:::RHMT::: Real Home Made Turbo

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: ratcityrex on December 27, 2011, 07:28:19 PM

Title: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on December 27, 2011, 07:28:19 PM
Well like it says. My 36" sony tube tv is starting to go out and I need a replacment. School me on them. Led, lcd, plasma or wtf? I no about jack shit when it comes to tv's. All I know is I want one thats 45"-50"ish in size. So basicly I watch the history channel, national geo, discovery and a few moves here and there. Also just receved a hand me down 60gig ps3 set up for blue ray so. Wtf do I need, and in rhmt words I want the best bang for the buck. I was looking at some led tv's at costco and they look to be pretty nice. I didnt really care for the plasmas because they seemed like they had a muddy picture, but It could have been they way they set it up so who knows. I was looking at this at frys too.....

http://www.frys.com/product/6075368?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG (http://www.frys.com/product/6075368?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG)
Looks like a pretty good price to me.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: mandrel-bends on December 27, 2011, 08:53:28 PM
My sony lcd 46" bravia is going on year 3 now with heavy abuse from my kids. No issues. If I remember correctly vizio is the most commonly serviced tv set you can buy. Only other thing I can think off the top of my head is I would never buy samsung as we went through 3 of their blue ray players in a row - they each crapped out - one a rediculously expensive unit when blue ray first came out. The $80 sony blue ray I bought at costco has been cranking for a year or so now with no issues.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: highroller54 on December 27, 2011, 09:06:51 PM
I have a 50" plasma lg, as does my dad, my sister has a 47" led lg and we all have lg blue ray players and I even have a pimp lg fridge, I also have a lcd 32" no problems yet.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on December 27, 2011, 09:16:25 PM
But what makes one better than the other? Specifically plasma vs led vs lcd
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: slappynuts on December 27, 2011, 09:22:25 PM
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi886.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fac61%2Fslappynuts_photos%2FTV-gun-300x225.jpg&hash=27435afbca82abdad35684aa431b239187361ffb)
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on December 27, 2011, 09:27:36 PM
Yeah, that's what my 36" tube tv Sony looks like. A big box.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ironcrx on December 27, 2011, 09:35:41 PM
Samsung, LG, Sony.  Only ones I ever go with.  I got a vizeo from (won in a drawing) and its really nice and works great, but sounds poor in open spaces.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: 88dx on December 27, 2011, 09:37:58 PM
I would provide you with a lot of usefully info but you sold your CRX and baby jebus now hates you, so















FUCK YOU
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on December 27, 2011, 11:21:09 PM
I would provide you with a lot of usefully info but you sold your CRX and baby jebus now hates you, so

you should have bought it when you had the chance. That way it could sit next to your current project. Thats also unfinished.  ::)
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: hatchboy on December 27, 2011, 11:44:42 PM
I have a 52" Sony Bravia XBR5 LCD, I bought it in late 2007 and it has worked like a champ with heavy use. That mated with a Onkyo S5300 HTIB and its a pretty sweet setup if tuned correctly.
Also, I have a sony blu-ray player that I have had nothing but good luck with as well.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: Joseph Davis on December 28, 2011, 12:45:22 AM
I would provide you with a lot of usefully info but you sold your CRX and baby jebus now hates you, so















FUCK YOU
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: HiProfile on December 28, 2011, 03:48:02 AM
But what makes one better than the other? Specifically plasma vs led vs lcd

Plasma
Good: Price, contrast (specifically darks are DARK), no stuttering motion (some have 600Hz where they blend each 2 frames with 9 more subframes between), lifespan
Bad: sucks if you have lots of light (windows during day, lamps at night), power consumption vs others, weight

LCD
Good: Price sorta, good contrast in bright rooms, power consumption
Bad: looks washed out in dark rooms, dark colors aren't as good even with ultra-high contrast tomfoolery, motion shots can stutter

LED
Good: lowest power consumption, great contrast, great brightness (works well in dark & bright rooms), better lifespan than LCD
Bad: price, can still have stuttering during motion


The motion stutter isn't very noticeable unless you look for it, but go to Best Buy/etc to see yourself. I can say that a 600Hz plasma is as smooth as the best CRT.

I went with plasma due to price, I got a great deal on a 2011 42" Panasonic that had netflix and DLNA. Speaking of that, newer models let you connect the TV to your network so you can stream movies from netflix or even your own PC/server if it has a DLNA-compatable fileserver. As for mine, I'd have done LED if I had the money. I have 3 huge windows in my room, and darker shows require me to cover them during the day.

Other than that, it's good to look at online and consumer reports reviews before buying. There were no reviews when I bought mine, but Panasonics all got a good rep for previous models. 7-8 months and no probs beyond being a bit dark. Sounds decent too.

Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: RotaryGeek on December 28, 2011, 07:17:37 AM
I bought a 32" led from Walmart like 3 years ago. Some off brand I can't even remember right now. But it works great. Only problem is the sound, on music it's way too loud and on talking its too quiet. Plus I keep losing the remote.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on December 28, 2011, 10:14:24 AM
Thanks hipro, ill have to go to my local best buy and check the stutter out on them.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: HiProfile on December 28, 2011, 11:54:45 AM
The other thing is I got 720p, the only way I was able to tell a difference between 1080p was when their computer text "Best Buy" logo flashed on a black background. In my case it was the only possible deal breaker, but I'm not missing 1080p on a 42". I don't own a single blu-ray nor have I tried to stream h.264. My parents have a older 50" 720p plasma, and I can't notice it there either.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: j.h.christ on December 28, 2011, 12:29:14 PM
I have a 60" 1080 Sharp aquos plasma, kicks the shit out of my Panasonic 50" 720 lcd. I would get a plasma or a led if you can swing it.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on December 28, 2011, 12:41:12 PM
Yeah, I'm leaning towards a led in the 45"-50" range. I really wish frys had that LG that posted in the first post up top in stock. In rhmt I'm a cheap ass, and want to spend as little as possible, but I don't want a ssautochrome tv. So I've been thinking about Costco because they take all the manufactures warrantys and bump them to 2 years, and then they also sell an extended warranty for $50 that takes it to a 5 year. But they don't have that good of deals on there tv's either. So I think ill wait and see if there is any new years sales napping this weekend. 
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: malichite on December 28, 2011, 12:47:40 PM
come by and check out my LG Plasma I got.  50" 1080p.  Thing kicks ass.  I have zero complaints and I got it from frys for $600 out the door.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: 92CXyD on December 28, 2011, 01:15:49 PM
come by and check out my LG Plasma I got.  50" 1080p.  Thing kicks ass.  I have zero complaints and I got it from frys for $600 out the door.

How in the hell did you get that for $600?  :noel:
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: malichite on December 28, 2011, 01:29:36 PM
Right place right time  floor model O0
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: Kenny Rogers on December 29, 2011, 03:55:23 PM
I got a 60" LG Plasma and I love it.  It really is the best bang for the buck in my opinion.  However, make sure you have a way to control the light (IE: curtains).  Modern plasmas really aren't too bad for power consumption either.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: Ntrain2k on December 29, 2011, 04:07:16 PM
LED LCD every day of the week.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: jeffsciv23 on December 29, 2011, 04:22:47 PM
i have a sony 42" lcd that i picked up last year. picture is good, no real complaints. this summer i wanted somethign bigger and seen a 50" panasonic plasma on sale for $550 so i got it. seens like the backs are darker and it is better for playing games on and has a clearer picture. only thing i dont like is that if there is alot of windows in the room there is a glare. but all in all i think the plasma was a way better deal for picture quality and all that then the lcds and leds of the same size.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on December 29, 2011, 04:29:42 PM
well Ive been doing a little more research and think I might go plasma. I have 1 good sized window in the room but I get glare on my 36" sony crt, so I dont think it will be any worse on something like a plasma. I guess it just depends on the price I can end up snagging one for. Im probably gona wait a few weeks until they have some huge super bowl sale somewhere like they do every year and see what I can come up with.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: jeffsciv23 on December 29, 2011, 04:43:23 PM
i have two large windows in the corner of my living room and if i get a glare i usually just turn the blinds a little bit and it goes away.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: HiProfile on December 29, 2011, 05:30:13 PM
I have the mini blinds you adjust, and thick curtains. I usually just cover the 2 opposite the tv, the third I leave the blinds turned 75% closed and it's fine. I only cover it on a bright day with a dark movie.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on December 29, 2011, 05:32:01 PM
well I Just have mini blinds because Im not baller enough to have curtains. Do sheets count :P
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: PHILLYSLEEPER on December 29, 2011, 09:06:03 PM
I have a 55" LCD Samsung LN55b650 240hz 1080p. Great picture and Sound. HD cable box and blue Ray player Are the way to go. Also a 22" and 32" samsungs with no problems
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: jabberwock on December 29, 2011, 10:13:41 PM
My black friday 42" Sharp LCD has some pretty bad blur in dark scenes.

sadface
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: theidealone on December 29, 2011, 10:38:34 PM
LG 42" 1080p LCD. Got it for like 700 about 2+ years ago. Never had a complaint with it.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on December 30, 2011, 12:25:20 AM
Well went and looked at a bunch tonight. Saw a pretty nice Samsung plasma at Walmart. Looked the best out off all of the ones I've seen at Walmart or Costco. All the plasma tv's at costco are huge, and way out of my range. Looked at a bunch of lcd, and they all looked grainy and pixelated. There was a no name Westinghouse led at Costco and to be honest it looked the best, but I don't feel comfortable dropping 5 bills on a ssautochrome tv.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: theidealone on December 30, 2011, 02:13:32 AM
I cant remember who said it, but Im with them. I dont like Samsung. Granted their picture usually looks very rich, bright, and colorful. But I had a few phones of theirs that failed way too easily and often. I dont buy Samsung shit anymore.

