I want to buy a HDTV

[Tekki]

But I don’t need anything huge. I have some money saved up but am only looking to spend less then 500$. The more money I can save, the better. The only thing I require is the TV is 27". Currently I’m using a 27" standard and for my room, it’s the perfect size (I bought it when I got Steel Battalion; 27" was perfect for it and has proven to be the perfect size for entertainment setup. I sit pretty close to it so anything bigger or smaller is just too uncomfortable for me)

Any suggestions from current HDTV owners? I’m pretty good at shopping for electronics but when it comes to TVs the number of brands out there seem limitless. I don’t want to buy a POS with a shitty picture (someone tried to pawn a 27" widescreen HDTV off me for 90$ but it looked TERRIBLE) but I don’t want to shell out more then 500$ if I don’t have to.

[Alina]

Honestly, it's going to be hard to find a good HDTV that size for that price. You want a high contrast ratio, the ability to do 720p/1080i, and a low pixel response time. $600-700 might be able to do the job, but all of the cheaper sets usually have a low contrast ratio and poor(er) picture quality.

[Epical]

Brand preference?

[Tekki]

I dont have a brand preference simply because this will be my first HDTV. The only expereince I have is with a freinds 65" but I dont need one that large.

Prices Ive seen @ stores seem to run just over how much I really want to spend so thats the reason for this post. I didn't know if anyone knew of places to look for cheaper sets, or where you can get nice ones at lower prices (warehousing site, ebay, etc)

But if all else fails, I might just continue saving to get a nicer set.

[Koga]

I would honestly save up and get a nicer setup than what your hoping for. By going cheap sometimes you really are getting what you paid for.. something cheap :/ HDTV's are not something I would personally risk that on since the cost is so high.

[Xfaustx]

from what im told 1080pi is a total and complete waste unless you plan on doing the whole blueray HD DVD thing/ new gaming consoles. HD TV's are pretty sweet though.

[Alina]

You mean 1080p or 1080i? If it's 1080p, I do agree, unless you're going for a 40"+ TV, the difference won't be that great.

And Tekki, you definitely should just go for a more expensive set. I looked all over for a "cheaper" set, but all of them just didn't have the quality I wanted. Instead of spending $500 on a cheaper set, I ended up buying a $700 Samsung. I'd rather spend $200 and be happy, than try to cut the corners and not be happy.

[SephYuyX]

Key things you want:

1080p and MAKE SURE THE TV UP SCALES PROPERLY, I cant stress that enough.

As far as what type.. if you can find a 1080p CRT, buy it, LCD, Plasma and DLP all offer good things, but often the bad out do the good. Right now Plasma is winning, LCD will take 1st again by Christmas with new technology, and DLP is the best, but as long as you buy the newest.

If you cant buy an expensive DLP, dont, the older ones suck. It all depends on how much you want to spend.

[Tekki]

How do I know if it upscales properly. I know how important that is, but what do I do? Ask the guy selling this: "Does this upscale properly?"?

[Boyiee]

1080p going to cost you the most money and you might not get full use of it for a while.

720/1080i is great and will last you a while, unless you get a hddvd/bluray player you wont be dissapointed. DLP's are fucking awesome, lightweight, not too big, cheaper, and still good quality. You are going to be dissapointed if you spend less than 700 probably, try saving more, get up around 800-1000 and you will be sooooooooo happy.

[Tekki]

I think Ill at least get a HD DVD player. I have one in the backroom at my store atm for about 100$ w/ all my discounts.

[Jafar]

It's not that 1080p isn't important, it's just that it isn't really important in the size range that you are looking for. It's also nearly impossible to find a 1080p TV in the ~27" range anyway. They generally start around 40".

The same is true about DLP/LCoS/Plasma televisions. They generally start 42-46" size range and go up from there (with some exceptions)

The two types of televisions that you'll be looking at are LCD and CRT. CRT televisions are much less common now, much bulkier, and overall on their way out. The technology itself is solid and provides arguably the most well-rounded picture of any set, but like I said, it's going to be more difficult to find a good 27" HD CRT TV, and you're probably best off looking at LCD.

