What TV should we get?

[ferris01]

We are looking at getting a new TV in the next couple of weeks. We are undecided on what we should be getting. Plus we are driven by the mighty dollar. We have looked at widescreen 76cm, LCD and rear projection LCD.

Just wondering what TV's people have and the pro's and con's for each.

LG widescreen 76cm $1300.00
Any type of LCD getting expensive
Sony 3LCD rear projection 40inch $4300.00

[AdzT3-146]

My personal opinion is that toshiba is the best, we've got a 68 cm flatscreen, got it about 3-4 years ago, very quality t.v
picture is clear as a bell, sound is very clear and balanced, no vibrations or anything.

whereas my mate has a 110 cm sony tv, yeh its huge, but picture sucks, sound isnt as dynamic, so forth.

[Perana]

If your looking for the best quality picture i would go old style cathode ray they give a better picture than LCD, LCD Projection or Plasma do at the moment. Although they are out of fashion because they are the old style. saying that LCD does have the advantage of being thin though..

Last week we bought a LG 76cm Widescreen TV (CRT) Click HERE and its great... Both Picture and sound are a lot better than my parents Sony 68cm TV.... Paid $1350 for it.

BTW: Toshiba make great TV's.. Parents have had one for 20+ years and its still going !

[paul7v7]

i'd stick with the CRT for now. Plasma and LCD just don't have the quality as yet. I personally not too keen on the rear projection. Just seems very shady quality. I have a Hitachi TV apart from the soldering coming apart from the front stereo inputs/outputs it has been great. Although it is on 51cm.

[b2tf]

We've actually got the same LG one as linked to by Perana and it's great. Highly recommend LG stuff.

Stay away from plasma - nowhere near as good as it is sometimes made out to be.

[MO]

Samsung Plano,flat screen 68/72cm can't remember for sure,great picture can be seen bodywidth from screen, side on. Has all your sound requirements from norm thru to surround,stereo,hall,theatre etc.

Price about $1000.00 shop around could do better,had it for 1yr and its great.

[Franky]

Plasmas have pretty awesome picture quality now but use more power than LCD. Wait until LCDs they get cheaper, if not you can't go wrong with a plama unless you have it on all day every day

wouldn't even bother with rear projection :togo:

[DOC]

Places like radio rentals ( in SA ) may be others in your state have sections where they sell repo tv's and hi fi gear and for your $ you can pick up a better tv or save on the one you want but you need to keep going back until you find exactly what you looking for.

for me it would be CRT ( normal tv ) or LCD

DOC

[Racecraft]

It has to be widescreen, myself I got duped on a 68cm Sharp TV (great TV) but I didn't relize the volume of the Foxtel Digi programs that were telecast in the Widescreen format.

A mate has a rear projector and my only complaint is if you are not square on to the screen the colors and quality suffer badly.

I'd stick to the CRT Widescreen for the next few years if I was buying a new tele.

[ferris01]

The LG on that site is the one we are looking at. Great to hear u like it.

[SVR73]

Toshiba, panasonic, JVC and Samsung are all good brands
I have a couple of toshiba videos, jvc 51cm TV and two panasonic super drive dvd/vhs combo's with both foxtel digital setups

Also have a panasonic 76cm widescreen 100hz in the lounge room
Recommend you find a wholesaler for your equipment
I have been getting pro blank tapes, DVD R's and machinery from Absolute Audio Visual in Adelaide since 1996 and the prices for machines are always 5-20% cheaper than retail

Example - each panasonic dvd/vhs combo which is one down from the top model I got for $430, retail was $480-520
The 76cm TV was $850

[Perana]

BTW i bought mine from Harvey Norman... RRP was about 2k, but should be able to pick it up for around 1300 or so.

