Thread: Going to buy a TV anything new I should look out for?

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Well , its time to buy a Television, any tv guys out there. Theres LCD,Plasma any thing I shoudl stay away from. I have not bought a television in about 10 years and the technology has advanced so much I am a little lost on whats best.

If you are going HD- then 1080p, 120 Hz & HDMI
Good time to buy.

1st thing I look at is how EZ is the bulb to replace. 1-3 year life & some aren't cheap. Some are damn near inaccessible.

Plasma w/ above specs will be the most expensive. Nothing wrong w/ LCD. Mine is a JVC ..................from Costco.com

make sure it's fully digital and not analog.. I see that some Walmart are still selling some that are analog, and even some CRT tv's which I thought were completly discontinued.... go 1080P, 720p is ok, but it's not true HD, and the world is switching to HD..

Make sure it fits in the dog house you'll be living in IF it is analog! lol

anything digital 1080p lcd. plasma burn out quick and sometimes get burn in effect if the screen stays the same for awhile,example a kid plays video game and leveas it on pause for 20min it could burn image to screen. or if you watch a channel with a icon on the screen for a long time.even with the change over most cable tv is 720. with blue ray and high def 1080 is top notch try best buy samsung or lg sears also price matches.

Go with 47" (or larger) and plasma if your budget allows.

In the early days of plasma it was possible to have some “burn-in” (correct term is “image retention”). This could occur if you keep an image on the screen too long and a ghost of the image would stay with the display forever. Examples would be permanent images on the screen like corporate logos or icons. In early plasma displays (regardless of size), this was certainly an issue. Now, however, all of the leading manufacturers of plasma TVs – Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Pioneer, and Hitachi – have greatly reduce or completely eliminated any signs of image retention.

According to Jim Palumbo, President of the Plasma Display Coalition (PDC), “New plasma advancements in cell structure and phosphor formulations have virtually eliminated image retention, also known as ghosting. Tests verify that any residual ghosting generally disappeared with normal use after a relatively short time. If you haven’t burned images into your CRT television, there is little chance that you will with plasma. As with any electronic product, you should follow the usage guidelines in your owner’s manual.”

Image retention (burn-in) has been virtually eliminated and is no longer an issue.

You mean my 21" RCA is out of date already????? Heck, it's even got a remote so I can switch between Speed and the Discovery Channel!!!

Comes down to how much do you really want to spend. Your can get a excellent 47 inch LCD 1080P 120mhz unit for as little as $1400 retail (not on sale) or pay as much as $3200 for the same features from a big name brand where the name alone is going to cost you add on bucks.

Most satellite or cable signals are 1080i and not likely to move to 1080p any time soon. Most over the air signals are at 720p and some at 1080i. DVD's are standard definition at 480i or p, but can be upconverted nicely to 1080i with an upconverting player. Blu-ray is 1080p (as is the obsolete HD DVD platform). Most people can't tell the difference between a 1080p and a 720P picture. A lot of people buy 720P for that reason plus a 30 - 40% savings over 1080p pricies.

The bigger the screen the bigger the room you need to comfortably watch it. Any thing larger that 50 inch you will need to sit at least 8 feet away or further. If you get a larger screen, more space would be better. Anything over 60 inches, check out a DLP set. Bulkier than most LCD's and Plasmas, same high quality 1080p picture, prices run $1200 - $3000 with sets up to 73 inches.

Plasma's are best in darker room, LCD in brighter rooms. Screen glare is more of a problem with plasma's then LCD's, so consider your room placement in your decision. A store near me currently is selling a 50" Panasonic 720P Plasma for $900, or $500 off retail. The smart side of me says to go buy it because it is a helluva of a deal, while the geek side of me says hold out for one of the new 1080P 240mhz big dollar units. (gotta help the economy you know ) Of course, the little woman glares when I mention buying another one and asks where am I going to put it? Really could use one in the garage.

One dealer that I deal with currently has Sony 46" LCD 1080p 120mhz sets on sale for $1500 regularly $2200. This is a brand new set, brand new model (Sony also has it on sale for $1700). They also have a real nice 70 inch unit for $20,000.

If you are buying TVs that are manufactured outside of US then it's not OUR economy you are helping.

BUT.. I hear China's economy could use some help too!

