Smaller TV Help

[Ryan8886]

Need help for a friend. She's looking for a new TV but price is limited. She bought a Samsung Slimfit 32" CRT this week, got it home and PQ is terrible....has a white line through the screen. Found a lot of similar complaints about it.

Here's the criteria:

1) About $550 ceiling.
2) Nothing bigger than 32" (shouldn't be an issue at price)
3) HD not a necessity but nice for upgradeablilty.
4) Used only for TV/DVD...not a gamer.

Appreciate any guidance.....having a hard time finding anything of good quality fitting the bill.

 

[funked up]

Last februaruy I was in a similiar position as you. I finally decided on the sony wega 27" SDTV. It was between the sony and the samsung slimfit 27". Reading various online reviews is what made me lean towards the sony. I bought it for $400 at sears and overall i'm very happy with the purchase. You shouldn't have any problem finding the 32" model for under $550. The picture for regular cable is fairly crisp and when hooked up to a dvd player with compenent cables the picture is impressive. There are allot of LCD tv's in the $550 range, but I'm never impressed with the PQ of the no name brand tv's (westinghouse, etc.). I think for the money you want to spend going with a high quailty CRT tv is the way to go. I reccomend the sony.

 

[Ryan8886]

My first thought was the Sony Wega line. Got one for my dad in '05. However they dont' make it anymore. Seems it's flat panel all the way for Sony now....can't find anything in a CRT.

 

[funked up]

Hmmm. I just saw a 32" Sony Wega at Sears just a week or two ago, don't remember the exact price as I wasn't looking to buy or anything. Must be a leftover. I'd say go check it out but chances are your nowhere near upstate NY. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

 

[Phil Taylor]

You may want to check out the Syntax Olevia 232V - found it while looking around a bit and it gets VERY good reviews for an "off brand". Check out the owner reviews on Amazon. Newegg has it for $549.99 plus 49.99 shipping. It's just a bit more than your stated budget but it'd get you into a 32" 720p HDTV.

 

[Lightning Steve]

Just recently bought a LG 32" Plasma (LG 32PC5RV) you can get it for around $699. I like it alot and have no complaints.

 

[allargon]

Need help for a friend. She's looking for a new TV but price is limited. She bought a Samsung Slimfit 32" CRT this week, got it home and PQ is terrible....has a white line through the screen. Found a lot of similar complaints about it.

Here's the criteria:

1) About $550 ceiling.
2) Nothing bigger than 32" (shouldn't be an issue at price)
3) HD not a necessity but nice for upgradeablilty.
4) Used only for TV/DVD...not a gamer.

Appreciate any guidance.....having a hard time finding anything of good quality fitting the bill.

You are just below the name brand ceiling of around $700. So, I will suggest you look at refurbs. You can't even get a Vizio 32" (honestly 32" is pretty small for a HD display) for that price.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11236930&search=TV1219&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&cm_re=1-_-Quad2-_-HDTVs&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&N=5000014%204294908326&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=5000001+4000000&D=TV1219&Ntt=TV1219&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&s=1&Sp=S&topnav=&Nty=1&s=1

My advice to you is to worry more about features than brand. I will tell you to avoid Sceptre, Ilo and Polaroid. Out of the cheap brands--Vizio, Olevia and Westinghouse are okay.

Whatever you buy, you need to calibrate it and take it out of torch mode.

If you're not opposed to the bulk, weight and power draw of a CRT, you should be able to find some of them on the cheap, but calibrating those things is a well...