Flat Screen. I Need One. Which Kind?

[Allie_Kat]

I'm saving up for a flat screen, at LEAST 40". Which brand is the best at the lowest cost?
I know absolutely nothing about electronics or anything like that.
Does anyone work at like Best Buy or anywhere that can hook me up with a discount?
ALSO...my screen on my laptop is broken so I will use the flat screen TV as a monitor to watch movies on etc.

[swarmyone]

There is no way to avoid the obvious puns and comments, but IMHO when talking flat screens....size matters. I personally went with a 50" Samsung plasma. Found it at NFM for $1100 bucks. Best money I ever spent. The reason I mention size matters...is my buddy has a 47" and I honestly cannot stand to watch it. I feel like I have to squint to see anything. I know it sounds absolutely ludicrous, but whenever my buddies get together to watch the big game, they come to my place.

Anyway, I've been very pleased with the Samsung. Only problem was the sound quality was a little lackluster, but I use a Boston Acoustics sound bar anyway so that is a non-factor for me. I didn't see any real difference in the current generation of plasmas vs. lcd screens. I'm sure some techy geeks could probably pipe in here, but for my money, the Samsung plasma 50" was the way to go.

[kcbigpapa]

Allie, I would check out Costco. I like their warranty policy. TV you buy has one year warranty, Costco's Concierge Service adds another year. If you use your Costco AmEx card, you get a 3rd year warranty at no additional cost. The selection of TV's is not as great as Best Buy, but you can find what you need there. Also, Costco.com has a little more selection than the stores. Best Buy's extended warranties will run between $100-140 for 4 years. To me, the warranty in itself is enough to send me to Costco for my TV's. I'm not sure if Sam's Club works the same way. Maybe a Sam's Club member could provide some further information.

Next you need to decide if you want an LCD, an LED LCD, or a plasma. Although they are harder to find, I have a DLP which I absolutely love, however, the DLP's are not nearly as thin as LCD's, LED-LCD's, or plasmas, but I find the picture to be better. Does your computer have an HDMI output? I believe most newer TV's will accommodate a computer, even if it does not have an HDMI output. I like to look at the customer reviews at the website I am researching what I buy, Amazon, Costco, etc. Consumer Reports is also good for their ratings and it is the bible of product reviews as well and they have their product ratings on their website (Samsung is their top 40-42" LCD). If you watch more high action stuff (movies, sports, etc), you may want to look at a TV with a higher Hertz (Hz) rating. Standard are 60 Hz, but some TVs have 120 Hz a few have 240 Hz. I have seen 480 Hz, but you probably don't need that, nor would you want to pay the premium it probably costs.

Swarmy is right about plasmas. The larger the screen, the more you would probably want a plasma over an LCD/LED-LCD. However, I would still take a DLP over a plasma for a big screen.

Here are a few at Costco you might want to check out.

Samsung 40" LCD
Vizio 42" LED LCD
Vizio 42" LCD
Panasonci 42"

Allie, I hope this helps you. There are a lot of other factors to think of as well. Is the room where you will be putting the TV well lit (lots of windows)? Plasmas tend to have a screen that will reflect more of a glare in higher light and you may find this annoying. LCD's tend to have less glare in higher light. Are you going to mount the TV on the wall or on a stand? PM me with any other questions.

[bcm1969]

I have always been impressed with the Sharpe AQUOS line. But make sure it can do what your needs are. One brand that falls on the low end of prices is Vizio. I have heard and seen good reviews of those TV's.

I think a salesman at Best Buy can give you a preferred customer discount.

[Allie_Kat]

Hmmm. I have a small apartment so I really don't need a huge TV. 40"-42" is about my maximum. I'm going to put it on a stand since I live in an apartment. I think I'm gonna go with an LCD since I have a wall that is mainly just a big sliding glass door. I don't have a Costco card or Sam's Club card. I just want something that I can stick in my backseat and take home. LOL.
I've heard Vizio is a good brand for cheap but I didn't know if maybe there was another cheapie brand out there that would be better.
Thanks for the advice.
=)

[royamcr]

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Philips-40...roduct+Reviews

I was looking at this for a bedroom TV the other day. Has all you would need. Svideo would probably work for your laptop display so you could watch your porn. :-)

I have a 3 year old Phillips TV from back when they had the ambilight backlighting. Good stuff.

[royamcr]

Warranties are not a reason to buy or not buy electronics. If a defect is present in a product it usually shows up in the first year.

[swarmyone]

Originally Posted by Allie_Kat

Hmmm. I have a small apartment so I really don't need a huge TV. 40"-42" is about my maximum.
=)

Ah...the difference between man and woman. When I bought my 50", I lived in a 650 sq ft. apartment.

[bigryan222]

You might want to check out what Sears has also. Every once in a while they have great deals on TVs. One key thing to save money on a TV is to not let the salesmen talk you into expensive cables. I strongly recommend using HDMI cables if you can since it does the video and sound in one cable, but if they are selling the cable for over $10 it is too much.

It annoys me to no end when I walk through a Best Buy or an electronics department and I hear someone trying to sell gold plated cables or stupid stuff like that. Yes, it can be proven with physics that it is better, but our biology makes that impovement worthless.

[royamcr]

Good suggestion there about Sears, they have some good stuff at great prices. Forgot about them.

Cable prices suck. Don't let them sell you cables. Thats where a lot of their profit is. Don't get me wrong, they need to make money, but this is ridiculous profit, $60 cables they buy for 2-3 bucks.

Go to monoprice.com for cables.

[royamcr]

Another thing, don't let them try to get you on the power conditioner. This is popular at NFM, after the sale it is cables, then try to get you to drop $150 on a power conditioner.

[KCJoe]

When I was looking for a new TV, I found that Sears had the best prices. But, i ended up buying my new Mitsubshi DLP from Tiger Direct online. Shipping was free and there was no sales tax. I compared cost per square inch and at 73" for $1,500, it was what I felt I needed. Really wanted the 82", but that would have been another $1,000. The DLP doesn't have as bright a picture, but in my basement, with the HD Dish signal, the picture is something to behold.

[charliemaann]

I just bought a LED and it is incredible. Samsung is what I have had good luck with and don't pay extra for warranties. Per other post, you will find out within a year if there is a problem and most manufacturers will honor their product for at least a year.

[Guest041014-2]

Dollar for dollar.... Vizio

[Redwolf]

Originally Posted by Allie_Kat

I just want something that I can stick in my backseat and take home. LOL.

/me raises hand. "I'll volunteer."