Posted on 12/02/2011 4:36:08 PM PST by Chickensoup
Sony Bravia would be an excellent choice!
My son wanted the Samsung, but they ran out - so he got the Sony 40” as well. What an awesome picture this TV gives out. The contrast ratio is 3000:1 which is quite impressive.
To explain what I mean:
Quote:
If you take the brightest white on a screen, and the darkest black and compare the luminosity, you get the contrast ratio. For example, a 1000:1 contrast ratio means that the brightest white is 1000x brighter than the darkest black.
End Quote
I want one of these TV’s now that I think about it!
I bought my first digital LCD TV today. It was one of the cheap 19” models which were left over from Black Friday. Cost was $98.00 and I was not expecting too much.
I have it attached to my old outside antenna and I was a bit surprised that it works just fine. I get a total of 13 channels tho one is weak. This is exactly the same as my old standard TV with an adapter.
The picture is definitely clearer than the old style. I am now wondering if an expensive one would be even better but still I am pleased so far. Also has a whole lot of features that I was not expecting for the price.
After 5 years of being completely without a TV, I went out and bought a big Panasonic plasma, 55”. It SAYS it has a 600mhz refresh rate...
For sports I chose plasma, mainly thanks to EVERYONE ON HERE & the rest of the ping list, FReepers are so helpful. Thanks everyone!
I made sure the 3D function can be turned off, so I’m not required to wear the specs - hey, I’m a noob to tv! - This thread has helped me decide NOT TO sign up for cable. You guys are so smart, thank you for helping. I’ll probably be back, asking lots of dumb questions, hehe...but FRiend, for sports...color, movement...E T C...I chose plasma.
I am going to print off this entire thread!
Bought a Samsung LCD 52” November with 240,000 MhZ (is that right?). I had watched prices for about year. It went from 2795 to 2495 and then 2095 with a 250 amazon discount.
Put in a Yamaha sound bar, LG Blue Ray and DirecTV. My computer guy built a computer and plugged it into the system. Love the Samsung and everything else for that matter. Using a logitech universal remote control.
All i need is a toilet and microwave and my cell and can meld into the furniture.
I KNOW!
Aren’t these guys amazingly helpful?
Fantastic bunch of people. Thank you all!
I hope they fixed all their problems. Vizio plasma TVs were notorious for failures. We had a 42 inch Vizio fail on us, two days after the warranty expired. Luckily, Costco honored it with a full refund even though expired. We then found out thousands of others had problems. We bought a Panasonic 42 inch and its been great.
Samsung makes many good products but for some reason, they have a reputation for making horrible blu-ray players, I don’t know why but I’ve read complaints from the very beginning of blu-ray.
I think they make pretty good TVs though.
I will say, the best thing you can do with these things is buy a universal remote. I bought one of the Harmony 900’s, and even though it cannot do some of the complicated scripting/macros some of the others do, it can go through walls (it is RF based) so I can put all my components in a closet.
I would go crazy without it. They are expensive, but well, WELL worth it.
I got a cheesy Samsung Blue ray for free when I bought my tv from Amazon, so when it dies, I’ll just throw it away...:)
Ooops...sorry oh8eleven, meant that for dangerdoc...
I second that. We just bought a 46" Sony Bravia. First HDTV in our house and we love it.
“Seems as though any of the larger sets 55-64 inches are all 3D.”
For a high end TV, adding 3D costs the manufacturer almost nothing. If you aren’t interested in 3D, just ignore the feature, it has zero affect on 2D performance.
If you buy an upper end TV, it will probably have streaming built in, if not, buy a blu-ray player, almost all of them will give you multiple streaming options and renting a blu-ray is 50 cents more than a DVD and looks spectacular.
I have an antenna in the attic and wired it to the house cable wires allowing use of the antenna in any room. If you want to watch the superbowl, an antenna is the only way to get a watchable picture on a big screen.
Before you buy a TV, go look at them. Look at the screen, if you have a lot of windows and want to watch the TV during the day, you may want to avoid the Samsung with their shiny screens and look for a brand with mat screens. Plasma screens tend to be dimmer and don’t look as good in a bright room. If you like watching TV with all the light out, you want to either buy a more expensive LCD with good black level or consider a plasma TV.
Good luck.
My experience: If you plug it in the wall without an antenna, you get one channel. If you buy a rabbit ears indoor antenna, you get three channels. If you buy an $85 indoor antenna that looks like a laptop, and esp. if you stick it in your window, esp. if that window faces out onto an open expanse of ground, then you can pull in nineteen channels, many of them retro. You'll have more fun with the retro and 'smaller' networks like CW which runs your local news station's 11 PM news at 10 o'clock then has sports talk from 1030 to 11.
When you discover programming like that for free, you may find that you like watching TV all year round. You don't need cable at all.
Thanks for that information. Based on your post, I can tell you that the next time I am at Best Buy, I am going to look at these new Panasonic plasmas.
I love it when things are improved, and if there have been improvements in plasma TVs, I want to know about it! Thanks.
We have two Vizio LCDs which have done incredibly well, especially for the money. I have always steered clear of plasma for the very reasons you describe.
Under 46" you'll never be able to tell the difference.
To get High Def, your TV must have either an HDMI connection or a component (not composite) connection to connect to your cable/satellite box. HDMI only requires one cable because it transmits both video and audio. Component transmits video only, so you need a separate audio cable.
Both HDMI and component give virtually equally good pictures.
I love MeTV.
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