Purchasing a 32" TV - LED vs. LCD, and so on...

[Sonic_Death]

In short, I've had the same Sharp TV in my bedroom for 15 years and I think it is time for an upgrade.

My original price point was $300 for a 32" TV, but after all the researching, reviews and feature comparisons, I am now completely dumbfounded as to what to get. I'm probably willing to go closer to $350 at this point if it'll be worth it.

Basically I am just interested in any opinions on modern television purchasing since I am clearly behind in this arena.

I've been mainly looking at LG, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic. A couple LG and Samsungs really caught my eye with the USB ports, as well as typical HDMI and PC hookups. I think I just need to go to the store and look a little more since I am concerned about off-angle viewing as well.

My main concern is about modern TV's crapping out after a year or two. As I said, I've had my current TV for a long time and I suspect it would last forever.. can't say that for most newer TVs. Any advice would be great though.. looking at specs will only get me so far.

[OldDog52]

Just as a point of information, LED refers to the backlighting used on LCD TVs. LED backlighting is supposedly superior to the older flourescent technology. The panel itself is LCD in either case.

[jp58]

Originally Posted by OldDog52

Just as a point of information, LED refers to the backlighting used on LCD TVs. LED backlighting is supposedly superior to the older flourescent technology. The panel itself is LCD in either case.

This is true. LED is supposedly better for off angle viewing than the corner lit fluorescent TV's and allows for more vivid blacks and colors.

We recently went tv shopping for a flatscreen. The old Big screen we had was 13 years old and from the projection days. We ended up with an LG plasma that was on sale, and we couldn't be happier with it. You aren't going to find plasma's in the smaller sizes, but some of the Toshiba's and Samsung's (LCD/LED) had better "stats" and the Toshiba's had a great picture IMO.

Best thing to do would be check them out.

[Sonic_Death]

Currently have my eye on this guy from Wal-Mart:
Walmart.com: LG 32" Class LED 720p 60Hz HDTV, (1" ultra-slim) 32LV3400: TV & Video

Seems like a great deal for $330.

Still considering a couple others as well though.

[Pilgrim]

I bought an LG last year and am very happy with it. That TV works with a USB adapter that allows it to connect with my wireless network, so I can stream Netflix directly from the TV.

Samsung has some of the best image technology out there. Their displays are excellent!

The LG you linked is only a 720p 60 HZ resolution. Don't do that - go for a 1080 set with a faster refresh rate. If you want to use a Blu-Ray DVD player with it at any time, you'll be glad you did.

I'd say - look for a TV with some Internet options, check online reviews, and don't "settle". Something I learned long ago: buy what you want the FIRST time. It's very expensive to sell a mistake and replace it with a new device. Also - buy as BIG a display as you can fit into the space. You'll be glad that you did.

As you know, there are many sales on right now. Take a few days, read online buying guides and reviews, and make an informed decision.

[Steve]

Here's my takeaway from just having bought a new TV:

They ALL look great. TV's are as cheap as they need to be, the value is there.

The refresh rate actually matters a little, keep it over 120.

The biggie if I had it to do over again: Base the decision on the remote, how it's laid out and how it functions. Seriously.

I like my new TV just fine. The remote and how it choses to do what it does just bugs me to death

[Sonic_Death]

It's actually hard to find 32" TVs with a 120Hz refresh rate.. that is, unless you're looking to spend $600 or more. I am not sure how much it matters, but most of the TVs in my price range seem to be 60.

I don't own a Netflix account or play many DVDs, so I don't care about that stuff too much.. and the TV is just for my bedroom, so I don't know how much 720 v. 1080 would matter. I won't be watching from more than 10 feet at any given moment.

The USB feature of the LG televisions was definitely nice.. it'll be cool to watch movies off of my external hard drive. But I guess I will do a little more research. Unfortunately I can't see spending over $400, so I am limited as to what specs I can realistically get.

Edit: I have to add as a sidenote, after reading 100+ various reviews on televisions, I am shocked at the number of people claiming to be using it in their bathrooms. And these are 32" TVs, not just some small model. How rich do you have to be...?

[Pilgrim]

Don't forget sites like eCost.com. Their prices are great, although their customer service sucks incredibly badly. I have bought a number of things from them, just make sure you're getting what you want because returns may take days of phone calls.

[Sav'nBass]

Don't sleep on brands like Vizio or Olevia either .. They make some pretty good TVs.. If you haver a choice between 720 & 1080 get the 1080 ...

