HDTV shopping

[jAQUAN]

I don't want to make my purchase lightly. From what little I've seen, I should be able to get a decent size, quality picture 1080p for around $1300.
Any of you philes know what the good brands and key features are these days?

[asheep_uk]

Without sounding like Subway, the best TV manufacture by far is Sony. They have the best balance of design, quality of screen, manufacture and the most intelligently designed. For example, analogue TV though an aerial will be switched off in Britain from 2012. My Sony TV can pretty much hide all the analogue system, but a Samsung one in an office I work will pretty much be useless after the switchover, as the access the digital channels you *have* to use a menu, the numbered buttons become redundant.

While I appreciate this example does not affect you, the manner of which the TVs are designed shows which one has really thought about it. Also I own a Panasonic DVD recorder, which is completely unfathomable, and takes 30 seconds to open the disc drive. That's a long time from pressing a button to it opening.

One of the main things that impressed me about the Sony I bought was how many HDMI ports it had. The Samsung in the office I mentioned has 1, which is completely useless. Once you have Sky HD+, a Playstation 3 or other hi-definition console and a HD-HDD (like AppleTV) or Blu-Ray player or whatever, you're in trouble.

[hanratty21]

From brand perspective, no one has really leadfrogged anyone else lately. The same old players are still pretty good. Sony is very overpriced, Samsung, Panasonic, Sharp. For $1300, you'll get a very nice machine. In general, to get the best price point, look to the models released 6 months ago rather than last week.

[hanratty21]

One of the main things that impressed me about the Sony I bought was how many HDMI ports it had. The Samsung in the office I mentioned has 1, which is completely useless.

Useless if you:

• Don't have an AV receiver that does HDMI switching
• want a ton of HDMI cables hanging from your TV
• need a ton of HDMI cables hanging from your TV

This is a ridiculous argument. Buy a Sony if you like the picture. Sony does not own the patent on more than one HDMI input. Again, while Sony may have a very nice picture in the store, if you take the time to work with your settings on the TV (regardless of the brand) you will get a very high performing picture which you will be very happy with.

[lefteyewilly]

i love the picture on samsungs. There was a 72" on this site for $1800 and ALMOST bought it...but it's a tad big for my space.

But here's a 61" one that's $1300
http://www.buy.com/prod/samsung-hl61...207900171.html

who cares if it's not an LCD/flat panel? For $1300 and 62"?! You can't beat that deal.

[jAQUAN]

I'm just not sure about DLP. Killer price though.
LCD HD is good yah?
I bought a small sanyo for my office and have been pretty happy with it.
Walmart had some nice looking sanyo 52" LCD 1080p's for about 1500 and frankly looked better than the sonys.

So what kind of inputs should I require? I'll be hooking up the standard group of dvd player, 360, dvr and maybe a wii. I know I need component but should I try and get multiple component inputs or what?

[WannaBe_80z]

Does your 360 have the HDMI output? because if it does definitely buy that cable to hook it up that way.

[jAQUAN]

I of course intend to. Same question though.

[WannaBe_80z]

Is your tv going to be hanging on the wall or in some cabinet with the back covered? Because if you want to hang it on the wall and make it look all pretty- get some sort of AV switch and just run the 1 cable to the actual tv and have everything else go into a box.

[hanratty21]

I really would not buy a TV at WalMart or Costco or any other discount store like this. When you get down to what the specs of the set are, you'll see that these stores carry the lesser (many times much lesser) quality set of a particular manufacturer.

DLP is a no go. If there is ANY ambient light in your room at all or you will be viewing at any angle other than directly in front of you, forget it. Plasma has inky blacks and richer colors, but LCD is very competitive now. I've got a 46" Sharp which is wall mounted -- it's fabulous and very design/girlfriend friendly.

You really need to go into the stores and see the sets, then go home and DO research. Look at online reviews, especially those from users. See what they say about the sets AFTER they get them home.

Here's a 40" Sony
http://www.jr.com/sony/pe/SON_KDL40V4150/
a 40" Samsung
http://www.jr.com/samsung/pe/SAM_LN40A550P/
and a 46" Toshiba
http://www.jr.com/toshiba/pe/TOS_46XV545U/
All very highly rated and all within your price range, give or take. Go see them in a store first though.

[asheep_uk]

Useless if you:

• Don't have an AV receiver that does HDMI switching
• want a ton of HDMI cables hanging from your TV
• need a ton of HDMI cables hanging from your TV

This is a ridiculous argument. Buy a Sony if you like the picture. Sony does not own the patent on more than one HDMI input. Again, while Sony may have a very nice picture in the store, if you take the time to work with your settings on the TV (regardless of the brand) you will get a very high performing picture which you will be very happy with.

That be, I agree, but from when I bought my HDTV not along ago, I liked the fact that Sony are thinking ahead and providing you with plenty of options, whereas other manufactures don't really seem to get that, giving you 3 SCARTS and 1 HDMI. That isn't going to be a lot of use in four years' time when everything you own uses HDMI and I don't want 100 remote controls for switching between everything or where the numbers don't work. It's short-sighted.

I do agree with you that DLP is very impractical.

[gerbick]

As much as I liked DLP, the second I saw it in a house with more than a few shadows in the room... and I stood up. I saw nothing.

