Television Purchasing Help

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Television Purchasing Help

Post by AuroEdge »

I don't know much about televisions and where to get them except that the more expensive they are it's likely they're better than cheaper TVs. Anything you know about modern TVs and what have you I must know. I just found out HDMI or whatever it is so I'm a little behind the times. I'm looking to spend no more than $500 for a good TV at about 32" which has run me into a bit of a conundrum.
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Post by Ex-Cyber »

Regarding HDMI, it's important to note that the presence of an HDMI connector does not necessarily guarantee HDCP support, although there are various incentives and requirements that strongly encourage manufacturers to support HDCP. Without HDCP support it's possible that various future HD video sources will refuse to output HD video to the set (this is reportedly enabled on a per-disc basis for BD and HD-DVD, much like Macrovision protection for DVD). I expect someone will hack them, but there's no guarantee that any given device will have a hack. Depending on how long you expect to have the set and how you plan to use it, this issue could be vital or meaningless.

I generally hear good things about Toshiba and high-end (home theater enthusiast type) Sony sets, but bad things about low-end Sony sets (though my dad has/had a 27" WEGA that seemed pretty decent; however it's not HD).
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Post by DaMadFiddler »

Have you tried looking at overstock and refurbished units? In a lot of ways, high-end electronics are like cars. There are new models each year, and their value sinks exponentially for each year they're past-dated.

Take my Toshiba 51H84. Pretty nice piece of kit in 2004, its model year. Original MSRP: $1899, or thereabouts. I bought it right around the time they were announcing the H85 and H95 (the 2005 models) in fall '04. I also got it refurbished. So between these two facts, the price at the time was $1300. Now, almost *exactly* two years after I bought the set, you can find this same model available from online retailers for $850.

I'm not sure the same is true for mid-range products, but it's certainly true on the high end. My recommendations are:

If you're spending this much anyway, make sure you get a good brand. A *high-end* Sony, a Toshiba, or a JVC will serve you well. Sonys have the best image quality of anything on the market, but Toshibas are *almost* as good, cost less, and have the longest average lifespan. Both of the TVs I've owned myself are Toshibas, and they've both been great. One was an old 24" CRT model, and was nearly 30 years old when it conked out. The other is my current rear-projection model, which is two years old now and has never given me an ounce of trouble.

Do NOT, under any circumstances, buy a budget brand like Daewoo or Apex. They give you more features for a lower price, but the image quality isn't as good and they don't last very long. Some (like a few Apex models) even get good initial reviews, only to conk out a year or two down the line. What's cheaper: spending a little more on a TV you'll keep for 10 or 20 years, or spending less on one that you'll have to completely replace every three to five?

Ex-Cyber's pointers on HDMI are good. It's a fairly new format. If you're planning to get a next-gen video player (like Blu-Ray or HD-DVD), make sure it's HDCP enabled, or you may get screwed down the line. This is only necessary if you're getting an HDTV, though. If you're getting something that's standard def, don't worry about it.

Also keep in mind that there are two types of HDTVs: HDTV "Ready" or "Monitor" models, which are capable of displaying HD video but don't have an internal hi-def TV tuner, and units that have an HDTV tuner built in (look for "ATSC tuner" under the product features). The former is generally cheaper, because it doesn't include a built-in HD receiver for television broadcasts; it can only display HD feeds via the video inputs. This means that, if you want to watch high-definition TV broadcasts rather than standard-def ones, you need to use an external box.

Finally, the type of TV is notable. In your size range, you can choose between standard tube TVs (CRTs), LCD TVs, very small projection TVs, and plasma TVs. CRTs are the traditional, heavy tube televisions you're familiar with. Projection TVs take up the most space, but have the best image quality, and for large-screen and high-def TVs, are generally less expensive than similar-sized LCDs and plasmas. LCD and Plasma each have their own advantages and disadvantages, but both are small, usually wall-mountable, and use less electricity than other formats.

