Advice on new television.

jsmatos

jsmatos

Joined
Apr 6, 2002
Messages
1,979
Okay fellow forumites,

I need to get a new television for my new condo. I want it to be a flat screen that can be mounted over my fireplace. I think I want one that is in the 42 inch range. If I were to get much bigger it might be overkill. Anyhow, I don't know much about this kind of purchase. So, any advice would be helpful. And of course, I would like it to be reasonably priced. Please tell me what's good for the money. Any advice is appreciated.

PS- I'd like to go someplace where they will come out and mount it on the wall for me. I don't know if that makes a difference, but I'm sure as heck not going to get it up there myself. :D
 
Yeah, but what sets are the most reliable/long lasting. What about the picture? Which ones display the best picture? What else should I be looking for when I go to make my purchase? What would you buy if you were in my shoes. (I wear a size 5 by the way). :D
 
Unless it's got HDTV (not just "HDTV-ready," but actually HDTV built in) and unless it's got HDMIw/HDCP, don't pay a penny for it. Also look for component video and VESA inputs.
 
If you can afford it, the Sharp LC-45GD7U 45" LCD Television is one of the best TVs on the market. It costs about $3,500, but it has FULL 1,920 x 1080p HD resolution. It also has all the connections you could want... well you can always want more!;)

Buy it online because it will save you $1,500+ and have a pro install it. $300 - $600. You still save $$ in the end.

If the price seems too steep, consider waiting. Any 42"+ flat-panel under $2,500 isn't worth your money.
 
rosconey said:
go to-avsforum.com-

all the info you will need
Click to expand...

I'll second that

[Yeah, but what sets are the most reliable/long lasting. What about the picture? Which ones display the best picture? What else should I be looking for when I go to make my purchase? What would you buy if you were in my shoes. ]

These things get messy quick. Most plasma weren't true Hi Def when I looked a year and a half ago. They may be now. They also didn't have tuners, which was a separate $300 to $600 purchase.

I probably studied TV's for 6 months before purchasing. If you are positive you want a plasma vs anything else it really cuts down on the descision.
 
Jsmatos, make sure you use " Flat Panel " not " Flat Screen " when looking online or talking to a store, they are two different items and you want the former. Also, if you buy Plasma ask about " burn in " which supposedly isn't as big a problem anymore but worth being aware of.
 
Gollnick said:
Unless it's got HDTV (not just "HDTV-ready," but actually HDTV built in) and unless it's got HDMIw/HDCP, don't pay a penny for it. Also look for component video and VESA inputs.
Click to expand...


VESA is a mounting format, not an input. ALL HDMI is HDCP compliant and unnecessary as of now.

Why over the fireplace? I tell my customers over and over that the "cool" factor wears off once you're craning your neck to watch a picture that's positioned WAY too close to the ceiling. If there were no fireplace on the wall, would you place a panel that high off of the ground?

The LCD's, in my experience, in that size range (42" +) do not refresh quickly enough and leave MANY motion artifacts. (Disclaimer: I have sold home theater equipment and displays for 10+ years and sell Sharp, Philips, Samsung, Toshiba and Fujitsu displays). The best display made in that size range is the 42" Fujitsu. Period. I could own any brand I wanted and paid my long green for one myself.

Get a flat mount, connect it with RGB-HV cable and don't forget to get an electrician to run a dedicated outlet behind the set so ther'es no cords dangling.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.
 
MikeD60 said:
Why over the fireplace? I tell my customers over and over that the "cool" factor wears off once you're craning your neck to watch a picture that's positioned WAY too close to the ceiling. If there were no fireplace on the wall, would you place a panel that high off of the ground?
Click to expand...

I was going to mention this one as well but ran out of time (I was at work). Also if you actually use the fireplace wouldn't it be a distraction? I know a high end guy who owns a store in Memphis. He mounted one at the foot of a clients bed in a small cabinet. A motor would raise the hidden TV up level with the bed. Kinda neat and kinda expensive. My point being they are more flexible in their mounting location than most other types which allows more creativity in thier mount.
 
I purchased a 42 inch Panasonic Plasma. It has HD built-in. I went with a friend to the Naval base and got an awesome deal. I actually just went there to look, but my friend just began a new line of credit there so she got this deal where she gets ten percent off all purchases for the first shopping day. Then she had coupons that gave her an additional 10% up to a certain amount. She made her own purchases on the card, so I don't know how much of it, if any, will be attributed to my purchase. Obviously, I told her to apply the discount to her purchase first when she tells me what I owe her. And I also didn't get hit with sales tax. The television is beautiful. Purchase price before discounts was $2,300.00

My fireplace doesn't go up the wall. It's nowhere near the ceiling. The television won't be hanging at an awkward angle at all.

