Looking at New TV's. Suggestions?

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Mase's picture
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Looking at New TV's. Suggestions?

Well... the TV we have is an HDTV, but it is projection which means it using a bulb and mirror to project the image onto the screen. We bought it because when the screen starts to die, all we have to do is buy a new bulb for it and it would be like having a new tv again. Well... 5 years later. These bulbs are becoming more expensive and a cost for a bulb now is close to $120 vs. $75 a couple years ago. Also... another troubling thing has happened. On the right side of the edge... its becoming blue. We installed a new bulb and in all honest it made things worse. Watching hockey gets anoying because of that blue. Its not a solid blue... but its gradient. Its one of those things that if you looked at it you probably wouldnt notice. But when you know its there... it will drive you nuts.

SO.... with that long winded discussion... im looking into new TV's and wondering what you all recommend. Nothing is better than first hand accounts in my opinion. You can only take what you read on the internet lightly. Now... this TV is used for a lot of sports watching. Of course Disney and Nick on cable. And we do some Xbox 360 gaming on it as well. So I need a TV that doesnt have an issue with being on a lot. I could go into more specifics... but for now ill just leave it at that. I am personally leaning on either a Sony or LG, but I am definitely opened. Also... no smaller than 47 inches. Our tv we have now is 56... heh.

So yeah... would love some feedback on this. awesome

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We have a 52 Sony Bravia and we love it

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JustCar wrote:
We have a 52 Sony Bravia and we love it

I was actually just looking at the Sony Bravia 47" LCD. The only thing ive heard bad about it is the built in speakers. Im gonna need to check to see what type of speakers my JVC has... but the Sony only has 20 watts out, which kind of surprised me.

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I think we used the internal for about 5 minutes while I was hooking up the rest of it.

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JustCar wrote:
I think we used the internal for about 5 minutes while I was hooking up the rest of it.

So do you use a surround sound system? I have one setup... but always enjoyed the speakers from our TV and rarely use the surround. I actually only use it if I wanna make our neighbors mad... lol

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I use surround for everything, we have the tv, apple tv, wii, and dvd/receiver using it all the time. I just turn off the internal speakers.

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JustCar wrote:
I use surround for everything, we have the tv, apple tv, wii, and dvd/receiver using it all the time. I just turn off the internal speakers.

I keep forgetting I have that option if im not a fan of the speakers. We have a logitech universal remote. So it makes things easy to use multiple things at the same time. Just never hooked it up that way I guess... lol

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Carjust is a DJ so everything is about sound

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JustCar wrote:
Carjust is a DJ so everything is about sound

Yeah... I use to be in a band and such. So I can relate. In highschool... it was getting your sound as loud and good as possible... like a peavey 2x12 amp... heh

SO LOUD!

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Yeah he did that too lol
bass and guitar

I don't do loud, I like crisp

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I started looking at Plasma's now... I just dont know what to do. Anyone own a plasma?

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We have a Vizio which I LOVE. Ours is a 37" but we are going to be upgrading pretty soon to a larger one once we move into our new house. We play 360, Wii and we stream Netflix and it has a great picture.

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That's the one we have as well and we likewise muchlove ours.
When are you moving, that sounds like an exciting adventure too!!

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Im narrowing it down to these:

LG - 50" Class / 1080p / 600Hz / Plasma HDTV: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+50%22+Class+/+1080p+/+600Hz+/+Plasma+HDTV/2355286.p?id=1218322742135&skuId=2355286

LG - 50" Class / 1080p / 600Hz / 3D Plasma HDTV: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+50%22+Class+/+1080p+/+600Hz+/+3D+Plasma+HDTV/2355152.p?id=1218322739776&skuId=2355152

Sony - BRAVIA 46" Class / 1080p / 120Hz / LCD HDTV: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+BRAVIA+46%22+Class+/+1080p+/+120Hz+/+LCD+HDTV/9763279.p?id=1218169465735&skuId=9763279

LG - 47" Class / 1080p / 120Hz / LCD HDTV: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+47%22+Class+/+1080p+/+120Hz+/+LCD+HDTV/2138282.p?id=1218310762533&skuId=2138282

Those are the ones im looking at. Im leaning towards one of the plasma's though because of the refresh rate, and it is 3 more inches... lol

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We have the Sharp Aquos 42". It's not bad, but wouldn't recommend it.

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Vettelover wrote:
That's the one we have as well and we likewise muchlove ours.
When are you moving, that sounds like an exciting adventure too!!

We close on April 15th!! I am so excited..we have been living with family since August waiting for our old house to sell & looking for a new one. We've been in the process of negotiations since January..it all seems like it is coming together..finally.

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We have a Philips 50" plasma hooked up to a Philips blu-ray player and surround system and love it. A huge percentage of the worlds plasma screens are made by the same 5 or 6 companies and different brands just add thier own control electronics and casings. Philips and Sony are amongst the biggest manufacturers iirc.

Mase, it sounds like the LCD that creates the image is going on your projector. We had a SONY projector a few years back that this happened to (it developed loads of dead pixels) and it's not a cheap of easy thing to replace.

