TV recommendations

[Jupiter1610]

My father is looking for a new television to replace his Panasonic tube model. He currently wants a model between 30-42". His budget is $2500 or less, and he really wants a plasma model. I have heard there are reliability issues with plasmas and which might also be of concern being that he is on the lower end of the plasma price range. Might a LCD model be an alternative? Any manufactuers to shy away from or look for? Thanks

[Eric Clark]

Unitll more sets have built in HD tuners built in I'd stick with open box specials. We got 30" widescreen HD ready Samsung for $400. The sonys may look better but not for $350 more.

[OvenMaster]

If I'm not mistaken? Any new TV sold after July of this year larger than 27" must include a digital-ready tuner, already built in, in order to receive digital broadcasts. Note that I didn't say it had to be high-definition. Next July, it's all televisions larger than 13".

I personally don't envy anyone like your dad that needs to buy a new TV set now. I'm hoping mine lasts long enough to get just past the analog shutdown date, so I'd be able to walk into a store and just pick up a new TV that will enable me to watch the digital only channels, and that all the prices and standards have settled down. I personally couldn't give a hoot about hi-def.

I personally would stay away from plasma models. LCD's are okay, in my book. I haven't seen any CRT models up close yet, but then, I haven't been looking.

Tom

[JoZmo]

Look into DLP's. You can replace the bulb when it goes for around $200 and you have virtually a new TV.
Plasma's run out of gas eventually and it can't be replaced from my understanding.
The lights in LCD's gradually start to dim, although after many years.

There's pros and cons with all the different technologies and you will hear a million different opinions (justifiably so).

I work at CC and stare at probably 30 to 40 TVs along the walls and to be honest, I can't tell the difference in picture quality. They all look good to me!

I just like the fact that the bulb can be replaced in DLP's and... on most of them, you can do it yourself.

Your father can get a really decent TV with $2,500. Good luck.

[godfatherofsoul]

Look into DLP's. You can replace the bulb when it goes for around $200 and you have virtually a new TV.
Plasma's run out of gas eventually and it can't be replaced from my understanding.
The lights in LCD's gradually start to dim, although after many years.

There's pros and cons with all the different technologies and you will hear a million different opinions (justifiably so).

I work at CC and stare at probably 30 to 40 TVs along the walls and to be honest, I can't tell the difference in picture quality. They all look good to me!

I just like the fact that the bulb can be replaced in DLP's and... on most of them, you can do it yourself.

Your father can get a really decent TV with $2,500. Good luck.

Not to cause a fight, but plasmas DO NOT run out of gas. That is an urban myth... They do have burn-in issues (not as bad as you think) but they will last you 15-20 years. I'm not on the plasma bandwagon, but just trying to make sure we all have the correct info.
I personally would look at a Sony 34" XBR (list is $1199.99). Tubes are still considered reference for their black levels but it does weigh about 200lbs.
I would say about 85% of the TVs we carry (at Tweeter) have a built-in digital tuner to pick stuff up off-air. Some are better than others...

BTW, the new Panasonic 42" plasma lists at $2500 but you can probably find it for $2200 if you really try. Happy hunting!

Cheers!

[Jupiter1610]

Thanks everyone, I think that he should probaly just wait a while also, unless he wants to get a tube model.

[old_tv_nut]

If I'm not mistaken? Any new TV sold after July of this year larger than 27" must include a digital-ready tuner, already built in, in order to receive digital broadcasts. Note that I didn't say it had to be high-definition. Next July, it's all televisions larger than 13".

Tom

The rule is that any TV of the specified size, manufactured (not sold) after the specifed date, that has a tuner of any kind (off-air or cable) must include a digital off-air tuner. It is still possible to build and sell tunerless monitors.

[OvenMaster]

Quite right. I should have specified something like any TV sold as a complete, stand-alone set, and manufactured, after July '06. So this means there'll still be quite a few "TV sets" of that size or larger in the pipeline, I gather, that won't have digital off-air tuners.

Slight OT derailment: What really frosts my pastry is that I'm not going to be able to videotape off-air broadcasts for timeshifting when analog goes dark, but all programming will be "appointment TV", just like the bad old days:(.

Tom

[Eric H]

I would definitely look into either DLP or LCD rear projection sets, you can find plenty of them up to 50 inches for well under $2500, most of them have a built in HD tuner and HDMI inputs. They don't weigh much either.

[uofmtiger]

What really frosts my pastry is that I'm not going to be able to videotape off-air broadcasts for timeshifting when analog goes dark, but all programming will be "appointment TV", just like the bad old days There are plenty of ways to time shift digital now and my guess is that will always be the case. You may need a converter box at some point (assuming you have an older TV) and they may downrez content to offload onto an analog VCR or TV, but I am betting that there will still be ways to record it.

Are you reading something that says you will not be able to do this?

[azkiwi]

I paid less than 2K for my Samsung 50" DLP six months ago and am really pleased with it. I've had zero issues - the latest gen of DLPs seems pretty trouble free. I can't speak to the HD reception since I only watch movies, but for a value big screen it can't be beat.

