Our TV is kaput and I'm wondering about flat screen TVs--any suggestions?

[Storm Bay]

Our nearly 18 year old TV no longer has colour (actually, there was a bit of very faint colour--blue grass, pinkish water, etc), and we've decided to finally by a flat screen now that they are affordable. We don't want to spend a lot, but because we're spoiled with a clear picture we'd like that. Some of the ones I've seen in stores don't have a great picture. We'd like to get one for less than $500 if we can (as less as possible, but we spent that on our old TV on a very good deal & it lasted a long time.

 

We don't need a Smart TV & just watch via cable right now. However, we're going to drop this plan when the contract runs out, and if it's cheaper we may end up trying TV from somewhere online (but not sure if that's what we want to do yet). 

 

Also, since Blue Ray is getting much less expensive & may end up taking over, what do we need to watch that? Do they work on any flat screen TV? I know there was no point in using them with our old behemoth set. 

[Tap]

We buy at Costco.  Good prices, Good warranty. Salesmen are not pushy and just help you find what you need.

 

Blueray won over HD several years ago, so you will only find Blueray now.

Any flatscreen will play Blueray.

 

 

When you are looking at size, the measurement is corner to diagonal corner so widescreen TVs may seem a bit smaller that you expect by just the measurement.  But the frame is a lot smaller than a lot of the old TVs so you may get more screen in the same space as before. 

[Um_2_4]

We just have a TCL tv from amazon :http://www.amazon.com/TCL-LE32HDE3000-32-Inch-720p-Black/dp/B00BP5N48Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376701466&sr=8-2&keywords=tcl+tv

It has lasted for over 3 years no problems and amazon service was great, 1st one had a scratch (minor but in a spot that bothered DH), no problem, they picked it up and sent us another one the same day.

I am pretty sure it could play Blu Ray and we are looking at getting one of those Roku boxes or the like. It does have an USB port on it.

[Susan C.]

We switched over less than a year ago.

 

We got a Panasonic plasma 50" not smart (but the bluray player is).

 

LOVE IT.  We opted for the lowest of the 1080 resolution and no anti-reflective screen (model U50). But the models have already changed. We don't have a window opposite the screen, if you do, you may need to upgrade to an anti-reflective screen.

[Ellie]

Blu-ray has to do with the device you're playing it on, not the device you're watching it on. :-)

 

I have noticed that many people who have flat-screen TVs hang them way too high on the wall, but maybe that's just me. :-)

[gingersmom]

We have several of this tv -

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/40%22+Class+(40%22+Diag.)+-+LED+-+1080p+-+60Hz+-+Smart+-+HDTV/5578649.p?id=1218666525649&skuId=5578649&st=samsung%2040%20smart&cp=1&lp=2

 

No need for Roku box, stream netflix or amazon right through the tv

[Pawz4me]

Blu-ray has to do with the device you're playing it on, not the device you're watching it on. :-)

 

I have noticed that many people who have flat-screen TVs hang them way too high on the wall, but maybe that's just me. :-)

 

No, it's not just you.

 

And many get them way, way too big for the room they're being placed in/distance from which people will be viewing.  Proportion matters.

[Kim in Appalachia]

We just recently got a flat screen.  It's a 51" Samsung Plasma tv.  We're very happy with it.  Before this we also had an old huge tv, and the picture was no longer clear.  Now even the commericals mesmorize me. LOL  We spent $550, and bought it at Best Buy.  I searched for the best deal.  Amazon can be good, but I would stick to main brands, like Samsung, Sony, Vizio, etc...   

[pink&bluemommy]

We bought this one at the beginning of the year: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-KDL50EX645-50-Inch-1080p-Internet/dp/B008XG1N7C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376738224&sr=8-2&keywords=Sony+50+tv

 

Funnily enough, we paid $300 less for it.

[Lanny]

We have a Samsung TV. We have always had good luck with Samsungs. I don't think you will have any trouble, with your budget. We are in South America and can get one (32") for a lot less than that...

