LCD TV for Christmas

[davepa]

Need some opinions PLEASE

 

My wife would like a 40" LCD flat panel tv to mount above the mantle on our fireplace .

What brand would you suggest?

 

I started researching LCD's and the information varies depending on what site I look at.

 

Which LCD brands do you prefer and what retailer, internet included, had the best deal?

 

Dave

[SaltyDawg]

I guess it would depend on how much money you want to spend and just how picky you are about the picture.

 

I recommend Best Buy and if you are picky about the quality picture then get the best you can afford to buy. Don't settle for a 1080i go for the 1080p. If you decide to go for a Blueray DVD later then you will want the 1080p. If you go with LCD then look for one with a high contrast ratio. That is what determines how black your blacks are.

 

Plasmas are great but they use more energy, are hotter, and reflect lights in the room.

 

Unless you are trying to keep up with the Jones then you can buy off brands and pay for the extra warranty. I think you will get more bang for your buck that way. We bought an Insignia that had a 1 year MFGR warranty and we purchased an extended 4 year warranty that doesn't go into effect until the MFGR warranty expires. By the end of 5 years if there are problems then there will be better less expensive LCD's available.

[Yammer Dan]

Trying to talk the Warden inti a 50" over my Mantle. She thinks she would be looking up to far at it??? I think LCD is the way to go.

[BradT]

It is also our turn to upgrade our old TV in our bedroom. Most likely get a 32" Sony, always liked the service from the Sony Store.

 

Still not sure about which is best. Sony was a good price and never had many troubles with there other products. The guy at the store is very helpful and very knowledgable which makes it nice to deal with.

 

Brad

[Ivan]

seeing as how I only have one LCD tv, I have nothing to compare it to, but I am pretty well pleased with my Samsung. I bought it for 1300 when comp usa was closing out their inventory. I thought i got a steal on it, but the newest generation one I just saw advertised for 899.

[cimmer]

I went with the Sony Bravia XBR series of TVs. This is their high end LCD HDTV with 1080P. I am very happy with the picture and would recommend it highly. I purchased it from a local chain, Ultimate Electronic, which price matches for 60 days.

I would also recommend that you dont buy any of your cables from Best Buy or any of the box stores but try some of these place.

http://www.cablemart.com

http://www.monoprice.com

I was able to get a wall mount for under $20 from them and they also have HDMI cables at a very reasonable price.

 

Good luck and dont be afraid to have the sales people try different picture sources on the TV you are interested in. A good dealer will be able to but up an Over the Air signal and show you how the TV looks with it.

 

Rick F.

[Celt]

My Daughter works for BestBuy (dept manager),she says Samsung are the best of the bunch (followed by LG). least returns best bang for buck happiest customers etc .1080 p

the only way to go for blueray and dvds .

[01 Rider]

I bought a Samsung Series 6 1080p at Best Buy about a month ago. With DirecTV HD it is amazing. When I was researching tv's, the Panasonic Plasmas where highly rated as well and I just saw a Sears add today that had a 50" Panasonic 80U for $899.

 

Definitely do not buy the HDMI cables at the retail store. Buy them online for a fraction of the cost. Popular Mechanics did a test and couldn't find a deference between the $10 cable and the $100 cable.

[SilvrT]

We bought an LG 37" HDTV 1080p a year ago... it was the best deal for that size at the time. Got it at Futureshop (essentially Best Buy). We're very happy with it although with my eyes, we should have gone to maybe a 60 inch LOL ... seriously tho, it's great for us and we got HDTV thru SAT and the picture is unbelievable! Take a look at the different connectivity capabilities ... some models will have certain capabilities while others won't and it depends on what you might want to hook up to it such as a computer. We have a smaller, wall-mounted one at work in the boardroom which has a direct connection to the laptop....great for presentations and it also has a USB port that we can plug in a stick and run a powerpoint presentation. Not all models will have that.

 

When we were deciding, the store was able to connect to standard cable service or HDTV on any of the display units...it was good to view the different sets and how good or not good the standard cable feed was .... most channels still come in that way and not a lot are in HD yet...although that's slowly changing. Another thing to consider is your tv feed (cable, satellite, etc) and the device used to bring in the HDTV. When the standard channels (non HD) come through that device, depending on the quality of that unit and the TV itself, that feed's quality can be diminished making the picture not look as good as it would without the HDTV device. (hope that all makes sense LOL) If I recall corectly, it has something to do with converting anolog feed to digital.

