# Help me find a cheap, decent television **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 14, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055 "2007-06-14T22:22:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/1 "2007-06-14T22:22:00Z")
I just started a thread about pawn shops, but I’m realizing that my root question is slightly different. Briefly, my old 20" CRT television is on its way out: ten years old, fuzzy picture, no digital hookups, fuzzy sound, etc. I’d like to get a new TV, with the following characteristics: -Less than $400 (preferably around $2-300) -S-video compatible -screen at least 20", preferably more -From a reliable company. It doesn’t need to be HDTV, although I guess it’s by default gonna be HDTV-compatible. It doesn’t need to be flatscreen or widescreen or ginormous or stereo sound or plasma or anything. Does anyone have any recommendations? Especially recommendations of companies to look for and companies to avoid: I’m really a newbie at buying electronics like this, and I’m trying to get away from my previous strategy (“buy the second-cheapest thing in the store”), as recent experiences have convinced me that’s an idiotic strategy. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/2 "2007-06-14T22:39:06Z")
Our basement TV is a 27-inch Sanyo DS27800 that I got at Wal-Mart for a little over $300, about 5 years ago. It has the S-video input. It has features I’ve never used – Picture in Picture, clock, sleep timer, auto shut-off, closed captioning, V-Guide, etc. It’s hooked up to a satellite, DVR, and DVD player and I managed to do that myself, so it’s user-friendly. The sound and picture quality are great. I wish it would die so I could justify going Hi-Def. 🙂 This is my second Sanyo. The other one lasted 10 years and was fried by lightning, or we’d probably still be using it. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/3 "2007-06-14T22:42:32Z")
I have a 27-inch Insignia brand TV in my bedroom S-video and RCA inputs and outputs. It’s Best Buy’s house brand and for a no-name TV, it’s just fine. I don’t think I paid more than $200 for it on sale. ---
**Author:** ![Pithy\_Moniker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8dc957/32.png) [@Pithy\_Moniker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pithy_Moniker)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/4 "2007-06-14T22:55:37Z")
If Wal-mart doesn’t bother you too much, they usually have good television prices. I found [this one](http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4872540) on their website. It looks to have everything you’re looking for. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/5 "2007-06-14T23:00:19Z")
Dog shit - wrong thread! ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/6 "2007-06-14T23:08:13Z")
Make sure you buy a flat-screen TV - not a flat **panel** like when you see those Plasma TV’s that hang on the wall, but a regular, standard, boxy TV that has a flat picture tube instead of curved screen. It makes a huge difference in the quality of the picture and all-but eliminates glare. This used to be only really available on more expensive TV’s like the Sony WEGA’s, but it’s trickled down to the cheapies. Something like [this](http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8212604&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050007&id=1166235821738) should be just about perfect. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/7 "2007-06-15T02:48:08Z")
FYI - It’s not likely to be HDTV-compatible at those prices. That would mean that it would accept a HD TV signal without any problems. What you will get is an SDTV (Standard Definition TV) which just means that it’ll accept current TV broadcasts and Cable and stuff. What happens in 2009 when SDTV goes off the air is you’ll have to buy a converter box to convert the HDTV signal to something your TV will accept. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/8 "2007-06-15T02:54:57Z")
Depends on what the OP wants to do with the TV? Will you be using this for cable/satellite television, or just DVDs/video games? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/9 "2007-06-15T03:15:11Z")
What a co-inky-dink! I’m trying to sell my 40" Sony XBR TV for $400. It actually does better with analog TV than my new plasma set does, and it is nearly HD. If by some freak chance you’re near me, we should talk. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/10 "2007-06-15T03:41:47Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] What a co-inky-dink! I’m trying to sell my 40" Sony XBR TV for $400. It actually does better with analog TV than my new plasma set does, and it is nearly HD. If by some freak chance you’re near me, we should talk. 😃 [/QUOTE] 40"? Is it a tube set? If so, that sucker’s going to be ginormous. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/11 "2007-06-15T05:52:24Z")
Used. Classified, Craigslist, etc. So many are switching to the cool new plasma and HD stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/12 "2007-06-15T13:39:40Z")
Sadly, **gotpasswords** , I’m on the opposite coast. Oh well! Thanks for the excellent advice, folks–I really appreciate it. Honestly, I thought decent televisions cost far more than I was willing to spend. One question I have is how to tell whether a particular television will be reliable. Is this something that depends on the brand? I’ve bought electronics in the past that are manufactured by total no-name brands, and they’ve been terrible. Is buying a brand I’ve heard of (Toshiba seems to make affordable TVs) a reasonable bulwark against unreliability? We plan on using the TV for DVDs, mainly. We haven’t had cable since _Angel_ went off the air. If we do end up getting cable, then we’ll end up buying one of those converter doohickeys, I guess. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/13 "2007-06-15T15:34:48Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] 40"? Is it a tube set? If so, that sucker’s going to be ginormous. [/QUOTE] Yes and yes. It’s a victim of advancing technology - four or five years ago, it cost more than you’d pay for a similar sized LCD or plasma panel today. And it weighs in at about 300 pounds. But it is still pretty much the best standard-def TV ever sold on the consumer market. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/14 "2007-06-15T16:05:07Z")
[QUOTE=urban1z] FYI - It’s not likely to be HDTV-compatible at those prices. That would mean that it would accept a HD TV signal without any problems. What you will get is an SDTV (Standard Definition TV) which just means that it’ll accept current TV broadcasts and Cable and stuff. What happens in 2009 when SDTV goes off the air is you’ll have to buy a converter box to convert the HDTV signal to something your TV will accept. Bob [/QUOTE] Not true. Even if it is a standard definition TV, it will be quite able to decode digital broadcasts. As of March 1 of this year, all new TV sets sold had to be able to decode digital broadcasts out of the box. In practice, most manufacturers marketed dual-mode TVs well in advance of the switch. The TV purchased now will not become obsolete. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/15 "2007-06-15T16:32:26Z")
Here’s what you do: Bookmark [woot.com](http://www.woot.com/). Go there every day. The eariler in the day, the better – they only sell one thing per day, and once they sell out, you’re outta luck. Every few weeks their item of the day is a TV. Sometimes they’re massive, 60"+ jobbies, which will be well out of your posted price range. But now and then they’ll put up a great TV (generally Hi-Def) which you’ll be able to afford. Another nice thing – no matter what you buy or where you live, shipping is five bucks. Buy a tiny little stuffed monkey for three bucks? Five dollars shipping. Buy a 300 pound 65" widescreen TV? Five dollars shipping. Also, watch (usually around the end of the month) for a WootOff. It might last a few hours, it might last three days, but as soon as they sell out of an item, they put up another item – no “One Day, One Deal” during the WootOff. You can tell a WootOff by the flashing lights under the item’s picture. And you _will_ find good TV deals during a WootOff. And if you snipe a Bag Of Crap out from under me, I’ll never speak to you again. Damn! Wish I’d looked earlier today…that USB Missile Launcher looks completely badass… ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2007, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-cheap-decent-television/408055/16 "2007-06-15T21:52:57Z")
[WOOT.COM](http://WOOT.COM) ! Hell yeah! I bought a 32" LCD TV from them about 4 months ago. $420 + $5 shipping It’s been fantastic!