Best choice of an HDTV these days. I have been out of the loop.

[SNKNostalgia]

I am getting ready to buy a nice 1080p LCD (preferably 46" or more, maybe even 3D) set soon. I have lost track on what to get other than everyone saying get a Sony or Samsung over the years as always.

I want the best picture possible without running me up over $1000 preferably.

So, any model suggestions and where to buy them would be awesome.

 

[fake]

I am getting ready to buy a nice 1080p LCD (preferably 46" or more, maybe even 3D) set soon. I have lost track on what to get other than everyone saying get a Sony or Samsung over the years as always.

I want the best picture possible without running me up over $1000 preferably.

So, any model suggestions and where to buy them would be awesome.

I think it's the same as always - Sony if you can afford it, Samsung if you don't want to swing that much money or plan on upgrading in 5ish years.

 

[bradtemple87]

I sell TVs everyday. If you can fit a 50", Panasonic plasma is the way to go!

 

[ki_atsushi]

Forget the 3D garbage. Look for a TV that is known to have very little to no lag when playing games. LED TV's have great picture quality, plasma has even better.

 

[Renmauzo]

Only Sharp for me, especially if you can get one with a panel that was made in Japan.

 

[norton9478]

Forget the 3D garbage.

True that. 3D is gay. Nobody wants to sit on a couch wearing glasses poppin’ bubbles out of the air like some sort of fucked up Ray Charles

 

[psychobear85]

I'll go for Samsung, had mine for 3 years with no problem

 

[Colorado Rockie]

Cant go wrong with a Panasonic Viera

 

[Fritz]

I sell TVs everyday. If you can fit a 50", Panasonic plasma is the way to go!

But which panasonic plasma is the question. I have been looking at the Panasonic P55St50 as the next possible TV purchase I make.

 

[HeavyMachineGoob]

Yeah the Panasonic Viera line is fantastic, especially the newer ones. The older ones were decent but had serious failure issues, thankfully that all got sorted out a few years ago.

 

[bradtemple87]

But which panasonic plasma is the question. I have been looking at the Panasonic P55St50 as the next possible TV purchase I make.

The new ST series is pretty tits. It got the black filter from last years GT series. Great choice, we got out display about a month ago.

 

[MegaGraffin]

I'd go with a newer LED Samsung. Mine (46' LCD from 4 years ago) has "Game" mode, so I'd assume the newer ones do as well, so you can play games with no noticeable lag. Picture quality is good. I've been happy. I don't know what to believe when it comes to plasma.

Granted, I've never owned one, but for plasma experts I have a few questions:

-Don't plasma tvs generate a lot of heat?
-What about image retention/burn vs. an LCD/LED tv?
-Other than "blacker blacks" what makes a plamas picture quality better? I want a bright, crisp picture.
-Are newer plasma tvs even being made anymore?

These are just things I've heard about plasma that turn me off, but I'm not sure if they are true...Some plasma defenders will say they aren't true, but I don't really know what to believe.

P.S..Oh yeah, screw 3D...

 

[Jedah Doma]

As far as brand, yes go with a Samsung or a Sony. I'm personally a Sony fanboy, but even I can admit Samsung has done just as well if not better than Sony in the current market. I've heard good things about LG and a few other brands, but for the money, Samsung and Sony are your best bet.

Stay away from plasma. Yes they are cheap, but generally have a higher failure rate and a shorter life span.

Get something with at least 120hz refresh rate. This will reduce the blur and artifacting when your television displays a lot of motion. Hence this is a big deal with games. My Sony has a 240hz refresh rate and it's nice and smooth.

And yes stay away from 3D. My set is capable of 3D, but I've yet to even purchase glasses. Waste-o-time.

But the main thing is, if you really want to still play retro games, keep a good CRT. I currently have a 40" Sony SD CRT just for retro 480i content and below. Don't mess with converters or upscalers or any of that junk. Find you a nice CRT set on Craigslist for $50 and you'll be much happier with the results.

