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slowngreen

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I really doubt I get a new tv but I've been loosly thinking about it.

I want opinions on these two tv's only please.

A 46" lcd 1080

or

A 50" lcd 720???
 
What kind of opinion?

TV's vary greatly between brand/model/country mfr'd in. Regardless of specs.

If your looking soley off of the specs your posting, then I'd go with the 46" 1080p or save up a bit longer and get a 50" with 1080p.

They are really coming down in price... I have a 55" 1080p 120hz. To me, the resolution difference is noticeable when I get a channel that is 720 coming in. But the 120hz I shut off because it gave a weird "soap opera" effect I didn't care for.

I have a 42" in the bedroom, also 1080p (cheaper brand) and the 720/1080 difference isn't as noticeable on the smaller screen, but could be because it's a cheaper panel too.
 
I have a 32" 720 now, Sharp. The 50" is an Element 720 and the 46 is also an Element. About the same price. Looking at them in the store doesn't help me really, the 46 looks small and a 32 looks like a baby tv lol but its not too bad in my room. It would be mainly a movie and gaming tv and just some local free chanel watching.
 
They're down several hundred dollars from just a few years ago. Don't try to save 100 bucks on something that's a long term investment. You should get about 10 years out of it, so that's only depriving yourself to save $10 a YEAR. That's less than ONE dollar a month. Hardly worth it.

I recently got the Vizio 42", 120 Hz, 1080i for under $800, and the hi-def programs just stun me with the quality. That's actually LESS than I paid for my Sony 27" in 2002.

The Panasonic 50" Plasma was just rated the best buy at right around 800.
 
don't forget to look at the type of screen too...LCD Vs LED the picture clarity and colors is different. also, you need to consider how long you watch TV per day. its recommended that if you watch more than 4hrs a day to not get a Plasma. you'll end up burning out the plasma well ahead of the expected life span.

personally, I'd go for the smaller screen thats 1080dpi.
 
yeah I'm 1-3 hours maybe a day.

I saw crutchfield (through Sony financial) has a deal on no interest for 24 months on any tv's over $999, be around $40-45 a month...
 
Yeah, TV's suck... electronics suck... prices drop as fast as technology changes.

By the time my 55" LG LCD dies, who knows what will be out! LED-LCD will be half what they cost now by then... I paid $1600 for mine in April. The LED-LCD version was $2400 at the time... The current model similar to mine is $1300 and the LED-LCD version is $1700! Jerks!

I have to say though, the difference between my Dynex and my LG is night and day. $1000 price difference (42" @ $600 vs 55" @ $1600), but the size and quality that extra $1K costs is definitely not going unnoticed.

Will more than likely be getting my father in law a new TV for Christmas... He'd be content with what we have in our bedroom (currently has 26" CRT). 42" LCD's can be found for around $500. Would be nice if my wal-mart carried more of the ones they had online so you could see them.
 
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Stand in front of all the TVs on display and you can tell which ones are Plasma by the heat radiating off the screen.
By all means, get 1080, 120. You won't have any regrets down the road with any new game consoles or blu ray discs.
You'll also get a computer input so you'll be able to see my avatar at about 8" square. That ALONE should make you go for a 42" or bigger. :D
 
Get the biggest and highest resolution that you can afford. LED has a bit better picture than the LCD, IMO. The LED has a bit truer blacks than LCD. All of the TVs that I have in use are 1080p.
 
Listen to the advice in this thread, and don't try and cheap out like I did the first time. Stay away from everything but LCD due to the lifespan, even the LED is an LCD display setup that uses LED's to control the backlighting. Stick with a big name brand, Sony, Samsung, LG, etc. Stay away from the cheaper stuff like the Element you listed, you won't be happy, trust me. Go 1080P, you'll be glad you did as time goes on. Personally, I'm a Samsung guy, for my own reasons. But stick with a big brand name for the quality, and the fact they will stand behind their product, and you'll be fine.
 
I'm in the Home Theater business (installing for 15 years now through two different companies) I would recommend 1080i over 720p all day. refresh method interlaced or progressive can never replace the added lines of resolution. Vizio is making some excellent affordable sets as well as Insignia (best buy's brand name) Both are decent sets and should perform well.
And like others have said, an LCD or LED set will last 10-15 years so consider it an investmant over the next decade. Plasmas run hot and typicallly last only 5-7 years before problems occur.
 
Contrast ratio is also something to consider. The higher/lower the number, the greatest difference you have between black and white. With ANY TV, if you get poor black and white, you get poor color reproduction. Mine is 100,000-1 ratio.
There's a company in china that makes the screen panels for most of the TV manufacturers, but I don't recall their name. Well, a couple of guys in California decided to import JUST the panels and build them into their own frames here. Vizio is what they called their new company, and currently the Vizio TVs are far outselling all other brands on the market.
This is the only brand that has any American manufacturing involved in it, so that's another reason to buy it.
 
IMO these finance plans are okay if you are 100% sure you'll pay it off inside the alloted time AND you know you wont be late on a payment.

My sister did this kind of deal a few months back and missed the payment by 1 day and they nailed her. 29.99% interest from day 1 and $35 late fee. she ended up having to pay the TV on a CC because the interest fees were insane.

in short, if u know you can pay it off inside the time and make the minimum monthly payments, do it. just remember to make the payments.
 
I've got a pair Vizio HDTVs, one 23 in. and one 37 in. Both are great. As far as financing, I don't do it. If I can't pay cash, I don't need it.
 
Hmmm, I'm not the most punctual person so that might not be for me.
 
Maybe it's just me, but every LCD/LED(almost the same except for the backlighting) I've studied has had this weird effect to it. It's almost like everything is too sharp. I don't know id it makes any sense.

Maybe I'm just to accustomed to plasma. They still have the edge on response(mind you LCD is getting close now) and color definition. With the new panels earlier problems with burn in is in the past. I love my nearly three year old Panasonic 42" plasma. If you go plasma there's no reason to buy any other make since they are pretty much the only ones still making them.
 
Hows buying used? About the same as buying any electronic used? Kind of a gamble.
 
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