Avernus Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Just in case you need 30 opinions before you make a decision . . . 1) Unless you're putting the tv into a walk-in closet, 40" is too small. 2) If you're purchasing the tv from Best Buy, follow this procedure: a) purchase tv; b ) purchase only tv; c) the second that someone mentions the word cable, or warranty or calibrate, forget that you know the english language; d) punch, in the face, anyone that questions your forgetfulness e) immediately take tv to vehicle. 3) Go to monoprice.com for the cables that you need. If you need help with this, there are 30 people that frequent this forum that can help you with this. some stores have warranty's that are worth the money - Best Buy is not one of them.... Sears is one of the few places that still have quality warranty's as I've purchased them for my stove and last two TV sets...and actually not buying the warranty is such an old school method because tube TV's lasted forever unlike the assembly line technology that we have today... as much as I know about TV's, I know they don't last nearly as long as they used to and if you can get more than 5-7 years out of your set these days, consider yourself lucky....this is why prices are cheaper, so I don't mind getting the warranty because I know the sucker's gonna die... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaP'N GRuNGe Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 If you get a Samsung that has Auto Motion Plus, turn it off. It makes the picture look like a freaking soap opera for everything. Drove me nuts until I figured it out. Sony has something similar but I forget what it's called. It's supposed to make the picture smoother but also ends up making everything look like it was shot live or something. You'll know what I mean when you see it. Soap opera is the best way to describe it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 The TV size you want really depends on the size of the room and your preference for viewing distance. A 42 may be just right. That is your call. I recently purchased the Vizio XVT423SV for my smallish TV room. Anything more than a 42" would dominate the room. AVS forum link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 If you get a Samsung that has Auto Motion Plus, turn it off. It makes the picture look like a freaking soap opera for everything. Drove me nuts until I figured it out. Sony has something similar but I forget what it's called. It's supposed to make the picture smoother but also ends up making everything look like it was shot live or something. You'll know what I mean when you see it. Soap opera is the best way to describe it. That is true. THe 120hz refresh along with that makes things TOO sharp. But you can turn it off. But make certain to turn it back on during HD Sports broadcasts. It is awesome then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Pretty sure that is the same one we got. We did alot of research and came up with this as the best bang for the buck. LEDs are nice but not worth the money yet. Plasmas are cheaper but the glare in our living room would have killed us I agree with you on edge-lit LED LCD TVs. By my eye, they are not an improvement over regular LCDs. However, the full array LEDs are an improvement. 2 or more years ago, I would not have considered a Vizio, but they've made some strides recently. The one I mentioned above is about 1K and it is a full LED. I only paid 800 for it at Sams when they had a sale on them around Thanksgiving. So, it was very competitive to a number of similarly sized LCDs of all types. I'd still pay full price for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 That is true. THe 120hz refresh along with that makes things TOO sharp. But you can turn it off. But make certain to turn it back on during HD Sports broadcasts. It is awesome then! the 600hz on a plasma is more of a natural picture.....I actually am not a fan of LCD or LED anymore because when you get the TV into your house, plasma has the best picture unless you have massive glare from a window or something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrumjuice Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 A 42 may be just right Bah, get the biggest one you have room for and the $$$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 (edited) Bah, get the biggest one you have room for and the $$$. this....there's nothing wrong with a 720p plasma if you don't plan on watching a Blu-ray or having a PS3 or XBOX 360 on it... if it's just for HD cable....then get the biggest 720p set you can find (usually a 50" plasma)...it'll have almost the same picture for you while probably costing you half the money... it just depends on what you are doing with your set.... Edited January 10, 2011 by Avernus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 Great advice here....thanks... I was going to get a 37 inch but decided on the 40...its plenty big for my smaller living room and anything bigger might not fit in the space I plan to put it... so Calibration is out and 120 hz is in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 ok, how would a Samsung - 42" Class / 720p / 600Hz / Plasma HDTV compare with a Samsung 42" / LCD / 1080p / 120Hz / LCD TV??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted January 11, 2011 Author Share Posted January 11, 2011 I think I found a possibility.... LG - 42" Class / 1080p / 120Hz / LCD HDTV Model: 42LD520 | SKU: 9791077 4.5 of 5 (68 reviews) $899 on sale for $649.