[~C~]

Agree with XTC. Price depending on what you want to spend.

I have a TV very close to the one you are looking at. Got it at Amazon for $1k less than Best Buy not including taxes and the rest of the stuff. Shipping was free. The tv is awesome. I wouldnt go with anything different. I would completely go with the samsung.....not to mention that 3% of all the TVs sold (LCD Samsung) needed to be repaired or broke some how, and 100% of those that broke were in the first year under the manufacturers warranty. The tv is simply perfect.

[03SonicBoom]

Originally Posted by gooberhead320 What you want to get is a tv with 120hz. it's the fastest refresh rate out there right now. in about a year they are going to be coming out with 240hz. What that is, is how fast the screen refreshes. with 120hz you will see more leg and less blur when watching a football game. most of the tv's that are out are 60hz, the new models are being put into stores now. At my work we have 3 tv's with the 120hz (Sony, Samsung, Vizio)

This is what I was going to recommend as well. You do pay a good bit more for the 120Hz (120Hz is only the fastest for LCD, Plasmas have higher) and some people can't see the difference. Go to Best Buy/Circuit City/etc. and do a side by sidee comparison of a standard 60Hz TV to the 120Hz TV. Then determine if it's worth the extra money. I just decided on a new TV and it had to have the 120Hz refresh. Also keep in mind the contrast ratio and response time, especially if your a big gamer.

[sgrcltpunk]

samsungs are great lg is good same with sony

[Breakout]

I was in the home entertainment business for 4 years before I changed. I did everything from selling, to installs, to facilitating warranty issues. I've pretty much done it all. Enough with my credentials (which may or may not mean anything to you...I just wanted you to know I have an educated and unbiased opinion).

For quality in a tv set, choose Sony, Samsung, Hitachi, Pioneer. Not in any particular order. A lot of people like Vizio. They are doing great things for the TV industry, especially bringing down price. However, reading Consumer Reports they go into service more then other sets. Now I'm not saying that every one is going to break. Very few do. What I am saying of the tv's that do break, more tends to be Vizio, Olevia, most of your cheaper tv's. They use cheaper parts and that is why they fail more.

For picture, it depends on what you are looking for. Sony Bravia's have a very good digital processor that upconvert standard SD images to a very close digital. That's what the Bravia is for. Sony's also use a 10 bit screen, where as most others use a 8 bit screen. Most manufacturers will use higher processors, but it does no good when you're using an 8 bit screen. What does this mean to you? Better color. Sony's hand down will have better color then any tv on the market. Now as far as contrast is concerned, Samsung has this area covered. Contrast is the tv's grayscale. More so, how the tv can reproduce blacks and whites. The better the contrast, the deeper the blacks and the whiter the whites. There is a downside. TV's with the most contrast don't always effectively reproduce accurate detail in shading. What I am saying is some tv's that have great contrast you will not be able to see any detail in dark areas. Look for this. You hear all this talk about refresh rates. 120 htz is seemingly going to be standard here shortly, which is a good thing. This is how fast the tv can refresh images. Don't get this confused with response time. Pretty much with 120 htz when you see cameras pan, and fast motion, it won't "studder". It will be smooth. I don't see any real issues with response times. Anything less then 10 ms is a go. Most humans cannot tell a difference below 10 ms because our eyes cannot do any faster. So you may see 5 ms, which is great, that manufacturer is exceeding "expectations" so to speak.

On to cables. Ah yes, very disputed subject. Will expensive ones outperform cheap ones? Will I be able to see/hear a difference? There are many opinions. Fact is, a lot goes into the make of a good cable. Yes, they are marked up 50%-75%. But home entertainment is a business, and without profit companies wouldn't be in business. That said, I will enlighten you on this subject. Expensive cables such as monster will outperform cheap ones. Obviously. It's hard to carry a 75 ohm impedence through a short cable...let alone a long one. Over 6 feet, monster is the only cable that can reproduce all colors in the color spectrum, others failed. Good cables are tested. If they don't pass, they don't make it to your living room. Monster has huge containers of failed cables. One reason why they are so expensive. Another thing. Warranty. Most people don't know more expensive cables are warranted for life. That's pretty cool in my book. Not very likely it will fail, but if it does, you're covered. Just don't take a razor blade to it. So to sum that up, expensive cables will look/sound better. Is there a difference? Yes, but it's not going to be a day and night difference. However, it will be noticeable. Especially with audio. Is it worth it? That's up to you to decide. Ask to see a demo of a good cable and a bad one. if they don't have it, don't buy there. This is so you can decide if the more expensive cable(s) is/are worth it. I know it may seem I'm very biased to Monster. I am not. Other manufacturers like Belkin's higher end ones are very good. It's just other companies don't give a good background on their porduct like Monster.

This sums up my tv input. You didn't mention anything about audio. If you want my advice on that, let me know.

[texas_mustang]

i used to sell TVs at circuit city, and what i can tell you, from personal experience, is stick with the 3 "s"s

Samsung, Sony, Sharp

Also, make sure, if your gonna drop a lot of money, to get one with 120Hz refresh rate. all the TVs are going that direction and if you didnt get one now youd regret it. it makes movies look soooo much better because it refreshes the frame at the same speed our eyes detect real motion, so the image appears real.

Also, i know your going to be against it, but buy a warranty. LCDs are guarentted to have a pixel go out. my parents bought a sony XBR4 and with in a week, i had a stuck pixel in the top right of the screen. luckily i convinced them to purchase the warranty. Plus, if you do get the warranty try and negotiate. Your not supposed to know, but you can get some sick deals if you buy the warranty.

