School me on HDTV

The Samsungs have a bad habit of buzzing (had two and took both back).  The small 24" Vizio I have on my back porch is clearly lower quality than the other ones I have owned.  I know nothing about Toshibas.  But to throw in a fourth option:

I have owned two Panasonic Viera's and have loved them both.  They make a 37" version.  Best Buy should have them as well.

OK, sure, recommend the one at the very top of my budget range.

I thought this article was really cool showing how there are a lot of things you don't need, so you can buy with confidence knowing that your decision wasn't influenced by a superfluous feature.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/display_myths_shattered

I have this one in the computer room (man cave) and love it
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sanyo-DP42840/14237667
Sanyo 42 lcd sorry I never remember how to enable the link

I'd look at options for something with a 120 hz refresh rate,  Since you will have this set a while most likely

Don't pay more than 20 bucks each for your HDMI cables. All that monster premium cable crap is BS and they will try and sell you a solid gold unicorn horn enriched thing for 150. You DO need the right cables though cause if you cheap out on even 1 place, the whole thing will revert to basic/standard definition. I've lost count of how many friends houses I've been at where one of the couple says they can't tell the difference and it turns out they're still using the coax cable or some crap rcas from the old vcr.Half of the HDTV experience is the sound. Virtually no TV sounds decent on its own, so some bucks on speakers and a receiver should be part of your investment. It doesn't have to break the bank either, even some of those theater-in-a-box aren't bad for smaller rooms.For the TV, Samsung, Panasonic, LG, Toshiba, they all have good and bad models, check them out on cnet.com just to get an idea of what they liked and what they didn't. 1080p and 120hz or some multiple of 120 is probably standard, but if you find a killer deal on something that's 1080i or 60hz check it out - it's a subtle difference especially under 40 inches.You also need to pay extra for the HD channels, and have a cable/sat receiver that supports it.

Edited by Khyron 2010-06-23 12:16 AM

The most important thing you need to know is that a HDTV without a HD cable box or HD service is equivalent to your 15 year old TV when it was working.

Go to somewhere like best buy and they'll tell you everything you need.  But like said above...you don't need monster brand cables that cost $80.  You can buy generic off ebay for less than $15.  The key is to make sure the cables are long enough. 

Quite likely, less than equivalent.   The SD tuners in these TVs are generally crap, and even when they're good, the resolution of the screen allows you to see how crappy SD picture actually is.

www.monoprice.com for cables and mounts.   AWESOME service and prices and products.  I get all my cables and wall mounts from them.

I have a 4 year old Toshiba that I like.  My parents just got a 50" Toshiba that looks great.

I will agree on 120Hz.   DO NOT buy into the 240Hz hype.   The reason for 120Hz is that it is a multiple of both 24Hz(movies) and 30Hz(TV)  the older 60Hz TV's had to do funky processing to display 24Hz movies correctly.  

If you're going to be mounting to the wall, go with one of the new THIN LED TVs.  My old CCFL TV is THICK and sticks out farther than I'd like.

If you're going to be sitting it on something SCREW IT DOWN to whatever it's sitting on, especially if there's ever a chance that there will be little kids in the vicinity.   They are a little wobbly for my taste, and generally even a little kid can get enough leverage on one to make them dangerous.

Make sure that there are at least 2 sets of YPbPr inputs, (one for DVD or cable, one for Wii) and 3 HDMI inputs. (cable, Bluray, other device.)

Set a budget and start shopping.   If you find something you like, search for the model over at avsforum.com   There will be a thread for almost any model you can think of.  If there are problems with the set, they WILL be discussed in (excessive) detail here.   You can then decide if you can live with that particular problem.  

ALL OF THESE TVs HAVE PROBLEMS.   Some with screens, some with menus, some with operation, some with picture quality, some with tuners.   There are just too many features for a manufacturer to get them all "perfect."   So, each brand will have  areas that they focus on more than others.   They're all getting better, but none are perfect.

