My TV died....

[Stewie]

And now we might be buying a new one, we may opt for replacing the lamp but it is a 50" lcd rear proj and isnt 1080p.

So we are considering upgrading, any good suggestions?  I know whatever we get will be 50" + and will be 1080p and 120Hz

[Sky]

12Hz? 

I'll repeat what I usually repeat. I like the big Samsung DLPs, the newer ones with LED bulbs. Go for 67", it won't be too big unless you live in a closet.

[Stewie]

while i would love a 67" price becomes an issue. i am hoping to find something under 2k cdn

[Bunk]

We have a friend who bought himself a 67" back in the bottom projection days. He had to return it and get a 62" because they couldn't get the first one in the elevator.

[Stewie]

Im thinking of something like this http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926HDS0010099657&catid=26554#
but it is a bit pricey.

[Cyrrex]

I don't mean to sound trite, but why does anyone buy rear projection these days if not to simply get more tv screen for the dollar?  I cannot think of any other way in which they stack up against the alternatives.

[Salamok]

isn't DLP rear projection?

[bhodi]

I don't mean to sound trite, but why does anyone buy rear projection these days if not to simply get more tv screen for the dollar?  I cannot think of any other way in which they stack up against the alternatives.

I bought a SXRD simply because it was $300 cheaper than LCD and I had the room. Of course, that was 2 years ago. Now? There is absolutely no reason to get a rear projection.


Yes, DLP is a rear projection tech.

[Oban]

Im thinking of something like this http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926HDS0010099657&catid=26554#
but it is a bit pricey.

That is the top rated LCD according to Consumer Reports.

CR's Take
This top-rated 52-inch 1080p model from Samsung is one of the best TVs we've ever tested. It has excellent picture quality across the board, and was one of the few tested models with excellent sound.

Highs
Excellent picture quality across the board, with top-notch detail that makes the most of HD programming. Has very accurate colors and better-than-average black levels. Contrast was very good, giving images depth and dimension. Excellent reproduction of scenes with subtly shaded light-to-dark areas. Excellent film-mode operation effectively eliminates jagged edges--"jaggies"-- on movie content. Has 120Hz technology that effectively reduces, but does not eliminate, motion blur. Excellent sound. The remote control is very easy to use; its backlit buttons are easy to see in the dark. On-screen menu is very easy to navigate.

Lows
Viewing angle was somewhat limited, so the picture lost some color, contrast, or brightness as we  moved away from the center of the screen. Touch-sensitive controls on console are poorly labeled and difficult to read.

[MrHat]

That's the exact TV I was going to suggest.

I have the 46" and it's phenomenal.  Like, seriously seriously awesome.

[Stormwaltz]

Any recommendations for a 27"-36" HDTV?

I can't accept "get a bigger one," sorry. That's as much room as we have available for a TV. :P

[Oban]

Any recommendations for a 27"-36" HDTV?

I can't accept "get a bigger one," sorry. That's as much room as we have available for a TV. :P

Get a bigger trailer.


Samsung LN32A550 32" is top rated.

[Sky]

while i would love a 67" price becomes an issue. i am hoping to find something under 2k cdn

I don't know what the rates are, but the 67 is $1900USD at amazon, free shipping.

edit: ok, that's a little over. Go for the 61, then. I've got the 720p 61 with the older bulb style and, well, read my grief title :)

[NiX]

Make friends with someone who works at Best Buy or get a job there for 3 months. The discount is insane.

[Stormwaltz]

Samsung LN32A550 32" is top rated.

Picked one up today at the Boxing Day sales. You'll love this.

1) List price is $850 CDN.
2) Alberta adds a recycling charge to all electronics - for 30-40" TVs, it's $30.

But:

1) It's on sale for $650.
2) I have ~$80 left on a BioWare Best Buy gift card from last year.
3) I also have a letter from the Best Buy manager giving 10% off on purchases made with BioWare gift cards.

In the end, I bought a $850 HDTV for $560 CDN (~$460 US), including tax.

[Tale]

I've been looking at the Samsungs too.

But I'm also very impressed with the Sony equivalents. Samsung makes the panels for those too, but to my eyes, what Sony is doing with them seems to produce an even more impressive picture. And locally in Australia, the Sonys are currently cheaper. I'd be happy with either. Panasonic and Pioneer have been slashing prices and adding features to keep up, so I'm considering those too.

However - and take this with a grain of salt - manufacturers warned before Christmas that TV prices will go up in the new year because they are unsustainably low against rising parts costs.

[Merusk]

Bull, more like "There will be a run in the US markets as folks panic because they've misunderstood the HDTV conversion and will try to replace perfectly serviceable sets, so we're going to milk the stupids." 

[apocrypha]

Currently very happy with our Sony KDL40W-4500. Great picture, lovely screen, nice construction. SD stuff looks great, HD stuff looks stunning.

