LCD TV Choices -- Need good advice

[ctal]

Originally Posted by Rick_EE

Actually, FVbounty is correct.

Yes, and in addition he did say

Originally Posted by fvbounty

Samsung makes all most all lcd panels for most manufactures

But I think that more significant than who was right or wrong about the facts is that even if FV had been wrong about them, the unpleasant response he received to his well-intentioned post was totally unwarranted and inappropriate.

Regards,
-- Al

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by ATINUT

you have no hard evidence to back your claims up.

ATINUT says that to everybody every time he disagrees with them

every...single...time

he has an issue with admitting he is wrong

didn't know we needed to have a signed affidavit and notary public to certify every post me make here...where's your 'hard evidence'?...I want a copy of a signed statement from the CEO of Samsung (on company letterhead) backing up your claim

[zsaz1029]

Originally Posted by polonyc2

ATINUT says that to everybody every time he disagrees with them

every...single...time

Yep yep yep.

he has an issue with admitting he is wrong

It's ONE of his issues.

didn't know we needed to have a signed affidavit and notary public to certify every post me make here...where's your 'hard evidence'?...I want a copy of a signed statement from the CEO of Samsung (on company letterhead) backing up your claim

I couldn't agree more with fvbounty, ctal and polonyc2. We've actually been through this before, though I can't recall which thread had most the ATINUT, "you're stupid, I want proof, I don't need your BS" posting in it, and I don't care to because I don't need to read his garbage again.

[mindx2]

Alrighty then ...... back on my original topic....

What can anybody tell me about the Insignia, good or bad? If a few manufacturers produce most of the screens for many of the major brands wouldn't be true in this case as well?

If I don't go for the Insignia my next choice will be the 46' Sharp. However, reading through some of the posts I'm a little concerned now. My living room, the family TV watching area, has many windows and does get quite bright late afternoon and evening time (it faces west).

Any new thoughts with this new bit of info?

I appreciate any and all comments here. Yes, there is a WHOLE LOT of info floating around in the net but every time I've come here and asked you guys for advice it has been excellent. I trust the info here more than some other place I don't know.

[Wingit]

Originally Posted by mindx2

Alrighty then ...... back on my original topic....

What can anybody tell me about the Insignia, good or bad? If a few manufacturers produce most of the screens for many of the major brands wouldn't be true in this case as well?

This thread at AVS forums references a review of the Insignia 47" TV in the Dec 08 issue of Consumer Reports...you might want to read that, as reviews on this product are scarce on the net...don't know who does their screens, but even within the range of any supplier there is a lot of quality variance...I had to read every darn box label code I could find to assure myself of getting a certain panel on my HP monitor, lol.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1074291

Originally Posted by mindx2

If I don't go for the Insignia my next choice will be the 46' Sharp. However, reading through some of the posts I'm a little concerned now. My living room, the family TV watching area, has many windows and does get quite bright late afternoon and evening time (it faces west).

Any new thoughts with this new bit of info?

I have a gloss screen monitor, but my computer is not located in such a way that a light source is directly bouncing off of it...I would imagine that direct sunlight would create a larger issue than indirect. The up side of a gloss screen is that colors seem to have more depth and life...

Good luck and keep dodging the bombs and missiles in this thread!

[mindx2]

Originally Posted by Wingit

This thread at AVS forums references a review of the Insignia 47" TV in the Dec 08 issue of Consumer Reports...you might want to read that, as reviews on this product are scarce on the net...don't know who does their screens, but even within the range of any supplier there is a lot of quality variance...I had to read every darn box label code I could find to assure myself of getting a certain panel on my HP monitor, lol.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1074291

Thank you... thank you Wingit! I'm actually rather pleased that Consumer Reports actually thought this one was worth buying. It makes my decision a bit clearer now !

