TV Advice needed

[tigerwoodKhorns]

I need some advice on getting a few new TV's.

In a nutshell, I can get a TV with all of the bells and whistles, or spend much less and get a tv that has a great picture, and then use a DVD player for the bells and whistles.

The DVD player solution seems to be a good solution because when it is time to upgrade a DVD player is much cheaper than a new TV. But is it a pain to use the outboard DVD player, or do they have bad integration.

Oh yea, I have no interest in 3d at all. Nice parlor trick, but I am not interested.

Thanks in advance.

Oh yea, I need a 60" TV and a 50" to 55" TV.

[Youthman]

My vote is for simple tv with less bells and whistles. im considering a 55" LCD 180p, 120hz...can get one between $400-$500 on craigslist. thats the route i will be taking if we buy a tv for the living room

[Scrappydue]

Go plasma or at least 240hz. I think the 120hz refresh rate is terrible to even look at. Looks like someone with the shakes is hand shooting the film live. I prefer an old 60hz over 120hz. But plasma at 600hz is just smooth as silk. Plus they tend to be a bit cheaper as well.

[Scrappydue]

Don't know what price range you were in but this has a 50", 55", and 60" models.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIERA-TC-P60UT50-60-Inch-Plasma/dp/B00752VLBI/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1348429700&sr=8-9&keywords=50+inch+plasma+1080p

[Youthman]

Scrappy, Tiger mentioned he had no desire for a 3D tv so why pay for that feature?

Go plasma

I would think it would depend on his application. If you have a lot of ambient light, LCD tends to work better.

[Scrappydue]

So unless he bought an older used tv I can assure you it's hard to buy a quality set that isn't 3d anymore. And if you think any LCD 120, or 240hz can match the performance of a 600hz plasma with a smoothness rate, I suggest a side by side from a good source. And if you have never seen what's plasma can do youth I suggest checking one out somewhere. I can assure you that my pioneer kuro is hard to beat, I payed a premium for it (3,000) but well worth it for the quality of picture you get. Top notch IMO.

[Quiet_Hollow]

When OLED television sets come out this winter, the prices on all those fancy LED zone back-lit LCD TV's are going to implode.

The technology is that significant of a game changer, although initial prices are going to be high and aimed squarely at the esoteric types to keep from cannibalizing the market.

Just my opinion, but that would be the time to snag incredible pricing on a high-zoot LCD or plasma, as retailers begin to liquidate their stock for the Spring '13 release of the consumer-grade OLED's.

[homeskizzle]

So unless he bought an older used tv I can assure you it's hard to buy a quality set that isn't 3d anymore.

+1

I went with a top of the line Sony LED. Mine has the 3D and in the past 10 months since I've had it, I've used the 3D twice...mainly because my receiver doesn't support 3D and I don't have many 3D blu rays.

I wouldn't consider LCD anymore with LEDs becoming cheaper.

Good luck!

[derrickdj1]

My Sammy was having problems under warranty and the dealer replaced it with a Samsung 3D TV and the PQ is excellent in 2D or 3D. The 3D is much better than at the movies. If price is similar, why not get a 3D. I later found out a setting was off on the first Plasma TV, good thing they let me keep it along with the new TV.

[Quiet_Hollow]

I wouldn't consider LCD anymore with LEDs becoming cheaper.

FYI - As of late, your "LED" is still an LCD at the core.

OLED is not the same as LED back-lit LCD. The $5000-$9000 price tag and near holographic picture quality (from impossibly-low pixel response time at real-life contrast ratios) will set them apart at the stores.[Y]

No thanks to Samsung marketing for the confusion when in 2013 one "LED" tv is on the shelf for $500 and another is fetching $7000. [8-)]

[Youthman]

So unless he bought an older used tv I can assure you it's hard to buy a quality set that isn't 3d anymore. And if you think any LCD 120, or 240hz can match the performance of a 600hz plasma with a smoothness rate, I suggest a side by side from a good source.

I by no means am any sort of expert on TV's as the last TV I owned was 4 years ago and it was a 32" CRT. []

I only know what I researched a few years ago when I was looking at a 50" LCD for the HT and then ended up buying a projector instead.

Technology changes soooo quickly with electronics that I personally can't see spending huge money on one. I am the guy that prefers to buy a few year old technology and save my pennies and when I can, I often buy used to save even more.

I can assure you that my pioneer kuro is hard to beat, I payed a premium for it (3,000) but well worth it for the quality of picture you get. Top notch IMO.

I have heard great things about the Pioneer Kuro but as you mentioned, they fetch top dollar too.

Guess it alll depends on the OP's budget too.

[tmassey]

As with speakers, I think the entire LCD/LED vs Plasma debate is entirely dependant on the viewer. Unfortunatlely, it's pretty hard to narrow down what you like because of the crazy thing retailers (best buy) does with the settings on the TV. I think they make some attempt to make all the TVs look the same except for their highest end models. I personally have always been partial to Samsungs. I have had the same Samsung LCD tv for about 3 years now and still feel no desire to upgrade. The motion blur on it isn't as good as a plasma is, but I think the color quality more than makes up for it. To my eyes, it seems to represent the colors more accurately than a plasma could.

If you can wait though, I think we are on the verge of a lot of new tech with OLED's making their way to the public. It might have some effect on the prices of earlier models. I also hear Oppo is coming out with a new line of Blu-ray players as well. There might be some cheap BDP-93's up for grabs, which should be plenty of blu-ray player for you.

