32"-37" LCD HDTV Choice
- Thread starter Clocker
- Start date
ddrueding
Fixture
Get the biggest that fits. Look at how long you held onto your last TV. I really like my Sharp AQUOS 42" 1080p. The colors are great, and the brightness automatically adjusts to the rooms ambient lighting (good for a bedroom). It looks to be going for about $1200 new right now, which is what I paid for a display model when they first came out.
Bozo
Storage? I am Storage!
Some where on the 'net I ran across a chart with recommended LCD TV sizes based on the distance to the viewer. I can't seem to find it now.
I have been in homes where the owners bought the biggest thing they could and they look awful. Too big is worse than too small, IMHO. Great for 'bragging rights' but not for viewing.
Maybe a store like Circuit City could offer some help, maybe.
Bozo :joker:
I have been in homes where the owners bought the biggest thing they could and they look awful. Too big is worse than too small, IMHO. Great for 'bragging rights' but not for viewing.
Maybe a store like Circuit City could offer some help, maybe.
Bozo :joker:
ddrueding
Fixture
I have always found the common calculation (viewing distance/2=screen size) to be too small. I find a 1-1 ratio works much better with my crappy vision.
I think you guys might be thinking of the chart available here. I'm not so sure it is correct though. Newer TVs seems to have more things going for them to make them look better than simply a difference in resolution alone....
http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/
I'm going to keep searcing for a 40" although the Aquos is now on my short short list as well as this Samsung.
http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000WV47YW/102-5289946-5835348?SubscriptionId=03DZ4QXXTHJSYE9VQVR2
C
http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/
I'm going to keep searcing for a 40" although the Aquos is now on my short short list as well as this Samsung.
http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B000WV47YW/102-5289946-5835348?SubscriptionId=03DZ4QXXTHJSYE9VQVR2
C
Pradeep
Storage? I am Storage!
At 11 feet viewing distance and < 40" screen size 720p will be fine. Certainly manufacturers are moving towards 1080p throughout their lines, but you won't be close enough to see the difference.
However you can get a Westinghouse 42" 1080p screen for less than $1K:
http://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-...1?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1208146048&sr=1-1
Even if you won't get the visual benefits of 1080p right now there's nothing to say you can't use it as a computer monitor later on down the track.
IIRC you were looking at a larger screen for the basement or something?
However you can get a Westinghouse 42" 1080p screen for less than $1K:
http://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-...1?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1208146048&sr=1-1
Even if you won't get the visual benefits of 1080p right now there's nothing to say you can't use it as a computer monitor later on down the track.
IIRC you were looking at a larger screen for the basement or something?
udaman
Wannabe Storage Freak
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2006
- Messages
- 1,209
What's your viewing distance that you are comfortable with on the 56in DLP? I find I can easily be 10ft away from any 50in LCDTV.
If you are putting this on a table/dresser to match up with the height of a large bed, I'd wait and go for the 46in (will probably cost ~$2k+ initially
) Sony KDL-46XBR8 LED BL series in August.http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/04/14/sony.bravia.xbr8.leak/
Course, in another year or so, laser TV's may make OLED & LCD's both look like sh*t, and obsolete even plasma TV's.
ddrueding
Fixture
10 inches? Dude....
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
Looks like I'm following Clocker's lead. We're looking for a 32-37" wall-mountable TV for our bedroom. 32" is fine, 37" is on the large side for our space. Larger than that would honestly be a waste. While 1080p would be nice, for the bedroom and the screen size, 720 would be fine. Viewing distance under our current furniture arrangement would be 5-11 feet, but could grow if we moved things around.
The set must have OK sound. I don't plan on putting a supplemental sound system around it unless I can find something cheap, decent, and very unobtrusive. As the set will be wall-mounted, there's no accompanying AV rack/stand/entertainment center. So the amount of supplemental gear needs to be kept to a minimum. I don't want anything more than a small stand for the BD player or perhaps place it on a dresser.
It will be fed via a Bluray Disc player and the content will start as SD DVDs; we won't start purchasing BDs until we get an HD set in the family room. In the future I can envision also connecting a PC and an HD DVR, so 3 HDMIs or 2 + VGA/DVI would be ideal. Actually, Ethernet with the ability to brose media files on our Home Server would be fantastic. I don't really plan on connecting any SD sources; we'll play the regular DVDs on the BD machine. I'm assuming that BD players upconvert SD material to send via HDMI.
So I'm also looking for a suitable Bluray Disc player to go along with it. I've suggested a PS3 but my wife doesn't really want another game system besides the Wii.
Cost is a factor, but not the factor. I am hoping to get a short list of acceptable sets and see what's cheapest on Black Friday. In the past 14 hours I've literally seen 32" sets from $500 ($498 at Sams Club for a 720p Magnavox) to over $1000 ($1199 - $200 [sale] in today's Fry's ad).
While I'm at it, recommendations on quality cables and wall brackets would be accepted. I've not bought AV gear in a few years now & haven't kept up. The ideal wall bracket would allow for a downward tilt and side-to-side swivel or swing arm. The HDMI cables will run from the set to the floor in the wall & then over to wherever the BD player resides. Figure 12' minimum, but possibly up to 25.
