widescreen tv recommendations?

[HellboyOne]

Okay, so after 10 years or so of loyal service, my big piece of furniture television just died on me. It went from perfect working condition to dead in about a third of a second. So it's time to go shopping.

I've been reading around the internet and listening to advice from friends but I thought I'd ask you guys about it. Who's got one? How do you like it? Plasma or LCD or rear projection? Any real-world experience would be great.

I'm on a limited budget so I'm looking for the most bang for the buck. Picture quality's important to me but so is saving a few hundred bucks. I'm interested in the 42" range.

Thanks in advance!

[Toonimator]

So it was YOUR tv what caused all the cable boxes in Burbank to wig out yesterday! AHA!!

...I got nothing. Widescreen's still far in the future for me

[TheAtomicTerrier]

Git a bigun!


yehaw

[HellboyOne]

So it was YOUR tv what caused all the cable boxes in Burbank to wig out yesterday! AHA!!

Yeah...that was freaky. I actually thought that my TV going out and smelling like burnt electronics may have had something to do with the cable wigging out but it was wigged out far too much for my piece of shit TV to be the source.

So, anyway...anyone??

[tylerdurden]

In real world experience, I lean towards LCD, LCD rear projection, or LCOS. They have great contrast and color vibrancy, and they have great resolution support (for those who like to sit close to the TV and who want support for all the current high-definition what-not coming out of video game systems and next-gen disc players). Plasma is one foot in the grave as many manufacturers of plasma panels have discontinued production, and they produce a lot of heat and consume a lot of power versus LCD's. CRT rear projection TV's are bulky and they have color accuracy issues when viewed from an angle.

However, my recommendations, or anyone's for that matter, can't beat going into a store and having a look for yourself. I was at Sam's Club yesterday, and I was floored by a 50-plus inch Samsung LCOS 1080p display that was selling in the vicinity of $1700. The Sharp display sitting next to it, sporting similar technology (supporting 1080i instead of 1080p) and selling for $200 less, looked terrible in comparison no matter what setting I adjusted to try to make it look better. There's an AOC plasma display that hangs in my office that looks okay at 10 feet but looks terrible at 2 feet, even with a high-def hookup from a computer. I have a friend who owns a 42" LCD TV from Samsung that can only display 720p which looks great from his couch when playing on his PS3, but sitting close to the TV reveals it's resolution issues. Quality is subjective, and no technology is perfect. My best advice is to haul ass to the nearest store that has a wide variety of TV's, play around with them, and then go looking for the best price.

For a primer on all of the display technologies and some suggestions, here's a link that might help: HDTV Buyer's Guide | Gear Digest

[Denis]

I'm on a limited budget so I'm looking for the most bang for the buck. Picture quality's important to me but so is saving a few hundred bucks. I'm interested in the 42" range.

Thanks in advance!

42"?? Geez, you call that a tight budget!?

[HellboyOne]

Well...a relatively tight budget. I'm trying to stay as close to the size of my CRT television in 4:3 aspect ratio and 42" seems to be the way to go.

Tyler: If I can save, say, $500 for the TV with the crappier picture, I'll take it since A) it'll probably look great all by itself and B) going from a 10 year-old box (the longest I've owned any electronic device) to anything else is gonna be an improvement no matter what. (I moved the year-old box that's in my bedroom out to the living room for now and I was shocked by the picture quality. My old TV really had degraded quite a bit over the last decade.)

I went to Fry's yesterday (they have a pretty big selection there) and it was just a headache for me. I'm not a tinkerer by nature so I've never messed with the settings of TVs in stores and as you know, stores keep their TV's cranked so everyone on them looked like drunken clowns. But I may have to start doing that.

I've gone through several web buyer's guides and that's why I'm here now. For example, you say plasma's got one foot in the grave yet over several websites (including tech-nerd forums) featuring expert advice I didn't see anything remotely close to that statement. So that worries me...

Thanks, as always, for your electronics knowledge..

[drugmassacre]

definately LCD, especially if you're going to play vidceo games because plasma has burn out issues.

I wouldn't sacrifice picture quality, but instead go for an off-brand that offers a good warrantee. if you don't care about getting a Sony or Panasonic, go with a comapny like Sharp...and please don't buy anything less than 1080P line resolution, you will be sorry once HD broacasting hits and HD dvds become the norm

EDIT: i have an HDTV for dummies book that I can lend to you that will answer a crapload of questions

ALSO costco is a great place to buy televisions at. I have a membership card if you'd like to go over there and check them out

[emceeONE]

My brothers cleared up some wall space and bought a projector. Looks great at night. In the day, they gotta close all the windows.

And it's a fucking huge picture. Hal Fishman's head is like 10 feet tall.

[HellboyOne]

Druggity Drugs: I'm pretty familiar with resolutions and such. (I do work in TV.)

I'm gonna check out CostCo today since we got a membership as a Christmas present.

It'll be a few months before I even begin to really consider buying one. (After I save up a bit of cash). But I'll take that book! You going to coffee tonight?

Emcee: Hal Fishman's head is that big on my small TV.

[drugmassacre]

Druggity Drugs: I'm pretty familiar with resolutions and such. (I do work in TV.)

I'm gonna check out CostCo today since we got a membership as a Christmas present.

It'll be a few months before I even begin to really consider buying one. (After I save up a bit of cash). But I'll take that book! You going to coffee tonight?

Emcee: Hal Fishman's head is that big on my small TV.

you think you know everything but you're wrong

ahem

yeah, i'll be at coffee tonight, unless some trick calls me up in need of some dick

[HellboyOne]

yeah, i'll be at coffee tonight, unless some trick calls me up in need of some dick

Well, let me know how he is.

[HellboyOne]

I've been reading that burn-in used to be a problem with plasmas but it really isn't an issue anymore with the current crop. However, dead pixels are still a problem with LCD's. I guess it's a lesser of two evils thing.

Thoughts from anyone else? I figured this forum would be chock-full of early adopters...

[olmanic]

we have a LCD now. it's actually an HP. I think it's a 36". The only problem I have with it is that it takes FORVER to change channells. I don't know if that is the TV or if that's my Cable service. Charter is pretty flakey at times.