Thanks guys, I'm reeling in at a 42 inch it looks like, and LCD. Just sounds like it would be about perfect for me.

Now, brands...

LOL

I'm checking out Tiger Direct, and I'll post a few here later.

 

In my opinion - for LCDs - Samsung and LG have the best bang for the buck. Not the BEST, but pretty dang nice for the price tag. During Christmas I was able to find both 42" LG and Samsung 720p between $1,000-$1,299 pretty easily. Best Buy has them for $1100 and $1150 right now.

Remember, a 3 or 4 year warranty will cost another $250-300 I think. I compared Best Buy to Circuit City when I bought mine, and you got one year longer with Best Buy for the same warranty cost.

YOU ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THE TV HAS HDMI INPUTS... the cheaper TVs may be cheaper because they only have one... most have two. Use one for Cable Box or DVD Player, use the other for the PS3 or XBox 360 Pro. BUY HDMI Cables CHEAP at www.monoprice.com - NOT at the stores.

 

Majik, that's what's driving me nuts about the newer vizios at Costco, they come with 3 HDMI inputs for decent prices, my neighbor has a 37 they bought from there some time ago and they love it to death.

I'll just have to wait till tax returns arrive so I can look then, Costco has different sales every month (really nice magnavox 42 inch on sale for 999 right now), and look there first. I get 2% back on costco purchases BTW.

Ever hear of these guys?

http://www.sceptre.com/index.htm

 

My solution? 80inches of DIY projector goodness. smile.gif capable of 480, 720, and if I upgrade the LCD in it, 1080p.

 

Only prob lem I see with projectors is finding one that is BRIGHT enough, and still quiet enough to be usable.

Those are usually as much as a LCD or plasma.

 

I worry about Magnavox and Vizio brands... I don't really have a reason, I guess the low price just makes me question the quality. I have no legitimate reason to not like them. 2% on $1,000 is $20... don't buy a Vizio for $1,000 if you can get it for $900 at Circuit City.

Circuit City has:
42" 720p for $999
42" 1080p for $1199

They each have 1000:1 contrast ratio... in my opinion that's pretty low. My TV is 4,000:1 and I think the new Samsungs are 7,000:1

Looking at the thread by Tib001 about his HDTV problems, he originally bought a 1,200:1 contrast ratio TV by Sylvania and eventually returned it.

Vizio may be a great TV.... I don't know anyone who has one, so if you know someone who has had great happiness with theirs, go for it. Look at them in person and make sure you like it before you buy it. Just make sure you post your reviews here so we can provide more information to our members

 

Key part of that sentence was DIY redz, I built my own.

 

^^^
Right, and I have no soldering skills or otherwise, so no thanks.


I don't understand this contrast ratio thing, I have been seeing it a bunch lately.

I'm 95% sure Ido NOT want a Plasma TV, and I DO want something between 37 to 47 inches, preferably right at 42.

2 to 3 HDMI inputs are a must, and 1080P is also, as there's no reason to go lower.

I'll keep doing some looking, you keep me up to date. LOL

 

Vizio's are cheaper only because they have lower contrast ratio's. I personally own This 47" Vizio and absolutly love it. I got it at a great deal in october with an extended warranty I still paid less than most people would for a same size 720p. It may be refurbished but I haven't had any problems with mine.


here is a name brand you can compare it to sharp aquos only 1" smaller but 400 dollars more. Though it advertises as 10k:1 contrast ratio it's only 2000:1 native and the vizio is 1600:1.
the vizio is also brighter(500 vs 450 cd/m2) and has a wider viewing angle (178 vs 176, insignificant I know)

Also another thing you need to pay attention too with LCDs is how well they display the color black, some can't do it very well and it just comes out grey(smaller Vizio's have a big problem with this, hence why I said in my previous post to not buy them) alot of stores will have generic HDTV channels on that show very pretty very good looking sceneries, but have very little black in those images, so be wary of that.

hope this helps

 

LCDs have a constant light in the back of the panel and the colors show through in the pixels they're supposed to - thus making it hard to have deep dark blacks in LCDs. The ability to show dark blacks should say something about it's quality and abilities. If blacks start to look more gray, be weary of the other colors also.

Are you going to be mounting this on a wall, or placing it on a shelf/cabinet/armoir?

Note: if you're mounting it to the wall, universal mounts work for MOST TVs, but don't for a select few. I think LG holes are wider than universal mounts, so you might have to get an "LG Specific" mounting bracket. Just something to ask before you buy - "Will universal wall mounts line up to the holes on the back of the LCD?"