[mindx2]

Alright, I now have another choice that I want to put out to you all. What about this TV:

Mitsubishi - 60" 1080p DLP HDTV
Model: WD-60735 | SKU: 8824301
Mitsubishi - 60" 1080p DLP HDTV - WD-60735

It is a rear projection TV but is pretty thin (14-7/8") and I wasn't going to hang a new TV on a wall anyway. Here are the upsides to this one: It's 60', same price as the 47' & 46' TVs I've been looking at (1,000), and apparently the DLP tech helps the screen picture in bright rooms. The down side is that the bulb must be replaced and clean every so often. The bulbs are around $175 and can last anywhere between 3000 to 5000 hours. I watch maybe 3 hours a day so that could last quite a while as long as I dust the bulb.

Thoughts on this one? I've looked at many reviews already and they seem to vary from "It's a good TV" to "Wow, I love this thing!" One thing mentioned was that the center of the screen needs to be at eye level which isn't a problem as this will be on a low TV console. Another frustrating thing is many different reviewers have different opinions on the color quality. Most say the blacks are really good but vivid colors no one agrees on. Some say good while others say there a little washed out.

Man looking for a HDTV is REALLY complicated!!!!

[Wingit]

Originally Posted by mindx2

Alright, I now have another choice that I want to put out to you all. What about this TV:

Mitsubishi - 60" 1080p DLP HDTV
Model: WD-60735 | SKU: 8824301
Mitsubishi - 60" 1080p DLP HDTV - WD-60735

It is a rear projection TV but is pretty thin (14-7/8") and I wasn't going to hang a new TV on a wall anyway. Here are the upsides to this one: It's 60', same price as the 47' & 46' TVs I've been looking at (1,000), and apparently the DLP tech helps the screen picture in bright rooms. The down side is that the bulb must be replaced and clean every so often. The bulbs are around $175 and can last anywhere between 3000 to 5000 hours. I watch maybe 3 hours a day so that could last quite a while as long as I dust the bulb.

Thoughts on this one? I've looked at many reviews already and they seem to vary from "It's a good TV" to "Wow, I love this thing!" One thing mentioned was that the center of the screen needs to be at eye level which isn't a problem as this will be on a low TV console. Another frustrating thing is many different reviewers have different opinions on the color quality. Most say the blacks are really good but vivid colors no one agrees on. Some say good while others say there a little washed out.

Man looking for a HDTV is REALLY complicated!!!!

Just to complicate things a bit more , here's a linky to AVS Mitsubishi owner's thread for 735,736,and diamond series DLPs

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1024421

I think polonyC2 has a DLP, he may wish to weigh in here on why he chose vs LCD. Some of my clients (I own a very high end Interior Design Consulting Firm) have opted for DLP units from a size/value perspective, but I have never owned one...so I'll refrain from offering any personal opinion.

Good luck

[mindx2]

Originally Posted by Wingit

Just to complicate things a bit more , here's a linky to AVS Mitsubishi owner's thread for 735,736,and diamond series DLPs

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1024421

Yeah, I read through some of that thread but it was way too long. A lot of the info was 2-3 years old so I don't know if there's been improvements to the design since then.

Edit: Another thing I'm reading about DLP is the so-called "Rainbow Effect". Anyone know about this or have experience seeing this?

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by Wingit

I think polonyC2 has a DLP, he may wish to weigh in here on why he chose vs LCD.

Originally Posted by mindx2

Edit: Another thing I'm reading about DLP is the so-called "Rainbow Effect". Anyone know about this or have experience seeing this?

