Help me pick a new TV! (old one is busted!)

[Odesseiron]

So I was playing my PS3 today like normal, when suddenly my TV turned off. Pretty weird I thought. Never happened before. Turned it back on manually. Nothing. Unplugged everything, and let it sit a minute, plugged it back in. TV turns on. Turns off, turns on, off. etc. non-stop. I hear the AVC system (basically the box where all the connections go) making some weird noises. I unplugged it before anything could short or whatever.

My TV is about 8 years old. It's a Sharp Aquos 32" LCD. It's a really old model, and they don't make it any more. I am going to call support to see if there are any repair centers around, or what, but I don't know even if there are if it's worth it to repair. New TV's (even LED) are significantly cheaper now than when I bought this. I'm just preparing in case I need to buy one. Just to provide links, gonna be using Best Buy. Will most likely buy off Amazon or Newegg. I am open to recommendations. Just for reference, the current TV I have retailed for $3500 8 years ago. I can buy a TV 3x the size of that now for the same price. (Not that I have the room)

Looking at these as possibilities. I would prefer to have something that is LED & 3D capable. Not a requirement, but would be nice.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sharp+-+...&skuId=2380145

Simply put, Sharps are amazing. My current is an Aquos, and they pretty much laid the groundwork for it all. The Quattrons are nothing short of gorgeous. I'm pretty partial to them. I know LED TV's are nothing new, and a lot of people buy into the hype, but I've seen these TV's. They are sweet.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+...&skuId=2121725

Another alternative. Samsungs are pretty up there too. Have read they've topped Sharps. Blacks are supposed to be the best aside from plasmas.

Taking other people's suggestions as well. I don't need to go out and buy a tv tomorrow (much as I may want to)

[Tyche]

I own 2 sharp LCDs. One is a higher end Aquos. 46". It's a beast of a TV. My mom owns a brand new Samsung and tried to trade me for that sharp, which is a couple years old. I actually like her Samsung, I don't think you could go wrong with either of those. Just read a lot of reviews.

[richardd]

are you against buying refurb TVs? the best TVs i've ever owned has been refurb compared to brand new. amazon warehouse is amazing

this display is the shit. im a sucker for 120hz and samsung/sony/vizio make the best ones imo. Panasonic is too perfect and i sort of prefer my soap opera effect
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...condition=used

[Odesseiron]

I've had a few bad experiences with refurb stuff. I'm not really a fan. I know you can ship stuff back, but with something as big as a 40 or 46" TV, it'd be a hassle. If there are any problems with something, it's usually going to be right out of the box. I'm not getting an extended warranty or anything.

I know the soap opera look you're talking about. To be honest, I haven't kept up with TV tech in the past few years. I like the look when I see it in stores, and playing games on that is absolutely insane. My eyes sometimes get tired of looking at that though. Can you switch modes between the "soap opera" look and a "normal" look?

[richardd]

the 1st TV i bought was a brand new LG 5 series from amazon after doing research and seeing it for myself in action at best buy. the tv's display was horrible and ended up crapping out because of the cheap backlit panel, so i contacted amazon's customer service and they sent a UPS man to my door 2 days later with his own box to pack it and got it within that same week. i didnt want a refund, but i did want a replacement, so they shipped me another overnight delivery LG, brand new, and within 1 month, the left speakers shorted out, and the media storage firmware crashed completely even after the reformat with the software from LG's site itself.

long story short, brand new tvs can suck. especially with my luck. so they ended up refunding me completely. i was so satisfied with their hassle free customer service that i still browsed there, lol. i decided on getting a refurb, because its been inspected and you KNOW it will work. and its been like 4 months, with absolutely no problems. ive even purchased the extended warranty.

and you an always turn off the 120hz. i do for standard definition/dvd movies. but when i have something 720p or 1080p, i always turn it on. i just personally like it.

[greenhills]

We here just picked this up a few days before xmas:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+...6420&cp=1&lp=1
they had it literally hiding in the back (no display model out, had to ask about it) for a grand. looks like that sale is over though. those refurb prices look great though.
from what i saw you can't go wrong getting a samsung, sony, or lg.

