was looking at a 42" samsung plasma from some shady website for 500. they have that same one at best buy for 700, anyone have any coupon codes? :D

[stiizy]

Get a Samsung done and done if not get an LG Scarlet...

Samsung 42inch call it a day

[LongGrain]

we have a samsung in our apt, its a 47" lcd i believe. VERY sweet. i recommend it.

the touch screen style buttons are cool

[zaneithan]

try best buy for open box deals, i got my 1500$ tv for 1000$, its a samsung

[HyperTek]

make sure its 1080p, if your on a budget 720p may be ok.. and make sure it has HDMI

[ANVIL]

i was reading on a few websites that 1080p isnt quite worth the extra money yet... so i was thinking of settling for a 720? i am on a budget, and also its going in my bedroom

longgrain, how much did u pick up that 47" lcd for? where?

[Daniel.]

if 800 is your max then for sure get something 720p.

how large is your bedroom and whats the average viewing distance you'll be using it at?

an particular reason you want a plasma and not lcd?

if you're set on plasma, look and see if there's any Viera plasma's from last years lineup in your price range.

for example TH-42PX80U - VIERA® Plasma HDTVs - Shop and Compare at Panasonic (http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Televisions/VIERA-Plasma-HDTVs/model.TH-42PX80U_11002_7000000000000005702)

that's this year's model in a 42in for about 1000.

last years models should be much less expensive. plasma viera's got some awesome reviews from all users.

[Future240]

When looking for Tv's look at these brands
Phlip
LG
Samsung
Pioneer
Olevia
Mitsubishi
Maybe Vizio

[illxs14]

try best buy for open box deals, i got my 1500$ tv for 1000$, its a samsung

if you do the best buy open box deals, make sure to get the warrenty from them, my buddy got a good deal on his tv, a few weeks later and they replaced it for free, so it was a win for him.


i have a 42" lg lcd 720p, the colors good. i'm happy with it.

[silviaguy240]

i got a 40" samsung 1080. was like ~1300 last year around this time. super sharp HD and good picture overall.

[cwallace12]

If your looking for something in that price range thats has a decent if not superior panel the vizio at wal mart or sams club is an excellent buy. Ive set quite a few of these up on our HD cable service and they look very nice. Stay away from Westinghouse, RCA and Magnavox though, very washed out pic. Most all of your Cable TV HD boxes and Satellite units will support 1080i, 1080p is still new and really wont catch on for a few years. Blu Ray supports only up to 1080i right now with their current hardware, but you have to use HDMI, which all new HDTV's should have. I have a 50" Hitachi plasma at home and I love it, but not your price range really. Also take into consideration what your going to be using it for. If its only for movie and tv viewing a plasma is awesome. If its for gaming quite often I would stick with the LCD b/c the plasma will suffer serious burn in very quickly.

[TheWolf]

craigslist..... got my 50" phillips plasma with ambilight for $900 like 2 years ago off of it... I'm sold on the ambilight feature.. cuts eye strain down to nil

[s14dr1ft3r]

mine is a sony bravia 40" 1080p. I love it but it was significantly more than 800. Look into the sony 720's tho, they great quality. also if hooking it to a sony bravia surround system, you can use the bravia sync feature...very cool.

[Sil-Abc]

When looking for Tv's look at these brands
Phlip
LG
Samsung
Pioneer
Olevia
Mitsubishi
Maybe Vizio

No no no no no. If u want bad quality go with most of those. The only ones off that list that i would recommend it samsung, pioneer, and mitsubishi. The rest will have horrible quality and any trained eye will notice a difference. It all depends on what you watch and what you plan to use it for. Movies, TV, games, etc. Most of the top brands like sony and samsung all share the same screen but use different hardware so essentially a sony is comparatively the same as samsung but with minor differences in the hardware except for the screen. All of the screens come manufactured from samsung and all those cheap brands are from some other junk shit. Since ur on a budget, get last years model and something like a samsung because those are the cheapest GOOD quality products. I used to sell this shit back in 04 so it might be different but stay away from those brands that are new or not as popular or not very reliable (jvc - philips (tube tvs always broke), vizio - LG (horrible quality and i forget the term for it but ull see double images from the side like if u see a football on tv, if u stand to the side u will see 2 footballs like a shadow), others i cant think at the moment since i havent slept)

[DALAZ_68]

i was reading on a few websites that 1080p isnt quite worth the extra money yet... so i was thinking of settling for a 720? i am on a budget, and also its going in my bedroom

longgrain, how much did u pick up that 47" lcd for? where?


i thought it was 1080i>1080p
...not the other way around... :ughd:

[murda-c]

1080p is the best, but it's not really that necessary since hdtv signals are 1080i anyway, and it really depends on the size of your tv and how far you're sitting.

at 7ft from a 37" tv i can't tell the difference, and that's the closest i ever sit to my tv, so i just got a 1080i toshiba regza from costco for like 500.