 

[galfordo]

Samsung or LG LED.

don't spend any extra money on 3D bullshit, although if you go higher end with local dimming and shit like that, it'll likely come with it anyway

 

[BIG BEAR]

After posing a similar question here sometime ago (early last year? or late 2011) I went with the TOSHIBA 40SL412U 40" FHD LED/LCD and I was/am Very Pleased.I liked what I saw for the price but did the customer satisfaction research beforehand. The SONY model was sold out btw and it DID look good...
Just get out and about to some of the stores in your area especially a HiFi House type,a specialty store that knows their stuff just for a person to person education on all the latest nonsense.
BB

 

[SSS]

It's a shame SED tech was abandoned.

 

[cdamm]

panasonics all day for me for the special combination of price, quality of picture, and reliability.

its hard to go wrong with anything from the viera line.

 

[Jedah Doma]

panasonics all day for me for the special combination of price, quality of picture, and reliability.

its hard to go wrong with anything from the viera line.

I don't see much Panasonic these days. Shame as they are a pretty solid brand. That and good old Mitsubishi.

 

[cdamm]

I don't see much Panasonic these days. Shame as they are a pretty solid brand. That and good old Mitsubishi.

funny you mention that.

the 2 lcds in my house are panasonic and my dlp is a mitsubishi.

while panasonic does not have that much going for it marketing wise, it is still a great brand and is widely available. as far as consumer grade products go they are just a tremendous brand.

 

[Kiel]

After switching to plasma I wouldn't want to go back to LCD.

When I got my current tv a year ago I was after the Panasonic plasma but it didn't work with my xrgb3 so I went with the 7000 series Samsung plasma.

 

[GutsDozer]

Belive it or not I got an WestingHouse LCD TV and it looks great. Plus it was a bit cheaper than the others I looked at. I would like a plasma they look really good.

 

[SNKNostalgia]

Almost forgot about the Panasonic TVs. I have been online looking around and will hit up a store to browse as well. I am Sony fan for almost everything, but they tend to go up in price by a lot when you go from 42" at $550 to 50" and higher by almost 2x the price, lol. Then you have Samsung which uses different sizes like 40" and 47", but of similar quality. I normally would settle for a 42", but being 1080p and my living room couch at 13 feet away... it won't fly so well for me watching movies at least. With games a 42" is actually more preferable since I pull up a comfortable chair and can sit in front of the screen by 5-8 feet.

 

[HDRchampion]

What's with all the hate on 3d? Do you guys not like watching movies in 3d or just the hassle of using 3d glasses? I have Epson 3020e projector looks amazing & just as good as the theater experience.

As for an HDTV, my dad always told me to buy Sony. We been buying Sony since the 80s & it has never disappointed...From CRT to LCD...60"LCD, 50"Bravia, 40"LCD, & 27"CRT...All amazing picture for watching movies. The gaming experience is too laggy though, except for the CRt of course. 3 years ago i got a 52" Samsung Plasma 3dtv as a birthday gift, all i can say i was blown away. I never seen picture so crisp looking. The game mode works great but still can feel a tiny itsy bitsy lag when playing fighting games. I would never play anyone seriously on that setup but as for picture its great.

The negative when it comes to plasma is yeah it does tend to warm up the room bit. Also i would never play any 4:3 for a long period of time even though there is a screen burnin protection. Also when playing stuff i tend to get images that was on the screen for a long time burnt in when i boot up the tv but after a few seconds it goes away. Always scares the shit out of me.

Also if you go to a store like Best Buy here is a good tip to remember. Dont judge the tv of how they look in the store. Most of the time the TV isn't calibrated & you will get these jack ass telling you how much more awesome a Dynex LCD is compared to a Sony.

So buy Sony you can never go wrong with them, if you plan to do any kind of gaming you might want to check out plasma tv as they have the least amount of input lag.

 

[Lashujin]

Panasonic Viera series plasmas. Best sets on the market atm. Got my 55" for 900.

The UT50 if the room has little light, the ST50 if it's a well lit room.

 

[arbormatt]

Belive it or not I got an WestingHouse LCD TV and it looks great. Plus it was a bit cheaper than the others I looked at. I would like a plasma they look really good.

Fuck WestingHouse. I bought one two years ago and it died in 7 months. The sons of bitches charge you to ship it there and back. it ends up costing more money for a refurb than what the TV originally cost. Check out all the hate online for Westinghouse. Garbage TVs. Go plasma all the way. You can not underestimate black levels. Check on AVS for an image pattern. Run that then calibrate the TV.