LCD TV advice 32" - 37" what to buy

[speedracing944]

My wife and I are thinking of upgrading our 15 year old 20" TV with broken buttons. We would like to get a 32" - 37" lcd for under $1000. What brands and models do you guys recommend? We were at Worstbuy today looking about and noticed the LG brand which seemed to have good specs when compared to other brands in the price point. I have never heard of LG before. Are they the new kid on the block?

The saleman (saleskid) mentioned their $300 color calibration service which has them come out to the house and calibrate the colors on the LCD set to "match" the room. I got the feeling he was feeding me a bunch of crap and my wife pick up on it too and started to ask questions like why is it nessessary and how it is done. The punk just danced around the topic and said "It is just hard to do with the menues and all the things" Is this a bunch of BS?

Speedy

[dewolf]

You can a buy a color calibration dvd. Try Ebay or a another TV store. $19.95 is all I paid to set up my projector. It just basically sets all the greyscales and you adjust the color/contrast till you see all of the greys. Try and do it at night with the room completely dark.
My company installs high end home cinema etc.

[Chocaholic]

$300??? I'll do it for you for half that! Seriously...it's pure BS.

[widgeon13]

Get the biggest one you can afford because your next door neighbor is going to get one bigger, if he hasn't already. Screw the color calibration, don't spend a penny on that.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Color calibration? LOL! Whatever.

Personally I'm never buying another Samsung LCD. We got two 32" duds in a row. The first one got a huge dark streak (dead backlight?) within 6 months and the second one would overheat after 20 minutes and the tuner would stop working. Fortunately we got them both from Costco before they changed their return policy.

Now we have a Philips that I'm not entirely happy with (controls, settings, and menus suck ass) but at least it works.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I go back and forth on this. . .

On the one hand, I like the LCD picture quality versus "conventional" RGB pixel sets like I have now. OTOH, I find it hard to justify spending over $1,000 for some Chinese-made piece of crap that's likely to fall apart in three years to watch the same lousy brain-rotting programming that I don't really watch now.

If my current TV ever up and dies, I'll have a very difficult decision as to whether or not to bother replacing it. I suppose my choices would be to either (1) get a 42" LCD or (2) not have a TV at all. Personally, I'd lean towards #2.

"Color calibration service"? AYFKM? That sounds like pure profit-padding on the part of the store. Even more shameless than the stupid "warranty plans" they try to pump. Seriously, do you honestly think there's some magic black art of getting a frikken TV set up properly that some $8-an-hour grunt can do and you're incapable of figuring out?

[KaptKaos]

Wait until after the Superbowl. I have read that there should be a significant price drop after the game.

[TyFenn]

well I've spent a lot of time watching various LCD/plasma tvs in bars (no comments please - hahaha) while my beloved patriots were 'playing.' Being in a few different bars and having seen a good variety of these tvs, I can tell you what I recommend.

Having a tv in a bar, it gets tons of abuse, is ALWAYS on, I mean ALWAYS on. The one that I've been most impressed with, strictly in terms of picture is the Viewsonic brand (model?). It seems to have the brightest picture while still having a tremendous amount of detail. I imagine they are pretty cheap too since most bars owners are more aware of the abuse these things take so...

That's my observation at least. Don't ask how long I've been 'conducting my experiment.' Hahaha.

[white85carrera]

Just bought a Sony Bravia 32". Awsome. Paid for the S3000, just shy of $1G, they buggered up the order and we ended up with the higher end XBR4 for the same coin. Around here the XBR4 is going for $1300. IMHO the Bravia is a "can't miss". BS on the color calibration btw.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

$300??? I'll do it for you for half that! Seriously...it's pure BS.

I do it for a third... and I will do it over the Internet, just plug your phone line into the TV.

[red-beard]

I was in Costco today and just looking around, the Aquos brand had the best picture of anything in there. 50" plasma, $2499.

For the money, for a 42", I wouls get a plasma from Costco. Part of the cost of any TV over $300 is a 2 year warranty with 90 day return to the store. If it fails inside of 2 years, they send technicians out to fix it at your house, no cost.

