TV recommendations

[Powerslave]

What are some good HDTV's to buy? Looking for a 46-50" in a living room. I'm confused because online reviews say one thing, people say another, while store experts say something completely different.

The main use is watching basketball, a lot of the time streaming through the computer.

LCD or Plasma? Brands? Are LED's worth it?

Thanks

 

[cschneider27]

LED's are badass, but LCD's are tried and true, Plasmas can be a pain, the glare, the un-reliability etc. etc. I have always been a big fan of Samsung tv's. I have owned mine for 4 and a half years and haven't had any issues. 1080P is the shit, but only if you have a blu ray or ps3, otherwise your paying for things that aren't supported by most devices still. Steer clear from anything with the number/letter '3D' that shit is going to be as much of a bust as the Laser Disk was.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Just from personal experience in buying, LED's are amazing.

 

[CornerThree]

An LED is just a higher end LCD tv. It really just depends on how much money you want to spend. You can go 3k on a 55" Sony 3d LED, but you might just be as happy with a 999 50" panasonic plasma. It's all in the individuals perception. I have a Panasonic Plasma, and a Samsung LCD. I like them both about equally.

 

[Jon]

3D TVs can still display 2D, so there's no downside.

Plasmas are best for movie watching. If you're going to be primarily watching during the daytime in a brightly lit room, then you may want to go with an LCD. A lot depends on personal preference. Do you like the "motion flow" gimmicks? It makes the picture look very sharp and very smooth, but it can also make film look like video. Do you notice flaws in TVs? Does color accuracy matter to you? Do you notice motion blur?

If you're not too picky, just buy the cheapest thing in your price range that gets decent reviews.

 

[Mac]

Got a 52" samsung LCD and I love it.

Today, you are going to get a good tv if you stick with thegood brands.

I'd just stick with LCD or plasma. Led is still a little pricey IMO.

 

[Zog]

I have a Samsung and it has been trouble free.

Though top of the line Samsungs and Sonys are very similar in terms of picture quality, I think Samsungs are still slightly better. At least with the way Best Buy has them set up. However, at least a few months ago when I last looked at them, the mid-line Samsungs were much better than the Sony's. In fact, the mid-line Samsungs were nearly as good as the top-line Sony's. Another thing is that the Sony's seemed to be a couple hundred dollars more when comparing mid-line to mid-line, despite the Samsungs being cheaper.

Again that's as of probably 4 months ago, somethings could change but I've noticed that for a couple years to be the case.

 

[Chardon]

I have a 32' Samsung, No problems, and i love it.

If you get a plasma tv, i will be dissapoint.

 

[bcort]

I've heard Plasma's have problems more than LCD/LED TV's.

I have an LCD TV and have never had any problems.

 

[bomber]

Go plasma.

Plasma's produce a better picture. Better blacks, viewing angles , color and light output.

Most of all plasma's have a superior motion resolution. No motion blur as compared to LCD. Pans and motion is very smooth.

higher priced LCD's are closer to plasma but you would have to spend more.

check out the LG 50pk550. You can grab it for (50") for $850 shipped (which the deal just passed) Normally about $950. Downside is the panel is very reflective. I have one, absolutely love it.

If you want to go more expensive, Panasonic G25 is a great set. $1200. Also the Samsung C700 I believe.

More expensive, Panasonic VT, best 3d and 2d picture. $2500.

As always check out, cnet.com. But most of all check out www.avsforum.com and www.clevelandplasma.com < - I buy all my equipment here and they have reviews as well. Good guy.

 

[Powerslave]

Just from personal experience in buying, LED's are amazing.

The picture is absolutely gorgeous, but I'm wondering if they'll come down in price in a year or so? Also, a co-worker mentioned that if any of the individual bulbs burn out, the repairs would be too expensive but I wouldn't put too much stock in that.

I have a Samsung and it has been trouble free.

Though top of the line Samsungs and Sonys are very similar in terms of picture quality, I think Samsungs are still slightly better. At least with the way Best Buy has them set up. However, at least a few months ago when I last looked at them, the mid-line Samsungs were much better than the Sony's. In fact, the mid-line Samsungs were nearly as good as the top-line Sony's. Another thing is that the Sony's seemed to be a couple hundred dollars more when comparing mid-line to mid-line, despite the Samsungs being cheaper.

Again that's as of probably 4 months ago, somethings could change but I've noticed that for a couple years to be the friend.

Yeah, we've had an old-school Samnsung for 15 years and it's only now starting to break down.

For price range, I'm thinking $2000 max. I don't think I'll get any warranty considering the TV should last at least 10 years.

Has anyone streamed games from ATDHE to their TV's and if so, how's the picture? I was hoping to stream NBA League Pass using a VGA-to-HDMI cable since my computer's a bit slow and the stream stalls a bit.

 

[cschneider27]

Go plasma.

Plasma's produce a better picture. Better blacks, viewing angles , color and light output.

Most of all plasma's have a superior motion resolution. No motion blur as compared to LCD. Pans and motion is very smooth.

higher priced LCD's are closer to plasma but you would have to spend more.

check out the LG 50pk550. You can grab it for (50") for $850 shipped (which the deal just passed) Normally about $950. Downside is the panel is very reflective. I have one, absolutely love it.

If you want to go more expensive, Panasonic G25 is a great set. $1200. Also the Samsung C700 I believe.

More expensive, Panasonic VT, best 3d and 2d picture. $2500.

As always check out, cnet.com. But most of all check out www.avsforum.com and www.clevelandplasma.com < - I buy all my equipment here and they have reviews as well. Good guy.

I find it funny that your a big fan of clevelandplasma I used to work for the company that did his website and they made him out to be the worst dude in the world. I never met him though so i don't have a good opinion on the situation.

Also the bad thing about going to Best Buy and big box stores is the tvs that are on the wall are all hooked up to the same signal so the picture quality isn't 100% as nice as they will be at home. Adding to that though the ones that sit in their own little section are hooked up to badass DVD players. That's the pain in the ass thing about shopping for TVs. But good luck my friend! Can't wait for you to invite us all over and watch the Browns in a few months

 

[Zog]

For price range, I'm thinking $2000 max. I don't think I'll get any warranty considering the TV should last at least 10 years.

I would definitely get a warranty if I were you. We have an older Mitsubishi (like 4 years old maybe?) 1080p 52" and it's LCD went bad after like 14 months and one side of it had a yellow tint to it, and luckily we got it replaced even though the one year warranty was up. It's been fine since, but we would have had to just buy a new TV because the repair would have been just as costly.

My Samsung has had no problems and the warranty is up in a couple months so I guess in retrospect I spent the extra $110 or whatever it was for nothing, but it would have been nice to have if the same thing happened to my Samsung as the Mitsu.

 

[CornerThree]

Warranties are a waste of money. Any company that sells them will browbeat their employees to sell them because they are so high in profit. I used to have to go to 7am meetings on Saturday if I didn't meet warranty quota.

If you still want to buy a warranty, I hear Squaretrade or Mack are good options. The in store warranties are generally twice as much and offer similar coverage.

 

[Jon]

clevelandplasma does have a solid reputation over on avs, but I've never bought from them.