TV

[bstegs]

Not true. Do you work for an electronics retailer?

I do not. I just have spent an ton of time reading reviews of and going to stores to view televisions when I bought mine. I have ****** off a few best buy employees by exposing their lack of knowledge of their own models.

Show me a 50"+ television that retails for < $800 outside of Black Friday or clearance worth getting. You will almost always find a minimal number of HDMI inputs, very poor motion handling, poor contrast, or poor color. I am not saying it is unwatchable, but they are not very good TVs.

Also, to everyone reading, please find preferred settings for your TV online if you are not going to get it calibrated. I get bad looks in stores because I tend to go around changing their TVs to movie mode so they will look at least close to accurate. Do not use dynamic or vivid modes. I have left a bar before because the TV was configured wrong and looked like absolute crap. Also, disable or minimize any motion smoothing/edge softening features. They make the image look wrong.

Also, never transport a plasma by laying it flat. This can increases the likelihood of damaging the TV during a move.

 

[cdnlngld]

I do not. I just have spent an ton of time reading reviews of and going to stores to view televisions when I bought mine. I have ****** off a few best buy employees by exposing their lack of knowledge of their own models.

Show me a 50"+ television that retails for < $800 outside of Black Friday or clearance worth getting. You will almost always find a minimal number of HDMI inputs, very poor motion handling, poor contrast, or poor color. I am not saying it is unwatchable, but they are not very good TVs.

Also, to everyone reading, please find preferred settings for your TV online if you are not going to get it calibrated. I get bad looks in stores because I tend to go around changing their TVs to movie mode so they will look at least close to accurate. Do not use dynamic or vivid modes. I have left a bar before because the TV was configured wrong and looked like absolute crap. Also, disable or minimize any motion smoothing/edge softening features. They make the image look wrong.

Also, never transport a plasma by laying it flat. This can increases the likelihood of damaging the TV during a move.

Really?

 

[clonesalltheway]

What TV would you recommend me getting then bsetgs?

 

[DarkStar]

Haven't looked at it too closely but Samsung is building into some of its TV's the same functionality as iTV where you can seamlessly stream your Samsung Tablet or Phone to your TV. (They are also doing osme other crazy stuff with some of their other appliances and apps... washer and dryer and refrig....)

Do not know the details

 

[IcSyU]

Haven't looked at it too closely but Samsung is building into some of its TV's the same functionality as iTV where you can seamlessly stream your Samsung Tablet or Phone to your TV. (They are also doing osme other crazy stuff with some of their other appliances and apps... washer and dryer and refrig....)

Do not know the details

I have yet to figure out why a refrigerator needs a small TV screen.

Being able to start the washer from work on my phone is kind of slick though. Don't want clothes sitting wet all day in the washer but if I can start it at 4:30 so the stuff is ready to go into the dryer when I get home at 5:15, sweet!

 

[bstegs]

What TV would you recommend me getting then bsetgs?

Like I said in my first response, it is hard to go wrong with a Samsung LED or a Panasonic plasma. Vizio now makes some decent TVs, but read reviews for it. Vizio makes a lot of different non-standard models for various stores so that they can't price match. These are often built from random parts available from different suppliers as opposed to a set line of components. Sony does make good TVs, just overpriced in my opinion. LG has some decent models, but I have yet to see anything that matches Samsung or Panasonic. Avoid Westinghouse and cheap Vizios.

To second some thoughts of people on here, read cnet, avsforum, amazon, etc. reviews. Check out what Costco has in stock. They have an awesome warranty and occasionally some nice TVs. Check out Amazon. It is always cheap, and if you have Prime, the TV is brought to your house for you for free.

And while i definitely believe in plasmas over LED/LCD (and LED over straight LCD), LED TVs tend to have great brightness and color. Some are also so thin, you can hang them on a wall like a painting.

 

[bstegs]

I just found this on avsforum. While I haven't read the full review, they seem to like it. And I apologize, but this barely beats my $800 number.

“A really really nice TV.â€Â￾ - jaybot31k’s Review of VIZIO M501D-A2R 50-Inch 3D Smart LED HDTV

 

[Tony]

Hey my tv just died, and am thinking about getting a Samsung led. Did not know where to get it the cheapest, or was wondering if this would be a bad brand to get. I only had my Vizio for 4.5 years.

Samsung is definitely not a bad brand, arguably it's the best brand since Hitachi basically got out of the business of selling their own TVs and are just producing parts for everyone else.

Every manufacturer has a wide range and you generally get what you pay for, except for Sony, they are way overpriced across the board. Samsung's 8000 series and Sharp's Series 8 are top notch, but it depends what you are after though and how much you want to spend on TV, if money is no object it's easy, just get this one: 64" 1080p Plasma 3D Smart TV - 600Hz - Smart Interaction | Samsung PN64E8000GF. It's amazing.

A lot of factors to consider though:

1) Budget
2) TV location (lighting, viewing distance)
3) Options (3D, smartTV apps like Netflix and Hulu)

Personally, and as it appears you can attest to, I wouldn't recommend a Visio, Insignia, or anything below that.

I would take the above into account and head to Amazon, can't beat their prices and they use the same delivery methods as some of the big box stores.

 

[dmclone]

Buddy has a 3 or 4 year old Samsung plasma, has already had to pay to have the panel replaced, and just told me that the issue which caused the initial replacement is happening again.

