Help me find a Great Television for under $2,000

Your pal needs to learn more about tv technology.
Plasma is by no means "old tech".

Go to www.avsforum.com and look in their forums. This question has been asked and answered a billion times there. Also, no one can really tell you what the best looking tv is - you need to go look at the tv and play with its color/hue/contrast adjustments. A tv is something I'm not going to buy without viewing it first.

 

HD rocks - Check out Bikini bombshells on one of the HD channels.

You're a guy and when guys get to watch sports on HD, guys win.

I wanted a TV that supported HD, but I didn't want to spend a fortune. I've had my Sony 57" for almost 2 years and love it. I bought a projection, because I think there was something wrong with plasma tv's at the time.

I love Sony. I still have my 32" Sony that I bought back in 1990.

That sucker is hea-vy.

Good luck

 

My suggestion...go with the new Sony KDF-E42A10 42'' for $1900 or the 50'' for $2300. Its a rear projection LCD tv. One reason I went with this technology over DLP is that I've heard about lip sync issues and a rainbow effect on the screen with DLP technology. I got the 50'' hooked up last weekend and love it. HD is the greatest thing ever for a sports fan. I did about 2 months of research and can pretty much say that this was the best TV for price. AVS forum has a huge forum topic on these TV's so if you have some time take a look. One thing you might consider is the size of the room...if you going to be any further than 9 feet from the TV go with the 50'' Let me know if you have any questions.

I price matched Sam's Club price of $2399 with a free stand at Circuit City and got no interest till 2008

Sony KDF-E42A10

 

HD Rocks...I have an 50" Toshiba projection and a 20" LCD for my room and the picture is incredible...Now, mine are old as they don't have HDMI, DVI, etc. connections, but neither does my receiver...Anywho, I always see Circuit City having a special going on..When I get in the market again, I want a DLP, but I also want an bigger LCD for my bedroom...

 

I have a Sony 51 inch HDTV, but I don't have it hooked up to an HD receiver. I really need to do this!

 

I agree about the size. As long as the picture is clear, go bigger.

With hindsight, I can see that would have preferred to have a set with better vertical viewing angle and bigger than 42 inches.

However, 2 years ago $1500 with stand for a open box 42" HD rear projection was too sweet to pass up.

Anyway, if a couple hundred dollars will buy you a significant upgrade in size or quality, go for it. You are going to be stuck with your choice for a long time.

 

Not cheap...in fact, street price is closer to 3K than 2K, but this thing is getting great reviews, and it is only 7" deep.

http://www.infocushome.com/amer/eng/products/microdisplay/61md10.asp


EDIT: Forget it....the one place that has them for under 3K is "out of stock." Everyone else is charging close to $5K for it.

 

Whats the difference between plasma and DLP?

 

Screw HDTVs. I want a TV that displays "Super HD":


So what if ~20 minutes of video takes up ~4 terabytes, and I get motion sickness from watching it?

 

I went with a JVC D-ILA set. It may be a little more than $2k but you may be able to find it around that price for a 52" model if your lucky. The D-ILA technology doesn't suffer from the DLP rainbow effect but people complain about the black levels not being black enough(although I don't see it; videophile I am not). The D-ILA technology produces a very bright picture as well. The HD picture this set produces is really good and it has no burn-in issues so if your a console gamer...then it is ideal. The downside is the regular non-HD picture won't be as good on a HD set most of the time...especially on DirecTV satellite. I'm past that minor grievance, however, and watch all programming primarily on the HDTV set regardless. I stretch the regular picture full screen. You can check out the D-ILA sets at Best Buy if your interested. Mine cost $2499 at the time but I've seen it for less. I found the picture preferrable over a DLP. This set converts all HD signals to 720p. There is a new 1080p set coming out for D-ILA as well(if it's not out already).

I agree with DrOfDunk, though. The best picture will be from plasma but it tends to be more expensive although prices have been coming down a lot.

 

another vote for the JVC D-ILA (HD567BP6)

good consumer report grades (best on lack of service problems), great picture, free stand with most models etc...

it works well with the upconvert dvd players using the hdmi input - gives you hd type video on dvds!

 

This site has 'em in stock for $2,865.31.

NOTE: I am not necessarily recommending that site. I've never done business with them, and don't know anything about them. Here are links to some reviews on this reseller: link1 link2.
They don't appear to have a very good reputation.

 

WHen you compare TV's don't do it at CC or BB or toher big box stores. They do not have them properly calibrated. Go to specialty shops that know their stuff. Sorry, I don't any suggestions on where to go, but definitely do your research at www.avsforum.com in their HDTV area. Before you ask a help question like this on that BBS, do a search since there a many threads with your exact question.

 

Blu-Ray will probably support ranges from 720progressive/1080interlaced/1080p. Most HD sets don't even support 1080p right now....

I wouldn't worry about the fancier stuff. Broadcasting companies are dragging their feet for the digital switch. So on top of when that happens, it'll be 5-10 more years before another standard gets going.

Under 2000? Check out Costco....

Plasma is great looking, but after 5 or more years of use, the contrast gets weaker.

 

Haha...that chart was mostly a joke, or at least that's why I was posting it. It is from a video conference from a little while back where Ken Kutaragi (head of the game division at Sony) said something about eventually wanting to make these higher resolutions (with higher framerates) a reality. Probably better suited for movie theaters than a home television, and even that would probably take a long time to happen. It is probably more of a crazy dream by Ken than something that will actually happen. Even if it does, I doubt it has any influence on the prices of TVs, at least not for a LONG while.

Invisible Fan pretty much summed up Blu-ray. I'm no expert, but I'm guessing that there probably won't be any incentive to go past 1080p for a while, especially if it means even higher frame rates. I imagine it isn't easy to capture video at >60 fps, and probably not even worth it (for both resolution and frame rates probably).

 

Not only that...but they split the signal umpteen different times to go to all the demo TVs which degrades the picture quality.

 

that 32" sony HDTV looks really nice gummi.