32" for ~$500

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Any good 32" HDTVs out there for around $500? Vizio? Olevia? Good brands? What to look out for? Do you really only need 720p at these smaller TVs? Why don't they come out in 1080i models?

 

[Gusty987]

Vizio is a good brand, I have their 37" LCD and I love it.

 

[kalrith]

Vizio and Olevia are probably the two best budget brands. You would only need 1080p on a 32" if you were using it as a computer monitor and sitting 2-3 feet away. I know a couple Hitachi sets claim to be 1080i, but 1080i is really an input, just like 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080p. For the most part, LCD TVs are either 1366x768 resolution (which they call 720p even though it's a little higher than that) or 1920x1080 resolution (which they call 1080p). Sharp makes a 32" 1080p set, but it will cost you double your budget, and you are unlikely to see any benefit from more than 3 feet away.

If you can bump your budget up to $700, you might be able to get a 42" Vizio at Sears. It's not on their website, but a guy on Fatwallet said he got it for that price. It was on sale for $850, and they have a promotion to give a $150 instant rebate when using a Sears card. Unfortunately the instant rebate goes down to $50 for sets smaller than 40".

 

[Drakkon]

I got the Olevia 32" from CC for under $500 and am very pleased with it.
great quality on HD broadcasts and seems to handle standard just fine.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

So a 720p 32" is not really limiting? I mean, it's a budget TV so of course it's not going to have a lot of things, but in this case 1080i/p is not that important right?

 

[kalrith]

Unless you're using it as your computer monitor, then the argument between 720p and 1080p becomes an issue of how much detail the human eye can resolve. This chart shows how close you have to be to a certain size screen before you can resolve 720p and 1080p. At 5-6 feet away from a 32" screen, you will be able to tell NO difference between 720p and 1080p. Closer than that, and you'll be able to tell some difference IF the set is fed a 1080i or 1080p source. If you watch SD and 720p, then 1080p isn't worth it even if you're 2 feet away from the TV. I posted this in another thread, but it's very applicable here as well:

Originally posted by: kalrith
The four things that impact picture quality the most are (in order of importance) contrast ratio, color saturation, color accuracy, and resolution. With resolution being the least important of these four, you don't want to base your decision on that just because 1080p is the latest, greatest thing (at least that's what the marketing department wants you to believe). You should only get 1080p if you're using your TV as a computer monitor (not just for gaming but as your actual monitor) or if your viewing distance relative to the screen size warrants it (i.e. you sit 6 feet from a 50" screen).

 

[s44]

Anyone tried the $400 (AR) + $50 shipping Astar set at Newegg?

The lack of HD tuner is pretty irrelevant, since like most I'll be using a cable box/HDTivo anyway.

 

[kalrith]

Here's a link to a 32" ViewSonic refurb. It comes with a 90-day warranty. If you use the coupon code VSCUSTOMSAT, it comes to about $444 (for me) after shipping with no tax).

 

[Chickan]

here "37" Viewsonic $650 AR
Fry's also had an Emprex 32" for $400 for a long time, though I can't find it on their site now.
I'd recommend you get one with a built-in tuner anyway, as it might come in handy at some point down the line (if nothing else, resale value).

Also, I agree with others above, 720p is fine for 32-42" range, as that is what most sources are anyway (HDTV)