LCD 37 to 40" HDTV

[Digger]

I am finally able to swing getting an HDTV. I am limited to a 37 to 40" screen (wall is 45" wide). My budget is somewhat limited to about $1500 for the TV itself (I have everything else but the wall mount which I will buy seperately).

Has anyone bought something in this range very recently? I have been thinking of Samsung, Sharp, or JVC brands.

Anyone care to throw in there 2 cents?

Thanks!

 

[pkoslow]

Digger,

Out of the brands you mention, I suggest focusing on the Samsung. I've been installing a number of them recently and like them well.

You're budget won't get you a high-end screen in those sizes, but will get you a nice unit that will do 1080i. I've got three Samsungs going to a customer on Tuesday including a LNS4041D which is something you might want to consider.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[IVB]

Dunno if plasma is an option, but I personally like the commercial plasma units. They don't have tuners or speakers built-in, but as I have DirecTV and a speaker system, that's just wasted electronics for me that i have to pay for. It's basically a gigantic computer monitor. Looks very clean.

You can get the new model 37" HDTV Panasonic plasma from visualapex.com for $1265 plus shipping. They also have packages for avs members where for $1374 you can get it with a wallmount.

The reason I absolutely love the Panasonics is that it's got one of the best black levels out there, and the screen looks deep & rich, not washed out.

BTW, VisualApex is an avsforum sponsor, and tons of folks have bought from them with great results. My F.I.L. bought a 42" from them and loved the experience.

 

[Skibum]

Is there any advantage to LCD's that offer 1080i as the native resolution? (I see that most offer 768.)

 

[elcano]

I like the idea of the commercial unit. Less electronics means less power consumption too. BTW, do you know of any reliable source of power consumption references? I understand that plasma units use more power and generate more heat, but I don't know ow much more.

When your TV is on about 5 hours/day in the week days and about 12 hour/day during the weekend you start to care about power consumption. B)

My family room 27" CRT with DirecTV box consume about 100 watts. I have not checked my master room 24" TV. This one has another DirecTV box but also has a small Home Theather speaker system.

 

[Digger]

I was/am leaning towards LCD for lower power consumption and hopefully longer life.

I do like the Panasonic Plasma that IVB mentioned.

As for the LCD I think my research so far and Paul's experience with them would steer me towards them if I do go LCD.

This is for my living room setup where I have a Panasonic Home Thearter unit (although its 5 years old its still a decent unit for what I spent). I would also be using a HD Cable box and want the ability to hook up my sons gamecube or Playstation and a computer at times.

I also have a Hauppauge MVP that I use with Sage TV that I would want to use with the new TV.

 

[Digger]

I just did a little research.

The Samsung LCD 40" I was looking at uses 185 watts.

The Panasonic Plasma 42" IVB suggested uses 345 watts.

Granted the Plasma has a much better quality picture I am sure but the operating costs will be about twice as much. Considering that my current TV uses about 90 watts I am at the very least doubling the operating costs going to LCD and nearly quadrupling my costs going to Plasma.

But..... if you want something nice you have to pay for it.

 

[deranged]

You're budget won't get you a high-end screen in those sizes, but will get you a nice unit that will do 1080i. I've got three Samsungs going to a customer on Tuesday including a LNS4041D which is something you might want to consider.

Cheers,
Paul

Paul

I have been considering buying a large LCD screen, could you elaborate on the the "high end screen". Exactly what is lost when buying a lower cost model ?

Thanks
StevenE

 

[upstatemike]

The first thing that jumps out is 1080i resolution. Most of the newer LCD screens I have been looking at (Sony Bravia XBR, etc) are 1080p. This is a clear distinction between the two price levels.

 

[IVB]

Reason I have a tough time with 1080p is that there's not any real video sources at that scale. Everything available is upscaled.

Given that my next TV will probably be with me for the 5-7 year mark, i'm likely to stick with x768 (720p) until there's more to choose from.

 

[Mike]

Digger, you might get some ideas at the local Costco. They have a lot of sets in your price range. Granted I have not really been looking so I haven't been watching with 'intent to buy'. Probably not the latest models since it is Costco.

While my Samsung is almost two years old I'm real happy with it.

