Need new TV

[Tempest]

My 10 year old Panasonic 32" is dying and the TV repair man told me not to call him again...too expensive to fix.

I know this stuff is discussed all the time, but I seem to be confused and want to do this right the first time. Obviously, I will buy something locally after deciding what picture I like the best and taking into account warranty and price. My budget is $1,500.00.

What confuses me the most is 1080i, 720p or i, 480p etc. If the TV I'm looking at (Philips 34" Widescreen Flat-Tube HD-Ready TV with HDMI Input Model: 34PW8502) doesn't support 720, am I going to be disappointed? I mostly watch movies and have a decent DVD player which I plan to connect to the TV via component cables. However, I do get basic cable and watch a lot of sports and Iron Chef. While I don't think Iron Chef is exactly a visually HQ product, I would like my sports like tennis and football to look decent.

I know this is way too wordy, but I'm really looking for some clarity before buying. I will get a store rep to demo the stuff with all sorts of media, but I need to know what questions to ask.

Any general or detailed advice will be greatly appreciated!!! $1,500 is a lot of money for me...I don't want to mess this up.

 

[Khellandros66]

Check out the Olevia 32in LCD TV it retails at CompUSA for d $1500. Yeah I sell outside of work
Sku at CompUSA is 318039

Big thing about the Olevia is that low response time that plagued older sets is non existent. I play Battlefield 2 for PC on mine. The other thing is this just had about a $599 price drop in a week so it won't be around long.

Olevia LT32HV

~Bob

 

[Duffinator]

Check out the Olevia 32in LCD TV it retails at CompUSA for d $1500. Yeah I sell outside of work
Sku at CompUSA is 318039

Big thing about the Olevia is that low response time that plagued older sets is non existent. I play Battlefield 2 for PC on mine. The other thing is this just had about a $599 price drop in a week so it won't be around long.

Olevia LT32HV

~Bob

I'm not sure if it's the exact same model or not but in today's Fry's ad (7/1/05) they have it for $999. Supposedly the new Syntax sets coming out in the next 30 days are supposed to have superior picture quality compared to the current models. If you have any questions call Syntax directly.

 

[RMK!]

My 10 year old Panasonic 32" is dying and the TV repair man told me not to call him again...too expensive to fix.

I know this stuff is discussed all the time, but I seem to be confused and want to do this right the first time. Obviously, I will buy something locally after deciding what picture I like the best and taking into account warranty and price. My budget is $1,500.00.

What confuses me the most is 1080i, 720p or i, 480p etc. If the TV I'm looking at (Philips 34" Widescreen Flat-Tube HD-Ready TV with HDMI Input Model: 34PW8502) doesn't support 720, am I going to be disappointed? I mostly watch movies and have a decent DVD player which I plan to connect to the TV via component cables. However, I do get basic cable and watch a lot of sports and Iron Chef. While I don't think Iron Chef is exactly a visually HQ product, I would like my sports like tennis and football to look decent.

I know this is way too wordy, but I'm really looking for some clarity before buying. I will get a store rep to demo the stuff with all sorts of media, but I need to know what questions to ask.

Any general or detailed advice will be greatly appreciated!!! $1,500 is a lot of money for me...I don't want to mess this up.

Hi Tempest,
You did not mention if you have a HD source (Cable or Satellite HD Receiver). Without this, you are better off staying with a CRT type display as standard def TV does not look as good on DLP,LCD or Plasma displays.
I have a 44" LG DLP (RU44SZ61D) and feel this is unit and the other LG's are the best kept secrets in video. LG is a hugh company and use the same TI chipsets that all other DLP manufacturers use. I have had my display since Nov. 04 and it has worked flawlessly. They have new generation units commming out but you can probably get the unit I paid $2.5K for in Nov for pretty close to the $1.5K you want to spend. This unit is quite a bit larger that the Phillips 34" you are looking at but it will not be as heavy or deep.

 

[Tempest]

Thanks!

Thanks for the replies and information/suggestions.

hidog1:

I don't and will not have any sort of HD cable or satellite service in the near future. This may drive me to a CRT, which is OK with me, but I will still consider DLP if I can find one near my budget.

I will certainly look into LG as I am looking at one of their 17" flat panel monitors as I type this. Anytime I come back from working on someone else's computer, I'm amazed at how good it looks (Flatron L1720P through a digital connection).

It looks like I might want to have something that supports 720p incase I do get HD cable or satellite. There is a lot to consider...

 

[Spiffyfast]

You never said if space or a WAF is a problem. If you have plenty of space with 1500 you can get a pretty decend rear projectiong tv, the picture will be amazing, in my opinion alot of the time it's better than a flat panel dislpay. Check out Mitsubishi if you have a dealer in the area. My big screen was def. a purchase i've never had second thoughts b/c the picture is amazing and I love the WOW factor a RPTV has when friends come over.

 

[rikmeister]

i just bought a new rear projection lcd tv a sony kdf55wf655. there are great buys

now on tvs. models are at the end of the year and new ones are coming out for the new tv season. you will get a good deal now. i bought from www.electronics-expo.com they are authorized sony dealer. paid 1957.00 for the 55 inch and got no interest till 2007 too. look at the sony 50 inch should be less. but bigger is better,,,, gives a better movie theatre experience. best to take everyone in the house to look at them. DLP has rainbow effect and effects lots. gives splitting headache after awhile. do not buy any samsungs that end in a 3 had problems on that run. the pannie LCD with LC or LC in the name are lemons. LCD has screen door effect up close. Plasma has burn in effect and brightness on all plasma dissapates yearly. It is said 7 yrs is the life of a plasma. also price the bulbs on rear projection ones. sony and hitachi seem to be the cheapest at 199.00. pannie is 299.00 and i think samsung is the same. but go to a store andlook at them all and change to same input to compare and then set all the sets to default. it is an old trick to tune the picture the clearest on the set you want to sell and make the most profit on or want to get rid of. so be careful. You are paying for it so let your eyes be the judge. ALso starting jan the signal will be sent in digital and in 16:9 format. if you get standard tv then you will have black bars on the top and bottom rendering a 50 inch to a 40 inch in size of picture. If you are paying up to 1500 it is stupid to get old technology that is being phased out. YOu will have to give that set away to move up to the new. HDTV has been around for years now it is not going away. check out the forum for complaints which will abound and then postive experiences. then you decide since you are paying the bill. I would be careful with zenith and rca and LG. LG was once called gold star they changed their name. and if i remember correctly zenith is the same company now.zenith has a lot of problems with their sets. If you need more help with sites to check out email me. I will be glad to give you what i have compiled . I shopped for months when mine died. I loved the hitachi tv very classy but the sony was clearer and 400.00 cheaper and 5 inch bigger. decided i was buying a tv and not a piece of art work and settled for the sony.

 

[Tempest]

Answering questions

There is no WAF to consider / no wife, but space is a bit of an issue. I have a decent TV stand that will hold up to about a 42" widescreen TV.

I'm definitely going to buy a widescreen HD TV, but a massive unit that comes with its own base will not work for me.

Unless I'm missing something, it seems to me that a very nice widescreen CRT is probably the best way for me to go...especially considering space issues and budget.

 

[Nick250]

Have looked at the Sony CRTs? They have been well reviewed.

 

[Spiffyfast]

Ok since RPTV is outta the question Samsung makes some great HDTV CRT's I really liked their picture and considered them instead of buying my RPTV.

http://product.samsung.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_subtype.jsp?eUser=&prod_path=/Audio+and+Video/TV/DynaFlat+HDTV

I think the biggest they go is a 30"