HDTV purchase

[Nandy]

Im in the market for a hdtv. Im looking at a lcd (avoiding plasma and led), 1080, 120hz min, 2 hdmi min and 50 inch min. Of course, im trying to maximize my dollars. So far I have look in walmart, kmart, target and best buy being bestbuy the best seller so far. Any other ideas on where to look with good prices? I have not research online yet but that is open as long as I can see the unit somewhere in person then I could order online.
Any advise on where to look will be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[kei9th]

Re: HDTV purchase

tiger direct . com, has some good deals. also google brandsmart usa, i have bought every big screen tv from them and have never found a better price.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: HDTV purchase

you can start by using pricegrabber.com.

 

[4JawChuck]

Re: HDTV purchase

I had LCD and when it died I went plasma and was glad I did, (IMO) far more durable product and a better picture. I have a 50" Panasonic Plasma but the Samsungs are nice too.

 

[roscoe]

Re: HDTV purchase

Yeah, don't avoid the plasmas.
They are better than lcd in my book, and the earlier problems are solved, along with the price differences.

My Sony Bravia lcd took a dump after 18 months.
And my LG lcd died after 23 months.

Have Panasonic plasma now.
You can get the 50" 720p models for 700-$800.
And the 46" 1080p models for under $900.


The only thing I don't like about the plasmas, is the glass front (reflections).
So we rearranged the furniture and put up a darker window curtain.

 

[JustJason]

Re: HDTV purchase

Plasma all the way. If you play video games, watch sports, or basically anything that has a lot of fast motion in it, you will be dissapointed in lcd's. I bought a new tv a few months ago. 42 Panasonic S1 series. 650 bucks brand new. Not regretting a second of it. If room glare is an issue, look at the Panny G10/G15 series tv's.
Stick with a brand name, and a good one if you care about the picture. My brothers 3 yo Samsung 32 lcd took a dump the other day... be paid 1200 bucks for that thing 3 years ago, and now it's in the garbage.

 

[642mx]

Re: HDTV purchase

Any other ideas on where to look with good prices?

Around here we have the big box stores, Best Buy, hhgregg, etc...

When I bought my 52" Mitsu I price shopped everywhere. The best deal I found was at a place call Risley's. Its a small store thats been in business for ever (kind of a mom & pops place). They shot me the best deal... so they earned my business.

So, I guess my 2 cents are... Don't always trust your getting a deal at the big chains, try a small local owned shop and see if they will deal.

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: HDTV purchase

I've got a 42" Panasonic plasma and a 52" Samsung 1080p 120hz. The Samsung blows the Panasonic away. It's also the most popular now for TV studio production work. I bought mine a little over a year ago on sale for 2350 down from 3200, now I've seen the same unit for 1950. Awesome tv. Also look at Visual Apex online, they have excellent prices and sales.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: HDTV purchase

I've got a 58" Samsung Plasma, even after 6 months I still get OMG moments while viewing. Plasma all the way.

 

[rjlipscomb]

Re: HDTV purchase

I'm sure you've done the research on the differences between Plasma, LCD and LED. All good, some unique differences to consider for your particular setting and use.

I'm not a mail order kinda guy for things like TV's. Some great websites mentioned, just not for me when buying a TV. I have found that Best Buy has the best prices and service. I bought my 50" Panasonic plasma @ Costco, primarily for their return policy (90 days, no questions asked). Best Buy had a better price. In the past, I have spent many days searching for the best deal, and always ended up back at Best Buy. Samsung makes excellent LCD's. Good luck.

 

[paulspaddle]

Re: HDTV purchase

I'm sure you've done the research on the differences between Plasma, LCD and LED. All good, some unique differences to consider for your particular setting and use.

I'm not a mail order kinda guy for things like TV's. Some great websites mentioned, just not for me when buying a TV. I have found that Best Buy has the best prices and service. I bought my 50" Panasonic plasma @ Costco, primarily for their return policy (90 days, no questions asked). Best Buy had a better price. In the past, I have spent many days searching for the best deal, and always ended up back at Best Buy. Samsung makes excellent LCD's. Good luck.

I just talked a buddy who is looking to buy a plasma. He's a 'dig for the deal' kind of guy. He's going with Costco for the 90 day return policy as you mention. ALSO, he said that Costco offers an automatic 2nd year warranty on top of the factory 1 year warranty. That might be a local offer...worth checking out.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: HDTV purchase

I have a new Samsung LCD....It blows my Sony LCD away as far as detail and picture quality. I never thought that a Samsung could do that but extremely pleased with it.

