HDTV? Opinions?

[CrazyIvan]

Looking to spend about up to say $1400 for either a shallow-depth rear projection or flat panel HDTV. Would like one over 40"

Has anyone here bought any they are happy with and have had at least a year experiencing without problems? I have been reading about many of them, but ugh...don't know what to believe anymore. But, since I know folks here are REAL, I am comfortable asking.

For now, I am still on my old glass-faced 32" Magnavox tube TV with 800x600 resolution and it is getting fuzzy around the edges. The 150+ lbs is a bit annoying as well. LOL. I think I've had it for about hmm, 8 or 9 years now.

~Thanks.

[rckymtnboy]

I just bought a 42" Aquos made by Sharp a couple of months ago. I LOVE it. Paid just under $1000 for it at Costco. Getting HD service Monday, so I'm pretty excited. Don't go Plasma, whatever you do. LCD is the way to go. Plasmas have a shorter life and the picture is not nearly as good. Also, with the plasma, if you're sitting slightly to the side of direct center of the t.v., the picture gets really dark. You don't get that with LCD.

One more tip, when you get your flat screen, make sure to get all the cables you'll need ahead of time to hook up all of your components, and don't go cheap, get the good ones. Makes all the difference in the world.

[gunney_m]

I bet they're nice.

[Big Dog]

It chaps my gizzard to think we're being forced to go digital in a year or so - I can't justify paying a grand or more for an effing "boobtube"!

They better drop the prices mighty quick . . . else I'll be watching a lot of old VCR and DVD movies.

[CrazyIvan]

Big Dog,

That change to digital does not effect your TV. You can still have an analog TV.

What they are changing to is something you probably already have.

If you have cable or satellite with a cable or satellite receiver box, you are already receiving a digital signal.

[Deersniper]

LCD is the way to go. Just saw a LCD at sears for 900.00. We are tired of fuzzy cable. They get their feed from satellite. We don't care about being out dated, or seeing the same re-runs in HD. Direct TV will be our choice. It will utilize the full resolution of our TV's. [650 +] Free HD receiver for HD owners. You also want to update the cable coming in and in the attic for optimum resolution. You can also pull HD out of the new air antennas on the market. I'd rather have HD radio.

[Chris]

I went ahead and went Panasonic in Plasma. I got a heck of a deal....
The color is awesome, and consumer reports say it's top on the list.

Well they have the 42" on sale this Friday. Here is a link to the 720p.
The price is below $900, one year warranty, second year covers the screen.

[NRAJOE]

Plasma has been burning out too quickly...I'll stick with LCD...

[Nathan123]

I have a 40" LCD, it is great. Not too big, not too small. It is made here by a local company that buy's all the parts then assembles them and puts their own name on them and sells them for half the price. It has Samsung parts i beleive. I have not heard good things about plasma tv's, i have not had a single bit of trouble with my LCD.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by NRAJOE

Plasma has been burning out too quickly...I'll stick with LCD...

Consumer Reports also discovered that the most reliable LCD and Plasma TV brand is Panasonic.

Do your research when it comes to electronics, and you should be fine Ivan. You are in the perfect price range, no need to get the extended warranty with manf. warranties as nice as they are. Use a Visa card that doubles the manf. warranty and you'd be set.

Link
There is a link to a slew of LCD and Plasma's for black friday.

[rckymtnboy]

Originally Posted by CrazyIvan

Looking to spend about up to say $1400 for either a shallow-depth rear projection or flat panel HDTV. Would like one over 40"

Has anyone here bought any they are happy with and have had at least a year experiencing without problems? I have been reading about many of them, but ugh...don't know what to believe anymore. But, since I know folks here are REAL, I am comfortable asking.

For now, I am still on my old glass-faced 32" Magnavox tube TV with 800x600 resolution and it is getting fuzzy around the edges. The 150+ lbs is a bit annoying as well. LOL. I think I've had it for about hmm, 8 or 9 years now.

~Thanks.

CI, if you don't have it already, you simply need to get a surround sound system to go with that flat screen. If you're going to have that great of a picture, you should have the sound to go with it! You can get into surround sound starting @ $130 & up, way up. I think my system cost $300 or so. Makes movie night seem like we're at the theater.

[CrazyIvan]

Yea, I have a surround system, I believe it was $200. I think it is like a 260W Magavox...But, I don't know if it is all that great. Maybe I just need to upgrade to Monster Cables....I'm using whatever was laying in my "Electronic Accessories" drawer.

[Bravo]

Last december, we purchased an Akai 42" Plasma at Sams Club for $1000. While Akai isn't a top notch brand (it has been around for awhile) the price was good and the reviews were good.

Brought it home, hooked it up to an HD Digital Cable box and HD-DVD Player, and haven't looked back since. The picture is absolutely amazing.

I recently got my grandparents to purchase a 40" Sony Bravia LCD, and that TV is also amazing. I think the contrast on my Plasma is better than the LCD, but Plasma's can get images to burn in, and they are said to not last as long. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but both TV's look amazing when broadcasting HD feeds.

Nay sayers who think it's a waste of money and don't feel the need to change should realize that the quality is 10 fold better, and HD is the future, whether you like it or not.

[cma g21]

My son recently bought a Samsung 46" LCD HDTV. So far, it's really nice. (They currently go for $998.88 here locally).

[rckymtnboy]

On the surround system, try to stay away from RCA. Most of them have a bad part that goes out (can't remember the name) after just a month or so. It creates a loud hum that won't go away for 15-20 minutes, and eventually never.

[CrazyIvan]

does anyone have any experience with these HDTV Short-Depth Rear Projection TVs? They look really good in the store and for the same price as a 40-inch LCD, you can get a 55-inch. I am well aware of the viewing angle issues, and not really concerned with that since it really isn't usually more than me and 1 or 2 other people watching it and we typically sit in front. I'm just not familiar with their quality long-term-wise.

[rckymtnboy]

CI, here is a review on the rear projection HDTV's. It says to stay away from the tube type and going for the microdisplay.

Rear-projection TVs - 4 styles of HDTV - HDTV World - CNET.com

[CrazyIvan]

Yea, I've been looking at DLP 1080p models, good specs, but just wondered about actual experience anyone had.

The SXRD models look good too, might think about one of those.

[phoenix79]

We just got a 65" DLP for around 1700. I love the thing. Bright clear picture and it's 1080p, unfortunately Directv is only 1080i... As for cables: DO NOT GET MONSTER CABLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. I used to work in AV and monster is a joke, they are WAY overpriced and underperforming, try here: MonoPrice.com - Best quality products at the lowest price these guys have awesome cables at awesome prices. They make their own cables and they are beasts while still quite flexible.

[CrazyIvan]

phoenix, thanks for the update on Monster. I doubt I'd buy them anyway...im not big on buying things because of the name or popularity. But, no doubt better than the ones I am using currently. However, I'll probably go into a custom audio/video shop and buy some off-brand with good specs.

By the way, I was listening to Tom Martino today and they were talking about whether or not manufacturer's made 'downgraded' parts for big box stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, Fry's, etc... and their real quality products are housed in custom shops or specialty shops.

Does anyone know about this?