[Kohan]

I've had a few bad experiences with refurb stuff. I'm not really a fan. I know you can ship stuff back, but with something as big as a 40 or 46" TV, it'd be a hassle.

With Amazon, it isn't. Larger TVs are delivered to your door by companies like CEVA, not UPS and FedEx. If there's something wrong with it, the same guys come into your house to pick it up. You never need to take it anywhere.

[Sup3rB4d]

Make sure you get a nice HDMI cable with it. Not one of those cheapo monster cables.

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Digita.../dp/B003CT2A6I

[octopus]

Make sure you get a nice HDMI cable with it. Not one of those cheapo monster cables.

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Digita.../dp/B003CT2A6I

rofl

[jinkazama]

I love my Samsung LED. Was a little clouding issues right outta the box but after a couple of hours of usage it cleared right up

[Xanthe]

So I was playing my PS3 today like normal, when suddenly my TV turned off. Pretty weird I thought. Never happened before. Turned it back on manually. Nothing. Unplugged everything, and let it sit a minute, plugged it back in. TV turns on. Turns off, turns on, off. etc. non-stop. I hear the AVC system (basically the box where all the connections go) making some weird noises. I unplugged it before anything could short or whatever.

My TV is about 8 years old. It's a Sharp Aquos 32" LCD. It's a really old model, and they don't make it any more. I am going to call support to see if there are any repair centers around, or what, but I don't know even if there are if it's worth it to repair. New TV's (even LED) are significantly cheaper now than when I bought this. I'm just preparing in case I need to buy one. Just to provide links, gonna be using Best Buy. Will most likely buy off Amazon or Newegg. I am open to recommendations. Just for reference, the current TV I have retailed for $3500 8 years ago. I can buy a TV 3x the size of that now for the same price. (Not that I have the room)

Looking at these as possibilities. I would prefer to have something that is LED & 3D capable. Not a requirement, but would be nice.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sharp+-+...&skuId=2380145

Simply put, Sharps are amazing. My current is an Aquos, and they pretty much laid the groundwork for it all. The Quattrons are nothing short of gorgeous. I'm pretty partial to them. I know LED TV's are nothing new, and a lot of people buy into the hype, but I've seen these TV's. They are sweet.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+...&skuId=2121725

Another alternative. Samsungs are pretty up there too. Have read they've topped Sharps. Blacks are supposed to be the best aside from plasmas.

Taking other people's suggestions as well. I don't need to go out and buy a tv tomorrow (much as I may want to)

Sounds like a problem I ran into with my old TV. Basically the capacitors on the power supply board are bulging/leaking and no longer hold the charge needed to power on the TV. I ended up replacing it since it was over 3 years old and out of warranty, but someone with the requisite soldering skills could fix it for $30 worth of supplies from Radio Shack.

We here just picked this up a few days before xmas:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+...6420&cp=1&lp=1
they had it literally hiding in the back (no display model out, had to ask about it) for a grand. looks like that sale is over though. those refurb prices look great though.
from what i saw you can't go wrong getting a samsung, sony, or lg.

I ended up getting the 55" version back in June to replace my defunct TV. Beautiful display and I love the ultra-thin bezel. Looks fantastic mounted on my wall. There is a little bit of flashlighting, but I haven't bothered myself to loosen any of the screws in back to alleviate it.

[Fairy-Killer]

I am a huge fan of Samsung TVs. Our previous one in the living room was a 40" Samsung (which is now going back to my apartment at college, fuck yeah!) and we upgraded to a 55" Samsung. We got it for half the normal price, too.

Samsung 55"

Funny thing is, the thing was already on sale at $2400, but the online price was $1678. They had to price match the TV but when we went to bring up the price again (I was on my phone browser) the Best Buy site started messing up. After about 30 minutes, it finally started working again and, come to realize, they ran out of the TV online so it wouldn't let us access the price anymore. We also got a free blu-ray player and two 3D glasses to boot.

