Help me select a new TV

[Infernal]

The time has come for me to upgrade. I've been using a Sony Trinitron CRT for about five years now, and while it still works fine, I'd like to upgrade to something lighter, that takes up less space (this thing is massive, seated in a wooden cabinet, and literally weighs like 600 pounds...)

So, I'm thinking about using part of my Christmas bonus to purchase a new TV.

My criteria are:

42" or larger screen size

Something that I can game on if I want to (which limits me to LCD panel or DLP, since I want to avoid burn in at all costs)

Must be HDTV

Decent / above average sound would be perferable, since I live in an apartment and I have no desire or way to hook the thing up to a kicking sound system any time soon

I'm looking to spend between $1000 and $1500, and would like to stay as close to the bottom number as possible, so that I can purchase it with cash.

Any suggestions? Things to look for? I'm sort of confused about resolution when it comes to these televisions. I noticed that a lot of them list the resolution as 720 horizontal, but then still support 1080i -- how does this work, is it resample / transformation on the data to render it at a higher resolution?

[Infernal]

Re: Help me select a new TV

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsu...oductDetail.do

?

[HokieBird]

Re: Help me select a new TV

My friend just got the 46" (I think) version of that tv. It is gorgeous. I love samsungs.

You are pretty much going to have to go DLP for that size at those prices.

[stevethepirate]

Re: Help me select a new TV

i have a small LCD samsung (20" or something) in my dorm room, and i love it. great picture quality.

[notsonic]

Re: Help me select a new TV

i love dlp technology. but i hate the inherently crappy viewing angles that come with projection televisions. dlp is also not ideal for non native resolution videogaming.

are you going to be playing a lot of videogames or is it mainly for tv and movies?

dlp, plasma, and lcd are going to be 720p. crt is going to be 1080i. most new tvs will take either and convert to the tv's native resolution.

since im a huge gamer im looking at direct view crt sets. im debating between the lg and samsung 30" slimfits and the monster sony 34" xbr 970.

[Infernal]

Re: Help me select a new TV

Hmm, if I did any gaming on it (which I would, eventually), it'd probably be limited to Xbox360 which I believe is native for 720p, right?

I am interested in how hooking a PC up to it would work out though.

It seems that in my price range I could also go with a slightly smaller rear projection LCD. I went down to Circuit City and Best Buy and checked out a few of both, today. They had the DLP I linked above at both stores, and at Best Buy they had a 42" Sony rear projection LCD next to it, and it did look brighter.

All in all, the picture was pretty decent on the Samsung 50" DLP, but if I got any closer than 6 or 7 feet I noticed a lot of distortion. It looked good from what I was told was the "correct" viewing distance of 8-10 feet, but I'm not sure if the sales guy was just giving me a load of ****, or not.

I looked at some of the more expensive LCD screens, but I hate how you can see the screen mesh when you're close to it. I also looked at some 1080p DLP and LCD units and I was amazed at how much better it looks. Out of my price range, though.

[homedog119]

Re: Help me select a new TV

I have a 50in Toshiba plasma with bose surround sound and HD the picture is unbelievable and watching a movie is better then being in the theater

[vanbibber]

Re: Help me select a new TV

what about a 13inch black and white tv with the old school knobs?

[blown00]

Re: Help me select a new TV

what about a 13inch black and white tv with the old school knobs?

typical reply from the whore after conversation in the chat

[vanbibber]

Re: Help me select a new TV

you know it :p

[Vanquish]

Re: Help me select a new TV

yeah, you get your inspiration from me. If you do buy it, go with the Atari setup, none of this Wii or PS3 or 360 stuff.

KNOW YOUR ROOTS

[HokieBird]

Re: Help me select a new TV

If you want to hook up a PC you will be a VGA or HDMI plug on the TV. It depends on what connections your video cards has. Also, look at what resolutions your video card can display and compare it to the TV.


I currently have a 32" Viewsonic LCD with a ton of stuff hooked up to it; incuding xbox 360 and a PC. I'm pretty happy with it so far.

[Oi Bird V8]

Re: Help me select a new TV

i have a panasonic 52" widescreen tv i love it ..great picture its huge :) i think the price was only like 1000-1200 ish to if i remember right

[dafirebird]

Re: Help me select a new TV

I have a slightly older Hitachi 57" widescreen, rear projection, HDTV (5 years). It is wonderful, but HUGE - takes up alot of valuable real estate in my living room. One thing I've learned is that, even now, there isn't much broadcast in HD. Although I can only speak for Time-Warner Cable (don't know about Dish), only select prime time shows are broadcast in HD. Of course, there are some channels - Discovery HD, one HBO channel, one Showtime channel, and one local (PBS) channel in HD all the time. However, when you do watch an HD show or channel, and go back to a "regular" channel, everything is very fuzzy/grainy. Very noticeable. Also, when shopping at the store, consider this - there are many variables in the picture settings for each TV. So, if you see one that seems brighter or clearer than the one next to it, the settings ay be different. Also, what the store is displaying or broadcating on thier display models, is meant to make them all look good - and may not be the same when you get it home. My advice, is to check Consumer Reports for longevity. The last thing you want is to spend 1,000 - 3,000 on a screen, and it craps out in a short time - then do it all over again. One other thing to keep in mind, is pixel burn-out. That is, pixels may start to die out, leaving you with a single blue, red, green, or white pixel to stare at. Some companies consider 15 dead pixels "good", and will not repair - even if you have some extended warrenty. I am by no means a "pro", just want you to get your moneys worth - good luck, and enjoy your new HDTV!