What are your ideas on flat screen TVs? Models and reasons please.

[Jim O'Dell]

Well, it looks like the LOML is going to allow me to use some of the IRS return for a new TV. I had been totally against Plasma units from the negative hype that has permeated TV talk the past few years. But research shows that the image burn in and low life issues have been dealt with. LCD with LED back lighting is what I really thought I wanted. But now I don't know. I've been looking at the Sony KDL-xxHX729 and Samsung UNDxxD7000 series in the LCD/LED category, and in the Plasma, the Samsung PxxD7000 and Panasonic TC-PxxST30 series. Of course I want the biggest I can get for the price range I'm willing to spend. I'd like to keep it around 1500. Could stretch a little if it gets me a bigger unit. Pricing seems to be up considerably since Christmas time, even late January. With new models being introduced, I thought I'd see some price reductions, but nothing showing yet.
I'm open to suggestions, even other brands. I don't care about the sound as I will be using a surround sound system with it and the built in speakers won't be used at all. But I'm not keen on LG products, and the reported problems with TV's burning up in the last year didn't sway my opinion any. Prefer to stay with major brands for ease of repair. The last two tube TV's I've purchased have been Sony, and have lasted great. Two in about 32 years, with the last one still working great. But it's time to move onward and upward.
Thanks for any insight you can offer. Jim.

[Brian Ashton]

Just wrapped up my shopping for a new 40" flat screen. The top two brands I was looking at were samsung and panasonic. Samsung appears to rate at the top with independent review sites and panasonic was around third. I was actually going for a panasonic though because they're the last to offer analogue out (if you have an older stereo that is important). Ended up buying a sony bravia instead. It's one of the newer smart tvs and I liked the extras that its capable of. And as smart tvs go it is one of the cheaper ones in that size range but is still good quality. So far the only regret is letting it do an automatic update over the internet. Wrecked all me settings and wouldn't retain any that I tried to redo. Had to do a factory reset and turned off auto up date. Other than that it's been really good. It's not as good as Itunes for renting movies through - sony's selection isn't as good. But it's more convenient, no need to hook the computer to it just go online... I plan to get a skype camera for it also that will make things great for talking to family back in North America and England. I'll have the luxury of lounging on the couch as I yap away.

[Ron Natalie]

I've got three flat screens, a 47" Philips and a 52" Sony (both from Sams club) and an older 47" Westinghouse (a woot deal).

I think you'll find that any flat panel will be a large improvement on your old tube TV's (they're certainly lighter). The prices continue to drop. Unlike Brian, I've not had any problems with auto updates on my Bravia.
I rarely use the network features of the TV set. I'm waiting for the software update that actually lets you get at the HD parts of YouTube.

[Joe Pelonio]

We recently got a 46" Westinghouse LED from Sam's and it was only $525. We did add a sound system which was a
big improvement but we have been really happy with the picture. We went in considering the smaller 40" Samsung but this one had a much sharper picture. The LED version uses less electricity than the LCD or plasma. I can't say how it will hold up
but the reviews seemed to be OK.

[Larry Browning]

I would stay away from Sony. My understanding is that they are in quite a bit of financial trouble and may not be around for much longer. They have fallen behind on technology because of it. (I heard this on NPR a few weeks ago) I have never been a fan anyway due to my perception of them being over priced. Samsung is starting to get that way to a certain extent, but I think their quality justifies the higher pricing. Plus, it is sometimes possible to find good deals on their products.
I am a big fan of the internet "apps" available now such as Netflix and Vudu. However, I would NOT get a TV or Bluray player with that built into it. They make many standalone media player devices, such as the Roku, and the one I have, the Boxee Box. The problem I have always seen with the built in stuff is that the TV is a TV first and the internet apps are an add on. Every manufacturer continually puts out new devices and drops support for older ones. You will get firmware updates for only a year or 2(at most) on that "smart TV", while the media player will get more frequent and better updates.

Also, what is the problem with LG? My research showed that LG was probably the best value overall in price and performance. (I did mine about 18 mos ago, so I suppose things could have changed) They always beat the Sony and were right up there with Samsung. I had one all picked out and then the Samsung went on sale and I was able to get a 55" for only a little more the the 47" LG.

[Bob Lloyd]

I got the Panasonic Viera after recommendations. Love it.

[Bill Huber]

That is one of those really hard questions, there are so many different ones out there and it is kind of like asking which is better Ford or Chevy.

I have a 50" LG Plasma and have had it for about 4 or 5 years, no problems and the picture is awesome. When I went to get a new TV I looked at all the ones at Best Buy and Frys, at the time I picked the one that had the best pictures and color.

The next question you have is do you really need 1080p? I found that 1080p was an over kill for me. I don't have a blue-ray and the U-verse signal is only 720 so I just could not see getting a 1080p and that saved me some money.

[Jeff Monson]

That is one of those really hard questions, there are so many different ones out there and it is kind of like asking which is better Ford or Chevy.

That is well put, I dont think there is really any "bad" flat screen out there, especially when you take into cosideration the price. My oldest flat screen (and probably still my favorite) is a 42" Samsung plasma, it is going on 4 years old and still has the same picture quality the day I brought it home. I have a 32" LED Sony I got on clearance in my shop, we have 4 others in various sizes through out the house, they range from 2 Vizio's to 1 Panasonic and 1 other Samsung. The picture quality is great on all of them, some channels are noticably lower quality than others is what I notice the most.

