Suggestions

[wozz]

Hello all, I would like to purchase a T.V. for my son for his birthday, I am thinking a size in the
mid 30's(plasma, Lcd?) he is a huge DVD viewer, I also have a Samsung over the air HD decoder
I could give him for local HD content(he lives in Tosa). Any suggestions? I know this is kind of
vague, but I am pretty green to what is out there, just looking for some direction, price range around $1,500.00

Thanx, Wozz

[gb4fan92]

Hello all, I would like to purchase a T.V. for my son for his birthday, I am thinking a size in the
mid 30's(plasma, Lcd?) he is a huge DVD viewer, I also have a Samsung over the air HD decoder
I could give him for local HD content(he lives in Tosa). Any suggestions? I know this is kind of
vague, but I am pretty green to what is out there, just looking for some direction, price range around $1,500.00

Thanx, Wozz

Dad!!! At last I have found you!  

[mhz40]

Not sure if you will have a choice.  Most screens in the 30's are LCD right now.  Best-in-class IMO is the Sharp Aquos line.
As you mentioned, if he mostly does DVD; you might find consider a slightly bigger ED screen in plasma.
If you stick with HD, I'd take the Aquos over a low-end plasma any day.

[MoreTorque99]

Bang for your buck I would take a look at the Sony KDF-E42A10 42" LCD Rear Projection.  Decent picture quality with a stellar built in tuner.

Sony has just released a new 34" HD Tube that looks to be promising.  It is the KD-34XBR970.  The tube would be the best if he tends to watch DVDs with a lot more dark scenes.  The price is VERY low for an XBR tube.

If it has to be a flat panel, the Sharp LC-32DA5U is in your price range and has a GREAT picture.  No built in HD tuner though.

[PatM]

Hello all, I would like to purchase a T.V. for my son for his birthday, I am thinking a size in the
mid 30's(plasma, Lcd?) he is a huge DVD viewer, I also have a Samsung over the air HD decoder
I could give him for local HD content(he lives in Tosa). Any suggestions? I know this is kind of
vague, but I am pretty green to what is out there, just looking for some direction, price range around $1,500.00

Thanx, Wozz

TOSHIBA 34HF85 34" 16:9 TheaterWide FST Pure Flat HDTV Ready TV
Widescreen CRT Picture Tube for the brightest picture around / 2 NTSC Analog Tuners / HDTV when connected to optional HD Tuner

I have one of these and I think the picture beats any projection TV.
I bought mine several years ago for $2100 but the price had dropped to about $900 now.

Details:
      »    HDTV monitor (digital TV reception requires a separate HDTV tuner)
      »    FST PURE® flat picture tube with Invar shadow mask
      »    widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio
      »    CrystalScan™ HDSC digital video processing (upconverts NTSC sources to 1080i)
      »    10-bit 3D digital comb filter
      »    CableClear™ video noise reduction
      »    standard TV tuner
      »    built-in stereo speakers (10 watts x 2)
      »    illuminated multibrand remote control
      »    picture settings memory for each video input
      »    6 A/V inputs, including:
           •    3 composite video (2 rear, 1 front)
           •    3 S-video (2 rear, 1 front)
           •    2 HD-compatible component video (accepts 1080i/720p/480p/480i signals)
           •    1 HDMI digital audio/video input
      »    RF input for antenna/cable signals
      »    35-1/4"W x 24-3/8"H x 24-3/8"D
      »    weight: 148.8 lbs.

I use mine with a Samsung tuner also with good results.

There is also a 26 In model for about $500 and weighs about 111 lbs.
It has HDMI,2 HD component video and AV inputs
You need the external HDTV tuner for both, for HDTV reception.
Great picture with DVD's

[Paul S.]

x2 for Aquos.

[Joel S]

I have a widescreen 30" sony tube TV and it is a great TV.  It is also a great value, I saw the 30xs955 selling for only $799 this past weekend at Flanners (I paid $1,099 last year).  This includes a built in HD tuner, cablecard & HDMI inputs.  The 34" inch version is perhaps even better, but a bit pricier.  The big downfall to these tubes is the size and weight, especially compared to an LCD.  But if you don't plan on moving it much, then it's really not an issue.

If going for an LCD, I would also suggest the Aquos.  I've heard very good things about them and they look great in person as well.  Have fun.

[waterhead]

The December issue of Consumer Reports rated HDTV sets. I value their opinion on most purchases, not sure of the HDTV ratings, though.

