TV's

R Q

R Q

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Location
Charlotte
Since everyone here is an expert on EVERYTHING... :flipoff2: I'm looking to to upgrade into the ...believe it or not...the FLAT screen TV market!
Sony has always been my brand of choice and my 35" Trinitron is still rocking strong, but just like the Jefferson's, we're moving on up!
I don't know the difference between LED, LCD, Plasma, etc, or if one of them doesn't exist anymore. And I'm not looking for the newest, best technology. Just a good, long-lasting TV with a great picture and sound. I have digital cable, and may or may not be putting in a surround system.
 
I have two plasmas (42" and 43") and one LCD. The Plasmas are considered "old technology", but I've been way more impressed by them since they are visible at about every angle. The LCD you have to be looking straight at it and it's a problem since it's located in the bathroom above the door so that it can be watched by my wife while in her whirlpool tub. At the time, I cheaped out and bought the LCD since it was cheaper at that time than the plasma of the same size and now they don't make a plasma that small any more (30") at least not that I've been able to find easily.

Personally, I wouldn't bother looking at the 3D TV's. Every time I've checked them out, I've gotten sick afterwards (and not just by the pricetag!)

One thing I'd suggest is to take a good hard look at how your room is lit and try to find a showroom that is similarly lit. If you have regular bulbs and look at a store with all fluorescent light, the TV will look different when you get it home. Also, bear in mind where you will put it (i.e. are you going to mount it to the wall, stand, current media center, etc) Bigger TV's need bigger mounts.
 
Far from an expert these days but Ive done my share of business in the home electronics space when I had my home tech company.

Plasma much like Beta video cassettes is the superior quality that is losing market share because of ignorance. That said Plasma isnt likely in the future, but it IS the better tech. Plasma has true blacks, LCD/LED's try to simulate black by mixing brown and blue. Plus when it comes to sports viewing Plasma had 600Hz refresh rates 10 years ago while backlit (led/lcd) is still trying to dream of being there and bragging about rare 480Hz models.

All that said. If you want a plasma (and I have 4 of them in my house) Panasonic and Pioneer are the only two to consider.

LED/LCD are 2 ways to crack the same nut with LED being the newer and "superior" technology.

SONY (which by your own admission your are a fan boy of) is really not the best option in either market, when you say that you are not sure if you plan on having surround sound stay away from SONY there sound quality on their monitors sucks at best.

Many will scream "BUY a VIZIO they are made in 'Merica"....well the chinese parts get put in a box in America, and the price is low because their QC standards are non existent while they specified component production is damn near industry leaders..meaning no idea what you will get from DOA to average to AMAZING....Caveat Emptor here. No other manufacturer has the quality variance these guys have.

The screwy thing is manufacturers have literally started hitting price and making models for individual retailers. SO Target may have a different TV from Wal Mart from Sears from HH Greg from Best Buy etc. A great resource to weed through the BS is http://www.avforums.com/ (Note these guys are the PBB of the AV world, so if you read the wrong thread and someone comes in there all "I'm going to win KOH in my new stock Rubicon"...you will see a lot of "shove you POS Rubi up your ass it cant crawl shat" response. Which isnt to say that a Rubi isnt badass in stock configuration COMPARED to other stock conifgs.. so understand what you are reading.

FWIW I am much better (and more than willing) to analyze specific models at specific prices...
 
Another thumbs up for plasma. I bought a Panasonic Viera (58"-1080) from a true a/v store, 8 years ago at a then premium price; more than my stickies; and its picture is still better than any lcd i have witnessed since. Also have a 42 Sanyo 720 of the plasma variety (12 yrs old, from same store) that also has better picture than lcd's....imo.

Make sure you match the output signal from hd box to that of tv broadcast signal to obtain best picture.
 
I'll go the other way, the led vizio 3d tv I got last year has been wonderful. It's done everything I've ever asked of it, came with a 3d bluray player, and cost less than $700 for a 42.
For God's sake, they are advertising a 70" led for less than a grand now.

Sent while I should have been doing something constructive...
 
uglyjeepoffroad said:
I'll go the other way, the led vizio 3d tv I got last year has been wonderful. It's done everything I've ever asked of it, came with a 3d bluray player, and cost less than $700 for a 42.
For God's sake, they are advertising a 70" led for less than a grand now.

