I need TV advice Please!!

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I never heard of Visco before. I am also researching the big screen TVs, I went to Best Buy and Circuit City, they both recomended the HDTVs, notice BB prices a little lower but both have price match policy, so that does not matter much. Even if you don't buy your tv from them you can always ask them questions, you may get more technical answers from them, or Consumer's report.
Hope you find what you are looking for, it can get confusing with all the info floating around out there.
 
we got the Bravia (sony) ... i really really like our t.v. you can't go wrong with this one :D :p .

we don't have ours mounted but i wish we could because Antonio gets so close to the t.v. and wants to touch it all the time :p .
i believe it's easy to mount them you just need to buy the mouting thingy for them ..... now can I do it? hmmm ... i'm a wimp so no :D .


ohh yeah we bought ours at Costco (it's way better if you buy from them) and if you don't like the t.v. you're buying you can always return it :D ..... which we went through this 3 times :lol: .
 
I had a flat panel and returned it to the store. A couple of things you have to consider.

1. Flat panels life span is much less then other TV's out there.

2. I like to game. I left a game at pause for approx 7 -10 minutes. when i returned to continue it left a shadow, Its what made me return it.

3. The technology is ever evolving. They are getting better from all I have read, but right now I could not justify giving up my Sony HD for something that I felt was not as good Quality.


Now those opinions are just mine. But read all you can on the product. I was surprised thats for sure.
 
I like to game. I left a game at pause for approx 7 -10 minutes
Click to expand...

LOL!!! :lol:....for some reason i imagine you saying.....go spider-man go !! and your wife in the background saying ---- honey !! dinner honey !! :lol:.
I usually find myself saying... Colossal crush !! or... but i am the mighty Colossus :lol: .

sorry couldn't resist :D
 
shallowreef said:
I am looking into getting a FLat panel tv and i have a ton of Qs i was hoping you guys could help me with.

Are they worth it?if you are going to purchase a flat screen, do not skimp on warranties or price my roommate just purches a 42" plasma

Do you have yours mounted to the wall? If so was it easy to do?

I have more but lets see if i cna get these answered first and then i'll ask more.

BTW here is a TV i'm looking at
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5359008

personaly i would not make any major purchase from wally world.... not only does there selection scare me but where that money goes does too.

a $600 32" lcd will not last long... will not look great and will not have any useful features IMO

Thanks
Click to expand...



consider this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16889101081

AQUOS are suppose to be the highest rated LCD on the market.

ps the price is amazing .. .they have came down so much in the past 6 months.
maybe that wal-mart tv will have the features.... but check reviews on http://www.cnet.com/
and other sources
 
i'd go with costco more .... just find a buddy to get you in and get the t.v. from there, that way you can switch if you don't like it
 
Yeah, Costco now gives you a 2 year warranty on a TV purchase. I just bought a new 42" Plasma from them. The extra warranty is worth quite a bit by itself much less being able to exchange it/take it back without questions.
 
Make sure that it is HDTV and can play in the 1080i and 1080p format alot of the cheap flat set are formated in 720p or less. If you want the best picture.
 
Well there is a debate on whether 1080i is better than 720p. Can the eye really tell the difference? Also, it depends on the size of the TV you are getting. If you are getting a 42" or less you will not notice a difference.

Personally I'd look at brightness, contrast, black levels, etc. as well as 1080i, 720p, etc.

There are some great threads on http://avsforum.com/ with reviews of equipment.
 
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Well currently no cable company/satellite company broadcasts in 1080p and are not expected to for quite some time.

Also, here is my point regarding 1080p on smaller sets:

In order to see a benefit from 1080p content a display must be bigger than usual or the viewing distance needs to be closer than usual. The ability of the eye to resolve 1080p content depends on the amount of contrast in the picture. That is why on computer type displays, text with high contrast, resolution is more helpful. For optimum viewing of resolution you need to sit back 3 times the viewing height [7] [8]. For example at nine feet away you need at least a 46 inch display to see a benefit from 1080p or for optimum viewing of resolution you need a 70 inch display.
 
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Finally something I know...

Ususally everything I post on here is in the form of a question since I'm so new to reefkeeping...television however...that I know. I've worked in TV Production for 13yrs now on the broadcasting side.

