what to look for in a new large screen tv

[Cathan]

I've been tv shopping a bit but I'm still not up to speed on all the technical aspects of exactly what I need to be looking for. I think I want a rear projection tv instead of a flat panel. I would rather save money and end up with more screen space instead of distance between my wall and the front of the screen. As far as I can tell it seems like the flat panels (whether plasma or lcd just cost more for less screen space) yet there isn't any difference in quality.

My basic price range is 1 to $2k USD. I want something I can hook up to my computer to game on if I feel like it and something spectacular to watch movies on. I don't need the best of the best but I would like something that's guaranteed to last or guaranteed it will be replaced if something goes wrong.

I've shopped around at malls and various stores and a little on newegg. Is there one definitive place that's good for tv's, quite a few or does it just depend who has the best deal atm?

Thanks for all your input ahead of time.

[avgeek]

I'm sure some folks here will try to talk you out of a big screen TV, but if you really can't tell the difference in quality then I won't go there.

My best recommendation is go to Best Buy or Circuit City and watch the sales and clearance TV's. Find one that is big and has HDMI and VGA and/or DVI inputs and you will be set. You should be able to do both for $1600 - $1800

As for brands, with a few exceptions most come out of the same plant and almost all have the same warranty (1 year). You can always buy a service plan but your mileage may vary.

[Dildo Faggins]

Originally Posted by Cathan

I've been tv shopping a bit but I'm still not up to speed on all the technical aspects of exactly what I need to be looking for. I think I want a rear projection tv instead of a flat panel. I would rather save money and end up with more screen space instead of distance between my wall and the front of the screen. As far as I can tell it seems like the flat panels (whether plasma or lcd just cost more for less screen space) yet there isn't any difference in quality.

My basic price range is 1 to $2k USD. I want something I can hook up to my computer to game on if I feel like it and something spectacular to watch movies on. I don't need the best of the best but I would like something that's guaranteed to last or guaranteed it will be replaced if something goes wrong.

I've shopped around at malls and various stores and a little on newegg. Is there one definitive place that's good for tv's, quite a few or does it just depend who has the best deal atm?

Thanks for all your input ahead of time.

I recently picked up the Samsung 42 inch dlp at 900$ Its 720p and makes a nice in room television. Quality if f-n spectacular, and honestly at the distance i watch it at ~9 feet, i dont know if 1080 would provide anything useful quality wise, as 720 is already pretty gdamn good. All and all, im really happy with the purchase.

Just do NOT buy mitsubishi, whatever you do. They make Shitty tvs. Always have, and always will. Quality wise they are the yugo of the couc-going experience.

[Vinen]

Originally Posted by Dildo Faggins

I recently picked up the Samsung 42 inch dlp at 900$ Its 720p and makes a nice in room television. Quality if f-n spectacular, and honestly at the distance i watch it at ~9 feet, i dont know if 1080 would provide anything useful quality wise, as 720 is already pretty gdamn good. All and all, im really happy with the purchase.

Just do NOT buy mitsubishi, whatever you do. They make Shitty tvs. Always have, and always will. Quality wise they are the yugo of the couc-going experience.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOL (idiot friend just purchased a 52inch or something Mitsubishi TV.... and was raving about how awesome the price was)

[Darus Grey]

You can get the samsung 1080P DLPs for 1400-1600 in 50 inches, its a great set and best bang for buck around.

Amazon.com: Samsung HL-S5087W 50" 1080p DLP HDTV: Electronics

No offense to previous poster(Dildo,not Vinen) intended by contradicting him, but if your interested in gaming at all, do not buy the older 720DLP models, the old samsung 720 and early 1080p models had horrible scaling issues, depending on how sensitive you are to video lag, they could be tolerable to downright maddening(I had to sell one I had because it bothered me to no end).

The samsung is really about as good as it gets PQ wise, has most the features and inputs you want, is fairly large, and being 1080p( at barely a premium over other sets)... works with native res for 360/ps3/HD-disc players, and has a higher possible PC resolution.

[Aegdaien]

Second the Samsung that Darus linked. I have the exact same set and the quality is just mind-blowing. Picked it up for ~1600 but the price has come down a bit on it.

[Sarvius]

I could be wrong, but I'd imagine if you're gonna be paying almost $2k for a TV, any place you go to should let you hook up a laptop and see how things scale to it. I'd at least ask to do this - they should be as accomidating as possible since they're getting such a huge chunk of your money.

ABC Warehouse tends to have better prices than Best Buy / Circuit City since their sales are on commission, so everything is negotiable. Knock 10% off the price and ask to have the TV for that much out the door.

[Cathan]

If I ordered the Samsung S5087W from Amazon: Amazon.com: Samsung HL-S5087W 50" 1080p DLP HDTV: Electronics

anyone know of any downside to ordering here vs somewhere else? I figure amazon is a pretty reputable company and with the free shipping their total price is less than any other I have found. If you look there on amazon's site it shows other sellers with lower prices. Anyone know anything about those companies or how reliable they are?
I checked out bestbuy.com and circuitycity.com. They both have the s5087w for $1699 that I could pick up locally and not have to wait for shipping. Whatever I decide I want to make sure I buy from a company that gives me the least amount of hassle.

