Can u tell me a good TV to buy??

leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
edited January 2004 in Internet & Media
My dad wants to buy a big screen tv, and i don't know much about those TV

what are some good TVs 40in and up.

I heard that those projection TVs u need to refill teh tube after couple years of use is it ture?? does it apply to all projection TVs or just some??
and what are some other stuff i need to know about TV??

Comments

  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    my dad has the sony 52'' HD tv LOVE IT!
  • ketoketo Occupied. Or is it preoccupied? Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    We bought a 46" Sony Projection HDTV capable (tho we so far haven't used this capability) 1 yr ago and like it lots. I learned a couple of things while shopping. Proj TV's are still subject to image burn in, if you look at a demo unit in the store that's been running widescreen a lot you can often see lighter banding across the top and bottom of the TV - so DONT buy a floor model/demo/used projection TV. I don't know anything about "refill the tube". Basically, look at a lot of TV's and if possible play with the settings (contrast, sharpness, colours, etc) in store to find something that fits your eye(s). Beyond that, I'm sure others will chime in with suggestions on brand names etc.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited January 2004
    Sony. Doesn't matter what size you're looking for; Sony TVs are the best on the market, period.
  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    i looked at a sony, it's the KP-51WS510, how is that one?? let's say for like 1700 dollars.
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    yea 51" thats the one! great tv! the high def is awesome!
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited January 2004
    Sony is a well known name. It is also high priced for what you get. Samsung is really making a push into the marketplace and is aggressive for pricing. Sony seems to make a TV that appears to be better in daylight while JVC/Hitachi appear better in darker rooms.

    Be careful with the HI DEF trap. Remember that any TV that is fed a crap signal will look...well...like crap. So a HI DEF capable TV off regular cable won't be terrifically better than a regular CRT.

    If your Dad likes watching DVD movies a lot and in widescreen format then please consider a 16:9 TV. CRT or Plasma. 16:9 is so much better in this application. A 16:9 TV still produces a pretty big picture...projection TV's are just so damn big.

    A CRT or Plasma TV will always produce a brighter, crisper, sharper picture than a projection TV though projection TVs are pretty good these days.

    If your Dad has satellite TV then by all means...get a HI DEF capable TV. Shaw "Digital" is a load of horse hockey. Regular cable does not have the bandwidth to support HI DEF signals. They are pulling the wool over your eyes by pushing the definition of what is considered a "digital signal".

    If I had money to burn I'd get the best 16:9 Plasma TV I could buy...but we don't have money to burn. My next TV will be 16:9 and what I'll look for in it is a good picture to my eye in day or night conditions...mostly night as that's when I watch TV...in a darker room. I'll look for component video in, SVIDEO in (to support that computer feed...:) ) It must support 720p and 1080i hi def signals or have an option to hook up and external tuner/decoder in case they change the format on me from 720P to 1080i or vice versa. No point getting a 720P TV and then feeding it with a 1080i signal.

    Sound? Don't give a rats patooties about how it sounds since I hook it up to a surround speaker system anyway.

    The Picture in picture and all that...don't care. I would care about the setup menu and how well I could fiddle with the picture color, contrast, individual settings over the RGB settings...etc.

    But as far as the best brand to buy...it all depends. Make a list of what you want from it and go shopping...then search sites to find reader reviews and comments.

    :)
  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Big TV's are good, but I don't think the LCD projection ones are all that great. I'm currently laid off from working at the Sony Technology Center in New Stanton, PA, where I spent 3 months as an LCD line tech. That means that whenever a tv came down the assembly line and ended up having flaws (dirt in the screen, smudges or flaws in the mirror, or a bad optical block), it came to me to be fixed. Other electronic problems were handled by other people.

    I worked on the 42, 50, and 60 inch WE610's, and the 60 and 70 inch XBR950's.

    I was sometimes bothered by what Sony said were acceptable limits of flaws, which may be a few pixels showing color on the black screen, small marks in the screen, and things like that. I felt that if someone were spending $3K to $7K on a TV, it should be damn near perfect.

    And on many occasions, I saw the supervisors "fixing" a scratch or mark in the body / case of the TV with a cardboard mask and cans of spray paint that came from the body / case manufacturer.

    But as far as picture quality goes, everyone claimed the LCD tv's kicked ass. But I didn't see the big deal. If you are not looking STRAIGHT at the screen, the image loses quality. Like looking at a laptop computer screen while sitting off to one side.
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited January 2004
    Good insight Tim. :)

    I'm sure its not indicative of all of Sony's product but good insight into the factory floor.
  • FormFactorFormFactor At the core of forgotten
    edited January 2004
    leishi85 wrote:
    i looked at a sony, it's the KP-51WS510, how is that one?? let's say for like 1700 dollars.


    I have one of these and just LOVE it!! :leet:

    The high definition is so clear (I havn't actually seen an HDTV signal on it yet, but I have a PC hooked up to its DVI port and OMFG it is truly amazing!!!)


    Make sure you get one with plenty of component inputs, and at least 1 DVI port.

    it WILL burn in. Mine did. I have a FX burnt into the corner of my screen from my girlfriend watching buffy the big screen slayer. and burn in is not covered under ANY type of warrentee. That totally suxors.

    Video games (especially PC) look the best. And thats mainly what I use mine for.
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited January 2004
    I'd steer away from any projection TVs, personally.

    They're big and cheap, but the picture looks muddy to plasma/CRT/LCD screen TVs.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited January 2004
    Also stay away from plasma. Why? You'll see in 10 years or so if you're foolish enough to buy one.
  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    i don't like the LCD/Plasma tvs, i looked at CRTs but the biggest i have seen is 36" i think, is there any bigger ones out there??
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited January 2004
    36" is the physical limit of CRTs (or so I've heard). Besides, much bigger and they'd weigh too much to move.
  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    i see
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited January 2004
    I went and took a look in Futureshop last night. Futureshop is similar to BestBuy. There were some nice big screen tvs. The plasma TV's are to drool over but rumor has it that plasma has a relatively short life in comparison...5 years. They are for those with too much money to spend.

    The projections screen TVs are certainly better than they were 5 years ago. Pictures is nice and sharp from across the room. It isn't until you get up close and personal that you start to see the breakdown. (blotchiness).

    The problem with projection screen systems these days is that the cabinet the TV sits on and the tv screen are all in one. They are just BIG and occupy a lot of space.

    CRT (traditional picture tube) TVs are probably a bit deeper when comparing same screen sizes but they don't have the bulky base unit. Traditional CRT monitors are a bit cheaper too.

    Personally....unless I had a room desgined for one of those big projection screen tvs where it fits into a wall cabinet or something like that...doubt I'd get one.

    Again...if I had oodles of money to spend and didn't care about spending another 5k in 3-5 years...plasma. Otherwise I'd go traditional CRT.

    Lots to think about and I hope some of what people posted helps.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited January 2004
    Thought about a good DLP projector?
  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    a projector ah?? but i don't think we have room in the living room for the projector, no enough wall space.
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited January 2004
    Come to think of it, an LCD projector would be PERFECT.

    I have a friend with one, and the picture looks beautiful, not to mention the projected image is the size of the wall...
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited January 2004
    leishi85 wrote:
    a projector ah?? but i don't think we have room in the living room for the projector, no enough wall space.



    Thats what my dad and I thought, till we realized we diddnt need the TV where it is now, and the wallspace around + behind it would be plenty for a humongo picture.
  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    but where we are going to put the TV(or a projectot if it's allowed), it's in a corner.

    so we are going to have to get the screen drop down thingy in the corner then??
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