Best Cheap HDTV - Biggest Bang for the Buck

I don't have a lot of money to blow on a TV and my last one just died! Any suggestions?

I was thinking about getting the Panasonic-VIERA-TC-L37X1-37-Inch for $460

I got an email today from either newegg or tiger direct about a 40 for 499

I couldn't find that one, any info would be appreciated...

I would also like a new tv... preferably 42-46" 1080P 120HZ..... you think Ken with bullets would do a group buy? haha jk

Here is the landing...

http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/Dec-0-2009/WinterSale/index-landing.html?nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL120309&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL120309-_-email-_-E0-_-HDTV

I did not look eralier, but it is a sceptere who ever the f that i, I would stick with the 37 from panasonic if it were me...

wal mart had some 42" plasmas in the middle of the store today for $400

Went to Walmart the other day and we couldnt believe some of their prices on the T.V's. Seemed like some great deals on name brand stuff with impressive pictures. Buying my parents a LCD for christmas and figured it would come from Costco but im headed back to Walmart to double check everything.

Does anyone know about Plasma TV's and using my PS3? I keep reading that burn in is no longer an issue, but what is the truth, anyone know?

i have a plasma and have been using with my xbox for like 2 years now and never had an issue, you can see a ghost image for a few seconds if you leave it paused for a long long time.... but its gone once i shut the tv off.

dont plasmas use more power and produce more heat....??

dont plasmas use more power and produce more heat....??

Yea, but they also have a better picture

Non issue for burn in. There is some image rentention from time to time but nothing perm.

---

quote:

By H2O Pro Accessories (h2oproaccessories) on Thursday, December 03, 2009 - 11:34 am:
dont plasmas use more power and produce more heat....??

---

Yea, what the heck do I care about power consumption or heat?? I have a huge Carbon Footprint and really like the heat... If I can make it larger, and make it hotter, I can wakeboard longer without a wetsuit...

Al Gore can kiss my butt!

+1

Back to TVs...

So does everyone think Plasma is the way to go... I'm looking at 32-40" tvs.

To throw it out there not that this will help you too much...

I have 1 plasma and 3 lcd's. The plasma is the best tv you can buy (when I got it) the lcd's are all middle of the road. It is not even close in terms of picture quality but I am not sure that the huge price difference would get you.

My reco to most is go to a big box store like best buy, find one that has a picture that you like, then mess with the setting and get it out of crazy store display mode. See if you still like it. If so go home and find it online for cheaper and from an out of state store so you dont have to pay tax. This time of year you can prob get free shipping on it too.

so your plasma is better than your LCD or vice versa?

sorry, Plasma is way way way way way better...

There is a Samsung 42" LCD at many of the stores (Walmart, Sears, BestBuy, etc.) that is selling for 599. It may be a bit out of your price range, but some things to consider. Samsung is considered a leader (along with Vizio) when it comes to LCD TV's. I have a higher end Samsung LCD that I bought about a year ago and have had nothing but positive experiences.

Plasma is an option also, but it is going to be more pricey for a quality plasma. Plasma TV's in the event something goes wrong are much harder to have repaired. My buddy had to wait two months for a repairman to receive a part because he was the only licensed repairman for Panasonic's warranty work within a 150 mi radius, my buddy did not have a choice other than waiting.

My advice if you want to pay less go LCD.

While Al Gore is kissing your butt you might want to think about your power consumption, given your original post. But maybe you don't pay for your own power.

If you don't need to hang on the wall an LED DLP would be my suggestion. 60+" for what you'll pay for a hangable 46" and superior picture imho.

---

quote:

By Wes (pesos) on Thursday, December 03, 2009 - 1:47 pm:
While Al Gore is kissing your butt you might want to think about your power consumption, given your original post. But maybe you don't pay for your own power.

If you don't need to hang on the wall an LED DLP would be my suggestion. 60+" for what you'll pay for a hangable 46" and superior picture imho

---

I'm sorry, but I don't understand this post, what are you recommending? My power averages at less than $60/month at the cabin, I'm only there about every other weekend and therefore don't need to blow a lot of money on a TV that I will rarely watch. The TV is mostly for the kids and for guests that use the cabin when we are not using it. I have this thing called a budget that I follow and have budgeted about $500 for this purchase. Staying on the budget is how we bought the cabin to begin with...

As far as Al Gore goes, he's a crook, the debate is over!

I wasn't saying anything about Al Gore one way or the other, it wasn't stated that the tv wasn't used much so I thought since you were on a budget you might be concerned about power consumption of the tv... Since it isn't, and you aren't, then it doesn't matter =)

For $500 I'd prolly go with something like this: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11481884&whse=BC&Ne=5000000+40 00000&eCat=BC|79|2341&N=4001374 5000031&Mo=5&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1 ||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

Oh... I was confused, like I often am... thanks!

LCD is the way to go!

Why? Plasma has a much faster refresh rate and the kids and I play a lot of Fight Night Four which is suppose to be amazing on Plasma. Also, burn-in is not suppose to be an issue with plasma anymore...

I've been looking at LCD's and replacing my still working 32" box. It'll go in the playroom along with the huge e-center. I was thinking Toshiba, Samsung or Vizio, but my mother-in-law has already had a board or two replaced in her Vizio. Anyone else have this problem?

Perfect timing on the thread Sam.

One more thing. 1080 or 720? Big diff?

