I am about ready to ditch the 27" CRT in the basement, move the 32" Panasonic (720P) LCD down there and get a 42" LED for my living room. I'm just not sure what to look for anymore and looking for direction. Brand? Panasonic? Samsung? Sanyo?... Refresh Rate? 120 Hz or higher? 1080P... Contrast Ratio?

A little guidance please...

I'm reasonably happy with my Toshiba.

Space,

Start at this web site:

[www.rtings.com]

BTW, it's a great time to buy a TV, especially if you go for a last year's model. All of the manufacturers are discontinuing them in favor of new models and the stores are now deeply discounting the old ones, assuming they have any left.

Robert

You might want to avoid so-called smart TVs, due to reports of their surreptitious snooping and tracking of your viewing habits.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2014 09:10AM by ka jowct.

Thanks for that link Robert M!

It seems even a 42" is no longer a big tv. It looks like the manufacturers are focusing more attention on bigger TVs and it looks like the 32"-42" are all pretty comparable these days.

From my experience, I have had good luck with LG and very bad luck with Visio. I have had both a good and bad experience with Samsung, but do like the price/value/quality/features ratio of Samsung.

Good luck.

JPK

I've been very pleased with my Samsung 46" but of course it is a few models old. There is no telling what has been changed and if a new model of any brand correlates to a previous model. That being said avoid the no name brands, the basic American brands (RCA, Zenith, etc) and older Vizeo. The newer Vizeo seem better but I still don't think they measure up to the first line brands like Samsung, LG, Toshiba or Sony.

As for a deal - keep an eye on Dealnews.com and the closeout counter at Sams or Costco.

---

“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

Seems TV's are becoming disposable, though I'm a bigger is better kind of guy. Keeping that content flowing is the wallet killer.

Remember that you are getting a 1080 display. Would you sit five feet from a 21.5" iMac? You are doing the same thing if you are sitting ten feet from a 42" TV.

---

In tha 360. MRF User Map



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2014 11:23AM by Filliam H. Muffman.

Quote
Filliam H. Muffman
Remember that you are getting a 1080 display. Would you sit five feet from a 21.5" iMac? You are doing the same thing if you are sitting ten feet from a 42" TV.

Quote
Robert M
Space,

Start at this web site:

[www.rtings.com]

In addition to Robert's recommendation, this site is useful:

[reviews.cnet.com]

Check out the site's "TV Reviews" and "Best TVs" tabs.

These guys seem to have done their homework and update things with frightening regularity.

[thewirecutter.com]

Z

Quote
Article Accelerator

Quote
Filliam H. Muffman
Remember that you are getting a 1080 display. Would you sit five feet from a 21.5" iMac? You are doing the same thing if you are sitting ten feet from a 42" TV.

Yet people sat 10 feet away from 32" and smaller screens for years. Buy what fits your living space and budget and don't worry about the rest, that's my suggestion anyway. A 42" is likely fine.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/2014 04:04PM by silvarios.

Quote
silvarios

Quote
Article Accelerator

Quote
Filliam H. Muffman
Remember that you are getting a 1080 display. Would you sit five feet from a 21.5" iMac? You are doing the same thing if you are sitting ten feet from a 42" TV.

Yet people sat 10 feet away from 32" and smaller screens for years.

Those were generally 425i screens. I had a 26" mItsybitsy CRT and I could almost adjust the volume with my toes if I scooted all the way down in my recliner.

---

In tha 360. MRF User Map

Quote
Z
These guys seem to have done their homework and update things with frightening regularity.

[thewirecutter.com]

Z

Did they stop frightening people in 2013? No 4K and no 802.11ac.

---

In tha 360. MRF User Map

Yet people sat 10 feet away from 32" and smaller screens for years.

For years, a 25" console TV was the TV to sit 10' and farther from.

"YOU'LL RUIN YOUR EYES!!"

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

We went shopping for a new bedroom TV last year and after loping at dozens of pictures, the Samsung Plasma sets looked the best and were also on the lower end of the price range. We ended up with a 39" in 720P set that looks better then most of the 1080p sets. They have a 43" and 51" version also

They've put off frightening people until at least May.

Quote
Robert M
Space,

Start at this web site:

[www.rtings.com]

Nice site I guess, except they consider "all" TVs to consist of only Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony.

I got a 42" 720 X Panasonic plasma for $400 at Wal-Mart.

If I had moved a month or two sooner, I might have got the 1080 S version for close to the same price.

<sigh>

I doubt I'll be able to get a big plasma in time.

By the time I'm ready for a 60" or so screen, I hope there will be something about LCD that makes me forget all about plasma.

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

All,

Look at the site again. They cover several other brands including Sharp, Vizio, Toshiba, etc.

Robert

Quote
Robert M
All,

Look at the site again. They cover several other brands including Sharp, Vizio, Toshiba, etc.

Robert

Ok, I looked everywhere I could think of on the site and don't see any other brands.