TV recommendations?

[Dirty Dan]

I'll need my own TV at some point in the next few months, hopefully I can get enough hours to afford it before I go back to UW. I don't know much about TVs, my plan is to just watch newegg for good sales and do research on the models from there, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to pick my fellow villuns brains.

Here's what I'm looking for:

-24-36 inches (ideally 26-32)
-hdmi
-TV tuner
-$200-500 (would rather get quality for $400 than something kinda iffy for $250)
-component HD cables? I forgot what they're called, I'm bad with A-V stuff, but I have one of the older xbox360s without HDMI, so whatever that is...
-i'll use it mostly for xbox and ps3, but I'll also use it as a 2nd monitor occasionally

Thanks for the help villuns.

[Hamese]

I'm no expert but over the last few months I have bought some TV's for different rooms of the house. I have a very nice 60" Sony in the living room, but we wanted an LCD and HD TV in the bedroom, so last year I bought a 32" Dynex from Best Buy. Dynex is the Best Buy brand and at that time I was looking for price over qaulity, but the specs and picture seemed to be in line with everything else. With the $50 3 year replacement warranty I spent less than $400 total because it was on sale too. The picture is perfect for the bedroom and I have had no issue with sound either. Viewing from the sides, or standing above the screen, results in a darker more grey picture, but usually I am looking straight at it from the bed and it is fine, so the over all viewing angle may not be so great.

Lastly, I just purchased a Spectrum from Costco. It is a 37" LCD that I paid again less than $400 and that included shipping. I use this as my game room TV for sports and then I also have my MAME arcade hooked to it. The Dynex's at the time where not as cheap and I was still looking for price over qaulity and I was able to get this one a little larger at 37" instead of 32". I haven't used it as much, but It works well for what I need it for. I think I still need to play with color settings because regular shows are really dark, yet the color is are sharp. I think I should be able to lighten the picture without ruining the color vividness.

The other thing you might want to look for, especially if you are going to use a BlueRay player with the ps3 is 1080p resolution. The spectrum I bought was 1080p surprisingly enough, but the Dynex was only 720. There will be a significant price jump between the two resolutions, so if you find a 1080p in that price range you will probably forgo some quality like I did with the Spectrum.

Those are the two that I use that fit your price and size range. I was looking for price of quality, but I am sure you can find what you are looking for. Vizio seems like a good brand, but they don't seem to be that much cheaper, and again remember the resolutions. All the connections you need will be there for most if not all the TV's you look at. It's all standard to have 2-3 HDMI's, component, composite and a DB15/VGA or DVI connectors for computers.

[KRG]

I did an insane amount of research before buying my last TV. Ended up buying a Sony Bravia 42" LCD 1080p from Best Buy for just over $1100. It's been a wonderful TV, no complaints. I would lean towards Sony, Samsung and Vizio. Quality and Cheap are largely oxymorons in the TV world.

As Hamese stated, 1080p is the top of the line resolution and what you will want for BluRay and HD channels. However many PS3/XBox games will run 720p no matter what your TV resolution is. PS3 Example: Bioshock runs at 1080p but Grand Theft Auto IV runs at 720p.

You can debate LCD VS Plasma till the cows come home! What sold me on LCD was the fact that you can repair one if it breaks, not really the case with Plasma. Plasma TV's can be repaired, it's just usually cost prohibitive VS buying a new one.

Contrast Ratio: So confusing and most sales people don't even get it! There are two types of contrast ratios, Static and Dynamic. Static contrast is the ratio of the brightest part of a screen to the darkest part that can be simultaneously displayed on screen. Dynamic contrast ratio, is measured by comparing the blackest black of one image to the whitest white of another image at a different time. Some TV's advertise low numbers and some advertise higher numbers. A large number like 25000:1 would be the Dynamic Ratio whereas as smaller number like 2000:1 would be the Static Ratio.

Common things to look for;

• 1080p Resolution
• Richness of the Blacks (this really matters!)
• Jitters/Artifacts - Watch fast paced movement to check for excessive blurring. This is important for gaming and action movies/sports etc.

Sound: If you do not have a home sound system, the TV speakers will be important. Many of these TV's have downward firing speakers so think about the distance and the level at which you will be viewing the TV and decide whether you need front firing or down firing speakers. You don't want to be level with the TV and have it firing the sound down into a carpeted floor.

Keep in mind that TV's often look a bit different at home than they do in the store where it's very bright. Also, when viewing the TV in the store, be sure to stand back as far as you would be from it in your home.


Best advice, SHOP AROUND! Shop everywhere! If I hadn't shopped around, I would have easily paid $300-$400 over what I ended up paying for mine.

[gator]

Um, guys.... I think you missed his budget.

[quote="Dirty Dan";p="185668"]
Here's what I'm looking for:

-24-36 inches (ideally 26-32)
-$200-500 (would rather get quality for $400 than something kinda iffy for $250)
[/quote]

1080p is out of his budget. There's a handful of 32" 1080p sets, but they'll be out of your price range, and you won't benefit much from the extra resolution at that screen size (with the obvious exception of using it as a secondary PC display).

That budget's going to allow for a good 32" 720p TV at the higher end. I wouldn't recommend the lower end unless you can get one of the Vizios from maybe Sam's Club or Costco - so I'd suggest hitting the top end $500 and getting something worthwhile.

Perhaps something like this might work out well. If you have more than one item that needs component-out, make sure the TV has enough component connections (for example this TV has only one).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6889187107

[Hamese]

I didn't miss the price range. Both that I talked about were less than $500 and the last one was 1080p.

