Seeking opinions from owners of HD TVs. I'm in the market and want advice.

In My Humble Opinion
1

A recent check for some work i did means that i’m in a position to get rid of our 150-pound 27" CRT television and finally enter the world of high-definition viewing. I’ve done lots of reading about brands, models, screen sizes, resolution, refresh rates, contrast ratios, inputs, outputs, and all that stuff, and i’m not sure that i’m any closer to making a confident decision than i was when i started looking.

I realized the other day that, despite having spent hours on the internet readings about all this stuff, i hadn’t actually spent any time looking at the product, so on Saturday i drove down to the local Best Buy to have a look. Again, i’m not sure that seeing all those TVs actually helped me very much. For one thing, i suspect that some were poorly calibrated, and were not showing their best possible picture. Also, the lighting and viewing angles in Best Buy are quite different from my house. It’s highly unlikely that i will mount my TV 12 feet up the wall of our loungeroom.

I figured that i’d get some feedback from Dopers, plenty of whom have HDTVs, and that’s what i’m looking for in this thread. Let me tell you a bit about my needs/wants and budget first, though, so you know not to waste your time recommending the $3000 60" LED.

Our loungeroom is not very wide, and space (as well as financial) constraints mean that a 55 or 60" TV would be too big, even if i could afford it. I think that 42" is probably ideal. A 37" model would work (although there aren’t many in that size), and if a 46" were available that fit the budget that would be great.

I want internet connectivity. Netflix is essential, and being able to stream MLBTV to the television is also important. I’m tossing up between a TV with internet connectivity built-in, a set-top box like Roku, and a Blu-Ray player that also connects to the internet.

Budget right now tops out at about $1000. I’ll live with the TV’s own speakers at first, and shop for a home theater speaker system when the next check comes in. This TV will be used only for watching TV, movies, etc. No gaming.

So, any feedback would be appreciated. Specific makes and models requested. Good experiences, bad ones. I’m also interested on any opinions you have on things like resolution (is it worth considering 720P, or is 1080P so standard now as to be essential?), refresh rate (if your TV is 60Hz, do you notice motion blurring?), black levels (reviews of LCD TVs make a big deal out of this), etc., etc. If you have internet connectivity (TV, Roku, AppleTV, Blu-Ray player, etc.), how well does it work?

Almost no-one seems to talk about plasma TVs anymore, especially now that LED is becoming more common, but a few of the plasmas i saw in Best Buy the other day seemed to have excellent picture quality. If you have a fairly recent plasma TV, what is it like?

Anyway, i know that pretty rambling. I’m just hoping to get a discussion going that can help me make a decision.

2

The Westinghouse model I have seemed like a pretty good deal until the HDMI ports died on it. Which, after a little reading around, is not an uncommon problem with them. I have it hooked up via component cables now and it still looks nice enough that I’m in no hurry to replace it but I wouldn’t get another Westinghouse.

3

Panasonic plasmas are a good choice as long as reflections aren’t a problem. Plasmas tend to have a glossy screen.

4

I would think that almost all have netflix capabilities, perhaps it was a joke but I’ve seen a picture of a remote with a netflix button on it. But make sure it is wireless ready (unless you have a network cable there or don’t mind running it.

5

A friend of mine has a Westinghouse. When he bought it a couple of years ago, it was about the cheapest HDTV available, but i’ve always found the picture perfectly good, and he’s been very happy with it. It does seem pretty crappy that something as straightforward and central to an HDTV as an HDMI port should fail, though.

Yeah, our living room is pretty light during the day, although we do most of our viewing at night. The issue of reflections is one thing i’ve been a little worried about when looking at plasma screens.

Quite a lot have Netflix and other internet capability, but by no means all. That’s not a deal-breaker, as i could get a separate Roku box or internet-ready DVD player.

6

We have two Sharp Aquos HDTVs in two sizes in our house. We like them both. Only the larger of the two has wireless capability, and I don’t think we’ve tried it yet (just bought it a week and a half ago), but the picture quality is awesome–almost like 3D without the glasses.

7

Get whatever Panasonic ST30-series plasma is in your price range. Most likely the 42-inch. It’s really the best choice. Don’t buy an inferior TV just because of glare. Just buy (or make) blackout curtains.

