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Best LED HDTV under $2,000?
SkyGheNe
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I'm in the market for an LED TV and want to gain insight as to what the community thinks is some of the best out there. Here are some stipulations and some wants out of the set:
Ideally the set would be:
Here is a list of things from most important to least important
What I can live without easily...
Does anyone have any recommendations? I don't know how the web browsers work on hdtvs...can they play flash no problem? Should I wait for a sale?
Thanks in advance.
Ideally the set would be:
- Under $2,000, however, I have a lot of cash and am willing to go above that for something that will last me a long time.
- be 55" or larger
Here is a list of things from most important to least important
- Screen size (55" or larger)
- Has Wi-Fi and "Internet TV" with pandora, hulu, and web browsing so I can stream stuff from websites
What I can live without easily...
- 3D - I don't like 3D and have no interest in it
- anything more than 120hz, unless you can argue otherwise...from what I read the hz settings are only useful for the soap opera effect which i don't really like
Does anyone have any recommendations? I don't know how the web browsers work on hdtvs...can they play flash no problem? Should I wait for a sale?
Thanks in advance.
SkyGheNe on
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I gotta say, even with the newer "green" plasmas, my power bill still went through the roof. In the long run, they're going to cost you more. I sold my Panasonic plasma and grabbed a Sony LCD and watched my power bill go down by half.
This may not be true any longer due to the technology developing, but I heard that for gaming and anything where there may be prolonged still images that there is the chance of burn-in. May have changed, but Esh's comments about electrical costs have me worried as well. Didn't know that was the case.
re: Mushroom
Thanks for pointing this one out - I'll take a look this afternoon!
Also - have Vizio and LG come a long way from their hay days as budget Tvs? It seems like they get really positive reviews, but I thought that they were a tier below the toshiba's/samsungs/sonys.
The OP for the TV thread in Moes Tech Tavern will probably be helpful for you, in that case.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=141038
As for game burn-in, I beat Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood in two days, most of it in one, and so the little health bars and everything were there for hours at a time. New Plasmas have *almost* gotten rid of the problem. I mean, if you leave the same picture on there (with no load screens or anything) for probably 16 hours, you might get a permanent burn-in. But I have no idea, it's never happened to me.
In conclusion, I would recommend the Plasma, if you're interested...because I think they look a lot better, too.
Plasmas do consume significantly more energy than LED-lit LCD TVs - a 59" Samsung D8000 consumes about 200W more than a 60" Sharp LED-LCD. According to CNET, at 5.2 hours/day of use (and 18.8 hours of standby) and the average electricity cost of $0.1155/kW*hr, it comes out to about $50/year in increased energy costs. You can decide for yourself if it's worth it or not for your situation.
Another situation that may preclude plasma usage -- if the place where you want to put your TV gets a lot of direct sunlight during hours you want to watch it, LED-LCD TVs are better. Plasmas can't match the raw brightness of LED-LCD TVs, but in return you get better black levels and contrast.
As far as 3D, any TV in this price range is going to have it - you never have to use it if you don't want to.
Recommended models:
Samsung UN55D6500 $1780 55" LED-LCD
Panasonic TC-P60ST30 $1836 60" Plasma
Samsung PN59D7000 $1900 59" Plasma - this TV is the best of these 3 in terms of picture quality.
If you want something bigger (60+" LED-LCD or 64+" Plasma), let me know and I'll post some different models.
Samsung over Panny on Plasma?
Do you have some reviews, because I've never heard someone say that.
Well it's the D7000 over the ST30. If we're talking VT30, then that's a completely different game (and another $1500).
I'm mostly basing that on what I've read at AVS and HDJ since there aren't many professional reviews of the D7000. Based on user reports and what Samsung has said, the D7000 is the same panel as the D8000 (just without the "Local Contrast Enhancer" software that you'd turn off anyway), and the D8000 has gotten some pretty strong reviews at CNET and among other professionals. The Samsungs also have better calibration options than the non-VT Panasonics if you get into that.
This is awesome - Thanks!
Thanks again everyone - and if you have a particular model that you like, don't be afraid to link to it since it helps me walk into stores looking for certain sets to test.
One thing is that the Plasmas won't look very good in the store (unless they have a darker HT area), for the same reason that they're not recommended for super-bright rooms. I will say that you should stay away from the Samsung 8000 series LED-LCD TV because you'll see that super-sexy thin bezel and want to take it home...then you'll see the price tag and cry :P
Hmmmm - the 8000 specifically mentions a full web browser...does the 6500 have that? I can't find anything other than "this TV has apps!"
The web browser (and like all the apps besides Netflix) are pretty poor. You'd probably be able to boot a laptop and get to the page you want faster than the TV would get to it :P. The 8000 series has a lot of nice features over the 6500 (better PQ, sexy sexy bezel), but the browser isn't something I'd worry about.
Also, about going into the stores to check the sets.
Know this: The default setting for most TV is like 95% contrast, which is terrible and looks like shit.
Every display TV will look terrible if you actually know what you are looking for (ie: not a black outline around every thing because you turned the contrast up to 95, turned the color up to 100) shit like that. Display TV are terribly calibrated and looking at them doesn't really offer you anything.
Also, with the price difference between the 6500 and 8000 series tvs, you could put together a descent home theater pc and still probably have a few bucks left over.
As always - thanks for the input - helps put things into perspective and is really appreciated.
If you have a Fry's in your area, try them for viewing in store rather than something like a Best Buy. They actually set their sets up in a darkened area which makes for much better viewing, and seem to use decent settings as well.
I have Vizio 47" (XVT473SV, I believe) and it is an extremely good TV. I have owned the television for over a year now. Everything looks great on it, black levels are good, the color is pretty good, and it has a very healthy amount of inputs. It has an ethernet port and built in wifi. No dead pixels. The only thing about buying a Vizio is if you are concerned about thickness or weight - They aren't the thinnest or lightest by any means.
Vizio is for serious garbage. They get a great signal while they last... which isn't long.
LGs I love because I've had one, but they don't last that long either.
Sony and Samsung are def the way to go
Which if true means, no, no sony is not the way to go.
Really? We used to get so many people complaining about them. About 6 in 10 we sold would last, the other 4 would be back in less than a month. Of those 6 we'd get 2-3 at the end of the year whose TV stopped working. Not a good percentage. The ones that lasted lasted a long time (and the LEDs improved on this by quite a margin) but that's no percentage to buy a TV on. Not with Sony and Samsung out there with just as good a quality for ~200 more that last 9 years
Sony isn't good TV quality.
Maybe they've dropped in quality lately or something. I was always under the impression that Vizios were well built, but a few generations behind the major brands in features.
sorry, how does outsourcing lower the quality?
And a 50% chance of a Foxconn/Wistron
Which, you know, are the people that make Vizio panels that you seem to dislike.
Edit: Choosing the lowest bidder is generally not considered a measure to improve quality of products.
People probably wouldn't be complaining so much if they were outsourcing good parts.
Never knew that, Samsung it is