Wanting to buy an HDTV, input please.

[OHPM-Inc]

I want/need a name brand because this is absolutely something you can go cheap on. I don't mind the space because it's going into a corner in my living room. My living room isn't bright with sunlight but I have a very large mirror on one side and a 72-gallon only a few feet away on the other side so they might give some light/glare. I've been able to narrow it down to DLP or LCD now. Just have to find a good deal.

[Litespeed]

Originally Posted by OHPM-Inc I want/need a name brand because this is absolutely something you can go cheap on. I don't mind the space because it's going into a corner in my living room. My living room isn't bright with sunlight but I have a very large mirror on one side and a 72-gallon only a few feet away on the other side so they might give some light/glare. I've been able to narrow it down to DLP or LCD now. Just have to find a good deal.

Then look at Samsung TV's.

[FLG]

My aunt has that Samsung, though she cant take full advantage of the picture quality...so i cant comment on that. But so far the TV has held up pretty good, and she is a HEAVY smoker. I have never had any issues with samsung products.

[David M]

Originally Posted by Litespeed And I don't know if when you buy an HD TV it is an area you want to penny pinch. Looking at these cheaper models that you have shown you might run into quality issues. You are still spending a large chunk of change. I would advise to save just a little more and purchase a quality TV from a place that has a nice warranty. The old “you get what you pay for.” I would have to agree with others that Samsung puts out a quality TV. The one Panama spoke of is great, I have enjoyed it very much. Very bright, crisp picture, and even the sound from the TV itself is nice. We are moving in a few weeks to a new house and we are going to get another TV. I have done alot of research and have a good friend that works at Starpower here in Dallas. This is a place where the sales associates have to be very knowledgeable and take lots of continuing education classes. He has been doing this for 12 years; therefore I would take his professional opinion over most. Two things to think about when you want to buy an HD TV are light and space. DLP have a great picture and are a bit large. LCD's are great for hanging on the wall and work well in brighter rooms. Plasmas have crisp picture but have issues with light. There are tons of discussions about your bulb going out, a dead pixel, and so on. Get a good warranty. I do notice some pixlation on my Smasung LCD while watching sports. Plasmas have come along way. The half life issues are a point that has been addressed in the new models. Most come with a half life of 35,000 hours. That is leaving the TV on for 6 hours every single day for ~18 years. Pioneer have been working with plasma TV's since the early 80's. They have just come out with the new Pioneer Elite plasma. My friend informed me that this gold standard for all other HD TV's. Now it comes with a price tag that really hurts your wallet. But the plasmas just aren't great for bright room. Plasmas are still very good choices for a number of people. Our LCD TV is in a very bright room now and it is wonderful. Now if I wanted to spend less money and get a quality HD TV and space is not an issue I would get a DLP. Plus you can get DLP's in very large sizes too. LCD and Plasma are some what limited on how big you can go. There are truly a million things to discuss when it comes to buy a quality HD TV, but buying a quality brand is important. You still spend around a grand on a lesser known brand you might get burned down the road.

I hope you are not going to use the generally crappy one dimensional speakers built into any TV set for you're sound. Half the pleasure of owning a really nice TV is getting incredible sound to go with the incredible picture. Buy a 5.1 surround sound amplifier to go with you're new TV...you will not be sorry. Having really good sound makes a huge difference for watching movies.

[HAL9000]

Oh oh... I'm in agreement with David again .... I didn't exactly buy a huge high end home theater system... it was a Sony 850w 5.1, but I have a small room and it fills the room with sound sooooo nicely. At some point I'll be looking at something higher end and moving that system downstairs... but if you're going to be watching movies, get the surround.. it's worth it.

For TV watching... I don't mind the speakers in my TV... they actually sound not too bad. We get streaming music through cable TV as well... and while not earth shattering loud, it sounds OK.

[David M]

Thats what I have as well...an older Sony amp I bought at Costco a number of years ago. I also have a 12 inch, 150 watt subwoofer and some older JBL speakers doing the surround work. It's nothing fancy. Movies do not have to be painfully loud...they have to be clear with full frequency response and surround you 360 degrees with sound. It's also nice if the sub rattles the windows occasionally.

[HAL9000]

Ya... and it does that... I loved the rocket takeoff in Apollo 13.. the room shook quite nicely and my wife and daughter plugged their ears.

[Litespeed]

Originally Posted by David M I hope you are not going to use the generally crappy one dimensional speakers built into any TV set for you're sound. Half the pleasure of owning a really nice TV is getting incredible sound to go with the incredible picture. Buy a 5.1 surround sound amplifier to go with you're new TV...you will not be sorry. Having really good sound makes a huge difference for watching movies.

I was simply talking about the aspects of the TV. If we want to get into the entire experience, picture and sound we can. I was simply trying to address his questions of the proper television first.

[Litespeed]

Originally Posted by HAL9000 Oh oh... I'm in agreement with David again .... I didn't exactly buy a huge high end home theater system... it was a Sony 850w 5.1, but I have a small room and it fills the room with sound sooooo nicely. At some point I'll be looking at something higher end and moving that system downstairs... but if you're going to be watching movies, get the surround.. it's worth it. For TV watching... I don't mind the speakers in my TV... they actually sound not too bad. We get streaming music through cable TV as well... and while not earth shattering loud, it sounds OK.

I was just refering to the TV not the audio aspects.