What should I look for? What's a good brand to purchase?

I've been told 1080p is better than 1080i, is this true? We also want one with HDTV tuner built in...instead of "ready". Looking for a 42".

Basically I'd like to know what to look out for, brands that are trustworthy, and something I can purchase that will last me quite a while. Any information or insight would be greatly appreciated.

11/21/2006 11:38:19 PM

look for the insane deals coming up for thanksgiving and xmas

1080p is better than 1080i - but if you don't know this you should do some reading up

is there a reason you are looking for 42" specifically - 51" tvs have great deals right now due to models closing out right now - watch slickdeals - fatwallet hot deal forums - anandtech hot deal forums

11/21/2006 11:47:17 PM

They don't make 1080 plasmas in reasonable price ranges.

Practically all but the dirt-cheapest, no-name brand plasmas have built-in digital tuners now (I think all TVs sold above 27" are now required to have the built-in digital tuners now, in any case, most of them do).

Pioneers are pretty much the best, but are more susceptible to burn-in than the other brands. Panasonics and LGs are pretty good all around plasmas. Hitachis are pretty good too, but their black level is a little bit too gray. Samsungs are okay, but have too much blocking artifacts.

For a 42", if you don't want to worry about burn-in, and want the 1080 resolution, Toshiba makes a good 42" LCD that's only about $2200.

11/21/2006 11:49:35 PM

We sit about 8 feet away from our tv, after doing some reading people have recommended a 32-37" for that range. However, I also found that 37" are hard to find and would rather go larger than smaller due to the fact we will be moving into a house within a year.

Something about the "i" flashing whereas the "p" doesn't ahve that "flash" it shows all of the picture at once.

I don't want burn-in, I want a tv that will alst without sweating the issues.

[Edited on November 21, 2006 at 11:51 PM. Reason : thd]

11/21/2006 11:50:06 PM

Also, does it matter what store I buy from? I know Best Buy tends to rip people off on some items and WalMart, well you never know with them. Does this even matter?

Looking at this particular site I'm not finding any 42" that support 1080p. Is there a huge visible difference in the two??

11/21/2006 11:57:16 PM

You do realize that plasmas are the most susceptible to burn in of all the TV types?

11/21/2006 11:57:42 PM

Yes, I also read that the technology has improved since about a year ago. I've read that it'll take about 10 hours of still image for permanent burn-in to occur on the newer tvs. Am I wrong?

[Edited on November 22, 2006 at 12:07 AM. Reason : dgjdgh]

11/22/2006 12:01:20 AM

That's about right.

But if you watch SD tv with the bars at the side, 10 hours can come pretty quick.

11/22/2006 12:28:39 AM

forget a plasma. get a 42" lcd tv. You can find Westinghouse 42" 1080p screens for under 2 grand from several places online

11/22/2006 12:46:20 AM

The Westinghouse 42" doesn't have the built-in tuner (and is a mediocre TV compared to the other 1080).

11/22/2006 12:49:03 AM

You can get a 720p Panasonic or LG 42" Plasma right now for $1,300.

The resolution of the TVs are 1024x768, which still doesn't make a bit of sense to me.

11/22/2006 12:56:06 AM

olevia 37" for like $750 from target

11/22/2006 12:58:24 AM

there are a bunch of 37 inch lcds out there, 720p only though. smallest 1080p i think is 40"lcd

11/22/2006 8:56:55 AM

wow, if you like DLP this is a GREAT deal.

46" Samsung DLP $1088 shipped.

http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000F2P31E/ref=pd_rvi_gw_2/104-5559615-7045563

11/22/2006 9:04:45 AM

Best Buy has a Westinghouse 37" LCD that does 1080p for $1500. It does not have an integrated HD tuner tho.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7749653&st=westinghouse+37&type=product&id=1140394400806

-- Dave

11/22/2006 9:28:28 AM

^^isn't that an old model? when i bought my new samsung, i could have sworn all the new models had a black base with just a bit of silver running under the screen. if it's last year, steer clear

11/22/2006 9:30:54 AM

^ it's this years 720p model. What size did you get? I think the 50" and above is as you described. I have this tv and love it.