[Quiet_Hollow]

Technology changes soooo quickly with electronics that I personally can't see spending huge money on one. I am the guy that prefers to buy a few year old technology and save my pennies and when I can, I often buy used to save even more.

Agreed and it's all about separating the grain from the chaff. Knowing what emerging technologies are going to have the largest impact on your system.

OLED, as planned for large RGB displays, has been on the books since the late 90's, with roots spanning back into the 50's during early experiments with EL display technology. Remember "indiglo" in the 80's? [] I read technical papers about OLED in college when the big fuss was developing thin-film substrate high-density displays (RGB color wasn't even a consideration yet), and recall the big celebration over the Asians finally perfecting the blue LED because of all the doors it would open further down the design pipeline.

I knew they've been on the horizon for a long time. So in '08 when our CRT set finally bit the dust, and everyone seemed to be drooling over plasma tv, and their all-time low prices, I scoured the used market for a dirt- cheap LCD that could still throw a decent image to suffice for the interim. $400 and I was set again for the next ten years or so.

The only reason LCD took off when it did was because the sheer bulk of a CRT tube assembly made it a sitting duck in a market quickly trending toward space saving and efficiency. The average 19 inch CRT monitor took up 2.5 sq feet of desk space, weighed 50+ pounds, and cooked along at over 40 watts. It was an easy target, but that didn't mean LCD had the better image. Anyone that had a computer in the 90's and used the first generation
LCD's can attest to that. Since then, LCD has
received a lot of polishing, but at its extreme, still suffers motion
blur and/or equally annoying frame drop outs. Plasma was the next logical choice...space saving and CRT-like image quality. Price would be the final hurdle.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Sit back and watch the AVS and HT Shack forums. Next spring, both sexes will be going ga-ga over their drop-dead gorgeous image and anorexic profile once these things hit the showroom floors. The difference will not be subtle. []

[iwander]

The best 2D picture I've seen was on a Panasonic 3D plasma. VT series. I don't believe you can get a tv with a great image without the bells and whistles. There may be some Monitor only screens for pro use but not at consumer level. We ended up getting the 55" VT30. We don't use the 3D very much but the Olympic Games were great on 3D. Brighthouse had it live in 3D. Still the best 2D picture we've seen.

[akdave]

Great responses. I am or was in the market myself and have been researching some on tvs. I am guessing budget is an issue if you're shopping for three tvs at one time. I have ordered and am now waiting for an Elite from a local dealer. This was after looking around for quite a while.

This is the new incarnation of Scrappy's Kuro since Sharp bought the Elite name from Pioneer and it's an LED/LCD not a plasma. I watched this TV right next to an LG LCD and plasma and Sony's top of the line LCD - the Elite is a home run. Detail, blacks, wow factor are off the charts IMHO. The price tag is over the top, but if you find a local dealer that will work with you that would help, but you may not want to spring that much for a tv. I would be surprised if you found someone selling theirs unless they made their spouse angry! []

[Beechnut]

Ive been very happy with my Samsung 42" 600 series LCD. I get compliments ALL the time when people come over. Set in a large living room with lots of ambient light.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Well,

It looks like I can spend about $1200 for a TV with a decent amount of features (60") or about $850 for one with less features.

I need one 60" tv and one 50 to 55" tv. This one looks decent for the price:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-PN51E450-51-Inch-600Hz-Plasma/dp/B0074FH14C

I really do not know what features to look for and I am disinterested enough not to take the time to research it.

I bought top of the line TV's in the 90's and will never do that again, huge waste of money. I have 7 year old Mitsubishi TV's that are having problems so, so much for buying "quality."

What features do I need? I'm sure someoen can rattle this stuff off easily. I do not watch much TV at all. Price can be up to about $2000 for both I guess.

[tmassey]

Since you are somewhat disinterested, I would suggest getting as few features as possible and save yourself as much money as possible in that regard. Any features lacking could easily and probably more cheaply be gained by a blu-ray player or some streaming device, or even in a receiver. You also should know that what features are in the TV are obviously on the TV, hence will never be pushed through a receiver, and therefore will not give you any video or audio processing you might desire, unless you have HDMI 1.4 and all your devices support ARC. Even in that case, you may still not get the full benefits of all the bells and whistles your receiver may have. Most likely, as long as it works, there won't be any other features that you would absolutely need.

However, the vast majority of features on a TV are all pretty much standard on the newer TV's so you are paying for a lot of stuff you don't want no matter what you buy. Look for some older models. The picture quality won't be up to par, but you would never see it unless you had both TV's side by side. Even that difference would be negligible based on how they were calibrated. That Samsung you linked would probably be perfect for you. Keep an eye on Craigslist as well.

[willland]

Check out your local BB for open box or floor model TV's. I found my 3rd tier Samsung PN59D6500 59" SMART plasma TV for $1199.00(msrp $2199.00) at BB and it was an open box with full mfr's warranty and included (2) pairs of active 3D glasses. Very, very pleased with overall performance and picture quality.

Vanns.com is also a great place to find clearence and open box deals.

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/clearance/462432520

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/clearance/463100332/lg-60pa6500

Bill

[Quiet_Hollow]

I bought top of the line TV's in the 90's and will never do that again, huge waste of money. I have 7 year old Mitsubishi TV's that are having problems so, so much for buying "quality."

All I can offer is to buy used if you can. [] People are flipping TV's all the time. I can think of almost no good reason to buy a new one so long as you can avoid the occasional shady seller...which isn't usually an issue with the higher-end models.