Best HDTV for $500

[Stuka87]

So, my current TV is a 10 year old RCA 27" Perfect Flat CRT. It is arguably the best CRT TV I have seen. Really great picture and color for a standard def TV.

However, it is now starting to act up. So, it is going to need to be replaced.

As for a new TV, I would prefer a 40", but I realize $500 may be too cheap for that size of a TV. The price is not firm, but I am not going to blow 1k on a TV. I would also like it to be an LED backlit display, and I do not care about it being a "Smart" TV. A netflix app would be awesome, but not required. It also has to have an audio output for my surround system.

So, help me out guys!

 

[Kaido]

I got my dad this one:

http://www.pcrichard.com/catalog/product.jsp?modelNo=LEDTV5028

50" Coby LED (no apps), $450 right now (shipping is about $50, so right about at $500 shipped). It's a surprisingly good picture for the price, and for a brand that isn't well-known (I liked it better than the more expensive Toshiba 50" LED we looked at). According to the website, it has coaxial digital output:

http://www.cobyusa.com/?p=prod&prod_num_id=10669&pcat_id=1001

It is also VERY lightweight (I think 39 pounds without the base), so you can get a cheap Monoprice wall mount if you want to hang it up. Pair that up with a new Roku 3 and you're in business :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

I also had a hard time giving up my old TV...I had a gorgeous 27" CRT (which I still have - I think the Kuro is the only thing I've seen that is equal or better), but with the Coby, you get (1) a huge 50" picture, (2) the ability to wall-mount it, (3) electricity cost of $17 a year, (4) only 50 pounds or so with the base (easy to move & install), and (5) HD resolution. So there are some trade-offs, but your eyes adjust to the picture when you aren't comparing it on a wall of TV's at Best Buy.

 

[Stuka87]

Kind of leaning towards this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TC-L...&keywords=hdtv

 

[Durvelle27]

Hera ya go

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstempl...900-01-01&gf=y


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstempl...900-01-01&gf=y


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstempl...900-01-01&gf=y


http://www.walmart.com/ip/Samsung-43...3E450/20554039


http://www.walmart.com/browse/tv-vid...VbySize4_40_49

 

[wirednuts]

wow the op asks for led-lcd and something thats quality, and he gets plasma and coby for suggestions? yikes guys.. read before you post.

op, if youre thinking in terms of great color and contrast, you might go to stores and look at toshibas. they consistently have very very good contrast in their lcd tv's.

$500 for a 42" should be easy to find, especially since you dont want smart. i wouldnt want a smart tv either, they are over complicated and too many things can go wrong.

if not toshiba, i would buy a vizio. i think in terms of overall value, they simply cannot be beat.

 

[ElFenix]

wow the op asks for led-lcd and something thats quality, and he gets plasma and coby for suggestions? yikes guys.. read before you post.

op, if youre thinking in terms of great color and contrast, you might go to stores and look at toshibas. they consistently have very very good contrast in their lcd tv's.

$500 for a 42" should be easy to find, especially since you dont want smart. i wouldnt want a smart tv either, they are over complicated and too many things can go wrong.

if not toshiba, i would buy a vizio. i think in terms of overall value, they simply cannot be beat.

OP asked for best HDTV, he said he would like an LED LCD. if best HDTV in the price range is a plasma, that would be answering the question.

i make no defense of coby.

 

[Stuka87]

Yeah not interested in a Plasma. I have been trying to hit up local stores, and I know which ones I do not want.

Not sure on Vizio, but I do like Toshiba and have had very good luck with their stuff.

 

[wirednuts]

nobody has ever been sure on vizio. i wasnt until i worked on tv's for a job. then you think about it too, when was the last vizio scandal? when did people say "ill never buy vizio again!" they havent. they have a much lower return rate then even samsung. and the picture quality is nearly as good as most sonys.

vizio is an american company, they design the tvs here and they have them made in china. they are not a house brand as it seems, they are a legit tv maker that really does push out incredibly high value tv's.

but, if you already like toshiba, then you might as well go with them. like i said, they always seem to have incredible blacks and high contrast for lcd's. they look even better then sharp aquos tv's imo. and, getting replacement parts from toshiba usually isnt that hard, or expensive.

just go to whatever theyre sold (i dont even know) and buy the one that looks the best to you. there really isnt any better way to do it. and, i think the only feature i would look for is its energy star rating. the lower the power the better imo. the components need to be new for them to make low power units, so you wont be getting components cobbled together from old stock.

 

[ElFenix]

Yeah not interested in a Plasma.

Might i ask why?

 

[Stuka87]

Might i ask why?

Mostly because the living room has a LOT of ambient light from outdoors. Plasma's are better for darker rooms, but they are not as bright as an LCD/LED. So they tend to not be as good for bright rooms. The other reasons are they weigh a lot more and use more power.

 

[Kaido]

Mostly because the living room has a LOT of ambient light from outdoors. Plasma's are better for darker rooms, but they are not as bright as an LCD/LED. So they tend to not be as good for bright rooms. The other reasons are they weigh a lot more and use more power.

