Which TV to get around 1200 dollar budget

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tarouza

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I got my income tax money back and wanted to get a new TV. I see BB has a 42 in westinghouse 1080p lcd on sale for 996 starting tomorrow is this a good TV. Most of the reviews i have seen are good but just wondering if anyone on here has it that can tell me also found some more options

just found a couple other things

http://www.beachcamera.com/shop/prod...x?sku=LG42LB5D

that an LG 42" 1080p for 1149 with no tax and free shipping

also Tiger Direct has a refurb Vizio 42 inch 1080p for 800 plus 55 shipping

http://dealnews.com/lw/artclick.html?2,212238,553781

40 inch sony bravia for 1201.49

Trying to keep in under 1200 and a picture for 40 inch or so which of these 1080p's would be best?
 
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Do you already have an HD? I'd save up more money if its possible. If its going to be you #1 tv I'd go with something better, although I'm sure that TV is probably excellent. You might check out prices for Sharp Aquos at 42" with 1080p I think the prices for those are going down and that would be a great tv
 
I've got a 37" Westinghouse 1080p and it's been a great set for me. It was quite cheap, has all the functions I need, and Planet Earth and Lost Blu-Rays are just gorgeous on it, as are PS3 games.
 
I am currently using the 42 westy and I must say it is a great set for games. HD content looks better than most other displays in its price range. SD material does not look good at all with this display, and one other negative aspect is the color its pretty far below the NTSC standard. I would pay a little extra for the Sony XBR4 40 in display but if the extra 1000 is too much then you might satisfied just stay away from electronic stores when the laser tvs comes out this fall. Just my 2 cents.
 
This probably sounds like a lame answer but I highly suggest you go into the store and cheack out the sets in person.

I just recently bought an LCD tv. I spent about a month researching, reading reviews complaints and general thoughts on a ton of forums, and price shopping. I then walked into best buy one night with the intent of buying a tv which was highly rated and currently on sale. Before getting there my mind was completely made up about which tv I was going to get. Then I saw it on the shelf with all the others and my mind changed. Don't get me wrong that tv still looked great as did most of the others. However, there was an LG set which really stood out.

It looked significantly better than every other tv in the store (in my opinion at least). The whites were actually white (some sets had a grey or yellow hue when displaying white). The yellows were yellow (again, some sets had an orange-like yellow and others had very pale yellows). The blues were blue (some looked very dull, some were too vibrant).

Now I totally assumed the issue was with the settings of the tv (since they were all hooked up to the same feed using the same connection it was the set that made the difference). I sat there for 45 minutes tweaking the colors on various sets - sony, toshiba, sharp, philips, westinghouse, etc. I was able to tweak the other sets to look nearly as good as the LG but at least one of the colors would be off. Meanwhile the LG was running on default settings - no tweaking necessary. I messed with the settings anyway and there was some improvement but the fact that the "default" settings looked better than every other set and continued to look better even after tweaking the other sets, told me something.

Additionally I was very impressed with the viewing angles of the LG. You can still see the picture when you aren't looking straight on (a lot of other sets lose quality when viewed at even the smallest angle).

Anyway, other things to consider are what you'll use the tv for. Do you have HD programming? Do you have a gaming system which will take advantage of 1080p? Consider which inputs you'll want. A couple HDMI, component, and composite will be standard. But will you want/need VGA? Are you going to max out the connections?

So super long post short, go check them out for yourself. I'm not telling you to go get an LG (although I highly recommend them) but I think you need to see how they look to you. I'd also recommend buying from a local store. That way you still have the option to easily return it if you don't like the way it looks once you get it home (the store environment is made to enhance viewing...it won't look the same when you get it in your home).
 
I got a PS3 to take advantedge of the 1080p I was in best buy today looking at stuff. It is just a long ride out there for me (about 45 mins). I am going to have the PS3 and probably my cable box hooked up via HDMI and the 360 via component. Basically i bought an offbrand tv from sears about 18 months ago so upgrading from a 32 in 720p to something better
 
For details on specific tv models, I'd head over to

www.avsforum.com

I spent the most time on that site while I was researching.

As for a little guidance for which manufacturers to go with, I've read that consumers should stick with companies who manufacture their own LCD panels. From what I've read those companies are:

Sony/Samsung
LG/Philips
Sharp
Panasonic
Hitachi/Toshiba
Sony/Samsung (I think its actually a 3rd company who make the panels but they make them exclusively for these 2 companies)

As you can see, a number of those companies are actually teamed up. Like LG and Philips, and Hitachi and Toshiba. Those teamed up companies are using the same panel so its other components (processors, software, etc) which make the difference.

The reason people suggest sticking with manufacturers who make their own panels is something like this:

Company x manufactures an LCD panel and it goes through their testing and gets rated. A panel with a rating over, say, 90% is used for one of company x's tv sets. The other panels typically end up being sold.

Company y doesn't manufacture their own panels so they need to buy them somewhere. They end up buying company x's panels however they are most likely buying "grade B" panels. Thats why their TV's are cheaper (Vizio and Westinghouse for example).

