Recommendation for 40" - 42" TV

[66SuperSport]

I have been looking at new TVs, mostly the new LED units as they seem to be a little better in bright rooms and supposedly last longer. Can anyone give me a little help here or post up what they have, like, and/or dislike?

Thanks

[Bryce]

Vizio's are the best buy in my opinion. I think the are made by sony.

[dropit69]

i have a samsung 55" led...love it but wasnt cheap..just got my perents a 50 Panasonic plasma for 600..very nice tv for the money..its all up to what you want and like really..only about 3 people that actually make tvs..they are just all rebranded..And just got a 32" dynex witch is a best but brand made by LG..for 250 bucks..great tv for the money..

[hifi875]

depends on environment tv is going to be in:

direct light

gaming or no gaming

viewing angle of tv. are you sitting right in front or are there going to be seats that are off angle.

sony does not make vizio panels. they source some from lg.

[68sixspeed]

After having an expensive tv break and the trouble with getting anything fixed off warranty, I'm of a new theory, but the cheapest one with a decent picture and throw it away if it breaks in 4 years. Case in point, just ordered a decent for the money LG off amazon, tick under $500 w/shipping, 42", only 60hz, but the same set was going for a couple hundred more in the local stores.

[dontlifttoshift]

The best 42" tv is a 52"....or a 60". ;-)

we have a Sony Bravia that that we very happy with. This time of year the sun shines right on it from about 2:00 on and the picture is still clear and bright

[dhutton]

I was very happy with our 43 inch LCD Samsung until a couple of weeks ago when it developed several black horizontal lines. Its only four years old and out of warranty. I won't be buying Samsung again and will likely not spend that amount of money again.

[GaRys69]

The best 42" tv is a 52"....or a 60". ;-)

we have a Sony Bravia that that we very happy with. This time of year the sun shines right on it from about 2:00 on and the picture is still clear and bright

2x Just purchased a 52" Sony LED, it is incredible.

[brans72]

No LED here but my Vizio has been GREAT for the $ I paid. Brandon

[jocko124]

Just bought a Panasonic Viera S2--very nice picture. I went with a plasma.

[Wicked]

I recently bought a 42" Vizio (240Hz, 1080i) for $648 at wal-mart.
Of all the tv's there the Vizio looked the best. I also know a few others
that have the same tv.

[hifi875]

best for the money is a 42inch panasonic c2 series. $450ish. and its a plasma, not lcd.

[mc84_zz4]

I have to give thumbs up to Samsung, my son bought a 40" LCD 1080P (@60hz) a few years back, then last year I finally replaced the old tubes at home with a 42" Samsung 1080P, and a 55" 1080P both at 120Hz, they are pretty incredible when you plug in a true HD source.
I was comparing 120 Hz vs 240 Hz and at the time could not see any diff, even when watching football closeups and lots of movement in HD. The 240 Hz should be much more defined and no blurr.
Buy whatever your budget allows.
The LED-LCD are now lower in price, about 200-300 more depending on size.
I have friends that like also Panasonic, Vizio, which are the darlings of pricing at CostCo.
Just around Superbowl time, not 60 days away, you should see some cut-throut TV price wars. :twothumbs:

[CamaroAJ]

i am getting this for the bedroom http://www.walmart.com/ip/ST42DMSB/15541795#rr

no matter what you buy do not get anything plasma or 60Hz get at least 120Hz and LCD

[Firckn]

Just had my 61' Samsung DLP repaired to the tune of $400.00! This after I spent $200.00 on it about 4 months ago. I ask the TV repairman what was the best new TV? he said "Buy the cheapest available and Get The Warranty"!

[ArtosDracon]

I've had my 46" Samsung 120hz LCD since just a few weeks after they came out with the 120hz and it's been GREAT, I absolutely love it. I loved it before I had anything true HD, I love it even more now that I do. I did get the extended warranty though, and I would HIGHLY reccomend them.

I've seen the Vizio before and the image quality is REALLY surprising for the price. I don't know what actual pannels they use, but they're not Sony, the Sony's suck lately, the last two generations have not been up to par on image quality IMHO. If I were buying one today, it would either be a Samsung or Vizio LED-LCD.