 

I've also heard that plasma is better when you get up into the 50 inch and over size.

Edited December 12, 2008 by SilvrT

[davepa]

Thanks all keep the opinions coming!

[bongobobny]

I ended up buying a Sony 46" Thanksgiving day for a very good price. At the time I was also considering a Sharp, and the only reason I went with the usually overpriced Sony was the terrific deal. I found out on the news the other day that Sony is making it possible for dealers to sell the 46" models for less than the 40" ones. Not sure how to take that news...

 

I had also considered a Philips as I have had good luck with their products in the past.

[Sling]

Samsung 46" fantastic picture also bought a Samsung blue-ray player

Very satisfied!!

[BigBoyinMS]

Since I didn't need a wall mount, I did some research and ended up with a 61" 1080p DLP from Samsung. Bought it online at Vanns.com for about the price of a 46" LCD. Saved over $200 buying online too.

And no, I won't be replacing bulbs either. This is the newest version that uses an LED lightsource.

[timgray]

Being a Guy that works for a Home automation/ high end theater company I'll give you some tips. (We do only $20,000-$180,000 and up theaters and control everything in the home)

 

Tv's mounted above fireplaces die earlier than others. They are not designed ot handle that kind of heat and fireplaces without larger mantelpiece will kill the set. NEVER run it and the fireplace at the same time if you can feel heat rolling up to the Tv set when the fireplace is on.

 

I have one client that we replace their Panasonic 52" every year because they have their set above their fireplace and their fireplace has no mantelpiece. So when they fire up the fireplace heat rolls hard into the set. now their TV is inset in the custom brickwork AND we ran 2 cooling fan ducts up to help the situation. but when you get 200+ degree heat rolling up the face of the TV it warps plastic, shortens the life of the screen and in their case causes a yellowing of the screen light color. No it's not a coating on the screen, it's heat damage.

 

If you never use the fireplace, then this is not an issue for you.

 

Finally when buying a flat panel TV. If you are going to be sitting 10+ feet away, buy a 720p and ignore the 1080p sets. you will never see the difference if you set more than 8 feet away from a 42" Set Our eyes cant see that kind of detail that far away.

 

Plasmas last longer but use more power. LCD's use less power but the backlight will die in 4 years. If you have lots of ambient light in the room Plasmas are better to watch in a bright room. LCD's are better for even or dim lighting rooms. Quality Plasmas have no glare as they will have anti glare coatings on them. Cheapies do not and reflect a lot of room lights.

 

I've only dealt with 300 of these things this year so my experience is not extensive. I'm the programmer of the systems and not the installer, but I get to listen to the customers complaints and go along on the repair jobs. the ONLY Panasonic sets we have fail are above fireplaces. We have had no other sets die over the past 3 years ... Except for replacing a customers off brand like vitzo or westinghouse. Those tend to not last a year no matter what. LG sets also tend to last a long time. But we standardized on Panasonic due to never having one fail in a normal setting.

 

That said, I have an RCA in my living room. $499.00 for a 50" was a deal I cold not pass up. I'll throw it away in 2 years for that price.

 

NOTE: buying an off brand and warranty. the warranty does NOT cover getting the set off the wall, packed up and taken to the repair shop where it will sit for 30-60 days returned to you and back on the wall. Every service call will charge you $200.00 for removal and reinstall of the set. You will have to get it down and cart it to the service center in order to not be charged.

 

Several customers have told me the horror stories of the Best Buy extended warranty.

Edited December 12, 2008 by timgray

[friesman]

I worked for sears part time selling electronics until last spring and the best picture on the floor was always the 1080p panasonic plasma in whatever size they made. Last years consumer reports ratedit as the best picture that CR had ever seen, this year I think they are 2nd and I think Pioneer is first. ( but guess who makes the screens for Pioneer?)

I have the 50 inch 1080p tv Panasonic with all the inputs , i can plug my pc into it with a monitr plug but I have found it to be something i will probably never use. So I would buy one with not quite all the inputs and save a few bucks. Panasonic in Canada also has a 48 hour repair policy, no one else even comes close to that. I love my tv and its great for the WII and the blu ray dvd player. The picture is absolutely amazing on the bluray player it looks like you can reach into it. Some of the Panasonics also do some signal upconverting so your basic cable improves as well)

 

The Plasma has a wider viewing angle than LCD and if the lcd is using flourescent tubes for lightit will fade much quicker than a plasma, as a plasma is essentially microscopic neon signs all mashed together to give your colour. (Panasonics life until brightness fades is expected to be 100,000 hours or about 2 times what your old picture tube tv was.). Plasma gives you blacker blacks and overall better contrast than an LCD and has much faster response times if you watch sports. some of the LCD's actually get a trail behind a hockey puck as it cant keep up with the fast movement.

