A non- hearth question................

[WoodMann]

I'm in the market for an LCD TV- hey, everybody else has one, gotta keep up with the Jonses' y'know? No, really- my TV is on the way out and when it does go south fnally I'd like to have done all the reasearch so I'd be ready to buy. Kinda looking at the Sony KDL-37M4000. But the big queswtion is- what's the difference between Dynamic and Native contrast ratio................

 

[Dix]

Not much, and all that "when it's in your house we can *tweak* it with our mumbo jumbo" is exactly that.

Check for repair service on that unit in your area (not all are served),. And what ever you buy, put a service contract on it.

I'd check out the LG's, Samsungs, & Panasonics.

I'm not impressed with the Sony parts availability(IMHO), especially under a service contract, but the contract is better than having nothing after the warranty runs out.

I manage an electronic service center. 20 years +. I handle the contracts and warranty issues.

 

[WoodMann]

Hmm- a service contract for the after warranty days. Good to know- thanks Hustle. I'll check out your mentions...............

 

[Dix]

No problem.

Give me a buzz with any questions.

 

[struggle]

We bought a 52 Sony 120hz I think and a bunch of other mumbo jumbo that I could not even begin to understand. All I know is looking at the Sony next to LGs the Sony was a far better picture with all the TVs showing the same picture.

As for contracts I am against them. It is betting you are going to buy a bad TV. Nope they profit from them big time. Sure problems come up but I will take the risk of no contract. Just another person with the hand in the pile. I bought a new game for the Wii system yesterday (Shaun White, I think) and they even offer a service contract on the game disk....yeah right let me buy one of those...good greif

When I researched the TVs the three names that kept coming up was Samsung, Sony and Sharp. Panasonic was rated great but was more costly than the others.

Consumer reports also suggested I think the contracts on LCDs was waste of money due to the low failure rate of them. But anything is possible.

 

[Dix]

Consumer reports also suggested I think the contracts on LCDs was waste of money due to the low failure rate of them. But anything is possible.

I've got a shop full of them, and more come & go every day. Plasma's & DLP's, too.

If these sets go out, you can only repair to board level, or light engine, display panel, etc. These parts are expensive, or in the case if say a Vizio, Insignia, Symphonic, etc there is a good possibility that there are NO parts available, and with out a contract you are usually screwed.

 

[Panhandler]

As for contracts I am against them. It is betting you are going to buy a bad TV. Nope they profit from them big time. Sure problems come up but I will take the risk of no contract. Just another person with the hand in the pile. I bought a new game for the Wii system yesterday (Shaun White, I think) and they even offer a service contract on the game disk....yeah right let me buy one of those...good greif
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At Lowes last summer I was offered a warranty contract on a $12 table fan. I think it was about $2.50. Jeez!

 

[struggle]

Consumer reports also suggested I think the contracts on LCDs was waste of money due to the low failure rate of them. But anything is possible.

I've got a shop full of them, and more come & go every day. Plasma's & DLP's, too.

If these sets go out, you can only repair to board level, or light engine, display panel, etc. These parts are expensive, or in the case if say a Vizio, Insignia, Symphonic, etc there is a good possibility that there are NO parts available, and with out a contract you are usually screwed.

I do not want to get into a bad vs good debate and am only offering my personal view point on contracts. I have never benefited from any contract that I bought in the past so I stand by that personal choice. I do not doubt they break as do some of the most reliable cars break and so on.

My view is you are betting on a loser if you are buying a contract.

 

[drewboy]

I bought a 37" Phillips LCD Ambilight last year - that was my budget at the time - a 42" would be what I'd suggest if you can swing it and the prices are great right now. Anyway - the ambilight has independent lights on the sides that cast a soft light on the wall corresponding to the pic. on the screen and combined with the high def. it makes a killer viewing experience. But if you can, buy the biggest screen you dare - LCD for bright, sunny rooms and gaming or Plasma for a room without glare.
The plasmas run hotter and use a bit more electricity but my cousin has a 50" Samsung on the wall and you can't beat a Sox game on that thing - Incredible...

You won't be sorry going High Def. - except for the bill!!

Rob

 

[WoodMann]

That's the thing, Stand- I really think a 37" would be about perfect for the room. I've cut out cardboard to the measurements. A 40" I figured is really not much bigger so that was the schizzle. Right now at Wally World they have a 42" Phillips for $797 and it packs 29,000:1 contrast ratio and it really is impressive looking. If I had the cash on hand that thing would be in my living room as we speak....................................

 

[Dix]

Don't buy the Philips.

