Have ~2K for new TV.. Any suggestions?

[IamDavid]

New Post:
I ended up going with the Samsung FPT5084 50.. I went to probably every site and B&M store for reveiws and eyes on experience. I ended up ordering it from Amazon for under 2K. I highly recommend anyone in the Market to go with this TV. It seems perfect for our day to day TV watching, movies and PC usage.
Thanks to all of you for the suggestions...


TV




op:I have around 2K for a T.V. and am lost. I know what the differences are but I have no idea where to start.. Plasma,Lcd, DLP and so on.. The TV will be for my front foom and I will have a HTPC connected to it. Any idea's on which TV o go for?

Thanks

 

[Shawn]

How big do you want to go? I would avoid DLP if possible.

 

[Shawn]

Some options I would consider:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-...qid=1200682349&sr=1-12
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-...&qid=1200682349&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-...&qid=1200682349&sr=1-5
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-...qid=1200682349&sr=1-10
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Bra...qid=1200682349&sr=1-23

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Will the HTPC be used for displaying text, or just games / movies for the most part?

This thread might be worth a look. The Pioneer 5080 is in your pricerange.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2143348&enterthread=y

 

[IamDavid]

Thanks for the quick response Shawn... Preferably 50+.

Why do you say I should avoid DLP? I recently checked out the Mitsubishi 65" @ Best Buy and was impresses at the color. It was only ~1800.. It acually looked better (crisper picture) than most of the Plasma TV's..

The TV will be used for TV/DVR most of the time. Gaming and Movies all the other time.. Rarely used for text, accept for maybe Wii online or something.

 

[Shawn]

Well it is a personal preference but I just do not like projection TVs. Unless you are sitting directly in front in a dark room they look terrible. I hate how you can't see them looking from even a small angle. However they are still the only solution if you want to go big and not spend too much. My dad has the 46" Samsung LCD and it looks beautiful. Plasma is still a tad better than LCD, but LCDs have really advanced a lot in the last year or two. Black levels are much better now.

Also, if you don't care too much about 1080p, you can get a plasma for pretty cheap. Best Buy had a Hitachi 50" 720p Plasma for $999 a few months back.

If you really want a DLP you could give these a look:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-...&qid=1200684083&sr=1-8
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-...&qid=1200684083&sr=1-7
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-...qid=1200683918&sr=1-92

The first 2 use LED so supposedly you never need to change the bulb. I don't know much about them though and haven't seen them in person, but they have good reviews.

 

[spacejamz]

if you have access to Costco or Sams, I would check them out as they usually include matching stands (about $300-$400) in their price...

costco has a 65" Mitsubishi (WDC657) for $1699 w/ stand (I got one last week - this thing rocks!!)

61" Panasonic for $1449, a 67" Samsung for $2399 and 70" JVC for $2599...all are RPTV 1080p DLP sets with matching stand and a 90 day no questions asked return policy. They also extend the manufacturer's warranty to two years (usually one year)...

Sams has a 60" 1080 RPTV black SXRD for $1599 w/ stand....

I would recommend a LCD or Plasma though if getting something smaller than 52" is not an issue. pretty much all DLP makers have issues with bulbs and light engines (not sure what percentage it would be at though)...Toshiba, Sony and Hitachi (maybe Samsung) are all going to discontinue making RPTV DLP tv's in the very very near future...

anything bigger than 52" in LCD or plasma will be pretty pricey...

pic my new tv

I added some black foam board to the back of the stand last weekend so it looks alot better...

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: spacejamz
if you have access to Costco or Sams, I would check them out as they usually include matching stands (about $300-$400) in their price...

costco has a 65" Mitsubishi (WDC657) for $1699 w/ stand (I got one last week - this thing rocks!!)

61" Panasonic for $1449, a 67" Samsung for $2399 and 70" JVC for $2599...all are RPTV 1080p DLP sets with matching stand and a 90 day no questions asked return policy. They also extend the manufacturer's warranty to two years (usually one year)...

Sams has a 60" 1080 RPTV black SXRD for $1599 w/ stand....

I would recommend a LCD or Plasma though if getting something smaller than 52" is not an issue. pretty much all DLP makers have issues with bulbs and light engines (not sure what percentage it would be at though)...Toshiba, Sony and Hitachi (maybe Samsung) are all going to discontinue making RPTV DLP tv's in the very very near future...

anything bigger than 52" in LCD or plasma will be pretty pricey...

pic my new tv

I added some black foam board to the back of the stand last weekend so it looks alot better...