In regards to 1080p and such, there have been dramatic improvements in specs since I bought mine (mine is 1080i, big improvements on contrast, brightness, etc), however I have no regrets and I never have a problem getting a 'wow' when demoing HD.

I'd definitely look at buying another Samsung...

EDIT: This being said, I'd probably try to get the 1080p and related specs if possible, but if you want the cost kept down, I suspect you will still be happy with it.

 

[pkoslow]

Paul

I have been considering buying a large LCD screen, could you elaborate on the the "high end screen". Exactly what is lost when buying a lower cost model ?

Thanks
StevenE

Steven,

As already mentioned the newer high-end screens will support 1080p resolution. Purchasing a 1080p set is really just future proofing for now as there is very little content currently available (but this is changing). The new HD-DVD & Blue Ray players can take advantage of 1080p and I expect that the game systems will adopt it at some point (maybe they already have?).

In short 1080i and 1080p are the same resolution (1920x1080) but the 1080i image is interlaced so the image is painted even lines, then odd lines every 1/30th of a second. For 1080p which is progressive, every line of the image is painted every 1/60th of a second.

Aside from this, the better screens will have increased contrast, more inputs, nicer looking cases & remotes and provide more options in the menu for setup & config.

Cheers,
Paul

 

[rickyjames]

I'm making the plunge into HDTV between now and Christmas, with The Big Turnon set for Christmas Day. I've selected the Samsung LN-S4696D for a lot of reasons and it's worth a look by you. You should note that the quoted screen sized are DIAGONALS so that a 46 inch screen like the one I'm getting would indeed fit on your 45 inch wall - the LN-S4696D is exactly 44.4 inches wide.


http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/L...=Specifications

Important things I looked for that the LN-S4696D has:

* integrated digital tuner AKA Digital Cable Ready (DCR) (without this you're depending on the cheap set top box from your cable company to decode your picture and they're interested in maximizing their profits, not giving you quality electronics that will present the best picture to you)

* integrated ATSC tuner (not the same thing as above) to pick up over-the-air HDTV

* true 1080 layout, 1920 X 1080 pixels

* 6000:1 LCD contrast ratio

* accepts AND DISPLAYS 1080p signals, the highest level of resolution (futureproof)

* IEEE 1394, USB, Personal Computer RGB inputs

Plus if you see the LN-S4696D in Circuit City, it is BEAUTIFUL. Much better than my original DLP choices which had bigger screens but more washed out colors with jagged edges that you had to have your head Right In Front Of The Screen to see correctly...

It costs around $2700 including shipping when ordered on the internet. This compares for example with the new but MUCH LESS CAPABLE 46 inch LCD from Winbook at $1700...


http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2006Oct/...61030039803.htm


Good luck!

 

[Digger]

Rick,

I agree that for an LCD that is q great TV but its over my budget. I either have to wait another six months ( for the pot of money to grow and the price to drop) or settle for less.

I would actually go with the 40" since some of the inputs are on the side of the unit and people would brush up against the cables as they walk by. The wall is the living room between the kitchen and dining rooms and it a high trafic area.

 

[pkoslow]

I've selected the Samsung LN-S4696D for a lot of reasons and it's worth a look by you.

Ricky,

That's a nice screen...

I'm hooking up it's little brother the LN-S3296D... just unboxed it to get some measurements with the mount attached before taking it out to a jobsite tomorrow for fitment in a masonary wall.

Nice thing about the "D" series is that they are truly rectangle. Many of the screens now (including some of the lower-end Samsungs) have angled bottoms which don't work well when recessing into walls. Samsung monitors also seem to have some of the narrowest dimensions available which is nice for wall mounting and even more important when recessing screens.


Digger - Lots of inputs on the backs of these too, so you may not even need the side mounted connections. If you do, they're recessed far enough that the connectors don't stick out past the TV.

What's your seating distance from the wall where the screen will go? Large LCD's can look bad if you're sitting too close to them... depending on how far back you'll be sitting, the smaller screens may be a better (and more afordable) solution.

This LN-S3296D I'm setting up is around your budget and looks great up to around 10-12ft where it starts to seem a little small in my opinion.

Cheers,
Paul