Just as a heads-up, newer Plasmas are redesigned - lower power, thinner, etc. - and are very competitive with LED TV's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Evolution_of_21st_century_plasma_displays.jpg

 

[ElFenix]

Mostly because the living room has a LOT of ambient light from outdoors. Plasma's are better for darker rooms, but they are not as bright as an LCD/LED. So they tend to not be as good for bright rooms. The other reasons are they weigh a lot more and use more power.

i've never had issues watching tv in the morning in a south east facing room with a plasma. the common issue with light sources and plasma is reflections, rather than brightness of the set. maybe 15 years ago plasmas weren't bright enough to display well in a room with lots of ambient light, but my experience doesn't reflect that. maybe you've had a different experience.

 

[wirednuts]

the plasmas of the last two years ARE a LOT better then what everyone knows to be plasma. they really are thin and light, about the same as regular cathode lit lcd's.

but they still use more power then LED-LCD, theyre still glossy screens, and they still use sustain boards that are prone to failure.

i would agree they offer a little better picture, but to me the pros of led-lcd still wins out. some of the new led-lcd models have so little circuitry in them its hard to imagine they will ever break... and if they do the boards simply dont cost that much to replace.

and theres still the burn-in thing that can happen to plasma. its not something that happens often, but ive seen it and it CAN be permanent. with led-lcd, you simply never have to worry about that. plus, the newest led-lcd use so little power its almost silly that they have sleep modes...

 

[sdifox]

the plasmas of the last two years ARE a LOT better then what everyone knows to be plasma. they really are thin and light, about the same as regular cathode lit lcd's.

but they still use more power then LED-LCD, theyre still glossy screens, and they still use sustain boards that are prone to failure.

i would agree they offer a little better picture, but to me the pros of led-lcd still wins out. some of the new led-lcd models have so little circuitry in them its hard to imagine they will ever break... and if they do the boards simply dont cost that much to replace.

and theres still the burn-in thing that can happen to plasma. its not something that happens often, but ive seen it and it CAN be permanent. with led-lcd, you simply never have to worry about that. plus, the newest led-lcd use so little power its almost silly that they have sleep modes...

the LEDs might not die, but the power circuitry will go real fast, just like in the plasmas.

 

[wirednuts]

the LEDs might not die, but the power circuitry will go real fast, just like in the plasmas.

except plasmas have 3x the circuity that run hotter then anything in led.

 

[jacktesterson]

Mostly because the living room has a LOT of ambient light from outdoors. Plasma's are better for darker rooms, but they are not as bright as an LCD/LED. So they tend to not be as good for bright rooms. The other reasons are they weigh a lot more and use more power.

To bad your missing out

 

[sdifox]

except plasmas have 3x the circuity that run hotter then anything in led.

I am not talking about power consumption, talking about longevity. It is not a function of how much power they draw, rather how cheap the components are.

 

[Stuka87]

So, I ended up finding a great deal at the local Sears on a Panasonic TC-L47E50. Got it for $597. Bit more than I was originally planning, but I am quite happy with it. Sears was getting rid of last years models, and this was the last one they had of this model.

Regarding plasma's, its good to hear they are much better than before regarding brightness and such.

 

[geniusloci]

Let people enjoy their sub-standard lcd crap. Horrible motion coupled with absolutely shitty black/gray ranges. It's been my experience many people are absolutely blind and don't notice anyway.

And this idea that plasma sets are somehow using 'lesser' parts than lcds, what exactly are some of you smoking?

There's no contest here. Plasma TVs offer the best picture quality, at a lower price point than lcds in the ranges they compete in.

These people buying lcds are the same ones who leave on all that digital noise reduction crap, all the dynamic contrast adjustments, and everything else that helps to make lcd inferior in the image quality department. They are literally blind.

 

[Stuka87]

They are literally blind.

Pretty sure if they were "Literally" blind, they would have no use for a TV

 

[tlcowart]

I recently bought a 47LS4500 series LG tv, for right at 600...I know it's alittle over the 500 dollar range, but it is pretty good for that price range. I didn't want to spend more for a smart tv because I already have a ps3 and other devices to provide those services.

 

[Matt1970]

wow the op asks for led-lcd and something thats quality, and he gets plasma and coby for suggestions? yikes guys.. read before you post.

op, if youre thinking in terms of great color and contrast, you might go to stores and look at toshibas. they consistently have very very good contrast in their lcd tv's.

$500 for a 42" should be easy to find, especially since you dont want smart. i wouldnt want a smart tv either, they are over complicated and too many things can go wrong.

if not toshiba, i would buy a vizio. i think in terms of overall value, they simply cannot be beat.

This. Coby is cheap drug store electronics and shouldn't be on anyone's list of quality electronics.

 

[Phynaz]

This. Coby is cheap drug store electronics and shouldn't be on anyone's list of quality electronics.

You know Coby is the OEM for a LOT of the name brand products you are buying, right?

 

[wirednuts]

I am not talking about power consumption, talking about longevity. It is not a function of how much power they draw, rather how cheap the components are.

the new plasmas use the same cheap components, but they have 3x more of them. and they run hotter, further reducing the lifespan of the components.

at least theyre nowhere near as bad as they used to be. a lot of high end plasmas actually had fans in them!