Which HDTV for someone who doesn't need an HDTV

[Turin39789]

So the wife has been wanting a nice new tv. Every guys dream? Not for me.

We currently work off a 25 or 27 inch crt tv, large antenna on the house for OTA, no cable or dish, converter box setup so future proof for a bit.

We have dvd's, we don't have blue rays. We are both students and full time workers, we don't need to spend any more time watching TV. But she wants something larger and newer and nicer.

I wouldn't mind a nice newer tv, but we mostly watch some prime time and football games that come in OTA, we should have some HD content free as the house has an old large antenna, but we will also be looking at a lot of SD content.


plasma? lcd? etc?

Just want to know what to keep my eye out for, prices are dropping and I'm only going to grab one if I see a deal. Thx

 

[sivart]

see if you can find a used Sony XBR CRT (34" widescreen is nice). Your SD channels will look the same as they do now and you will have the benefit of HD OTA (if you can find a newer one with a built in ATSC tuner).

Otherwise, any HDTV with an ATSC tuner should do fine for you. 32" or larger to keep the same size image height. I have OTA only and the HD free OTA are great...especially for Sunday football.

 

[The-Noid]

You can get many used lcd's for quote cheap. If you have ota all channels should be hd.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Turin39789
we will also be looking at a lot of SD content.

That's what you think now, but... After six months you'll stop watching SD altogether, except perhaps your legacy DVDs. Seriously.

Get at least 40-42". The $600 1080p 42" Dynex deal seems made for you.

 

[Shadowknight]

Originally posted by: sivart
see if you can find a used Sony XBR CRT (34" widescreen is nice). Your SD channels will look the same as they do now and you will have the benefit of HD OTA (if you can find a newer one with a built in ATSC tuner).

Otherwise, any HDTV with an ATSC tuner should do fine for you. 32" or larger to keep the same size image height. I have OTA only and the HD free OTA are great...especially for Sunday football.

The Sony 34xbr960 is one of the best sets ever made (widescreen). I should know, I have 2. One in the bedroom and one in the living room. You should be able to get this used on Craigslist for below $475. The last one I bought was that price, and it included the custom stand. (Brand new the set was $2,200 and the custom stand $300... amazing how much the value dropped in only 3 years).

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: sivart
see if you can find a used Sony XBR CRT (34" widescreen is nice). Your SD channels will look the same as they do now and you will have the benefit of HD OTA (if you can find a newer one with a built in ATSC tuner).

Otherwise, any HDTV with an ATSC tuner should do fine for you. 32" or larger to keep the same size image height. I have OTA only and the HD free OTA are great...especially for Sunday football.

why in this day and age would you recommend a bulky CRT?

i don't care how much SD she watches. i don't care how sharp and accurate the CRT is.
there really is no reason a casual tv watcher shouldn't get a nice lcd or plasma. it's almost 2009 for crying out loud.

 

[Baked]

Please do not get another CRT, that's just asking for hurting. What's your budget exactly? You can get a nice 32" LCD w/ 720p resolution for cheap. I think that's the sweet spot for a HDTV. Anything smaller and you might as well not upgrade from your 27" CRT. But really, give us a budget so we can give you a more appropriate recommendation.

 

[Shadowknight]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: sivart
see if you can find a used Sony XBR CRT (34" widescreen is nice). Your SD channels will look the same as they do now and you will have the benefit of HD OTA (if you can find a newer one with a built in ATSC tuner).

Otherwise, any HDTV with an ATSC tuner should do fine for you. 32" or larger to keep the same size image height. I have OTA only and the HD free OTA are great...especially for Sunday football.

why in this day and age would you recommend a bulky CRT?

i don't care how much SD she watches. i don't care how sharp and accurate the CRT is.
there really is no reason a casual tv watcher shouldn't get a nice lcd or plasma. it's almost 2009 for crying out loud.

Yes, it's almost 2009, but it takes a $5,000+ Pioneer Kuro to equal the image quality of a set you can buy used for $500. When it comes to blacks, color, and motion handling, LCD and Plasma are still behind CRT. For someone on a budget, it makes sense to go with a cheaper alternative now and replace it with an LCD or plasma (or OLED) when the technology catches up.

 

[erwos]

Very true. Those old CRT HDTVs had some crazy image quality. Alas, they also weigh like 100lbs, minimum.

