crobtex

I'm going to pull the trigger and by a new LCD TV. It will be a 37" to 42".

I've nosed around Wal Mart, Sams Club and BestBuy. Unfortunately, the same sets at different places have a variety of how clear the picture is. I also noticed that they have a contrast rating of 700:1 up to 2000:1...which is best?

I'm not looking for the latest, greatest with all kinds of bells and whistles, just something with a good picture, good sound and is dependable.

Any inputs on brands, capabilities, etc......would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

staarma

If I had it to do over again I would have probably gone with the Vizio LCD HD 1080P. It is the best price by far and has two HDMI inputs. I ended up with a Plasma HD from LG. It's a nice tv for sure but I wish I had went with an LCD. If you watch a lot of football and high action stuff then maybe a plasma is the better choice but for a room with a lot of natural light and hihg altitude like I have the LCD would have been a better choice I think for me. On the higher end of things for an LCD the Panasonic is probably the better choice.

That being said, if you don't have any HD signals then don't read what I just wrote.

scootertrash35

i've had 2 50"lcds because i also think the plasmas have too much glare in a room with a lot of light.the higher the contrast # the clearer the picture,i'm not into all this hd high tech crap, i just like a big picture.i think my sony wega is 1080 and it looks fine to me.a friend just found a 42"lcd flatscreen for $629 at Conn's.

ropnjessi

Personally I would stay away from the Plasma's, I bought a Philipps 42" and it crapped out on me after 6 months, Sam's replaced it and the new Plasma lasted 1-1/2 years and it died. After the shop held onto my TV for 2 months, it was decided that it was unrepairable, so Sam's replaced it. But I didn't go with another Philipps but a LCD Sony, very nice TV. Now a days there saying you need to have these TV's calibrated for the best performance and picture, add $200 more to the price for that service. Good Luck....my 2 cents...

mikmaze

LCD hands down, higher contrast ratio is better, and 1080 resolution is what you are after, watch yourself gtettin roped in and seeing a sale and getting home with 720, as that is to grainy for me and regretable down the line. I bought a 42 inch 1080p panel over a year ago and still love it, I got a westinghouse. this week should see huge sales with the stupor bowl this weekend.

Lrdchaos

Whatever tv you buy, find one with the nonglare face. I personally believe that you get what you pay for with tv's. Depending on what you are doing you may not need a full 1080p tv. If not purchase a 1080i tv in one of the other major brands. Mitsubishi, and Samsung are both great choices. Also you didn't say where it was going to be, but if you can swing it, I would suggest a DLP, you can buy alot more tv for the money. Don't worry about the bulb, they tell you it will burn out in like 3.5 yrs, I read in popular mech. awhile ago they are lasting 3xs that long. If it does you pay 250 and you have a new picture on your tv.

scootertrash35

lcds have bulbs also,when they sold me my panasonic they said it would only last about 2 years(trying to sell me the extended warranty)they said the bulb would cost $200.it's been used for 2 years and MANY hours (i have 4 kids)and still works fine

duddin10

We bought my dad a Vizio 42" LCD for Christmas. We bought it at Sams. It was about $900. It is great. He loves it. I just went and bought a Vizio 50" Plasma at Walmart for $1197. The 2 year warranty for plasma tvs at Walmart is $148. I have read that if you buy under a 50" then get an LCD. If you go 50" or over then get a Plasma. You can buy extended warranty and I would recommend that. We also have a Philips 65" rear projection that we bought 5 years ago at Sams for $1400. The 3 year extended warranty was $34. We had no problems until last 2 years ago , 2 of the picture tubes went out and it would've cost $1200 to fix but the warranty covered it. I have lots of good things about Vizio and I will find out about mine once we get moved into our new house and we set it up. I also read that if the room it is going in has lots of windows then you should buy an LCD. The side viewing of the plasma is better than an LCD. If you look at an LCD or projection TV from an angle then the picture looks distorted. On a plasma , the viewing angle does not appear distorted or have a glare on the screen.

crobtex

Thanks for all of the info. Of the ones I've looked at so far, the Vizio and Polaroid seem to have the clearest, most consistant picture. I think I would want to add some nice external spearkers. All of the other HD stuff would have to come later.

duddin10

Look at sears if you are wanting external speakers. They have a vizio plasma and 5.1 channel surround sound that are packaged together for around $1500. The subwoofer is wireless then it has 2 wired other speakers. I don't know if the LCD's come with it too or not.

Sidewinder

One of the first things you need to consider is if you are you going to use a HD source or not. If not there is no need for the ultimate specifications and you can save a lot of money.

crobtex

I have Time Warner cable. I'll have to see what all they offer for a decent price.

2500Ram

I'd run from anything with wireless speakers or a built in 5.1 in a TV that's what receivers are for. I might be old skool but they never worked to my satisfaction in the past.

.0002 for what it's worth (FWIW)

herb

I have a Mitsubishi 55" projection HD and two 42" LCD Samsungs. The Samsungs have the best pictures hands down of any thing out there i think. Go to Best Buy and walk thru trying not to pay attention to brand names just the pictures. I think if they were to Tape out the brand names off the fronts of all the sets , you would pick the Samsungs out of the line up pretty easily.
i put Onkoya surround sound systems on all three sets and that gives an excellent audio package. Originally had a Bose system but returned it within the 30 day grace period and went with the Onkoya's, much better sounding.

txfiremedic

I've got the Vizio LCD HD and Im very satisfied with it, great picture, no problems!!