In my humble opinion, it's not a "Philips" any more, it's Funai, or a Philips that was a Philips and is now supported by Funai. Philips sold the name last year. Getting paid on warranty claims is an interesting process, to say the least

I just looked at Walmart dot com.

The Samsung 32" looks like a maybe, but not a 37".

Toshiba, well maybe. Repair parts can be an issue.

Check here
(broken link removed to http://www.6ave.com/shop/category.aspx?cti=0203&pti=0200)

LG has an excellant parts record. Mitsubishi & JVC are "OK". as far as parts go.

We're not authorized Sharp or Sony, so I can't give any insight there. We see them under service contracts, though. They run about par with parts availability.

 

[fossil]

OK, Eileen...so what would you recommend for a 42" LCD? We need nothing bigger than that. I've been attracted to the Sony offerings, but I'm not married to them. We'll be buying a new sound system at the same time, but that's got little to do with the choice of screen, unless I could get a "theater" package deal of some sort that was hard to pass up. Rick

 

[Dix]

Panasonic, LG, JVC.

They all have excellant parts order service.

Samsung for cost, and usually parts availability.

Again, IMHO.

 

[fossil]

Thanks. Rick

 

[firefighterjake]

If I was to buy a LCD TV today I would go with a Sharp, Sony or Samsung. If I was to buy a plasma TV today I would go with a Panasonic, Sony or Samsung . . . although I am in the market for neither since my wife surprised me at Christmas with a 50 inch Panasonic . . . quite an upgrade from the "old" HDTV CRT 32 inch Samsung we were using.

 

[Jay H]

I have an older 1080i Sharp Aquos 34" and have been pretty happy with it, it has been problem free and the picture with HD is stunning. If you aren't going with HD, it seems pointless to have an LCD. However, since I recently moved a ancient 27" Sony CRT, moving my 34" LCD was soooooo much easier, I could do it myself, unlike the CRT where it needed two people to lift it.

As far as the contrast ratio goes and your question, I know my Aquos has a light sensor which automatically adjusts the brightness (maybe contrast too, I don't remember) based on the ambient light conditions of your room. Maybe this is something similar...

It sounds like some of those very cheap LCD's (vizio, etc) are disposable, if one can't replace or fix a bad pixel or something...

Jay

 

[WoodMann]

Yeah- I teetering between Sharp and Sony. I thought Phillips was in bed with Sony at some point, though things do change. Y'know- I got an Emerson 20" LCD, yeah it's only 480p but I'm quite impressed with it's resolution, especially apparant when watching professional wrestling..........

 

[WoodMann]

I've noticed that prices are seemingly holding, if not edging up right now. I'm thinkin' because we are on the verge of going digital on the broadcasting................

Edit; still wrestling with the difference between Dynamic and Native contrast ratio..........

 

[WoodMann]

Earlier on I startede to notice 120Hz sets; supposedly a 3rd image is inserted into the progressive scan to diminish artifiacting. Now I've seen 240Hz sets popping up. Do I need this 120+Hz stuff seein' as stuff down the line may get faster, but if the normal stuf is good enough for Blu- Ray I wonder..................

 

[myzamboni]

I have the 52" KDW from Sony with MotionFlow technology. This was nice to have because it handles fast action/sports (i.e. Hockey in HD).

 

[WoodMann]

Thanks Z, I googled MotionFLow and got a wealth of information and a little better understanding. I don't watch sports much per se save for motocross and ATV racing. Action/ Adventure movies are my thing so I guess it's not that big a deal. If I get it for the same money surely I'll take it...............

 

[Cutter]

Woodmann My wife and I spent quite some time picking out two new sets. Our old eyes couldn't tell that much difference from set to set. So we picked up an LZ and a big JVC. We thought they just looked better than all of those we had to pick from. What was not considered in the big box store was the sound. With 30 sets playing the sound was terrible in the store. When we got the JVC set we were dissapointed to find out that it had really crappy sound qualities. I guess they expect you to hook it up to a surrround system. Just something to keep in mind, sound is just as important as site..

 

[WoodMann]

I have a surround system that was last employed when me and my dad watched Stricking Distance. The whole amplifire and everything isn't something I wanna juice it up every time I watch TV, so yes- sound is a consideration as well. But I got to thinkin',to future proof my purchase, at least for a little longer, I thought I'd arping lthe extra $150 for the 120Hz unit with 30watt sound, but always thinking and learning..................

 

[James Gautsch]

I'm looking at a Samsung LC46a650. Sharp 46 Aqos seems to be running a close second. Bought the wife a Bose 3-2-1 GSX for Christmas.

 

[WoodMann]

Cool. I'm teetering between 40 and 42 inches. The sofa viewing area is 11ft from where the TV will be........................