How to pick a TV?

[412 CVX]

it's a good thing i found this thread! i work at a best buy and in the home theater dept!!

for a dorm a 42" would be friggin huge but you know the size of the room and i don't. the difference between 720 and 1080 will start to be pretty significant in the size range you're looking at. try to find one that's 1080, there are plenty of them.

now another difference you'd be looking at is 60hz vs 120hz. this number is the number of times per second that the screen refreshes. the faster it refreshes, the sharper faster moving images will be. wave your finger in front of a 60hz tv and a 120hz tv and you'll probably see the difference.

as far as LCD vs Plasma goes, DEFINITELY go with the LCD for the dorm. the picture quality on an LCD won't be quite as vivid as a plasma, but plasmas are very fragile creatures. they get VERY hot and that means ghost images burnt into the screen if you're not careful. they can't be in any other position than upright, otherwise the very heavy components inside will shift and be crushed.

Brand wise for an LCD, go with a samsung, sony, toshiba, or LG. those are pretty much the top 4 and you can't go wrong with any of them.

Definitely get your TV from Best Buy. we've got the best protection, service, knowledge, and overall everything TV wise of any other store.

a few final pointers:

-GET THE 2 OR 4 YEAR BLACK TIE PROTECTION PLAN!! i cannot stress to you enough the importance of this. the manufacturer only covers the tv for 1 year. the manufacturer's warranty is also LIMITED, meaning they like to disclaim everything and call it "user error" as i'm sure plenty of us have experienced when we blew our first sub. with the Black Tie protection plan we cover EVERYTHING but accidental damage, so just don't throw your wii remote through the screen and you'll be set

-don't be afraid of the best buy credit card. i know everyone thinks that all department store credit cards are evil, and some of them are; but this card is different. if you spend over $529 in home theater (depending on your local BBY offers) you have 2 years to pay that tv off without paying a penny in interest. there's no hidden fees or anything like that as long as you make your payments. ask a sales rep about it.

other useful info:

-if you don't have a PS3 already, you should look into getting a blu-ray player. the cheapest insignia one will do you just fine, as there is no difference in picture quality between the brands of blu-players. make sure you get the 9 foot insignia HDMI cable with it; it's the best for your situation. (they play DVD's and CD's too)

-since you are a member of this audio forum, you will likely be dissatisfied with the tv's stock speakers. so unless you already have some home audio speakers, definitely look into the insignia 6.5" bookshelf speakers and a receiver (talk to a sales rep about the right receiver for you)

sorry i had to write a whole novel there, but please feel free to PM me with anymore questions!

good luck!

[412 CVX]

Brand can matter

This. A good budget brand is Vizio

there's a reason Wal-Mart sells Vizio and Best Buy doesn't.

[corey0928]

I have a Westinghouse 32" TV and my picture is nicer than my buddies Samsung and I only paid $250 for mine lol and he paid around 700

[hdorre]

Brand can matter

This. A good budget brand is Vizio

there's a reason Wal-Mart sells Vizio and Best Buy doesn't.

look again please...preferably with your eyes open this time.

[Ecco]

I have a Westinghouse tv, got it at Costco for $200, it's a 26" LCD, 720p, and it's very nice. The HD channels are VERY clear, and the normal res channels are, well, normal.

http://westinghousedigital.com/

Take a peek!

[412 CVX]

I have a Westinghouse 32" TV and my picture is nicer than my buddies Samsung and I only paid $250 for mine lol and he paid around 700

there's quite a few variables that can determine that.

if your buddy has a larger TV with standard cable straight from the wall to the tv and it's a couple years older than yours, then of course yours will look better.

but in the grand scheme of things given optimal conditions for both tv's, samsung will look better.

[412 CVX]

Brand can matter

This. A good budget brand is Vizio

there's a reason Wal-Mart sells Vizio and Best Buy doesn't.

look again please...preferably with your eyes open this time.

the same to you my friend, proof

[hdorre]

Brand can matter

This. A good budget brand is Vizio

there's a reason Wal-Mart sells Vizio and Best Buy doesn't.

look again please...preferably with your eyes open this time.

the same to you my friend, proof

I actually bought one from BestBuy a few months ago, so they sold them at some point. I'm pretty sure I saw some 3wks ago too. W/e...let's stop threadjacking lol

[rusty959]

My roomate last year had a 42 inch in the dorm. Was about perfect.

I definitely agree about going lcd over plasma for a dorm room. Especially if you ever consider hooking up a pc to it, which is pretty awesome for movies if you happen to rip your blu-ray's or dvds to your computer for easier storage and less physical space taken up.

In other news, don't get 1080i. Interlacing sucks unless it's a still image.

[iKidwell]

it's a good thing i found this thread! i work at a best buy and in the home theater dept!!

for a dorm a 42" would be friggin huge but you know the size of the room and i don't. the difference between 720 and 1080 will start to be pretty significant in the size range you're looking at. try to find one that's 1080, there are plenty of them.

now another difference you'd be looking at is 60hz vs 120hz. this number is the number of times per second that the screen refreshes. the faster it refreshes, the sharper faster moving images will be. wave your finger in front of a 60hz tv and a 120hz tv and you'll probably see the difference.

as far as LCD vs Plasma goes, DEFINITELY go with the LCD for the dorm. the picture quality on an LCD won't be quite as vivid as a plasma, but plasmas are very fragile creatures. they get VERY hot and that means ghost images burnt into the screen if you're not careful. they can't be in any other position than upright, otherwise the very heavy components inside will shift and be crushed.

Brand wise for an LCD, go with a samsung, sony, toshiba, or LG. those are pretty much the top 4 and you can't go wrong with any of them.

Definitely get your TV from Best Buy. we've got the best protection, service, knowledge, and overall everything TV wise of any other store.

a few final pointers:

-GET THE 2 OR 4 YEAR BLACK TIE PROTECTION PLAN!! i cannot stress to you enough the importance of this. the manufacturer only covers the tv for 1 year. the manufacturer's warranty is also LIMITED, meaning they like to disclaim everything and call it "user error" as i'm sure plenty of us have experienced when we blew our first sub. with the Black Tie protection plan we cover EVERYTHING but accidental damage, so just don't throw your wii remote through the screen and you'll be set

-don't be afraid of the best buy credit card. i know everyone thinks that all department store credit cards are evil, and some of them are; but this card is different. if you spend over $529 in home theater (depending on your local BBY offers) you have 2 years to pay that tv off without paying a penny in interest. there's no hidden fees or anything like that as long as you make your payments. ask a sales rep about it.

other useful info:

-if you don't have a PS3 already, you should look into getting a blu-ray player. the cheapest insignia one will do you just fine, as there is no difference in picture quality between the brands of blu-players. make sure you get the 9 foot insignia HDMI cable with it; it's the best for your situation. (they play DVD's and CD's too)

-since you are a member of this audio forum, you will likely be dissatisfied with the tv's stock speakers. so unless you already have some home audio speakers, definitely look into the insignia 6.5" bookshelf speakers and a receiver (talk to a sales rep about the right receiver for you)

sorry i had to write a whole novel there, but please feel free to PM me with anymore questions!

good luck!

i like this guy , i was plannin on getting the tv from best buy already..i'm not gonna use the credit card though, mom is gonna give me the money for a new xbox, tv and all that shit..my roommate has a ps3 so we're set with that..gonna get all of this stuff over the summer, by the way, what's your opinion on the 46" RCA LCD that's on top of the best seller list on the best buy site?