Need a new TV (help JohnnyB!)

[atquinn]

Need a new tv for the 1st floor living room. Gets plenty of light and probably half of the viewing will be daytime viewing under daylight conditions (not closing blinds). Viewing distance will be 9 ft. The last, and only TV we bought was a CRT unit about 10 years ago. It's still going strong, but it's finally time to be a 2 tv house. I want a flat screen wall-mountable something or other. Still haven't managed to see a 3D movie so definitely not willing to pay more for that in a tv. I'm also a cheap bastard in general. So, any recommendations?

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Austin

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

I bought a 32" Toshiba Regza HD1080 (1980x1080) for £220 ($350) delivered on eBay. Have it linked to PC/Media. I'd presume you want bigger ie: 40". Toshiba's are pretty good IMO...

[atquinn]

The current CRT is a toshiba and it's never had any problems, but I don't know how they stack up overall (didn't do any research at all before getting the current tv). This tv will also be hooked to the internet like your; the FIOS router is right by the cable box. $350 sems like a crazy good price?

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Austin

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

Dunno if you'd be able to source one in the US but here's the one I got http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2c646949f4 (says Manfacturer Refurbished but mine's as new)...

[Victor (Fret Friend)]

And here's the 40" http://www.ebay.co.u...=item256d62c49d

I tend to use mine for streaming stuff live & use my 22" monitor for 'normal' PC use at the same time. Good setup. I run an ATI Radeon 6770 w/1GB RAM ($130) with mine to run the 32" TV as a monitor. It has many connectors & can be linked up to many devices at the same time...

[unfun75]

I'm an LG fan myself, but my electronics guru extraordinaire co-worker swears by Sony. LCD over LED. Plasma's seem to be the best deals but your viewing room seems a bit bright for plasma. 32" will look crazy good but may be too small for 9 feet. I went with a 42" for the same distance.

[JGale]

Panasonic plasma. JohnnyB Goode.

[silentman]

Yup - Panasonic plasma. I have 2 50 inch - love them. I have a lot of light in my living room Looks great.

[blackfbiv]

_{55" Samsung LED, here...}

_{Gosh we're about 9-10 feet from it. Sure is spectacular... (like Imax in the house!... well not really, but it's a BIG television)}

_{Even during the daytime, when it's pretty bright in the room.}

[JohnnyB]

Well, as much as I like my Panasonic plasma, I darken the room with dark grey flannel to get the best picture when the sun's out. For daytime viewing without blinds I recommend LCD or LED/LCD. At 9' viewing you'll want at least a 50" and preferably 55-60". I view from about 8-9' and 60" is just right.

There are a lot of good LED/LCD flatscreens out there. My short list is Samsung, Sony, and Sharp, followed closely by LG, Vizio, Toshiba, Sanyo, Hitachi, etc. and they all just keep getting better. You may want to consider a 3D TV anyway as they're sharper and brighter yet. The Vizio 3D TVs are very impressive for the money. Most 3D LED/LCD TVs, especially with 240Hz refresh are pretty stunning. Even in 2D the 3DTVs almost look 3D. Lots of "pop" and dimensionality.

You never said how cheap you want to be. If you're a member of a warehouse store (Sam's or Costco) you can get a pretty nice 55" for about a grand, more for 3D, but the Vizio 3D's are pretty affordable.

[unfun75]

Just an FYI about Vizio... the sound sucks. Even when hooked to your stereo. Whatever sound card they are using sucks. Period. My mom has one with these exact issues and its pretty well documented online, too. Shame because the prices are great. We got her 37" 1080p LCD for less than 400.

[cynic]

At 9' viewing you'll want at least a 50" and preferably 55-60". I view from about 8-9' and 60" is just right.

I watch a 40" from 12' away and I'd suspect for the majority of people it's more than enough.

[JohnnyB]

Just an FYI about Vizio... the sound sucks. Even when hooked to your stereo. Whatever sound card they are using sucks. Period. My mom has one with these exact issues and its pretty well documented online, too. Shame because the prices are great. We got her 37" 1080p LCD for less than 400.

What is feeding signal to the Vizio TV--a direct feed or cable box? I have a cable box with audio outputs including digital S/PDIF audio. I don't send the sound through the TV at all, regardless of the brand. I did have to do this for a year when I first got HDTV and installed a CableCard so the TV could take a direct feed from the cable drop. Fortunately, my old HDTV had a Toslink digital output that I fed my AV preamp/processor and the sound was OK.

If your mom doesn't use a cable box, it would be worth the monthly rental to get one with built-in DVR. That's what I did after using the cablecard and internal tuner for a year. Sound quality improved too.

[atquinn]

I ended up getting a Samsung 3D LED TV, 46". I think 3D is pretty worthless, but at only $100 more than the 2D model and with a slightly better picture, I couldn't pass it up. Also, in the end, I decided not to worry too much about price since I plan on having this TV for a very long time (hopefully at least as long as we've had our CRT so far). Now I just need to get the coax cable run/splitter to the living room sorted out so I can see more than 20% of the channels. Fun!

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Austin

[JohnnyB]

I ended up getting a Samsung 3D LED TV, 46". I think 3D is pretty worthless, but at only $100 more than the 2D model and with a slightly better picture, I couldn't pass it up.

Yep, I'm not all over 3D either, but $100 is easily worth it for the improvement in the picture, especially in a brighter room. 3D TVs have to be brighter because the 3D glasses reduce the amount of light reaching the eyes. Samsung+LED+3D=great pic!

