Topic: Need help buying a new TV

[tendoboy1984]

I currently have a 3 year old LG 32" 720p LCD TV (not LED). I want to upgrade to a better quality LED TV, and my budget is $250.

Should I buy a 32" 720p TV for under $230, or a 32" 1080p TV for around $250? The brands I looked at were Samsung, LG, and Vizio.

[Oblivion]

1080p.

[pokepal148]

You need to get a 4k, Ultra 3d smart TV with a curved display, voice controls, and a nice big sign that pops up every so often that says 'wow, you actually bought this thing?'

[BranDonk Kong]

You can probably get a 40" 1080p TV for $250 if you look hard enough.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Don't be afraid to jump on a Vizio.

I got a 3, all quality so far, and it's like 2 TV's for the price of 1 Samsung or Sony.
Customer support for a minor issue was top notch too (remote control issue).

[Ymeegod]

Yeah, I too recommend some of these no-name brands as well.

And you're really not going see much of a difference in quality simply switching from lcd to led and the same with the resolution at 32 inch.  I would hunt around for an 42 1080 LED (non-smart) set.  I picked up mine (42 hisense brand) for about that much and it's on par with my Toshiba which set me back thousands . 

Black Friday is just around the corner and the last couple of years they had 50inch specials going for $300 or less if you don't mind waiting in line.

[Oblivion]

Vizio ain't a no-name brand

And you're really not going see much of a difference in quality simply switching from lcd to led and the same with the resolution at 32 inch.

Going from LCD to LED isn't about image quality, but about colors, light, how the system is built, and the electricity usage. Going from 720 to 1080 IS a difference, however. I used to say the same thing about 32 inch TVs but then I bought another one at 1080 and compared the two in my house and there is a big difference.

[BranDonk Kong]

LED TVs are LCD TVs, it's just a different kind of backlight.

[Oblivion]

LED TVs are LCD TVs, it's just a different kind of backlight.

No ****. But if the customer doesn't need to know that, then I don't bring it up. It still makes the colors, light, and actual build of the TV different from LCD.

[Ceric]

I got a 42in 3D 1080p LG TV for $300.  I surprisingly like it more than I thought I would.  I recommend, if this is your primary TV, that I probably go 42in 1080p and getting one with a high refresh right.

If I had to make a decision my priorities:
1. Within Budget
2. 1080p
3. Proper Size
4. General Picture Quality
5. Brand
6. Higher Refresh Rate
7. PC Hook up (VGA or DVI)
8. 3D

So if your are considering 2 similarly priced TV those are the Priorities I give.

[Oblivion]

@Tendo: Just remember that not all content benefits from higher refresh rate.

[BranDonk Kong]

LED TVs are LCD TVs, it's just a different kind of backlight.

No ****. But if the customer doesn't need to know that, then I don't bring it up. It still makes the colors, light, and actual build of the TV different from LCD.

No ****. But I wasn't explaining it to you, just elaborating. And the average customer *should* know that, otherwise they think that their TV screen is made out of millions of tiny LEDs.

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

Customers are stupid anyways, otherwise Plasma would have taken over stupid LCD long ass time ago.

[Stratos]

I've thought about picking one up on a Black Friday the last few years but our old SD TV keeps chugging away. Though my folks are appalled we still have a tiny SD set and hinted they may get us something as a Christmas gift so we'll probably pass this BF and see what they get us. If they end up not getting us one there is always next BF. Thanks to a nice PC monitor and the Wii U gamepad we don't feel an urgent need to pick up a new one.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I've thought about picking one up on a Black Friday the last few years but our old SD TV keeps chugging away. Though my folks are appalled we still have a tiny SD set and hinted they may get us something as a Christmas gift so we'll probably pass this BF and see what they get us. If they end up not getting us one there is always next BF. Thanks to a nice PC monitor and the Wii U gamepad we don't feel an urgent need to pick up a new one.

Wow, really?

It's like getting glasses/contacts for the first time. and then you realize how much of the world you were missing. HDTV or bust.
Doesn't always have to be HD content, but it has to look clean. an SDTV resolution just makes everything look like ass now. I could never go back.

