new TV advice?

[shinner]

i'm really having a hard time deciding between the samsung LCD and the samsung plasma that I saw at best buy yesterday.. the picture on the lcd was great, the picture on the plasma was awesome... just worried about the video game burn in that i hear about.

thats the only thing keeping me from buying the plasma.

I've read posts by a lot of plasma owners who play games on them and don't seem to suffer any lasting problems. I just won't let my kids play games on mine....because they'll play all day if they're off from school. I paid too much for my TV to turn it into a video game display.

[uncpanther]

They say the 120hz gives pictures an almost 3-D effect, especially Blue-rays. Some people like some dislike. Everyone I have talked to that has one says they like it. Is it worth the extra $300.00-$500.00, probably not. LCD stick with Samsung, Sony or Toshiba, plasmas I would go with Pioneer or Panasonic. If your a bargain shopper Vizio is worth a look, but your not going to get the same picture as a Samsung or Sony. If your not picky about small details and just want a decent picture then I would give it a shot.

[hmsmike]

Very Happy with my 46" Sharp LCD purchase -- picture is really clear and from everything I read about 120hz is it doesn't matter really until you move up to 52" & bigger.

[Niner National]

Sharps are nice, you'll be very happy with it. Where did you get it?

[hmsmike]

Sharps are nice, you'll be very happy with it. Where did you get it?

HH Gregg for $1047!!

Heck when I walked in it was already on sale at $1399, They hooked me up on the price after I asked if that was the best we could do on it?!

[Niner National]

yeah that's the nice thing about HHGregg. I wish we had the opportunity at sears to negotiate prices. Our prices are set in stone though unless its a floor model. HHGregg is the only major retailer that allows that.

[cptx]

ok.. so i picked out the samsung 550 at best buy today. i looked at a 580, but it was around $250 more for 5,000.1 more contrast ratio and an extra hdmi port. seemed a little silly to pay that much extra for that.

the thing i'm wondering about is that they wanted to charge me $200 to send someone out to "calibrate" the tv. from a little web research, this seems like something that i could do myself. am i wrong, or is this something that needs special equipment to do? it doesn't seem to be that difficult.

[Niner National]

there are secret menus in the televisions that are for tech support. You can probably find out how to get to them online somewhere. You can adjust countless more things from those menus than you can from the standard user menu, but if you don't know what you are doing, you may mess up your picture. You could do it yourself, but I wouldn't recommend it. I also wouldn't recommend hiring someone else to do it because while it will make your tv look a little better, its not worth 200 dollars.

[shinner]

ok.. so i picked out the samsung 550 at best buy today. i looked at a 580, but it was around $250 more for 5,000.1 more contrast ratio and an extra hdmi port. seemed a little silly to pay that much extra for that.

the thing i'm wondering about is that they wanted to charge me $200 to send someone out to "calibrate" the tv. from a little web research, this seems like something that i could do myself. am i wrong, or is this something that needs special equipment to do? it doesn't seem to be that difficult.

Generally not necessary....find out if the people that do it are even ISF certified. My bet is that it's some BB monkey. I wouldn't waste my money. Without getting into the service menu adjustments (hidden from the consumer) you can do a pretty damn good job with one of the calibration DVDs (Avia or Digital Video Essentials). If you're really picky and you want to drop the cash, find a local ISF tech and pay him.

[Jgigs]

ok.. so i picked out the samsung 550 at best buy today. i looked at a 580, but it was around $250 more for 5,000.1 more contrast ratio and an extra hdmi port. seemed a little silly to pay that much extra for that.

the thing i'm wondering about is that they wanted to charge me $200 to send someone out to "calibrate" the tv. from a little web research, this seems like something that i could do myself. am i wrong, or is this something that needs special equipment to do? it doesn't seem to be that difficult.

Be careful with the 550 and below series. Take a look at the back of the panel there will be a S, C or an A either all by itself or on the end of the part number.

S=made by samsung at samsung factory

A=made by auo for samsung -outsourced

C= Made by chi-me for samsung - outsourced

People have noticed that the picture quality on the A and C models are not nearly as good as the S models.

If it's not an S model, I'd take it back and get one that is. If the picture quality is a bad as some have stated, who know how the overall build quality and the longevity of the sets are which are C or A models.

From what I read, S is by far the best, then A and C is the worst.

It also appears that their upper models (600, 700, 800 and 900) TVs are all made by samsung so they are all S panels. 500 and below can be anyone of the 3.

[uncpanther]

Be careful with the 550 and below series. Take a look at the back of the panel there will be a S, C or an A either all by itself or on the end of the part number.

S=made by samsung at samsung factory

A=made by auo for samsung -outsourced

C= Made by chi-me for samsung - outsourced

People have noticed that the picture quality on the A and C models are not nearly as good as the S models.

If it's not an S model, I'd take it back and get one that is. If the picture quality is a bad as some have stated, who know how the overall build quality and the longevity of the sets are which are C or A models.

From what I read, S is by far the best, then A and C is the worst.

It also appears that their upper models (600, 700, 800 and 900) TVs are all made by samsung so they are all S panels. 500 and below can be anyone of the 3.

Wow, I wasn't aware of that. I have been looking at the 550, they have it for 1090 on Amazon w/free shipping. I guess it would be a crap-shoot buying one online. I will probably hold out until April, I am betting prices should start falling by then and I can get a 650 for the same price as a 550 now.

[cptx]

my "A (made in mexico)" had a pretty nice picture to it. it looks better than the show model, for sure.

i got the extended warranty, so I guess I will see what happens. I couldnt find any bad reviews on this model, except for people griping about the speakers. they do kinda suck ass, but mines hooked to an external amp so that's not really an issue to me.

thanks for the heads up, though. any links to the issues that you read would be appreciated. it'd be a big pain in the ass to take this sucker back at this point, methinks.

[Ga Cat Fan]

HH Gregg had a big sale Friday and Saturday, so yesterday we went in and did some more research on the LG (LG 70 47-inch) I mentioned earlier in this thread. It was on sale from $1699.99 down to $1439.99. I was thinking about ordering it online, but most places I had looked were out of stock, or the price was a bit over my range. But, I could have got a better price on extended warranties online. Don't know how well they would have honored them, though. The warranties at HH Gregg are overpriced, IMO. ($349.99 for a 3-yr, and $449.99 for a 5-yr.) The saleswoman told me she would sell me the TV for $1250, so I bit the bait and got the TV and the 3-yr warranty. I didn't bring the TV home because it was raining all day and we were in the car. I hadn't planned on bringing anything home anyway. We are going back and pick it up early next week. I'm very excited.

Does anyone know what the best HDMI cable is that I should get? There are many different brands and performance ratings, and prices. I would only have a home theatre setup, but I'm not into gaming. I currently have a DVD player and a VHS. I want to get a DVD recorder and a nice sound system, but I guess I am spent out for now.

[shinner]

Does anyone know what the best HDMI cable is that I should get? There are many different brands and performance ratings, and prices.

Any is fine...it's a digital signal, that is to say transferring sound and picture using bits, not an analog signal consisting of frequencies. It really shouldn't be that susceptible to noise. Don't fall for the Monster Cable hype. If you get a brand name at Walmart like Philips, you'll be fine.