TV finally died. Time for a new one.

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: Shlong
32" - 42" LCD.

Do LCD sets have the problem that regular LCD monitors have? Where if you're not directly center, the brightness fades and sometimes goes negative?

Depends on the TV. In any case, I've never seen an LCD tv as bad as a DLP projection TV as far as viewing angle goes.

Oh... I didn't realize that! I dunno, I'm kind of leaning towards CRT. They're a little bit cheaper than the LCDs for the same price. But then again, it would be nice to have something flat I could eventually mount on my wall.

If I wanted to buy a quality TV from a local retailer, who would you suggest? I usually buy my electronics at circuit city but they tend to be overpriced...

 

[SagaLore]

Okay I made a decision to go with LCD, and made a purchase. After scoping out Circuit City and Best Buy, I realized how expensive these things were. I didn't really want to spend that kind of money. So I went to Walmart and found a 37" Magnavox for less than $1000. I like the rich colors, but I'm not that impressed with the blacks. The only other sets I liked were a Polaroid and a Samsung at CC. Now that I have the models narrowed down, I looked up reviews and the Samsung has the highest customer ratings. Also I didn't notice this before, but the Samsung has a 3000:1 contrast ratio. :Q The downside is its only 32".

So now I have to decide to either keep the Magnavox, or return it and get the Samsung. Hmm...

 

[torpid]

I got a Samsung 32" LCD. LCD blacks are notoriously not black enough. That and back light unevenness (often have a bit of bleeding on the corners) are issues I notice most. They are pretty minor. I do notice ghosting occasionally. It's usually when the foreground is black and the background is a grayish color. Overall I'm very pleased with my purchase. the TV fits perfectly on my bedroom dresser and the HD with an HD DVR looks great.

Just remember that a 32" LCD HDTV will be effectivelly much smaller for non-HD content unless you use stretch mode, which I hate.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: torpid
Just remember that a 32" LCD HDTV will be effectivelly much smaller for non-HD content unless you use stretch mode, which I hate.

Thats one thing I was worried about. My previous CRT was 27". The 37" I have now is a few inches more vertically. I wonder how the 32" compares.

 

[mrrman]

I would have gone with the Olevia Syntax 37"....it has been posted here for $799 and this is what I have...love it

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: mrrman
I would have gone with the Olevia Syntax 37"....it has been posted here for $799 and this is what I have...love it

We got a 37" Olevia Syntax and it has been great for over a year now.

Now just have to save for a 46" LCD TV later.

 

[torpid]

Someone else can verify my math but I believe when you take the 16:9 and put strips on the sides until it is 4:3 (i.e. 12:9) that makes it about a 26" TV...??? Math idiot alert... number may be completely arbitrary.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: mrrman
I would have gone with the Olevia Syntax 37"....it has been posted here for $799 and this is what I have...love it

I'm hesitant about buying something online in that price range. I really wanted to see it first.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: torpid
Someone else can verify my math but I believe when you take the 16:9 and put strips on the sides until it is 4:3 (i.e. 12:9) that makes it about a 26" TV...??? Math idiot alert... number may be completely arbitrary.

http://tvcalculator.com/

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: torpid
Someone else can verify my math but I believe when you take the 16:9 and put strips on the sides until it is 4:3 (i.e. 12:9) that makes it about a 26" TV...??? Math idiot alert... number may be completely arbitrary.

http://tvcalculator.com/

Nice site. My math was pretty spot on, it turns out.

BTW, that Samsung is the exact model I have. Like it so far.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: torpid
Someone else can verify my math but I believe when you take the 16:9 and put strips on the sides until it is 4:3 (i.e. 12:9) that makes it about a 26" TV...??? Math idiot alert... number may be completely arbitrary.

http://tvcalculator.com/

Excellent, thank you. So if I were to go with the 32", the vertical would be shorter than my old 27". So I'd actually be taking a step back when watching standard 4:3.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: torpid
Someone else can verify my math but I believe when you take the 16:9 and put strips on the sides until it is 4:3 (i.e. 12:9) that makes it about a 26" TV...??? Math idiot alert... number may be completely arbitrary.

http://tvcalculator.com/

Excellent, thank you. So if I were to go with the 32", the vertical would be shorter than my old 27". So I'd actually be taking a step back when watching standard 4:3.

Plug in a 102" 16:9 projected image in there and you'll see why I'm going to stick with front projection