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Join Date: Jun 2006
08-27-2010, 10:43 AM
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So I have been hunting around for a budget minded 26" TV to keep in my room at school, and I have yet to see a brand that gets any satisfactory reviews. Are there any brands cheaper than LG that are actually reliable? I'd love to save 100$ish but not if the TV will die in a year and 3 days. Anyone have any brands I should really avoid?
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Join Date: Feb 2004
08-27-2010, 10:55 AM
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When I was shopping a couple years ago I did some research (Consumer Reports, etc). I can't remember all of the bad brands, but I know that Phillips was one of them. I want to say that Toshiba was too, but I'm not sure. I do remember the better brands though:
Best Plasma - Pioneer, Panasonic, LG (in that order)
Best LCD - Sony, LG
Now with LED in the mix I'm not sure what's best and what's not. I ended up going with a Panasonic plasma and have absolutely loved it for the last 2 years.
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Join Date: Jul 2002
08-27-2010, 11:08 AM
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I've had AWESOME luck with anything Toshiba and Samsung. Vizio seems to get great reviews from my friends.
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08-27-2010, 11:25 AM
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Visio is reported to be made by Sony. You get what you pay for. In the 26 in line you absolutely don't need a 1080p. You may even want to use it as a computer monitor an you would have to lower the resolution to be able to even see the icons. If it is for school, get what you can afford. You are most likely going to beat it to death anyway and it is still better than nothing.
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Join Date: Mar 2010
08-27-2010, 11:52 AM
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Vizio. Check them out. My almost 4 year old Vizio LCD is still going strong with no signs of slowing down(knock on wood). Although my set is a 42in, I can't imagine the quality would vary a whole lot to make me say anything different. I also have a smaller Dynex, I believe it is Best buy's brand. Picked it up on a killer deal and have no complaints. Just my two pesos.
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Join Date: Jun 2010
08-27-2010, 3:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nauty
When I was shopping a couple years ago I did some research (Consumer Reports, etc). I can't remember all of the bad brands, but I know that Phillips was one of them. I want to say that Toshiba was too, but I'm not sure. I do remember the better brands though:
Best Plasma - Pioneer, Panasonic, LG (in that order)
Best LCD - Sony, LG
Now with LED in the mix I'm not sure what's best and what's not. I ended up going with a Panasonic plasma and have absolutely loved it for the last 2 years.
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I agree, I have two panasonic plasmas for 2+ years and have loved them, only annoying thing is just making sure not to leave a still picture like a dvd menu on the screen hehe.
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Join Date: Feb 2002
08-27-2010, 5:15 PM
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Keep in mind that generally the only people that usually bother to post reviews are mad about something.
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Join Date: Jun 2006
08-27-2010, 7:47 PM
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Yeah, the people with bad products tend to be more proactive, but with alot of brands (RCA and other cheapos), there were alot of bad reviews and they are only about 50-100$ cheaper than more 'name' brands, so I figured I would do a little more research.
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Join Date: Mar 2010
08-28-2010, 5:21 AM
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Stay away from kodak, I had one 3 weeks and it failed...
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08-28-2010, 10:24 AM
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Pretty sure LG manufactures Best Buy's store brand (Insignia) too. I was looking into those for a while as they are much cheaper than the big names, had good reviews on the web. I did end up with a Vizio though and I'm loving it.
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Join Date: Jan 2009
08-28-2010, 10:27 AM
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I have an Insignia 32" LCD/DVD combo in my bedroom. You can find the brand at Best Buy, and not 100% sure about this, but the salesman told me LG makes that brand for Best Buy. It was relatively inexpensive and it works as good today as it did when I bought it two years ago. They have several sizes to choose from.
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Join Date: Sep 2007
08-28-2010, 2:06 PM
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We have two samsungs a 32lcd and a 50 inch plasma both have been great. I do know a few people who had vizio's that didn't have good luck. I have heard great things about panasonic as well.
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Join Date: Jun 2010
08-29-2010, 8:46 AM
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i would suggest looking at costco and walmart/target, i did a ton of shopping around for my new 42in vizio and wound up finding the best deal at costco
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Join Date: Jul 2007
08-29-2010, 9:19 AM
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I had real problems with a 42" Samsung. One little white pixel turned into about 200 all over the screen. Quoted over $300 to fix it with abslutely no guarantee.Barely 24 months old.
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Join Date: Oct 2008
08-29-2010, 4:23 PM
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I love my Phillips.
I've had it for about 3 years now and it is absolutely perfect. Great price from Sams also. It is a LCD.
It actually got great reviews on every website I could find.
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Join Date: Aug 2007
08-29-2010, 5:10 PM
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I've had a 32in and 42 in Olevia for 3 years and haven't had any problems at all with either
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Join Date: Feb 2008
08-30-2010, 9:18 AM
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My Samsung mother board crapped 2 weeks out of warranty. $202 for a new one and 15 minutes to install it. I'd not buy a Samsung again.
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Join Date: Jul 2002
08-30-2010, 10:19 AM
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FWIW.... My brother is in the home theater business and recomends people buy Samsungs at Costco if they're price shopping. If I recall correctly he really likes Pioneer's high end stuff, but it's really pricey.
I've got two Samsungs. A plasma and a LCD. Both 42's. The plasma is 7 years old and still kickin'. We thought it was dying because every once in a while we'll lose about 5 lines on one side of the TV, but it only happens once every couple weeks. The LCD is awesome and has great resolution. I think we've had that set about 3 years and it's been through a move. So far, so good.
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Join Date: Oct 2007
08-31-2010, 11:44 AM
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I bought a 42" Phillips from Walmart in Feb 2009 and have had zero problems. Very happy with it. Also have a Toshiba 56" DLP that has been great as well. Just changed the bulb back in April after 3 years of heavy use.
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Join Date: Mar 2007
08-31-2010, 5:12 PM
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I have 3 newer tvs:
Olevia - 37" LCD
LG - 50" Plasma
Samsung - 40" LCD
LG is my favorite (had for 2 years - no issues)
Olevia is 2nd (had for 5 years - no issues)
Samsung 3rd (only because of the stupid start up/shut down noise) (had for a year - no issues)
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Join Date: May 2009
09-02-2010, 9:17 AM
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I have a HItachi 42" plasma, Vizio 32" LCD and a Samsung 55" LCD at the house. All of them perform great. Best bang for your buck is the Vizio IMHO. Picked mine up at Costco for a few hundred bucks.
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Join Date: Mar 2007
09-02-2010, 10:33 AM
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FYI - I picked up my Samsung 40" LCD 1080p on craigslist --> $300 bucks - it would be perfect for a school room
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Join Date: Aug 2010
09-02-2010, 2:33 PM
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I've got 2 50" LG Plasmas and absolutely love them. I will continue to buy their products as the quality of the TV and the picture is awesome.
Good luck!
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Join Date: Dec 2006
09-02-2010, 10:46 PM
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Phillips 37" LCD here and its been great.. my parents have a 40" Phillips LCD with 0 problems and a 60" Pioneer Plasma both have been great.. my sister at first got a 22" or so insignia that looked awful.. it was quickly returned for something else..
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Join Date: Jun 2004
09-07-2010, 6:58 AM
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always been a samsung guy here... 62 dlp at home and two 42" plasmas at the office. Couldnt be happier.
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