LCD TV

[harvey lee]

I'm in the market for a new TV. It will be a LCD and I have no idea what brand yet. Looking to spend less than a grand.

What brand is decent and worth buying.

[Valv]

Tom, I'll be watching this, I am too in the same "boat", looking for a TV.

2 of my children bought Visio and they are very happy with it. One is over 1 year old and still brag about it.

[DTro]

Can't go wrong with a Sony or Samsung.

I would stay away from the Olevia and Visio if it was me. I had some major issues with the Olevia and have heard similar horror stories with Visio.

When it comes to customer service, Sony and Samsung will be there if needed.

The biggest debate and decision will be deciding to purchase a service agreement/warrany or not. My theory is to take what you would spend on that and bank it and forget the extended warranty.

[JohnMickish]

A couple of months ago we picked up a 40" Sony 720p from Target for $1200, and that came with a $250 Target gift card so it came out to $950+ tax. The HD us totally unbelievable! In the city we have more than a couple of chanells that broadcast in 1080 and that has to be seen to believe. I'll stack this TV up against any for the price, I'm very happy, I only with it had more than the 2 HDMI ports.

HDMI is a new cable configuration that is one cable that supports both audio and video. Keeps everything nice and clean. This TV has 2 HDMI and (I think) 3 component, 3 RCA and an S cable.

[DTro]

Tom, I monitor a couple of really good websites that track all the hot deals. What size are you looking for? I can keep an eye out for you and make a recommendation.

[Walleye Guy]

We bought a 37" Toshiba Regza from CostCo for $899. Its been a great TV in the 9 months we have owned it. The picture quality was as good as any at Costco at the time. The $899 price was $100 lower than what Best Buy and Circuit City were selling the same TV for.

The HD programming is unbelievable. Baseball is unbelievable and it makes Deadliest Catch even better. I am also fairly impressed with the sound quality as well.

It has the HDMI hook-ups as well.

I agree with Dro too. Sony and Samsung both make nice sets as well. A friend of mine has an unbelievable Panasonic.

[DTro]

For example I just found this TV on Amazon:

Samsung LN40A550 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

$1099

Great TV with almost a 5 star rating (1-5) from 84 users

or how about this one at Newegg:

TOSHIBA 32" 720p LCD HDTV w/ Cinespeed - 32AV500U

$639

There's a deal around every corner

[polarsusd81]

Another great option to take a look at is the Sharp Aquos. Rob has one of them and they are freakin sweet. Don't exclude that from your searches.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Is side viewing important to you? Some are better than others for indirect viewing.

Consumer's Report came out with a nice report in I believe the March issue that rates several brands for all types of issues.

- Wish

PS: I keep telling my wife we need an economic stimulus TV!

[harvey lee]

I was wondering about the Toshiba. We will probably go with a 32-37 but not for sure. I don,t know if we need a larger one than that.

[LMITOUT]

Samsung seems to have their stuff together in the LCD market.

[JohnMickish]

I was wondering about the Toshiba. We will probably go with a 32-37 but not for sure. I don,t know if we need a larger one than that.

You need a larger one. I had a hard time talking the wife into a 40, now she wishes it were bigger. Go figure.

[Scott K]

I have 2 Toshibas, they work great!In the price range you gave, I would pick a Sony, then a Toshiba, then a Samsung in that order.

I have a friend with a Pioneer, they look nice, but not worth the double price to me!

[echotrail]

I vote for Samsung also.

[snoozebutton]

Check out this link for minimum and maximum viewing distances with HD and regular TV. Pretty good idea to follow these or you might not be happy with it.

http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5108580-2.html

[love2fish4ever]

I would typically agree with you on extended warranty,I don't genrally like them, but I bought an LG 42" (1080), $1600. For $200 I got a 5 yr. free replacement warranty, I figure 5 yrs. is a long time for new technology I'm not sure I trust. I also bought the 2yr (after the first year) extented on my Lowrance Expedition iFinder.$60.It's a $300 unit. They told me it would be a minimum of $150 to fix after the Mfg. 1 yr. ran out. I usually weigh how much I'm going to use it & how much to repair vs. replacement. It's like ALL insurances, it's a gamble you take & live with your decision. L2f

[croixflats]

another option is looking into a refurbished tv. You can get a good discount on them. I believe you get a 90 day warrenty. Most all models are available. Google refurbished tv and it should show a local refurbished tv outlet.

[bhs91]

Honestly, check out LG. I did a lot of research on mine via consumerreports.com and they scored very well for the price. People's opinions are great, but any time i make this type of purchase i always check consumerreports.com.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I would typically agree with you on extended warranty,I don't genrally like them... It's like ALL insurances, it's a gamble you take & live with your decision. L2f

Many credit cards will double your warranty when you use it to purchase an item.

[jweitgen]

I would go with Sony due to their excellant customer service. As far as size goes, bigger is better. Follow the size recommendations and you are good to go.

[harvey lee]

I'm leaning towards Sony, Samsung and Toshiba. Probably in the 37-40 size. I may also need to spend a bit more than planned.

[Shorelunch]

I've been very happy with my Sharp Aquos. I also looked at the Sony XBR4 and the Samsung. I looked at BB, CC and Ultimate and actually found the best deal by $1,000 at Sears. Costco is also another good place to buy.

[Scott K]

Just heads up to those that are out there to buy a new tv. I have heard of stores messing with the contrast to make the cheaper tv's distorted, blurry, and dimmer then the more expensive models! So if you are just walking past tv's and looking for the best picture, things may not be as they seem!

[katoguy]

I was reading an article on Gizmodo. It said to wait on HDTVs now because the price will be falling soon. "Wait to Buy! HDTVs About To Get Even Cheaper" If you google it, you should find it. It has a lot of pricing for Mitsubishi, Sharp, Panasonic, and Samsung models with current pricing and future pricing.

[fishinJohn]

I have a 46" Samsung and I am quite happy with it. Not too expensive but a nice picture. Get the HDMI cable free from the sales guy. If you go too big non HD programming looks a bit pixelated but with HD you are seeing the hair on Letterman's knuckles.

[mamohr686]

I have a Toshiba regza 42" LCD with the narrow bezel design and a Samsung 50" plasma. The picture on the Toshibia is brighter and more detailed but the Samsung plasma picture is smoother. I bought the Toshiba off of the buydig HSOforum (you can google it) and they have free shipping and no taxes to MN buyers. It arrived double boxed via fed-ex 5 days after I bought it. butterfly photo and crutchfield are other highly respeced internet TV websites but crutchfield will charge taxes. I saved over $900 compared to what the local guys were selling it for. I tried to get some local retailers to match the price and give them the business, but they said no way (even after I bought every appliance in my new house from them). I called toshiba to see if I would have any warantee issues if I bought it from a internet retailer and they said no. Also, the CS person said if I did have any problems I could take it to any local toshiba dealer and have it taken care of under their program. My Samsung has much better sound, so you might want to consider that in your purchase unless your going to hook up a surround sound system also. My parents have a Sony 1080P lcd, and they had to have it replaced due to some dead lines in the screen. They like my Toshiba TV picture better, even after I helped them calibrate their settings. Look for the faster screen refresh times (120khz) for a higher quality picture, and I would only get a 1080P with at least 3 HDMI inputs. The only downside I've found, is that the LCD screens are not as scratch resistant. My 3 yr old put a few nice scratches in mine with his pastic tool set which don't really show up unless the picute is bright white. If you buy it from an internet retailer, You'll have enough money left over to get a playstation or blue-ray player.