I'm using a Samsung 32" LCD as my computer monitor. I looked all over for a model that had picture in picture so I could watch the talking heads on CNBC on a small picture in the lower right corner (9" x 5") while I also watch the stock market on my Scottrade account on the internet portion of the rest of the screen. I scoot my chair back against the wall about 5 ft. behind me and cruise. Right now, I'm watching and listening to the History Channel as I type this. LNT3253HX is the model number if any of you are interested. I bought Sharon a Sony with the same setup and I believe the picture quality on the Samsung is better.

firebird, I did buy 2 new Hewlett Packard towers to set up the two trading desks, so I spent a bundle in this country also. (HP $1700 each, Samsung $800, Sony $900))

Get the highest contrast ratio you can afford, that seems to make a big difference in the picture quality (and price). We recently bought a nice 37" Samsung that has a 5000:1 contrast ratio. We are very happy with it. We came from a 20 year old 31 inch JVC tube type, so we were bound to be impressed.

Pat

Firebird77clone wrote:

If you are buying TVs that are manufactured outside of US then it's not OUR economy you are helping

From what I can tell if you follow this advice your choice may be only the Vizio or Olevia brands (American assembled parts from Asia). Vizio does have a "recommended" rating from Consumers Reports. I will just as likely by the Vizio 50 inch Plasma which retails for $1500 or the 47 inch LCD 120mhz model for $1400. Both are full 1080P and are excellent choices. Just about everything else is made in China or Korea. Even though most are Jap companies, the product is made in China. American companies that do manufacture electronics are not producing products for consumers. Mostly very high end stuff for commerical markets.


As for the contrast ratio, it is important, but only within a manufacturer's product line. Contrast is measured differently form company to company, but is usually the same within a company's product line. All models of Samsung LCD' may use the same system, but the LCD's made by Sony, Sharp, JVC or other companies will be different. Comparing two companies contrast ratio's is like apples and oranges. The same is true between LCD and Plasma, there is just no comparisons.

I recommend that you either visit some websites dedicated to assisting people understand the new products or to get a copy of the most recent issue of Consumer's Report (the one with a flat screen on the cover). The article on flat screens and the model comparisons are excellent. They also list prices. This is not the site I normally use but it has good info: http://www.cnet.com/hdtv-world/

I recently purchased a LCD 32 inch unit based on manufacturer and a super price. I am getting ready to purchase 2 19" or 22" units for the kitchen and a spare bedroom. Because of the reliability of most of the products sold today, my choices will be primarily based on cost (less is better) Your criteria could be completely different and the choices enormous.

Oh and if you go check them out in the stores, make sure they are all setup the same (same color, brightness, contrast, sharpness levels) otherwise the one you like the best, may just be the one they are pushing the hardest. And it may not look the same when you get it home.

Two recommendations: Do an online search for some comparisons. PlasmaDepot.com used to have a pretty good comparison page.

Second, go to a store like Sam's Club or Costco (depends upon your political leaning) and view their display of TVs. They usually group them in a big array so you can see many TVs at the same time with all the TVs on the same channel. It is easy to spot the el cheapos with their off-contrast pictures or the tinting errors. Usually brands like Sony will be at the top end of the performance range as well as the top of the price range. If you're old, nearsighted, and have cataracts, by the cheap stuff.....you'll never know the difference!!

mike in tucson

You didn't say what size of tv you were looking for? If your looking for 32 or under get a LCD. If your looking for a 42 or larger get a Plasma. On the larger screens Lcd's don't refresh the pic fast enough, even 120hz sets. Although the average person would only rarely see the diff. For the record NO ONE is broadcasting in 1080 i or p. the only diff is weather it's interlaced or progresive scan. the amount of data is the same. The reason they don't broadcast is they don't have the band width for it. The only way to see 1080 is with blueray or if you have a camera that takes pics in 1080. If you need a wide viewing angle be carefull on lcd's. if there is lots of strong lighting in the room be carefull on most high reflictive plasma screens.

Thanks for the excellent help. Now I can make a better decision instead of being sold something there trying to get off their shelves. I figure I am going to be spending about 1000-1500 dollars on this tv , so what ever that would get is the size I am looking for.

Funny thing for me is that I dont even watch tv but the wife and kids want it .