OT.... my TV just died... anyone know about new models if I decide to replace it??

[SharkmanBMW]

Any info is appreciated, something nice and big!

[winfred]

are we talking about big as in 15' drop down screen and runco projector or something more cost effective in the 4'-6' rear projector range, at the moment id stay away from the high tech wall hanger type thin stuff from not only a price stand point, but a picture quality point as well, some of it has a awsome resolution but the refresh rates blow chunks, which means as long as stuff aint moving fast it looks good but gets very pixelated during action shots, for the next few years they get em up to speed and the price comes down id recomend a rear projector if you want anything bigger then's made in a crt, mitsubishe has some nice stuff at decent deals usually, usually at the big stores they have some asswipe school kid that don't know dick about setting up a good picture so you are kinda on your own finding a good looking set, i usually shoo the goobers away and play with the remote and un**** the settings and then check out the quality when i am looking "how many times must i tell you i don't want the god damn extended warranty" i had to resist punching the tool at best buy when i got my yamaha dts receiver, (does the store buy them pussy when they sell the extended warranty?) if theres a best buy in your area they usually have a "open box special" for a good deal


Any info is appreciated, something nice and big!

[Martin in Bellevue]

Damn that extended warranty bullcrap; don't bring the wife when buying anything. I am very happy with the sony grand wega. It is a backlit, 3 seperate lcd panel display. It does demnad a decent sized room; it overpowers our den. It should be in the basement, but not gonna.

http://image1.cc-inc.com/prod/502000/502014_lg.jpg

Of course, the price is half what I got, about a year ago.

http://www.macmall.com/macmall/shop/detail.asp?dpno=502014&store=macmall&source=mwbfroogle&adcampaign=email,mwbfroogle

[dave b]

The Sony Wegas have always served me well. I have a 24" in my den now and it's nice. Not too big to be overpowering

[ScottyWM]

Just got Sony Wega HD 34" widescreen with the surround sound. They're doing a pretty good rebate on them until end of september. Beautiful picture and sound. A bit difficult to setup and program with so many menu driven options. Would be happier with knobs and buttons, but I guess it is the 21st century after all.

Was worried it'd be too big for the family room but it's just right.

[Dick Schneiders]

They have many advantages over CRT sets and are much better in just about all respects than the comparable sized plasmas. The refresh rate, which Winfred mentioned, is a typical weaker area for the LCD's, but they have improved considerably in the past couple of years. Unless you are doing some really fast moving video games on them a lot, you won't even notice it.

We got the 30" size, of course they are all the modern aspect ratio of 16:9, and it is plenty large enough for our living room. I have a large projection TV in my media room when I really need a big screen. The Sharp Aquos LCD's are available in sizes up to 40" or so, though, if you need something larger.

Check them out, or the Sony LCD's (which were a lot more expensive) and you will see that modern CRT TV's can't come close to the picture quality these provide.




Any info is appreciated, something nice and big!

[DaCan23]

BJ's for the Panasonic 27" Flat Tau Tube TV... retails for $350-400 they have it for $269.. Model 27TSL or something

[SharkmanBMW]

thanks for the input...
I am going with a friends company... they get super discounts on models that have damaged packaging... I saw a samsung 42" high definition ....brand new, (box is wrinkled a bit) but it's very nice, I could not say no to the deal... 1200 canadian taxes in... a steal.
I would much prefer a sony or a jvc, but the price is about $600 more plus taxes!!
the tv i had that died the other day was a Sony Trinitron... about 12 years old, I must say I was shocked when it died!! I thought I was good for another 5-8 years with a sony

[Jersey General]

I just purchased the Sony Wega HD 34" Also. Sony is running a no interest until March 2006 at Tweeter stores. The TV plays great. Consider how much sunlight your viewing area is exposed to. I was ready to pay up for the 42" LCD rear projection from Sony, but the sales guy actually talked me out of it. He saved me a $1000 bucks. Personally I would stay away from Best Buy for reasons stated earlier, although I did find one knowledgable high schooler. Tweeter was kind enough to match any Best Buy prices that were lower.

[Tiger]

Costco got some great Plasma for cheap!

[rickm]

I bought a Wega last Thanksgiving, got a steal on it (a friend's son works at BB, got it for 200.00 off the floor price and the warranty for 25.00). Great picture. They just closed out a bunch of LCDs recently, I wanted to get one but the mrs is shopping for a new car (2005 Legacy).

[Dick Schneiders]

Do some research on them. If you want a flat screen, get an LCD. They still don't come in the super large sizes like the plasma's do, but they are up to 40 inches or more and the quality is great.


Costco got some great Plasma for cheap!

[winfred]

i almost enjoy telling them to bugger off


Personally I would stay away from Best Buy for reasons stated earlier, although I did find one knowledgable high schooler.

[Tiger]

Last time I saw the LCD... I wasn't impressed... very dim and color isn't that great.

[Dick Schneiders]

You need to specify what LCD you looked at and when. Certainly, quite a few years ago, they had little more use than portable computer screens, and some of them weren't very good. However, the last few years they have become much better options than any plasma, in the same size. Plasma's are available in larger sizes than the LCD, but that difference is rapidly decreasing. Any comparison on the Internet, written in the past 2 or 3 years, will discourage purchase of a plasma when compared to a similar sized LCD.

