Don Phelps 85 Report post Posted November 10, 2005 Of those who have big screen t.v.'s, which brand do you prefer and why? Pro's and con's? General comments? We're planning to buy each other one for Christmas and want to make sure we get something nice and dependable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted November 10, 2005 Hey Don If you gonna go Plasma Panasonic is the way to go.Myself i have a Sony 43"LCD Hi def projection.The BIG Pro is there is a light bulb when and if it would go out .All you do is change the bulb and you have a NEW T.V. Here is a link with TONS of Hi DEF info... http://www.highdefforum.com/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 PressurePros 248 Report post Posted November 10, 2005 If you are getting a projection TV, Pioneer Elite (not a regular Pioneer) is the best game in town. Mitsubishi ranks second. Sony's projection TV's were never as good as their tube TV's. If you are going with a large tube (40") Sony Vega. I worked for Tweeter for years. I'm not sure what recommendation to give you as far as the big box stores like Best Buy or Circuit City. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Lou Beach 14 Report post Posted November 10, 2005 Don I don't envy you. There are so many flavors of big screen televisions out there now that it is very tought to make a choice. Plasma, LCD, Rear Projection, DLP, the choices are numerous and confusing. Here is the mother of all Audio Video forums. Spend some time reading through this forum and it may help you narrow down your choices. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted November 10, 2005 Sony's projection TV's were never as good as their tube TV's. If you are going with a large tube (40") Sony Vega. Pioneer plama t/v's are rated pretty good and are nip&tuck with the panasonics for best plasma. Ken i stood for hours in front of every t.v in the store before buying my Sony Grand WEGA.I wanted to match my t.v with my Sony DVD/VCR recorder combo,not to mention i also have a 27"flat screen tube in the bedroom. One thing to know about Plama t/v's the life of them are expected to be around 50,000 hrs.Now that's a lot of t.v watching but they WILL go out eventually. Onemore con for the plasma that you SHOULD NOT play video games on them or you will burn an image on the screen. DLP tv's will give a rainbow effect on the screen from any light in the room so they have a problem.Now i've read they were trying to fix that problem. I'm a gadget freak so i'm feaning when new stuff comes out.:lgbugeyes Cause whatever you buy there will be something better 1 month down the road if not sooner.:) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 GymRat 14 Report post Posted November 10, 2005 I was in the audio video business back in the 80's and found that there was only about 4 manufactures of TVs. The name brand companys basically put their name and warrantys on the merchandise. Yes , they also had some input into the specs of the units, but my point is , most tvs are made by the same maufactures no matter the brand name.This may have changed since my time in the business, but I doubted. Find a model you like with the warranty and price you like, and it will probably be just as reliable as most other units. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 steve r 14 Report post Posted November 10, 2005 The sont triniton 32 lcd is a good buy along with panasonic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 JFife 14 Report post Posted November 10, 2005 I've had a Sony 57" Rear for a few years now with no trouble. And I am no amatuer, this thing takes some abuse. When I am home and not busy, I can choke down some serious TV. My next buy is audio equipment, been waiting until this winter to dive into it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Grant 500 Report post Posted November 10, 2005 A Samsung DLP was my last purchase and I am very happy with it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted November 11, 2005 Here is the mother of all Audio Video forums. Spend some time reading through this forum and it may help you narrow down your choices. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/ Dammm Lou thanks for that page!! :cool: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Lou Beach 14 Report post Posted November 11, 2005 Your welcome Shane, they are into the A/V stuff big time on that site. Enjoy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 the_GUNN_man 14 Report post Posted November 11, 2005 Pioneer plama t/v's are rated pretty good and are nip&tuck with the panasonics for best plasma.Ken i stood for hours in front of every t.v in the store before buying my Sony Grand WEGA.I wanted to match my t.v with my Sony DVD/VCR recorder combo,not to mention i also have a 27"flat screen tube in the bedroom. One thing to know about Plama t/v's the life of them are expected to be around 50,000 hrs.Now that's a lot of t.v watching but they WILL go out eventually. Onemore con for the plasma that you SHOULD NOT play video games on them or you will burn an image on the screen. DLP tv's will give a rainbow effect on the screen from any light in the room so they have a problem.Now i've read they were trying to fix that problem. I'm a gadget freak so i'm feaning when new stuff comes out.:lgbugeyes Cause whatever you buy there will be something better 1 month down the road if not sooner.:) This is some good info. He is right on about Plasma tvs and video games. On many video games there will be life meters or on screen maps that always stay in the same spot and that can cause "burn in". About the DLP and Rainbow effect. I heard that with the DLP some people expeience the rainbow effect and others don't. Two people could be sitting next to each other on the couch and one will see it and one won't. It is a mystery. The low down on high definition gets tricky. Just because you buy a HDTV doesn't mean everything will look good. Actually the opposite will be true. Anything broadcast not in HD will look crappy. If you take a football game for example. If it doesn't come in HD it will actually look worse on a HDTV then a normal tv. You need to buy a HD receiver for your tv. Unless your cable or satellite provider gives you one. I bought mine and paid another $400 for that. Then you have to pay for a HD package to get most channels in HD. Just because a program says it is HD doesn't mean anything if your provider isn't offering it in HD. Right now there are very limited HD channels. Be sure to remember all this when choosing. I bought a 50" Sony Grand Wega LCD HDTV. It makes my NFL Sunday Ticket football games that are in HD look incredible. I prefer games broadcast in 1080i over 720p. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted November 11, 2005 The low down on high definition gets tricky. Just because you buy a HDTV doesn't mean everything will look good. Actually the opposite will be true. Anything broadcast not in HD will look crappy. If you take a football game for example. If it doesn't come in HD it will actually look worse on a HDTV then a normal tv. You need to buy a HD receiver for your tv. Unless your cable or satellite provider gives you one. I bought mine and paid another $400 for that. Then you have to pay for a HD package to get most channels in HD. Just because a program says it is HD doesn't mean anything if your provider isn't offering it in HD. Right now there are very limited HD channels. Be sure to remember all this when choosing. I bought a 50" Sony Grand Wega LCD HDTV. It makes my NFL Sunday Ticket football games that are in HD look incredible. I prefer games broadcast in 1080i over 720p. So VERY TRUE ...The Hi Def reciever either built in to the t.v or the set top box make all the difference in the world! That was one reason why i bought the Sony W/built in Hi-Def tuner. You can recieve local cahnnels..ABC,CBS,Fox,NBC "ohhh PBS HI-DEF RULZ!"Almost as good as DSHD.. Discovery channel You can recieve thse channels using and OFF-air antenna for FREE. If you are going to use HD equipment i recommend using DirectTV....digital cable signal if not even close to the quality of satelite signal. Gun_man.. doesn't those Hi Def NFL games look like you're sitting in the stands? I swear i thought i smelled the cheerleaders perfume she looked so real...:lgsideway I got the Hughes DirectTv/Hi-Def /TIVO box with $100 rebate for around 400 Too bad Tivo only records 30hrs Hi-Def and standard def 200 hrs. YES 1080i is the best! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted November 11, 2005 Here are a few screen shots from HDNET a special about Ferrari's :cool: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 tropical wave 22 Report post Posted November 12, 2005 love our Toshiba hi-def.....53 I think....hi-def makes a world of difference, especially for live sports..... the pic was much better than the sony rear projection... .02 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 smokey51 14 Report post Posted November 12, 2005 If you wait til December you can kill two birds with one stone. Mitsubishi is coming out with a promotion for "Buy a Mitsubishi, get a Mitsubishi". You buy a Mitsubishi car, suv, or truck and get a 42" or 52" Mitsubishi television for "Free". If I had to choose I would buy the Endeavor (Suv) or the Eclipse with all the bells and whistles. Too bad it's not buy the TV get the car free!!! Smokey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Don Phelps 85 Report post Posted November 13, 2005 Thanks for all of the replies and pm's guys! I'm slowly becoming more aware of what's what on these T.V.'s....lol! My wife thinks we're buying "one" T.V. for each other, which will probably be a 60" for our living room downstairs, but I'm buying a second one (probably a 52") for the den upstairs also. She'll either be very happy, or I'll be homeless! :lgbugeyes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Lou Beach 14 Report post Posted November 13, 2005 I don't think you'll be homeless Don, because the good news is no matter what you buy, if you stick to the major brands like Sony, Toshiba, Mitubishi, Samsung, Panasonic you will be getting an excellent television. Keep in mind however that the picture quality that you get on these televisions is totally dependant upon the source that you have providing the signal. For instance, if you hook up a DVD player to the sets you will see an excellent picture. However cable sources are usually fairly crappy. I have found that satellite generally provides the best picture quality and you want to find a satellite company that provides the most HiDef channels because that is where these fancy new televisions really shine. Regular digital channels look ok, but HiDef is where its at with the television you will be buying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 RyanH 14 Report post Posted November 13, 2005 Some Consumer Reports data..... Front Projector.pdf Lcd tvs.pdf Plasma TV Ratings.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 RyanH 14 Report post Posted November 13, 2005 One more... Projection TV Ratings.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 tropical wave 22 Report post Posted November 13, 2005 and you cant use crappy little cables, spend the xtra dough and use the more expensive heavy cables......makes a difference with the signal that actually reaches the tv Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted November 13, 2005 and you cant use crappy little cables, spend the xtra dough and use the more expensive heavy cables......makes a difference with the signal that actually reaches the tv MONSTER CABLE..>HDMI :cool: Any time you can use HDMI cables you will have a better reception also.RGB"Red,Blue Green" cables are also used for Hi def.Those i run to my DVD/VCR combo recorder.. A/V reciever.The shorter your cables the better chance for not having any interference hence better reception. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Don Phelps 85 Report post Posted December 10, 2005 We bought the first one today. It's a 50" Sony Grand Wega. We added a 1,000 watt Sony home theater package also. We were a little concerned about price drops after Christmas, so we're holding off on the 60" until late Jan./early Feb. I can feel the couch potato pounds piling on already! :lgsideway Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted December 10, 2005 We bought the first one today. It's a 50" Sony Grand Wega. We added a 1,000 watt Sony home theater package also. We were a little concerned about price drops after Christmas, so we're holding off on the 60" until late Jan./early Feb. I can feel the couch potato pounds piling on already!:lgsideway Nice choice Don!! I love my Sony 43"Grand Wega :cool: Ohh trust me don't watch the price drops cause they will for sure like all other electronics.You won't be dissapointed with that Sony...I was watching a 43" Panasonic plasma and i could not see a difference from LCD to plasma Hi-Def. Are you on Directtv or cable? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Don Phelps 85 Report post Posted December 10, 2005 DirectTV (older). We don't have the DTV HD goodies yet. I'll be taking care of that on Monday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 seymore 90 Report post Posted December 10, 2005 Cool you'll get a much better picture with DTV! You have that built in Hi Def tuner so you can get local Hi-Def channels.Hook up an off-air antenna and you'll catch ABC,CBS,etc PBS is the best. I paid $400 after rebates for the HiDef DtvTivo box it's more that worth it to have it all in one box! They will have to come out and change your antenna to an oval and tripple LNB dish.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Of those who have big screen t.v.'s, which brand do you prefer and why? Pro's and con's? General comments?
We're planning to buy each other one for Christmas and want to make sure we get something nice and dependable.
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