Now, 2 points. This doesn't mean the "grade B" panels are crap. It just means it didn't meet what are likely to be very lofty standards. Because a company like Samsung is putting their name behind the product and since they have the means to make the panels, they have the ability to be very picky.

Point 2 is that companies like vizio and westinghouse don't necessary buy those grade B panels. They have the option of buying the "grade A's" but it would be at a higher cost. So if they are buying "grade A's" they would presumably cut corners somewhere else (ie software).

If you stick with one of the big manufacturers (ie anyone listed above) you probably can't go wrong. There may be small benefits or downfalls to each but you'll be happy with any of them. So compare the sets based on their other features and read the reviews. Also, make sure you compare like for like. Don't compare a 2006 Samsung to a late 2007 Toshiba. You'll likely have to dig a little to figure that info out (cnet reviews will likely help) but it will help you make a smarter decision.
 
I'd like to suggest a 42" LG myself ... we just got one at work and it's freakin beautiful! It was a view so beautiful I fell to my knees and cried. (First one to get that refrence gets a ::thumbsup:: )
 
I have the sharp 42d64u and think it is great. When looking for my tv I also thought that the LG was very nice. If it had cost less than the sharp I would have bought it. Read up at avsforums and go to the stores. Once you have 3-4 tvs you think you want just watch for a good price on 1 of them. As stated prior the big difference in the really budget vs. mid/higher priced sets is the way that they handle upconversion on sd content. Also, realize that the reviews on avs are audio/video fanatics and many are nitpicking things you won't notice. If you think a tv looks great that is all that matters.
 
[quote name='rmb']I have the sharp 42d64u and think it is great. When looking for my tv I also thought that the LG was very nice. If it had cost less than the sharp I would have bought it. Read up at avsforums and go to the stores. Once you have 3-4 tvs you think you want just watch for a good price on 1 of them. As stated prior the big difference in the really budget vs. mid/higher priced sets is the way that they handle upconversion on sd content. Also, realize that the reviews on avs are audio/video fanatics and many are nitpicking things you won't notice. If you think a tv looks great that is all that matters.[/quote]

I have the 46" version of that tv and I love it. Sharp's d64u series is definitely worth checking out.
 
[quote name='tarouza']I got a PS3 to take advantedge of the 1080p I was in best buy today looking at stuff. It is just a long ride out there for me (about 45 mins). I am going to have the PS3 and probably my cable box hooked up via HDMI and the 360 via component. Basically i bought an offbrand tv from sears about 18 months ago so upgrading from a 32 in 720p to something better[/quote]

did you see a Samsung end cap display with Blu-Ray running? mine had it playing the 120Hz demo on the tv which splits the screen to show the effect 120Hz has. they had Pearl Harbor playing and it looked awesome. how awesome? i bought the tv. it's the Samsung LNT-4069FX. It was the best looking tv in Fry's, CC and Best Buy. and all the tv guys said they liked this tv the best. i was sold on the sony bravia before this tv. then, i saw a blu-ray trailer side by side with the bravia and this tv, and it was head and shoulders above sony's. if you want the best LCD picture, go with samsung's 120Hz line. no one does it better. for $1600, you can have the sickest LCD out. it's worth the extra money, you want to invest in your tv, not settle...
 
According to USA Today's article - the price for high-def tvs and other high-end electronics tend to come down after the super bowl...probably give it some time. Although I've got a sweet lcd tv, I would really recommend getting a plasma even if it is only 720p. Pioneer makes some really good ones. Best of luck!
 
About a month ago, I picked up the 42" Samsung plasma for $1099 at Circuit City. I actually prefer plasma to LCD (colors and blacks are sharper and more vibrant, and no matter how good it is, LCD displays always look a little pixilated and dull / flat to me).

I'm really happy with my purchase and look immensely forward to watching tv and playing xbox 360 each day. HD broadcasts and games look exceptional and Standard def is better than fine.

The only downside (if you can call it that) is that it is not 1080p. Frankly, I'm convinced that the whole 1080p thing is a sales pitch by electronic retailers to get you to pay extra for something you don't need and won't matter much anyway.

I've done a bunch of research, and from what I've read, unless you're going with a 50" screen or larger, the visual difference between a 1080p broadcast and a 760p broadcast are imperceptable. Even then, you have to have a good eye to really tell the difference. That, and considering that there are almost no 1080p broadcasts these days, to me makes it not worth the extra $$. I'd rather get a really excellent 760p plasma display for the money.

And I wouldn't worry too much about plasma burn-in, as long as you don't really abuse the tv and get past the initial break-in period with a variety of differnt image diplays.

Just my two cents.

Here's the CC link:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sams...74192/catOid/-12869/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
 
Around Turkey day last year BB had a sale for a 1080i Hitachi 50" for $996. Keep an eye out on slickdeals.net, they usually get HD deals at least once a week.
 
My dad just picked up the 720p version of that 40" Sony and its great if you can pick up the 1080p version in your price range I would jump all over it.
 
I just purchased the LG 42 LB5D saturday. The picture quality is amazing. It also has one of the highest contrast ratios in your price range.
 
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