I just looked and Costco is still selling the TV, but it is bundled with a second TV and the name is Sceptre not Spectrum.... shows how much I actually look at the thing. find a friend to buy the second

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.as ... =C&topnav=

[Dirty Dan]

[quote="Kjeldorian Royal Guard 42";p="185689"]I did an insane amount of research before buying my last TV. Ended up buying a Sony Bravia 42" LCD 1080p from Best Buy for just over $1100. It's been a wonderful TV, no complaints. I would lean towards Sony, Samsung and Vizio. Quality and Cheap are largely oxymorons in the TV world.

As Hamese stated, 1080p is the top of the line resolution and what you will want for BluRay and HD channels. However many PS3/XBox games will run 720p no matter what your TV resolution is. PS3 Example: Bioshock runs at 1080p but Grand Theft Auto IV runs at 720p.

You can debate LCD VS Plasma till the cows come home! What sold me on LCD was the fact that you can repair one if it breaks, not really the case with Plasma. Plasma TV's can be repaired, it's just usually cost prohibitive VS buying a new one.

Contrast Ratio: So confusing and most sales people don't even get it! There are two types of contrast ratios, Static and Dynamic. Static contrast is the ratio of the brightest part of a screen to the darkest part that can be simultaneously displayed on screen. Dynamic contrast ratio, is measured by comparing the blackest black of one image to the whitest white of another image at a different time. Some TV's advertise low numbers and some advertise higher numbers. A large number like 25000:1 would be the Dynamic Ratio whereas as smaller number like 2000:1 would be the Static Ratio.

Common things to look for;

• 1080p Resolution
• Richness of the Blacks (this really matters!)
• Jitters/Artifacts - Watch fast paced movement to check for excessive blurring. This is important for gaming and action movies/sports etc.

Sound: If you do not have a home sound system, the TV speakers will be important. Many of these TV's have downward firing speakers so think about the distance and the level at which you will be viewing the TV and decide whether you need front firing or down firing speakers. You don't want to be level with the TV and have it firing the sound down into a carpeted floor.

Keep in mind that TV's often look a bit different at home than they do in the store where it's very bright. Also, when viewing the TV in the store, be sure to stand back as far as you would be from it in your home.


Best advice, SHOP AROUND! Shop everywhere! If I hadn't shopped around, I would have easily paid $300-$400 over what I ended up paying for mine.[/quote]


So what are high end/okay/bad contrast ratios then? Thanks for explaining it, I understand the concept, but I don't really have a reference for what contrast ratios are good.

Good point with the speakers, I'll mostly use headphones but I like turning on sports while I'm on my computer too.

Thanks all.

[gator]

[quote="Hamese";p="185691"]I didn't miss the price range. Both that I talked about were less than $500 and the last one was 1080p.

I just looked and Costco is still selling the TV, but it is bundled with a second TV and the name is Sceptre not Spectrum.... shows how much I actually look at the thing. find a friend to buy the second

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.as ... =C&topnav=[/quote]

That link looks like a 720p (1366x768) panel to me. I hope it's not them bundling two of these, which had very polar reviews (either it was great, or it was broken within 3 months).

http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11377972/reviews.htm

So what are high end/okay/bad contrast ratios then? Thanks for explaining it, I understand the concept, but I don't really have a reference for what contrast ratios are good.

I'd only recommend comparing similar models by the same manufacturer when comparing contrast ratios. They're not all that comparable across manufacturers and tend to be very tricky (especially with dynamic vs static contrast ratio).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrast_ratio

Mujo might have a better feel for what's good on each specific manufacturer since he's in the electronics dept.

[jim beam]

I got at 1080 32" tv for about 499 but that was like 18months ago. Its an olevia which isnt made anymore but is a great tv

[dredfox]

[quote="jim beam";p="185805"]I got at 1080 32" tv for about 499 but that was like 18months ago. Its an olevia which isnt made anymore but is a great tv[/quote]

Dare I say it?! Jim is right!

I got a similar Olevia for $399 (no tuner though).

[Araris]

Personally I'd recommend a Samsung or Sony but I don't think they're in your price range. I bought a 46" Samsung last December and it's been fantastic.

[Hamese]

[quote="gator";p="185804"]
That link looks like a 720p (1366x768) panel to me. I hope it's not them bundling two of these, which had very polar reviews (either it was great, or it was broken within 3 months).

http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11377972/reviews.htm
[/quote]

You're right. It also reads as it is 1080p later on in the features, but maybe it renders. Again, I just have hands on experience with them. For the price is was the largest one I could get and for the last 5 months it has been great for what I bought it for.

[bluntspoon]

Unless you are sitting within 3 or so feet from the tv at this size of screen I would argue 1080p is irrelevant. I would be shocked, SHOCKED i tell you SHOCKED if you would be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p with a 26-32 inch screen.

[Araris]

[quote="bluntspoon";p="185821"]Unless you are sitting within 3 or so feet from the tv at this size of screen I would argue 1080p is irrelevant. I would be shocked, SHOCKED i tell you SHOCKED if you would be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p with a 26-32 inch screen.[/quote]

You wouldn't be able to, most people can only tell a difference starting at 40".

[NoahTheBoa]

I saw a chart somewhere online where it showed how close you'd have to be to screens of different sizes to tell the difference between 720 and 1080. Here's a link to the graph http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html

[Dirty Dan]

[quote="bluntspoon";p="185821"]Unless you are sitting within 3 or so feet from the tv at this size of screen I would argue 1080p is irrelevant. I would be shocked, SHOCKED i tell you SHOCKED if you would be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p with a 26-32 inch screen.[/quote]

Yeah that's what I figure, I don't even want larger than 32 inches, I don't have much room. 720p seems fine.

My only question mark is still contrast ratio. I may need to step into a store to see for myself what particular ratios look like...then promptly go home and order off the internet. Sort of not cool, but hey, what can ya do? It's a recession.