TV Recommendations

[hyunelan2]

Ok, I'm buying a new TV for the new house next weekend. (I close the 27th, move in the 28th, and will probably buy the TV the 29th or 30th). Maximum price is $1,800 out the door - which is the amount of my bonus after taxes. The wife and I decided it was going towards a nice TV, since the bonus was not expected. [note: don't tell me to use the money on something else, I am buying a new TV]. My current TV is a 24" Sony Trinitron flat screen CRT.

I'm currently leaning towards the Hitachi F510 line of TVs. Somewhere between 46 - 57" Probably on the smaller end though, because I don't have the depth in the new living room to necessitate an extremely large screen. That being said, I currently like the Hitatch 46F510 and 51F510. Part of the reason I like the Hitatchis is for their 'magic focus' of the projection lenses.

All that above being said, let me know what you would choose for a large-screen TV, at a max of $1,800 (tax included).

EDIT:
Forgot to mention, it must be HDTV ready.

Thanks.

[redgum]

If you are used to trinitron colors, everything else will seem dull/not right. I am not a fan of Sony products in general but give credit where credit is due, Sony TV's are in a world apart.

[hyunelan2]

I'll agree with you on Sony when it comes to their Wega and Grand Wega products. However, the CRT projections I looked at from them (not Wega or Grand Wega - too much $$$) didn't seem to have the bright picture I expected. I think that's why I've liked the Hitachi so much, due to the brilliance of the picture.

However, for near $2G, I'll give you guys a chance to talk me out of it to make sure I get the best I can for the $$.

[SWortham]

I've also been impressed with the Sony Wega TV's. I don't know about the big screen TV's though because I'm only familiar with my brother's 27" Wega and my Dad's 32" Wega -- both of which are conventional flat CRT's.

[sed]

I really like the hitachi's too mike. They are a great TV at a good price.

shawn :)

[A&F 01 GLS]

I have a Mitsubishi 65" baby

[redgum]

Well the main thing is to make sure you can return it if you are not satisfied with it. Due to neon lightning in stores, factory defaults are very high brightness and looking at tv's in store is very deceiving. The ideal way to test tv's is in your house/a friends house.

[BlackElantraGT]

Ever looked into buying from Costco? What a lot of people don't realize is that Costco offers an unconditional warranty on all items except computers/notebooks. Too many people took advantage of that policy by returning old computers and getting new ones. But if you were to make a huge purchase like this, it's nice to know that you can always return it back if you don't like it, with no hassle. And if it goes bad after the usual 12 month manufacturer's warranty, take it back to Costco and they'll give you a full refund.

I haven't shopped for any big tvs so I can't make a recommendation, but from what I've seen at stores and for the price the DLP projection tvs seem to produce the best color/picture. The plasmas and lcds are nice and thin if you need the space, but if you want the most bang for your buck I'd get a larger DLP projection tv.

[rckozma]

Also, look for something that has HDMI inputs or at the least DVI inputs. The picture quality is unbelievable. I have a JVC 57" widescreen, it retails for $2300, but I got it for about $1500 otd with 3 yr extended warranty. Check out Circuit City or Best Buy for returned models you can sometimes find a real good deal for a better model and it still comes with the manufacturer's warranty. And on returned items you can also haggle the cost of it.

[hyunelan2]

Good idea about the returned/open box items. I'll have to see what's available in 2 weeks. I looked again tonight, and am just amazed at how much better the Hitachis look than the others. Basically the 46 and 51 inch TVs have the same 'guts' but just in different sizes. The 46 has DVI. The 51 has HDMI. Here's the Comparison page from Sears (where I wandered to tonight while the wife was shoe shopping in the mall). (http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/productcompare.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&compare=YES&poid_1=1079562929&poid_2=1078956079&poid_3=&poid_4=&prodCount=2&targetPage=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Fsearchresults.jsp&pageName=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Fsearchresults.jsp&page=&sort=&order=&catname=Televisions&subcatname=Projection+TVs&subcat=-1074023229&sortorder=d&prod1079562929=on&prod1078956079=on)

LCD/Plasma is way out of my price range. DLP is a little high too. I'm mainly looking at the CRT projections. Main difference (I think) is that CRT uses 3 light 'beams' that converge as opposed to DLP having the single beam (more like a projector). CRT is the older technology, hence the stuff in my price range. I'd like to just say, ok I'll save up and get something better, but with the brand new house - there's gonna be nickel here, dime there eating away at TV savings. Which is why I'm using the money from my bonus and nothing else.

[redgum]

Go for dlp or better or save your money... same thing can be said for 16:9, suffer the withe/black bars or go 4:3 and wait till there is more programming broadcasted in widescreen to make the switch.

[rckozma]

The DLP requires bulb changes about every 4 years, and Plasma requires the gas to be re-injected. What ever you get, I suggest the extended warranty. Most extended warranties will include annual cleaning and re-adjustments. My original projection TV lasted almost 8 years and I don't think it was ever turned off. Good luck on your hunt for a TV, sometime I will have to tell you the story of how I got my JVC, it is comical at the least. BTW, check with your cable provider or whoever you are going to get your HDTV prodcasting from to see which format they offer either the DVI or HDMI. HDMI is the latest technology and is better than DVI, but DVI is unbelievable. My cable company doesn't offer either, but when we move that will change.

[paki]

The DLP requires bulb changes about every 4 years, and Plasma requires the gas to be re-injected. What ever you get, I suggest the extended warranty. Most extended warranties will include annual cleaning and re-adjustments. My original projection TV lasted almost 8 years and I don't think it was ever turned off. Good luck on your hunt for a TV, sometime I will have to tell you the story of how I got my JVC, it is comical at the least. BTW, check with your cable provider or whoever you are going to get your HDTV prodcasting from to see which format they offer either the DVI or HDMI. HDMI is the latest technology and is better than DVI, but DVI is unbelievable. My cable company doesn't offer either, but when we move that will change.


i work for sears.. in the electronics department. ever since some of the extended warranty issues came to my attention, i stopped pitching them.

DLP/LCD projections : light bulb is NOT covered unless its within a year of purchase

Plasma: NOTHING is covered, you're buying the warranty to waste money and watch people put on a show when they check your tv

a myth about plasma's is that you can reinject the gas. you can't. its not possible. no matter what you do, you cant revive a plasma. if its gone, its gone. its done.

as far as extended warranties on the normal projections, yeah. thats a good buy. why? they'll readjust the CRT inside for you if you start seeing blue, green, or red lines on screen that aren't supposed to be there. they'll actually go inside and FIX whatever is wrong instead of saying oh its not covered blah blah blah. honestly.. its not worth your money to buy a warranty on the upper end products such as DLP, LCD, and Plasma. its worthless. $600 for a warranty that doesnt even cover the light bulb? forget it.

and as far as TV's go, hitachi will always be number one in my book for the best bang for your buck