Flat Screen TVs?

Prices are plunging and I may not be able to resist through another holiday season without getting one!

Anyone have one? (Markie?) How do people feel about LCD v plasma, HD built in v HD ready, etc etc.

Any good boards out there where folks obsess as much about flat screen TVs as much as we obsess about music?

Pollard, can you answer this one?

I actually dont know much about TVs, I just sold mine and am getting a new one in Portland. But cant afford anything too snazzy. This thread may actually help me out.

I was just joking. I thought at one time you said you didn't have a tv.

Originally posted by p011@rd:
I actually dont know much about TVs, I just sold mine and am getting a new one in Portland. But cant afford anything too snazzy. This thread may actually help me out.

A pretty good site for all things HDTV, though it is very geeky.

AVS Forum

Originally posted by Xavier Bush, Power Forward:
I was just joking. I thought at one time you said you didn't have a tv.

oh that was a joke as well, I though you were referencing the fact i am a computer dork, i will actually have cable for the first time in a couple of years when i move, so i am sure nobody will hear from me for a while

Originally posted by eros:
A pretty good site for all things HDTV, though it is very geeky.

AVS Forum

Love this site….

What is your budget, brennser? And how big of a screen do you want?

Go LCD especially if you are a gamer. The Plasmas can burn in if they hold the same picture too long (think Pac-Man at the mall).

There are the projection ones that really are impressive. I have a friend with the Sony rear projection (not that deep) and it is great.

Other than that, I have an ancient tv at home.

I got a new T.V. last year. A 30 inch sony flat-screen CRT. It was $900 or so. It weighs 150 lbs. It is a bit of a monster, but it was much cheaper than a plasma or lcd at the time.

If I were you I would take a look at the newer Dell LCD offerings. Unless you want a giant T.V.

I like the sound of this:

http://us.gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/never-leave-your-room-dell-37inch-hdtv-131610.php


Personally I think you should get a cheap T.V. and with the rest of the money get a bike that fits you and some lycra that is not vomit coloured.

Originally posted by Chaz, Lover of all Forum Members:

Originally posted by eros:
A pretty good site for all things HDTV, though it is very geeky.

AVS Forum

Love this site….

What is your budget, brennser? And how big of a screen do you want?

yeah, been clicking through that site and it seems good

I'm thinking between 37 and 42 inches screeen wise and budget wise I've seen ones at 2k or lower but would be willing to pay up to 3 / 3.5k….

yeah, it was that gizmodo posting on the Dell LCD that prompted this posting

Originally posted by MTB-Markie:
I got a new T.V. last year. A 30 inch sony flat-screen CRT. It was $900 or so. It weighs 150 lbs. It is a bit of a monster, but it was much cheaper than a plasma or lcd at the time.

If I were you I would take a look at the newer Dell LCD offerings. Unless you want a giant T.V.

I like the sound of this:

http://us.gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/never-leave-your-room-dell-37inch-hdtv-131610.php


Personally I think you should get a cheap T.V. and with the rest of the money get a bike that fits you and some lycra that is not vomit coloured.

Go LCD especially if you are a gamer. The Plasmas can burn in if they hold the same picture too long (think Pac-Man at the mall).

not a gamer but I've heard the burn in issue w/ plasmas (but is that the same as the burn in fears that led everyone to have screensavers when you didn;t really need them?)

Originally posted by brennser:

Originally posted by Chaz, Lover of all Forum Members:

Originally posted by eros:
A pretty good site for all things HDTV, though it is very geeky.

AVS Forum

Love this site….

What is your budget, brennser? And how big of a screen do you want?

yeah, been clicking through that site and it seems good

I'm thinking between 37 and 42 inches screeen wise and budget wise I've seen ones at 2k or lower but would be willing to pay up to 3 / 3.5k….

Check out a panasonic plasma. Most folks think they are by far the best in terms of bang for the buck. Don't worry about burn in. It was an issue in very early generations of plasma tv's but isn't much of an issue now and can be avoided with some very basic precautions…..you'll find tons of info at avs about this. it's mostly a myth purpetuated by best buy salesmen at this point….

If you already have a surround sound setup consider a commercial panasonic model. You can get a 50" for under 3k, a 42 for around 2k and a 42 ed model for about 1500 bucks.

so what do people suggest closer to the $600 range? ;)

The current issue of Consumer Reports has them rated

I've stopped apologizing for the novels….

The choice between LCD and plasma is a matter of personal taste. Go to the store and sit in front of both and see which one you like more.

LCD is brighter, causing you to lose the darker blacks. Virtually no chance of burn in.

Plasma is a better mix of colors because the color is actually on the screen as opposed to being projected on the screen like LCD. Burn in is almost no longer a problem because of "pixel-orbiting" which has been added to the new TVs, but older models will still burn in if you watch a lot of the same thing with a ticker at the bottom(or the play the same game a lot).

A newer technology that has caught my eye is DLP. DLP is almost as bright as an LCD or a Plasma, but costs significantly less. It also takes up less space then a CRT. It's sort of the mix between CRT and plasma/LCD in that it's not as small as a flat panel, but not as big as a CRT, nor is it as expensive as a LCD or Flat Panel. If you have an old TV or a CRT but don't want to fork out the big bucks for the Flat Panel, DLP might be the way to go, especially if you want to go big like 42 or 50 inches and don't have $2500-$5000 to drop.

As far as built in HD tuner, it's only necessary if you don't use cable or satellite TV. But if that's the case, why are you buying a big screen? Cable card technology is going to be nice, but with a DVR, which everybody will have someday, you're still not going to use your built in tuner.

Originally posted by p011@rd:
so what do people suggest closer to the $600 range? ;)

If you keep an eye on the sales (buy your TV on a national holiday weekend, or if you can wait, the week after Xmas) and you can get a 30"-34", maybe 36" if you're lucky HD widescreen CRT for around $600.

It's going to weigh a ton, so make sure you have friends to help you load it or pay for them to carry it.

what about something like this


link #1

or this
link #2

(sorry long links make the forum hard to read - kosmo)

<small>[ 10-18-2005, 01:48 PM: Message edited by: kosmo vinyl ]</small>

Originally posted by p011@rd:
what about something like this

Those are exactly what I was talking about, but note that they weigh over 120 lbs.

Originally posted by p011@rd:
what about something like this
or this

"This item is FACTORY RENEWED": That means it got a little gunked up when the warehouse went underwater during Katrina, but they got a guy to hose it off for you
<img src="http://www.outlet.philips.com/IMS_DOCS/BANNER/PRODUCTS/PRODUCT_ICON/IMAGES/icon_factoryrenewed.gif" alt=" - " />