Another "Need HDTV Advice" Thread

[E61Silver]

I think most brands are good, maybe you should break it down between Plasma or LCD.

Plasma is generally cheaper.

[Ishniknork]

In my opinion you can't beat a Panasonic plasma. Here's a 54" G10 series for $1622.18:

PANASONIC TC-P54G10 54" VIERA G10 Series Black Plasma Flat Panel HDTV

The S1 series is even less. Both have a 600Hz sub-field drive. The G10 does have a LAN port and Viera Cast, the S1 does not I believe.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by bmwman3241

I just purchased a couple Samsung Series 8 55" LED TV's for my house 3 weeks ago, and I have to say I am very impressed with them. It is the best (or one of the best) HDTV's available. The series 8 LED's cost me about 4.5k, but you could find a series 6 LED for under $2,000.
IMO, I wasn't to impressed with the Series 6. I needed one lower end HDTV and went with a 55" Panasonic over the Series 6 although they were the same price. The Series 7 and 8 are on a different level tho.

In your sisters case, If I was to buy an HDTV for under $2K, I would put in another $200 and go for the new Vizio 55" LED. It costs $2,199 but is supposed to be amazing. I have yet to see it in person, but maybe one of the other members have seen it (Possibly at Costco) and give more info.
VIZIO VF551XVT 55" LCD TruLED | VIZIO

If it must be under $2,000, maybe a Vizio 55" LCD or Sony 52" LCD.

I love my Vizio's, and you can't really beat the prices. Got an older one(4yrs w/o a problem) in the bedroom and a new LED in the living room.

[bmwman3241]

Originally Posted by m5james

I love my Vizio's, and you can't really beat the prices. Got an older one(4yrs w/o a problem) in the bedroom and a new LED in the living room.

I am using a Vizio 32" at my ofice for my windows PC alongside a iMac and it is very nice. I am also using a 42" for my surveillance screen and I like that too. I considered the Vizio 55" LED when I purchased my Samsung, but they don't sell Vizio in Dubai. I might get it for my house in LA tho.
Which LED do you have? How are you liking it so far?

[m5james]

How are you hooking up your Vizio to your PC's? I'm doing the same for watching movies via my laptop using an S-Video cord, but the picture quality isn't what I had expected at all. I was hoping for something super crisp, but the resolution si like watching it on a huge tube television.

[Michelle]

Thoughts on this one?

Sam's Club - 50" Panasonic VIERA Plasma 1080p HDTV

[m5james]

I did a LOT of reading on Yahoo in regards to choosing the right TV for the room based on lighting, spacing of the room, etc. I can't remember how it all broke down, but something along the lines of 720 vs 1080 and if you're more than like 10-15 ft from the TV that you'll never notice the differences, plasma vs LCD vs LED and eachs pro and con, yada yada yada. When it all comes down to it, for me it was best to just go down there w/ a DVD of my choice, take over the floor for like 30 min and just watch each one and see which I liked best within my price range.

The Vizio's are literally a tide me over until I can make an actual movie room, so I didn't beat myself up too much w/ my choices. I remember shopping for multimedia monitors in my M5, and until you see them all side by side, you never really get a good feel for it based on specs...kind of like driving a car on paper vs. sitting in the actual seat. For me, the biggest thing was warranty (Costco comes in handy here), the brightness ( for some reason i'm always watching my movies on WMP w/ the brightness a little bumped past the middle) and lack of glare.

[motordavid]

Mich, pretty good price on that plasma from Sam's, and plasma prices are dropping
like a rock, due to phase out by many manufacturers. The problem imo, is none of us
can see "that" TV, and all the rec'd brands/models here are all held in some level of regard
by each of the owners...

$2Gs or way less, is easily doable by your sis, imo.

As for 1080 vs 720, unless they are visually challenged or only watch low def TV, get 1080:
it is night and day over 720 in any reasonably large size, imo.
GL,mD

[Ishniknork]

Originally Posted by Michelle

Thoughts on this one?

Sam's Club - 50" Panasonic VIERA Plasma 1080p HDTV

Michelle:

First of all, I think they got the model number wrong. It should be a TC-P50S14. And......

...Notice the '4' at the end of TC-P50S14. That is not the exact same model as the TC-P50S1. Those models at Costco, Sam's, Mal-Wart and other such places are manufactured specifically for them and generally are not quite the same as found elswhere. TV manufacturers have to cut corners to provide those places with a similar product they can afford to let go of at a reduced cost. I really recommend going to a reputable electronics website such as abesofmaine.com, buydig.com, etc.

The HDGuru.com website I'm about to post a link to in a reply to MD has many links to the lowest price online retailers.

EDIT: Here's a TC-P50G10 I found there. It's a better TV for not much more money than the fake S1 you found a Sam's. It has a LAN port for hooking up to the internet/computer to use Viera Cast. Better contrast ratio, THX certified, well, take a look for yourself...

TC-P50G10 - All VIERA® Flat-Panel HDTVs - Shop and Compare at Panasonic

If $2K is their top limit, here's a 58" S1 that includes a Panasonic Blu-ray player in the price. (the one for $1881.67) The S1 series does not have a LAN port but is a good TV. The Panasonic Blu-ray players are top notch as well.

TC-P58S1 Plasma & LCD Televisions - Hdguru.com tells you everything you need to know about HDTV displays, high definition content, high def disc players, high definition reception and reviews on high definition products, blu-ray and

[Ishniknork]

Originally Posted by motordavid

Mich, pretty good price on that plasma from Sam's, and plasma prices are dropping
like a rock, due to phase out by many manufacturers. The problem imo, is none of us
can see "that" TV, and all the rec'd brands/models here are all held in some level of regard
by each of the owners...

$2Gs or way less, is easily doable by your sis, imo.

As for 1080 vs 720, unless they are visually challenged or only watch low def TV, get 1080:
it is night and day over 720 in any reasonably large size, imo.
GL,mD

Pardon me MD, but plasma's are by no means on their way out. Many sales people would like you to believe such silly things because they'd rather sell you a more expensive LCD than a plasma. This link is a very interesting read about the future of plasma televisions straight from the horses mouth (the manufacturers themselves).

http://hdguru.com/is-plasma-dead-sam...lg-answer/422/

Everybody:

Check out the news on his site about the new Panny 103" 4K resolution plasma:

HDGURU.Com CEATEC 2009 Part II-More Photos