Sent while I should have been doing something constructive...
Click to expand...
a 65" has more than 3x the screen area of a 42"

For perspective

I have a 65" PLASMA Panny that is 2 years old that I paid $750 for...
 
My room wouldn't fit a 65"and my kids love the 3d. I say look at a bunch and see what you like.

Sent while I should have been doing something constructive...
 
Measure the distance from screen to seating... Go to store measure same distance, watch for 10 mins and pick the one that has the best picture to you.....I worked at circuit city for 8 years realized real quick that the "best" picture is VERY subjective....
 
Led is the way to go just seen a 50 inch for less than 500 at walmart I have a Visio and a visonic they have never have me any trouble bought both on Black Friday sales for under 250 each there 40 inch
 
I have a 50 samsung plasma (over 3 maybe 4 years old) and a 65 toshiba LCD (under a yr old)
The plasma kicks the lcd's ass even being so much older. Sports are way better and picture is a shade better. The plasma is starting to burn fairly bad now so it's on the down slope.

The big plasmas put off a lot heat. Sounds funny but something to consider when stuffing them in a smaller space. Mine is like a mini heater!
 
This is good info. I'm in the market for two new tv's, and don't know crap. I'm 39 yrs old and have never bought a tv before, lol.
 
I have a plasma and an led, both samsungs. The plasma is 6 years old and is the workhorse. The only other thing to keep in mind in addition to heat, is weight. Leds are featherweights but plasmas can be a bitch to mount on a wall by yourself.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Ron is mostly on point... But that fawker hates Sony, and doesn't think much of people that do.

I have an older XBR. I think it's about four years old now. It's been great. And the sound out of the monitor is better than what comes out of my center channel.
 
I asked this question earlier this year...


Being a non-techy guy and was happy with my 32" Trinitron, I had to ask for help.

My conclusion: Anything is better than what I had. I pretty much chose the biggest TV for the $ and have been very happy. My only decision was to check how fast the channels changed and chose that one as well.


:beer:
 
Some other food for thought:
- buy a wall mount from Monoprice.com. I got a great scissors-style one that telescopes from the wall and can be turned 45 degrees either way, and hold > 150 lbs. I hung off of it as a test. Very cool.
- Many TVs these days have "smart" functions that provide integration with a bunch of streaming serves. They use you home WiFi to get online, and may have NetFlix or Amazon or Hulu or YouTube or other services so you can stream shows straight to it. These can be really cool and cost effective.
- The LCD/LED folks ike to bash plasma as using a lot of power. Yes they use more power (and yes, you can feel the heat if you are < 6" away from it) but if you do the math, the difference in actual $$ per year is peanuts even if it is on all the time.
- do you homework now and order it on Friday.
 
I bought a Panasonic ST55 last year and I wouldn't go any other way. I love this TV. Check out plasmas. If anything, Panasonic has bowed out of the plasma fight so deep discounts are coming.
 
Interesting info. I don't have a tv in my house (5) that isn't less than 10yrs old and they all get watched VERY little. I don't mind reading paperback or just researching stuff on the web. This place has really consumed too much of my time in the last 8yrs:lol:
 
Guess I should subscribe to this thread...gonna be in the market for a bunch of new tv's in the coming weeks...really all I care about is longevity. I currently have a 13" CRT Magnavox (15 years old) for the bedroom, a 19" CRT Magnavox (15 years old) for the kitchen, a 36" Toshiba (I bought off here 3-4 years ago, 10 years old) for the family room and a 32" CRT Curtis Matthews (25 years old). My man card should probably be suspended, but I just can't tell the difference between the best of the best tvs that my buddies are always proud about and cheapies and can't tell much difference between what I already have. I know the differences are there, otherwise you guys wouldn't be talking about it...I just flat out can't tell.
 
UTfball68 said:
Guess I should subscribe to this thread...gonna be in the market for a bunch of new tv's in the coming weeks...really all I care about is longevity. I currently have a 13" CRT Magnavox (15 years old) for the bedroom, a 19" CRT Magnavox (15 years old) for the kitchen, a 36" Toshiba (I bought off here 3-4 years ago, 10 years old) for the family room and a 32" CRT Curtis Matthews (25 years old). My man card should probably be suspended, but I just can't tell the difference between the best of the best tvs that my buddies are always proud about and cheapies and can't tell much difference between what I already have. I know the differences are there, otherwise you guys wouldn't be talking about it...I just flat out can't tell.
Click to expand...