[JohnnyB]

At 9' viewing you'll want at least a 50" and preferably 55-60". I view from about 8-9' and 60" is just right.

I watch a 40" from 12' away and I'd suspect for the majority of people it's more than enough.

Well, that depends on whether we're talking about "watching TV" or "experiencing home theater."

Best Buy lists a combined total of 124 40" and 42" HDTVs and a combined total of 161 55" and 60" HDTVs. That indicates that the market is moving toward "home theater." My local Costco has LCD flatscreens up to 80" now. That's almost 7' diagonal and cuts into the lower end of the front projection market.

[BubbaVO]

The old 32" tube tv finally died. Replaced it with a Vizio 3d 50" smart TV. Holy smokes! Haven't even tried the 3d, but the 2d is amazing. Watched Super 8 in HD streaming from amazon prime. The technology is totally sick.

[JohnnyB]

^^^

For an even better experience, or at least to ensure that your TV is getting the full signal sent by your Blu-ray player or cable box, install these Redmere technology HDMI cables throughout. They'll look pretty good right out of the package, but after a couple days of settling in they'll look even better. These really work and they're cheaper than packaged HDMI cables at BestBuy or at department stores.

[BubbaVO]

THanks JB, I'll check those cables out.

I have a few more questions:

a) Blu Ray - I don't have one. I know you like the Oppo. But how about the Sony BDP-S790 3D?

Sound - I don't have any of that either. Any thoughts on the ZVOX 430 HSD?

c) Wall Mounts - Any thoughts on the wall mounting units? The Sanus tilting mount unit looks pretty good.

Can you tell I'm on a budget? Still that's no reason why I can't have a nice set up, right?

Any guidance you have would be greatly appreciated.

[singlehum]

My Sony 46" LCD from a few years ago still looks great but I want to upgrade in size due to the viewing distance.

In looking at the newer models, it seems they all have really reflective screen glass which I think will willbe a problem in my very bright viewing room. My current Sony has kind of a matte screen which really cuts down on glare/reflections. Does anybody still produce a model with an "anti-glare" screen?

[ib2010]

I still find my 2, 42" Panasonic plasmas very pleasing to the eyeball. Set up real near flat. Have not evaluated the techno advances in the last 3 years, but found , and still find some of the "extra crispy" screens distracting. And fatiguing, when at a friends house. Of course stores grossly hype the contrast/picture to jump off the shelf, enough to ruin any display. This former CRT, XBR ,convert simply loves a screen that does not overwhelm after 15 minuets.

[ZR]

Samsung 61" LED/LCD. We've had it for many years (bought it for $2,100 back in the day, obviously much cheaper nowadays). 1080i etc. Great TV...plenty bright and clear!

[JohnnyB]

THanks JB, I'll check those cables out.

I have a few more questions:

a) Blu Ray - I don't have one. I know you like the Oppo. But how about the Sony BDP-S790 3D?

Sound - I don't have any of that either. Any thoughts on the ZVOX 430 HSD?

c) Wall Mounts - Any thoughts on the wall mounting units? The Sanus tilting mount unit looks pretty good.

Can you tell I'm on a budget? Still that's no reason why I can't have a nice set up, right?

Any guidance you have would be greatly appreciated.

The Sony Blu-ray player got a really good review in Sound&Vision. For $249 it looks like it's really good. For exactly double the Oppo BDP-103 gets you close to the best you can get (mostly surpassed only by Oppo's own $1095 BDP-105). It also has some very useful additional I/Os and can even act as an A/V processor for a couple more HDMI devices. It can also feed a decoded multi-channel analog signal to an older (used, cheap) surround sound processor.

I haven't heard the ZVOX personally, but I read good reviews about them, even from the pickier audiophile publications. You probably already know that the model 430 is on sale right now at $299, down from $499. I like that it has digital inputs and (therefore) a built-in DAC.

The brain behind ZVOX is audio designer legend Winslow Burhoe, who's done a lot of things, but I particularly remember him for founding EPI speakers and designing their original product line. The single audio (mono, I presume) output could be fed to a separate subwoofer for even more bass slam for crashes and explosions (and some deep-thrumming music soundtracks as well).

Winslow also still makes a mail-order stereo speaker called the Silent Speaker, $750/pair, they tuck up against the back wall and fill the room with every evenly balanced (and reasonably detailed) sound. They got a positive review from Stereophile and are a recommended component. I say this primarily to confirm that Winslow Burhoe makes high-value products and doesn't make junk.

[ZR]

on a BLu-Ray player like you mention OPPO can you really look at the picture and go "wow what a difference!"?

[JohnnyB]

on a BLu-Ray player like you mention OPPO can you really look at the picture and go "wow what a difference!"?

Here are some reviews:

• Sound&Vision
• PCMag. It became their new "Editor's Choice," replacing--oh--the previous Oppo Blu-ray model.
• HomeTheaterReview
• Audioholics Audioholics' default mode is "skeptic." They rate this Oppo as "gotta have it."

Also, for this money the Oppo is a media center that can do CD/DVD/DVD-A/SACD/Blu-ray plus stream all manner of Internet-based audio and video, and play just about any format that can be put on an optical disk. Its own internal converters outperform a great number of AV receivers and processors; if your receiver or preamp has 7.1 channel analog inputs, you can use the Oppo's decoding instead, often to great benefit.

Oppo's upscaling is great. I still use my 2007 Oppo DV980H std-def DVD player because its upconversion is so good for regular DVDs.

[JGale]

When JohnnyB speaks, savvy buyers buy. That's my motto and I'm sticking to it!