Plasma's are *very* heavy, *very* fragile, create a ton of heat and use much more electricity. They also can suffer from burn-in quite easily, while that is not a serious consideration with the LCD. They have a significantly shorter useful life span than do LCD's. They are also more expensive. There are more reasons why a modern LCD TV is a far better choice than a plasma and a simple search would give you several sites that would tell you this.

The plasma is a dying technology and the LCD is the design of the future, especially as they get larger and larger.

Unless you need something larger than the current wave of LCD's, which I think go up to 47 inches or even more by now, the plasma is a poor choice.

Dick Schneiders




Last time I saw the LCD... I wasn't impressed... very dim and color isn't that great.

[Martin in Bellevue]

the 60" grand wega is backlit with the 100W sony halogen 'gun'.

[Tiger]

Look Dick, when people talks about Plasma, they are talking big size... not 17"... Plasma is sizes after the LCD. Second of all, not everyone can splurge on high priced LCD... for example, 42" LCD and Plasma from Sony is $2000 difference... $10,000 or $8000 repectively at list price (forget about market price). Third of all, people talked about best best best of all and only that best picture are only viewed 10% of the time... most TV shows are EDTV or SDTV quality. Don't tell me you watch 100% HDTV... that's BS.

So you talk about dying technology... isn't everything a dying technology? Computer is on 6 month lifecycle before your computer become "obsolete" according to high techie who only used it for games... games... TV is same ****... no matter what you buy, new product come out next month and your **** is obsolete.

Now, so you think I may be a jerk... and stupid ass no-brainer who knows nothing about home theatre... Well, that's your opinion and not everyone share your view. If I can build my own home theatre that rivals $100,000 system for a mere $8000, then that is money well spent.

Ahh... money well spent huh? Then why are you still driving an E34 when you know you could buy a new V10 M5 instead?

Lastly, heat... hahaha... heat... yes, they may wear down electronics but isn't that a fact of life? Everything get replaced sooner or later... you are telling me you are willing to spend money on that LCD now and keep it for 20 years? I doubt it. Even 10 years, I doubt it.

[Sweetwater]

Plasma burns in, no gaming.

LCD is good, but buy a cheapo CRT for now.

OLED and PHOLED are coming sooner than you think. Flexible potential, bright colors, low energy users, thin, light, and cheaper than LCD can ever dream of being..... :D

[Dick Schneiders]

However, here is a good comparison of the advantages of LCD over plasma. There are many other sites with similar comments.

http://www.flattvpeople.com/tutorials/lcd-vs-plasma.asp

Who is talking about 17", I said 47". LCD's are getting bigger all the time and better also. Plasma's are dead in the water and that's the reason they can be found at lower prices, now, because everybody is trying to get rid of them.

Size is about the only advantage that the plasma TV's have over the LCD, and that is not going to be true for much longer. LCD technology will continue to improve for many years to come but plasma's won't.

The largest size LCD's are expensive, but that is because they are the latest designs. The medium sized ones, in the under 40" range, are quite economical for what you get and that certainly wasn't true a year or two ago when they were the largest available. Yes, if you need something larger than 50" (or whatever) then right now LCD isn't an option. However, that hurdle will be overcome very soon.

There really is not any question that, size being equal, the LCD is a far better option than a plasma. I don't need to be an "expert" to know that - I can read.

Dick Schneiders


Look Dick, when people talks about Plasma, they are talking big size... not 17"... Plasma is sizes after the LCD. Second of all, not everyone can splurge on high priced LCD... for example, 42" LCD and Plasma from Sony is $2000 difference... $10,000 or $8000 repectively at list price (forget about market price). Third of all, people talked about best best best of all and only that best picture are only viewed 10% of the time... most TV shows are EDTV or SDTV quality. Don't tell me you watch 100% HDTV... that's BS.

So you talk about dying technology... isn't everything a dying technology? Computer is on 6 month lifecycle before your computer become "obsolete" according to high techie who only used it for games... games... TV is same ****... no matter what you buy, new product come out next month and your **** is obsolete.

Now, so you think I may be a jerk... and stupid ass no-brainer who knows nothing about home theatre... Well, that's your opinion and not everyone share your view. If I can build my own home theatre that rivals $100,000 system for a mere $8000, then that is money well spent.

Ahh... money well spent huh? Then why are you still driving an E34 when you know you could buy a new V10 M5 instead?

Lastly, heat... hahaha... heat... yes, they may wear down electronics but isn't that a fact of life? Everything get replaced sooner or later... you are telling me you are willing to spend money on that LCD now and keep it for 20 years? I doubt it. Even 10 years, I doubt it.

[avitt2]

If you're consider either an LCD or a Plasma, you should go here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=40

...do a lot of reading, and form your own opinion.

[DallasBill]

Let's not forget DLP! Mitsubishi, LG and Samsung have some great new models out. I would seriously look at DLP over LCD now.

Here's another source, besides AVS for great, info... http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=UBB65

Like Avitt2 said, read up and research at a board where the enthusiasts have the fanatical info you need. :)

PS... plasma is not dying, either... it's getting cheaper and better and if you are careful about burn-in, is a very wise choice for the premium dollar it still commands!