Also, get a good surge protector, and a good HDMI cable. With out a good HDMI cable, your TV will look like chitty chicken. get the monster cable with 120Hz support. its like $120 but worth it.

And dont buy screen cleaner. its a waste of money. its just distilled water.

[Luis_GT]

I have 2 Vizio LCD's and they are really nice.

[06RedfireGT]

[e3sean]

pioneer makes the best and sexyiest tv IMO there are alot of great tv's on the market but always remember you get what you pay for.

[03SonicBoom]

Originally Posted by breakout831 On to cables. Ah yes, very disputed subject. Will expensive ones outperform cheap ones? Will I be able to see/hear a difference? There are many opinions. Fact is, a lot goes into the make of a good cable. Yes, they are marked up 50%-75%. But home entertainment is a business, and without profit companies wouldn't be in business. That said, I will enlighten you on this subject. Expensive cables such as monster will outperform cheap ones. Obviously. It's hard to carry a 75 ohm impedence through a short cable...let alone a long one. Over 6 feet, monster is the only cable that can reproduce all colors in the color spectrum, others failed. Good cables are tested. If they don't pass, they don't make it to your living room. Monster has huge containers of failed cables. One reason why they are so expensive. Another thing. Warranty. Most people don't know more expensive cables are warranted for life. That's pretty cool in my book. Not very likely it will fail, but if it does, you're covered. Just don't take a razor blade to it. So to sum that up, expensive cables will look/sound better. Is there a difference? Yes, but it's not going to be a day and night difference. However, it will be noticeable. Especially with audio. Is it worth it? That's up to you to decide. Ask to see a demo of a good cable and a bad one. if they don't have it, don't buy there. This is so you can decide if the more expensive cable(s) is/are worth it. I know it may seem I'm very biased to Monster. I am not. Other manufacturers like Belkin's higher end ones are very good. It's just other companies don't give a good background on their porduct like Monster.

I agree w/ your summary on everything except the cables. I had a sales rep tell me the same thing and swear cables made a difference. Since he was so sure I took the expensive cables and cheap cables (6' of cable) and hooked them to 2 identical TVs. I then told him to tell me which was the expensive cables. I then changed them and did the experiement again. He chose correctly about 50% of the time.

This made my decision easy. If someone who swears they make a differance can't tell a differance in the picture from the cheap ones, they aren't worth it. The only time I've seen a need for the high end cables is when you get to longer runs. But everything in my house is less than a 5' run, so I had no need.

If you want to know the differance in expensive vs cheap cables (at a given length), look at them side by side. If they do make a differance the sales rep shouldn't have a problem showing you.

[Breakout]

^I said for him to do a side by side comparison. I neglected to say that it won't make a difference on analog signals. The real difference is between the cables themselves. Like on DVD players, most of them are upconverters. They come with composite cables (red, white, yellow). Can't do better on those if you have an analog tv. If you have digital (non hd), component (red, green, blue -all video) will be the best way to go. HDMI will give you best picture on upconverters AND blu ray players. You will see a difference in that aspect. Sorry for not clarifying.

Same thing with HD boxes (cable, satellite). You will see a difference between component and HDMI. But getting a decent $30 HDMI cable and looking for a difference in a $120 HDMI cable will be so minimal, it wouldn't be worth it really.

[96Snaker]

If you have the money, I'd go with Sony all the way. 1080p.
I didn't and as such I have two Toshiba 1080p LCDtv's that are both 1 year old and they kick ass. And they were $500 (each) less than the Sony equivalent, and look just as good (picture quality-wise).

[40thmustanggt]

i have a 42in toshiba regza 1080p and i love it mine is alot clearer then my girls moms tv and she has a 46in sony bravia 1080p

[N29468]

I dont think it really matters about what brand, it depends more on the refresh rate and dynamic contrast and all the tech stuff. Mine is a Sharp Aquos its a 46", 120 Hz, 27,000 to 1 contrast ratio, 1080P, and 4ms response time. I know 2 people with Sony and mine looks so much clearer. And the coolest thing i like about the tv is their is a 176 degree viewing angle so you can basicailly be on the side of the tv and it still looks clear.

[06RedfireGT]

Originally Posted by breakout831 ^I said for him to do a side by side comparison. I neglected to say that it won't make a difference on analog signals. The real difference is between the cables themselves. Like on DVD players, most of them are upconverters. They come with composite cables (red, white, yellow). Can't do better on those if you have an analog tv. If you have digital (non hd), component (red, green, blue -all video) will be the best way to go. HDMI will give you best picture on upconverters AND blu ray players. You will see a difference in that aspect. Sorry for not clarifying. Same thing with HD boxes (cable, satellite). You will see a difference between component and HDMI. But getting a decent $30 HDMI cable and looking for a difference in a $120 HDMI cable will be so minimal, it wouldn't be worth it really.

Pshhh...$30 HDMI cables.

Amazon.com: HDMI 6FT / 2M Super High Resolution Male to Male Cable by Eforcity: Electronics

[texas_mustang]

its real simple get a tv that has

1080P
Contrast ratio higher of 5,000:1 (this is where the picture will really be defined. the higher the ratio, the more vibrant and crisp the colors)

then, if you can, get one with 120hz tech. So far i think only sony, samsung, and mitsubishi have it, but it makes all the difference




and cables are a huge deal. if you dont get a good cable, you might as well get a shitty TV