Looking for a "just right" TV...

J

jmerveille

CAG Veteran
Things I want:

I'm thinking 32", but I can bend a little.

Widescreen

Absolutely no delay on video games (Super Smash Bros Brawl!)

Something I can watch anime on perfectly (no bad picture, able to get out of widescreen--because a lot of anime isn't widescreen).

Around or under $500

Can anybody offer some advice or help on this, things I should look for, recommendations on TVs, and any deals if you know any?
 
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At that price there are not many "good" options but plenty of "good enough" options.

If you are not worried about weight you might be able to track down one of the Samsung Slim Line CRT HD sets. They are heavy and top out at 1080i but you will get no lag and good colors. Look for the 30" model, as the 27" model is a 4x3 set.


Other than that you can get the $450 27" Vizio set at Walmart. It is a 720p LCD set, people (forum folk) generally have good things to say about Vizio, but the picture will not be perfect (i.e. bad black levels). Regardless, go to your local Walmart and see it in person before you buy it.
 
[quote name='Deathmonkey']At that price there are not many "good" options but plenty of "good enough" options.

If you are not worried about weight you might be able to track down one of the Samsung Slim Line CRT HD sets. They are heavy and top out at 1080i but you will get no lag and good colors. Look for the 30" model, as the 27" model is a 4x3 set.


Other than that you can get the $450 27" Vizio set at Walmart. It is a 720p LCD set, people (forum folk) generally have good things to say about Vizio, but the picture will not be perfect (i.e. bad black levels). Regardless, go to your local Walmart and see it in person before you buy it.[/quote]

I'm having no luck with finding any 30" Samsung SlimLines, anywhere! Thanks for the advice though.
 
i know this is more than what you want to spend but in Kmart's ad they are selling the Olevia 37" LCD HDTV for $617, that's down from $899. i bought one of these on Black Friday from Target at $549 and this is the lowest price i've seen it in since then in a regular ad. i have nothing but good things to say about the LCD. awesome picture and clarity with 1080i rez. it says models may very by store so it could be anything from the 237T or 237V models. my recommendation is if there is a kmart or target close by to go in and check it out for yourself.
 
[quote name='Chucki Norris']i know this is more than what you want to spend but in Kmart's ad they are selling the Olevia 37" LCD HDTV for $617, that's down from $899. i bought one of these on Black Friday from Target at $549 and this is the lowest price i've seen it in since then in a regular ad. i have nothing but good things to say about the LCD. awesome picture and clarity with 1080i rez. it says models may very by store so it could be anything from the 237T or 237V models. my recommendation is if there is a kmart or target close by to go in and check it out for yourself.[/quote]

Thanks for the reccomendation, I looked this one up and it does seem to be at a great price. But a few reviews I've seen is that the picture is dull because of the contrast ratio (1600:1). Is this true? Most TVs are lower than that, so I thought he could just be BSing but then I saw a few LCDs at (6000:1). Hmm...

I'll go to Target and check it out anyway, though.
 
My parents picked up a 50" dlp set at Wal-Mart a couple days before Christmas for $500. It was a weird brand I had never heard of, but for $500 I was really surprised at how good it looked. I took my PS3 down last time I visited with Casino Royale on br, and it wasn't bad looking at all.
 
[quote name='superstevedogg']30" Samsung SlimFit is sold at sears, if they still have any left.[/quote]

Alright, thanks.
 
[quote name='jmerveille']Things I want:

I'm thinking 32", but I can bend a little.

Widescreen

Around or under $500[/quote]

[quote name='Deathmonkey']Other than that you can get the $450 27" Vizio set at Walmart. It is a 720p LCD set, people (forum folk) generally have good things to say about Vizio, but the picture will not be perfect (i.e. bad black levels). Regardless, go to your local Walmart and see it in person before you buy it.[/quote]

I was checking out some prices of a 32 inch HDTV as well :cool:

Overstock.com has a good deal on a NEW VX32L which is a Vizio aka good Walmart brand.

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Vizio-VX32L-32-inch-LCD-TV/2908352/product.html?cid=123620&fp=F&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=11078035-000-000

Using one of the many 10% off coupon codes they have for overstock.com, your right there hovering at the $500 mark.
 
I just checked out the 37" Olevia--it looked a little bit lighter in colours than all the other TVs. But it also looked a bit sharper (maybe because it's lighter?) Basically, the target (red) logo looked a orange. It wasn't bad though. I wonder why it was the only TV that did that, especially when it had the highest contrast ratio?
 
Sceptre Naga 32". Not the best TV in history, but after I returned the first one (stuck pixel) I managed to snag a "My First HDTV" for under $500 about 6 months ago.

Edit: You really don't have to worry about delay with the Wii.
 
[quote name='jmerveille']I just checked out the 37" Olevia--it looked a little bit lighter in colours than all the other TVs. But it also looked a bit sharper (maybe because it's lighter?) Basically, the target (red) logo looked a orange. It wasn't bad though. I wonder why it was the only TV that did that, especially when it had the highest contrast ratio?[/QUOTE]
i thought the same when i was researching this before the Black Friday sale. the tv model itself has its own owner's forum at www.avsforum.com. i found a lot of answers here and some reasoning behind the soft picture is that the tv is still stuck in showroom mode and is also sharing signal from the other electronics in the department. according to the forums, the lcd panels are manufactured both by LG and Sharp and are reflected in the console serial numbers. for the price it is a great tv and i've thoroughly enjoyed gaming on it. send me a message if you have any more questions and i can see what i can dig up for you
 
Okay, thanks Chuck. :)

[quote name='WeLoveDaisuke']Edit: You really don't have to worry about delay with the Wii.[/quote]

Why is that? I just figured HDTV lag applies to all consoles.
 
[quote name='jmerveille']Things I want:

I'm thinking 32", but I can bend a little.

Widescreen

Absolutely no delay on video games (Super Smash Bros Brawl!)

Something I can watch anime on perfectly (no bad picture, able to get out of widescreen--because a lot of anime isn't widescreen).

Around or under $500

Can anybody offer some advice or help on this, things I should look for, recommendations on TVs, and any deals if you know any?[/quote]

if you have Fry's near by, they're the cheapest in-store. i've seen a great samsung 720p 32" LCD for $599 there. kills anything else as far as picture quality.
 
ive heard alot of good things from vizio, and if youre willing to go the way of refubished, you can get some good deals on refurbdepot.com

i have a samsung in my house and absolutely love it, although it wouldnt be in your price range as usually samsungs are really expensive.
 
[quote name='nodbot']CostCo has a Digital Research 32" LCD for $499.99 after a $100 rebate. They also extend the manufacturers warranty 2 years. Worth a look.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11236930&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US

Nodbot


[/quote]

I'm jumping on this one tonight, hoping the 32" vizio will drop in price sometime soon or something, but the digital research I've heard isn't too bad for the price, just sound kinda sucks, same stats more or less of the Vizio, which is actually not bad quality.
 
Well, I missed the Olevia deal because of a few complications.

Any new deals come up?

I'm considering getting a 1 year-used but like-new VX37L Vizio 37" from someone locally for $600.
 
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