11/22/2006 9:49:38 AM

Quote :

"The Westinghouse 42" doesn't have the built-in tuner (and is a mediocre TV compared to the other 1080). "

It's also less than half the price of other 1080p sets, and is damn good for what you pay.

11/22/2006 11:08:54 AM

ah ok - yeah, i got the 50 inch version (BB had it on sale for $30 more than a 42" )...the one with a silver base i saw was a 42" that was last year's

11/22/2006 11:15:01 AM

Quote :

"The Westinghouse 42" doesn't have the built-in tuner (and is a mediocre TV compared to the other 1080)."

westinghouse 42" is on of the highest rated 1080p's

and who needs a tuner? you gonna bring out the rabbit ears? if you have digital cable, you dont need anything but a monitor

11/22/2006 5:48:51 PM

Quote :

"and who needs a tuner? you gonna bring out the rabbit ears? if you have digital cable, you dont need anything but a monitor"

That's one of the dumbest things ever posted on TWW.

And that's saying something.

11/22/2006 8:06:07 PM

you're a complete idiot

11/22/2006 8:08:03 PM

you can always buy an external tuner if you really want it so bad. they arent THAT expensive.

11/22/2006 9:05:53 PM

not trying to troll or anything, but wouldnt a hd projector be like better than any kind of tv?

like i mean you can make the picture much bigger than 40 inches, and its hd

someone told me a good hd projector is like 600 bucks

so why would someone pay like 1500 for a tv thats like say 45 inches when you can buy a projector for 600 and get like an 80 inch picture

11/22/2006 9:23:19 PM

projectors usually need a dark room to get a good picture

11/22/2006 9:32:28 PM

Quote :

"you're a complete idiot"

You do realize that a majority of the channels you pay $110 a month to have in HD are currently floating above you, in the air, for absolutely free, right?

Yeah, you miss out on the compressed HD feeds of ESPN HD (which shows maybe 3 hours a day worth of programming), Discovery HD (LOL FISH FISH FISH FISH), and the two/three InHD channels which only show anything of consequence when OLN/Versus shows a hockey game or if you've got a hard-on for the Flugtag.

11/22/2006 9:53:43 PM

i pay like $39.99

11/22/2006 10:02:00 PM

http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

[Edited on November 22, 2006 at 10:33 PM. Reason : ,]

11/22/2006 10:32:15 PM

Quote :

"projectors usually need a dark room to get a good picture"

ok thats a pretty good point as to why tv's are better than projectors, thanks

11/22/2006 10:38:13 PM

that and you need a good spot for it or run cables up the wall to get to it. kinda annoying (though you can move it a lot easier too).

11/22/2006 11:41:36 PM

Quote :

"and who needs a tuner? you gonna bring out the rabbit ears? if you have digital cable, you dont need anything but a monitor"

I bought a TV without a tuner 3 years ago, and I wish I had one now. With those "rabbit ears", I could watch Smallville and Veronica Mars in HD, but instead I can either watch in SD on cable, watch in HD on my computer via the tuner card and antenna, or download the episode to playback through my xbox on the TV. Yeah, the tuner would be nice.

Also, youd have the option of picking up stations outside of this market...I believe you can pick up WITN with the right setup (a plus if youre an East Carolina fan) or WNCT (which on occasion might carry a different NFL game than WRAL). Sure, I could buy an external tuner, but who wants to do that?

11/23/2006 1:41:19 AM

i'm upgrading to a 50" toshiba plasma friday...$1699 at best buy

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-50HP66-50-Plasma-HDTV/dp/B000F3SBU8/sr=1-1/qid=1164264958/ref=sr_1_1/102-1557188-8586564?ie=UTF8&s=electronics



[Edited on November 23, 2006 at 1:57 AM. Reason : .]

11/23/2006 1:48:33 AM

just fyi for the 1080i vs. 1080p vs. 720p discussion

Quote :

"But there’s a more important issue – can you really see the difference in resolution between 1080i and 1080p? Tests of visual acuity to determine the resolution required of a television transmission system by the BBC’s J.O. Drewery and R. Salmon determined that at 9 feet, a 50 inch screen at 720p’s resolution will give you all the resolution you can see! At 9 feet, a 56 incher needs 1080i to avoid seeing the pixel structure. If you sit farther or closer, you may need more resolution."

from http://ezinearticles.com/?Eye-Candy?-Which-Wins?-1080i-vs-720p--And-What-About-1080p?&id=123148

11/23/2006 3:24:10 AM

^ That's someone opinion.