Although, my parents bought a Samsung 50" LCD around the time I got my LG, and they havent had any issues yet.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: Phate on December 30, 2011, 03:27:00 AM
I cant remember who said it, but Im with them. I dont like Samsung. Granted their picture usually looks very rich, bright, and colorful. But I had a few phones of theirs that failed way too easily and often. I dont buy Samsung shit anymore.

Although, my parents bought a Samsung 50" LCD around the time I got my LG, and they havent had any issues yet.

Samsung LCD TV's look fucking amazing, but when they get old they start doing wierd shit (temporary stuck pixels (shitloads of them), distorted bars that would be there when the tv was first powered up, but go away after 25 minutes, etc)
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: d112crzy on December 30, 2011, 04:45:49 AM
I cant remember who said it, but Im with them. I dont like Samsung. Granted their picture usually looks very rich, bright, and colorful. But I had a few phones of theirs that failed way too easily and often. I dont buy Samsung shit anymore.

Although, my parents bought a Samsung 50" LCD around the time I got my LG, and they havent had any issues yet.

Samsung LCD TV's look fucking amazing, but when they get old they start doing wierd shit (temporary stuck pixels (shitloads of them), distorted bars that would be there when the tv was first powered up, but go away after 25 minutes, etc)

Damn, glad I didn't buy a Samsung. I just bought a 42" LG LCD, 1080p 60hz, but was really on the fence over that or a Samsung 42" 720p 600hz plasma. The picture on the samsung was fucking amazing, but I'm not too sure about plasmas because I've only heard nothing but negative about them. I went with the LG because it was a more established brand. I've got no complaints so far, except I wish I had gotten a 46" at least. It looks too small in my living room.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: Joseph Davis on December 30, 2011, 08:54:41 PM
Whiny faggots
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on January 03, 2012, 02:49:26 AM
So I bit the bullet and pulled the trigger on the Westinghouse 46" led from Costco. Also picked up the extended warranty from them for another $59 walked out the door spending $610 with tax and it has a 5 year warranty. Got it home and all set up. Looks Fucking great through the dvd player. Direct tv Satellite looks kinda crappy though because its not a hd box and I'm just running coax cable to the tv. So time to upgrade to the hd box for $10 more a month :'( but it does look that bad. Only complaint I have about the tv is it sounds kinda tinny but I didn't expect good sound from it. It's only 1" thick If I want to crank up the sound ill turn on stereo.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: Kenny Rogers on January 03, 2012, 08:39:41 PM
Yeah, you're gonna want HD!  If possible get a box with HDMI instead of component cables... super easy setup.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: j.h.christ on January 03, 2012, 08:41:00 PM
Yeah, you're gonna want HD!  If possible get a box with HDMI instead of component cables... super easy setup.

buy the cables off amazon or ebay, super cheap. fuck paying 30$ for an hdmi cable. you can get them for 5-8$ shipped online.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: ratcityrex on January 03, 2012, 09:04:11 PM
Played with some of the inputs today. It doesn't have the r,b,g inputs and I snaged an vga to r,b,g adapter and ran my progressive scan dvd player since I don't have nothing hd yet. Looks pretty Fucking good. But my satellite receiver only has s-video, component out and coax. Tv doesn't have s-video so I'm stuck running component and It looks like ass. So I ordered up a hdmi to red, blue, green adapter today(for the dvd player) and I also ordered a hdmi to s-video cable to try on my sat receiver box. If it looks like shit then ill upgrade the box to the hd one. And in my broke ass penny pinching ways I got the adapters off of eBay for less than 10 shipped for the 2 of them. :) overall I'm pretty happy. I just wonder if the s-video out of my sat receiver is gona look as good as my red, blue, green from my dvd player?
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: mandrel-bends on January 03, 2012, 10:30:52 PM
When my old pile samsung blue ray would start giving up the ghost the first thing that would go would be the hdmi (it wouldnt sync anymore). So first to go would be the hdmi, then s-video - which wasnt bad... Then ultimately left with component that looked so bad I would throw the thing away and buy another one. Component sucks.
Title: Re: Need a new tv, what to buy. I know nothing about flat screens.
Post by: Jorsher on January 07, 2012, 07:45:52 PM
LG's 55" OLED
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsingularityhub.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F01%2FLG-OLED-55-2.jpg&hash=5d5ddd54fd11a95ab9a82d8f8271766555c36260)

4mm thin, 16lbs, lower power consumption, deeper blacks, quicker refresh, more accurate color, smaller bezels, basically better than LCD in every way.

You'll just need to wait til later this year and probably pay $5k

Plasmas aren't bad whoever said that bit of bullshit.  Typically better viewing angle, better blacks, better color, etc than LCDs, they're just power hogs.  The only "downside" years ago, other than weight and power consumption, was that they would burn-in if left on a static screen long enough.  Any of them made in the past few years take measures to prevent or decrease that problem...

monoprice.com is a good, reliable spot for cheap cables.  Amazon or other sites you may be able to find them a little cheaper, but I'm not going to waste an hour browsing through a clusterfuck of cables to save a dollar.