Here's another question, I was told by the guy at the naval base that if you lay a plasma television down flat it will come up black. In other words, it ruins it. Is that true? The reason I ask is because I moved into my condo yesterday. As the movers were placing the television on its stand, one of the guys started to lay it back onto the carpet. I kindof went into a panic about it. I have turned it on since it was set up and the picture (the little boxes for the television set up) has color and everything. My cable isn't hooked up yet, and I was too exhausted to set up the VCR and everything at 2 a.m. I think everything is okay though. What should I be looking for?

Thanks everyone for your advice.
 
I'd be terrified to buy a plasma myself, being as broadcast tv seems be be more 4:3 than 16:9, and even dvds come in a huge variety of formats ranging from 2:35 to 4:3, which leaves black bars either ion the sides or the top, which would make me live in terror of burn in.
Burn in is supposed to be a minimal risk nowadays, but it still scares me.
For the first 100 hours though, be sure whatever you are watching covers the whole swcreen - use the stretch or zoom modes so you have no black bars during the break in period.
After that, the risk of burn in is supposed to be minimal, as long as you break up letterboxed stuff with full screen stuff fairly often.
BTW, the new generation of lcds are a lot better at motion than the older ones, and better in a very bright, windowed room than plasmas, whereas plasmas are considered to give a far superior picture at nighttime or in a glare free room that is not overly bright.
If I wasn't overly paranoid about the burn in issue, I'd probably buy a panasonic 42" edtv myself ....the new ones with an HD tuner built in are under two grand, and from 10 feet away the picture is stunning.
I do have a 32" samsung lcd in my bedroom to double as a monitor for my spare computer and to watch tv and dvds on when I go to bed, and don't have motion artifacts that I can see, and also, the standard definition broadcast tv looks fine on it. (It's almost 2 years old and came with a standard NTSC tv tuner instead of an HD ATSC tuner built in.
 
2 years ago i i bought a panny crt hdtv 32" wide screen-
football(real american football not the other crap)is just awsome-
i went for a crt becuse i thought they had the best picture at the time
 
jsmatos said:
I What should I be looking for?

Thanks everyone for your advice.
Click to expand...

If its your first wide screen TV don't forget to go into your DVD player menus to let the player know its outputing to a widescreen TV rather than a 4:3 type.

If you don't have a DVD player now you know what to be looking for.
 
JS, if you have HD built in (A built in ATSC tuner), all you have to do to receive over the air hdtv is hook up an antenna to it. You don't need a special kind of antenna, any antenna receives hd content as well as regular broadcast tv.
You might need to look up info on pointing your antenna and getting a list of your local HD channels here.
http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

You should also be able to find out a lot of info about your new panasonic here. (Help with the picture settings for the getting best picture, preventing burn in, wall mounting, etc.) This site has a vast user community of very happy panasonic plasma owners.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=40

If you have an hdmi input, you can get an hdmi cable (for hooking up an upconverting dvd player, for example) for way cheap - like saving a hundred bucks or more over the price of a Monster brand cable) and they work just fine. I bought a 10' cable from them for less than 10 bucks. They also have amazing prices on component cables etc.
http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

I suspect you are gonna love your new tv. And fortunately, unlike buying knives, you aren't gonna want to buy a new one to add to your collection every week or two! ;)
 
I would go for a projector that does 720p you could get one for around 1500 and you would have a 100” screen. The only problem is you have to have a dark room.
 
jsmatos said:
Okay fellow forumites,

I need to get a new television for my new condo. I want it to be a flat screen that can be mounted over my fireplace. I think I want one that is in the 42 inch range. If I were to get much bigger it might be overkill. Anyhow, I don't know much about this kind of purchase. So, any advice would be helpful. And of course, I would like it to be reasonably priced. Please tell me what's good for the money. Any advice is appreciated.

PS- I'd like to go someplace where they will come out and mount it on the wall for me. I don't know if that makes a difference, but I'm sure as heck not going to get it up there myself. :D
Click to expand...





Please take a 25' tape measure when you shop. Before you leave home,measure the viewing to mounting distance. Then pick out a 32" ,sit or stand where you would be watching from.
Then you can adjust the set size up or down to your taste. I have a friend that thought bigger was better & she bought a set all out of porportion for her mom . Poor lady gets headaches from the overwhelming monster.

This is a bit disjointed but I believe you get the idea .

Enjoy your home & unfettered freedom.

Uncle Alan
 
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