Originally Posted by DOC

Places like radio rentals ( in SA ) may be others in your state have sections where they sell repo tv's and hi fi gear and for your $ you can pick up a better tv or save on the one you want but you need to keep going back until you find exactly what you looking for.

for me it would be CRT ( normal tv ) or LCD

DOC

We had a look there but they were still a bit dear compared to buying new... TV's have come down a lot just recently it seems. But definatly worth the look

[DarkXr]

I work for a large Electrical Retailer in Perth and sell these things for a living. I have to say in regards to the earlier comment that Cathode Tvs have a better picture quality than Plasma's and LCDs, is incorrect and thats not an opinion. Plasmas and LCD's have a quicker refresh rate giving it in most cases a better picture quality. I'm being pretty general though.

For around $3000 you will get an LG 42inch Plasma pretty good picture quality
For around $6000 you will get a 42inch Pioneer plasma (best plasma on the market)
If you are wanting to spend less then look at the LG rear pros e.g RT42/RT56 they have pretty good picture quality.

Also you will find that Cathode tv's (some have good pic quality) are getting more expensive as LCD has been designed to take the place of standard tv sets.

Hope this helps (If you havnt fallen asleep while reading)

cheers

[GTP 320]

I currently have a Widescreen 76cm 100hz German brand called Loewe,without a doubt the best and sharpess picture that i have seen but unfortunately they are expensive but if you want good quality you will have to pay for it.
All my friends that come around comment on the good picture quality,but in the future i can see myself getting a bigger TV maybe a LCD
Cheers John

[MAD]

We bought a 68cm (normal) JVC about 2.5 yrs ago and couldnt be happier with it. It cost a little more than the other options (apart from sony) but on the wall of TV's at the shop it stood out by miles in picture quality.
I will definately be buying JVC again when we upgrade.

[Video_Guy]

From my nickname, you may assume that I am in video industry.

IMHO bigger is better, I have a lot of customers who have bought plasma, and are not impressed. The plasma screens do suffer from a problems, which include pixel dropout, which may not seem a big problem, but they rarely happen in single dots. To get a warranty replacement, you need to have at least 5 or 6 adjoinging dots blow out - by this time you have a 'black hole' about 5 mm thick, and is very noticeable. Plasma also uses a large amount of power to run, and no-one can effectively give you a life expectancy of plasma (yet)

I have just put a deposit on a Toshiba 6oinch dlp rear projection television (153cm) Sony also make a Grand Wega in this size. They cost 7K+, but if you want the ultimate size and quality, you can't beat them. The picture quality is as good as CRT, you have a 160 degree veiwing angle, and unlike plasma, the screen is (almost) non reflective. Try watching a plasma in a sun drenched room!!!! This is why all the shops have them set in dark atmosphere, so the lights don't reflect ont he screen.

Enough raving the best TV is the one you are happy with, and BTW - don't let anyone tell you that a TV is too big!!!

[santoitaliano]

Sony 100hz made in japan... cant beat it

[clampy]

just listen to the radio.

[ferris01]

Thanks everyone...

We sort of have it narrowed it down to the LG widescreen or the Sony 3LCD RP Grand Wega 50 inch. Sort of opposite ends of the scale i know. But as we mainly entertain at home (mortgage impaired) the big LCD would be great...

[FRDGAL]

Found this & thought it might help in your decision:

http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/stories/1871.asp

[Walkinshaw]

We purchased a Tompson 53" RP arround 3 or 4 years ago when Plasma was still unaffordable (read $25-50k). Although its picture quality pails when compared to smaller CRT and todays LCD and Plasma's, when the couches sit 6-8meters back from the tv size is a big issue!!

Bigger is Better

[RPO83]

Our family have been through countless Sony products and I can safely say that all of them are no longer working at all. Our best friends were in charge of Sony in Australia for many years and the most interesting thing about it was that their house contained only one Sony product - a minidisc (which no longer works).

One of the Sony Trinitrons we bought was replaced 4 times under warranty, 3 months after the warranty was out on the 4th unit it decided to die as well. Sony may have the name, but they don't have the quality of Panasonic, Toshiba or even Samsung.

