The big "How do I choose an HDTV?" thread.

I think prices will always fall, but the risk is that they usually fall the most as the newer model is brought out. So, you get a small window of low prices and availability. I picked up the LVM-42w2 on clearance at Best Buy. They had 2 floor models left, and I got it for $1250. I'm really happy with the TV, but I would have liked the remote so I could see if any of the buttons are missing from what Logitech says should be there.

Anyway, it's a gamble. You should set what price you are willing to pay and then pull the trigger when it hits that price. If you keep waiting till it gets lower and lower, you might be searching a while to find a place that still has it in stock.

I'm really happy with the TV, but I would have liked the remote so I could see if any of the buttons are missing from what Logitech says should be there.

The article I linked has a picture of the remote. Looking around, $1299 seems like a fair price for a retail store, which is a must for me given that I need to be able to return it if it has any dead pixels. And if I took the drive down to Portland, the tax savings alone would pay for the trip...

Minase wrote:
I'm really happy with the TV, but I would have liked the remote so I could see if any of the buttons are missing from what Logitech says should be there.

I think the article I linked has a picture of the remote.

Thanks, I didn't read the article until now. Yup, not missing anything on the button side.

Doesn't that article say that it wouldn't accept a 1080p signal through the HDMI input?

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Doesn't that article say that it wouldn't accept a 1080p signal through the HDMI input?

One feature that's surprisingly absent from the first crop of 1080p displays is the ability to actually accept a 1080p source. Many can only accept 1080i and 720p and then upconvert them to 1080p. That's not the case with the LVM-42w2, which can supposedly accept 1080p through all of its HD-capable inputs. To test this, I fed a 1080p signal from the NeuNeo HVD2085 DVD player to the monitor's component, DVI, and HDMI inputs. The picture looked great with DVI and component; however, with HDMI, I saw noticeable picture errors (blue, Matrix-like lines) in dark colors. We also tested the monitor's digital inputs with our reference HTPC. Again, the DVI signal looked great, but we did not get an image through HDMI. Westinghouse says that the HDMI input accepts 1080p, but we were unable to verify this with our equipment.

I believe that was an issue with the 1.00 firmware on this model. That article is dated August 2006.

Edit - tenses are fun

Another review. This one is from April 06, and didn't mention the issue.

This reviewer complained about 'softness' with 1080i over HDMI, but I don't think he tested the 1080p over HDMI. This one was from June 06. Time to wade through the AVS Forum to make sure that the issue has been resolved.

Hemidal wrote:
One feature that's surprisingly absent from the first crop of 1080p displays is the ability to actually accept a 1080p source. Many can only accept 1080i and 720p and then upconvert them to 1080p.

So strange. The 1080p Vizio accepts 1080p over component and HDMI but not VGA. Some 360 owners that use VGA are annoyed by that. I don't much see a point to using VGA with the 360 on a display that's 1080p native (I understand some 720p display owners using VGA to set the 360 to a native 1360x768 rather than 720p, which must be scaled)

*Legion* wrote:
Hemidal wrote:
One feature that's surprisingly absent from the first crop of 1080p displays is the ability to actually accept a 1080p source. Many can only accept 1080i and 720p and then upconvert them to 1080p.

So strange. The 1080p Vizio accepts 1080p over component and HDMI but not VGA. Some 360 owners that use VGA are annoyed by that. I don't much see a point to using VGA with the 360 on a display that's 1080p native (I understand some 720p display owners using VGA to set the 360 to a native 1360x768 rather than 720p, which must be scaled)

From the techno-babble on Major Nelson's podcast a long time ago, I thought VGA was used for 1080P on the 360 because of HDCP and some loophole with an analog output. You could run games via component in 1080P, but not HD-DVDs.

Hemidal wrote:

From the techno-babble on Major Nelson's podcast a long time ago, I thought VGA was used for 1080P on the 360 because of HDCP and some loophole with an analog output. You could run games via component in 1080P, but not HD-DVDs.

That's true, I forgot about that, as I haven't acquired the HD-DVD addon drive yet. Well at least that's something legitimate to complain about.

After fine-tuning the settings and adjusting to life after CRTs, I'm quite satisfied with the Vizio LCD.

