buying tv

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sgimbel

sgimbel

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Joined
Dec 23, 2008
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Round Rock, Texas
I need smart people. Looking for new 42" to 55" flat screen. LED/LCD/Plasma? What hertz? Is it too soon for 3D? We would then have to get a new DVD, a transmitter (?) and can you rent 3D? My wife has a bug up ..............! Can anyone give me suggestions?
 
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Thanks for asking that question! I need some answers, too! Been wondering what the best brand, etc.
 
I've been very pleased with my 46" Samsung. 120hz refresh, wireless connectivity .... can share and play files from my pc... stream movies, watch Skiprat's youtube tutorials :biggrin: etc., using my Samsung blu-ray player.

(Would be even better if I was running Windows 7) :frown:

I would also look at Sony. I went with the LCD .... I didn't feel that the 3d was worth paying more for at this time ... or ever ... we'll see how it catches on. :smile:
 
I've had a plasma for a little over a year. My next one will be LCD. The plasma is subject to burn in and to many stations are sticking their logo in a corner of the screen. Get a dark screen now and the logo's show up where they were burned in.
 
If you don't get a bluray player or home theatre PC ,there isn't any point in going high end. Mine is a 50" Samsung plasma, only 720P resolution and looks awesome (plasma is also more forgiving in the lower resolution than an LCD would be).

If you watch low quality sources like standard cable/TV and even DVD's, A plasma is much more pleasing/forgiving to look at. Since they have a reflective screen (usually) they will be a little more annoying if you have a lot of sunlight in the room while you watch TV.

The only thing you have to watch out for with a plasma is if you watch a lot of TV that has still images on it for long periods such as news/sports with the bar at the bottom, or certain video games with still images, or movies with black bars along the edge. For the movies you just have to zoom in to fill the screen so that you don't have black bars along the edges. Don't use picture in picture or split screen. Also with a Plasma, don't crank the brightness or contrast much over halfway and you will increase the life of the screen. Over the years the colors will fade (not nearly as fast as a projection TV) and you can slowly add a little contrast on the settings to compensate.

LED is just a type of LCD that uses LEDs for the backlight through a standard LCD screen. I believe the brightness is supposed to be more even throughout the screen (Never really noticed a problem in that area). I don't know if there are any other advantages other than they are also slimmer. Maybe somebody else here knows more on the subject. I don't think LED is worth paying extra for personally. I can't comment on 3D.

As you can tell, I really much prefer the look of plasma if it fits your lifestyle. I can't stress the "much" enough :)

If you care for it, I don't think burn-in is a problem for most people. When I first bought mine, the contrast was maxed out from the factory. I played video games that had permanent bright images on the screen for long periods of time. I did burn in some of those images with the high contrast settings. Once I noticed the burn-in, I stopped playing that game on my TV and the ghost image went away after a few days.
 
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Large screen

My granddaughter told me I am the worst television picker outer EVER. I bought a 55" Sony LED with 240Hz refresh rate, and is capable of wifi. I didn't have it mounted to the wall or anchored down and I told her she could not jump because the TV was shaking and that is when she came out with her memorable phrase.
I had a problem with it and talked to a Sony tech and told me to down load some new firm ware to a USB flash drive and plug it into the TV and that fixed the problem, after that I have not had any problem. Both my wife and I really like it.
 
I have a Samsung HDTV and I'm very happy with it. I have several friends I consider "expert electronics consumers" who have them as well. The apps you can get are amazing, and the connectivity options are cutting edge.
 
If you can afford it buy the LED,,if not buy the LCD stay away from plasma or 3D
3D is not worth the big hoopla besides you will watch more normal tv than 3D
Plasma is ok but you will be shopping again in a few years guaranteed :eek:

My cousin works for a company (tv mfg) I will not say names and he said plasmas and 3D's have the most problems of all they are constantly getting them back for problems he said people buy them because of the media Hype

just my 2 cents :cool:
 
fireangels said:
If you can afford it buy the LED,,if not buy the LCD stay away from plasma or 3D
3D is not worth the big hoopla besides you will watch more normal tv than 3D
Plasma is ok but you will be shopping again in a few years guaranteed :eek:

My cousin works for a company (tv mfg) I will not say names and he said plasmas and 3D's have the most problems of all they are constantly getting them back for problems he said people buy them because of the media Hype

just my 2 cents :cool:
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I don't know your cousin, but I do know he is telling the truth.
 
vizio is a great brand, and it's made in California. The higher the refresh rate the better the picture will be with action movies or sports. Plasma TV's have great saturated color, but they also have glare problems and they run HOT HOT HOT. The Vizio LCD we have (42) is really cool-running in comparison to our Pioneer 52 plasma in the living room.

Amazon.com is a wonderful place to read individual TV reviews. When you narrow down your search to a few models, do check amazon.com for unbiased reviews.
 
If the room does not have windows in it then Plasma will work fine or if you have a wall that does not get sun on it. The glare is killer. THe LCD are a bit better for the glare but for your best bet I choose LED.

I have a LCD and a LED and if you can swing for the LED in 240 hz go for it. It is outstanding. As far as a blueray player, I solved that problem with a Playstation 3, it has the highest running processor as needed by the game playing ability it has to have. Don't buy the cheapest cables because they are cheapest, ask about ratings and which one will run the best for the TV you choose(it may still be cheapest).

Phil and his 2 cents worth
 
I guess I am outnumbered in the plasma department. Earlier plasmas had more issues than modern ones do.

All I gotta say is if I were buying a new TV today, I'm almost certain it would be another plasma. No ghosting, no pixelation, more forgiving if you don't have source material that's in it's native resolution. Oh well... I must be the oddball I guess. Plasma's are far outnumbered by LCD's in the store.
 
Your input options are very important also. Nothing more frustrating than having to install a switcher or unplug and plug in cables to connect something. DAMHIKT
 
LCD's. Plasmas are too heavy and complex. DLP is just pointless nowadays. LED edgelighting or backlighting is far superior to CCD backlighting.

THat said, for $300 for a 40" 1080p: http://overrunz.com/

I wish I hadn't just bought my 32". :(
 
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