Who makes a good TV?

[se7entse7en]

Ok, so it looks like my 165lb montrosity is on its last leg and it's time to start looking for a new tv.

Questions:
Who makes a good LCD TV?
Who doesn't make a good LCD TV?

As I've gone through two Sony crt tvs in the last 8 years, I'm hoping to avoid the lemons this time.

Oh, and has anybody won a new tv lately and want to get rid of it? Just wondering.

Later...

[jeSteR]

For LCD, it's either Sony or Samsung as your top two fighting it out.

If you ever look around my place, you'd obviously know my opinion on Samsung.

[se7entse7en]

Yeah, I noticed the Samsung thing last night. I'm feeling a little jaded about Sony right now, so I guess I'll try seeing what Samsung has in my budget.

[Duncan]

Honestly, Sony is overpriced. Yes, quality in general is above par, but it really depends on how much you're willing to pay.

Also, there are certain brands of tvs that install different brands of panels into their LCD tvs. Take for example, my Toshiba has a Samsung panel. If you're wondering how you can tell, people take a strong magnification device like a mini telescope and check out the pixel patterns. Certain companies have differently shaped pixel patterns and usually you can tell which panel is manufactured by who.

IMO though, i agree, samsung is probably your best bet for quality though. You can check out some good in depth reviews at avforums.com for whichever tv you plan on picking up. A lot of tech geeks (some geekier than jai, yes it's possible) will give very noteworthy comments on the tv you're considering. Sometimes they even offer calibration advice to get the most outta your tv.

Also, if you had a CRT tv before, does that mean you don't have HD programming? I hope you're getting the programming because SD tv looks gross on an HD panel... haha...

[Wetundies]

Samsung TVs all have a glossy finish, so if you got sun shining directly on it, then your gonna have glare.

Futureshop was having a clearance on Samsung B650 (whatever the plasma model was) 55" for $700. It wasn't advertised, probably gone by now.

Always had sony tvs, not one has failed, oldest one is 20 years old and still running.

[jeSteR]

If you're allowed to put up a Satellite dish in your place, you can come in on my plan and share the load with Fynn and me... works out WAAAAAAAAAY cheaper.

[se7entse7en]

Duncan:
My current crt TV is HD capable (720p, 1080i) and sd tv looks 'ok'. I don't have HD programming yet, but if SD TV is gonna look that bad on a panel, then I'll have to get it. Note, it'll have to be 35" or less as I don't have room for anything bigger.

Wetundies:
Yeah, I dunno. I always thought Sony's were decent (that's why I bought them), but after blowing one tube (thankfully under warranty), and getting it upgraded (since it was discontinued) with my current lemon, I'm just a little po'ed with Sony right now.

jeSteR:
Even if I was allowed to have a dish on my balcony (which I'm not), I'm west facing.

I think I'm gonna have to go into Futureshop and/or Best Buy in the next couple of days to see what they have for Samsungs and check out avforums.

Thanks for the advice.

Man, this isn't a good month. Rent, income tax, car insurance, MSP, and now my tv all landing on the same month. When will it end?

[nature boy]

i had two tv's before getting married in my sweet basement suite, but truth be told i hardly used either of them. most of the stuff i watched was on my computer. why not just get a better monitor/video card for your computer if you're worried about space? if you need to watch cable then you can always get a tv tuner for your computer.

watching tv on your computer sounds lame, but if you're worried about finances for this month i'd think that's a viable option.

[se7entse7en]

I watch a lot of tv. A lot. Between cable, 360, movies, and just simply keeping me company while I'm working, my tv's on 16 hrs/day.

I have a tv-tuner and it's ok and it will get me by through the playoffs if need-be (sports look awful btw), but the best solution for me is to get the right tool for the job. I just don't like spending money.

[joel]

Based on the discussion, it seems like "a good tv" to you is something that would be reliable and last a long time:

It's pretty hard to guage how long a current market tv will last as these specific models have only existed for so long. So it's hard to know if a specific tv will display as stunningly beautiful images 10-15 years after purchase. LCD TV technology usually has a lifespan of about 30,000-60,000 hrs though (Plasmas lifespan are shorter ~20,000). Based on what your specified typical usage (16hrs/day) though that comes out to about 5-10 years.

In terms of brands I would stick to the more common ones: Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba, Pioneer... and probably stay away from the lesser known Vizios, Dynex and also Dell, etc..

Most the more "known" manufacturers provide generally (not necessarily every model) reliable sets, of course there will always be the exception cases, but most of them have stayed in business this long because their products typically meet a higher level of quality. There aren't huge differences in reliability between those brand names.

In terms of picture quality, those brands can vary quite a bit more. Even with sets having the same screen, picture quality can still be largely affected by each brand's priopietary picture-processing. In that regard, I agree with Jai that it's pretty much Sony and Samsung that are at the forefront of picture quality for LCDs, but that just means they make the best sets disregarding price. It does not necessarily mean they make the best quality picture for a given size and given price range.

You really need to look at what you want in your tv and what is important to you. 1080p? (1080p for sets under 37" are not always standard) Refresh rate? (60hz/120hz) Contrast Ratios? (How black do you like your blacks? Michael Jackson black?) Power Saving features? (especially considering your daily usage) Screen/Color Uniformity? Number and types of inputs? Audio? Asthetics? And most of all Price! For some of those different picture quality aspects you may not even be able to see a difference. If you can't tell the difference I wouldn't bother with it. The picture should just look good to you, regardless of the what the specs say.

I recommend settling on a price range first, and trying to find the tv that best suits your needs/wants within the range staying with the more "known" manufacturers. And Duncan provided a great resource in avforums that supplies lots of info on almost all tv brands and models. Once you have a specific tv picked out, price shop it. Find out what Best buy charges, futureshop, south van color tv, etc...

Also if longevity is important with your purchase, good maintenance goes a long way. Especially with excessive usage, setting aside some extra budget for a surge protector, making sure the tv is well ventialated and lowering the default brightness (sometimes defaulted for a showroom and not necessarily the home) can go a long way.

[Duncan]

i got my tv from south van tv and that's where gordon got his too. Generally it's cheaper there than bb/fs unless bb/fs has some crazy clearance sale. They don't really have tvs listed on their site [url]southvantv.ca[/url] but you can call in and ask them if they have a particular model. If they don't, they can order it in for you. I think jai said he knew the owner or something?

[Wetundies]

Vizio is the fastest growing brand right now.

I got Vison to beat South Van's prices, and another high end AV store i go to.

[[JT]]

[nature boy]

lol, nice jt.
glad someone managed to pick out the grammatical error!

[Duncan]

sooo.... back on topic...

shaun, you find a tv you like yet?