Buying a new TV

[MightyMouse]

So, Uncle Sam refunded me a decent chunk of change this year, and I'm using some of that to buy a new TV.

I'm OK on size. 40-42 inches will suit me just fine. And I actually have it narrowed down to 2 TVs, and I need some help to tip the scale.

Both TVs are WiFi enabled, 1080pi. There's about a $20 price difference, so money isn't a factor.

TV 1 is a 40-inch LED. The refresh rate on it is 60Hz.

TV 2 is a 42-inch LCD. The refresh rate is 120Hz.

I've heard that LED is better than LCD, but I'm not really sure why. A refresh rate of 120 seems better than 60, but I don't know how noticeable it is on that size of a TV.

My first instinct is that there can't be that much of a difference between LCD and LED, which makes me lean toward TV 2.

Buying a new TV sounds exciting, and I'm looking forward to having a new TV, but the process is a bit of a headache. Has anyone else gone through this recently who would care to weigh in?

 

[Sam Mills 51]

TV 2 all day long.

I have a 40-inch with 120 Hz. There's a difference from 60 Hz when watching action TV/films and sports. At least I think so ... results around here seem to vary.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

It blows my mind how cheap great TVs are now.

I paid a fortune for our 60" TV about seven years ago. It's still nice, but doesn't have any of the bells and whistles that TVs that cost a fifth of what we paid then, do now...

 

[young-gun11]

I used to work inside a Best Buy. I'll tell you, the 120Hz refresh rate is important. The LED is going to give you more vibrant colors and use a significantly less amount of energy. And the 60Hz refresh rate is most common among TVs right now. Usually only plasma has a higher refresh, I think it's 600 Hz.

If it were me, and I'm not going green anytime soon, I'd say TV 2.

 

[dieditor]

Agree on TV #2. I have a 60Hz in the bedroom and a 120Hz in the living room and the 120Hz model is FAR superior for watching sports and other programs/movies with a lot of action. If you watch only sitcoms and the news, 60Hz will probably be fine. But for sports (I've especially noticed this with football), the higher hertz rate can't be beat.

 

[Stitch]

The higher hertz rate gives movies originally produced on film a video feel, which looks odd to me. I wouldn't worry about Wi-Fi and would just get a Roku or Apple TV instead.

 

[swamp trash]

Go plasma and you won't need to worry about the refresh rate. You also get a better view at all angles.

LCD and LED still have no demonstrable advantages over plasma. It may be an old tech but it's still the best all-around performer.

 

[JackReacher]

Always go with the larger refresh rate.

Also, V-I-Z-I-O. We just got a 42-inch Vizio a couple months ago. Greatest TV I've ever owned. Too bad it's my wife's. Still trying to figure out how much trouble it'd be to switch TVs with the one in my basement.

 

[MightyMouse]

Always go with the larger refresh rate.

Also, V-I-Z-I-O. We just got a 42-inch Vizio a couple months ago. Greatest TV I've ever owned. Too bad it's my wife's. Still trying to figure out how much trouble it'd be to switch TVs with the one in my basement.

That makes it a bit easier. TV 2 is a Vizio.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Go plasma and you won't need to worry about the refresh rate. You also get a better view at all angles.

LCD and LED still have no demonstrable advantages over plasma. It may be an old tech but it's still the best all-around performer.

There is far, far less glare on LED and LCD televisions than there is on a plasma. I have one of each, and the difference is incredible, especially for movies with darker tones.

I echo what Mizzou said. I got an old tube set, 32 inches or so, in about 2000. It lasted me until late 2011, around Thanksgiving, when we finally bought a new one. If I'd have known that I could score a 50-inch plasma for $500, I would have gone that route a very long time ago. The stand was practically as much as the TV itself.

 

[93Devil]

I just bought a 55" Panasonic Viera plasma from Sears for $999.

It's insane.

3D
I can hard wire the internet
Stream Amazon, Netflix and Hulu Plus
I think I can do apps through it (I have not gotten that far)
SD card slot to look at photos

 

[nmmetsfan]

FYI, if you're buying a Vizio LCD, you're getting an LG screen.

 

[swamp trash]

Go plasma and you won't need to worry about the refresh rate. You also get a better view at all angles.

LCD and LED still have no demonstrable advantages over plasma. It may be an old tech but it's still the best all-around performer.

There is far, far less glare on LED and LCD televisions than there is on a plasma. I have one of each, and the difference is incredible, especially for movies with darker tones.

A lot of plasma sets nowadays come with an anti-glare coating which pretty much eliminates that problem.

 

[MileHigh]

I just bought a 55-inch plasma a month ago and it's sweet, with all the fun stuff 93Devil mentioned.

When I was shopping around and talking with folks, I was told that nowadays, there is virtually no difference in terms of glare of plasma vs. LED. Also, I was pushed away from LCD, mainly because they are being phased out.

 

[MightyMouse]

Picked it up today. 42-inch Vizio LCD. 1080, 120Hz, all the good stuff.

I'm lacking in an HD cable box, so watching TV is pretty pathetic right now, but I'll have all that good stuff in time for the Masters.

It was a pain in the neck, though. None of the stores seemed to have anything in stock other than floor models (I almost gave in and bought one, but decided against it). I had to go to five stores, including two different Walmarts before anyone actually had it in stock.

Thanks to all my SJ cronies for the input. Much appreciated.

 

[linotype]

Here's a helpful calibration hint that I learned the hard way. When you calibrate it -- and you definitely will want to adjust the out-of-the-box settings -- make sure you turn your sharpness way down. Like, if it's a scale of 0 to 100, crank it all the way down to about 4 or 5.

My sharpness was up at about 60 and I never thought to tweak it, and football and basketball players would have this fuzzy "halo" around them. Like a fool, I thought it meant the picture wasn't sharp enough -- so I cranked it further and further up. Not surprisingly, it got worse and worse.

Only when I turned it way down did it disappear. Simple enough, yet I felt like an idiot for not thinking to do it sooner.

 

[Hank_Scorpio]

Picked it up today. 42-inch Vizio LCD. 1080, 120Hz, all the good stuff.

I'm lacking in an HD cable box, so watching TV is pretty pathetic right now, but I'll have all that good stuff in time for the Masters.

It was a pain in the neck, though. None of the stores seemed to have anything in stock other than floor models (I almost gave in and bought one, but decided against it). I had to go to five stores, including two different Walmarts before anyone actually had it in stock.

Thanks to all my SJ cronies for the input. Much appreciated.

You can probably still get the major network channels in HD (provided you have cable already).

I don't have a HD box on my bedroom set, but still get those networks in HD. Just tune to the 200 channels and they should be there.

 

[JackReacher]

The Vizio I bought a couple months ago didn't need any setting adjustments. Once you turned it on, it automatically adjusted its settings. Only button I pushed was the power button and it was ready to rock. And it's amazing.

Like 93D's, we have Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and one other one I can't remember. Connects through our wireless internet connection. Also can access Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. And some other stuff I haven't had time to mess with just yet.

Congrats on your purchase. Hope it's awesome.