Have you tried this yet?

https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/sp...n/web/Random/HM116.jpg
(picture from 9/30/06 11:44 PM)

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: spacejamz
if you have access to Costco or Sams, I would check them out as they usually include matching stands (about $300-$400) in their price...

costco has a 65" Mitsubishi (WDC657) for $1699 w/ stand (I got one last week - this thing rocks!!)

61" Panasonic for $1449, a 67" Samsung for $2399 and 70" JVC for $2599...all are RPTV 1080p DLP sets with matching stand and a 90 day no questions asked return policy. They also extend the manufacturer's warranty to two years (usually one year)...

Sams has a 60" 1080 RPTV black SXRD for $1599 w/ stand....

I would recommend a LCD or Plasma though if getting something smaller than 52" is not an issue. pretty much all DLP makers have issues with bulbs and light engines (not sure what percentage it would be at though)...Toshiba, Sony and Hitachi (maybe Samsung) are all going to discontinue making RPTV DLP tv's in the very very near future...

anything bigger than 52" in LCD or plasma will be pretty pricey...

pic my new tv

I added some black foam board to the back of the stand last weekend so it looks alot better...

Have you tried this yet?

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/sp...n/web/Random/HM116.jpg"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughlin/web/Random/HM116.jpg">https://mywebspace.wisc..........ndom/HM116.jpg</a></a>
(picture from 9/30/06 11:44 PM)

:Q:Q:Q

I just brought that TV back to costco last week...

edit: i just saw your speaker change...my wife won't go for that...I tried...it sounds pretty good the way it is though...I should trying messing around with moving them when she is at work though to see how much the sound improves...

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: spacejamz

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: spacejamz
if you have access to Costco or Sams, I would check them out as they usually include matching stands (about $300-$400) in their price...

costco has a 65" Mitsubishi (WDC657) for $1699 w/ stand (I got one last week - this thing rocks!!)

61" Panasonic for $1449, a 67" Samsung for $2399 and 70" JVC for $2599...all are RPTV 1080p DLP sets with matching stand and a 90 day no questions asked return policy. They also extend the manufacturer's warranty to two years (usually one year)...

Sams has a 60" 1080 RPTV black SXRD for $1599 w/ stand....

I would recommend a LCD or Plasma though if getting something smaller than 52" is not an issue. pretty much all DLP makers have issues with bulbs and light engines (not sure what percentage it would be at though)...Toshiba, Sony and Hitachi (maybe Samsung) are all going to discontinue making RPTV DLP tv's in the very very near future...

anything bigger than 52" in LCD or plasma will be pretty pricey...

pic my new tv

I added some black foam board to the back of the stand last weekend so it looks alot better...

Have you tried this yet?

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://mywebspace.wisc.edu......b/Random/HM116.jpg"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/sp...n/web/Random/HM116.jpg"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughlin/web/Random/HM116.jpg">https://mywebspace.wi............/HM116.jpg</a></a></a>
(picture from 9/30/06 11:44 PM)

:Q:Q:Q

I just brought that TV back to costco last week...

edit: i just saw your speaker change...my wife won't go for that...I tried...it sounds pretty good the way it is though...I should trying messing around with moving them when she is at work though to see how much the sound improves...

Might be worth a shot.

Just looking at the picture it seems like the speakers are all very close together.

 

[jterrell]

get a projector

you can get a mitsu hc4900 with screen for far less than 2k total and have a 120"+ 1080P screen

 

[Jumpem]

61" Samsung DLP for that price.

 

[randym431]

Costco had an led dlp with matching stand and 2yr warranty and 5yr led warranty for around $1800. 60 or 61 inch I think. Shopping around is half the fun...

 

[Auric]

Rear projection is always aboot size over quality. Plasma is the reverse and LCD inbetwixt.

 

[RBlount]

I would check out the Sony SXRD series (especially the A3000). Highly rated by both CNET and Home Theater Magazine. You can easily get a 60" for less than $2K. I just picked up a 55" and love it.

Do let the sexyness of a flat panel full you. Unless you are trying to watch the TV with the sun shining DIRECTLY in to TV, you will not have a problem watching this TV in the sunlight.

 

[IamDavid]

Thanks everyone