School Me on LCD TV's

[J-MoNeY]

Do any of you have one?

I've just been reading about which one is going to be best and I guess that Dell's LCD's are crap. I'm just wondering what brand I should be looking at and what other features to look at?

[206er]

kinda OT but just get a projector. I watch mine straight on the wall. a lot cheaper than an LCD, way bigger, and decent enough quality picture.

[J-MoNeY]

kinda OT but just get a projector. I watch mine straight on the wall. a lot cheaper than an LCD, way bigger, and decent enough quality picture.

I doubt I'll get the picture I want.

[Splinter]

kinda OT but just get a projector. I watch mine straight on the wall. a lot cheaper than an LCD, way bigger, and decent enough quality picture.

Unless you want to do something really crazy, like watch TV during the day or not pay $500 for new bulbs every 6 months.

[legacy92ej22t]

I sell LCD tvs and know a hell of a lot about them. I have some questions though. What all are you going to hook up to the LCDTV to display and what size are you looking to get?

[J-MoNeY]

I sell LCD tvs and know a hell of a lot about them. I have some questions though. What all are you going to hook up to the LCDTV to display and what size are you looking to get?

Well, I'm looking for a 32" one. I mainly use it for watching TV and watching DVD's. I use my PS2 for playing games sometimes and use it to play my DVD's. That's all I will hook it up to.

I've been looking at so many TV's today. Soyo, Syntax, Dell. I'm just not sure who's going to be the most reliable and the best quality. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg either. I want it for a grandish.

I'd really like to have the speakers on the side, have it black with a touch of silver, and have it HD or HD ready. I'm not sure what the advantages of that are.

[206er]

kinda OT but just get a projector. I watch mine straight on the wall. a lot cheaper than an LCD, way bigger, and decent enough quality picture.

Unless you want to do something really crazy, like watch TV during the day or not pay $500 for new bulbs every 6 months.

curtains?
the bulbs are spendy but not $500 spendy.

[legacy92ej22t]

I sell LCD tvs and know a hell of a lot about them. I have some questions though. What all are you going to hook up to the LCDTV to display and what size are you looking to get?

Well, I'm looking for a 32" one. I mainly use it for watching TV and watching DVD's. I use my PS2 for playing games sometimes and use it to play my DVD's. That's all I will hook it up to.

Are you on basic cable, digital cable, digital hd cable, basic sat or hd sat?

Is your PS2 the newer thin model or the old full size model?

I don't want to spend an arm and a leg either. I want it for a grandish.

You're going to be hard pressed to get a quality 32" unit for around a grand.

I'd really like to have the speakers on the side, have it black with a touch of silver, and have it HD or HD ready. I'm not sure what the advantages of that are.

Most of this years units have the speakers along the bottom but there are quite a few that are two tone black and silver.

Here's a break down.

1. You want to get a unit with at least 1 HDMI input but most of this years quality units have 2.

2. You also want 2 component inputs (Y-Pb-Pr, RBG). 1 might be ok but only if you have dual HDMI.

3 You also want at least 1 S-video and 1 composite video. Seperate inputs, not one that has both S and Composite.

The reason for the HDMI is that that is your pure digital input and is also the only connection that the PS3 and Blu-ray are going to use. It's also the preferred connection for HDTV. That's why dual HDMI inputs can be so good.

For the PS2. The thin unit supports progressive scan but the full size unit does not. If you have the full size unit then you're going to want to drop the coin on a progressive scan DVD player (they start cheap, like $25). Either way on the PS2 you're going to need to get the Component video hookup wires. The sony made wire set is $25 but the Monster set (preferred) run $59.99. If you have the full size unit and end up getting a progressive scan dvd player then you will also need Component video cables for that too. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AND NOT SOMETHING TO GET CHEAP ABOUT!

Run the S-video if you're on digi-CATV or basic sat. Again, this is very important and not something to get cheap about either. Do not run either of these sources on RF (channel 3-4) or on composite.

If you're on basic CATV then unfortunately there isn't much you can do, except buy a quality unit with good upconversion.

If you are going to game a lot with this unit then make sure to check the refresh rate on the unit (especially if doing 1st person shooters). The new LG 32" has an 8ms refresh rate which is awesome for a LCDTV. The new Samsungs are also very impressive and IIRC also have a 8ms refresh rate or maybe it was 12ms (still pretty good). You don't want a unit with more then a 14ms RR if your'e gaming. It will dissapoint you.

You can get this Samsung for around $1500. Very good all around performance. It also has the speakers on the side and is black and silver two tone! Here's a link:

http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/146 ... on.do#tabs

If you can afford it, I really like this Samsung but it usually runs around $1800.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung- ... tDetail.do

This is the LG unit I was referring to. It runs in the $1700 range. It doesn't have the contrast of the Samsungs but they're frickin' sweet for gaming.

http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/121 ... on.do#tabs

The 32" Panasonic is sweet too and runs around $1600. Amazing picture on SDTV-EDTV-HDTV but not quite as good for gaming.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Panasoni ... tDetail.do

The Sharps are nice but the new ones have a lot of dot crawl and look busy (pixely).

If you just want something cheap, get the Polariod. It's $1000 and looks pretty damn good on EDTV and HDTV signals but looks like a dirty asshole on SDTV.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Polaroid ... tDetail.do

I'm actually a huge Hitachi nut but they haven't released their new LCD's yet and their old ones are a little out of date. They have the best upconversion for SDTV though with their Virtual HD and V-HD II processors.

If I was going to get a 32" right now and money was an issue, I'd get the first Samsung that I listed.

Hope this was helpfull.

[J-MoNeY]

It totally was a help, thanks! A little over my head with all the tech talk, but I get the basics of it. I'm seriously considering a Dell, just because I've already been financed with them and I like their customer support. What do you know about Dell LCDS?

[legacy92ej22t]

I really don't know much about Dell units because I don't sell them but I will say this. From what I've seen and heard, they don't rate very well at all. I've heard very, VERY bad things about Dell LCDs. High failure rate and poor customer service. I'd research a bit before buying from them.