LCD is the leading HDTV technology right now by a long shot. Both Plasma and DLP are catching up steadily, but as they aren't in your size or price range, there is really no reason to consider them. As some of the folks above mentioned, you definitely want to look at things like contrast ratio, pixel refresh rate, etc.. but don't just go off of what the tag says. The numbers printed can be very deceiving. Example: Contrast ratio refers to the contrast between the darkest, blackest black vs. the brightest, whitest white. There are two kinds of contrast ratios: dynamic and true. A dynamic contrast ratio is generally measured under a peak condition when the TV is as bright as it can possibly be, a setting that you will never EVER be watching. This is done just so that they can print AMAZING 10,000:1 contrast ratios or something similar. The best way to tell if a TV REALLY has a good contrast ratio is to watch the display models, and wait for something black to come on the screen. If it looks like a good, solid black, it's got a good contrast ratio. If it looks more navy blue or even grayish, then you're probably better off with something else.

Probably the most important thing to look for in the TV though, rather than contrast ratio and things like that, is the video processor. This will not be something that is printed on the tag, but something you can find out by asking any salesman worth his salt, or by having him change the channel to a non-high definition source. The video processor is going to have a huge effect on the quality of the non-HD channels (still the vast majority of channels on cable/satellite are not HD) The TV with the best video processor is going to make you happiest in the long run.

Probably your best bang for the buck in the size that you are looking at is gonna be the Samsung LN-S2641D. It's a 26" LCD with good build quality, a good video processor, a nice built-in tuner, and a solid contrast. Regular retail is $999.99 but you could probably end up getting it about $200 cheaper than that with sale prices and things like that at your local Best Buy/Circuit City/whatever(notwalmart)

I would definitely recommend saving for a bit longer and not settling for a Westinghouse or Insignia or Visio or whatever other cheap ones you find. These brands always get returned more, they have terrible picture quality on non-HD channels (and sub-par quality on the HD ones) and they are overall bad investments. If you wanted some other options besides Samsung, then JVC, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba all make pretty good LCD televisions in that size range. Sony tends to be more expensive mostly due to their name, but Sharp and JVC might net you a good deal, and with Toshiba you could get a DVD player built in to your TV.

Lots of things to think about when you're buying a TV this size, but it's worth the wait to save up and get the good stuff. Also, I don't know how you feel about credit/what your credit score is, but most major retailers offer pretty good financing deals with their in-store credit cards if you wanted to use that to help buy one. I know Best Buy lots of times has 12-months or 18-months same as cash (0% interest w/payments) and that's how I bought my TV.

Sorry for the long post, hope I helped!

[SassiAsura]

Samsung makes some really nice looking 20"ers in 720p/1080i. You will have a hard time locating 1080p at that size. I work at a TV/Electronics store at my second job and we have had none in stock yet. We do have quite a few models in the 40"+ across LCD/Plasma (I believe?)/projection. I think your best bet is finding a CRT in the smaller sizes. But that's no fun.

http://www.dumoulin.com/items/SAM/SAM_LNS2651D.jpg It's so pretty. :O

[Katalya]

For cheap but ok quality HDTV you can check out Westinghouse. I got like a 32' TV/DVD combo from Bestbuy for like $700 bucks. I am pretty satisfied. It is just for the bedroom though. I have a samsung 40' 1080p for my game room that blows it completely away but it was 3x as much. Samsung imo has the best picture but you will pay out the ass for it.

[Kazen]

I'm having trouble deciding between 2 tv's atm, does anyone have any suggestions between these two.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... Cookie=Yes

and..

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... 26+LCD+TVs

[Katalya]

I'm having trouble deciding between 2 tv's atm, does anyone have any suggestions between these two.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... Cookie=Yes

and..

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... 26+LCD+TVs

I would say the Samsung

1. 2 HDMI Inputs

2. Contrast ratio is higher Samsung(4000:1) to Sony(1300:1)

3. $100.00 Cheaper :D

[Kazen]

I'm having trouble deciding between 2 tv's atm, does anyone have any suggestions between these two.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... Cookie=Yes

and..

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product. ... 26+LCD+TVs

I would say the Samsung

1. 2 HDMI Inputs

2. Contrast ratio is higher Samsung(4000:1) to Sony(1300:1)

3. $100.00 Cheaper :D

Yeah thats the one i was thinking of going with Plus i get a 10% discount because they're affliated with a place i work with.

[Tekki]

Just an update. After shopping around for the past few days Ive found some nice CRT TVs that are exactly what Im looking for. Unfortunetly They run around 600$ and I would want the extra warranties (100$+) I think Ill just continue to save for a few more months and see how nice of a set I can get.