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Ours is a Sony Bravia...giant. I can't ever remember inches Smile But DH picked it out and loves it. It is nice, I confess, and great for watching movies...or Curious George lol

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Tony wrote:
We have a Philips 50" plasma hooked up to a Philips blu-ray player and surround system and love it. A huge percentage of the worlds plasma screens are made by the same 5 or 6 companies and different brands just add thier own control electronics and casings. Philips and Sony are amongst the biggest manufacturers iirc.

Mase, it sounds like the LCD that creates the image is going on your projector. We had a SONY projector a few years back that this happened to (it developed loads of dead pixels) and it's not a cheap of easy thing to replace.

Yeah.... not happy about it to be honest. But its one of those things where if you dont know about it... you wont see it. But since my wife and I know about it... we see it all the time! lol! Plus... were not going to pitch it or junk it. Were going to either take it upstairs for the living room, or take it to my parents house so it can still get used.

Right now... as long as nothing new comes out... this is what were leaning on. And as I say we... meaning me... because Jess doesnt know about this TV yet.

Samsung - 50" Class / 1080p / 600Hz / Plasma HDTV

Now... the one Jess and I agreed on had 3D, but when we were at Best Buy they didnt have any of them there, so when I got home I wanted to see if they had a non-3D version online, and they did and is A LOT cheaper. If it was going to be $100 difference id say we'd do it... but over $250 is a bit much. So as of right now... after all of the research I have done and seen in store... thats the one I think were going with. Also have a couple friends on my FB that have this exact tv and love it.

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Mase I have a Samsung 40" LCD HDTV and I think it's a great TV. The picture is remarkable.

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this is the one we got in January...

http://www.lg.com/us/tv-audio-video/televisions/LG-lcd-tv-55LE5500.jsp

the LG 55LE5500...
it's amazing.. great picture, and it can connect to wifi with a $30 dongle (easy to install too--has 4 usb hubs too)

We got a GREAT deal too only $1099 at Frys! Granted it was a pre-superbowl sale so it probably wont be that low all the time... Not sure if you have Fry's where you live but you can see them online too.

the downside are the super tiny speakers that these new skinny TVs have.. you'd definitely need a sound system

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Ohh what is Fry's? I've never heard of that!

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it's a discount Electronics store... strange place.. each one has a theme. The one in my area is themed from Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carrol's not Disney's).. in Burbank, CA it's 50's Sci Fi movies, in Las Vegas its.. Vegas, there's a farm one somewhere too...

http://www.frys.com

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DD... have you had LCD before going to an LED LCD? Do you notice a difference?

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Lol..I love how each store is themed. That's great. I must see pictures of that place.

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Mase wrote:
DD... have you had LCD before going to an LED LCD? Do you notice a difference?

We had one like yours, with the bulb.. which we replaced 3 times before we got the blue ghost. Ours was right in the center of the screen though. This new TV is awesome.. VERY crisp clear picture. Again, the sound isnt so great but that's easily fixed with surround sound

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Ok.... starting to freak out now... lol

My TV is NO WHERE NOW! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

They have a refurbished one on BestBuy.com... but I want new! I deserve it darn it! I dont know what to do. Last I saw it was at Best Buy in Lancaster which is 40-50 minutes from us... I may call when they open and see if they still have it... but im starting to bum now.... its all 3D.....

sad

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Mase wrote:
Ok.... starting to freak out now... lol

My TV is NO WHERE NOW! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

They have a refurbished one on BestBuy.com... but I want new! I deserve it darn it! I dont know what to do. Last I saw it was at Best Buy in Lancaster which is 40-50 minutes from us... I may call when they open and see if they still have it... but im starting to bum now.... its all 3D.....

sad

I feel for you man!

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Not to make your situation worse or anything but I've always had back luck with refurbished stuff. If it had a problem originally it probably still has a problem. I guess I'm not helping much, eh?

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mrhub wrote:
Mase wrote:
Ok.... starting to freak out now... lol

My TV is NO WHERE NOW! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

They have a refurbished one on BestBuy.com... but I want new! I deserve it darn it! I dont know what to do. Last I saw it was at Best Buy in Lancaster which is 40-50 minutes from us... I may call when they open and see if they still have it... but im starting to bum now.... its all 3D.....

sad

I feel for you man!

Brad wrote:
Not to make your situation worse or anything but I've always had back luck with refurbished stuff. If it had a problem originally it probably still has a problem. I guess I'm not helping much, eh?

Actually... got a story to tell.

So I found out yesterday that the TV I wanted was discontinued. My heart sank, and as I could tell... Samsung has no plans on doing just non-3D Plasma TV's anymore. So anyways... I decided to call the Best Buy that I saw it at, and they had no more. Just the display. But we went there anyways that night, and at first they thought they had one, but didnt and offered me the one on the wall at 10% off. But I wanted new.

So this morning my Dad called me saying he was bring Evan home because he stayed the night there, and I decided that I would go to HH Gregg and see if by some shear luck they would have any. So my Dad goes with me, and find out all they had was the display and an opened box one. So my Dad asked if any other stores had one new. So he checked... and what did ya know... one about 40 minutes away had one. Just one... new in box. They gave us that TV at the opened box clearance price! Got it for $780 when they were selling new ones at $900! We picked it up and they kept looking at the price and was stunned that I got it for that price. So now...

My buddy found out I found my TV, and called over there... they said he could get it for $835. So I am actually now a very happy camper, and this TV does things I never thought it could do. So im in heaven! lol

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Nice awesome