BEST TV to compliment Blu-Ray?

[ReduxInflux]

i have a 42" Sony WEGA LCD that displays in 1080i but now that i have a ps3, its just not cutting it. I mean...its nice and all...but i want the best output possible. can anyone recommend a tv to me that will really show the beauty of the blu-ray? (under $2000) and i'm not sure about plasmas because of durability issues...id like to stick to LCD. but i admit, i dont know much about anything. maybe plasma is the way to go? help! thanks

brian

[Matt X]

I have a similar TV....I'm holding out for a projector or the new Laser TVs that may come out ~ next yr. I would say look for something that supports 1080p, HDMI 1.3, and Deep Color (that last one might be awhile though before widespead implementation). I believe that Epson (any others?) has a 1080p projector (anyone know if it's HDMI 1.3?) that is getting close to your price point.

[babyBlu]

I have a 40 in Samsung and I love it. I see them on sale for under 2k quite often. As I posted in another thread, from watching BD's on my PS3, to watching sports, to playing PS3 games, I have no complaints, great picture. You may also want to check out the Sharp Aquos, they are in the same price range as the Samsung, a little cheaper actually for a 42 in. Of course if you want a little more TV for your buck, there are the 'cheaper' brands, i.e. Visio and Westinghouse. I have no knowledge or experience with these, but they are worth a look at, at least.

[Glow007]

I would say go with the SXRD all the way, Sears in my town has it on sale right now in 50" for 1800 but Ive seen them cheaper online with free shipping and no tax (however I prefer to purchase in store because if any problems its way easier to return or swap). I will say though that they had the new Samsung DLP 56" I believe and the picture was far more brillant, it was 2300 though. Sony or Samsung in my opinion are by far the top two for picture and overall quality

[jubaiweaponx]

Originally Posted by Matt X

I have a similar TV....I'm holding out for a projector or the new Laser TVs that may come out ~ next yr. I would say look for something that supports 1080p, HDMI 1.3, and Deep Color (that last one might be awhile though before widespead implementation). I believe that Epson (any others?) has a 1080p projector (anyone know if it's HDMI 1.3?) that is getting close to your price point.

it is on epson.com with a rebate to 2699.99 has hdmi 1.3 and supports deep color and has 12000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and will span up to 120 inch screen

[binarymelon]

I currently have the Westinghouse LVM-42w2. I have been very impressed with the picture. The cable guy who hooked up my hi-def box said he had never seen a Westinghouse before, but was surprised at how good it looked. I don't really have any side by side comparisons but from looking at some other 1080p LCD televisions (Sony and Sharp) running the same films, it looks to have as good a picture if not better.

Feature-wise it's a little lacking. Very little in the way of settings or a menu. Also a very poor remote, but considering it's a monitor and not a tv (not tuner cards), you're likely to be using another remote (satellite or cable box) anyway. The only complaint I have about the inputs is that there is only 1 HDMI port. There are plenty of high-def capable inputs: 1 HDMI, 2 DVI, 2YPbPr, 1 VGA. All the ports are accessible from the sides which is nice because it makes them fairly accessible from the front.

[Gremal]

I would get one of the new Pioneer Kuro plasmas coming this summer. The cheaper models will be introduced in a month and the Elite models come this september. All of them supposedly kick ass over anything else currently available and are supposed to revolutionize several areas previously problematic in plasmas, including black level, contrast ratio and power consumption.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pr...uro/index.html

Frankly, if you get even a top of the line plasma now--and there are definitely great deals available--it will be obsolete in 28 days. Reviewers who have seen the kuro prototypes have been blown away. They say the improvements are pretty dramatic even compared to each of the improvements to come along in previous generations of plasma development.

[divedeeper]

Go with LCD instead of Plasma. Yes the plasma are much better today then they have been in the past, but if you have ANY lights in your room, you will see a glare on the Plasma screen, as they are very very shiny. LCD look fantastic.

Make sure its a 1080p. Don't skimp on this one.
Make sure it has at least 2 HDMI inputs.
Make sure its diagonal size is what you want for your room.. Bigger is not always better if your 5 feet from your TV and you have a 60" TV.

Brand wise.. if its 1080p, just make sure you buy a "recognized" brand.

I suggest in order of my percieved quality:

Sony
LG
Toshiba
Sharp
Samsung

The Sony TV's tend ot have a faster millisecond processors, but its probably nothing the human eye can detect. The Toshiba's look awsome for the money, they have probably the best bang for the buck right now. LG has a great quality, but they are kinda new to the TV making scene. Their best feature imho is a very very wide viewing angle, which is just as good if not better then Sony.

However, as long as its a 1080p HD and a good brand.. honestly, you can't go wrong with most of the TV's. So, price might be a factor.

[Branden]

Originally Posted by ReduxInflux

i have a 42" Sony WEGA LCD that displays in 1080i but now that i have a ps3, its just not cutting it. I mean...its nice and all...but i want the best output possible. can anyone recommend a tv to me that will really show the beauty of the blu-ray? (under $2000) and i'm not sure about plasmas because of durability issues...id like to stick to LCD. but i admit, i dont know much about anything. maybe plasma is the way to go? help! thanks

brian

i think you'd have a hard time finding a 1080p TV for under $2k, if you do you'd likely be making a sacrifice in response time, contrast ratio, and other options like number of inputs. the best i can find in my area for under $2k is 720p/1080i 45" LCD's. expect to spend at least $2300 for 1080p.
personally i have a sony SXRD KDS55A2000 i got on sale for $2100 (last years model) and am very pleased with it. 55', 1080p, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 2.5ms response time, these specs would normally cost you your first born child.
i would suggest save up a little longer and spend a little more.

