Hey guys, I am now in the market for buying my first HDTV. My wife left me seven moths ago, took the TV(reg 37 inch) and I have been watching a 19 inch reg TV set since then so now after saving up some cash I am going to get a HDTV. The problem is I know nothing about them, I have read all the forums and surfed the net a little and I have settled on this TV http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7696021 This Philips 42" 42PFL5432D/37 looks great to me since i have been watching the little one but i found someone on another thread who said NEVER buy a Philips because the contrast was VERY bad?? I have no idea about this but it has made me start to rethink what I should buy. I only have around $1300.00 to spend, so would this be a good HDTV or should I just get another? Thanks a ton for your help on this.
Hey There I notice your interested in buying an HDTV with TV input. edited by ddp has a deal for $1299 (right in your budget) for an HDTV projector, a 100 inch High Gain Glass Bead Motorized Screen W/Remote, a ceiling mount with an extendable bar, and 2 replacement bulbs which last 3000-6000 hours each! check out this link http://i'manidiot.com edited by ddp Also have auctions on ebay for the same package. Email me at edited by ddp if your interested, and good luck shopping! Sincerely edited by ddp
Well not the reply I was hoping for but thank you for a reply none the less. Sorry but I am not interested in a projection tv I guess I should have said a little about the HDTV I want. I am going to go ahead and buy the Philips tomorrow. I am looking for a flat screen with 1080P so that when my son comes over we can hook his ps3 to it and he can enjoy playing it. He has been playing on the 19inch and didn't like it very well, so maybe this hdtv will make him happy also. Thanks anyway guys. This is the first forum on afterdawn that must not be read that much O-o
I just bought my First HDTV too. I did a lot of research on picture quality and the normal stuff one does. Then my change My existing big screen broke, so I needed to move it anyway, so I took it to my VERY good and knowledgeable repair man. I asked him his opinion from a Reliability stand point. Boy I did not expect a PHd lesson, so here is the short version. #1 Stay away from Plasma. You cannot afford to repair them.. no one can. any repair not covered by warranty will cost more than replacing it. And they are physically FRAGILE. #2 LCDs will require repair in 3 to 5 years. Depending on what goes, it may not be affordable to repair it either. Sony and Mitsubishi's look great, while the operate. Sony parts are EXPENSIVE, Mitsubishi parts are generally not available after 5 years. Phillips area very prone to failure. Sharp are good but expensive to buy, No name and want-a-bes are buyer beware. Panasonic, and Samsung are the highest regarded, with LG an up and comer. 3# DLP Almost the same as LCD, except they are affordable to repair, and WILL need a lamp replacement. Sony does not use the TI DLP mirror. They made their own which "will" break, is very expensive and takes many hours to install. Again Panasonic, and Samsung are the highest regarded, and Pani just came out with a new lamp which is to last much longer. Both CostCo and Sams Club has a good selection of Pani at VERY good prices and some selection of larger Samsung, and all include the MFG stand. What ever you do, get it from somewhere you can take it back if it dies on you, or you just do not like it once you get it home. Also when in the Store, a 50" looks small, but once home is a pretty good size. I got a 56" and it looked small in the store next to the larger screens and in the large area they display them in. I had a 64" big screen which was quite large in my large family room. The 56" HDTV wide screen is actually wider, and any larger would have been too big for the room. Don't feel like you need larger by the look or feel from the show room, measure "your" space and size accordingly. Hope this helps. P.S. I got the pani DLP from Sams Club w/ the pani stand for under $1.3k and love it. (note: it did need a good bit of adjusting the color, but was fairly easy to do and now ever my ReplayTV looks better than ever on it)
How big a screen is optimal? Our Fam Room has seating in the 10-12 foot range but there is one viewing spot only 9 feet from the planned location of the screen. I was thinking about sizes of 50-52, but now am wondering if that is too big and i should set my sites down to 46?
So you recommend staying away from the best HD picture available? From Consumer Reports: And your VERY good and knowledgeable repair man must not have much Panasonic plasma experience. Consumer reports found the Panasonic plasmas to be the most reliable sets made and even advises against buying extended warranties. Based on 75,000 reader responses. DLP's did not fare as well in a 28,000 response reader survey. Very unreliable compared to plasma. The graphs show the percentage of the following brands of rear-projection TVs bought between 2004 and 2007 that have ever been repaired or had a serious problem. Among DLPs, Toshiba and RCA have been the most repair-prone brands. Hitachi was the most repair-prone LCD brand.
Well I went out and bought my first HDTV last friday. Been spending my free time watching it so have not posted until now. I bought a toshiba 42" 42HL167 from Circut City. I really love the TV so far looks great. I didn't care much for how the TV looked in reg format so I went by a Directv dealer and bought a HD box and came home and set it up......well, no one bothered to tell me I had to have a new dish with it so I am only getting 1 channel in HD. It is a animal planet channel but man I been watching it all night. I love the picture to much to turn it. Getting the dish put in next Tuesday, long wait for me but it will look great when it is all done. I liked the Philips looks but after reading that they break a lot I went with the Toshiba for the same price of $1199.00. Thanks for the post and replys.
Good luck and I hope you are happy together. I bought a 32" Toshiba in UK and was quite worried by some of the things I read about it on forums, although there were many good reports too. When I thought about it, I could find someone who was unhappy about any model you searched for, such is life. Despite this I have been very pleased with my Toshiba LCD for over 12 months now and I'm glad I bought it. One thing you can be sure of is that by this time next year your telly will be half the price you paid and updated by a newer model. That's technology for you but you have to put a peg in the ground some time & part with your hard earned cash! One thing
