Ok.. Scenario:

You have ~$2000 to spend on a HDTV withing the next month.

Your primary concerns, in order, are:
1) Staying around $2k
2) Getting at least a 47", hopefully a 50"+
3) Picture quality

Help me shop! Where would you buy/Who has best sales? What would you stay away from? What sacrifice would you be willing to make to stay within that price range?

I have a VERY BASIC understanding of DLP, LCD, Plasma, etc... So don't get too technical plz. It would be used for a good amount of gaming, movies, sports, pretty much everything I looked at those big hitachi hdtv's (for $899-999) that are 50"+ projection HDTV and my regular big screen looks better & crisper. I was heading over to Best Buy tonight to check some stuff out... any tips would be helpful. I've read the other threads, and there are so many diff opinions & a ton of info.. I just need simple answers for a simple man who is trying to get the best for his money, AND AT LEAST 47"..... I'm compensating

1/2/2007 4:00:26 PM

For 2g's you should be able to get a really nice HDTV

1/2/2007 4:05:45 PM

(~$2000 + Getting at least a 47", hopefully a 50"+) =no lcd panel
(good amount of gaming)= no plasma

Imho check sony sxrd tvs and samsung dlp tvs.

btw my brain is stuck in 1080p mode. cause i'm doing the same shopping but i can't see spending 1K+ on soon to be obsolete technology.


[Edited on January 2, 2007 at 4:40 PM. Reason : .]

1/2/2007 4:20:35 PM

get a 42 inch plasma from Panesonic for 1300 or so.

spend the rest on HD gaming/movies/etc.

1/2/2007 4:22:22 PM

Quote :

"Imho check sony sxrd tvs and samsung dlp tvs."

DLP as I understand it is one with all the mirrors... I'll look at some samsungs tonight then

no idea what SXRD is... other than maybe a make/model #?????

1/2/2007 4:50:53 PM

Samsung DLP 56" 1080p

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-HL-S5687W-1080p-DLP-HDTV/dp/B000F2P2XI/sr=8-2/qid=1167775071/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-8988100-2625620?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

$1,700 shipped

1/2/2007 4:59:29 PM

I'd do a 50" plasma

I wouldnt worry about 1080p just yet unless you plan to play PS3 or watch blu-ray nonstop


does enyone even broadcast 1080p?

1/2/2007 5:05:34 PM

^^ baller as fuck

[Edited on January 2, 2007 at 5:05 PM. Reason : ^]

1/2/2007 5:05:49 PM

I'll try to look at the samsungs tonight... What other kind of extras would I need to get with that Samsung from Amazon? Extra cables? HD box? etc... I have a 360, so I guess I would eventually get the HDDVD addon...

[Edited on January 2, 2007 at 5:13 PM. Reason : g]

1/2/2007 5:08:39 PM

Awesome find mplncsu99! Thanks!

1/2/2007 5:37:08 PM

SXRD is sony's LCD projection... it looks like a dlp tv but its really a light shining through an lcd array if my understanding is correct.

1/2/2007 5:42:17 PM

^that's what the guy i work with said.. I'll compare those to the Samsungs tonight if I can find them in a store, thanks man!

1/2/2007 5:47:37 PM

gl man

HEY.... Compare the 1080 dlps and lcd projections to the regular 1080p for me if you would

see if they have comparable color/contrast etc.


[Edited on January 2, 2007 at 5:52 PM. Reason : .]

1/2/2007 5:49:24 PM

by regular do you mean plasma?

1/2/2007 5:59:13 PM

Quote :

"I was heading over to Best Buy tonight to check some stuff out"

Look at Costco too.

1/2/2007 6:08:55 PM

I used to work at best buy, i'd probably go with a sony sxrd for around ~2k if you want a rear projection. Otherwise, in an lcd i'd go with the this:

http://tinyurl.com/teplr

pricematch with bestbuy to online sellers (~1800)

1/2/2007 6:15:24 PM

bestbuy will pricematch online sellers?

1/2/2007 6:16:50 PM

SXRD = Silicon X-tal Reflective Display

basically have some #(usually 3) of LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) chips aimed in a way so that a light source bounces off the chip onto 3 or so mirrors that point the image onto the screen.

No LCD 'burn-in/memory' problems, better contrast ratios (since you're reflecting light off the crystals instead of passing through them), no dead pixel problems.
LCoS in some regards is better than DLP since there are no moving parts.. can you imagine if something were to go wrong with the 100s of little mirrors spinning in a DLP.

If you want to go SXRD route, which is a good route to go with a $2000 budget, also look at the JVC D-ILA TVs.. same technology as Sony's SXRD, just a different name.

[Edited on January 2, 2007 at 6:26 PM. Reason : ]

1/2/2007 6:24:59 PM

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000HCUTPC/pricegrabbercpc18-20/ref=nosim

What about this puppy?

1/2/2007 6:34:28 PM

does amazon do any sort of No Interest period or anything with their Visa card? I can't find anything on the site.. but I'm rushing out of the office too right now...

1/2/2007 6:51:49 PM

with tvs and speakers you should watch and listen before you buy
there is alot of preference involved.

1/2/2007 7:22:43 PM

just found out my friend has this exact one... I played some 360 on it last week... and fell in love with it.. it is amazing. The sony wega & the samsung are pretty close, I do like the overall look & design of the samsung better though. I'm still gonna take my time, but that 1700 seems like a good offer, mainly cuz of the 1080p, but I really don't know if it is that necessary.. 720p may do me just fine...