yes I own a DLP HDTV...I went with DLP because for me it offered the best options in terms of picture quality, viewing angles and price

if I remember correctly (and it has been a few years since I researched this info so I might not remember the details correctly now) when researching DLP vs LCD etc I believe LCD screens were prone to possible burn in issues and/or limited viewing angles

another thing to remember about DLP screens is that the bulb in the set will need to be changed every few years...but once that is done the colors/PQ will be like a brand new set...I've had my Samsung DLP for 2 years this month and have not had to change the bulb yet (an indicator on the front of the set will let you know when the bulb needs changing)...that's another reason why I purchased the 5 year extended warranty as it covers bulb replacement (but even without the warranty changing the bulb looks very simple)

havn't seen anything resembling a 'rainbow effect'...I think the PQ on DLP's are the best out there...the images are very sharp, with nice colors and contrasts...also one other thing to mention is that I had my DLP set professionally calibrated immediately after I purchased it so maybe that is another reason for the excellent PQ...I thought it was worth trying as most HDTV sets do not come with the best PQ settings right out of the box and require a bit of tweaking to get the best picture (you can also buy a calibration disc and do it yourself)

I just remembered another reason why I went with this particular DLP set...most HDTV sets do not offer great image quality when it comes to standard def. channels and the Samsung model I purchased had excellent image quality on both HD and standard def. channels

I'm very fussy when it comes to image quality so I want the best when making a big money purchase...another reason why I refuse to buy an LCD monitor (but that's another story for another thread )

[mindx2]

Alright here's my story on the long road to getting a new LCD TV !

As I had stated earlier, I was leaning toward the Insignia based almost exclusively on price (plus the Consumer Reports Buy rating). However, after viewing it at Best Buy I just didn't like how it compared to others, especially the Sonys. Well I knew that BB was selling the 46' S series for $1299 and that was only $200 more than the no-name store brand. I really like Sony products and my reciever is a Sony that I can "Synch" with other Sony products. So this is the one I was going to get.

Woke up Wednesday morning and went online just to check prices one final time. Well guess what?! Circuit City had just updated their website with the 46' W series LCD for only $1299!! It was the same price as the S series yet it was 120 Hz, 4 HDMI (compared to 3), and a higher contrast ratio. Needless to say I went and got the Circuit City deal!

However, thats not the end of my story. I get the TV home and plug my DirecTV and the Sony CD/Reciever with the HDMI 1.3b cables I got on Newegg. Almost immediately the screen begins to flicker. Going black every few seconds and then going black for minutes at a time. At first I thought it was my DirecTV box but no matter what I connected (the new Sony Blu-Ray I also bought , the reciever, or DirecTV) or switching of the HDMI cables fixed the problem. Contacted Sony and they were ZERO help and told me to go to an authorized repair shop! I only bought it two days ago (it's now Friday as I couldn't do anything Thankgiving) so I took it right back to Circuit City!

When I got there they didn't have anymore W series LCDs. Nowhere in the northeast was showing them in stock. It was a great deal so many people had bought them. They were telling me I would have to wait 2-3 weeks for a special order!! I was upset ! I politely told them that I'm sure I could go to Best Buy and they would find me a TV. The main store manager and the electronics manager got together and we talked. They asked if I wanted an equivalent product from another company and I said no. All my other components are Sony and I wanted to Synch them. We talked some more and they said they would give me a Sony 46' Z series at no extra cost!!!! I said "no problem" and they went to get one. However, they were out of the Z series! They called another store thats an hour away and they had 1 left. The managers were very apologetic as they knew I wanted my TV now but they could not get it up to their store until Saturday. They said they would deliver it to me for free and set it up! It arrived yesterday in great condition with no image problems.

That was the BEST customer service I have ever received. Those Circuit City guys really bent over backwards for me.

So I started out looking at a $1000 no name 46' LCD and ended up with a SONY 46' Z series LCD delivered and set up for only $1200 !!! I watched Wall-E on Blue-Ray last night and was just blown away by the picture from this TV and Blue-Ray player. It is truly astounding. I am a very happy person this morning!

[fvbounty]

Congratulations on your your new TV, you made a Great choice....

[Sir Skully]

Glad things worked out well, enjoy my friend.....

[PeterT]

WOW! Great story. Nice to hear things work out sometimes. Enjoy the new TV!