Looking for an affordable 26"-40" LCD

[Kilhart]

Not looking for anything too big; I'm a college student and on a budget, so I don't want to be blowing 1 grand or more on a 50"+ TV. I'm picking up a 360 soon, so I just want something that'll be decent to play on (I have a 360 VGA cable, so whether it's a PC monitor or a TV doesn't matter). I found a Westinghouse 26" for $250 (free shipping), but obviously that's a little on the small end, so something a bit bigger would be preferred. Ideally, I'm not looking to spend more than 800, but I would prefer to spend less, obviously. Any suggestions? Slickdeals tends to be giving me mostly 24"- and 50"+ LCDs.

[The Stig]

As you're in college and it sounds like you're living away from home, buy a second hand/used TV (froms newspaper ads or ebay), that way if it's stolen or broken in drunk parties it won't matter as much.

I can't recommend where to buy as we're in different countries, but the above is a suggestion.

[Outlawx]

Try this, 32" Vizio 1080p for $497 at walmart, vizio tv's are pretty good in terms of quality and picture, i have 2 myself.
Walmart.com: Vizio 32'' Class Java Series Full-HD 1080p LCD HDTV w/ Digital Tuner, VOJ32: TVs

[killerx]

Try this, 32" Vizio 1080p for $497 at walmart, vizio tv's are pretty good in terms of quality and picture, i have 2 myself.
Walmart.com: Vizio 32'' Class Java Series Full-HD 1080p LCD HDTV w/ Digital Tuner, VOJ32: TVs

Oh wow that would make a good 2ed tv/computer monitor hmmmmm, and why do i wanna say I've seen a tv that can do like split screen half tv and half computer?

[Kilhart]

Hmm... I actually found an open box Samsung 32" 720p for $500. I've heard that Samsung is the most reliable, and I don't care too much if it's open box, since it's still covered by the full warranty and all. Not sure if I should get that or look for a cheaper 32". Looking on eBay, as well.

[killerx]

Hmm... I actually found an open box Samsung 32" 720p for $500. I've heard that Samsung is the most reliable, and I don't care too much if it's open box, since it's still covered by the full warranty and all. Not sure if I should get that or look for a cheaper 32". Looking on eBay, as well.

Normally Samsung is the only thing i honestly buy all my tv's and computer monitors are great
but that one did look nice up there.

[Kilhart]

Thanks for the feedback so far, by the way, guys. My main concern though, is the 720p on the Samsung. 1080p is the maximum for 360, right? I'm wondering how much of a different in image quality I'll see between the 720p and 1080p.

[izembo]

720p is what the majority of games run in, and none will run in true 1080p on the 360 anyways, so 720p is perfectly acceptable

[Kilhart]

Hmm... I see. I'm really leaning towards the 720p Samsung. Any criticisms? Otherwise I'll go for the Vizio, since I've been seeing a lot of buzz about the price on that one.

(I had some questions about this in LS, so I feel like I should clarify. I do not plan to play FFXI on this.)

[Zragnarok]

The only situation where you'll make use of the 1080p is if you buy a PS3 ( then again, most games right now are only 720p) or if you buy a Blue Ray player...

[Amastacia]

Hold the phones, Tex.

The < 40" panels in Samsung LCDs are NOT Samsung panels. Those are farmed out, and not of the same quality. There've been any of a number of people bitching for years because they bought a 32" Samsung LCD expecting the same degree of uber that you get in the bigger panels, and didn't.

The 40" and up sizes are the ones made by Samsung, and the ones generally lauded as the best.

If you're looking hard at 32", the Vizio's are a good compromise on price and quality. They're not going to set the world on fire, but they're not going to set your wallet on fire either.

If you really are thinking about Samsung, you're going to pay a little more either way, but I'd seriously recommend only considering their 40"ers, and those are liable to be out of your price range (even the more affordable 450 and 550 series are not cheap).

Edit: Unless the lower quality smaller panel thing doesn't bother you, but if the rationale behind buying Samsung is "they're the best", you're likely to wind up spending more than you had to in order to get less than you were expecting.

[Kilhart]

Oh wow. That's interesting. Thanks for that info. Was just about to order the Samsung too. <_<

I'll probably just pick up the Vizio then, I guess.

[Amastacia]

I ended up getting a 40" Samsung in large part for that reason.

It's possible something's changed in the last 6 months, but I doubt it.

There are a number of good places to poke around if you want more info, avsforum is well-populated with crazy TV nerds, and reading stuff there helped me out a lot in my own buying process.

[Purrrfect]

Also, and I have nothing to back this up personally-just what I've read in HD threads here, under 50" screens you probably won't be able to tell the difference between 720 and 1080 unless you really scrutinize.

[Kilhart]

Well, I was about to get the Vizio like I said, but then I was able to find a 32" Sharp Aquos for $400, so I decided on that instead. Heard a lot of good things about the Aquos.