The LCDs don't look as good as the Plasmas. For 32-37", you can only get LCD and they have them in Costco for $500-600. I am expect that in the next 3-4 years there is going to be another "revolution" using the LED technology. Don't over-spend now.

My Dad picked up an $1199 Plasma, Samsung current model, for $900 at Costco, since it was the display model. We saw the exact same one at Frys for also $1199, but you had to pay for the extended warranty.

[Steve Carlton]

I did some research on the AVS Forum before deciding on a 50" plasma. A lot of folks there deal with and swear by Roman at http://forums.pelicanparts.com/Invision Displays. My experience with him was excellent. I would trust him for some solid advice.

[NKN84944]

Hey Speedy, I would also recommend the Sony. Samsung actually produces the panels for Sony, but the electronics and back lights on the Sony are better (unless you are getting up to the Aquos series which is $$$). The wide color gamut bulbs really help with the greens, since normal CCFL bulbs do not have low output in the green part of the spectrum. When you view a TV with the wide color gamut bulbs next to one without it, you will see much brighter greens on the set with the wide color gamut bulbs. I would stay away from makers such as Vizio at all costs. Everything from the panel, to the back light, to the three gain diffusers they use just muddy up the picture. LG is newer to the TV world, but they have lots of experience in smaller LCDs (cellphones, etc). My rating is Sony>Samsung>LG. Good luck getting a good deal, and watch for those special cupons Best Buy sends out with 12% off days since you can often couple these with existing sales (find a young new sales man) and get it cheaper than Best Buy pays for it themselves. I would also recommend reading on the specs of the sets that interest you on the production companies websites, since the specs that Best Buy provides are often lacking in detail.

[RickM]

Originally Posted by TyFenn

Having a tv in a bar, it gets tons of abuse, is ALWAYS on, I mean ALWAYS on. Hahaha.

The most abuse one can inflict on a TV is turning it on and off. Keeping it on is actually beneficial. But I'm sure the smoke (If any) isn't good.

+1 on Sony Bravia...great picture.

[strupgolf]

I'd be suspect of LG. I've heard they buy parts from others who dont want to put them into their TV's. They are on the low {cheap} end of the list. If you can find a Panasonic, they are one of the best. But I'm only going on what the saleskids are saying, plus some good ones also. I think they will fall in price after feb.

[Dave L]

I have a Sharp Aquos, my second one. The first was in for repair 7 times before they agreed to replace it. It was my first Sharp product and guaranteed to be my last, not because of it failing but because of their terrible service and even worse customer support. I have always bought Sony or Panasonic and have always been happy. Even when there was an issue it was quickly and satisfactorily resolved. I wouldn't touch any of those off brands with a 10 foot pole.

I like LCD because my TV is right by a window but agree that Plasma is a little better. IF the TV is going to a basement or a room with low light plasma is the way to go.

Something to look for is a PC input, off a laptop its really great to watch those TopGear torrents that you may download....If you are into stuff like that... I personally would never download, thats stealing.

[speedracing944]

There is no competition between neighbors because I have none.

Our current TV is an old Goldstar 20" and seriously both channel button are broken. Other than the buttons the TV still works. I feel guilt for discarding this TV.

I hear what you guys are saying about the calibration. Total bunk...

I am going to have to take another look at the Sonys and Panasonics like you guys are suggesting.

Thanks for the advice guys.

Speedy

[84porsche]

Another +1 on the Sony Bravia. I just got the 40" 1080P from Best Buy about 2 months ago and once you go HD you will never go back or at least it would be really hard to.

[speedracing944]

BTW we don't and won't have dish or cable. All we have is the old attenna on the roof. The TV will be used to view Saturday morning cartoons, Netflix and PBS.

Speedy

[widgeon13]

Originally Posted by speedracing944

BTW we don't and won't have dish or cable. All we have is the old attenna on the roof. The TV will be used to view Saturday morning cartoons, Netflix and PBS.

Speedy

If you have been that disciplined over the years why not just do away with TV all together, it's a curse to the family unit and does nothing more than corrupt the mind.