When you can, get a calibrator ($100) so you can setup your television properly. Once you set yours, you’ll notice how terrible other TVs look.

Don’t buy a speaker package. Buy a good receiver and two good speakers. Then get a good sub (I got two 10" drivers from some car guy for weed money.) Then get two more good speakers for the surround.

Get a Playstation 3. Even if you don’t like games, it’s one of the best Blu-Ray players and it’ll handle all of your streaming needs. Or, even better, make your own home theatre PC (another thread.)

8

Do not buy your HDTV from Best Buy. In fact, don’t ever buy anything from Best Buy. It’s OK to visit and do all the touchy feelly stuff, but buy elsewhere.

9

I bought a Sony LCD TV about 3 years ago and I have not had one day of problem with it. (Well, the first one I got had a problem, but I exchanged it and the new one has not had a day of problem.)

My brother has a 40 something inch Samsung that he has for a few years with little to no problems.

From what I understand the benefits of 1080p really only come into play with the larger tvs and closer distance to the screen. My tv is a 32 inch and 720p seems fine to me. I might not have a good eye for it, but I have seen 1080p tvs and don’t notice much a difference between them and mine.
This site talks about it a bit.
http://carltonbale.com/1080p-does-matter

Take the size of your room and the distance you will be from the television into consideration when you decide what size to get. There are several websites that give you good guidelines on this.

I love Roku. It has the options for MLB.tv, Netflix, Amazon, and a ton of others. Also, the new ones allow you to hook up a hard drive and watch video files you might have. So, if you compare a couple of TVs and the price difference between internet capable and non-internet is more than a Roku. I would go with Roku.

I also have a PS3 and love it for everything video related. The Roku is good, but the PS3 is awesome. Of course, it is pretty pricey and if you don’t have any interest in games it’s not worth it.
I disagree with Duckster. I had no problems with Best Buy when I bought my TV. I even had to return it, and they gave me my money back with no problem. There was a line of weird pixels along the top of the screen that turned up after 2 weeks. And, they took it back with no argument. If there is another store that you are comfortable with, go ahead with them. I just don’t think Best Buy is terrible for TVs if you find them to have the best price.
Now if we are talking about computers, I agree. Stay away from Best Buy.

10

To quote a radio ad “Size matters”
I guarantee a year from now, no matter what size TV you buy you will not say “Gee I wish I had bought a smaller set”

11

With a $1000 budget, you sure do have a lot of upgrades that you want to add on - I’m just sayin’. The most important thing right now, IMO, is size. You can add a Netflix/MLB bluray player later.

I’d recommend keeping an eye out on techdealdigger.com, which does a pretty good job of aggregating deals around the internet. That’ll give you a good idea of what the bargain price points are. I got a 47" Westinghouse 1080p LCD a few years ago for $700 from buy.com, but that was the perfect storm of situations.

12

I agree with this. I bought a 46" Sony LCD from Amazon.com (because the price was several hundred dollars less than for the same model from Best Buy) but if I had to do it all over again, would have bought a larger set. And in case you’re uncomfortable with the idea of mail-ordering something that big, they have a special “white-glove” service for such things where they had a company deliver the set, unbox it and set it up in my apartment.

And another thing. HDMI cable connections are best where possible. I recommend buying HDMI cables from Monoprice.com (for under five bucks each) rather than Best Buy or another retailer (where they can cost ten times the price).

13

If not for the failed ports (both stopped working so I’m assuming it’s something deeper in), I’d be perfectly happy with it. But the busted ports are kind of a deal-breaker for next time, ya know?

14

Did the ports physically break (like broke lose) or just stop working?

15

I agree with using Best Buy to “play”'with stuff but to purchase elsewhere. I bought a 37" 1080p Westinghouse from buy.com 5 years ago for $500. Best Buy had the exact same set on display and on sale for $1200 and it was an “open box” item! I was upgrading from a 27" CRT at the time and thought an extra 10" was more than enough bigger in my small apartment. Could definitely have gone bigger. Get the biggest you can afford!

16

Another reason to go bigger is that the typical CRT television is a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio screen. But a new HDTV is going to be a 16:9 aspect ratio. So while the image might be a lot bigger, it’s not much taller. So I’d use that as an argument to get the biggest screen you can afford and fit in the room. I mean, the idea is to get an image with the biggest field of view possible. (And BTW, now that I’ve gotten used to HD content, I hate to go back to watching SD channels, but I have to for the occasional one that isn’t available in HD.)