I found it online and Best Buy would not price match it but HH Gregg did!

 

[skargo]

Re: HDTV purchase

No way would I buy a plasma, there's a reason they are much cheaper than an LCD these days.

I just bought a TrueLed Vizio to replace an 4 year old POS DLP set. WOW, amazing picture, blows away any plasma I've seen, including Samsungs.

All LED sets(now OLED) are LCD's BTW, they are LED backlit, instead of CFFL, but they are still LCD. Mine is a 240hz, and the picture is mind blowing. Vizios get great reviews, and are reasonably priced.

We watched a DVR'd CSI Miami last night and my wife and I kept saying "wow" throughout the entire program.

Plasmas have glare issues, and are much more fragile than a matte screen LCD. They burn more energy. Plasmas have burn in issues with gaming.

You're smart for looking at an LCD over a plasma IMO.

 

[rjlipscomb]

Re: HDTV purchase

skargo, I'm going to stick with they all have pro's and con's. Certainly the 240 hz LCD's are better than the 60 hz units. I'm not sold on 240 vs 120 yet, but I have been told you can see the difference on the larger units. And, LED is better than CFFL backlighting, much brighter picture. The plasma screen burn issue has gone away with most newer products, but they still use more energy and are heavier (size becomes an issue fast).

I have an original Sony HDTV and will never buy another one. Vizio makes good inexpensive products, so does LG. Samsung LCD's are regarded as some of the best in the industry, don't about their LED. We have a Samsung 120 hz LCD that I use in a well lit area for TV and gaming. We had a Pioneer Plasma in the bedroom, night time use, no glare.

 

[Whoopbass]

Re: HDTV purchase

No way would I buy a plasma, there's a reason they are much cheaper than an LCD these days.

I just bought a TrueLed Vizio to replace an 4 year old POS DLP set. WOW, amazing picture, blows away any plasma I've seen, including Samsungs.

All LED sets(now OLED) are LCD's BTW, they are LED backlit, instead of CFFL, but they are still LCD. Mine is a 240hz, and the picture is mind blowing. Vizios get great reviews, and are reasonably priced.

We watched a DVR'd CSI Miami last night and my wife and I kept saying "wow" throughout the entire program.

Plasmas have glare issues, and are much more fragile than a matte screen LCD. They burn more energy. Plasmas have burn in issues with gaming.

You're smart for looking at an LCD over a plasma IMO.

The reason plasma's are cheaper then LCD tv's is because people quit buying plasma's. I heard people quit buying them because slick salesman would push the lcd's more since they made more money off them not because one was better then the other.
How many of you bought those gold plated HDMI cables at $100 a pop? Talk about a waste of $$. Salesman said you needed them.

I have a plasma and lcd and the picture quality looks the same to me.

I have several large windows where the plasma is and glare is not an issue. I get more glare from my high gloss lcd.

Burn in issue is a non issue. Why does this keep coming up?

Energy wise the LCD does use less but how much?

I would go plasma because of the price difference.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: HDTV purchase

I have an LG 32" 720p and an LG 42" 1080P LCD's. They are both very good. Look carefully at the specs. You want the highest contrast and refresh you can get. Also look at them in the store with a good signal.

I initially brought home an LG 47" that I thought was too big, I kind of regret that because it was beautiful.

I am not an LG bigot or anything it just that I was able to get the best bang for the bucki when shopping for them. The Sony's just didn't cut it unless you went for the top model (and price). I would have bought a Samsung in a heartbeat if the price at the specs were right..

One thing to look for which is nice is that some of these sets now come internet enabled. The 42" LG I have has Netflix, Vudu, and the ability to show media on your home network, music, pics, video, etc..

With the Netfix and Vudu, I never have go to the rental store again..

 

[Nandy]

Re: HDTV purchase

I have to admit that the prices of plasma have me looking that way... I did some research and it indicates that plasma is not dead yet and both lcd and plasma are hard to weight as their pros and cons are not the same and comparing them is not apple to apple. Plasma seems a little more smooth on high speed motions and in general but the vibrancy of lcd is awesome. However, I was in the understanding that lcd was supposed to last longer and that was my main push. One thing to consider, sometimes is hard to tell how old some reviews are... Cmon, if you are going to post a review in the net attach a date to it... Other thing to consider is that some of these reviews are written by some of these over the top audiovisuals fans that can see the minimal detail. Me with my old eyes tend to second guess why im willing to spend between 1 to 2k if I am not going to tell the difference...
Some of you have lead me to bring the plasma back in the game. This might be then a very short race. Plasma prices are hard to beat.
I have no problem buying online as long as I can see the unit in person in a local store.
Im still open, any more fresh input will be welcome.