Life is short - why wait? Some great new tech marvel is always around the corner, but you can only ever buy what is for sale now. DOn't buy out on the bleeding edge but just a notch or two below and you get value tech.

[Hyfi]

I only wanted to spend about $2500 when I went looking at 40" LCDs. The Samsung was in that range. Oh NO, right on either side of it was the Sharp Aqiuios and the Sony XBR1. The Sharp had the best picture but one of my criterea was a VGA input for Sofa Surfing. The Sharp was lacking that feature. I finally decided to go with the Sony XBR1 40' HD LCD and am loving it. I shopped around online, found out the gimmicks and ended up having mine delivered for $3k while if you buy it onsale at Best Buy or Circuit City it's usually $2499+ tax. The cool thing about this TV is the Over The Air digital tuner that allows you to pick up the Digital Sub Channels. If you don't plan to use cable, make sure there is a decimal point on the remote. I now have twice the channels I used to because of all the digital sub-channels.

[skippy_ps]

Just got a Sammy 50" dlp and the ota hd is terrific - much better than the same channel on cable. A small uhf antenna, depending on how far you are from the transmitter, is all that is necessary.

Murray

[rocdad]

I personally would look at a Sony 34" XBR (list is $1199.99). Tubes are still considered reference for their black levels but it does weigh about 200lbs.
I would say about 85% of the TVs we carry (at Tweeter) have a built-in digital tuner to pick stuff up off-air. Some are better than others...

Cheers!

I just bought this TV a few months ago. I wish I would have bought two of them. I paid $900 on clearance at The Great Indoors (Sears megastore).

[AudioAddict]

I work on Tv's for a living and I see a lot of TV's come and go in the shop
I would stay away from Hitachi , Mitsubishi and Samsung at all costs!!!!
Plasma isnt what its cracked up to be (cable tv looks like absolute crud with cable , but looks fine with DVD or HDTV) LCD has too much of the "screendoor effect" and pixel burnout... I would go with an Infocus DLP Projector and 100" screen!!! Dlp is absolutely awesome !!!!!

Hope this helps!!! AudioAddict

[colortrakker]

LCDs tend to look really nasty with anything other than an EDTV or HDTV signal.

Plasma's the closest you can get to tube quality without actually having a tube, and I think the burn-in issue is overblown. Happens with tubes and LCDs too, if you're not careful adjusting your contrast.

The last time I saw a DLP, about a year ago, it had a rainbow effect where if I moved my eyes or head the right way I saw stripes of red, blue and green. Not sure if they've overcome that in the newest sets. Not everyone sees the rainbow, so evaluate closely.

I do notice the compression of cable sucks a lot of resolution from the picture, so it might not all be the type of display itself. I watch cable on a 38" HD tube and anything but HD leaves a lot to be desired. Even DirecTV had compression issues.

So in order of my preference:
Tube
Plasma
LCD
DLP

[uofmtiger]

If you buy now, make sure you get a 1080p HDTV if you are sitting close to it.

I agree that I would rather buy now and enjoy what is already available. There is always something coming out that is supposed to be better. I am not sure where they will go to improve on 1080p (with the exception of fps)because there are no sources on the horizon that better 1080p. Also, once you get a certain distance from a TV, your eyes can only see so much difference anyway.

[jpchleapas]

My father is looking for a new television to replace his Panasonic tube model. He currently wants a model between 30-42". His budget is $2500 or less, and he really wants a plasma model. I have heard there are reliability issues with plasmas and which might also be of concern being that he is on the lower end of the plasma price range. Might a LCD model be an alternative? Any manufactuers to shy away from or look for? Thanks

Best thing to tell your Dad is to go to MANY stores and bring a small notebook with him to write model numbers he likes down. I think he will be surprised at the newest generations of DLP and LCD HDTV's. We went with a 60" Sony about 17 months ago new. Bigger is more better for watching football and movies for us. The 60" HDTV was $3,599 and 3699 at Sears, BB, and CC the same week I bought mine on-line. I paid under $1800 for it brand new, and the shipping was $150 to my door. I then bribed the delivery guys 20 each to carry it in and set it on the stout generic stand I bought on special at CC. We bought a aftermarket 5 year repair plan. BUT if your Dad buys his set with a AMEX card tell him to call member's services to verify it is still in affect they double the standard one year in home factory warranty to two years at no add'l charge. When your Dad has his short list it is time for him to go to streetprices.com and bottomdollar.com and some others price check sites. I got mine on special from Electronics Expo in NJ on a model closeout. I bought it in August of 2005 and it was made in April of 2005 according to the assembly sticker on the back. The repair guy came out once on warranty to work on it and it turned out to be a non set related problem. He showed me how to adjust the Sony set to get better black. Actually he spent about a half hour tweaking it for free. He also does calibration work and he warned me not to waste my money on ISF calibrations. He said ISF calibration is basically for the adjustment of a LCD HDTV like mine in a DARK room. The room needs to be nearly completely dark for optimum results. The image will look washed out otherwise. I pretty much left his settings in place with only a few tweaks. So tell your Dad to start his HDTV shopping. Originally I was wanting the brand new 61" Panny DLP but jumped on the 60" Sony for what we paid for it new. Tell him to hit the streets. Good luck! John