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What TV should I get: Read OP before asking questions

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Posts

  • MalkorMalkor Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Damn, that sucks. I'm guessing there's no way for you to say, "fuck you give me back my money"?

    Malkor on
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  • ElJeffeElJeffe Moderator, ClubPA mod
    edited March 2009
    Burtletoy wrote: »
    This was from 12-9-08
    Burtletoy wrote: »
    Hurrah for my new Westinghouse LVN-37w3se exploding and emiting smoke in less than 1 month after buying.

    I guess what I'm telling you guys is don't buy from buy.com because of a pitiful 14 day return policy and don't buy Westinghouse. Fuck this.


    Well my new TV came in the mail today. Westinghouse was kind enough to upgrade my broken 37 inch TV to a broken 42 inch TV.


    Maybe the next one will take less than 3 months turnaround on Westinghouse.

    I repeat, don't buy a Westinghouse TV regardless of some supposed name brand recognition. Thier customer service is terrible. It took an entire month since they'd recieved my old broken tv for them to enter it into their database as recieved. It then took them another month to tell me I was going to be getting a 42" replacement. It then took them another half a month to send me the broken replacement TV.

    On the upside, at the rate you're going, in six months you'll be the proud owner of a broken 50" television.

    ElJeffe on
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  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    I can't hardly wait for that day to come.

    In related news, I got my RMA number. The first time I got an RMA number was 12/23/08.

    So from Dec. 23rd until March 16th for the first set. Think the next one will be here by, oh I don't know, june? Maybe they'll send it to my July 31st and a birthday present or something.

    Burtletoy on
  • GPIA7RGPIA7R Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    There's a 40" Samsung 1080p for sale on Amazon today for $800, free shipping.

    Good deal?

    model no. LN40A550

    http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40A550-40-Inch-1080p-HDTV/dp/B001418W2C/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1237473687&sr=8-1

    GPIA7R on
  • OremLKOremLK Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Yeah, that's a pretty good deal. I think it usually runs more like $900-1000ish. The A550 series are good low-end LCD screens.

    OremLK on
    My zombie survival life simulator They Don't Sleep is out now on Steam if you want to check it out.
  • GPIA7RGPIA7R Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Oooo, and Best Buy, oddly enough, has it for 12-month financing no interest, rather than 6-month on Amazon...'


    Edit: Ooo, conundrum... 42" Samsung 720p Plasma for same price... or the 40" Samsung 1080p LCD...

    I'm leaning toward the LCD... am I correct?

    GPIA7R on
  • Folken FanelFolken Fanel anime af When's KoFRegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Holy shit, I'm tempted to pull the trigger on that too..

    Folken Fanel on
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  • OremLKOremLK Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    I would get the LCD. I've heard they've mostly worked out the burn-in kinks with plasma screens, but I'm still wary, and anyway I like LCD brightness more than I like the improvement you get out of plasma black levels.

    Plus, 1080p versus 720p and a couple more inches... pretty much makes it a no-brainer.

    OremLK on
    My zombie survival life simulator They Don't Sleep is out now on Steam if you want to check it out.
  • ScrubletScrublet Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Go look at that LCD before you buy it. My parents got the 52" version of that 550. I took my PS3 to it and it is nice and sharp, but the colors were not good. I pulled up Valkyria, and my RCA DLP from 2005 that doesn't even have HDMI beat the shit out of it. Just make sure you're ok with the low-end aspect of it before you sink on it. And don't worry about the 720p of the plasma if you're still considering it. You need to be 50"+ before you can distinguish a difference between 720p and 1080p.

    Scrublet on
    subedii wrote: »
    I hear PC gaming is huge off the coast of Somalia right now.

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  • Post BluePost Blue Redmond, WARegistered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Scrublet wrote: »
    Go look at that LCD before you buy it. My parents got the 52" version of that 550. I took my PS3 to it and it is nice and sharp, but the colors were not good. I pulled up Valkyria, and my RCA DLP from 2005 that doesn't even have HDMI beat the shit out of it. Just make sure you're ok with the low-end aspect of it before you sink on it. And don't worry about the 720p of the plasma if you're still considering it. You need to be 50"+ before you can distinguish a difference between 720p and 1080p.
    It's not exactly appropriate to say that 1080p won't be utilized at 40" because you're only isolating one variable there. You can perceive the benefits of 1080p on any sized set by adjusting the distance you sit from it. 50" is just a neighborhood figure for where that distance becomes reasonable in a living room setting, but most of the gamers I know don't mind pulling up a chair for a good session and increased detail perception.

    I would say, GPIA7R, that $800 isn't much of a slamming deal for that LN40A550, personally. I'm not sure what your budget's like, or what your priorities are for that matter, but I regularly see the 52-inch version of the same TV on sale for $1199 at Fred Meyer.