When looking at larger sets a couple of months ago my wife preferred the Sharp Aquos lineup, which I had no problem with. However, for bedroom usage I'm not as picky.
The set must have OK sound. I don't plan on putting a supplemental sound system around it unless I can find something cheap, decent, and very unobtrusive. As the set will be wall-mounted, there's no accompanying AV rack/stand/entertainment center. So the amount of supplemental gear needs to be kept to a minimum. I don't want anything more than a small stand for the BD player or perhaps place it on a dresser.
It will be fed via a Bluray Disc player and the content will start as SD DVDs; we won't start purchasing BDs until we get an HD set in the family room. In the future I can envision also connecting a PC and an HD DVR, so 3 HDMIs or 2 + VGA/DVI would be ideal. Actually, Ethernet with the ability to brose media files on our Home Server would be fantastic.
I don't really plan on connecting any SD sources; we'll play the regular DVDs on the BD machine. I'm assuming that BD players upconvert SD material to send via HDMI.So I'm also looking for a suitable Bluray Disc player to go along with it. I've suggested a PS3 but my wife doesn't really want another game system besides the Wii.
Cost is a factor, but not the factor. I am hoping to get a short list of acceptable sets and see what's cheapest on Black Friday. In the past 14 hours I've literally seen 32" sets from $500 ($498 at Sams Club for a 720p Magnavox) to over $1000 ($1199 - $200 [sale] in today's Fry's ad).
While I'm at it, recommendations on quality cables and wall brackets would be accepted. I've not bought AV gear in a few years now & haven't kept up. The ideal wall bracket would allow for a downward tilt and side-to-side swivel or swing arm. The HDMI cables will run from the set to the floor in the wall & then over to wherever the BD player resides. Figure 12' minimum, but possibly up to 25.
When looking at larger sets a couple of months ago my wife preferred the Sharp Aquos lineup, which I had no problem with. However, for bedroom usage I'm not as picky.
Stereodude
Not really a
Why get BD for a TV that small at that distance?
ddrueding
Fixture
My 42" is a Sharp Aquos, and I love it, but they are not the cheapest. I wouldn't go for anything less than a 1080P screen, there is just no point in locking yourself out of better quality. Westinghouse makes a nice 1080P 37" for $700.
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
Because once I get BD for the main set I will no longer buy DVDs if a BD is available.
timwhit
Hairy Aussie
I am happy with my 42" Westinghouse 1080p.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
My bedroom display is a Samsung LN40A650. It puts my 52" Sharp display to shame, and my Sharp is only a little over a year old,
I thought that a 40" display might be a bit too large to sit in front of but as it turns out I don't do all that much work (reading text) from that machine. It's kind of cool that I can bring up a CBZ (scanned comic book file) and read it from 10' away.
I thought that a 40" display might be a bit too large to sit in front of but as it turns out I don't do all that much work (reading text) from that machine. It's kind of cool that I can bring up a CBZ (scanned comic book file) and read it from 10' away.
Stereodude
Not really a
I always say go big or go home. Slap a 52" 1080p set up there on the wall.
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
Had some free time this evening and was close to Fry's so I checked out the sets on display. This Aquos was easily the best of the bunch, although I'd go black instead of red for the bezel. Watching side by side with the other 1080p sets it handled pan shots easily and had noticably fewer (de)compression artifacts than the neighboring sets. The Sony wasn't bad, but like Merc I don't care for the brand. And it costs even more. This week the Sharp is $999; a bit more than I care to pay.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
They are as much computer monitors to me as they are screens for watching movies and the like.
ddrueding
Fixture
Absolutely. My Sharp Aquos is nearly as good as my Viewsonic VP2130b in terms of general usability, though the color rendition leaves something to be desired; same issues as other LCDs, but worse. The bigger it is, the more uneven the backlighting, and the greater the viewing angle difference from corner to corner (which affects the color slightly).
I'd go to a store and get them to display SD sport on a number of LCD's.
Every store I've visited used HD slow pan demo's. This will make HD look it's best, but won't show you how good the set is at upscaling the SD signal. Fast sport SD will show you how responsive the panel is and what artifacting you can expect.
Last time I looked (about a month ago), I didn't like the 32" Sony Bravia's at all. LG looked good, but I hate LG (or rather LG's service--I think that is an oxymoron--in Australia) like Mercutio hates Sony/WD. Samsung were a little worse than LG but a Philips set I saw was brilliant--however it had some serious ergonomic issues--large bezel to make the set look bigger & colour appeared washed out, but at least the colour may have been fixable.
If your going for and LCD, I'd also take along a "dark" DVD like Stigmata, Dark City or possible The Matrix. The weakness of LCD is how they display "blacks", so those would be a good test.
I've got a 37" Samsung and like it.
Every store I've visited used HD slow pan demo's. This will make HD look it's best, but won't show you how good the set is at upscaling the SD signal. Fast sport SD will show you how responsive the panel is and what artifacting you can expect.
