Shopping for a new TV

[stacyrings]

What happened to DLP? I had thought that was going to be the best out there. Do they even make them anymore?

[RepoMan]

LCD and plasma prices came down to the prices DLPs were selling for so the price advantage DLPs had was basically erased, and the market now seems to be demanding the flat form factor that rear-projection doesn't give you.

[Gear Jammer]

Tell me where to find a 72" flat panel for under $2k, and I'll call the cops to bust 'em for selling stolen merchandise. For the 40-55" range, yeah flat panels ran the DLP's out of the market. Thus DLP went insano sized, and I like it. When I was looking to replace the Sony, I wanted to avoid going over $2k, thought the best I was going to be able to do would be a 50" range in a flat panel. Would have been a step down, and at the time completely the case. Then I heard an ad for the Big Screen Store (not a national chain sadly), for the Toshiba 72" DLP at $1699, and jumped on it. Latest ad I heard, they were selling the Toshiba for $1799, and throwing in a 50" LCD for "free". Toshiba also makes a 83" TV as well, almost went with it, but it busted the $2k mark by nearly a grand.

Another favorable feature of DLP over flat panels...when flat panels blow out pixels, they are gone forever, when a DLP's light dies, you replace it, and the TV lives again.

[stacyrings]

Cool DLP info guys.

Okay, I've been doing some research and have changed my mind on the plasma thing. I think it will look better in my living room and even though right now I don't have seating on the sides of the room, I could in the future.

One thing that I've seen a little about, watching SD on a HDTV. I cannot afford to pay for HD so nearly all my viewing will be SD, at least for the next year or so. Some say that SD doesn't look good, some say it's okay. All you with these big fancy tvs. are you watching HD exclusively, a mix, or SD exclusively. Just curious.

[RepoMan]

I have a large plasma as my primary TV and because my Tivo is older and SD-only, a lot of stuff I watch ends up being in SD. It's not unwatchable, though. It's just not what you'd call pretty. Cartoons end up looking the best, so if you're going to be watching a lot of kids' programming in SD, that's not too bad. Also, you should be able to get at least some local channels in HD. A few shows I like to watch are on Fox and I get that in HD directly from the cable (not the cable box), so that works out OK. Then I have other HD sources like the Xbox and blu-ray, so I get my fill of pretty HD stuff from them.

[stacyrings]

So you can get some free programming in HD?

[Dinahmoehum]

All over the air stuff will be HD. But yea, thing look like ass in SD on HDTV. The upverted dvd's look ok, like using a PS3, don't know if the 360 does or not, but PS3 for sure. Never tried the upvert dvd player with the HDTV. Dish standard looks like hell.

[Gear Jammer]

If you get an HD capable antenna, available most anywhere gadgets be sold, you can get all your local HD channels for free. Highly recommended if you're going to by a HD TV, and be without HD service from a cable or Sat provider for an extended period. Cost runs in the $50- $75 range. I have one I'm not using, PM me with the pertinent details, and I'd be happy to ship it out to you if you'd like.

[stacyrings]

Thanks guys.

I have ATT Uverse. I'll check and see if the local stuff is free on HD. I think it might only be an extra $10 a month for HD but I'm not positive. That could have been something else.

[Gear Jammer]

Typically upgrading to HD for your entire cable or Sat channel package is only $10 a month. If you can swing it, I'd highly recommend it with the purchase of a HD TV.

My provider, Dish Network, is claiming free HD upgrades, but I've not seen it reflected in my bill, guess it's only for new subscribers. One of these days I'm going to get off my lazy ass, and sit through the wait on the phone to inquire about that.

[AsMuch]

Any standard UHF antenna should get you the local channels in HD. Don't spend more than you need to on one. That said, if you plan on leaving the antenna inside, get a powered one. You'll need the extra gain. Mine cost $12, and is about the size of my wii.

Also, most reasonably priced indoor antennae are unidirectional, so you may need to adjust for each channel. Unfortunately, the digital channels are broadcast at a much lower power than their old school analog counterparts, so the fiddling is a little more frequent.

[JangoFett]

This is a great resource for antenna users:http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

Put in your address and it'll tell you how to point the antenna and what stations you'd expect to receive.

[stacyrings]

Okay, one more question. Should I be concerned about getting a tv that is internet capable? I have wireless at home and I have a Wii connected where I watch Netflix. Seems to me that having that isn't that important.

[RepoMan]

I don't know what the price difference is, but if you already have devices that get you the same thing (Netflix etc) I don't see much of a point, though you'd get HD that you won't get through the Wii.

[stacyrings]

Good point Repo. Thanks.

[stacyrings]

Got my tv today. This was a little more than I wanted to spend but it's a better tv than I thought I could get. Here it is so you can see all the details but the big points are 46 in. Samsung LED LCD, 1080p, 120 refresh rate, internet ready. So far I really really like it.

[Gear Jammer]

Oooh, look at you, with all your Light Emitting Diodes flashing about. Nice, didn't know that the LED TV's had dropped down into that price range already. Seems the last I was looking at them was less than a year ago, and a LED TV in that size was running in the $3k range.

[ash#]

Dayum.... look how skinny that thing is. Nice TV!

[stacyrings]

Thanks. I know it's more than I was looking for but at that price, I just couldn't pass it up.

[RepoMan]

Nice! Looks pretty freaking sweet.

[Alligator]

Sounds like a good one. Good luck with it. Hope you enjoy it.