Per HR's prior advice, I got a Westinghouse, a Viewsonic, and for my game room, a cheap Insignia (from Best Buy). I replaced the three sets in my house... and the Westinghouse is tops. Two HDMI inputs too.

[Loyal Rogue]

Whatever you decide upon, don't pull the trigger yet.
With the economy and the retail market in a downward spiral and the cheap LCD technology at a peak expect to see major pricedrops in the next couple of months.

[hanratty21]

That be, I agree, but from when I bought my HDTV not along ago, I liked the fact that Sony are thinking ahead and providing you with plenty of options, whereas other manufactures don't really seem to get that, giving you 3 SCARTS and 1 HDMI. That isn't going to be a lot of use in four years' time when everything you own uses HDMI and I don't want 100 remote controls for switching between everything or where the numbers don't work. It's short-sighted.

My TV has 3 HDMI inputs. My 19 inch one in the bedroom has two. I use one. I use my receiver to do switching. One wire into the tv thru the wall. Most newer models (that dont come from WalMart) have more than one. The 3 tv's I posted all have at least 3...the Toshiba has 4. As I said...Sony does not own a patent on multiple HDMI inputs.

As far as remotes, get yourself one of those Harmony jobs...I've had mine for 4 years. Wouldn't know what to do without it.

[FlashLackey]

I have a Panasonic LCD that has a bunch of HDMI's and other connections. I don't have any complaints about it.

Also have a Sony DLP that is nearly 10 years old that is finally crapping out. So, I'm in the market for an LCD replacement as well. I'd be interested to hear what you find and how it works out.

[jAQUAN]

great advice HR, I was highly suspicious of limited inputs and models at walmart. I have access to the local aafee's which is tax free I believe but their prices seemed so extreme. I was thinking of waiting for a day-after thanksgiving sale or a black friday sale but if they're really gonna drop I might be able to wait another couple of months.

I'll definitely be reading reviews, just not sure if there's a great review site out there.

Sounds like the number of receiver inputs will be a big factor.

[creativeinsomnia]

I have a 42 inch 1080 Sony Bravia that has been great.

I went with my Aunt a few weeks ago to Best Buy to get a 32 inch LCD. We picked one out and had the dude get it, and then we needed an HDMI cable and a PowerStrip so of course he goes into a huge rant about how good this $70 power strip and $89 HDMI cable are.

The sad thing is that if I werent there, my Aunt would have bought them. As do many people. I told her not to buy one there as I had purchased a few extra HDMI cables and powerstrips for well under $10 each from a site that Hanratty recommended(Cant remember the URL off the top of my head).

[hanratty21]

www.monoprice.com
This site is a MUST for any cable buyers. You can walk away with a top notch HDMI cable for well under $10 from there. Wall mounts, RCA cables, DVI, etc. All available and all for well under what you will pay from any retailer or e-tailer, for that matter.

@jAQUAN - I usually use CNET for customer reviews. A good process to follow is:

• hit the big store (best buy, etc) -- see what you like, picture wise. Keep in mind that they hyper-calibrate them in the store to be able to show tons of color and make you attacted to the shiny, pretty new toy, so take all of that with a grain of salt. Once you get the TV home, you'll find plenty of online info to help you calibrate your tv with the proper settings to get the best combo of brightness/color/reproduction possible from your set.
• Look at several models from the same manufacturer, as they will vary in features + quality (120 hz, 1080 vs 720, # of inputs, etc.) - also make sure you are not getting sucked in by a brand new model. That same set will be 20-30% less money in 6 months. Instead, buy the 6 month old model today and enjoy the savings now.
• Find online reviews from actual consumers, not pro-style reviews. Those are nice, but the reviewers usually only have the set for a day or two to play with. Consumers will start with "I've had this set for over a month, and it rocks/sucks" I find those to be much more informative.
• Once you narrow your list down, start looking at online vs. local shops. Many reputable e-tailers to buy from. If out of state, the tax savings will usually cover the shipping costs...sometimes more. Best Buy will usually not have the best price by far, unless you find a clearance sale or something.
• monoprice, monoprice, monoprice. Figure out what cables and sh*t you'll need and make a big order from them. I got a 2 wall mounts, 5-6 HDMI cables and a bunch of other stuff for about $75 the last time I ordered from them. Done.

[jAQUAN]

wow so glad I started this thread. monoprice is insane.
What would you say is too small? 40", 42"?
Mine will pretty much have to be 1080p. Just doesn't make sense to not buy for the future. Inputs aren't crucial if I can get enough on the receiver. Gaming is key so refresh is pretty important (that's hz right?)
I still haven't had time to do some serious googling so I'm sure I'll a better idea once I do.

[hanratty21]

Too small is a relative term. Going into the store to measure is too hard...they all look small as they put them all next to each other. Go to a friends house that has a tv in a room the size of the one you want it in.

General rule of thumb - from where you are sitting/standing/watching...you should not have to move your head/eyes to see the entire screen. If you stand 4 feet away from a 60 inch television, you don't see the whole picture in focus.

Too small is a tough measure as well. TV's that look tiny in the store will not look nearly as small in your house. Here's a pretty good reference:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.htm...cId=1000021501

Like I said though...the best bet is to find a friend with a similar size tv to the one you want to get and view it in a room, rather than in the store. This will give you an idea of what size will be comfortable to watch.