Good luck!

Most HDTV's now are, but make sure you get something with a resolution of 1080p (1080 lines of resolution scanned progressively).  I'd echo the comment about going with a 120Hz refresh rate if you can afford it, with a caveat.  It probably won't make a damn bit of difference for TV watching (including HD) because the cable / satellite feeds are at 60Hz or below.  But if anyone ever intends to do any gaming on the TV, the higher refresh rates can be very important to reduce motion blur, especially with LCDs. 

Brand wise, you'll probably see a difference between the higher and lower end models.  Samsung, Sony, Panasonic will likely give you a better picture than a Vizio, for instance.  But this stuff can be VERY model dependent. 

I'll also echo the comments about cables.  I get most of mine at monoprice.com.  They are very cheap with quick shipping.  The most expensive part of a monster cable is the part you throw away - the packaging. 

Consider this site for buying both your TV and cables:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/


They don't always have all the top name brands for TV's, but they occasionally have fantastic deals on great sets. I have bought a 37" Toshiba LCD and all my cables from here and have always been very happy with the price and service. I've even usually gotten my shipment the next day without paying extra.

Monoprice cords are very good

about brands: what ever you do, stay away from Funai built TVs (Sylvania, Magnavox, Philips, Emerson).  All crap.
Just about every other brand makes a quality set. 

We have 3 LCD Tv's:

Oldest is a 22" Toshiba with built-in DVD player in our bedroom.  Worst picture.
Next is a 37" Vizio that we won (yeah us!) in a raffle in our workout room - good picture, no frills.
Last is our 47" LG HD in our entertainment area.  It has the best picture IMO and was also a good deal a few years ago form BB.
We have the LG hooked up to an Onkyo "box" home theater system that is reasonable and sounds great and is easy to hookup and has a self tuning feature where it adjusts speaker settings to fit your room aurtomatically.  Minimizes fiddling. 

We went with generic cabling all around and have no complaints.

Enjoy shopping!

I've had great luck with the Samsung brand. Surprised by the negative comment above about them; but hey, all brands have lemons.

That's got some bells and whistles on it.  I believe Panasonic makes a lower model that still has 1080p and that's closer to $700.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TC-L37U22-37-Inch-1080p-HDTV/dp/B0039C9GCY

Only $550

Personally I prefer plasma to LCD but everyone has their own opinions.

And I agree on monoprice.com for HDMI cables.  Super cheap.

Edited by TriRSquared 2010-06-23 2:40 PM

Dell is having some killer deals on their Mitsubishi 1080p 3-D ready 2009 models.

I bought my 60" last weekend for $799 + tax (free shipping) and saw a day or two ago they had some 73"(!!!!) ones for $1,200

Slickdeals.net is your friend when it comes to buying TV's and just about anything else for that matter.

Edited by Leegoocrap 2010-06-23 2:41 PM

Steer clear of the Vizio they are decent quality TV's but the customer service is nonexistent, hence their lower prices.  Samsung's have a problem with whites coming off king of lavender.  I have an LG and have been very happy with it and it was cheaper than the comparable Samsung.

x2 this is critcal.  When the cable guy comes out pay attention and have him explain what they are doing and setting. 

The guy that started the company in China built his business model on this.  Like I said they are good TV's well built but if you have problems their customer support is pretty bad. 

Well, would you look at that:

23 Tips for Buying the Best HDTV

What a timely article!

www.dealnews.com
www.slickdeals.net
www.fatwallet.com

all these are good sites to look for deals and advice.  Also, dell.com has daily deals and amazon.com is a good place to buy (no tax, free shipping for some).

My opinion FWIW... go with an LCD or LED (not plasma). Samsung, Sony, Panasonic are the top brands.  Sharp Aquos, Vizio, Phillips, Hitachi are some mid range brands... all the brands have their upper and lower models though.  You can get a Samsung LCD model C630 or C650 on amazon for a decent price... 46 inch for less than a grand...