 

The best thing is to shop around and find a reputable brand at a good price and then find a store like sears that is reputable and ask them to match price. Sears policy in Canada is to match price on the same models as long as the competitors have a store in your city. At ;east that way youve got a solid store standing behind you if something goes wrong whereas the mom and pop operations may be gone.

 

PS DO NOT BUY HDMI CABLES OR ANY CABLES FROM THE STORE! they are always about 10x over cost. my tv runs great on the 10 dollar cables. its a digital signal like a computer so the signal either gets to the tv or not, there can be no degradation of quality as the packets of data either get thru one by one or they dont and your tv will pixelate. I bought mine from tigerdirect.com at 10 bux a cable.

 

BTW I would also recommend NOT mounting it over a fireplace I have never seen a Panasonic fail when it was sitting anywhere else, but over a fireplace youre asking for trouble because of the heat. ( I have had 2 LG's fail while right on our sales floor when less than 6 months old and even Sears had trouble getting LG to cover the repairs on them, I would avoid them as a major brand name, IMO)

 

Good luck hunting down what you want!

Brian

Edited December 12, 2008 by friesman

[Mavrick]

I have a 42" Sony in my living room and a 46" JVC (that my wife won at a conference) in the bedroom. Both have great pictures but the Sony is much sharper. I bought the Sony at Best Buy after shopping for prices. If you do not have a HD TV I think you will notice the difference and enjoy just about any brand. All the research I did before I bought indicated Samsung, Sony, LG, or Panasonic were the best brands.

 

Mavrick

[RedRider]

If you go with the LCD, get the 120 Hz model. It updates faster and avoids the streaking of high speed movement - such as a puck or a football.

 

I recently updated all our TVs with 3 LGs (46", 1080P, LCD, 120 Hz - 37", 1080P, LCD - 37", 720i, LCD) and a Toshiba 42", 1080P, LCD. All seem to work just fine. The 46" 120 Hz model is wonderful for watching football. Just wish the Packers made the show as good as the picture.

 

RR

[Vance]

Got a Sony 46" Bravia LCD for the livingroom. Chose the LCD because of no glare on the screen from lights in the room. Liked it so much, bought a 40" Sony LCD for the bedroom.

[Yammer Dan]

I got two 32" old TV's Think I will just hang on til they quit. Good pics with no problems!!When they go maybe all the what-ifs will be settled.

[SilvrT]

Got a Sony 46" Bravia LCD for the livingroom. Chose the LCD because of no glare on the screen from lights in the room. Liked it so much, bought a 40" Sony LCD for the bedroom.

 

My wife don't want a TV in the bedroom ... I don't understand why...it's the best place to view certain video's.....

[Magnum]

As well as 1080p I have been told by knowledgeable people that you should look for a contrast ratio of 3,000 to 1 minimum.

[Yammer Dan]

My wife don't want a TV in the bedroom ... I don't understand why...it's the best place to view certain video's.....

 

 

Thats what I've been trying to tell her!!!

 

Where else would you want to watch Bowl Games???

[Cougar]

Plasma's have less glare then LCD's? huh? what am I missing here?

 

We have 4 flat screens and one is plasma (keep that one) in the

Media Room cuz of no glare downstairs. otherwise in a well lit

room it glares way to much, I do like the picture better on the

plasma better though then the LCD better richer colors. and

as far as 1080P I guess I am still trying to see the difference.

I can't tell at this point. I do not think DirecTV is even broadcasting

in that mode yet. I just keep all my sets at 1080I I still see no difference

even from 720P , maybe I am blind. but man DO NOT go HIGH you

will never turn back. I still need to figure out how to get rid of

our last Analog 32 inch Sony *lol* my wife loves that thing.

 

Jeff

[davepa]

Again thanks for your input all!

 

The fireplace in my living room is never used so heat will not be an issue, but thanks for warning of the failure rate due to heat. I will continue to watch this thread and hopefully make a good decision using all input gathered here as my guide.

 

Dave

[Cougar]

Dave, the new electric inserts are very real looking. and you can

turn off the heat. so you can just have the flames. We have two

over electric fireplaces like that in our home. even if the heat is on it blows

outward into the room.

Jeff