What you need to decide is what kind of TV you want. First, decide whether you want high-definition. Then, decide which type of TV you like best...you can go to your nearest Best Buy or Sears or Circuit City and see a variety of models of each kind.
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Post by Phantom »

DaMadFiddler wrote:If you're spending this much anyway, make sure you get a good brand.
I've personally been disappointed by "high end" brands like Sony, Philips and JVC so many times that brand names mean very little to me anymore.
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Post by Yonke »

some time i remember posting the same question.......what i got was a toshiba widescreen i pay for that tv around 418 dlls

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 8084372772


but for your needs how about this one?????

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 8083961491

after a few months of widescreen is hard to come back to standard sizes tv's................... during my research back then , the conclusion was that toshiba is the best brand fo tv's.............................

good luck ...........is hard to decide for a tv this days..........................
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Post by Smiley »

I agree about fiddler's statement about the daewoo tv's; one that I got for x-mas a couple years back has been trouble ever since.

I can vouch for the excellent picture quality of the sony tv's. I have an old one that I'm gonna send in for repairs shortly.
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Post by Lartrak »

Are there any stores where you can still get standard definition rear project TVs at 4:3? It seems like those should be real cheap now.
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Post by DaMadFiddler »

Lartrak wrote:Are there any stores where you can still get standard definition rear project TVs at 4:3? It seems like those should be real cheap now.
I don't think they make those any more. If you buy a high-end product, people assume you *want* high-end features for spending that much. Most of the cost is in the mechanism, not the HD components, so it wouldn't make sense for them to make and sell a discount version. There would only be a 100-200 dollar price difference between the HD version and the SD version, and since you've committed to spending that much on a TV anyway, nobody would buy the SD versions.

You can, however, find old ones relatively cheap. Try Craigslist and stereo shops and such.
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Post by Sir Slash »

the JVC i have is great
my toshiba one is ok


Daewoo make bad cars and TVs

General electrics i have seen have had problems... my parents sharpen feature broke and its very blurry

I had a smasung in the past and it was one of the best TVs i've ever owned and i think its still in my parents basement
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Post by MKE »

yeah, toshiba tv's arent bad, but we have a 36" sharp tv that's about 10 years old that still has a really nice picture...

i'd stay away, far away from ANY GE branded tv (RCA, Thomson, and a few others iirc) they are known for bad solder jobs and just arent reliable tv's (past 3 years anyway)


but personally ive been looking at Vizio tv's and reading the reviews, for the price there really good quality tv's. yeah, the cheapest one is a 32" lcd hdtv at 900$...just throwin it out there.
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Post by Vlad Tepes »

I've had a 57" widescreen projection Sony for about four years, and it's been great. The image quality still holds up great, even when compared to newer HD televisions and is still going strong. I did have an issue with it right after I bought it. There was some kind of defect in the guns, which caused the screen brightness to pulsate, but Sony replaced the guns for free. One thing I've been made painfuly aware of is that a lot of displays that have come out recently have a bit of a lag issue. So, whatever unit you decide on, you might want to research it to see if people are experiencing any lag with that particular unit.
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Post by Lartrak »

DaMadFiddler wrote:
Lartrak wrote:Are there any stores where you can still get standard definition rear project TVs at 4:3? It seems like those should be real cheap now.
I don't think they make those any more. If you buy a high-end product, people assume you *want* high-end features for spending that much. Most of the cost is in the mechanism, not the HD components, so it wouldn't make sense for them to make and sell a discount version. There would only be a 100-200 dollar price difference between the HD version and the SD version, and since you've committed to spending that much on a TV anyway, nobody would buy the SD versions.

You can, however, find old ones relatively cheap. Try Craigslist and stereo shops and such.
HD are ALWAYS widescreen. I don't want widescreen. Why would I? My friend's 55" projection older Sony is almost as wide as aa 65" HDTV, and it has much more vertical space - and it is at 4:3, which is STILL better for video games, especially if you still play older games as I do. And guess what, widescreen stuff on it is the same size as a 65" HDTV. And it cost a hell of a lot less than an equivalent size set now. It also has very nice quality for SD.

I'd be a bit more interested in HD if they weren't widescreen. It really irritates me.

Eh, it is kind of a moot point though, as I can't afford a new TV, won't be able to for some time. And I'm planning to get an HD projector eventually, which are awesome.
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