 

We had a very high end 32" LG TV with a CRT.  The thing weighs, without exaggeration, 100 kilos (220 pounds) or more...  The TV/Electronics repair place we use doesn't do house calls.  I couldn't figure out how I could get it to their shop, and back, without having a small truck and some very strong people to help. We gave it away...

 

The Samsung we have in the bedroom, my wife or DD can carry around... In fact, they bought it and brought it home, several years ago.

 

Enjoy your new TV!

[Jeannie in NJ]

we have had a Samsung LG for 5 years now and not a bit of trouble. We really like it. Before that we had a Sony rear projection and every few months the repair guy was at our house, good thing it was under warranty. As soon as the 4 or 5 year warranty (don't remember which one) ran out, we tossed that tv. So happy with our current one.

[DawnM]

We have all sorts of different TVs (ok, well, 5)

 

We have two Sonys.  One is a 250 pound beast from when HD was fairly new.  The other is the one linked above, the 50".  

 

We also have a Vizio from Costco (40") that I paid around $500 for four years ago and it works great.

 

Two more we got used.  Each is 37" and one is a Dell and one is a Vizio.  These two are 1080i and not 1080p like the rest of ours.  I can't tell a whole lot of difference but DH made a big deal about it.  I got them from a lady selling on our local Moms' group and I paid $75 each for them so I am thrilled!    They work great and have HD ports for DVD players and Gaming consoles. 

 

Dawn

 

[Shelly in IL]

Samsung have the best picture! LCD's reduce glare on the screen.

[Jaz]

We just recently got a flat screen.  It's a 51" Samsung Plasma tv.  We're very happy with it.  Before this we also had an old huge tv, and the picture was no longer clear.  Now even the commericals mesmorize me. LOL  We spent $550, and bought it at Best Buy.  I searched for the best deal.  Amazon can be good, but I would stick to main brands, like Samsung, Sony, Vizio, etc...

We have a 51" Samsung Plasma too that we purchased a year and a half ago. We love it!

[nmoira]

We have a 48" (ish... it might be 50") Samsung plasma, wall mounted. We mostly watch movies, and the LCD and LED screens don't look right to me.

[sparrow]

We have been very happy with our Panasonic plasma. We will probably buy another when we finally re-do our basement.

[Mergath]

We have a Samsung LED that we bought not too long ago, and it's great.  The picture is perfect, the color is exactly right, and it lets me customize the heck out of the sound, which I like because my hearing sucks.  It's super light too, I could probably lift it with one hand.  It's a 32" and we paid, I think, somewhere in the neighborhood of three hundred dollars. 

[gardenmom5]

we bought whatever flat screen was on sale at Costco.  (in the basement we've a big screen I bought off craigslist.)

 

Blu-ray/HD is 1080p.  the screen must have 1080p in order to see the extra detail you will find on Blu-ray disks or HD channels.  regular screen is 480p. 

Blu-ray dvd players will play regular disks, some are even designed to "upgrade" the regular disk to better clarity (still not HD).  regular dvd players will not play a Blu-ray dvd.

 

we stream amazon video/Netflix/youtube/a bunch of others through the Blu-ray player (they have their own icons) so we also get audio going through the sound system, not the tv.

[Storm Bay]

Thanks, everybody, for giving me your information. I'm leaning toward a Samsung since it came up the most here and in BJs (no Costco that close) that had the clearest screen, but they have limited selection and not all of the brands. I'm planning to check out Best Buy as well. Somewhere I saw a poster showing the distances you need to sit for each screen size, so will check that out. We had a 26 inch tube TV, so I'm thinking of getting a 32 or 40 inch screen (if they have 40 inches--somewhere in that neighbourhood.) We want a good picture, but nothing that is going to encourage us to watch more TV than we watch now. 

 

Two other questions.

 

What's the difference between 1080i and 1030p? 

 

Forgot to ask about parental locks--is this standard feature or do I need to look for it? My kids are teens, but I sometimes like to leave it locked so they take care of their responsibilities rather than watch TV (not that they can't shirk without it, but it's less ilkely.)

