Large Flat Screen TV's

[Sterling White]

I went by Walmart this evening to do some grocery shopping and pick up a box of shotshells for the 3g match this weekend. About half of my time was spent in the electronics section looking at the selections of 50 inch or large flat screens they had on display. The had LCD's, plasma, and another type with prices ranging from $950 on up to $1500. So there I was confused looking around for help but as luck would have it the only person in sight was helping a bunch of young people with cell phones.

Are these good TV's, can I find a better deal for the money somewhere else, how long will these things last, can I expect problems, any suggestions?

[JACKAL]

We bought the Samsung 46" LCD from Sears for $699 very good picture quality. Larger plasma TV's normally get very hot when run for along time.

[steel1212]

I tell you what, they aren't for buget buyers, but a friend just got a LED TV and its like looking out a window! We watched planet earth jungle and the birds of paradise looked like we where looking at them in a zoo!

[Sarge]

I am no expert but I know this much. I own two Sony LCD's, a 46" and a 52". Outstanding TV's but some of the more expensive ones around. I went with LCD because I believe most plasma's are much heavier and are subject to burnin of static images. Video games and DVR's than can be paused worried me there. Walmart often gets items that are made specifically for them by major companies. (look for unique model numbers etc) For what it is worth we just bought a vizeo for the break room at work and for the money it is pretty good.

Good luck. P.S a 52" tv is way too big for a bedroom)

[Sterling White]

I've been researching what you guys said and have made a few phone calls. Here's a TV that has caught my attention:

Store specs: The new Mitsubishi WD-73734 features a huge 73-inch diagonal widescreen, but is only 17.5-inches deep. It’s got the latest in DLP technology with a 6-color light wheel, and support for x.v. Color, which extends the available color gamut by up to 80% over conventional sets. The set also has four HDMI 1.3 inputs, which can handle those wide color gamut devices like the Sony PlayStation 3 and newer high definition disc players. The set also has something Mitsubishi calls the DarkDetailer, which is just a fancy name for a dynamic iris system. This should help the set produce exceptional contrast levels.

The $3900 television outputs at full 1080p native resolution (and accepts 1080p source signals,) so you won’t miss any little detail from those high-def signals. Plus, Mitsubishi’s Plush 1080p upscaling circuitry should make the most of less-than-perfect content as well. Of course there’s a built-in digital tuner, capable of receiving over-the-air HD broadcasts.

I found the TV on sale (50%) at a Ken Cranes outlet. Any thoughts?

[Nik Habicht]

Sterling,

how big's the room? Huge?

[markcic]

Check out Vanns.com and look at the clearances. I picked up my TV as a customer return for a couple hundred off the list price with no shipping and no tax.

[zhunter]

I would stay away from plasmas

I had a Mitsubishi a few years back that was great, long before HD and wide screens, so not sure what that means.

I presently have a 65" rear-projection TV with the lamp and mirrors. It is a great TV, but the lamp burns out and costs $360.

I do not suggest one of these.

[MichiganShootist]

I agree with Z.... Plazma's are WAY over priced --- largely because the LCDs have gotten so good in quality... sales volumes on plazma sets hasn't grown like the industry thought it would. I have 4 HDTV sets and spent weeks looking at the mountains of information that is out there before buying.

There are two basic kinds... cheap and disposable and expensive and repairable.

I own and enjoy both. I have a 42" Sony Wega LCD in my living room and it's great... but expensive and repairable....but for smaller rooms I have 3 Element brand 19" HDTVs LCDs that I bought at Wally world. They are 100% imported and no company services them... but they were very inexpensive and have great pictures.. and for $30 each I bought a 3 year repair or replace agreement from Wally. Many of the major electronics stores sell their own brand of "disposable" TVs... if cash is short.. I'd go that way and get a service agreement.

These sets will not last the 10 or even 20 years than the big CRT sets did. Hell my daughter has an old Zenith I bought in about 1985 or 86 in her basement recreation/exercise room and it's still working great.