If i ever upgrade to a really large tv, i might consider going 1080p, but i doubt that'll happen anytime soon since my room isn't big.

As for brands i like sony, samsung, panasonic, and vizio.

I got a vizio for the room in the basement for super cheap, and once calibrated properly it's got comparable picture to the toshiba and my neighbor's sony bravia.

[DALAZ_68]

1080p is the best, but it's not really that necessary since hdtv signals are 1080i anyway, and it really depends on the size of your tv and how far you're sitting.

at 7ft from a 37" tv i can't tell the difference, and that's the closest i ever sit to my tv, so i just got a 1080i toshiba regza from costco for like 500.

If i ever upgrade to a really large tv, i might consider going 1080p, but i doubt that'll happen anytime soon since my room isn't big.

As for brands i like sony, samsung, panasonic, and vizio.

I got a vizio for the room in the basement for super cheap, and once calibrated properly it's got comparable picture to the toshiba and my neighbor's sony bravia.
i got me a 40'' 1080p Sony Bravia, shit sick, gotta get my HD cable still lol

[nismo 240sx]

samsung hands down...walk into a best buy and look at them you'll fall in love!

[Sthrteen]

I have a visio 42 1080p...awesome tv.
I bought it at costco for 1000
They've gone down in price becuase of the new one that is 120fps.

[ILoveMyRHS13]

I got a 32" Vizio FHDTV which is in 1080p for $540 (not on Black Friday) I would say go for Vizio, they have some great stuff for cheaper than everyone else.

[ANVIL]

i check out fred meyers yesterday, and they have a 42" samsung 720 plasma for 850, and a 50" samsung plasma 720 for 850. only difference is the 42 has 1 more hdmi input (2vs3). seeing that is making it a lil harder for me to decide if i should go a lil out of my price range for those 8 extra inches and lose 1 hdmi port. but i really only have my ps3 and my cable box to hook up...

will probablly go check out best buy today, but like i said i saw online the same 42" online for 700. ill be sure to check out some vizio's. im almost positive im going with a 720 plasma due to pricing. LCD/1080p are pretty much twice as much usually.

[silviaguy240]

^you might beable to get like 37 or 36 for around what you were looking for. like i said before i got a 40" samsung lcd 1080i for ~1300 from bestbuy last year on their no interest for 3 years program.

oh and for those of you that are looking for a samsung, samsung + hdmi cable + fios = not good. the box loses connection all the time for some reason and you have to reset the box. component cables resovle this problem and it really doesnt look any different on the HD channel's.

[Dirty Habit]

I got a vizio at a good price. Only thing I really do is watch movies on it. I dont have cable mainly because the only thing I would watch would be the history, discovery, espn and speed channels. Id rather read or work on my car or spend time with the oposite sex. It works, and looks good at least for me.

[1QUICK4]

If you want a plasma I'd say get an LG

If you want an LCD I'd get a samsung, that's what I have, got it last year and am already wanting to get rid of it to buy a newer samsung.

[superbraut]

deleting .

[logik23]

I have a Samsung LN40A630. Amazing picture! 40", 1080p, 120hz, 4m/s refresh rate, game mode, 3 HDMI plugs. I love it, absolutely love it!!!!

[ZenkiMR_S]

monoprice.com for wall mounts.

[Agamemnon]

Pioneer makes the best screen on the market with their 151. See if you can save for at least their low end models. If not, go with a Sony and spend above $2k. You'll be glad once you get an ISF calibration after that.

[ASIA]

Samsung is known for their awesome LCD's. I bought a Samsung LN40A500 (40" 1080p LCD) for $800 during Black Friday. Awesome quality, best bang for buck, nice features . . . My cousin also has a 46" Samsung and my aunt has a 50" Samsung, they also seem pretty happy with the purchase.

[tgd89]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned sharp yet. I bought a 32 inch 1080p aquos about a year ago for 800 and it's amazing. I use it for my 360, pc gaming/browsing, movies, ect.. and it looks pretty good.

As for as 720p vs. 1080p goes, if you just watch tv get a 720p screen, however if own any newer gaming console the difference between 720p and 1080p is quite noticable, same goes with movies with 720p vs. 1080p on blu ray/hd-dvd.

Now the main reason most people would want a plasma over an lcd is response time and contrast ratio, but most new lcd's are much better than older ones that they are aproaching the contrast ratios that plasmas produce, really plasmas are kind of a waste of money.

Take a look at this one: http://www.shopdigitalonline.com/productdetail.asp?productid=3813, not sure how reputable the site is.

[origin_s135]

i have a 42" sony bravia, i like it.