My toughest visual benchmark was Battlestar Galactica HD, whose regularly occuring dark scenes and film grain highlight black levels and sharpness/noise issues. Before adjustment, some scenes in the first episode of season 3 were too damn dark. The film grain really clashed with the default TV settings, as the sharpness settings introduced artificial lines which created a lot of picture noise in the most grainy of scenes.

Post-adjustment, dark scenes are comfortably viewable (some detail in the shadows is lost, but within my acceptable levels - whereas I was pulling my hair out before), and the sharpness has been brought into line and doesn't add noise to the picture.

There is a minor issue with this TV model relating to speaker hum. I have the issue, although it doesn't affect me as my sound runs through an external sound system rather than the TV itself (and that's never going to change). Others who use their TV speakers have had success getting Vizio to come into their homes and solve the problem by replacing a part, which is encouraging to see (QC issues will pop up in a razor-thin operation like Vizio appears to be, but as long as they take care of problems when they come up, I think it's quite acceptable). Since I am never going to use the TV speakers again (only did when first hooking up everything, which is how I noticed the hum), I see no reason to have Vizio come crack open my TV to replace the never to be used again part. (And the hum, while noticeable, is no louder than some of the loud-ass fans I've heard in some similarly sized plasmas)

I have a Comcast (Motorola) HD DVR hooked up to one HDMI input, a Philips upscaling DVD player hooked up to another HDMI input, and the Xbox 360 hooked up to Component.

All things considered, I would give the TV an 8 out of 10. Right now I don't think there's a significantly better option out there for LCDs that can match both the screen size AND price. The only LCDs I looked at that offered enough of a picture quality difference for me to care were well out of my price range, and after calibration I no longer felt like I was missing out SO badly by not having a plasma display, not enough to give up my planned PC use with the display.

Positives include kick-ass connectivity (dual HDMI being a massive plus for a less expensive TV, VGA also being great), very good pixel response time (in practice, not just on paper) making fast-motion blur as limited as possible, a very attractive panel design, excellent picture quality outside of typical "LCD is pwned in black levels" shortcomings, a tempting price which was made irresistible with the $250 off coupon Costco ran, and a general lack of any deal-breaking "WTF?" issues.

The score is brought down by a few negatives: the speaker hum problem, poor picture presets that are too far away from an optimal picture, some non-defeatable overscan in 1080i and lower (but not 1080p), and the "no 1080p/60 over VGA" limitation. (And maybe the black levels, but they're in the same league with all but the elite LCDs IMO).

CNet gave the TV a 6.6 ("Good") rating, which considering their stiff scoring scale (their highest rated LCD TV scored a 7.7, their highest of any HDTV an 8.7) is about what I consider my 8 to mean.

I look forward to the day where I can buy a pricey, no-compromises HDTV, but until then, I am highly impressed with the size and quality of TV I was able to get on a limited budget that I stretched as far as I could.

I got my Dell 37" in yesterday... after taking a couple hours to hang it "correctly" (and its level wooohooo!) I have to say I am very impressed and happy with it!

Still much heavier than I thought it would be but all in all the process wasnt that bad and Im pretty confident it wont crash anytime soon. And the picture, pretty damn nice (especially since i have nothing side by side to compare it too!).

PAR

Bumping this thread up to remind HDTV shoppers to post in here.

I got a Panasonic 42" before the Super Bowl. There was a rebate that made it cost the same amount ($1599) as the 37" I had been looking at.

Prepare for me to rock even harder in Gears. I my have to upscale my dirty mouth into high def as well.

I'm still thinking about picking up a new TV post-wedding...once I've assessed my solvency.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I'm still thinking about picking up a new TV post-wedding...once I've assessed my solvency.

That's the worst euphamism for the ol' honeymoon hump I've ever heard.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I'm still thinking about picking up a new TV post-wedding...once I've assessed my solvency.

No need, I can help you out here. You'll be flat-ass broke, everything you discussed about money will be out the window and you'll never get permission.

After about 2 years, things get better. :p

I'm just waiting on my damned tax return so I can buy the Westy 37" 1080p set.

The longer it takes the more antsy I get that the set's going to get discontinued or something. The price is down to $999 on Newegg.

Newegg has frighteningly low HDTV prices across the board, I think. They have the best prices on the Sharp AQUOS line of any store that I've heard of.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Newegg has frighteningly low HDTV prices across the board, I think. They have the best prices on the Sharp AQUOS line of any store that I've heard of.

There's one caveat.. TV's are non-returnable on Newegg. It's the only negative I've ever found with their return policy.