There's no one-size-fits-all solution for 1080 vs. 720.

I would bet though most people could tell the difference between 1080 and 720 after being shown what to look for. Obviously, at a distance, your eyes won't be able to tell the difference even between HD and a cell phone, but that distance is farther than 9ft. I would recommend getting a 1080 TV whenever possible, if it's in your price range, just because they look better all around.

11/23/2006 4:36:17 AM

Quote :

"i'm upgrading to a 50" toshiba plasma friday...$1699 at best buy"

a friend of mine was going to tryto get in on this too...i think best buy opens at 5am on friday. what are the chances of people camping out hours before 5am for this deal?

11/23/2006 10:24:00 AM

Quote :

"and who needs a tuner? you gonna bring out the rabbit ears? if you have digital cable, you dont need anything but a monitor "

Those channels you pay for are more compressed than the OTA ones. Im sure you realize this as youve often wondered during a sports broadcast "hey what is with this blocky image during fast motion and pan shots". The lacking of a tuner was not a big deal two years ago but now that every single tv offers one its kind of an issue. QAM support on most of them rids your rabbit ears arguement retarded. I would argue that the scientific atlantic box was one of the ugliest piece of electronics ive ever had the "privilege" to own.

[Edited on November 23, 2006 at 10:37 AM. Reason : ps : flugtag on]

11/23/2006 10:35:46 AM

^^im camping out with my brother bc i really want the tv and tv stand along with a couple other items. best buy is giving out tickets for the doorbusters before they open.

11/23/2006 11:25:00 AM

people will camp out for big ticket items like laptops and hdtvs so if you want any chance at one I would suggest camping out (based on my experience the past 5 years at best buy, varies per city however)

11/23/2006 11:38:24 AM

^what time have you gone out in the past?

im thinking midnight in burlington just to be safe

11/23/2006 11:41:43 AM

^ what are you going to do for 5 hours?

11/23/2006 11:47:21 AM

watch tv via slingbox on my phone in the car until another person gets there...then get in line. every store has a MINIMUM of 5 of the tvs so if you're first 5 you get one for sure. im trying to get a wii too so hopefully they have a few. my brother is going with me to keep me company since i'm donating my old tv to him.

11/23/2006 11:53:41 AM

Midnight is when most people start showing up in my experience. About ~50 people will get there way earlier like 5pm but you can still be in the first 100. By about 2am though there are like 200 people. (I have camped out at both Raleigh and Winston-Salem best buys)

You can look at forums at sites like bfads.net for more opinions. Basically the smaller the city the later you can come but I would not show up any later than 3am and expect to get a hdtv even in a small town.

[Edited on November 23, 2006 at 12:10 PM. Reason : .]

11/23/2006 12:07:33 PM

how many of these toshiba plasmas are each location (in raleigh) going to have?

11/23/2006 12:44:09 PM

Minimum 5 per store.

11/23/2006 12:46:03 PM

i got to the burlington best buy at like 9 and im 30th in line...now there are about 70 people.

11/23/2006 10:17:48 PM

i just left burlington not too long ago

i was actually thinking about going to the burlington best buy for a lcd monitor i think

11/23/2006 10:23:58 PM

most people are in line for a laptop in burlington

11/23/2006 11:45:50 PM

just got home from a long, crazy night.

the minimum for the 50" toshiba was 5, best buy burlington had 5 and i was the 5th one...i'll post the crazy stories later when im not on my phone, but i was out there at 9pm and BARELY got what i wanted.

11/24/2006 7:18:03 AM

teh_toch

11/24/2006 8:56:22 AM

Anyone know about these guys? http://www.viore.com/

Good brand? Saw a 42" plasma hdtv, 1080i for $998 at WalMart today. Makes me question the quality as I didn't see any plugged in.

Also, I've been looking around alot and haven't found a single plasma tv in the 37"-42" range with 1080p...

11/24/2006 3:26:13 PM