[wmhjr]

If you compare equal models between manufacturers, a lot of the sets are very close in terms of display performance. IIW, don't compare a high end model from one manufacturer to an entry level of another. That being said, I have 2. A Toshiba DLP and an LG LCD. I asked a number of repair folks what seems to hold up best and who actually SUPPORTS their warranty the best.

I was told Panasonic and LG are the best for reliability and service.
Samsung was relatively good.
Surprisingly, Sony was universally considered the most difficult, in that they failed more frequently and were horrible to get repaired or replaced (obviously other than some sort of "in store exchange warranty". I was a little surprised, as I was all ready to buy a Sony. However, univerally every tech I spoke with warned me about parts not being available, service issues, etc.

I always used to be a tech snob and really try to get stuff with the best possible specs, but I now agree with 68sixspeed. My LG is more than good enough, has a great reputation for warranty and was very reasonably priced.

[zbadone]

If you need a wall mount for you TV, check out MONOPRICE.com. I got an awesome swivel mount for my 47" Vizio LED/LCD from Costco. Love the TV and the mount. The mount is good for 165lbs and was better then half the price of others

[showa]

I recommend nothing less than 1080P 120ghz....... With a hdmi hook up and hd programs or blue ray dvd you'll be blown away with the picture....Have had people say it bothers thier eyes because it's so unexpected in clarity.....Looks like your there.....
I have gone with vizio brand with good luck and decent price....
The difference between 60ghz and 120ghz is easy to see... I agree with Dave, can't really see difference between 120ghz and 240ghz.....

[joejaze]

Until recently I owned a Home Automation and Technology Integration company. I have a good amount of experience installing and setting up televisions and projectors.

The reality is that the average consumer really has no idea what a good picture looks like. They usually go to a store like Best Buy and purchase the brightest and most colorful TV they can afford. Not realizing that the manufacturers factory set their units to "pop" and looking best in the lighting of retail stores. The consumer takes the TV home, plugs it in and lives with whatever it is they see on the screen.

I have read a couple of people in this post bashing Plasma TVs. Its a fact that the newer Plasmas will last just as long as LCDs. Without getting too into too much detail the choice between Plasma and LCD should depend on the lighting and setup of your room. Some rooms will be better suited for Plasma and others LCD. In my situation I have LCDs in all of my bedrooms where there is a lot of light and a direct line of site to the TV. I have a Plasma in my living room where the viewing angle is large and the light from windows is directed away from the TV wall. My choice for watching movies and sports is a standalone projector. I have a Panasonic AE4000 LCD projector setup in my family room with a 100" grey viewing screen.

I would suggest going to Consumer Reports, get to know all of the technologies and figure out which one is best for your room and setting. Then get yourself a good TV calibration kit or hire a professional to come set it up for you. Bottom line is don't just buy the TV that looks the best on the wall at the store. Like someone who tunes cars to run at their optimal performance TVs and projectors can be tweaked in the same manner. You, or a professional with the right tools can calibrate your set to look its best in your specific environment.

[Tony_SS]

I'm happy with my Vizio.. we get a lot of 'clicks' on our HD channels (which is probably our service provider?) but other than that it was great for the price.

[1red68]

i pick up a Hannspree 42" LCD 1080p, 120 ghz with a 4.5 sec responce time at wallmart.com for $449. i'm only on week 3,but so far so good... it was the best TV i could find for under 500$.
just thought you may like to check it out..

[jocko124]

Joejaze,

do you have a recommendation for a good calibration kit? I just got a Panasonic plasma.

[joejaze]

Joejaze,

do you have a recommendation for a good calibration kit? I just got a Panasonic plasma.

I recommend Digital Video Essentials by Joe Kane Productions. Don't spring for the Professional Edition as it is much more complicated to use. The regular edition will do you just fine. If you have a Blu-ray player go for the Blu-ray edition. It comes with both video and audio calibration tools and its one of the only discs that comes with a tri-color optical filter. You can probably get it on Ebay or Amazon for less than $20. Well worth it in my opinion.