[Dildo Faggins]

Originally Posted by Vinen

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOL (idiot friend just purchased a 52inch or something Mitsubishi TV.... and was raving about how awesome the price was)

If you think im kidding, go to your local fry's and search through their HD tvs in for repair. At mine it was 15 mitsubishi tvs and not ONE fucking other tv. Quality wise, most of the big brands are pretty solid, but mitsubishi is so below par its laughable. When I bought my first house, it came with a free 60~ inch mitsubishi tv and I was like oh sweetness. Guy said it needed to be fixed. But i was like, hey- free tv. Im all on it. Got that thing fixed, a sixty inch tv working for 300$ seemed like a deal. Well ill be damned if that piece of shit didnt break again 1 month later. 200$ to fix it again, no big deal, 500$ is still a deal. Lasted about 2 months that time then Blam, nother problem. After that i just said fuck it.

As for the person who reported scaling sucking on Samsung making it bad for gaming. Maybe on the old ones, but my new one seems quite nice. Scaled up DVDs look great. I cant say how this would apply to gaming, since I only game on my computer.

[Dildo Faggins]

Originally Posted by Cathan

If I ordered the Samsung S5087W from Amazon: Amazon.com: Samsung HL-S5087W 50" 1080p DLP HDTV: Electronics

anyone know of any downside to ordering here vs somewhere else? I figure amazon is a pretty reputable company and with the free shipping their total price is less than any other I have found. If you look there on amazon's site it shows other sellers with lower prices. Anyone know anything about those companies or how reliable they are?
I checked out bestbuy.com and circuitycity.com. They both have the s5087w for $1699 that I could pick up locally and not have to wait for shipping. Whatever I decide I want to make sure I buy from a company that gives me the least amount of hassle.

Ive used amazons little contract companies to buy little things, and never had a problem, but for things that get larger and more expensive, i would be more likely to migrate away from price and go for places that have no hassle.

If your patient, you can keep your eye on the papers and best buy or similar will run a good deal and give you a real good price on a tv. I got my 899$ deal on a regular price 1249$ tv. Its as close to shoplifting as an honest person can get.

[Darus Grey]

I've ordered several multi-thousand dollars items from amazon and only had one issue, which was quickly resolved(a projector lamp that was DOA)

If you have an issue with the TV once you get it, the Samsung warranty is better than the return policy, they'll send a technician to your home and will pick it up to replace it if thats nesseccary, its very little hassle(besides just time) on your part.

Considering the savings of nearly a grand vs any B&M store, I think its worth the risk that you "might" be slightly inconvienced.
Also the "other sellers" on Amazon are all backed by Amazon, so if you have an issue with them, they back it up.(Though as I said, Samsung's actual warranty is better than any return policy, assuming you just don't absolutely hate the TV to begin with).

[Jysin-DW]

Originally Posted by Dildo Faggins

Ive used amazons little contract companies to buy little things, and never had a problem, but for things that get larger and more expensive, i would be more likely to migrate away from price and go for places that have no hassle....

I found the following company through one of Amazon's contracts and have since been purchasing directly through them. I have bought a couple thousand $ worth of electronics from them and have nothing but positive things to say.

Their HDTV prices seem respectable as well.

JR.com: J&R Music and Computer World - Audio, Video, Digital Cameras, Camcorders, TV, DVD, iPods, Networking, Satellite, GPS, MP3, Notebooks, Apple

[Lyenae]

Too many changes in technology/standards going on right now, there's no way you can buy to last.

You should be looking at something that'll last 3-5 years as your main display (after which you will switch that out to bedroom/kidsroom duty and you get a new one.)

You should spend quite a few days reading AVS Forum - Home and ask questions there.

[Cathan]

I picked up the Samsung HLS5087W 50" DLP with an Onkyo 5.1 surround sound system this weekend from Circuit City. The tv listed for $1899 in the store but I paid $1529 for it. The surround sound was $270 and I paid that price for it. Circiut City online had the tv listed for $1699 and bestbuy.com had the same price. I looked online at amazon and a big list of other online sellers which ranged from $1540 to $1900 just for the tv. Even at $1540 with free shipping it would have taken a few weeks for the tv to arrive so I just took the combo deal from circuit city yesterday. So far I enjoy the tv. About the only complaint I have is that there doesn't seem to be much that truly makes use of what the tv can do as far as picture quality on regular tv and regular dvd's. I might start looking into a ps3 or hd dvd player before long. It's pc compatible so I plan on hooking up my pc to it today when I get home to see what kind of picture quality I get from that. I can see already that I'll have to figure out a way to get more range out of my wireless keyboard and mouse to play from my bed . Guitar hero should be pretty damn fun on it too.

Circuit city kept trying to push that extended warranty which they touted would offset the price of the bulb before it ever goes bad. I told them to pack sand. If it goes bad samsung has a 1 year service warranty and after that I'm not all that worried about it. Maybe nothing will go wrong with it for 5 or 10 years /shrug.

[Grimble]

Originally Posted by Cathan

Circuit city kept trying to push that extended warranty which they touted would offset the price of the bulb before it ever goes bad. I told them to pack sand. If it goes bad samsung has a 1 year service warranty and after that I'm not all that worried about it. Maybe nothing will go wrong with it for 5 or 10 years /shrug.

Except for the fact that Samsung's warrany doesn't cover the bulb. Your going to have to shell out about $250 for that and then either replace it yourself or hire someone to do it. I don't know though, Samsung has excellent customer service and that might actually come out and do it for you.

Oh and a common misunderstanding...its not that something "could go wrong" with the bulb. Its that the lamp, like any light bulb, has a limited life span. The typical life for someone who watches a lot of TV is around 2 years.

Enjoy the TV.