Here's the top 5 LCD's, 32"-37". The top rated one is discontinued:

1. Sony Wega KLV-32M1  32" (discontinued)
2. Panasonic Viera TC-32LX50  32"
3. LG 37LP1D  37"
4. Samsung LN-R328W  32"
5. Maxent MX-32X3

If anyone has any actual knowledge of any of these sets, let us know.
Sharp Aquos isn't in the 32"-37" catagory at all (12 sets reviewed), but it is #1 in the 20"-27" catagory (Sharp Aquos LC-26GD4U).

[waterhead]

I just got the March issue of Consumer Reports, and it has HDTV's in it again. here's the 37" LCD's  and list price (5 listed):

1. LG 37LP1D $3,500
2. Toshiba TheaterWide HD 37HL95 $2,400
3. Philips 37PF320A $2,500
4. Polaroid FLM-3701 $1,700
5. Kreisen KR-370T $2,000

(from the article)
None of the 37" LCD TV's in this report offered the very good picture quality you'd want from a large TV with a big price tag, so there are no Quick Picks in this catagory.

I guess that means don't buy any of the above.

The Sharp 32" LC-32DA5U $1,600 is listed as a good choice along with the 32" Panasonic Viera TC-32LX50 $1,400.

Also, the 32" Maxent MX-32X3 $1,100 is rated good for HDTV & DVD picture quality, but SD TV could be better.

[mitsfan]

From my comparison's going to CEDIA this past fall Sony has an excellent LCD product with exceptional black levels and the viewing angle is the best I have seen so far for a LCD product.  JVC's product is good as well however not as wide of a viewing angle.  

Food for thought, is your son playing video games?  If so you do not want to purchase a plasma tv.  They will burn with images that do not move or refresh consistently.  

Also, if you can wait a little bit, rumor in the industry is that LCD prices are going to drop considerably in the next six months or so because the factories will be going to full production.  This is rumored to be the final big price reduction.

Hope this helps!

[wozz]

Thanks for the help everyone, I have been surfing the web trying to find out as much as I can
about the sets that everyone has suggested( I am hoping to go out this weekend and view sets in
person) , it seems that the plasma's are out of my price range and are not available in the size I
am looking for,  my son is not much of a video game player, and his birthday is 3/7. Do prices of these
sets change much in price, pre or post Super Bowl?

Thanx again,
Wozz

[mitsfan]

From my experience being in the industry for over eight years, prices don't change too much, unless the cost drops considerably.  The best time to buy is when model changes occur in late summer.  The older models get reduced to push them out to make room for new ones.  If your open to purchasing an open box item that may be the best bet for getting a great price.  People tend to shy away from these assuming there is a problem, in most cases the reason the item is there open is because it did not fit or there is a very minor scratch.  Otherwise check for sales.

[FeedingFrenzy]

I'm sold on the open box idea.  Here's my TV story since it happened almost exactly one year ago here goes.  My wife and I had pretty much decided on our TV (see signature).  After almost 2 years of working on the basement and with carpeting just around the corner we were getting close to pulling the trigger.  Saturday before the Superbowl stopped in at chain retailer(no names) low and behold there it was on display as open box.  Retailed for 3,699.00 and open box was 2999.00.  Wow didn't really want to buy the TV but at that price?  Called the wife and she was actually pushing me to buy.  So asked the salesman if price was negotiable, said he would give me an additional $100 or a high def receiver for D*.  Took the $100 so $2,899.00 total.  Brought home just in time for the SuperBowl.  Anyways after about a month noticed a small grouping of pixels were out hard to notice but not acceptable.  This may have been the reason for the open box.  Turned out they replaced with brand new one delivered to the house.  Remember warranty still applies to open box.  Anyways my story has a very happy ending.  I'm sure there are others with not so happy endings.  I say OPEN BOX all the way.

[aaron]

I bought the Syntax Olevia 37" LCD (model LT37HVS) about two months ago from Comp USA and I couldn't be happier. Excellent picture quality on HD channels, and very good SD quality. The SD quality is better than most HDTV's that I have seen, especially since I got the SA 8300 from Time Warner. The quality using the old Pioneer cable box was not as good. I had a 42" Samsung plasma for about a week that I took back to buy this TV, the HD quality is the same and the SD is much better. DVD's look excellent as well. Considering most LCD's this size sell for $1700-$2500 you can't beat this TV for the price (I paid $1100 after a $300 mail-in rebate, a couple of quick searches has it selling for about $1500 right now. I've seen a number of rebates on this TV, so if you shop around you can probably find an even better price). It's a brand new company so I was skeptical, but I read this thread on AVS forums before I purchased, and everyone seems to be very happy with it:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=577296&page=1&pp=30

A quick rundown of features:
1366x768 native res
1200:1 contrast ratio
Built-in HD tuner
HDMI, VGA, 2 component, 2 S-Video, 2 AV
not sure about viewing angle, but it looks good from all but the most extreme angles in my living room