[chefcs5]

try FRYS and order online but for a 32" plan about 350-399$, 37" plan 500-550$, 42" plan 600 and so forth. get a tv as big as you can afford I know it sounds weird but I thought hey ill never need more than a 37" I was wrong;. the thing to really look at tho isnt the size. compare the specs on the ones you can afford and stay with a brand you have heard of and you will do just fine. o and unless you have a blue ray player, a ps3 or are getting HD tv signal 720 is fine

Edited May 12, 2009 by chefcs5

[Sterling White]

They offered a 3-year warranty on this unit for $395...hmmm Am thinking that I will save that money and buy a couple of sleeves of primers (when they come available again...errr) The replacement bulbs are selling for $100. And the room is big!

[mpeltier]

I recently was in the market for another large screen tv for our bedroom. After seeing all the "bargains" at wally-world I decided to look around and find out how they could sell 52" LCD tv's for less than other places. i learned all 52" LCD's are not created equall. If you are serious about picture quality and a set that will last, bring a notebook and record all information you can and learn about the different features, as it is quite extensive. You also must decide for yourself what you want and expect from the TV. I for one am big on HD and blue ray. 1080P was a must, as was HDMI inputs, and a glare reducing screen. These things were seriuosly lacking in the models at Wally-world. Many were 720 or less with minimal inputs and very glare prone screens. To check how much glare a screen produces make sure the tv is on and look at it from different angles to view lights in the store. Go from set to set and you will see major differances between some sets. I ended up at Sears for my final purchase and ended up with a Toshiba Regza 52" LCD. It was advertised $100.00 or so more than wally-worlds best 52" but head and shoulders better. Our local sears store has un-advertised sales (as in 10% off everything in the store) and if you get friendly with one of the salesman they will often times tell you when it will happen. i actually walked out the door paying less than ww.

[Hank Ellis]

My godson installs AV for a living. Some of it really high end stuff. Like the $20,000 worth of electronics at one residence.

For me his recommendation was Samsung LN46A540. Doesn't have all the internet connectivity and ge-gaw stuff that I won't use. Money is in the screen. 1080p, good contrast ratio, fast response time. Samsung 500 series is the bottom he recommended. If you could spring it go take a look at the 600 series.

Don't waste your time on 720p or a contrast ratio of less than 20,000:1 unless it's a small unit for kitchen use where it's on for background noise more than anything.

He also recomends staying away from plasma. Life of the tube is short and it will burn in. In his eyes LCD is the only way to go at the affordable level. DLP is great but you're going to pay for it.

In addition to the panel he said "You just hafta get two channels in the ceiling, voice channel and subwoofer." Yeah sure go for it. Can't take it with me. Once we got the whole system going he drug out "The Matrix" on DVD and went to scene 29, Lobby Shooting Spree. It's one of his tests to make sure all is working as it should. Once I heard the brass hitting the floor to the right and behind me, I was hooked.

[Lanzo]

I tell you what, they aren't for buget buyers, but a friend just got a LED TV and its like looking out a window! We watched planet earth jungle and the birds of paradise looked like we where looking at them in a zoo!

+1@! LED TV's rock the house. The contrast ratio is just ridiculous.

Anyway...

It all depends on what your using the TV for. You also need to consider the source and how it was filmed...especially with LCD TV's. Frame Rate/Refresh rate becomes an issue. For example...

"Film is shot using 24 frames per second whereas video is shot using 30 or 60 frames per second. For the video it's no problem displaying this smoothly on a display that operates at 60 Hz because the number of video frames divide evenly into the display's refresh rate. e.g. If the video you're displaying has 30 frames per second you simply display each frame twice. However, if your source is film with 24 frames per second you can't directly map the film frames to the display frames. To get around this they use a technique called 3:2 pulldown. In a nutshell, 3:2 pulldown is an algorithm that displays some of the frames 3 times and some of them twice in order to map the film's 24 fps to 30 fps. The downside of 3:2 pulldown is it introduces motion artifacts. This is mostly noticeable in fast moving scenes or pans - you may see blurriness, choppiness, etc."

If your using the TV to watch Blu-Rays and have a player that puts out 1080/HD...I'd go with the best you can get. You'll notice the difference between 60/120hz tvs since the frames of the source divide evenly into the refresh rate of the TV.

I guess what I am saying is figure out what you want to use the TV for and then get the best you can afford. It's like guns. Figure out the right tool for the job and buy the best you can afford...You always end up paying more in the end to get what you really want.

Edited May 15, 2009 by Lanzo