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbpfan1231 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I think I found a possibility.... LG - 42" Class / 1080p / 120Hz / LCD HDTV Model: 42LD520 | SKU: 9791077 4.5 of 5 (68 reviews) $899 on sale for $649.... Great for Packers games Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Great advice here....thanks... I was going to get a 37 inch but decided on the 40...its plenty big for my smaller living room and anything bigger might not fit in the space I plan to put it... so Calibration is out and 120 hz is in... State it correctly. BB calibration is out. You should still have it done by a professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chester Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 State it correctly. BB calibration is out. You should still have it done by a professional. So I should pay somebody $300-$500 to calibrate a $900 tv? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 So I should pay somebody $300-$500 to calibrate a $900 tv? you really don't need a professional....the professional is for the $2000 sets.....even on my TV that was close to $2000, I still went with the calibration disc and have absolutely no complaints... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 So I should pay somebody $300-$500 to calibrate a $900 tv? Only if you consider yourself to be a videophile IMO. Gonna go out on a limb and say you are not. Try looking up your particular model HDTV on avs forum. There are usually settings posted in the thread that can give you a starting point to tweak from there to your taste. cnet.com often has settings in their reviews as well. Or just buy the DVD mentioned previously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redrumjuice Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Don't you have to have a 47" widescreen to measure the same height as a 4:3 36" tube? Or is it 42" I have a smaller living room as well, and got a Toshiba Regza 52" 120hz LCD and NFL in HD is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 (edited) Don't you have to have a 47" widescreen to measure the same height as a 4:3 36" tube? Or is it 42" I have a smaller living room as well, and got a Toshiba Regza 52" 120hz LCD and NFL in HD is amazing. I think I posted a link before that addressed viewing distance and TV size...will see if I can find it again. here it is: LINK (starting at the 1st chart it hits on viewing distance) Edited January 11, 2011 by keggerz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 So I should pay somebody $300-$500 to calibrate a $900 tv? Only if you don't like money. Just get some settings from AVS forum and tweak them slightly if you prefer it different. There is no such thing as the "perfect" settings because people see things differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTSuper7 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 I had issues with my Sony Bravia after just two years, and Sony already had frickin discontinued parts for that model, so after two years I was out $1,100 with nothing to show for it... So maybe it's my own paranoia, but I decided to get a 55" Insignia 120hz refresh rate LED LCD TV. This is Best Buy's house brand. It was tons cheaper, and they threw in a 4-year warranty and HDMI cable for free. To me, the difference in quality from one vendor to the next isn't too significant, and I wanted the peace of mind of knowing that, no matter what happens to my TV, I'm covered, and if they can't fix it, they'll give me the newest one on the block. I know people bad mouth the extended warranty / service agreements, but once you've gotten shafted, paying a little extra doesn't feel so bad (and I didn't even have to pay for it, which was a bonus). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 (edited) Only if you don't like money. Just get some settings from AVS forum and tweak them slightly if you prefer it different. There is no such thing as the "perfect" settings because people see things differently. Make sure that your settings are specific for your TV and that you understand the difference between global setting and those per dedicated input. My guess is that these settings don't actually go into the service menues and make the adjustments per input or to get the geometry or overscan correct, but hey...to each their own. Edited January 11, 2011 by Kid Cid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 . . .and I didn't even have to pay for it, which was a bonus. You "paid" for it when you bought the TV homes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTSuper7 Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 You "paid" for it when you bought the TV homes. I'd wholly agree with that if the price of the TV itself wasn't extremely competitive. But Best Buy can easily sell their house brand a lot less because the cost of the sale is a lot less for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Make sure that your settings are specific for your TV and that you understand the difference between global setting and those per dedicated input. My guess is that these settings don't actually go into the service menues and make the adjustments per input or to get the geometry or overscan correct, but hey...to each their own. I got specific service menu calibration after a 100 hour break-in schedule (running 720P colors on an SD card) from a calibrator off of AVS forums for my Panasonic Plasma. My guess is that most people couldn't tell the difference from some of there regular contributor's suggestions on settings vs a pro calibrator. Maybe if they were side by side, but for the $300 to $400 cost (almost half of what many TVs are going for now days) I don't think it's worth it (especially when what people "like" is so subjective). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Like Soup Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 I think I found a possibility.... LG - 42" Class / 1080p / 120Hz / LCD HDTV Model: 42LD520 | SKU: 9791077 4.5 of 5 (68 reviews) $899 on sale for $649.... I recently bought a Vizio 42" with the same specs and got it for $550 at Costco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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