If you can't tell, like me, then I just bought the biggest for the least amount of $$$. Has served me very well this year and I'd do it all over again. From the sounds of it with all the CRT TVs you have, anything will be a major upgrade. I'd stay cheap and then upgrade from there to something better if you see its needed after some time. Its what I did. Honestly, I don't watch much of any TV now that Breaking Bad isn't new anymore so it was more for the family. If they are happy, I'm happy. :)
 
rockcity said:
If you can't tell, like me, then I just bought the biggest for the least amount of $$$. Has served me very well this year and I'd do it all over again. From the sounds of it with all the CRT TVs you have, anything will be a major upgrade. I'd stay cheap and then upgrade from there to something better if you see its needed after some time. Its what I did. Honestly, I don't watch much of any TV now that Breaking Bad isn't new anymore so it was more for the family. If they are happy, I'm happy. :)
Click to expand...

I typically DVR 4 shows a week at any given time...then watch college football and the NFL during fall/winter months. Beyond that, not much real use other than background noise to fall asleep to. But I am the kind of guy that likes to buy something once and pay a little more up front for something that will last 15-20 years, instead of something cheaper and have to keep buying new every 5 years.
 
UTfball68 said:
I typically DVR 4 shows a week at any given time...then watch college football and the NFL during fall/winter months. Beyond that, not much real use other than background noise to fall asleep to. But I am the kind of guy that likes to buy something once and pay a little more up front for something that will last 15-20 years, instead of something cheaper and have to keep buying new every 5 years.
Click to expand...



Sadly, you're not going to find that these days. Sure, a TV may last 10-12 years, but it's an anomaly. It seems you can't depend on one brand or another to be more or less reliable. TV technology is changing fast, and TVs are currently made to be disposable. Anyone who asks me what brand to buy, I tell them to pick the one they like at a price they can afford, but go into the purchase understanding that any life beyond 3-4 years is essentially living on borrowed time.

You shouldn't look at this as an investment, but as a consumable. The manufacturers are catering to a "spend less, get more" marketplace. Labor is cut, quality control slips. Components are sourced from low-bid companies and not built as ruggedly as they used to be. Example: 20 years ago, a 15 watt transistor was about 1/2" square, there were four of them in the output section of a 2-channel amp, and they required a heatsink, bulky power supply, and a host of other components to provide the preamplification. Now, chip amps are becoming the norm. 80% of what was in that big Pioneer case with the wooden sides is now housed on a chip the size of ONE of the output transistors, and it's so efficient, it doesn't require a heatsink. Upside: More stuff, less space, cheaper to build. Downside: Not as rugged.

Basically, spending extra money these days doesn't really get you dependability, it gets you picture quality. If you're not particularly concerned with that, then check out cheap LCD TVs. Find one you like, check out reviews online. If they're more good than bad, go for it. As said before, anything is going to look better than what you have now.
 
shawn said:
Ron is mostly on point... But that fawker hates Sony, and doesn't think much of people that do.

I have an older XBR. I think it's about four years old now. It's been great. And the sound out of the monitor is better than what comes out of my center channel.
Click to expand...
Sony has above average picture qualiy. But even my deaf ass can har their horrible sound distortion. But I digress....

One more thing to keep in mind. The Picture will be no better than the source feeding it. So if you are using a standard def box and coax cable yeah you are going to tell a difference. Go Hd and HDMI and if you cant tell the difference (ESPECIALLY watching sports) then you need your eyes checked ;)

For wall mounts I like Cheetah mounts. Find them on Amazon. Hung a 65" on a wall for $30 and it tilting to boot.
Also great customer service.

mono price is hard to beat for cables.

And if you are buying multiple TVs at once...if you have an HH Gregg in your area give them a shot to give you a package deal. Ive never bought from them, but a buddy just opened a sports bar and bought 10 TVs....he wanted them all the same for redundant remotes etc. After Best Buy and Sears told him no he went to HH Gregg, said they were initially about $10/set higher but he asked for a deal and said they were negotiating like car salesmen. Matched the price, gave him a free 5 year warranty on all of them. And gave him 2 small (27" maybe?) LCDs for free and a coupon for 20% off his next $100 puchase.
 
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