[Stratos]

It does look nicer on my folks' TV. I would love to get one now but the other half is stubbornly deciding it is not an urgent expense. Next year we are moving from our apartment to our first house and I think there will be more incentive to get a nice big TV when we have the extra elbow room to make it fit well.


Coincidentally I do need to go in for an eye check up and probably do need to get my first set of glasses so maybe there is some truth in your glasses-HD comparison. I should get both around the same time and just blow my mind on how great the whole world looks at once.

[BranDonk Kong]

Customers are stupid anyways, otherwise Plasma would have taken over stupid LCD long ass time ago.

Plasma is (was) severely overrated. Back in the day when viewing angles were terrible and LCDs didn't have good black levels, sure plasma provided a better general experience. If plasma "won" we'd all be paying twice as much for TVs and hardly any of them would be hanging on our walls, and there (probably) wouldn't be any curved plasma screens. RIP plasma TVs.

[Oblivion]

Does anyone notice that tendoboy never replies to his own threads anymore?

[Mop it up]

Always go for 1080p over 720p.

Plasma is awesome but heavy.

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

Customers are stupid anyways, otherwise Plasma would have taken over stupid LCD long ass time ago.

Plasma is (was) severely overrated. Back in the day when viewing angles were terrible and LCDs didn't have good black levels, sure plasma provided a better general experience. If plasma "won" we'd all be paying twice as much for TVs and hardly any of them would be hanging on our walls, and there (probably) wouldn't be any curved plasma screens. RIP plasma TVs.

Wrong on all levels, IF plasma had mass adoption then the technology would have evolved along the same lines as LCD only faster because it was better to begin with, instead of taking this long we would have had what LCD's are just now starting to do, seven or more years ago. Plasma screens are superior in every way to LCD but the myths and lies of early HDTV's stuck around even long after those issues had been addressed. The main gripe with Plasma was always the weight but they were making them smaller and thinner than LCD just before LED and OLED came onto the scene. I don't know what they are doing now because I moved to nowhere Nebraska where HDTV is still the newfangled doohicky people can live without. Seriously people buy SD flat screens around here claiming its good enough. Drives me insane especially looking for 1080p forget about it nobody sells it it doesn't sell here everyone wants 720p Smart TV's.

[Oblivion]

I'm pretty sure Brandogg knows what he's talking about.

[BranDonk Kong]

Well a lot of people say plasma is better, personally I disagree. Viewing angles have almost never been a problem for me, but I've never cheaped out on a TV set, and would never be watching one from a 178 degree angle anyway. Every plasma set I've ever seen, while having more fluid motion due to 600hz, looked "blocky." Also 1080p plasma screens are a rarity, almost ever set in the stores these days, if they still sell them, is 720p. They're pretty cheap these days, but that's because they are typically old panels.

[marvel_moviefan_2012]

I'm pretty sure Brandogg knows what he's talking about.

and I don't? what does he do that makes him an expert? I am just curious. It isn't just viewing angles it was the richer colors but like I said, LCD has caught up to the areas where Plasma was better but had Plasma taken off then Plasma would have improved the areas where it was stronger to begin with. If all you do is watch videos or movies LCD is fine but even for video games Plasma was always better but no because computers used LCD (due to price) everybody wanted LCD. LCD is cheaper now but there was a time where Plasma was cheaper. The problem is Plasma didn't keep up with the market, which if it had done so would have been better than LCD years ago. The adoption of Plasma would have sped up some of the improvements that has taken this long to catch up to LCD, Plasmas always had better backlights too which is what gave them the deeper blacks. The reason people were afraid of them was image burn which is no longer an issue but it prevails in peoples minds.


Anyways yeah Plasma was better but it failed to catch on because of that stupid myth and the PC industry bringing the cost of LCD down quicker so mass adoption benefited that. But anyways it is all moot because like has been stated for all intents and purposes, Plasma is effectively dead.

[ShyGuy]

I'm looking at this TV to purchase sometime in the  fall: http://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-42LB5600-led-tv

I need to find out the sound quality and I wish it had 3 HDMI inputs.

[pokepal148]

I'm looking at this TV to purchase sometime in the  fall: http://www.lg.com/us/tvs/lg-42LB5600-led-tv

I need to find out the sound quality and I wish it had 3 HDMI inputs.

Just get a reciever and some speakers, both problems solved.