[jocko124]

I recommend Digital Video Essentials by Joe Kane Productions. Don't spring for the Professional Edition as it is much more complicated to use. The regular edition will do you just fine. If you have a Blu-ray player go for the Blu-ray edition. It comes with both video and audio calibration tools and its one of the only discs that comes with a tri-color optical filter. You can probably get it on Ebay or Amazon for less than $20. Well worth it in my opinion.

Thank you Sir!

[hifi875]

I am also in the home/car audio business and have been for over 20 years and it's amazing how brainwashed poeple are about lcd vs plasma tv. there is so much misinformation out there and it usually gets started by a big box sales person who has no understanding of either technology. like
joejaze said get a consumer reports or something that explains each technology and you will understand.

[hifi875]

generally speaking, a plasma tv will have a better picture and will cost less than a comparable lcd/led panel. the flesh tones will be more accurate, the color more accurate, better off-axis viewing and no motion blur. I have to say that some of the new led panels are catching up. we sell lg infinia and they look real nice w/good black levels, but the panasonic vt25 series plasma is reguarded as the top flat panel. they use alot of the kuro technology they bought from pioneer(who made the best plasma period)

[66SuperSport]

Thanks for all of the great information here. I had not even considered looking at plasma TVs, but may give them a shot. This is going to be for our bedroom which is fairly bright during the day, but not too bad. Probably going to get the most use early in the day and later in the evening anyway. From what I've seen here the life expectancy of a plasma seems to have gotten much better as well. Not sure if this was really an issue when they came out or just bad info.
Considering life expectancy of any of these units would they be rated on hours in use or just age in general? I've had awesome experiences with Sony tube sets in the past. Some have lasted well past 25 years with no issues. It seems like all of these new LCD/LED TVs have quite a few service problems, alot more than the older sets. Not sure if a better picture is worth all of the potential problems. I have a 27" Sony that looks fine, just wanted to get a larger HD set.
The search continues......................................... .................................................. ....................

[CamaroAJ]

go look at plasma and LCD side by side and you won't want a plasma.

[cmraman]

I have a Sony as well, it's a 32, but I have always preferred Sony for their overall quality and picture. I figure, it's good enough for the film and TV industry, should be fine for me. HA!

[hifi875]

to each his own. its all dependent on your particular environment and use. i personally prefer a accurate picture, not a overly bright picture that compromises everything. but if the tv is in a room with alot of direct light then a lcd with a matte finish screen(no glare) could possibly work better. problem is alot of the lcd panels now have a reflective panel to make them look more expensive and then you will have glare just like a plasma could have. the direct light will wash out the picture on a lcd though.

[69Pony]

Best TV I've ever owned. I've had Sony, Mitsubishi and Toshiba but this Samsung is by far the nicest. It comes in 32, 40, 46 and 55". I have the 55". It is so clear it's almost 3D like. IMO - LED is the way to go.... Plasma sucks....

http://www.samsung.com/us/video/tvs/UN55C6500VFXZA

[hifi875]

like they say opinions are like #$% everyone has one.

[joejaze]

like they say opinions are like #$% everyone has one.

I agree totally. However, facts are facts. And the folks bashing Plasmas should check their facts.

[Restomod]

Just bought on sale a 40" 1080 120hz Samsung at bestbuy........LOVE it!!!

[hifi875]

If you look at where we are today in comparison w/just 10 years ago, it is amazing at how much tv, be it plasma/lcd/led that you can get for riduculous money. both technologies offer amazing picture quality. It is just that they are not equal but they are closer today than ever. You really cant go wrong with either one.

[66SuperSport]

Just checked out a 42" Panasonic Viera plasma TV. This is the TCP42U2 model. This store had a very knowledgable sales staff and also had a lot of sets on their floor to compare plasma/LCD/LED. If money was no object I would probably get a LED set, but for the money the plasma seems the way to go. $598.00 sounded pretty good to me. I don't think I can go too wrong with this one. The picture is great and the plasmas have awesome refresh rates for watching sports. May go back and pick one up this weekend.
Thanks for all of the information and opinions.