 

 

Two more we got used.  Each is 37" and one is a Dell and one is a Vizio.  These two are 1080i and not 1080p like the rest of ours.  I can't tell a whole lot of difference but DH made a big deal about it.  I got them from a lady selling on our local Moms' group and I paid $75 each for them so I am thrilled!    They work great and have HD ports for DVD players and Gaming consoles. 

 

Dawn

 

 

we bought whatever flat screen was on sale at Costco.  (in the basement we've a big screen I bought off craigslist.)

 

Blu-ray/HD is 1080p.  the screen must have 1080p in order to see the extra detail you will find on Blu-ray disks or HD channels.  regular screen is 480p. 

Blu-ray dvd players will play regular disks, some are even designed to "upgrade" the regular disk to better clarity (still not HD).  regular dvd players will not play a Blu-ray dvd.

 

we stream amazon video/Netflix/youtube/a bunch of others through the Blu-ray player (they have their own icons) so we also get audio going through the sound system, not the tv.

 

[gardenmom5]

 

Two other questions.

 

What's the difference between 1080i and 1030p? 

 

Forgot to ask about parental locks--is this standard feature or do I need to look for it? My kids are teens, but I sometimes like to leave it locked so they take care of their responsibilities rather than watch TV (not that they can't shirk without it, but it's less ilkely.)

I assume you meant 1080p?  vs 1080i.  they are effectively the same, though 1080p is supposed to have a "visually smoother" screen - it's just the way the information is delivered to the screen.

 

as far as I know - channel locks are fairly standard, though some are going to be easier to use than others.

[Susan C.]

Best Buy does price matching, and their online prices are often less than in the store. Just know the online price before going to the store, and they will match that as well.

[LaxMom]

We have two LG LED/LCDs and love them. Great sound and picture clarity, and energy efficient. The one in our bedroom has USB ports to play from flash drives.

 

The 32" in the living room replaced a gigantic projection eyesore. It sits on a 3-drawer dresser. Come to think of it, so does the smaller one in the bedroom. Huh. A theme.

 

Anyway, both were well under $500. The larger was around $300 and the smaller just over $100.

[Storm Bay]

Thanks, all. I did some other research into flat screen TVs & headaches/migraines. I ended up buying an LED TV with more than 100 HZ (120 Hz) as those had the fewest headache/migraine complaints, and so far so good. It did NOT have a screen lock feature, but I finally found out I can lock all channels via our cable provider. This will be good as long as we don't switch to digital antenna and stop using a box, which we may end up doing someday, but I'll cross that bridge when i come to it. To get what I wanted in the stores where I shopped I bought a 40 " one--Amazon had one with all the things I wanted at 32", but it was more than $80 than we paid. We beat Best Buy's price, and by then (after helping dd buy her laptop for college, etc, etc) I couldn't be bothered to drive back to Best Buy to match the price. We bought dd's laptop at Best Buy.  

 

I bought a Samsung (best picture I saw, & I did have to adjust it at home, of course). It's a Smart TV, which we don't need, but we're using it as a dumb TV as we don't have WiFi in our house & everyone around here wisely locks theirs (I'm glad.) I only hope that this TV can last as long as our old one did.

[Spy Car]

Blu-ray has to do with the device you're playing it on, not the device you're watching it on. :-)

 

I have noticed that many people who have flat-screen TVs hang them way too high on the wall, but maybe that's just me. :-)

Correct on both points. The latter point (screen mounted too high) being the more serious problem. All too common.

 

Bill

[Storm Bay]

Correct on both points. The latter point (screen mounted too high) being the more serious problem. All too common.

 

Bill

Ours is small enough to put on a stand without mounting on the wall, thankfully, as we just aren't into TV enough to warrant the work involved in a wall mounted TV. Blu-rays are now quite inexpensive, but we haven't bought one yet as we don't have much need for it at the moment.

[Spy Car]

Ours is small enough to put on a stand without mounting on the wall, thankfully, as we just aren't into TV enough to warrant the work involved in a wall mounted TV. Blu-rays are now quite inexpensive, but we haven't bought one yet as we don't have much need for it at the moment.

Many people don't feel the need for Blu-rays. If you can't rent them cheaply, and aren't going to purchase Blu-ray discs, you might not want to bother.