So even in the first month you're still stuck with whatever warranty services you get through the manufacturer.

Hey, Cabbot, I'm thinking of getting the same TV.

I was thinking of getting it at Sam's just so if there's something wrong with it I can return it.

I've also heard bad things about the AIT delivery service.

I've also heard bad things about the AIT delivery service.

I personally have not had an issue with Newegg's delivery service on big TV's.. I've purchased an LCD TV and a Plasma TV from them and both arrived with no shipping or hardware issues.

Lester_King wrote:

Hey, Cabbot, I'm thinking of getting the same TV.

I was thinking of getting it at Sam's just so if there's something wrong with it I can return it.

I didn't know Sam's carried the set. If they do I'll happily buy it locally instead just to avoid the bad shipping policy.

Do you know offhand what their price is on it?

Thin_J wrote:
Lester_King wrote:

Hey, Cabbot, I'm thinking of getting the same TV.

I was thinking of getting it at Sam's just so if there's something wrong with it I can return it.

I didn't know Sam's carried the set. If they do I'll happily buy it locally instead just to avoid the bad shipping policy.

Do you know offhand what their price is on it?

Looks like a little over 1K

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/nav...

TheGameguru wrote:
I've also heard bad things about the AIT delivery service.

I personally have not had an issue with Newegg's delivery service on big TV's.. I've purchased an LCD TV and a Plasma TV from them and both arrived with no shipping or hardware issues.

Really? That's great news since it'd be cheaper from Newegg.

Anyone have any experience with Westinghouse?

I've got 2 Westinghouse monitors. The LVM-42w2, 42" 1080P LCD and a 22" Widescreen desktop monitor. I've had absolutely no problems with either. I've run my 360 through both. They're light on frills, but I think they're a great value for the features you do get. They've got great picture quality, imo. The 42" comes with a ton of inputs (for a desktop monitor, so does the 22"). I couldn't be more pleased with both of them.

I have a Westinghouse LTV-32w6.

The only issue I have had with it is a tendency for ghosting when the display is cold - that is, when it's just turning on after having been off for a while (especially after having been unplugged). Once warm, this issue goes away. I did not notice it when I was using the display daily, only after plugging it in and using it after having it unplugged for days. Even then, it takes a few minutes and then it's gone.

I probably wouldn't have noticed this if not for having moved recently. I didn't notice it when I bought it, which may be because I was too preoccupied with looking for dead/stuck pixels, or maybe because it was warmer weather at the time.

In terms of problems with HDTVs, this one's relatively minor, especially considering the picture quality for the price.

I pulled the trigger on the Westinghouse 37w3.

Pictures to come on either Tuesday or Wedensday, depending.

I'm having second thoughts about the 1080p Westy.

Here they are:

I'm mostly going to be using this tv for my 360 and watching dvds from netflix and shows I download in HD.

The vast majority of the materials I'm going to be watching/playing aren't in 1080p. They're in 720p.

So my dilemma is this, should I get the 37" 1080p tv or a 42" 720p for the same price. I sit a good 8-9 feet from the tv, so I don't think I'll really get any noticeable difference between the 1080p content and the 720p content.

So I think I'm going to get a 42" Vizio from Costco...
Does anyone see any problems with my rationale?

Sitting that far from the TV.. no I don't see any problems with your rationale.

Bigger is better.

Get the biggest best thing you can find in your budget that you like the picture on.

From 8 or 9 feet I'd personally be considering 50" and up projection style sets, whether it be DLP or one of the other techs.

But that might just be me

Lester_King wrote:

So I think I'm going to get a 42" Vizio from Costco...
Does anyone see any problems with my rationale?

You will be quite happy with that TV, and you will like the extra screen space much more than 1080p, I expect.

I have a 1080p LCD, but it's the 47" Vizio and I sit 7 feet from it. At that distance, 1080p is noticeable but not a drastic difference. With a smaller screen and even a little further viewing distance, I think I would have to force myself to look for differences to find them. The only exception would be if you plan on using it for a computer monitor, and even then, if the computer use won't be just games. Tiny text, like on your desktop or on web pages, will look better on a 1080p display. But if you're not using it for a PC, or if the PC you hook it up to is only for games (exactly what I'm using my 720p Westinghouse for), then 1080p isn't something you really need.

So, yeah, I'd jump on the bigger TV.