    Post Blue on
    Moments before the wind.
  • OremLKOremLK Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Post Blue wrote: »
    Scrublet wrote: »
    Go look at that LCD before you buy it. My parents got the 52" version of that 550. I took my PS3 to it and it is nice and sharp, but the colors were not good. I pulled up Valkyria, and my RCA DLP from 2005 that doesn't even have HDMI beat the shit out of it. Just make sure you're ok with the low-end aspect of it before you sink on it. And don't worry about the 720p of the plasma if you're still considering it. You need to be 50"+ before you can distinguish a difference between 720p and 1080p.
    It's not exactly appropriate to say that 1080p won't be utilized at 40" because you're only isolating one variable there. You can perceive the benefits of 1080p on any sized set by adjusting the distance you sit from it. .

    This. I can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p (with live action video) on a 24" computer screen, from about 3' away. In my living room, my 37" TV is 6' away, and although it is 720p I can tell an enormous difference between that (1280x720) and SD (720x480). I wouldn't be surprised if the same held true moving up to 1080p.

    People vastly exaggerate how big a screen needs to be to make 1080p worthwhile, in any case. It makes me wonder if they just sit all the way across the room from their TV or what?

    OremLK on
    My zombie survival life simulator They Don't Sleep is out now on Steam if you want to check it out.
  • GPIA7RGPIA7R Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Good points, I'll take all those into consideration. Going to go to a local electronics store and compare the 40" HDTV with the similar Sony Bravia version (another deal today on the Dell store for -$450 with a coupon code... putting it around $850 total), Model KDL40V4100

    Anyone have customer service experience with either Samsung or Sony? I've always bought Samsung monitors and I've never had to call anything in... but I can only assume Sony is very high quality.

    As far as budget, the fact that I'll be looking for a good no interest 6-12 month finance should say something on that ;) Not poor, not rich, but have the money to spare and upgrading from a 27" off-brand SDTV.

    Hoping seeing them in person tonight helps with my decision.

    GPIA7R on
  • ScrubletScrublet Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    I disagree whether people can tell the difference on smaller sets. But really what I came in here this moment to say, given that we're talking about cheaper TVs:

    Can I say that I got home and got fucked up and watched HD news and HD Jay Leno on my roommates Sony DLP (1 yr old)....is it not amazing how that technology is still around, still cheap, and still looks amazing? High quality 50-60" sets for 1300 or less, and they look great!

    Scrublet on
    subedii wrote: »
    I hear PC gaming is huge off the coast of Somalia right now.

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  • LockoutLockout I am still searching Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    does anyone know of a small TV with a good viewing angle? especially from below?

    it seems like retailers have practically stopped selling CRTs, and all the smaller LCDs get too dark if you watch them from below

    Lockout on
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  • OremLKOremLK Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Lockout wrote: »
    does anyone know of a small TV with a good viewing angle? especially from below?

    it seems like retailers have practically stopped selling CRTs, and all the smaller LCDs get too dark if you watch them from below

    I suspect a lot of these small TVs use TN panels, which suck in terms of viewing angles, especially from below. (They also have poor color accuracy and black levels). Thing is, the LCD panels that don't suck--VA, IPS, etc--all probably cost a lot more. That said, your best bet might be a computer monitor with a decent panel hooked up to a cable box. Just be prepared to pay extra, and make sure if you go down this route you get one with an MVA, PVA, or IPS panel.

    OremLK on
    My zombie survival life simulator They Don't Sleep is out now on Steam if you want to check it out.
  • GPIA7RGPIA7R Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    I'll go ahead and start here before I go to the H&A forum...

    I went ahead and got the Sony Bravia W4100, loving it so far. It's very nice...

    I have Comcast, a "double-play" service that includes TV and Internet for about $70. I contacted Comcast to request an HD set-top box to replace my basic one.

    Am I to correctly understand that the HD version of the box will be given to me at no extra charge? I'm basically just trading my non-HD for an HD... which should then unlock all those HD channels up in the 200-300's channels? I kept re-iterating my question of "This has no extra fee, right?", never got a straight 100% answer, but it sounds like it doesn't cost any more...

    GPIA7R on
  • MalkorMalkor Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    I'm pretty sure it's no extra charge.

    They're going to try and upsell you to a dvr and whatever, which is an extra fee.

    Malkor on
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  • GPIA7RGPIA7R Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    Eh looks like the guy coming out is going to be $20... and +$7 per month for the HDMI box.

    Meh, better than nothing I guess... Got to take advantage of the TV somehow.

    ... Even though they said I could pick up the box without paying $20... they have to send someone because no offices in my area have the HDMI box available. I think the $20 should be waived...

    GPIA7R on
  • MalkorMalkor Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    It's Comcast...

    That's how they roll.

    Malkor on
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  • GPIA7RGPIA7R Registered User regular
    edited March 2009
    I'll make sure I get every dollar out of the "Comcast Delivery Guy". These are do-it-yourself HD boxes... but he'll be doing it, and he'll be staying and waiting to make sure it works damn good.

    Not paying $20 for a delivery of something I should have been able to get on my own.

    Now that's fucking Comcastic.

    I've had far too many issues with them, but there are just no other options.

    GPIA7R on
  • Moe FwackyMoe Fwacky Right Here, Right Now Drives a BuickModerator mod
    edited March 2009
    New TV Thread incoming...

    Moe Fwacky on
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This discussion has been closed.