# Where should I shop for a new TV and what should I buy? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978 "2011-12-13T02:46:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978/21 "2011-12-14T00:05:39Z")
> [@Mdcastleman](#): > > I know you didn’t ask for specific advice, but since people are starting to give it I’ll give some of my thoughts: Specific advise is fine. Just wanted to also be broad enough where people besides me can use this thread. Thanks for the lesson on why the refresh rate matters. I omitted that above to reduce text. > [@](#): > > \*If you have Comcast I would not go with Vizio. I was unable to get a digital connection to work on my office TV with their current HD boxes. I’m not the only one having this problem. On the other hand their current boxes allow pass-through, which is not a standard feature which makes it nice to use with my main setup. This basically means the box doesn’t f— around with the digital signal trying to scale and interlace 720P sources (Fox, ABC, A&E, ESPN, and their affiliated networks). I have Brighthouse and Verizon FIOS in our area. Used to be Time Warner Cable once upon a time. We use Brighthouse, but occasionally I’m tempted to switch to FIOS. > [@](#): > > \*Getting a TV capable of handling 1080P is certainly worth it. You’ll get the full resolution from 1080P sources (blu-ray, I believe some sat movies, Netflix). And 1080i sources (which are more common than 720P) will not need to be scaled. All but the smallest/cheapest sets seem to offer 1080P nowdays. I think our minimum will be 1080P and 120hz. I may have some specific questions on differentiating specific models later. > [@](#): > > \*Plasma and LED/LCD have different “looks” and different strengths and weaknesses. I prefer plasma to LED/LCD. Compare the two and see which you like. In the store, I liked the look of Plasma a bit better, but not overwhelmingly so. Everything looks great compared to what we have at home, so it can be a little tough to judge. I did see a thing in Consumer Reports giving reasons to go for Plasma or LCD/LED. Currently leaning towards LCD/LED. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978/22 "2011-12-14T01:13:09Z")
Where were all you guys when [thread=632060]I asked this question?[/thread] (seriously, there may be more useful advice in that thread). I’m also struggling with the plasma versus LCD issue. Which is better for gaming? A 120hz LCD will do the trick with respect to flicker? Is burn in no longer an issue? ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978/23 "2011-12-14T04:42:08Z")
Well, I hadn’t registered yet when you asked the question… Is 120 HZ good enough to prevent flicker? In my opinion it is. I can’t stand being under fluorescent lights with magnetic ballasts that are 60hz. I absolutely can’t stand movie theaters that are 48 hz. On the other hand I can comfortably watch my 100" 120 hz projection setup for hours. Plasma burn in is still an issue. It’s less of an issue than it used to be due to better phosphers and anti-burn agorithms. On the other hand motion blur with LCDs are still an issue. It’s much less of an issue than it used to be with newer technology. Ditto for LCD black levels. I used to use an old SVGA LCD projector where the grey “blacks” and motion blur were obnoxious for watching movies but my new LCD projector is perfectly acceptable for movies, as is my LCD computer monitor for gaming. I’ve never owned a plasma set even though I like the “look” better, so I can’t comment as to which is better for gaming. The standard tradeoffs between the technologies still apply, except I might be concerned about game graphics being burned into a plasma if you play the same game for hours and days. Of the three current technologies (DLP, LCD, and Plasma) I think Plasma has by far the best image quality (close to or equal to CRT quality). But there are other considerations besides image quality when buying a setup. Most notably plasmas seem to be between 42" and 60". If you need a bigger or smaller setup you have to go with one of the other technologies. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978/24 "2011-12-14T19:36:33Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Where were all you guys when [thread=632060]I asked this question?[/thread] (seriously, there may be more useful advice in that thread). Thanks for the link, sorry I missed this first time around. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978/25 "2011-12-20T15:28:23Z")
So I’m in Costco on the weekend seeing which models that they have there. A guy said to me why is everything now LED edge lit - they don’t have his model anymore which was all LED and a much better picture. Is there/ was there a pure LED TV. Would it be superior or have its own disadvantages? ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978/26 "2011-12-20T15:40:29Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > So I’m in Costco on the weekend seeing which models that they have there. A guy said to me why is everything now LED edge lit - they don’t have his model anymore which was all LED and a much better picture. Is there/ was there a pure LED TV. Would it be superior or have its own disadvantages? I don’t know about that claim. I know edge-lit is popular because it allows them to make really thin TVs, but I doubt that the “better picture” part of the market just disappeared overnight. The pure LED (or more specifically, local dimming LED) TVs have a superior picture. The problem with LCD TVs has generally been that the backlight is always on. So on edge-lit and CCFL sets, even if the LCD is black, it still glows. A local dimming LED TV has the ability to completely shut off the LEDs behind black parts of the picture, improving the contrast and deepening the blacks significantly. If there’s any downside, it’s that bright objects on a black background can display a little bit of a halo, but it’s an easy tradeoff to me. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978/27 "2011-12-20T15:57:41Z")
Go check out Cnet for TV reviews and advice. [http://reviews.cnet.com/televisions/?tag=hdr;brandnav](http://reviews.cnet.com/televisions/?tag=hdr;brandnav) Personally I like to use a combination of professional reviews and user reviews. I can ignore a few bad user reviews, because a lot of them are written by sore heads and idiots, but sometimes a user review will mention something that is a deal killer for me. Cables are a huge rip-off. Never buy a cable from a store if you can avoid it. I try to plan ahead and buy my cables from [Monoprice.com](http://Monoprice.com). Either get a blu-ray player or at least a dvd-player with upscaling and a HDMI connection. ---
**Author:** ![old\_joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/58956e/32.png) [@old\_joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/old_joe)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978/28 "2011-12-22T15:25:09Z")
not that it has to be 40" however my son just bought one the day before yesterday at the local Staples in calgary for $100. Not a typo. Very nice picture, only digital outs though so be aware of that. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2011, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978/29 "2011-12-23T08:16:13Z")
Unless Vizio has changed dramatically in the last two years, they had the worst menu interface of any TV on the market. The problem with shopping for any TV at CostCo is that they don’t have the remotes accessible for comparison. Combine that with lighting that has nothing to do with your home - unless you have 35’ high ceilings and metal halide lights. And no, Consumer Reports is NOT particularly reliable for televisions. I’ve installed Vizio flat screens in a sports bar. They died after two years and the LGs are still going strong after five. Personally, I’ll stick with LG or Samsung. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-should-i-shop-for-a-new-tv-and-what-should-i-buy/605978.md?page=1)