New TV recommendations

[Scrumhalf]

I'm finally ready to retire my 10 year old rear projection TV. I have a few questions:

1. Is LED the way to go?
2. Is "3-D ready" a gimmick or a wise future-proofing step?
3. I assume an Internet-ready TV is a good idea for streaming content, right?

Any models/manufacturers to look for or avoid? I'm looking for at least a 55 in. screen - 65 would be better but I don't know if LED TVs come in screen sizes larger than 55 at reasonable price points.

 

[dragon8]

LED is the way too go in my opinion. I'm not a big fan of 3D to begin with so I would say skip but you can get a 3D ready LED. I wouldn't worry about he internet ready simply because you can box equipment to stream.

I'd stick with Samsung , Sony and Panasonic.

 

[akatsuki]

VSforum is probably where to go.

Plasma is cheaper and smoother but darker.
3D is not doing well, so who knows if it has a future.
LG is also fine. So are the higher end Vizios (XVT series).

 

[countrygent]

I just bought a 54" Panasonic plasma. LCD is brighter, so better for bright rooms, and uses less energy (particularly LED LCD). Plasma has deeper blacks, wider viewing angles, and is still better with motion - in a side by side between LCD and plasma, I could see pixelation/jitter on the LCD in scenes with fast motion, particularly against a bright background (e.g. watching hockey), even with 120 Hz frame rate. All of the major names have good reliability ratings in Consumer Reports.

I think 3D is a bit gimmicky, so I didn't bother with it. No experience with doing Internet streaming over TV, but I think most manufacturers offer that option now.

 

[A.K.A.]

We bought a Sony Bravia LED 46" from Costco back in September. Our main living area where we watch TV is bright, so LED-LCD was the best choice for us. With HD content you will get used to any picture once you focus on it alone.

I have been a Sony TV fan for the past 26 years. They are the only TV brand I have ever owned. I am still pleased with what I chose. Great picture but the sound from the thin cabinet is lacking. The 32" LCD bravia in my bedroom sounds better.

What is truly funny is that buying a 46" TV to replace our 12 year old 27" Trinitron forced us to purchase a new cabinet just to store the damned thing. The TV was $1000, and the cabinet was $2200 + $300 delivery. My wife likes the furniture better than the TV.

 

[Pezzaturra]

I went to two stores and compared Plasma (which I was planing to buy) with LCD.
Panasonic plasma TVs are total crap this year, as well as last year btw. I own 5y.o. Pan. model which performed great and I was planing to buy another Pan. plasma.
However, Panasonic plasma TVs (the latest 3d version) upon review have had horrible artifacts in too many scenes, frequent pixelation and surprisingly did not have deeper blacks when compared with Samsung LCD.
S series Pan. have had black-level deterioration problems within a first year. Latest models were all reported to have multiple problems displaying SD-tv or motion. No word yet on black level stability.
I could not convince my eyes that Pan plasma has better picture. It simply was the same or under-performing Samsung LCD.
Needless to say I ordered non-3D Samsung.

BTW, 3-D is completely marsupialed feature causing reported headaches and vertigo effects (confirmed personally).
There is no such thing as LED TVs. They all LCD with LED used for extra illumination/contrast, could be an option, but not all of them are the same technologically or in terms of picture-quality.

 

[Gus]

I see the new, large Samsungs wherever I go and the picture is awesome (especially better hotels). It is bright and colorful. So much better than my top of the line circa 2003 $10K plasma. It will be my next TV for sure.

 

[coachvu]

Just picked up a Samsung 46" LCD and couldn't be happier. I went with 120Hz refresh rate after researching it quite a bit. Seemed to be worth the money. Sears was running a special where the tv came with the Samsung wireless dongle. Netflix looks incredible on it. Be aware that lots of the Blu-ray players and tvs are wireless capable, but many of them require an additional wireless dongle for access.

 

[Stazy]

Originally Posted by coachvu

Just picked up a Samsung 46" LCD and couldn't be happier. I went with 120Hz refresh rate after researching it quite a bit. Seemed to be worth the money. Sears was running a special where the tv came with the Samsung wireless dongle. Netflix looks incredible on it. Be aware that lots of the Blu-ray players and tvs are wireless capable, but many of them require an additional wireless dongle for access.

lol I bought this tv yesterday.

 

[airblaster503]

Picked up a Sony 46" LED on black friday with 1080p, 240Hz, and 3D. wasn't looking for 3D or even 240Hz but the picture looked better than the other TV's I was comparing it to in the $1500 price range. Ended up getting it for $1200 from a local store, sale price was 1350 compared to 1500 at Sears and Best Buy and they didn't have it in stock so they knocked another 150 off and I will pick it up Tuesday or Thursday. Couldn't pass up the deal, doubt I will use the 3D though.

 

[A.K.A.]

Costco has great pricing. My TV was $300 less at Costco than at Best Buy. When you go above 46" expect to pay at least a grand more to go up to 55". I think 3D TV is going to be a passing fad, besides you can't get any dorkier than those ridiculous powered glasses.

 

[suited]

There's an LED Samsung at Best Buy that's thinner than a blackberry. I believe it's around 7k.

 

[otc]

Since you seem to be used to keeping the same TV for a while (a good thing imho), I would skip any internet-enabled features.

These things change so fast that you would be better off picking up a blu-ray player with netflix/amazon/vudo/whatever or one of those streaming video set top boxes. The premium you have to pay on a TV is probably equal or greater than the cost of one of these and many of the separate devices have better support and updates (and you can sell/re-purpose them if they no longer do what you want)

 

[jgold47]

I have a 50" plasma and just got a 40" lcd for the bedroom to replace the 32" lcd which is going in the basement gym. If we ever get a basement gym. Proud of that negotiation (I got a new tv, she gets her 'gym'. hahahaha). anyways, love the plasma for movies, but still not great for sports (granted newer ones may be better). Thing weights a ton, and puts out a ton of heat (which is great this winter, our house has been freezing). The LCD I just got (the sony on sale at BBY), is also great, but I dont have it dialed in just yet. The one hockey game I just watched on it didnt look superb, but we have crappy u-verse, so I need the OTA for the winterclassic on NBC to really test it.

That said, remember, LCD and Plasma panels are AFAIK only made by a few manufacturers. Dont be afraid of getting Vizio, Dynex or Insignia (best buy's house brand), or anythign similar. The Insignia Plasma I got (wasnt my first choice, I was exchanging under warranty and that was all they had), has a samsung panel in it (you can see it through the case). Similarly, the Dynex tv I bought my parents was a re-badged sharp (same menus).

I woudnt pay for 3D as I think its a fad, and internet is pretty cool, but get a good blu-ray player and it will do most of that for you.

 

[Pezzaturra]

Internet apps on dvd-players or TVs are like "Web" button on some keyboards.
Made for dummies or old people (which is a huge market after all).