TVs

[cancidas]

so with black friday coming up i'm considering doing something i haven't done since my college days. it'll mostly be used for PS3 for now until i move to RI in a couple months. i looked through best buy's and pc richard's websites and felt lost... what the difference between LCD and LED? i don't feel i need nor do i want 3D. all i want is to be able to hook up a DVD player, my PS3 and maybe a camera memory card from time to time.


help!!

[Fighting_falcon_51]

The difference between LCD and LED is the lighting. Most older LCD's use CCFL lamps which is probably the one you have in your computer monitor right now. Newer LCD's use LED lighting which give more vibrant (although some say not as accurate) colors, deeper blacks, A LOT less power consumption and better viewing angles. The two types of LED's are backlit LED and edge lit LED's. The better of the two is edge lit because it allows the TV to have a thinner design. As far as resolution most TV's your looking at are 1920x1080 (1080P). There is also refresh rate which is 120Hz, 240Hz, or 480Hz. The best out now is 480Hz and it would make sports and games look a lot nicer but 240Hz (and even 120Hz) is good for most. For connectivity I would hook your PS3 up via HDMI, your dvd player probably takes standard RCA, and if your camera supports mini HDMI you can pick up a cable for $10 if not you can get an SD or CF card reader with RCA outputs.

[cancidas]

computer screens are fine by me, been doing most of my gaming and movie watching on laptop LCDs so the colors are fine by me. i'm looking for a 32" 1080p for under $300, is that even possible?

as far as brands is there anything to stay away from? i was looking at either LG or Toshiba for now.

[Fighting_falcon_51]

It is possible. For that price range you are looking at a 32" 1080P LCD with a 60Hz refresh rate which is pretty good.

As far as brands this is how I look at it:

Sony, LG, Samsung - High End

Toshiba, Vizio - Mid-range

AOC, Coby, Westinghouse - lower mid range

Everything else - I would stay away from

If you've never heard the brand before I would stay away from. Also this is a generalization of brands there have been crap LG's and great AOC TV's it highly depends on the particular model and a little bit of luck.

I found this combo deal online which isn't too bad http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.765882

But I'd look out for black Friday deals.

[mirrodie]

Matt, LCD is great and you'll get great sets for less these days whereas LED is newer and thus more expensive. I personally like the LED for its thinnness and the image is comparable IMHO.

I like my LCD at home, its a Sharp 46 inch over the fireplace and I wired speakers into the ceiling. 1080p Blu Ray on the screen is awesome.

But when we sell the house, I will most likely leave the TV......(this is how you get the wife to agree (if she's not agreeable) to an even bigger, better screen :D) ) and start a new entertainment room from scratch. And I will likely get a new LED or a projector set up


As for reliability, hit the library and get Consumers reports on the differences. It gives great info.

[Matt Molnar]

I heard Best Buy is selling a Sharp 42in LCD for $199 on Black Friday, but you probably need to line up now to get one. :o

I got a low-end LG 1080p 32in LCD for $349 on Amazon a couple of years ago and it's perfect for my light usage. It's definitely better than many of the lesser brands I've seen but not as good as a Sony or Samsung.

[Fighting_falcon_51]

Even though I can't tell you how good of a brand this is - Circuit City is having a pre-black Friday sale on this (http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1469883) 32" LCD. It seems to fit the bill on everything you want.

[cancidas]

so... when i drove by LIC best buy on wednesday and saw a line already around the corner i gave up on the TV idea. i did go to depot this morning to get materials for my brother's jobsite; did get an $80 ladder for $17 and a $75 hole saw set for $30....

[Art at ISP]

Not for nothing, Circuit City went out of business a number of years ago.

[Fighting_falcon_51]

Not for nothing, Circuit City went out of business a number of years ago.

Yes they did but they sold their website to Systemax which is the same company that owns Tiger Direct and Comp USA and they are still selling electronics on their website.