 

[4JawChuck]

Re: HDTV purchase

I've owning two LCD's, the first one 37" lasted 1 year (covered under warranty) which was replaced with the same size but newer model LCD which lasted two years...I will never buy another LCD.

My Panasonic 50" is on its third year with no issues at all, my boy plays his X-Box 360 all the time on it with no burn in issues (this is sooo dead). There are many models of Plasmas under the same mfg name so be careful how you compare prices, my Panasonic looks the same as its cheaper cousins but is 1080P output and has an anti reflection screen which makes the glare a non-issue in front of my west facing window.

You must take note of model numbers and do your comparisons that way because some do not have anti-reflections screen coating or 1080P output or may have one or two less HDMI inputs etc. etc. even though they look almost exactly the same on the outside. As for power usage I don't look at equipment that way, I prefer to look at heat input to the room which is a big issue at the 37" or larger sizes. My 37 inch LCD put out just as much heat as my 50" plasma. Source inputs can be a big issue also, my Panasonic has three HDMI and four component inputs as well as the lower spec inputs I never use. With my computer and X-Box 360 plus Blueray player hooked up I am out of HDMI inputs to get 1080P on screen. Luckily this is all I need but I would consider 3 HDMI inputs a minimum and 4 HDMI inputs a better bet for future compatibility if you use it a lot for various display.

BTW my computer output in 1080P on a 50 inch screen is awesome, with a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard I can sit at my couch 15 feet away and easily read text on the screen as well as my 22 inch Samsung computer monitor, not many TV's can display text all that well so if you want to do that make sure you preview the TV in that mode.

Also after 120hz refresh you can't tell the difference, at least I can't.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: HDTV purchase

I have a 50" Panasonic Plasma and its great, like you found out they can be had for around $700 to $800 now. Things to remember about 720 and 1080, unless you use Bluray or something similar you won't be getting 1080 and past about 9 feet your eye can't see the difference in detail, so it makes little difference. The larger the size, the more you will be able see the difference up close though. Cable and satellite are 720.

The refresh rate makes a huge difference to me and watching an LCD when there's a great deal of action on the screen can give me a headache quickly, so this eliminates LCD an option. I can see it even on the newer faster LCDs, If it wasn't for this it would almost be a tie between the two types.

Power consumption on a 720 plasma and any LCD is about the same, the 1080 plasmas use slightly more, but its not something to worry about. This testing was done by Consumer Reports because of all the buzz about it.

When in doubt go bigger, if there wasn't such huge price difference between 50"s and bigger when I bought mine I would have gone bigger. Consumer Reports listed buying too small of a TV as the most frequent regret.

 

[skargo]

Re: HDTV purchase

I have a 50" Panasonic Plasma and its great, like you found out they can be had for around $700 to $800 now. Things to remember about 720 and 1080, unless you use Bluray or something similar you won't be getting 1080 and past about 9 feet your eye can't see the difference in detail, so it makes little difference. The larger the size, the more you will be able see the difference up close though. Cable and satellite are 720.
Yes but 1080p is being implemented, I would NOT recommend 720 when 1080p will be the standard.
The refresh rate makes a huge difference to me and watching an LCD when there's a great deal of action on the screen can give me a headache quickly, so this eliminates LCD an option. I can see it even on the newer faster LCDs, If it wasn't for this it would almost be a tie between the two types.
I doubt you can see it on the 240hz refresh rate, as they handle motion and action BETTER than plasmas now, this is an old thing, just like burn in on plasmas.
Power consumption on a 720 plasma and any LCD is about the same, the 1080 plasmas use slightly more, but its not something to worry about. This testing was done by Consumer Reports because of all the buzz about it.
LED LCD uses less than 50% of the energy standard LCD uses, and much less than a plasma. Not sure what CR you are reading.
When in doubt go bigger, if there wasn't such huge price difference between 50"s and bigger when I bought mine I would have gone bigger. Consumer Reports listed buying too small of a TV as the most frequent regret.

We need to stick to facts here. Isn't it funny that everyone recommends what they own, and bashes what they don't

Plasmas life is rated by it's half life, that's right, the plasma TV will keep dimming it's entire life. Some bigger plasmas use more energy than a refrigerator!


Not sure why you guys are pushing plasmas, besides the fact you cheaped out and bought one and want someone else to also make the wrong choice.

I highly recommend going to a real AV forum instead of a boat forum to get the real facts and have your questions answered. Most people have no clue about TVs.

http://www.avsforum.com/