Buying a t.v. on a budget

Scratchy

Our television has begun to crap the bed and we are looking for a new one on a tight budget. We are looking for something at least 42'', with hdmi and ypbr ports as well.

Ideally we would like to spend somewhere in the 500-600$ range and with black friday coming up we figured it would be the perfect time to do so.

I don't really know a lot about different television brands but the westinghouse we bought only lasted three years and the customer service was atrocious so we'd preferably like something not-westinghouse. We are currently looking at: http://www.walmart.com/ip/VIZIO-42-Class-Theater-3D-LCD-HDTV-with-VIZIO-Internet-Apps-1080p-120Hz-E3D420VX/15992330

On black Friday the set listed goes for 524 and the wall mount is included. The 3D and the internet apps are all kind of just fluff to us and not really necessary.

I would very much like to hear if someone knew of any deals floating around and if anyone has any experience with customer service with various brands either good or bad I would love to hear it.

Thank you all very much

Esh

There's a whole thread dedicated to this question over in Moe's Technology Tavern.

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/141038/the-tv-thread-more-for-less#latest

Scratchy

Appreciate the heads up and the link. I apologize for asking in the wrong section. Things get hectic when I am missing my soaps while I wash myself with a rag on a stick.

Donovan Puppyfucker

You can totally ask this in here, that's the whole point of this sub-forum! It just so happens that many of the tech thread regulars are pretty keen on home entertainment equipment...

For starters, if you aren't interested in 3D and the 'smart tv' crap they're shoving in boxes these days, then don't waste your money on it. You can still find sets that are just a t.v., nothing more nothing less, you just might have to search a bit harder. The plus side is you tend to get a better panel and bigger size for the same money.

schuss

Cnet has great TV reviews, usually.

Main issues with this set - CCFL instead of LED lighting means less contrast and grayer blacks. I'd try to go for an LED set.

honkymcgoo

I got my tv off amazon. 46 inch vizio with passive 3D and internet apps. $625 shipped with two pairs of glasses, and it is awesome. The other thing I liked about amazon was how easy it was to browse user reviews. Newegg is pretty good too but their selection is a bit smaller and a bit more hit or miss.

Scratchy

I didn't even think of checking Cnet or newegg, thank you both very much.

Yeah Chris the search continues and it's surprisingly more difficult to find just a basic television without the bells and whistles that we don't necessarily need, not that they wouldn't be convenient though.

KPC

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-samsung-pn51e450-is-a-good-50-inch-hdtv/

This and other sets suggested in the article should cover the bases nicely.

Scratchy

I found a 47 inch lg that is very affordable and has mostly positive reviews. I'd like to especially thank Esh for supplying a heck of a lot of research material and schuss for recommending cnet for reviews. Moes technology tavern is a very nifty subsection of this forum that I had not previously perused.