I have a Panasonic 130cm 100hz rear pro as a daily use TV, its faultless but a CRT can't be beat for quality if you don't care about size.

[DJM83]

i bought an lg rear projection tv about 18mths ago and i havnt had any trouble with it awesome for movies ( i have a huge surround sound and amp set up lol) but the tv has an awesome pic and excel sound quality its a 99cm cnt member the model number

[Charliewool]

I also highly recommend Panasonic... I've had a 50" 100hz rear projection set for 4 odd yrs now, used everyday! It has been absolutely faultless.
When purchased I think it was around $6000. Now you'd probably pay 2k?

[Peuty]

Out of those 2 options Ferris, i would go the 3LCD Sony in a heartbeat, great TV, excellent picture and if you have the extra folding, get the matching stand with it, they look great!

[clampy]

Originally Posted by RPO83

Our family have been through countless Sony products and I can safely say that all of them are no longer working at all. Our best friends were in charge of Sony in Australia for many years and the most interesting thing about it was that their house contained only one Sony product - a minidisc (which no longer works).

One of the Sony Trinitrons we bought was replaced 4 times under warranty, 3 months after the warranty was out on the 4th unit it decided to die as well. Sony may have the name, but they don't have the quality of Panasonic, Toshiba or even Samsung.

I have a Panasonic 130cm 100hz rear pro as a daily use TV, its faultless but a CRT can't be beat for quality if you don't care about size.

its interesting you say that coz ive got a 51cm trinitron stereo beast... and its never missed a beat.. it gets left on alot and has to put up with quite a bit of dust too.... tho if i were goin big screen id stay away from sony.. likewise with car audio. but i guess with the telly either i was lucky, or you were unlucky...

i cant wait till SED screens become available. --->

http://www.canon.com/technology/deta...e/sed_display/
http://blog.sagetechnology.com/techs...09/29/236.aspx
http://www.dvdtown.com/messageboard/topic/10/11486/

[cs123]

Originally Posted by ftr_el

I work for a large Electrical Retailer in Perth and sell these things for a living. I have to say in regards to the earlier comment that Cathode Tvs have a better picture quality than Plasma's and LCDs, is incorrect and thats not an opinion. Plasmas and LCD's have a quicker refresh rate giving it in most cases a better picture quality. I'm being pretty general though.

Can you eloborate a bit, perhaps with some links to explain your statement. My understanding is that LCD technology is only just becoming comparable performance wise to crt.

[Peuty]

I can't seem to get excited about LCD, simply because they cant replicate blacks very nicely, and they seem to have trouble with ghosting also.

[FASTXR]

I bought an LG 68cm flat screen CRT TV about a year ago, and couldn't be happier. Two things I'd personally ensure next time I buy a TV:

• Flat screen is a HUGE improvement over normal curved screens. There's just so much less glare and distortion.

• I find its really helpful if your different components are the same brand. I also have an LG DVD recorder, and only need the one remote to run everything which means a lot less clutter.

[mutanti]

Well I had been an installer in previous job and have found toshiba good, sony great , panasonic - ok, cheap and nastys are cheap and nasty - last till warranty runs out then you know about the rest, Had found the older lg's to be crap but some of the newer models are a little better, Im happy with my sony wega - fantastic and never look back.
Take notice of the colour of the tv tube when tv is off, you will find the cheaper tubes look grey and better ones are a clean black. have fun

P.S. just read one of the posts above - Panasonic were once reguarded as high quality but I have seen many picture tubes lose a colour within 6 years including my dads "The One" which was reguarded a top of line model back then.
I seen many unhappy customers about their panasonic they brought from where I used to work and the red had gone etc...
Just my 2cents.
Every brand has its problems, Nec's used to have power supply problems, the sony wega''s on carpet that had a lot of static would get rainbow effect which meant degaussing (or turning of at the power point overnight would fix this) , Panas had picture tube problems, Teac were just crap and would die the day the warranty ran out etc...