And I had my Samsung LCD replaced after owning it for a month. That doesn't mean they are all bad.

 

[dmclone]

I always use video essentials to adjust my TV. It made a huge difference on the plasma but the Samsung had pretty good settings out of the box.

Warning, it's pretty intense. It even involves using filters.

Joe Kane Productions

 

[kilgore_trout]

You are clearly and plainly wrong in your assertion that "... almost any TV worth owning is going to be $800+...".

Agclone91 provides an example of a nice tv that is worth owning and it's only $560.

Qualify your statement with " For videophiles and brand conscious snobs, ..." and I won't disagree.

Regards.

I do not. I just have spent an ton of time reading reviews of and going to stores to view televisions when I bought mine. I have ****** off a few best buy employees by exposing their lack of knowledge of their own models.

Show me a 50"+ television that retails for < $800 outside of Black Friday or clearance worth getting. You will almost always find a minimal number of HDMI inputs, very poor motion handling, poor contrast, or poor color. I am not saying it is unwatchable, but they are not very good TVs.

Also, to everyone reading, please find preferred settings for your TV online if you are not going to get it calibrated. I get bad looks in stores because I tend to go around changing their TVs to movie mode so they will look at least close to accurate. Do not use dynamic or vivid modes. I have left a bar before because the TV was configured wrong and looked like absolute crap. Also, disable or minimize any motion smoothing/edge softening features. They make the image look wrong.

Also, never transport a plasma by laying it flat. This can increases the likelihood of damaging the TV during a move.

 

[wxman1]

Yeah if you leave a bar because the tv is not good enough you need a life.

 

[isuforlife]

Samsung the best

 

[CarlHungus]

Go with either a Panasonic, Samsung, or LG. Sony is nice too, but I think they're overpriced. Also, check slickdeals.net a few times a day. They usually have a good deal on TV's once every couple weeks

 

[huntt26]

I've been throughly impressed with my 60" Vizio LED. Also have a 47" LG LCD which also looks great. My computer monitors are Samsung and those look great as well. I'd stay away from Sony and any brand you haven't heard of.

Plasma gives you the best picture, but they suck a lot of power. LEDs are much more energy efficient. You can't go wrong with much on the market today, as long as you are watching a nice HD feed from your television provider, over the air, xbox, etc.

Happy Hunting! I do all my electronics shopping on Amazon. Free 2 day shipping and no tax via Amazon Prime.

 

[CarolinaCy]

I bought a 50" Westinghouse LED 120Hz for $499 at a local electronics store here in the Chicago burbs about 3 months ago. Looks as good as any TV I saw with comparable specs at any of the big box stores, but then again I'm no TV expert/snob.

 

[bstegs]

You are clearly and plainly wrong in your assertion that "... almost any TV worth owning is going to be $800+...".

Agclone91 provides an example of a nice tv that is worth owning and it's only $560.

Qualify your statement with " For videophiles and brand conscious snobs, ..." and I won't disagree.

Regards.

Note that I said almost. It also isn't an elitist statement by any means, but more the state of the market. You can call me a videophile, but brand conscious snob, I am not. Also, like most things, $800, from an inflation adjusted viewpoint, for a TV relative to what you got in years past is really not that expensive. I will never begrudge someone for getting a good deal or purchasing within their means. Also, many TVs can be configured to look a lot better than they come out of the box, but most just stick with the default dynamic mode and call it good. It is not.

As for the TV mentioned, no link was posted to the purchased set so I can't actually comment on that TV. There are always sales, if purchased in the last 2-3 months, there is a good chance that it was on clearance. Whether this was the case, I do not know. If it wasn't, it was likely an entry to mid-level model for LG. As I said on a previous post, they are a decent brand, but most of their models do not live up to Samsung and Panasonic. Also, it was sub-50" which comes with an inherent cost savings relative to 50+. Most of the benefits of improved picture quality are lost on sets 42" and down. 46" happens to be a bit of a sweet spot.

I don't think that I am off-base on any of my advice. Almost every other suggestion or bit of advice in this thread has reflected something that I have commented on.

Also, before your next self-righteous diatribe, you may try coming up with a real point.

 

[bstegs]

Yeah if you leave a bar because the tv is not good enough you need a life.

This is an ironic statement for someone with 6 times the number of posts as I have on an very niche website.

I am generally not picky. I have watched many an Iowa State game on justin.tv which is far from quality. But if I am going to a bar with the intent to watch a game, and TVs suck, why not go next door and watch there (bars are pretty abundant in Chicago). Also, I am sorry if I didn't mention that the bar in question had bad food. I didn't realize that an off the cuff statement said in jest would bring such judgement.

Let the ******* match commence.

 

[alarson]

Also, like most things, $800, from an inflation adjusted viewpoint, for a TV relative to what you got in years past is really not that expensive.

Truth. 5 years ago i got a tv that was 'only' 42" and it ran me about $1400 iirc. Now you can get a similar quality level (relative to today's tvs not relative to tvs of yesterday) for much, much less, easily under 800.

 

[M3MEPLEASE]

Some like to mention the big con of plasmas (glare), but many LEDs have very glossy screens that also will give you a significant glare in a sunny room.

There are pros and cons to both, I have a Samsung plasma in our basement and Samsung LED on our main floor, the plasma blows it away when it comes blacks/contrast, much better picture when watching a movie or show with a lot of scenes in the dark. However, I do like the LED more for sports.