Last time I looked (about a month ago), I didn't like the 32" Sony Bravia's at all. LG looked good, but I hate LG (or rather LG's service--I think that is an oxymoron--in Australia) like Mercutio hates Sony/WD. Samsung were a little worse than LG but a Philips set I saw was brilliant--however it had some serious ergonomic issues--large bezel to make the set look bigger & colour appeared washed out, but at least the colour may have been fixable.
If your going for and LCD, I'd also take along a "dark" DVD like Stigmata, Dark City or possible The Matrix. The weakness of LCD is how they display "blacks", so those would be a good test.
I've got a 37" Samsung and like it.
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
Side by side, the Samsung displayed more compression artifacts than the Aquos. The Aquos blew them all away, actually, and it did so while consuming less power (145W v. the Samsung's 200).
As to source material for comparison, sports is a non-issue; I simply don't watch them. Source material will be movies on DVD/BD and possibly TV from an HD DVR. I agree about black reproduction and will bring a couple of movies to see if they will demo them.
As to source material for comparison, sports is a non-issue; I simply don't watch them. Source material will be movies on DVD/BD and possibly TV from an HD DVR. I agree about black reproduction and will bring a couple of movies to see if they will demo them.
Stereodude
Not really a
Enjoy your Aquos banding.
ddrueding
Fixture
What do you mean banding? Is this like the rainbows in 1x DLP projectors? 'cause I never saw that, either.
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
If you Google "Aquos banding" you'll see some hits. But you also will if you Google "Samsung banding." I'd guess its more likely to be defective sets than defective engineering.
My comments were directed at Clocker, who was going to watch SD FTA. HD source is completetley different. Also, it's immaterial if you watch sport or not, it is just a good & easy way to detect some flaws in the TV's stream processing.
ddrueding
Fixture
Huh, I don't have that issue on mine. I imagine FPS gaming would bring it out.
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
Different day, different results. First of all, 32" is out; 37" is the size we're targeting. After test-watching a few sets again, the contenders are (in order of my wife's preference) the Sony KDL37XBR6, Toshiba Regza 37RV530U, Samsung LN37A550, and the Sharp Aquos LC-37D64U. Any of those will do. The Toshiba is the price leader but I'm still holding out for a price under $800 before I take the plunge.
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
Went to Best Buy & bought a Samsung LN40A500 40" 1080P LCD for $799. Box wouldn't fit in the car so I'll have to wait 'til Wednesday for delivery. We'll mate it with a Samsung BD-P2550 BD player. I chose it as it can also stream Netflix & Pandora.
The sucky thing is we're buying the TV essentially sight unseen. Couldn't be helped, though, so we'll just have to rely on their return policy if we don't like it. At $799, it's worth a minor risk and also worth it to not deal with Black Friday crowds. That price was what I was willing to pay for a 37" set.
The sucky thing is we're buying the TV essentially sight unseen. Couldn't be helped, though, so we'll just have to rely on their return policy if we don't like it. At $799, it's worth a minor risk and also worth it to not deal with Black Friday crowds. That price was what I was willing to pay for a 37" set.
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
Love the TV so far, but haven't watched enough for a full evaluation.
Delivery was somewhat of an issue. The sales "associate" and I set up Wednesday as the delivery date. We talked about it several times, including me specifically mentioning having the set in time for Thanksgiving. But come Tuesday night there was no call to set up a time for Wednesday. Come to find out that the delivery was slated for Friday. So I went in to the store prepared to complain. I was really gearing up for a fight since all of the paper work actually did say Friday even though we had only discussed Wednesday. I stated the problem to the CSR and she escalated to the department & eventually store managers. End result, to accommodate their computer system they canceled the original order & did a new order with same day delivery as a free upgrade.
One of their installers was at my house less than two hours later setting it up.
I didn't have to get upset or raise my voice; they just took care of it. IMO any retailer will make mistakes from time to time. How they handle them is what matters, and in this case I have to say they handled it almost as good as could have possibly been done.
Delivery was somewhat of an issue. The sales "associate" and I set up Wednesday as the delivery date. We talked about it several times, including me specifically mentioning having the set in time for Thanksgiving. But come Tuesday night there was no call to set up a time for Wednesday. Come to find out that the delivery was slated for Friday. So I went in to the store prepared to complain. I was really gearing up for a fight since all of the paper work actually did say Friday even though we had only discussed Wednesday. I stated the problem to the CSR and she escalated to the department & eventually store managers. End result, to accommodate their computer system they canceled the original order & did a new order with same day delivery as a free upgrade.
One of their installers was at my house less than two hours later setting it up.
I didn't have to get upset or raise my voice; they just took care of it. IMO any retailer will make mistakes from time to time. How they handle them is what matters, and in this case I have to say they handled it almost as good as could have possibly been done.
Did you notice any difference in vertical viewing angle? I need to buy a 32' LCD TV soon and am concerned about the appearance from below, e.g., lying on the floor.
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
0
Why are you lyting on teh lfoor?. Maybe ther shldou be a mirrop on teh ceilnig.
lol:
ddrueding
Fixture
0
Why are you lyting on teh lfoor?. Maybe ther shldou be a mirrop on teh ceilnig.
Nah, just mount another TV on the ceiling