 

On the other hand, the players are getting cheap and many people who lack "Smart TVs" (not you) use WiFi enabled Blu-rays to stream. And Blu-rays have RCA analogue audio outs so people can them connect older audio receivers for home theatre (where TV generally have HDMI "outs" only.

 

If the Samsung LED gives you headaches (and let's hope not) and you have an exchange period, look at Plasmas (I like Panasonic, but Samsung makes good Plasmas too) as these do not have the sort of motion-artifacts LEDs do.

 

Bill

[Storm Bay]

Many people don't feel the need for Blu-rays. If you can't rent them cheaply, and aren't going to purchase Blu-ray discs, you might not want to bother.

 

On the other hand, the players are getting cheap and many people who lack "Smart TVs" (not you) use WiFi enabled Blu-rays to stream. And Blu-rays have RCA analogue audio outs so people can them connect older audio receivers for home theatre (where TV generally have HDMI "outs" only.

 

If the Samsung LED gives you headaches (and let's hope not) and you have an exchange period, look at Plasmas (I like Panasonic, but Samsung makes good Plasmas too) as these do not have the sort of motion-artifacts LEDs do.

 

Bill

 

The LED TV is great for me, and it doesn't even affect my sleep based on the short time we've owned it & the few times I've watched it. In the store the Plasma's were not as good for me, but it was hard to tell for sure since I was under fluorescent lighting. I do know that fluorescent lighting give me headaches & that regular LCD TVs are bad.

 

I just received a pair of glasses designed to help prevent migraines from certain light sources, but haven't been to the right place to try them yet. They may not help at all, but since I get a headache instantly every time i walk into a place with many types of fluorescent lighting, it's worth the experiment.

[Spy Car]

The LED TV is great for me, and it doesn't even affect my sleep based on the short time we've owned it & the few times I've watched it. In the store the Plasma's were not as good for me, but it was hard to tell for sure since I was under fluorescent lighting. I do know that fluorescent lighting give me headaches & that regular LCD TVs are bad.

 

I just received a pair of glasses designed to help prevent migraines from certain light sources, but haven't been to the right place to try them yet. They may not help at all, but since I get a headache instantly every time i walk into a place with many types of fluorescent lighting, it's worth the experiment.

Have you played with the TVs "set up?"

 

Flat-screens (and Samsung LEDs are the most notorious of all) come from the factory being way too bright, and with too much color saturation (so almost neon-green grass). The extreme factory set up makes them "pop" in the stores (where Plasmas look dull in comparison) but it is a very unnatural look, and if you are bothered by excessive brightness and/or color saturation it might help to fiddle. If you have not done so you might want to try a custom set up.

 

Bill

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

My only advice is don't buy a TV too large for your space. I know a previous poster mentioned that. You can find guidlines via google on what a good screen size to viewing distance ratio is. 

 

 

Size matters.

[Mommyof4ks]

How about a projector instead? We can take ours outside for movies the backyard, it goes to places where we need to do presentations, and I can move it to any room in the house that we need to watch a video. We got a decent projector two years ago for $250.

[Storm Bay]

Have you played with the TVs "set up?"

 

Flat-screens (and Samsung LEDs are the most notorious of all) come from the factory being way too bright, and with too much color saturation (so almost neon-green grass). The extreme factory set up makes them "pop" in the stores (where Plasmas look dull in comparison) but it is a very unnatural look, and if you are bothered by excessive brightness and/or color saturation it might help to fiddle. If you have not done so you might want to try a custom set up.

 

Bill

 

Yes, and it's great. I took it off the auto adjust setting & did a custom set up.Auto adjust always makes screen too bright for my eyes, as I have light retinal pigment & light eyes (okay, it may be that the latter always goes with the former, but the converse isn't the case) and I corrected the colour. I did that right away & we've all been happy with that,.

 

Of course, it's not so great for old shows that aren't in HD,etc, but apparently that's normal, and since the main user is my dh who watches a big of sports, it's not a problem as he's learned to use the HD channels. I still miss our old TV in many ways (we had it set perfectly, didn't have to worry about HD vs regular, etc), but are happy with this.