I will pimp my own personal favorite, the Sony KDS-55A3000 SXRD (DLP-alike), but those are getting rather difficult to hunt down these days.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: Shadowknight

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: sivart
see if you can find a used Sony XBR CRT (34" widescreen is nice). Your SD channels will look the same as they do now and you will have the benefit of HD OTA (if you can find a newer one with a built in ATSC tuner).

Otherwise, any HDTV with an ATSC tuner should do fine for you. 32" or larger to keep the same size image height. I have OTA only and the HD free OTA are great...especially for Sunday football.

why in this day and age would you recommend a bulky CRT?

i don't care how much SD she watches. i don't care how sharp and accurate the CRT is.
there really is no reason a casual tv watcher shouldn't get a nice lcd or plasma. it's almost 2009 for crying out loud.

Yes, it's almost 2009, but it takes a $5,000+ Pioneer Kuro to equal the image quality of a set you can buy used for $500. When it comes to blacks, color, and motion handling, LCD and Plasma are still behind CRT. For someone on a budget, it makes sense to go with a cheaper alternative now and replace it with an LCD or plasma (or OLED) when the technology catches up.

you must've missed the part where he said they're casual tv watchers.
they won't even know the difference between the picture quality of a low budget lcd or a pioneer kuro, or this high quality CRT.

i didn't mean to offend the 2 tv's you own, but there is absolutely no reason for them to pick up a used set that's not even in production anymore, when they can get a 32"-37" 720p LCD for $500-700.

 

[s44]

Actually, the point is that they can get a 42" LCD set for that much, some even 1080p.

 

[Turin39789]

500 or less, that might still be unreasonable for larger crt and plasmas, but if the right deal doesn't pop up in the next week or so, I can still watch prices fall for a few more months.


the idea of a used crt hdtv is intriguing especially if it would creep the price down to a no brainer 200ish. checking out craigslist and more craigslist found one sony with no model number asking 250

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: erwos
Very true. Those old CRT HDTVs had some crazy image quality. Alas, they also weigh like 100lbs, minimum.

I will pimp my own personal favorite, the Sony KDS-55A3000 SXRD (DLP-alike), but those are getting rather difficult to hunt down these days.

more like 250 lbs. my parents have a 36" vega SD set.

 

[Baked]

Sharp - 32" 720p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV
Model: LC-32SB24U | SKU: 8849268

Specs:

* Tuner ATSC/QAM/NTSC
* Resolution 1366 x 768
* Response Time 6ms
* Viewing Angle 176º H x 176º V
* Contrast Ratio 7500:1 (dynamic); 1500:1 (native)

Inputs:

* 2x HDMI
* 1x RGB D-Sub
* 1x S-Video
* 4x Audio
* 2x Composite

$398 @ BestBuy

There you go. Big screen HDTV for casual TV watchers. It's sold out online, but might still be available at your local BB store.

Been using an older model for the past year or so. No complains.

 

[Shadowknight]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: Shadowknight

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo

Originally posted by: sivart
see if you can find a used Sony XBR CRT (34" widescreen is nice). Your SD channels will look the same as they do now and you will have the benefit of HD OTA (if you can find a newer one with a built in ATSC tuner).

Otherwise, any HDTV with an ATSC tuner should do fine for you. 32" or larger to keep the same size image height. I have OTA only and the HD free OTA are great...especially for Sunday football.

why in this day and age would you recommend a bulky CRT?

i don't care how much SD she watches. i don't care how sharp and accurate the CRT is.
there really is no reason a casual tv watcher shouldn't get a nice lcd or plasma. it's almost 2009 for crying out loud.

Yes, it's almost 2009, but it takes a $5,000+ Pioneer Kuro to equal the image quality of a set you can buy used for $500. When it comes to blacks, color, and motion handling, LCD and Plasma are still behind CRT. For someone on a budget, it makes sense to go with a cheaper alternative now and replace it with an LCD or plasma (or OLED) when the technology catches up.

you must've missed the part where he said they're casual tv watchers.
they won't even know the difference between the picture quality of a low budget lcd or a pioneer kuro, or this high quality CRT.

i didn't mean to offend the 2 tv's you own, but there is absolutely no reason for them to pick up a used set that's not even in production anymore, when they can get a 32"-37" 720p LCD for $500-700.