Each one of the 3 competing technologies has it's benefits...LCD displays have gotten much better in the last few yrs...but still have trouble achieving a "true black" level. Plasma is great if you have the extra cash and all the facts. What they tell you is if you buy a plasma TV "it will be the last tv you ever buy" and "it will last 30 yrs". This may be true...however what they don't tell you is that over time the gas charged plasma that reproduces the image will lose some of it's brightness as the gas escapes. However this takes a VERY long time. Your plasma will probably last 30 yrs but at 15yrs it will only have 1/2 the brightness it does when you buy it. The also "burn-in" which there is no cure for. A station I used to work for bought 3 50in Pioneers to use in my control room for 17K each new. We used software to allow multiple inputs to each set cut up with a "grid" We saw burn in 1 month later. A not-to-talked-about technology is DLP. Samsung almost exclusively makes these set thru a deal with Texas Instruments, who produces the chip that the set uses. They also use a board with over a million tiny mirrors on it that then projects the image thru a high speed colorwheel and illumintes with a bulb similiar to a LCD projection. The downside to DLP's is that they are bigger bodied than plasma's and cannot be hung on the wall. However they produce a superior picture to an LCD, and all the parts in them except the computer board (with the mirrors) are replacable by the owner. My neighbor and I bought new sets about a week apart...his LCD, mine DLP, he was blown away by how much better my picture was while watching the same movie in a dark room. He has also replaced his bulb already.

Something else to consider in a big set is the color of the outside of the TV. For some reason...silver cases are harder on the eyes and seem to give the illusion of a less "brilliant" picture.

Do some online reading...and definetly grab a copy of consumer reports...also...measure the distance you will watching the TV from and when you go looking TAKE THE TAPE MEASURE WITH YOU!! The Circuit City salesguy was speechless when I did this...and asked him to move the TV around so I could look at it as it would be in my living room. We narrowed our choices down to 2 before setting foot in the store...showed up with the tape measure and requested that they put the 2 sets together side by side.

When you're throwing down a couple g's for a new set you want to be sure about what you're getting...good luck...and one last thing...keep in mind that Wally-World has the worst Customer Service on the planet...Costco is the best...and both CC and BB only make about 10-20% profit off a TV that's on sale...but 100% profit from extended warranties. I'm not an advocate of them. If you're careful about what you guy these days...if it doesn't go bad in the first 30days...it will last longer than the warranty period. Price out the online prices of any part they tell you "will go bad but it's covered by the warranty, so you're getting it for free if you buy the warranty" Especially bulbs - mine was $450 when I bought the set...warranty was $479...bulb price now is $199 to $149 on sale online...warranty price is the same.

I'm outta fingerbreath - good luck!:razz:
 
Wowwwwwwwwww!!!

I didn't expect this many replies!

Well yesterday i went TV shopping at six different stores

First was Target
They had nice TVs but the prices were too high.

Next was Walmart
The one i was looking at online was out of stock at all Wal-mart locations. Everything else they had just didn't look that great except for there giant TVs but i couldn't afford those.

Then i went to Costco
I saw a awesome Samsung 20" that was just beautiful w/ 1080p picture. But then i saw the price tag and figured for that price i could get a much larger TV. Then i saw my future TV it was a 32" LCD by visio (i think) It was great. Plus it was in my price range (under a grand). I wanted to buy it right then and there but proceeded to Circuit city.

Circuit city
Lots of TVs all priced near a grand or a little over so they were all out of the question but i did have a guy there kinda fill me in on LCDs and Plasmas and what they offer and what would fit me best (very helpful). I asked what would he prefer and he narrowed it down to an LG LCD. It was nice but the picture on it didn't wow me.

Best Buy was my next stop
I walked in and was blown away by all the TVs they had but still many if not all of them wee out of my price range. I looked at quite a few and left.

My last stop was a Sears
Only a few TVs to choose from and many wee too small for what i wanted. So i was only there for a few minutes.

I pretty much have it narrowed down to three.

The Sharp Aquos 32" LCD that was posted ealrier in a link (thanks by the way)

Magnavox 26" LCD w/ 1080

Visio 32" LCD

I am going to browse the net to see which one i can find the cheapest and i will take it from there.

Any more helpful tips are much appreciated!
 
Here is mine i got it for 2400. Its a toshiba 50 inch plasma im very happy with it. I would find the tvs you like and look on the tv's websites you can find them cheaper for sure.. Make sure the t.v you get has 2 hdmi inputs for your hd reciever and your dvd/surround sound...



 
Whoa!

Thats awesome! Unfortunately i can't afford 2400. Agrand is a real stretch for me. I'm gonna spend around 7-800 on this TV.
 
hmmm check out sams club there pretty cheap. I would save the money and get something that you really want not just settle for that set price range if it was me. But its not so i will keep quiet :)
 
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