The sound isn't quite as good as the picture though, considering a cheap home cinema set for it but have to convince my gf that the benefits outweigh all the wires 

[MrHat]

Currently very happy with our Sony KDL40W-4500. Great picture, lovely screen, nice construction. SD stuff looks great, HD stuff looks stunning.

The sound isn't quite as good as the picture though, considering a cheap home cinema set for it but have to convince my gf that the benefits outweigh all the wires 

Especially because she'd have to set it up right?  I mean, if you can manage, I think a few cups of coffee will let you get OCD enough to hide all cables.

[apocrypha]

Hehe, coffee, codeine, tramadol, what fucking wires? I see no wires! 

[Tale]

I'm now very impressed by Panasonic Full HD plasma TVs like the TH-42PZ800A, which has a better looking picture than Sony or Samsung LCDs and is true 1080p.

[fuser]

Samsung LN32A550 32" is top rated.

Picked one up today at the Boxing Day sales. You'll love this.

1) List price is $850 CDN.
2) Alberta adds a recycling charge to all electronics - for 30-40" TVs, it's $30.

But:

1) It's on sale for $650.
2) I have ~$80 left on a BioWare Best Buy gift card from last year.
3) I also have a letter from the Best Buy manager giving 10% off on purchases made with BioWare gift cards.

In the end, I bought a $850 HDTV for $560 CDN (~$460 US), including tax.

That's a pretty crazy deal, I have the 40" of the same model it's a great set with really nice PQ!

[Samwise]

We just got this TV over the weekend.  It's nice.  We upgraded from an old tube model, so it's a pretty amazing step up.

Getting a new digital-enabled TV actually gets you some stuff that a converter box doesn't, which I hadn't known until we started flipping channels.  In particular, there's now a built-in TV Guide, similar to what you get with cable (but free).  The listing information gets broadcast digitally and "downloaded" by your TV.  Between that and the fact that we now get about 50 crystal-clear HD channels over the air, there's pretty much no way we're ever getting cable at this point.

[Trippy]

We just got this TV over the weekend.  It's nice.  We upgraded from an old tube model, so it's a pretty amazing step up.

Getting a new digital-enabled TV actually gets you some stuff that a converter box doesn't, which I hadn't known until we started flipping channels.  In particular, there's now a built-in TV Guide, similar to what you get with cable (but free).  The listing information gets broadcast digitally and "downloaded" by your TV.  Between that and the fact that we now get about 50 crystal-clear HD channels over the air, there's pretty much no way we're ever getting cable at this point.

Those aren't all HD, most of it is just SD programming that's digital and while number of channels available with an over-the-air digital tuner is quite a bit higher than a regular OTA analog tuner it's not like you have access to the normal basic cable channels like ESPN, CNN, Discovery, and whatnot.

[Samwise]

Those aren't all HD, most of it is just SD programming that's digital and while number of channels available with an over-the-air digital tuner is quite a bit higher than a regular OTA analog tuner it's not like you have access to the normal basic cable channels like ESPN, CNN, Discovery, and whatnot.

Yes, but most of the basic cable channels suck, and from the number of broadcast stations I've seen so far that do HD I'm guessing it's not going to be long before they all do it. 

Basically, if we'd ever subscribed to cable, it would have been because of the Daily Show (yay Hulu), to not have to fiddle with the rabbit ears to pick up FOX and NBC (yay digital), and the built-in TV listings (yay built-in TV Guide).  We're even getting some BBC stuff now that we're getting all the flavors of PBS in our area (previously we got one, now we have something like nine).  It's crazy.

[Draegan]

I have an ancient 40" Samsung 720p LCD.  Still does me good.

[MrHat]

Sam, did you have any problems w/ the OTA HD antenna?

[Nebu]

I have an ancient 40" Samsung 720p LCD.  Still does me good.

Ancient?  I have a 27" CRT in my living room. 

I had to decide between a new TV and a treadmill this year.  I decided that I hated running in the rain more than I hated my TV.

[Draegan]

What's a C..RT?

[Hindenburg]

Cathode Ray Tube.

Best image. By far.

[Samwise]

Sam, did you have any problems w/ the OTA HD antenna?

Not really, and we didn't even get a new antenna -- just the same old rabbit ears we used with our old TV.  Now, there are a couple of channels we can't quite get, so we might get better results on those with one of the slightly fancier antennas that's built specially for HD/digital signals, but we already get all the channels we used to get times five.

[Morfiend]

while i would love a 67" price becomes an issue. i am hoping to find something under 2k cdn

You can get the Samsung 67" from costco for $1500.

[Draegan]

Cathode Ray Tube.

Best image. By far.

Thank god you were here to tell me that.  What other interesting things can you teach me?

[Hindenburg]

You're not very familiar with reverse trolling, are you?