17

I’m not sure if my OP was clear, but the $1000 is just for the TV and Netflix/MLB capability. i’m not counting the speaker system in with that. The speakers will come later, when i put aside some extra money.

Basically, all i’m looking at for my $1000 is the TV and some form of internet connectivity.

Everyone seems agreed about the size thing. One of my colleagues at work has a 60" set, and he said to me that the absolute minimum he would consider is 50". If i can get a 50", i will, but i think that 46" is the most realistic top end right now.

Our living room is pretty small, and if we move to a bigger place in the next couple of years, it would probably only be because our income had somehow increased due to a new or better job. If that happens, we’ll also be able to afford a second, larger TV.

It was never my intention to purchase from Best Buy, although they do have some deals, and if the set i want happens to be cheapest at Best Buy, i would probably risk it. Thanks for the techdealdigger link, Munch. I also frequently check Google shopping, Amazon, NewEgg, B&H Photo, and TechBargains for deals.

I’m not in a massive rush. We’ve been without an HDTV for so long that a few more weeks waiting for the best deal is not a problem. Also, the semester finishes in a few weeks, and i’ll then have time to really be systematic about price and feature comparisons.

Dewey, don’t worry, i’m not going to spend $80 for HDMI cables. I’m not going to fall for the whole Best Buy/Monster cable racket.

18

For the last six years I’ve had a 60" Sony rear projection LCD which has served me very well. I recently was in the market for another around the same size and was either going to get an LED or the Sony Bravia LCD which has had excellent reviews. I actually talked my Dad into getting one and thought his picture was pretty nice.

Then I saw the Panasonic plasma. Holy crap.

The picture clarity, color and realism are nothing short of stunning. The refresh rate is one of the highest available due to new, ultra fast phosphors (sp?) so the fast action of sports is true to life. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thanked myself for getting past the scare of old plasma, many aspects of which are no longer even applicable. Burn in, energy use, dead pixels, all have been addressed through new technology. It does generate some heat but provided it’s not completely enclosed in a cabinet you should be okay. Mine’s in a large living room with no less than ten very large windows from floor to a nineteen foot ceiling with morning sun and it’s simply not an issue.

Panasonic Viera Plasma… one helluva HD TV.

ETA: I haven’t even had it calibrated yet. Best Buy is coming out 5/6 to do that as it needs to have at least 100 hours on it first. I’ve played with the settings a bit though and honestly don’t know how they’re going to improve anything. The blacks, the ability to clearly see suble shade differences, is better than with any other kind of TV I’ve ever seen.

19

I did a ton of research before buying my first LCD HDTV, a 42" Samsung with 1080p resolution. I’m thrilled with it. The only criticism I have is that the sound quality isn’t fantastic, as the speakers point downward. However, unless you’re a professional audiophile, you probably won’t notice. Since you’re in the market for audio equipment anyway, it’s no issue.

You can probably get a 42" Samsung nowadays for about $800.

From what I’ve read, Sony Bravia is probably at the top of the line, but you need to fork over a small fortune for the accessories to make it worth it.

Finally, don’t skimp on HDMI cables, but don’t be a miser either. Avoid the ultra-pricey Monster cables at all costs, but beware the $6.99 cables sold online as well. I bought the latter and found that the picture quality and sound was vastly inferior with them. You’ll probably want to spend about $35.00 per cable.

(Why are HDMI cables so expensive, you ask? It is because electronics merchants don’t really make much of a profit on TV’s, Xboxes, PS3’s, etc., since the manufacturer contractually sets the prices. The real money is made in accessories and everyone needs HDMI cables nowadays, since they don’t come with the aforementioned electronics. Mid- and upper-priced HDMI cables are essentially the same.)

20

Stopped working. Tried various combinations of HDMI cables, routed through different things (cable box, blu-ray player) and ultimately had to admit that the TV just wasn’t working. Some looking around online gave numerous other experiences with the same issue and some attempted kludge fixes (unplug, turn on, hold power for 25 seconds, yadda yadda) but none worked for me.