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on the Viera.

I purchased mine through Amazon when my Sony failed, and replacement parts cost more than the Panasonic!
I opted for white-glove service, as this insured the set until the first time it was turned on.

Choose the widest contrast ratio, that makes a tremendous difference in picture quality.

One thing not mentioned in any of the specs is the tremendous amount of waste heat these generate.
Make sure your viewing room can be ventilated, in Summer.

[Paul McGaha]

Our family have been buying Samsung LCD's. Great picture and seem to be lasting ok.

The last couple were bought at Best Buy, We probably look first at Costco as my wife really likes that store.

PHM

PS-Like the new picture in your avatar Jim. Beautiful dog.

[Steve Meliza]

I've got a pair of Sony 32" LCD TV's from the XBR line, both 1080p. The older one was $900 and the one I got a year later is $600 because despite having the exact same model number, they stripped out a lot of features that most people won't use. The older one was purchased for dual use as a computer monitor hence the need for 1080P in a 32" TV because my nose was practically pressed against the screen. The second one I got the same model just because I knew I liked the TV and SWMBO didn't want anything bigger than 32" in her living room (1200 sq ft houses have small rooms), the high DPI is certainly not needed at our viewing distance for that TV. I think anything over ~40" you really should get 1080P though because even if you don't have Blu-ray you some day will have it or something better so you may as well get a little future proofing in your purchase.

My in-laws recently purchased a 44" Sony 1080P from the normal KDL line and it looks ok, but since they don't have Blu-ray yet it's hard for me to say anything except it seems to look and work just fine which is something you can say about almost any modern TV set.

I can agree with getting Netflix on a device other than your TV or Blu-ray player unless it is a Playstation3 which is excellent at both tasks even if you never play a game on it. We purchased a Sony Blu-ray player with Netflix built in and the updates stopped after about a year, but the frequent playback issues continue and reviews indicate I am not alone. It's bad enough at times that I've considered replacing the unit or buying a $100 Apple TV box just for the Netflix.

I can recommend buying from Best Buy. That first 32" Sony that I bought for $900 had a pixel stuck on red dead center of the screen. If it had not been in the center of the screen and I never sat closer than 3' away it wouldn't have been an issue due to the tiny size of pixels on a 32" 1080P TV, but it was a no-go as a part time computer monitor. The next day I returned it to Best Buy and explained the problem. Without delay or a single bit of hassle they sent me home with a new unit. Some internet stores are a bit cheaper, but they require 2 or 3 or more dead pixels before they'll replace it.

[Larry Browning]

Also, I purchased my new TV thru a small local TV/electronics store rather than online or a large retailer. The staff/owner was very knowledgeable and they bent over backwards trying to please me. The store I went to has a price match policy for Best Buy and other local stores, so price was not an issue. I would also strongly suggest you find a similar store. I think you will be surprised about the level of service and price you will find there.
Also, I found that I could do my own setup with very little hassle. It used to be that in order to get things proper you needed an expert to hook it up and get the picture adjusted for your situation. But it is no longer that way. They pretty much work well right out of the box. Of course, you can fiddle with it as much as you want, but it is not necessary anymore.

BTW, mine came with the high refresh rate (240hz). I ended up setting it back to 60hz. It caused what I called the "soap opera" effect, where everything had a cheap video tape look to it, especially in movies. The picture was really sharp, but everything had this fake plastic look to it. I was about to return the whole TV, but then I learned that I could reduce the refresh rate and that fixed it!

[Charles Wiggins]

We bought a refurbished Vizio VF551XVT 55" TruLED HDTV from Tiger Direct about 18 months ago and I've been very happy with it. For us, it was the most bang for the buck. Major considerations were: good reviews, size vs. price, that it was a backlit LED, and the number and types of inputs to attached game systems and computers. We don't have any sort of broadcast TV, so we bought a Playstation 3 to play DVDs & Blu Rays, and run Netflix through. I do about 98% of my watching on Netflix. The number of ports was really important because at one point we had the Playstation, an Xbox, a Gamecube, a PC, and a laptop connected to it and nothing had to get unplugged to plug something else in. We could just switch between inputs with the remote.

[Joe Angrisani]

Whatever you do, BUY WITH YOUR EYES. Don't buy by spec. All that matters in the end is the picture AS YOU SEE IT.

And by all means, if you find you like the look of a 60hz picture over a 240hz picture, don't waste your money the way Larry did. He probably spent close to twice as much for a 240hz unit, only to "throw away" the extra money.

[Ben Hatcher]

I bought a Sharp LC70LE632U for $2000 last Black Friday. It has LED back lighting and produces a generally even brightness/darkness over the entire screen. Edge lit screens tend to be brighter on the edges. It has wi-fi built in, which is pretty nice, though I tend to use my PS3 for streaming Netflix for some reason even though the TV has the netflix app built in. It works well with the new Sony receiver I got at the same time and the Aquos link will turn the tv speakers off if the receiver is on. Sound is decent for a flat screen and everything looks great on that 70" screen.

The main reason I chose this over a plasma, besides the size, was energy usage. If I recall, plasmas use 2-3x the electricity that the LED/LCD tvs use.