[oldrocker]

Try for a 1080, your local cable provider - Cablevision - provides a 1080 signal for you high-def TV channels.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Sonic_Death

It's actually hard to find 32" TVs with a 120Hz refresh rate.. that is, unless you're looking to spend $600 or more. I am not sure how much it matters, but most of the TVs in my price range seem to be 60.

The only time I can tell is if I'm watching the TV guide channel listings scroll. The lines on the grid pattern will soften a little as it scrolls up then sharpen when it stops. I had the set for about a week before I noticed it and I certainly wouldn't pay a premium to get rid of it

[HEIST]

When you go to look at the TVs in person, stores (like Best Buy) will usually put on HD channels on the expensive TVs and a non HD channel on the cheaper TVs. Ask them to put on a HD channel on the cheaper TVs for a fair comparison. They won't do it too eagerly but press for it. It's a dirty trick to get allll of your money out of your wallet.

[jp58]

Originally Posted by HEIST

When you go to look at the TVs in person, stores (like Best Buy) will usually put on HD channels on the expensive TVs and a non HD channel on the cheaper TVs. Ask them to put on a HD channel on the cheaper TVs for a fair comparison. They won't do it too eagerly but press for it. It's a dirty trick to get allll of your money out of your wallet.

I actually had to ask the DIRECT TV guy to do this for us at Best Buy when we went.

[tastybasslines]

One of my business partners also sells TV's wholesale. He is the exclusive distributor of Westinghouse and Olevia TV's in the US.

He told me several things of note. The "guts" (read: panel) for almost all manufacturers are made to spec by just 2 or 3 companies. RCA for example has the same guts as LG's. It's the casing, presentation, remote and other feature that vary usually.

Also, he expects the price to come down after the 1st of the year to about $175 for a 32, and 37's around $250 and below. We did not discuss other sizes.

BTW, he sells some quantities in the 5-8000 range at a time, with about a $40 profit for the retailer on most models 37 and above.

[charlie monroe]

Originally Posted by Sonic_Death

The USB feature of the LG televisions was definitely nice.. it'll be cool to watch movies off of my external hard drive.

I'm pretty sure it is not that straight forward. You will likely need a laptop between your hdd and HDTV to watch movies. I think you will also need to use a display port, not USB.

I think that the USB port scans for still images and can display a slideshow. Some may also read audio files.

I'm going to check this out.

Edit: it appears that some TVs will support playback from USB. Certainly not all. The USB port was initially rolled out to flash new firmware. Make sure this model supports video if that is a key purchase feature.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by tastybasslines

He told me several things of note. The "guts" (read: panel) for almost all manufacturers are made to spec by just 2 or 3 companies. RCA for example has the same guts as LG's. It's the casing, presentation, remote and other feature that vary usually.

The only other thing I will add to this, while the panels may be the same, the quality control might not be (but dead pixels seem to be becoming less and less of a problem!). I completelly agree with the rest btw, used to work in a small TV/repair shop, one of the first places to sell B&O within the UK.

[JdoubleH]

On a 32" at more than a few feet away, the difference between 1080p and 720p will be negligible. If most of what you'll be watching is TV, more HDTV content is 720p than 1080p, and will look better on a native 720p screen (no scaling required).

[Strohsx]

ALWAYS LED

/thread

[Eric Perry]

Originally Posted by JdoubleH

On a 32" at more than a few feet away, the difference between 1080p and 720p will be negligible. If most of what you'll be watching is TV, more HDTV content is 720p than 1080p, and will look better on a native 720p screen (no scaling required).

I was going to post essentially this exact same thing. At 32" (which is pretty small anymore), the difference is hardly noticeable.

[Sonic_Death]

I'm banking on the differences not being too noticeable. Considering the I've had this old CRT for as long as I have, anything is a significant improvement in my book, and as stated, on a smaller tv and when viewing from the range I will be, it shouldn't matter much.

My ultimate concern is really just reliability.. I've seen a lot of newer TV's crap out with some of the cheaper brands (Westinghouse/Dynex/etc...), and even with some big brand names as well. So I don't necessarily mind buying a 32" 720p for a little over 300, and then just getting a decent warranty with it. If only they made things like they used to... I feel like my current TV will last for another 15 years, in fact, I'll probably hang on to it.

I think I will stop at PC Richard and Walmart this weekend and then probably bite the bullet and buy one.