Need some TV shopping help!?
The TV would be anywhere between 42″ and 50″. Budget is about $1200-1400 max. It is going to be 1080p HD.
1. What is the best kind of television to get on this budget, LCD, Plasma or Rear projection?
2. What is the best brand to go with on this budget? I am doubting the quality of cheaper brands like LG, Dynex and Insignia. Is it better to go with a smaller size but a more upscale brand like Sony?
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42″ at that budget is doable for sure. 50″ might be pushing it at that budget (except for sales, which I found one, see below)
1080p is doable.
Stick with LCD or Plasma. Rear Projection DLP is a dying technology. There is only one manufacturer left that is actively working on it. Plus the bulbs die out every 2-3 years and will cost you like $250 or more to replace.
Go with a reputable brand for sure (see below). LG is actually a solid brand. It has some models that aren’t too good, but it has plenty of well performing models. And yes always go down a size for a better quality model.
LCD vs Plasma
LCDs are inherently flawed in motion playback. They suffer from motion blur (ghost trails). This is compensated for with 120Hz and 240Hz sets. The feature helps the issue a lot, but it is not 100%. And you pay a huge price premium for the option.
CCFL LCDs (the majority) produce muted colors, grey blacks, and have a so-so contrast. This is compensated for with the LED LCD. The LED backlight vastly improves all of those aspects of image quality (but doesn’t impact motion playback). LED LCD though still isn’t quite Plasma levels. And you pay an even bigger price premium for this upgraded feature.
Plasma is inherently near instantaneous in its response time. This means it plays back motion flawlessly (just like a CRT or DLP would). And it does so right out of the box. You’re not paying extra for this, its inherent to the technology. If you see stuff like 480Hz or 600Hz sub-field drive, this is something else, its not the refresh rate like of LCDs. Its actually more marketing than anything else. The two technologies are just very different.
Plasma will deliver vivid colors, true blacks, and deep contrast. Again it will do so right out of the box. You are not going to be paying extra for this. So it inherently delivers a stronger image quality.
Plasma really only suffers from myths and misconceptions. In the early days of the technology it suffered from burn-in, short life spans, a high price tag, and high levels of energy consumption. But that was decades ago, and all of those problems have long since been corrected. Modern Plasmas don’t suffer from burn-in. The better brands even offer extra anti-image retention features, beyond the advancements in the technology. There are now sets that last from 60,000 – 100,000 hours (which is equal to or better than any LCD). The prices are actually a lot cheaper than comparable LCDs, because a comparable LCD would have to be 120Hz/240Hz and LED based. And you can buy energy star certified sets for Plasma now, so no more power issues.
If you go Plasma, look to Panasonic Viera first and foremost. With Pioneer getting out of the game, Panasonic is the leader in Plasma now. And their prices are really solid (and affordable). If that just isn’t for you, then you can settle with either Samsung or LG Plasmas then.
From Best Buy right now,
Panasonic Viera TC-P50G10 – on sale for $1320 (normally $1800)
- here’s your 50″ set. BUY THIS RIGHT AWAY. This is perhaps the best TV available on the market in the 50″ class. I think only a Pioneer Kuro Elite could beat this in quality (its $2375).
The Panasonic Viera TC-P42U1 (42″ 1080p) is only $900 regular price. So if you want to even go below your budget, you can easily get a top flight 42″ set.
If you go look to Samsung and Sony first and foremost. They are the going to give you the best image quality. You can also through in Sharp Aquos, LG, and Toshiba in any size LCD consideration. All those 3 brands have respectable models.
Yes, stay away from the brands you mentioned. For lcd, Sharp Aquos, Sony and Samsung are the top 3 (in my opinion. you’ll get others). Of these, I prefer the Sharp. Sony is great but you pay more for that brands name. The newer Samsung series 6 and 7 have gotten excellent reviews but I haven’t seen one (other than in a store) yet. For plasma Pioneer Kuro line or Panasonic Viera line are the two best (readily available anyway). I would choose a Panasonic just from the price point alone.
Choosing between plasma and lcd is the first step. Plasma has a better picture. It has gotten some bad press but the majority is false. The new plasmas don’t use anymore electricity than the LCDs, they don’t leak or need to be recharged, and they last as long as an lcd. Image retention (or burn-in) has been virtually eliminated but you still have to be somewhat cautious, you don’t want to leave a static image on the screen for hours at a time. It may cause the image to remain after you turn the tv off. Most of the time, it will fix itself just by running the tv for a few hours with no static images. Plasmas aren’t as good as lcd in a bright room but the anti-glare screens can help (most newer plasmas come with it). The only other downside is that plasmas are much heavier (only a problem if you plan on moving the tv around).
Lcd’s have gotten better as far as contrast and refresh speed but there’s still motion lag and artifacts that plasma doesn’t have. Still, if you were buying this primarily for gaming, I’d suggest an lcd. Since you didn’t mention gaming, I would go with a plasma.
You can find a Panasonic 50″ plasma within your budget. I’ve linked one from Best Buy below.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9236338&st=panasonic+plasma&type=product&id=1218064404632
It depends largely on your room. People often tout plasma a having a better picture, which is true in perfect conditions, but if your room has a lot of light, plasma will look worse than LCD because the picture will wash out and you’ll get unwanted reflections from windows.
If your room is fairly dark or you have seating positions that are off to the sides of the TV, then plasma would be the way to go.
Rear projection DLP TV’s have not proven to be as reliable as LCD or Plasma and they tend to be noisy. From a reliability standpoint, LCD’s are the most reliable and less expensive to fix than plasmas.
In terms of brands, LG is not a cheap brand, but the other two are.
Sony touts themselves as a premium brand, but Samsung is actually making better TV’s than Sony these days and they’re a few hundred dollars cheaper. People have differing opinions, but I’ve never had a Sony product that didn’t break earlier than it should have, except for a Sony alarm clock in our guest bedroom
Anyway, if your TV room has a lot of light and/or windows, take a serious look at the Samsung LCD TV’s. Consumer reports rates them very highly and you get a lot for the money.
This is a very good tv – 120hz and it has a semi-matte screen instead of the glossy screen that some of the more expensive Samsungs have, so reflections and glare are minimal.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN46B630-46-Inch-1080p-120Hz/dp/B001U3Y8QI/ref=dp_ob_title_ce?ie=UTF8&qid=1247416314&sr=1-40
This is basically the same TV, minus a few options and it’s 60hz instead of 120hz.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN46B550-46-Inch-1080p-Touch/dp/B001UE6HPM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247416467&sr=1-3