I can also confirm that you can turn off the smooth/soap opera effect. Sometimes when you play games, it will distort around certain things, like subtitles with something moving behind them, but it's a pretty big difference watching any animated movies or CGI. One last thing: This TV is so good, you can tell when movie backgrounds and such are fake. I ended up laughing at so many serious movies because I couldn't believe how fake everything looked.

[octopus]

Just wanted to put this out there in case you're interested in playing games that require low input lag:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_lag

SRK forums seem to be slow, but I'll put the links here:
http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php...lag-faq.55593/
http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php...tabase.145141/

[Ares]

Get one of these bad boys.

http://www.techradar.com/news/televi...creens-1053096

[richardd]

With Amazon, it isn't. Larger TVs are delivered to your door by companies like CEVA, not UPS and FedEx. If there's something wrong with it, the same guys come into your house to pick it up. You never need to take it anywhere.

see! told you, Odesseiron :D

amazon is the best for high price appliances/electronics, imo. they have an amazing warranty/customer service program, lol.

and i will cosign on the samsung statement. Although, i will say Vizio might have started with a bad rep, but i think its probably one of the best brands out there as well. their 120/240hz engine is smooth as hell, the pricing is great, and they've really stepped it up the last couple of years with their firmware/hardware upgrades.

Make sure you get a nice HDMI cable with it. Not one of those cheapo monster cables.

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Digita.../dp/B003CT2A6I

hahahaha

[Tweek]

I have 3 Sharp Aquos LCD tv's have had them for 4-5 years and love them all, I always recommend Sharp to friends who ask as I've never had a problem. 37" was my first then I got a 52" and later another 37" for gaming. Samsung are nice but keep in mind they produce a saturated color some people dig it some people are turned off by it as it seems a little fake

[Fairy-Killer]

It's quite easy to change the saturation on a Samsung back to normal. That was actually one of the first things I did after seeing a yellow actor. It's still going to have the slight difference but it's pretty easy to get it back to normal levels.

[Odesseiron]

Sounds like a problem I ran into with my old TV. Basically the capacitors on the power supply board are bulging/leaking and no longer hold the charge needed to power on the TV. I ended up replacing it since it was over 3 years old and out of warranty, but someone with the requisite soldering skills could fix it for $30 worth of supplies from Radio Shack.

I priced some stuff around. From guesses, they said anywhere from $300-400. And driving it down to Queens, so yeah. Fuck that. I have no idea what to do inside, so just replaced it. Disposable nation go!


Thanks all for the input. Ended up going with this one on Sunday (not even 24 hours after it died) Samsung seems to be king right now.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung+...9#BVRRWidgetID
Came with 2 free pair 3D glasses and a 3D Blu Ray player.

With my laptop being 3D enabled, I just hook it up to my receiver, and boom. Fucking everything in 3D. All PC games, torrented 3D movies, etc. in glorious 46" 1080P (minus the pc games, they gotta go at 720p to get 60 refresh rate)

I actually paid about $1600, dude in the store hooked me up (friend) so not terrible. I love this thing.

Rich, the soap opera effect is strangely addicting. With certain movies, not everything.

I still have no idea on this whole lag thing, even after reading those posts.

[Odesseiron]

It's quite easy to change the saturation on a Samsung back to normal. That was actually one of the first things I did after seeing a yellow actor. It's still going to have the slight difference but it's pretty easy to get it back to normal levels.

Not to double post, but I want to keep this separate. What are your color settings on the TV (detailed and all) mine seem to be okay, but they could benefit from some fine tuning. I have blacks pretty dark, as I love solid blacks, don't have the grey option on either. Most people I see have that enabled, but I hate it.

[Xanthe]

I priced some stuff around. From guesses, they said anywhere from $300-400. And driving it down to Queens, so yeah. Fuck that. I have no idea what to do inside, so just replaced it. Disposable nation go!

Yeah, any professional repair will gouge you with labor costs. I still have my old TV sitting in the back of my house since I'm not an expert at electronics repair and I've been too lazy to list it on Craigslist yet.