Calling all couch potatoes!!! I have finally decided to buy a flat screen TV and I was hoping current owners could give me some advice. I was looking in the 37-40 inch range. I know some brands are good (Samsung, Sony) but I keep seeing brands I have never heard of that seem like good deals..... Westinghouse, Proscan...The reviews on these are all over the place so that you cannot make sense of them. Anyone here know anything about them?
If you consider buying a Plasma screen, you should take into consideration that if you tend to watch a particular channel for most of the time, their logo will eventually burn into your screen. I don't think that happens on an LCD.
Samsung LCD........Nothing else. Do a search for Samsung customer feedback. They are head and shoulders above all others. My best friend is a Radio Shack store owner (X3) in central Oh. He has a three flat screens, a dishwasher, a fridge, a washer and a dryer, and four laptops.....all Samsung.
I would advise to go with plasma over LCD, LCD is more dependable and lasts longer, but there is no other clarity and definition that can compete with plasma.
Plasma screens deteriorate, so if you are looking for one of those go for the one that starts with the highest contrast ratio. I don't know the US market (and I'm a little out of touch these days anyway), but over here those usually used to be the Panasonic ones. In general, though, stick with the 'quality' brands like (again, I don't know what you have over there, obviously) Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi. Cheaper ones may not only be not such great quality, but may turn out to be randomly badged up models from other manufacturers, and sometimes those are difficult to identify for parts if you need to get them repaired later on (some of the 'manufacturers' that do that don't seem to keep adequate records of what their badged up models actually are underneath the badge, believe it or not).
I can't offer anything on those brands, but, I know of a business that has six 42" Vizio Lcd's, that have been playing 24/7, for the past five years... great picture and no issues. Inexpensive to purchase also (compared to some brands). ~ Vizio.com ~ Good luck
Consumer Reports Top 10 Televsions 32" -45" http://www.toptenusa.org/Top-Ten-Televisions/Top-Ten-Medium-Televisions #1. Samsung LCD
Philips Ambilight TV's => Technology developed in the Netherlands, you can't buy them in the USA as far as I'm aware.
NO SONY. I had a 50 and it went bad after 4 years..a little less than 4 years. The warranty was out of date but I learned they were sued in a class action case for knowingly using poor components. I held their feet to the fire about it and got partially compensated but it was a battle that took weeks.
... And other people do +10 years with a Sony, whilst other do 6 months... All depends on the owner IMO.
We have two Samsung 46" LCDs. No problems so far, and we're happy with the picture quality. You'll want at least a 42" if full 1080p HD is important to you, but many people are satisfied with smaller, 720p HD TVs. Base the size on how far you intend to regularly sit from the TV. LCDs have made a lot of progress on issues of angle of sight vs. viewability. Unless you're serving a really wide room with seating at severe angles to the screen, an LCD should suffice on that score. Make sure you get something with enough ports/type of ports to serve your legacy equipment and allow for future expansion. The Samsung we have includes a USB port for a wireless receiver, several HDMI ports, plus ports for older component and composite cables. (Think older DVD players and VCRs). If you aren't going to mount it on the wall, I also recommend getting a stand of the proper size to fit the TV. We have one that allows you to attach the TV to a post with a swivel mount, so you can adjust the viewing angle easily. Our other one sits on a smaller stand, on the Samsung provided base which also swivels, though I find the previously mentioned setup easier to use.
I rarely agree with LM, but this is one time I will. I've had LCD, LED, and Plasma. I greatly prefer the plasma over the others. Few manufacturers still make them, but I'd recommend the newest Panasonic model. They bought out Pioneer's old plasma technology that still, to this day, is unmatched. The newest plasmas pale in comparison to the older "Kuro" models that Pioneer made. But, those are long gone. Panasonic has the technology now. I ended up with a Samsung because I just couldn't wait for the new 2012 Panasonics to come out, but I've been very happy with mine. I rarely have a burn in problem and when I do, there's an internal setting that clears it out almost immediately. It uses a little bit more energy, but it's a negligible difference as far as I'm concerned. The colors and black levels are good. And, best of all, none of that fake looking "soap opera effects" that plagued my LED and LCD tvs. Plasma also has a much, much faster refresh rate, which makes it good for gaming. They also last as long as the newer LEDs. I hope plasma gets popular again. I believe it's the best.
I attend CES every year and am informed that every TV is the best. There are many brands out there made at an ODM who slaps on a brand like Pro-Scan, Hisense et al. There are brands like Haier which try to put on an American face with a NYNY address but are 100% Chinese 60hz vs 120hz- when content is encoded it is not encoded for 120hz so despite what you're told, there is no justification to pay more for it. The sports fanatics will say that they can tell the difference but they had to justify $200-$400 more to the wife so they continue to try and convince themselves LED vs LCD.......yes. Huh? There are no LED TV's, they are LCD and one is lit by fluorescent and the other by LEDs. The LEDs of today do show better blacks but the avg viewer doesn't really look for that.
I attend CES every year and am informed that every TV is the best. There are many brands out there made at an ODM who slaps on a brand like Pro-Scan, Hisense et al. There are brands like Haier which try to put on an American face with a NYNY address but are 100% Chinese 60hz vs 120hz- when content is encoded it is not encoded for 120hz so despite what you're told, there is no justification to pay more for it. The sports fanatics will say that they can tell the difference but they had to justify $200-$400 more to the wife so they continue to try and convince themselves LED vs LCD.......yes. Huh? There are no LED TV's, they are LCD and one is lit by fluorescent and the other by LEDs. The LEDs of today do show better blacks but the avg viewer doesn't really look for that.
I think they have protections now for Screen Burn.That was a problem with older tube TV like Trinitron.Plasma TV have a shelf life also.Like around 15 years. A Plasma TV used every day won't last past 15 years. I have a rule that any TV I buy must last at least 10 years. TV's of yesteryear lasted far longer.Some 30-40 years. I would do a little research as far as Reviews before buying a model.Sony {Bravia's} are good.LG's are good.Sylvania used to be the best TV for the buck but I don't think they even make TV's any more.Curtis Mathis { American-made } were very expensive and they are now relics.Zenith used to be THE Best TV back in the 60's with Magnavox 2nd.
Consumer Reports is a joke.I knew a friend from my old neighborhood who Swore by consumer reports.As did his father.It was like some tradition handed down from father to son.Just Suscribe to Consumer Reports and all will be well in purchase land. Rule # ONE.There is NO perfect Appliance.Every piece of manufactured appliance or Electronic has some weakness or slight drawback.There is no magic wand to protect from a lemmon or a manufactured good that may have gliche issues. Therefore read Reviews.Like any reviews from places like Sears,Best Buy etc.
Things used to be built in america with pride and made to last. Now they're built overseas and made to break...so you have to buy another one and they make even more money.
Looks can be very deceiving,especially over time. Imagine a Porn Director insisting on a Mona Lisa lookalike. I don't Tink so.
The Japaneese still rule,in the world of Electronics. With the occassional exception of high-end equipment like McIntosh.
Ever thought about a Loewe (from Germany)... They come at a certain price though... If I'm not mistaken Apple was thinking about buying them up, so they could bring their own televisions on the market... But as I said,... they are premium quality and you pay premium price -- easily +US$4000, but you can personalize it, so no ugly foot or something.