The wife was at Wal Mart the other day and said she couldn't really tell a difference. Would it be worse in a darker environment?

Under 46" it's really not going to make a difference.

How about this 42" Viera at Sams for $568?
http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=425677

There is a huge difference between 1080 and 720. At least if you were to use it as a monitor you would see a huge difference. I'm using a 37 inch Visio LCD 1080P as my monitor. It's sweet! The 720 was definitely no where near as crisp.

Xbox 360 looks sweet on it too from 3 feet away!

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dynex%26%23174%3B+-+40%22+Class+/+1080p+/+60Hz+/+LCD+HDTV/9364742.p?id=1218091959536&skuId=9364742

I have one of these in my bedroom, it's actually really impressive for the money spent. I had never heard of Dynex before, but would not hesitate to buy another, the pic is great and the audio (although not great) is good enough for a small room. If need be, hook it up to a surround and it's a heck of a deal for 500 bucks.

I bought this 42" plasma for $478.16 last night. Amazing tv!

pl-p42w-10a

What tv and where did you get it?

I have a 42" & 50" Vizio plasma from Costco and they are great! I have noticed lately that most of the new Vizio's seem to be LCD. Not sure why that is (maybe cheaper to manufacturer?) but I also have to agree that Plasma looks better than LCD, aside from whats already been said the colors seem to be a lot richer on a plasma. I've had an xbox hooked up to one of them for several years now with A LOT of use and no problems what so ever.

So if your looking for something reasonably priced I would check out the Vizio line at Costco.

(Message edited by Jifffy on December 06, 2009)

Visio 32" 1080p Java at walmart for $398

Walmart Emerson PL-P42W-10A 42" plasma.. It's a rebranded Samsung.

its funny how people recommend stuff when they have no idea what the person's needs are and how its goin to be used. im a video engineer and there is why you choose plasma vs lcd. It depends on what room you are using it in. LCD tv's great for rooms that have a lot of natural light in them. Like a living room with a lot of windows that has a lot of light always shining in. The LCD panel doesnt reflect light so its great for that type of room. But you are giving up refresh rates that plasmas have super fast refresh rate. ie no motion blur. LCD's are getting better with the motion blur with the new 240hertz refresh rated but it still isnt as fast as a plasma. Now for plasma TV are great for rooms that have little to no light glare in them since they have a glass panel on the front. Glass will reflect light and drown out your piucture no matter how fast it refreshes. Plasmas on the high end will give you a much better contrast ratio with no motion blur ever since it refreshes almost 5x faster than even a 240 hz lCD can refresh. So which TV is better all depends on where you are goin to use it and how much you have to spend. Any good tech in a store will tell you the same thing. unless they are just tring to push whatever set the bosses are telling them to sell that day. if you need more info hit me up and id be glad to tell you more about it.

Sam, I'm late as usual. If you ever need any tech. advise CNet.com is what I use. This site has NEVER steered me wrong. Link below compares plasma vs. lcd. Pretty much what Greg said except that Plasmas have a much wider viewing area.



http://www.cnet.com/1990-7874_1-5108443-2.html?tag=rb_content;contentNav

Im sick of tired of shopping for a TV!! I wish there was a stand out in the 40-46 range for a reasonable price.

Richard,
I would look at the TV that I bought; Walmart Emerson PL-P42W-10A 42" plasma.. It's a rebranded Samsung. I am very happy with the purchase so far. I doubt you will find a better deal for $500.

for the stand, check pawn shops... around me there are always walmount (if thats what you want) for super super cheap

Well, I bought a LCD. After this thread, and with an addition of a PS3 for Christmas, for one of my sons, I decided to get serious about a better TV for the play/morning room. It's kind of small, so a 32" was plenty big.

A couple weeks ago, my morning radio crew had Clark Howard on. He talked about dealnews.com and how they are always finding the best deals. That's where I found mine, after I decided to spend more than $299 for a no name TV without many, any or bad reviews. I found an LG 720p, with great reviews and more expensive price comparisons, for $379 shipped from Beachcamera on dealnews.com. I highly recommend this site. Heck, when I went to beachcamera directly, I couldn't find the deal the link went to on dealnews.

Thanks for the info everyone.

Greg is right on. The amount of light in your room can make your decision for you right there. We have a lot of light in our living room and a Plasma would have been unwatchable. Actually, the Samsung LCD's had a glass front when we were looking so that made the decision easy for us. Sony.

Go into Best Buy and look at the TV's on the wall. Position yourself where their ceiling lights are reflecting on the screen. You won't be able to see the tv AT ALL if you are looking at a glass front set.

So dark rooms you have more options but with lots of light you need a set with a matte type finish.

I think refresh rates are a bit overrated. I bought the Sony 52" LCD W something (just below the XBR) a couple of years ago and it is only a 60mhz refresh tv and I don't notice motion blur at all. Some of that might depend on your signal.

+1 for the CNet recommendation. Also check out the forums at avsforum.com for the most knowledgable tv people.

Cnet gives great recommended settings for every T.V. they have reviewed. Worked for me!

I bought a 50" Panasonic Plasma. 1080P 600HZ. I think my total was around $900. I got it at Best Buy. I'm pretty happy with it so far. I bought the extended service plan for 4 years. It was $200 but I get it back in rewards cash if I don't use it. Best Buy also has a 30 day price match. If I find the same TV for a better price anywhere or they mark it down they'll refund me the difference.