Recommendations for a new TV and BD drive?

[kjlama]

Hi. You may have dealt with this before, but for a new guy, I need to get a new tv within the next month, and wonder what the recommendations are from most of you out there. We want a flat panel, obviously, and prefer LCD. I have heard that unless you go over 42" that you don't need to get the 1080dpi, is this misinformation? Vizio, Samsung, and Sony seem to have real good pictures. My last Sony lasted 12 years. Vizio seems like a financial better deal. I would like to stay under eight hundred bucks if possible. Also, I have read some of your reviews on DVD players, but am still a bit foggy on what would be the best buy. We have a lot of DVD's, but would like to dive into blue ray HD. Eventually a NAS box would be nice, but what would be a good buy at this point for BD, as well as older discs that will up convert. Thanks KL.

[burfadel]

Well, for a start, if you don't go 1080i/1080p with the TV, blu-ray is kinda pointless! A DVD player that upsamples would be a more economical and just as good option when not on the 1080i/1080p path. It should also be pointed out that you shouldn't expect a modern tv to last 6 years, let alone 12! I'm not saying a LCD tv can't last that long, but since most LCD's still use fluorescent backlighting which can fail (LED backlighting is just starting to come in, which is significantly more reliable and produces better images - not to be confused with LED screens), take that in to consideration. Plasma screens also have a 'short' life expectancy compared to older CRT screens. As you have probably found with most things, if they are built too well they last too long, and you don't buy another one so thats bad for company profits. Products used to be made to have an indefinite lifespan, these days they are made to be finite (good quality stuff by design, cheaper stuff just because its not built well).

There are LCD's with the normal plastic front, and LCD's with a glass front. The glass can easily crack if the screen is twisted during transportation, which is quite easy given the sizes of some of the screens and their thinness. A plastic front screen can be damaged fairly easily as well.

I'm fairly fussy when it comes to screens, some LCD's are just plain terrible in my opinion. The picture quality can be great, but when there's movement some shudder horribly. There's also response times and viewing angles to take in to consideration. You definitely need to go in to the shop and view the screens for an extended period, hopefully during times of fairly high movement. Some sports such as football can fool the viewer as the spread of grass on the screen can make the apparent smoothness greater than it really is, even for the players - you have to look at the crowd! This is a vital point when buying a screen, people have different tolerances to the movement. Some can't tell the different between a very cheap, 50/60hz low res LCD and a Samsung 9 series such as this: http://www.samsung.com/au/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=television&type=television&subtype=lcdtv&model_cd=LA55A950D1FXXY and although I find that inexplainable at least they can go the cheaper option :)

[Wombler]

@kjlama

You haven't said what size you're after.

I've just bought the Sony KDL-40W4500 reviewed here (http://campaign.odw.sony-europe.com/hubpages/bravia/h028/en_GB/what_hi_fi_awards.pdf) and the picture quality is stunning even by my demanding standards.


Wombler

[Dr.Khron]

I'm fairly fussy when it comes to screens, some LCD's are just plain terrible in my opinion. The picture quality can be great, but when there's movement some shudder horribly. There's also response times and viewing angles to take in to consideration. You definitely need to go in to the shop and view the screens for an extended period, hopefully during times of fairly high movement.

Oh, ain't that the truth. :(

My Trinitron CRT obsession is starting to wane, and I've been shopping for my first flat screen TV. The difference is amazing, its almost get what you pay for: I think that the top-end Sony's look the best, but you can also buy cheapass Sony's at Walmart...

I look at some TVs, and I think to myself, What idiot would ever buy something that looks that bad? Specially when its sitting in between two good looking screens.

[setarip_old]

@Dr.Khron

Hi!I look at some TVs, and I think to myself, What idiot would ever buy something that looks that bad? Specially when its sitting in between two good looking screens.You're falling prey to exactly the psychology the retailers love to apply!

Since they'd much prefer to sell you a higher-end unit, what better way to lead you to it than by displaying it side by side with a unit with an APPARENTLY poorer quality display? I say "apparently" because, many times, the retailers intentionally adjust the settings of the lower priced unit to display poorly and adjust the higher end units (especialy brightness) to the best possible display ;>}

[Wombler]

Oh, ain't that the truth. :(

My Trinitron CRT obsession is starting to wane, and I've been shopping for my first flat screen TV. The difference is amazing, its almost get what you pay for: I think that the top-end Sony's look the best, but you can also buy cheapass Sony's at Walmart...

I look at some TVs, and I think to myself, What idiot would ever buy something that looks that bad? Specially when its sitting in between two good looking screens.

Good old CRT is still the best picture which is why I'd been waiting for SED TVs to arrive for the last few years now.

I got fed up waiting though and the prices have fallen so much recently that now seemed to be the right time to take the plunge.

Knowing my luck though something bigger and better is bound to come along next week. :)


Wombler

[Wombler]

@Dr.Khron

Hi!You're falling prey to exactly the psychology the retailers love to apply!

Since they'd much prefer to sell you a higher-end unit, what better way to lead you to it than by displaying it side by side with a unit with an APPARENTLY poorer quality display? I say "apparently" because, many times, the retailers intentionally adjust the settings of the lower priced unit to display poorly and adjust the higher end units (especialy brightness) to the best possible display ;>}

Yeah you're right.

That's why I formed an opinion on the basis of independent comparative reviews.

I'm never swayed by any guff spouted by sales staff.

If they exaggerate anything or tell me one thing I know not to be true then I'll virtually ignore everything else they have to say.

Even if they're honest though I'll still only take their advice if I feel they're trying to give me useful information rather than attempting to maximise their commission.

All sales staff have a vested interest so I think it's always a wise idea to permanently keep that in mind when dealing with them.


Wombler

[cooldillu]

Samsung's Series 6 TV's are pretty nice imo and they are not to hard on pocket either.

[JayBird]

I just bought a 1080p Sammy 50" Plasma last weekend at Best Buy for $1399. I LOVE IT! (Did I mention I love it?)

I would like to point out something that occurred to me while standing in the store watching the demonstration video. I noticed that the 1080p units actually looked MORE choppy during high motion video than did the 720p. I believe the in-store HD signal is 720p, which is native for those units while all the 1080s are upscaling internally.

[Dr.Khron]

@Dr.Khron

Hi!You're falling prey to exactly the psychology the retailers love to apply!

Since they'd much prefer to sell you a higher-end unit, what better way to lead you to it than by displaying it side by side with a unit with an APPARENTLY poorer quality display? I say "apparently" because, many times, the retailers intentionally adjust the settings of the lower priced unit to display poorly and adjust the higher end units (especialy brightness) to the best possible display ;>}

Gee. Thanks for calling me a rube.

I've got a pretty good eye, I'm not easily fooled by adjusting the knobs. The differences that jumped out at me had to do with digital processing/compression. As Jay mentioned, you never know exactly what signal they are using, and the TVs handle it very differently. Also, if you go to a non-commision place like CostCo, they don't mess with the knobs at all.

I'm talking about horrible compression artifacts, motion blur and the like.