[aaronwt]

Originally Posted by Branden

i think you'd have a hard time finding a 1080p TV for under $2k, if you do you'd likely be making a sacrifice in response time, contrast ratio, and other options like number of inputs. the best i can find in my area for under $2k is 720p/1080i 45" LCD's. expect to spend at least $2300 for 1080p.
personally i have a sony SXRD KDS55A2000 i got on sale for $2100 (last years model) and am very pleased with it. 55', 1080p, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 2.5ms response time, these specs would normally cost you your first born child.
i would suggest save up a little longer and spend a little more.

I just ordered a 65" 1080P Toshiba DLP set for $1700 total from Circuit city. That is less than half what I paid for my current 61" 1080P DLP Samsung 2 years ago.

[jedisinclair]

I gotta say, I didn't want to spend a lot right now (wanted to get an HDTV right away without spending too much) and I got the 37" Westinghouse LCD TV and I love it. When properly set up, I honestly don't see much of a picture difference between it and the KDLV4250 by Sony (I think that's the model). Anyway, point is, the Westy is quite impressive for less money. It's currently 1100 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-L...1834175&sr=8-1

Go there and read the reviews from owners of this TV... you might be surprised.

[Branden]

Originally Posted by aaronwt

I just ordered a 65" 1080P Toshiba DLP set for $1700 total from Circuit city. That is less than half what I paid for my current 61" 1080P DLP Samsung 2 years ago.

i didn't mean to imply its impossible to find 1080p for under 2k, simply meant in my area a new brand-name quality HDTV isn't cheap. bottom line is you get what you pay for.
a 65" 1080p for 1700 is a great deal! what are the specs on it?

[ReduxInflux]

for your input. what do you think about these factors regarding the tv market?

a) companies like vizio who continue to compete with the high-end manufacturers like sony will - in the long run - continue to drive prices down in the 'spirit' of competition.

b) new technology arriving (laser, sed) to the tv product line that can outperform plasma/lcd, etc...again - driving pricing down but also offering better alternatives....

c) imperfect technology that can only get better but has us settling with 1) poor banding (ive been hearing about this a lot about a wide variety of high end tvs) 2) high maintenance *replacing lightbulbs, worrying about burned in areas or dead cells, pixels, etc... while the kinks get worked out...leading me to...

d) with blu-ray (and regretably hd dvd) steadily making their way into the mainstream and cable co's being forced by law to broadcast in hd by 2009, tv technology will only get better quicker, not to mention more competitive as time trudges on. who knows whats in store for us before the dawn of the new decade?

a few grand is not something to be wasted. its an investment. do i wait or do i buy now? that is the question. will the marriage of patience and reason last or will perceived 'need' and impulse give in?

[jermwhl]

Originally Posted by ReduxInflux

for your input. what do you think about these factors regarding the tv market?

a) companies like vizio who continue to compete with the hi-end manufacturers like sony will - in the long run - continue to drive prices down in the 'spirit' of competition.

Absolutley! Nothing wrong with a little heatlhy competition IMO.

Originally Posted by ReduxInflux

b) new technology arriving (laser, sed) to the tv product line that can outperform plasma/lcd, etc...again - driving pricing down but also offering better alternatives....

Nothing wrong with better technologies. However, I hope it doesn't get too much better...I don't want to upgrade my TV too soon!

Originally Posted by ReduxInflux

c) imperfect technology that can only get better but has us settling with 1) poor banding (ive been hearing about this a lot about a wide variety of high end tvs) 2) high maintenance *replacing lightbulbs, worrying about burned in areas or dead cells, pixels, etc... while the kinks get worked out...leading me to...

1) you get what you pay for. I have had no problems w/banding, etc.
2)plasma&lcd no bulbs to replace, dead pixels...hopefully not too many..no problems thus far!

Originally Posted by ReduxInflux

d) with blu-ray (and regretably hd dvd) steadily making their way into the mainstream and cable co's being forced by law to broadcast in hd by 2009, tv technology will only get better quicker, not to mention more competitive as time trudges on. who knows whats in store for us before the dawn of the new decade?

Only can lead to good things!

Originally Posted by ReduxInflux

a few grand is not something to be wasted. its an investment. do i wait or do i buy now? that is the question. will the marriage of patience and reason last or will perceived 'need' and impulse give in?

You could drive yourself insane on this final question! I debated and debated, and finally settled on my current TV. Low and behold Pioneer announced 1080P plasmas for the same price I bought mine for being released in september! Oh well. There will ALWAYS be something just a little better coming out, no matter how long you wait. Just do some good research, be confident in your decision and enjoy your purchase. IMO!!!

[zombieking]

Originally Posted by ReduxInflux

i have a 42" Sony WEGA LCD that displays in 1080i but now that i have a ps3, its just not cutting it. I mean...its nice and all...but i want the best output possible. can anyone recommend a tv to me that will really show the beauty of the blu-ray? (under $2000) and i'm not sure about plasmas because of durability issues...id like to stick to LCD. but i admit, i dont know much about anything. maybe plasma is the way to go? help! thanks

brian

Pic quality IMO is negligible between 1080i/1080p. just go out and look at different sets running at 1080p and ask yourself how much better it really is in order to justify the upgrade. because I literally saved thousands when I chose the Pioneer pdp5070 over the 1080p Elite pro. I really couldn't see a difference. And Plasma technology has come a long way in the last few years. there are no durability issues.

[HMtheJJ]

just take a look at SONY Bravia KDL70XBR3, it's in a league of its own, regardless comparing to plasma or SED, if u dont have a budget, SONY high end LCD is the only way!!!! especially if u have a PS3 for gaming, the sharpness a Plasma can't touch it!!!!!!!!!!

so, SONY high end LCD, KDL-XBR serise! any size, but preferbalely, 52 or 70 inch!

[Blu Tiger]

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