Looking for a new TV

I need the help of our Forum's members:

Our 14 year old ProScan 27" TV is on the way out. We are looking for a flat panel LCD big screen replacement. I haven't been in the loop for many years as to what we should be looking for. We want a decent quality HD flat panel TV in the "sweet spot" of a price point. I have no problem with a non-brand name TV at a reduced price. My preference is not to tie too much money in technology, it only depreciates. We would also like to be able to hook up the XBox/Wii/PS2/PS3 to it.

Where do I start looking? Wally World, Newegg, local electronics shop that sold us our old TV are all options.

What is important interlaced or progressive; 480/720/1080?

What format LCD, plasma, DLP?

What size?

Thanks,

Kevin

Technology-wise, I'd like to go for DLP. Brighter than LCD and longer life than plasma. Also cheaper to repair. I've heard that the plasmas produced in the last few years are much better than when I was looking. Also, not sure you can find a flat panel DLP.

If you want HD, then you will be at a minimum of 720P resolution. I have 3 HDTVs and all are 720P. 1080i is actually a bit lower than 720P in terms of active pixel resolution, but 1080P is better than 720P. The current state of the art best is 1080P. But I've found that for half the price you can get 720P. It is hard to find 1080i sets on the market.

2 of my HDTVs are "DLP" sets from Samsung and the picture quality is amazing. DLP sets are much lower in price than "FLAT PANEL" sets of similar quality. FLAT PANEL sets vary in wildly in picture quality. I have a new 32" AKAI LCD HDTV that is about 4" thick. Its better than a normal TV but is not up to the quality of the two DLP HDTV sets that we have. Then again, the little AKAI is much smaller than either of my DLP sets, with the smaller of the other two sets being 50".

I wrote a review about my AKAI, here on the forums if you do a search you will find it.

Ditto, Ditto ............... DLP is the way to go!

Bob, Bob & Dog,

Thanks for your input. We've done a bit of internet research so we could understand the terminology. We are leaning towards a Samsung DLP. REX in town has a 46" for $900. Newegg has a 50" for $1,000. Also we'll swing by Wallyworld and look at their 52" RCA model for $748.

Is an extended warranty a smart buy? Especially if they include bulb replacement. How about the new LED bulbs?

Thanks for now,

Kevin

Aren't DLP TV's the ones with rear projectors? If so, don't the bulbs only last about 3-5 years and are then expensive to replace?

Another thing I've found that I don't like about the rear projector type. If you look at the TV from an angle (off to the side), the picture goes black.

I just got an e-mail from Costco with a TV that caught my eye. A bundle of 2 LCD TV's

$1,299.99 After $500 Off
For 2 LCD TV's
42" 1080p LCD HDTV
& 26" LCD/DVD HDTV
Featuring: Magnavox 42MF437/37 & 26MD357/37

WEll my company sells LCD TVs! We buy from the same distributor as NewEgg. I can sell you stuff a few points above cost. PLUS they have remanufactured ones that are REALLLLY cheap! I think it was $550 for a 42". Im not 100% sold on the DLP. I have to investigate! :idiot:

Before the house burned we had a 60" Hitachi LCD Rear Projection. It looked and worked really well. When we went to buy it I wanted DLP, but after going to several different stores and looking at several different DLP sets I thought they looked bad. Couldn't figure out why, I guess there are some folks that have problems with DLP.

http://www.buyersedge.com/buyingguide/dlp/dlp_guide.asp

There is one single issue that people point to as a weakness in DLP, it is that the use of a spinning color wheel to modulate the image has the potential to produce a unique visible artifact on the screen that folks refer to as the "rainbow effect," which is simply colors separating out in distinct red, green, and blue. Basically, at any given instant in time, the image on the screen is either red, or green, or blue, and the technology relies upon your eyes not being able to detect the rapid changes from one to the other. Unfortunately some people can.

Click to expand...

Guess I'm one of those folks. So we ended up with the LCD RP.

Now we have a little 20" LCD flat panel TV that will do 720p or 1080i. We are just using a little antenna sitting on a 27" CRT next to it (the kids play PS2 on it). If we are on a digital station with HD broadcast that things has a great picture. It is a Dynex brand that we bought on sell at Best Buy for $229.

I'd like to point out that with these TV sets, you often get what you pay for so spending more will usually get you better picture quality and newer technology.

I know many folks who do not like the DLP HDTV sets because they see pixelization on the screen. That was a problem but does not seem to be a problem with the newer sets. To the question about the "bulb" being replaced, yes, they do burn out over time and must be replaced. One of my DLP HDTVs is 3 years old, no sign of bulb failure yet.

As for the FLAT PANEL HDTV sets there are things that you pay extra for when you buy them. Higher contrast, higher refresh rates and brighter pictures are 3 of the biggies that ratchet up the price and also make the picture quality better (to much better).

Honestly I think your best bet is to go to someplace like Best Buy or Circuit City and LOOK AT THE TV sets. You will see pretty dramatic picture differences between the sets, even when all of them are similar in size and all are HDTV sets. I have no problem buying a TV mail order or any other way to get the price down, but I want to personally see the picture before I plunk down the cash. JMO

Sorry for the delay in posting an update.

After much research and viewing of TV's we purchased a Sony 50" 1080p rear projection TV. I really like the Samsung DLP but viewing all the TV's side by side made the choice easy. My wife and I agreed the rear projection TVs had the better picture for a much lower price. The price was ok and I didn't have to wait for it to be shipped. I bought it locally at REX TV. (It helps to go shopping on a cold, icy, snowy Sunday afternoon with no other shoppers in the store.)

This link is from Sony and reflects their list price apparently:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...storeId=10151&langId=-1&partNumber=KDS50A2000

I went to Cox Cable and picked up another HD box and connected it to our TV with the HDMI cable and used another HDMI cable for the home theater system we also purchased. I must say the HDMI cable is easy, simple and makes for a great picture. We should have done this upgrade in television's years ago but I was too cheap! This is our family's Christmas present for the next several years.

I really appreciated the advice and input you guys gave us. It was helpful as we sorted through the techno jargon and sales speak.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Kevin