anyone knowledgable with TV's these days?

[GP99GT]

my dad wants to get a new widescreen TV for the living room. hes been looking at LCD TVs at walmart and stuff, and he was asking me what i think of a couple of them. i have no idea what means what on these things, someone explain all the technical stuff to me, like contrast ratio and all that crap. or if you have a suggestion for a TV we're looking for a 37"ish, the tv must be under 38 inches wide too. any input is more than welcome

[BrandonDrecksage]

I did a lot of research when buying one for my xbox 360. I picked up a 32 inch vizio from sams club for 700 bucks. Its on the cheaper side, but gets great reviews. They also made a 37 inch which was to big for my room. Your best bet is to try to get the place to isolate the tv to see how the sound is along with the picture. Some tvs will have a little lag from when you see teh picture to hearing the sound.

check out

http://www.avsforum.com/

lots of great info there.

[shane27]

higher contrast ratio=brighter, my moniter is 700:1
lcd they said is better overall then plasma becasue plasma has been known to mess up the picture after a while or something
toshiba. sharp and phillips make the best lcd tv's i believe

my suggestion: go to best buy and look at them all to find the best one.

[JerzLT1]

samsung makes the best LCDs caust the own the LCD patent. neither one is better then the other (plasma or LCD) its just personal prefrence. i actually like plasma more. if any of your best buys have a Magnolia store inside of them talk to those people cause they went to special training for it.

[Tru2Chevy]

I did a lot of research when buying one for my xbox 360. I picked up a 32 inch vizio from sams club for 700 bucks. Its on the cheaper side, but gets great reviews. They also made a 37 inch which was to big for my room. Your best bet is to try to get the place to isolate the tv to see how the sound is along with the picture. Some tvs will have a little lag from when you see teh picture to hearing the sound.

I have also heard lots of good things about the Vizio TVs. One of my friends spent a while researching LCD TVs before buying, and that was the best he could find for the money.

If money isn't a concern at all, then you might want to look at the Sharp Aquos TVs.....

- Justin

[GP99GT]

If money isn't a concern at all, then you might want to look at the Sharp Aquos TVs.....

- Justin

trying to keep it under a grand or so...ill go poke around on some websites and see whats up

[enRo]

I got a 32" Samsung LCD HDTV... best picture i have ever seen on a tv ... i watch HD Golf just for the crystal clear picture. its amazing.

[Bandit]

I have a 50 inch Samsung DLP and a 26 WS Samsung LCD. Both have great pictures. I think the DLP has a slightly better picture, what ever you get make sure you have HD cable or Sat service.

The High end TVs look like crap with normal cable or sat service.

[GP99GT]

The High end TVs look like crap with normal cable or sat service.

looks like crap in comparison, or will look worse than a normal CRT tv?

what do you think of this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16889022029 ? the price is right, the size is right

[ryanfx]

get a wall mount projector with a pull down screen. Nothing beats full 1080p on a 108" screen =D for less than a grand. Takes up less space too.

[GP99GT]

nah, we're looking for something to fit in the entertainment center thing we already have. though i would love to have projector

[ryanfx]

What's not to fit? It mounts to your wall and then the projector pulls down from your ceiling. Takes up less room than a 20" TV would.

[GP99GT]

im not going to pull down a projector screen every time i want to watch tv...its not practical. if it was just for movies, then sure, but this is the tv in my living room

[Bandit]

looks like crap in comparison, or will look worse than a normal CRT tv?

what do you think of this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16889022029 ? the price is right, the size is right

If you don't have a high def box and just hooked the cable to the back of a HD TV the picture will be fuzzy. Even with the HD box watching 2 same channels one in HD vs non HD there is a difference in the picture.

I would suggest buying the extended warranty with any set. It already paid for its self on both TVs. LCD was replaced, and DLP had issues (color wheel and lamp) 600 in repairs if not covered.

I don't know anything about the TV you posted, my 26 WS was almost 1K and now you can get a 42inch DLP for about 1K now. I suggest going to Best buy or Circut City and compare.

My next one I want to get is a big LCD for the bedroom wall.

[GP99GT]

well right now im looking into iO digital cable, from what i gather its only $10 more a month so ill prob go with that and get the HD channels with it. what do you think of that tv?

[Bandit]

well right now im looking into iO digital cable, from what i gather its only $10 more a month so ill prob go with that and get the HD channels with it. what do you think of that tv?

I wish my cable was cheap, between internet, DVR, HD box(upstairs) and all channels my cable bill is 200/month or more.

[Frosty]

If money isn't a concern at all, then you might want to look at the Sharp Aquos TVs.....

- Justin

My uncle has a 50''(I think) Aquos on his wall in his sun room. That TV gives me a stiffie.

[01SS]

Bear this in mind also if you or anyone in the house plays a lot of videogames. LCD is cheaper than Plasma with a slightly lesser picture quality. The difference is not enough to be a prob but I understand that bulbs die in plasma's pretty quick and are expensive to replace. As for the video games if you play a racing game or such that has speedo's or menus in the same locotion for extended periods they will burn into your plasma screen not LCD's.
My panasonic 22" LCD has been very faithful for 3 yrs. now and new panasonic at walmart has pretty decent picture quality for price better than there other selections there. (My opinion) Well good luck with your purchase!

[firehawk1120]

panasonic plasma screen as you weirdos would say FTW.

[garretwp]

If you have a Sam's Club membership, go there and check out the Vizio line. They have received many great reviews from popular Mags. like Audio and Vision, etc. They have been praised all over the internet. I.e. AVSfrorum (which is a huge online forum for audio and video gear) They are offered at a unbelievable price and you get a lot for your money.

If you have Verizon in your area, they might offer FiOS tv and internet. If that is the case, I would hop on that ASAP! Better pricing / picture quality and more channels!
All in all LCD / Plasma are what you are looking for. Plasma will be more expensive. LCD may be the route you want to go. My father has had his Plasma for over 6 years now. That is when they cost over 10K for a 50inch.

You will see new TV sets offering 1080P vs. 720P. You will not notice much of a difference if you are sitting farther away from the TV set. 1080P will look really good when sitting close to the set. Many Video mags. have stated this. If you are closer to th TV set this may be the route to look into or if you can shell out the extra money for the 1080P models then also go for it! Also for proper distance from a HD TV set, take the size of the TV and double that. That will be the best distance to be from your HD TV.

- Garrett

[GP99GT]

nobody plays video games so im not worried about that. ill have to go to some stores and see what theyve got. as for FIOS, last time i checked its not available here yet :(

[ryanfx]

im not going to pull down a projector screen every time i want to watch tv...its not practical. if it was just for movies, then sure, but this is the tv in my living room

you're so lazy =D