I never thought I would spend more than a couple hundred on a TV but, now I'm ready to upgrade my home AV system so please educate me on the latest TVs, high def, LCD, plasma, best places to shop etc. Thanks
Along the same lines as Transcom: Flat screen TVs, school me
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By the way, if you've got a Costco membership, they are, by far, the lowest in price.
posted by GraphicsGuy on Sep 17, 2008 at 08:53:25 am #
For picture quality I have been impressed with the Vizio line
Seriously...open box at Best Buy. I have bought 4 tvs this way. All have been great and all are still working. Two are HD.
LG and a Westinghouse.
Grapicsguy or anyone else: Any opinion on Samsungs?
For the money and pure obnoxiousness of having a 100+ inch picture, projectors are pretty cool. I wish there were more movies/shows worth watching and more games to be gamed.
Any opinion on Samsungs?
If their TV's are as good as their monitors I wouldn't hesitate to purchase one.
I've never played games but, I hinted that I wanted a Blu-ray player for my upcoming birthday and the rumor is my kids may be getting me a PS3 since it plays Blu-ray. So, I may start.
BTW, my main concern for the TV is for movies. My audio components are from Jameson's but I'm interested in a user's perspective not a sale person's. So, thanks ya'll.
McCaskey: I went 'HD' about the same time I was doing the cable thing. I mentioned to my brother that I was in the market and he recommended Samsung, saying "Same picture, less cost."
I listened to him.
Close, but not quite as good as the Sony picture.
If you've got the extra $$, go with Sony.
S O N Y ! !
posted by GraphicsGuy on Sep 17, 2008 at 11:02:08 am #
Thanks, graphics.
Another one for ya. Any experience with Best Buy 'Geek Squad' being reliable for setting up components if you buy from there?
I might be buying HD set in near future. Waiting for the old big-screen, four-foot wide Mitsubuishi (bought in '99, never been serviced) to die so I have an excuse, LOL.
No experience, nor have I heard - good or bad - about the Geek Squad
I don't know what they charge, but hooking up the cable/satellite to your new TV and sound system isn't really all that hard, and the TV manufacturer usually has a 'quick guide' to make the connections.
To get HD (assuming you're on cable) you'll need to get an HD box or DVR (which is HD). Certain HD channels are standard when you get the HD/DVR, but they also have additional HD channels for a price. If you do get the HD/DVR cable box, Buckeye will hook it ALL up for you, and they supply the necessary cables.
I have heard from several that the high priced DVI cables don't make a noticeable difference. Don't know anything either way about HDMI. I just use the standard component video cables.
Also, once everything gets hooked up and running, take a picture of the back of the components and label where the wires go and where they come from. In the future, if you ever want to move the equipment, you can refer to the picture and hook things back up they way they were.
posted by GraphicsGuy on Sep 18, 2008 at 12:52:16 am #
By the way, when buying a new TV, make sure you've got at least 2 component video (Y-Pb-Pr) inputs (more is better), a couple of S-video's, and 3 or so composite video inputs (for older equipment).
posted by GraphicsGuy on Sep 18, 2008 at 12:58:11 am #
Having worked in the cable industry, I've seen a lot of HD TV's out there, and from this experience, I'm going to recommend 3 brands of TV:
1)Sony
2)Sony
3)Sony
Between LCD and Plasma, each has their advantages/disadvantages. It boils down to personal choice - IMHO.
posted by GraphicsGuy on Sep 17, 2008 at 08:52:43 am #