I'm in the market to buy a television & need assistance.

Started by Mad-Lad, November 29, 2005, 02:29:57 PM

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Mad-Lad

So the television I bought about 4 years ago decided to crap out on me.  It wasn't anything spectacular (32" standard television), but I'm currently stuck with a television I've had since the early nineties until I buy a new one.  Here's my problem, I don't know a damn thing about the difference between plasma, flat-panel, LCD, or any of the crap they sell.  I do know that I'm not buying another regular tube television, but don't have the dough to shell out on a grand or two on an HDTV.

Anyways, can someone fill me in on what might be a good set to buy?  I'm still looking at  the same 32" size and it's primary use will be watching DVDs and playing video games (PS2).  Any help is appreciated.

SD_Eagle5

If you're looking for something decent that's not too pricey I highly recommend a Sony Wega.  :yay A 32 inch HDTV will probably run you anywhere from $500-$900. The picture is awesome and sound is even better. I bought a 27 inch 2 years ago for $400 and it's been worth every penny.

Mad-Lad

Quote from: SD_Eagle on November 29, 2005, 02:35:48 PM
If you're looking for something decent that's not too pricey I highly recommend a Sony Wega.  :yay A 32 inch HDTV will probably run you anywhere from $500-$900. The picture is awesome and sound is even better. I bought a 27 inch 2 years ago for $400 and it's been worth every penny.

thanks for the tip SD.  I appreciate it.

SD_Eagle5

Here's one at BestBuy for a little over $800, but I was there yesterday and I could swear they had them marked down (like the $500-$700 range). One of my roommates bought an LCD 20 inch TV for his room and a 60 inch plasma for our living room and neither picture could touch the clarity of mine.  8)

Tomahawk


MURP

I can vouch for the Sony Wega's.    Great quality for a good price.

PoopyfaceMcGee

Sony TV's are very good, but are also a bit overpriced.  I've had great success with Toshiba TV's.

The FST Pure Flat Tube series (bottom of page) would be great for you also.  The 30HFX84 model is a 30" 16:9 HDTV that retails for $999.99.  If you don't want to go HDTV, they also have the standard 4:3 ratio 35AFX54 and 32AFX54 that retail for $849.99 and $599.99, respectively.

If I had to buy a ~32" TV, that's what I'd get.  If nothing else, a good basis of comparison for the Sony WEGA.

rjs246

Is rjs gonna have to choke a bitch?

Let them eat bootstraps.

PoopyfaceMcGee

It looks like Toshiba has pretty much "caught up" to Sony in price.  I would also look at Samsung.

I got my bedroom TV (a Philips flat-screen tube, similar to the FST Pure stuff) while the employee store was still easily accessible.  It's not anymore, though.  Philips TV's are OK, but probably a step down from the others mentioned.

Mad-Lad

Quote from: SD_Eagle on November 29, 2005, 02:43:49 PM
Here's one at BestBuy for a little over $800, but I was there yesterday and I could swear they had them marked down (like the $500-$700 range). One of my roommates bought an LCD 20 inch TV for his room and a 60 inch plasma for our living room and neither picture could touch the clarity of mine.  8)

Here's the Wega Editor's review on cnet.com (6.4 out of 10)
The good: Excellent black-level performance; vertical compression for anamorphic DVDs and HDTV; HDMI input.

The bad: Bulky tube design; no independent input memories, no picture-in-picture; color decoder accentuates reds.

The bottom line: While it doesn't deliver all the detail of its larger brethren, this 32-inch set makes a great stepping-stone to high-def.

Seabiscuit36

You may want to get the HD sets considering the changeover to digital is coming in the next 4 years. 
"For all the civic slurs, for all the unsavory things said of the Philadelphia fans, also say this: They could teach loyalty to a dog. Their capacity for pain is without limit." -Bill Lyons

Mad-Lad

Quote from: Seabiscuit36 on November 29, 2005, 03:36:49 PM
You may want to get the HD sets considering the changeover to digital is coming in the next 4 years. 

i heard that.  i read that in order to get the digital signal in an old television, you have to buy some sort of converter box which run around $100.  farg that!

Mad-Lad

thanks for all the info.  i'm doing a shteinload of homework before dropping the cash, but i'm headed in the right direction at least.  The last set i bought was an RCA and i'll never buy another of those pieces of shtein.

MURP

there is a huge message board out there with tons of audio video people on there talking about everything television, HD, projectors, surround sound etc.   I used to have the link but cant find it now.... arg.  Ill try and find it again.

Cerevant

Quote from: MURP on November 29, 2005, 04:21:04 PM
there is a huge message board out there with tons of audio video people on there talking about everything television, HD, projectors, surround sound etc.   I used to have the link but cant find it now.... arg.  Ill try and find it again.
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