Any suggestions on a good flat panel TV that is not too pricy? Under $2200. I guess there are EDTV, LCD, and Plasma options? Any of you have experience with the less expenseive models?
Avoid the EDTV. This obsolete tech is a waste of money. I would also stay away from giant box rear projection tvs as well. The Samsung DLP is very affordable now. The Mitsu DLP is a bit more pricier. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3639068 I know it's Walmart and I know the brand says Hyundai. But LG manufactures this tv and they make some quality stuff now. Look at the specs. It's terrific for the price. You might get laughed at for having a Hyundai with comments such as, "HEB sells plasmas now?", "Emerson too rich for your blood?", but you'll get a great picture.
Dell always has great deals, and if you head over to the forums at anandtech.com and watch the "Hot Deals" section you can get all kinds of Dell coupons for it too.
Circuit City has this Rear Projection HDTV on sale for $750. http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=97042&WT.mc_n=57&WT.mc_t=U or http://www.bensbargains.net/
EDTV is by no means obsolete. Most high end EDTV's display standard definition better than lower end HDTV's and cost $1000-$3000 less. And if most of what you're watching is standard def, then there's no point in buying a very expensive HDTV (unless you don't care. ). On most AV forums you'll find people saying that from a distance of about 9-10 feet, they can't tell the difference between an ED picture and an HD picture. Hell in many cases I couldn't tell the difference a bit closer than that. If there were more HD broadcasts, it would be a no-brainer, but the fact is that most broadcasts are still in SD. The EDTV's from Panasonic get the best reviews for picture quality and black levels. They just came out with new models. I know Circuit City is clearing out the 37" Pannys for something like $1700. Go there, look at the picture. It's a great picture (if they've been properly calibrated). DLP's are ok, but my biggest complaint against them are aesthetics. They're still big. That and in most cases if you drift left or right in your seating from them, you may see a washout in the picture and/or colors of the picture. You won't see that in a plasma. All this being said, I did buy a 42" Hitachi HD plasma the other day when I found that Circuit City had dropped its price on it by $2000. If you want to learn about HD vs. ED, LCD vs. DLP, etc. go to http://www.avsforum.com and learn from people who (over)analyze these things. I spent 6 months reading on the pro's and con's of all of these technologies before making my purchase. The guys on those forums really know their stuff.
Both of those got average reviews at best on avsforum. People jumped all over the Dells because they were so cheap. Well the picture quality that people ended up was equally cheap in comparison to better models. I guess my point is, if you're going to spend at least $1500, why spend it on lower-end high-end stuff?
EDTV is for people who had a hard time letting the LD go when DVD came out. If you're going to spend $2K like Pirc1 wanted to do, spend it on something that can display HD programming. There's only a handful of HD channels, but more are added as we move forward. ESPN HD, Superbowl, Lost, Deadwood, Discovery HT, baseball games are all on glorious HD. Plus, there's Playboy HD. Playboy standard def vs hi def. Easy decision.
pirc1 : Everything you wanted to know about HD vs. ED vs. SD : http://www.projectorcentral.com/video_signals.htm BTW, like I said, I had been dead-set on buying an ED tv when Circuit City dropped the price on what I thought was the best looking HD picture they had at their store. At that point I decided to go with HD. Seriously, though, read about tv's being recommended on those forums and then go to stores and compare sets. And whatever you do, don't go stand 1 foot away from them and compare. Stand 6-12 feet away because that's where people usually view their tv's from. Also go to multiple stores. If you were used to a smaller non-HD or non-ED set, you will be amazed.
That's the problem : there just isn't a ton of HD programming. DVD's and SD look better on most ED sets than on a $2000 HD set. One thing I may not be getting here is that pirc1 specifically said "Flat Panel TV". Now I don't know about you, but how many flat panel DLP tv's have you seen lately? At last count I know of maybe 1 that was waaaay beyond his price limit. pirc1, do you mean a flat screen tv or do you really mean flat panel? Flat panels are the thin LCD's or plasmas you can mount on the wall. If that is what you meant and you only have $2000 to spend, any HD set you get for that price will be VERY low end - an EDTV will be a better purchase.
You could get Zoom. Also, DTV is about to launch some HD satellites, IIRC. We find ourselves watching more and more HD lately. We get some ball games in HD now, along with the network channels, INHD1, INHD2, PBS's, HBO, ESPN, Discovery, HDNet, and a few others. You actually find yourself watching shows that would not hold your attention in standard def because in HD they're stunning. Just last year I would have said it was no big deal, but it's finally gaining momentum. I wouldn't invest much in non-HD, IMHO.
Do you mean Voom? Most of their original HD channels were crap the last time I looked at them. Then they don't have all the channels that cable companies offer. There were only a handful of HD channels that I saw that were worth watching. Like they have an auction channel in HD... ooh boy, nothing like watching auctions in HD. If money is an issue, I'd invest in ED and 2 or 3 years down the road get a better HD set that costs less than the low-end HD sets of today. Again, speaking for flat panels only. If you want DLP, go that route. But prices are falling like bricks on these things now with new and better technologies coming out like SED.
If you really meant flat panel and not flat screen, then go look at the 37" Panasonic EDTV's at Circuit City and Best Buy (if they still have them).
Don't buy any TV that you haven't personally seen the picture for... I could never purchase a TV online unless I have seen it in person first...