1/2/2007 11:09:43 PM

Here's a JVC 56":
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7699001&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050004&type=product&id=1138084693793
The main draw is that it comes with a stand, The JVC's I saw in store where pretty nice. It is 720p

1/2/2007 11:32:25 PM

westinghouse 47" 1080p lcd from bestbuy.com
or
50" vizio plasma from costco

1/2/2007 11:43:26 PM

All of Toshiba's DLP's rated higher than the Samsungs by consumer reports.

1/3/2007 12:46:22 AM

i just got a 42 vizio lcd from costco and i am enjoying it. just remember it will always look bigger once in the house and the screen image will look good to when you dont have it to compare to the really high price tvs beside them. also costco offers a 3 year warranty with their tvs. its not extra!

1/3/2007 1:28:42 AM

^I got the same TV! $1299 and I got 2 HDMI inputs

1/3/2007 2:22:42 AM

^^^ Consumer Reports though kinda sucks.

1/3/2007 3:00:53 AM

720p on anything over a ~50inch is going to be painful, in HD terms.

I briefly had a 56" 720p DLP samsung, it was nice, but the 1080i that replaced it was MUCH MUCH better picture quality.

1/3/2007 3:06:34 AM

^ That 720p Samsung should have converted the 1080i signal to 720p though.

I didn't think 1080i was an actual resolution, just a signal. Any TV that displays 1080i fully will have 1080 lines of resolution, and I don't know of any TV that did this, that also wasn't 1080p (except the first Sony SXRD XBR, but it worked through firewire).

1/3/2007 3:30:59 AM

if you'll settle for 1080i, and don't care much for 1080p, you're better off buying used.

1/5/2007 12:14:10 AM

I'm looking at HDTV's as well. I would avoid Sony SXRD's since many people are experiencing green clouds/blobs on the screen:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=636342&page=1&pp=30

1/5/2007 8:44:16 AM

the xbr2 40 &46" lcds had problems with "clouding" in dark scenes due to uneven back lights early in their production too.

1/5/2007 11:03:03 AM

I think we're going for the Samsung 56" DLP 1080p from amazon... Just wish i could get more $$$ for my old big screen

1/5/2007 11:09:01 AM

Quote :

"does enyone even broadcast 1080p?"

Not yet, but I believe Blu-ray/HD-DVD discs are 1080p, and Im guessing some of the 360/PS3 games are as well?
I just started looking at some again recently because I think I want to get rid of the big ass rear projection CRT I have (wonder how much I could get for it? not much I bet, although the PQ is pretty damn good still)...anyhow, Im not sure 1080i TVs are available anymore, or at least, they arent being pushed...just 720p and 1080p, and I imagine you would lose some resolution when watching 1080i channels on a 720p TV (not much, but some).

Curious, is there some reason there doesnt seem to be any 1080p DLPs available under 50"?

1/5/2007 11:24:58 AM

Sony KDS-60A2000 is what you want.

1/5/2007 2:01:46 PM

Quote :

"I imagine you would lose some resolution when watching 1080i channels on a 720p TV (not much, but some)."

depending on the tv it can be very noticeable

1/5/2007 2:57:51 PM

there are no 360 games that are 1080 yet.
but aparently some are coming
all you really have is ps3 hd dvd and blueray

but there is no sense in paying 1/2 as much for a tv that will be obsolete twice or three times as fast.
and not look as good in the mean time.

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 3:04 PM. Reason : .]

1/5/2007 3:03:49 PM

I have a 360 hooked up to my 50" Samsung DLP 1080i. Works like a charm and i would recommend it. Just save room for a service plan no matter what TV you get.

1/5/2007 3:46:27 PM

Quote :

"Curious, is there some reason there doesnt seem to be any 1080p DLPs available under 50"?"

There's a certain cutoff where it just becomes silly to have that many pixels on something.

1/5/2007 4:01:51 PM

i'm under the understanding that dlp uses 1 mirror per pixel
2million mirrors may get a tad unnecessary in something under 50"

1/5/2007 4:14:52 PM

Quote :

"i'm under the understanding that dlp uses 1 mirror per pixel 2million mirrors may get a tad unnecessary in something under 50""

How the hell can a company justify 2 million mirrors but only one color wheel?

1/5/2007 4:28:36 PM

ok so maybe i'm wrong...


btw....some have 3 color wheels

1/5/2007 4:36:11 PM

^No, some have 3-chips (http://tinyurl.com/y6y7jz). The whole reason for the color wheel is that most DLPs only use 1-chip to produce 3 colors.

1/5/2007 6:25:56 PM

Carbon tubing is about to break into the market and is super cheap. You'll see prices on big screen tv's drop like rocks.

1/5/2007 6:44:08 PM

dont buy a tv with a dremel inside it

aka DLP

Quote :

"but there is no sense in paying 1/2 as much for a tv that will be obsolete twice or three times as fast. and not look as good in the mean time."

Time warners hd broadcasts are pretty fucking blocky. I wouldnt buy anything over a grand until i can watch something on it.

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 7:23 PM. Reason : .]

1/5/2007 7:21:47 PM

BJ's has a 50" Magnavox with stand for 999.99

It's the same as this one, actually:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4698825

1/6/2007 11:53:36 AM

Can someone tell me if that Magnavox is a piece of crap? I don't really care about having 1080p, but I don't have 2k to spend either. I noticed the contrast ratio is only 1200:1, how horrible is that??

1/6/2007 5:16:56 PM

Anyone know when the new models come out for 2007? With CES going on now, I wonder if it will be very soon.

1/8/2007 2:22:17 PM

^It looks like April until the new Samsung DLPs:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12760_7-9672556-5.html?tag=blog

1/9/2007 12:31:12 AM