I consider myself a casual watcher, and when I picked up a $2,000 Samsung LCD last year I had to return it... even if I didn't find the blacks horribly grey, even witht he brightness set to 0 and the backlight at the next to the lowest level, it had motion issues. It managed to be too blurry, too smooth, and too jittery all at the same time. But, if the OP wants the best image quality from a flat screen, I'd go plasms, but for video gaming (due to chance of burn-in with plasma, even though it's better than it was years ago) I'd go LCD.

 

[sdifox]

give her a digital photo frame

 

[Wildog]

What's the quality of the Dynex's compared to something like a Vizio?

 

[Pghpooh]

Prices will fall a little more.
Sony is cutting production on just about everything.
Most other companies will cut back to or already have cut back.
Then prices will settle until mid Feb 2009.
Once mid Feb 2009 is here there will be a panic of buyers out there when analog is shut off.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Wildog
What's the quality of the Dynex's compared to something like a Vizio?

Probably about the same.

These brands are designed to be more or less disposable, though, so get the BB extended warranty if you buy the Dynex. You'll at least get a replacement if it breaks.

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: Wildog
What's the quality of the Dynex's compared to something like a Vizio?

Probably about the same.

These brands are designed to be more or less disposable, though, so get the BB extended warranty if you buy the Dynex. You'll at least get a replacement if it breaks.

Sceptre, Envision, Dynex, Insignia, Polaroid etc. Those brands are the low tier and basically disposable I agree.

Vizio is more of a mid-tier company as they have made many good steps in customer service and whatnot as they have grown and they have also improved quality and processing in the last few years. Still I would take a Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Philips or LG over them in a second, but they are definitely not in the Disposable category anymore.

 

[s44]

Today's Shell Shocker deal at the Egg is the 42" 1080p LCD from Corion/Digital Lifestyles for $600. $50 for shipping and $100 for a 4-year warranty (including replacement -- click on the "protect your investment" part of the page for details) if you want one and you've still got a good price -- basically the sort of deal the OP wanted.

Assuming the panel is any good, that is. At least acceptable, Dynex-level good, not top-of-the-line Samsung. I suspect it is, but honestly even a mediocre HD panel slaughters SD.

Edit: Link added. The Egg reviews of the 720p version seem pretty positive.

 

[HGC]

I'd recommend a smaller top quality 1080p LCD, maybe a 26" Samsung ToC. For about $450 you get superb image quality. On a budget the trade off is size vs quality I think. If bigger is more important, I don't think you'd go wrong with the Newegg Digital Lifestyles either. A great deal at that price.

As an aside, and I wouldn't buy a used one now, I do still have an ancient pre hi-def Sony XBR CRT. The picture in standard def, which is still mostly what I watch, is just wonderful. I'll be sorry to replace it when it dies, even with a modern panel.

 

[Madwand1]

Originally posted by: Shadowknight
it takes a $5,000+ Pioneer Kuro to equal the image quality of a set you can buy used for $500.

I disagree. I have a 36" HD CRT, and a Kuro 50". The latter was much less than $5000, and was just a bit more than what I paid for the CRT years ago. The CRT, while still nice and especially so with legacy recorded "SD" because it doesn't magnify its flaws even more, is nowhere near the image quality and impact of the 50", and while the Kuro is certainly nice, I'm sure I could have lived with a lesser panel if I was on a tighter budget.

7 or so years ago, I made the decision to go with a CRT, and I think that was the right decision at that time. Now, I'd look for a mid-sized panel and not look back. Technology and value has improved quite a lot since then.

 

[master7045]

Originally posted by: HGC
I'd recommend a smaller top quality 1080p LCD, maybe a 26" Samsung ToC. For about $450 you get superb image quality. .

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the OP asked for a tv for casual watchers, not a budget breaker. Thus, a 1080p TV is a waste of money, unless they can find the same model for less $. Any 32" 720p TV from a name brand (sharp, sony, panasonic, etc) would probably be at the top of their budget, while the store brand stuff (dynex, insignia, polaroid, envision, vizio, etc) would be fine for them. Since they are using an antenna they will get High Def video on all prime time shows (usually).

Personally, I would go for the biggest name brand TV I could find for the money. 500 should net a pretty decent LCD around 32"

 

[Lurknomore]

By far the best deal- Panasonic 42" TH-42PX80 plasma.
You can find one for around $650, maybe even less after the holidays.
Very good blacks (tho not crt level), also does sd better than their 1080p cousins from what I've heard.
Resolution is 1024x768, so you will not get as much detail as a 1080p model, but no matter.
Plasma motion resolution and viewing angles.
Panasonic reliability and quality should count for something.