Need TV Help? Recs or Suggestions Plz

[xout]

Hey guys,

I am in the market for a new TV, preferably 40-46''. I'm willing to spend up to a $1,000 but would rather stay around the $500-750 range.

I have a pretty substantial DVD collection and a fairly good blu-ray collection. My current TV (a 720p 60hz 37" Insignia) looks ok, but I know I am not getting the full experience with blu-ray that I could be getting.

I guess all that I know for sure that I want is a 40-46" screen with 1080p resolution with more than 60Hz. Is 120 Hz enough for maximum quality or will 240 make that much of a difference?

I went into Best Buy a couple days ago and fell in love with a Samsung they had displayed. I'm not sure of the model but I remember it being a LED 46" 1080p with 240 MHz. They were playing Pirates of the Caribbean and I felt like I could literally reach out and grab Kiera Knightly. It almost had a 3D feel to the movie without actually being a 3D movie. This TV looked better than the rest, but I am assuming it's because they had it plugged into directly into a PS3 while the others were streaming the same looped commercials back and forth. It was $1799, but was 3D and Internet ready. I'm not sold on 3D, and being I have a PS3, the internet option serves no purpose to me.

I want that experience, I want my Blu-Rays to pop. I want my friends to come into my living room and be in awe about how amazing my picture is. (Yeah, I'm that guy.) I just don't want to break my piggy bank open. Haha. I want the absolute best quality for my limited buck.

Any suggestions or recommendations?

 

[Warick]

There are several threads on this topic, so a search will give you a lot of good info, but I have a 42 inch Panasonic plasma 1080p, and I love it. If you watch sports, play games, etc., you will really like it because of the fast refresh rates (little to no pixelation like I see in LCD's), and the colors just seem better to me on a plasma vs lcd. I bought a blu ray player recently, and the picture quality on this tv is unbelievable.

I originally wanted an LED LCD Samsung 46 inch, but the set I wanted was over 2 grand at the time, and I bought my tv on sale for $800, and I'm sure it's a few hundred dollars cheaper by now. I was skeptical about at first about buying a plasma due to all of the horror stories I've heard, or read about concerning heat output, burn in, etc., but haven't had any problems, and I've owned the tv for over a year. Besides, most if not all of those problems are from much older generation tvs, and aren't an issue on the newer sets.

If I could go back and get a different tv, it would be to get a 50+inch plasma vs the 42, for my living room.

 

[VietCowboy]

quick search of slickdeals led me to these:

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=234923&t=2519133

Samsung UN46C6300 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV @ buy.com - $863 ( 899 - 4% cashback) free shipping B & M
Samsung UN46C6300 46" Widescreen 1080p LED HDTV - 4,000,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio - 120Hz - UN46C6300SF » for $899 at buy.com

Final Price: $949 - $50 instant = $899 + Free Shipping + No Tax (Except CA MA TN NY and WA)

possible cashback - 4% you will get it for 863$

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YMMV on this one: http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=234923&t=2498667

Sony 40" 1080p 120hz 40ex500 $494 SonyStyle In Store
I was at somerset mall in Troy, MI yesterday and stopped by the sonystyle store and they had a bunch of 40ex500 tvs on sale or clearance for $494, its a 40" 1080p 120hz, sorry i didnt take a picture or buy one to scan a receipt. its on their website for $764, so it must be in store only.

on the phone ordering total is $520.19 with free shipping and tax and she honored the $494.99 price. I originally asked for $494 and free dvd and she said it was in store special price only and i asked her to see if she can honor just the TV price for $494 and she put me on hold and had a manager approve the Price Match. Thank OP this works out perfect since i have looking at a 42" lg 60hz and feel like this is a better tv than $500 from amazon.

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http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=234923&t=2521053

Toshiba 46SV670U 46" 1080p HD LED TV 240Hz $799.97 +SHIPPING TAX FOR SOME
CONNS.COM

$79 s&h to NYC,,,

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Of note, I might wait until the new years and closer to Super Bowl Sunday. There will be a lot of good deals from now until then. I would also set up a deal alert on slickdeals for "LED HDTV" or "HDTV 1080p 120hz" and when there's a deal it'll notify you.

 

[casmith07]

I love helping with this stuff. My main question is how far do you plan to sit from the TV? 1080p is really only noticeable in sets that are 46"+.

240Hz vs. 120Hz won't make too much of a difference either, but the latest and clearest tech is definitely LED-lit TVs.

Let me know some more of your criteria and I'll pick one out for you. If you aren't sold on 3D (I think it's a gimmick) then don't buy it....but even if you aren't, 3DTVs are the best on the market for standard HD viewing because they're more advanced.

 

[CanuckCowboysFan]

If you're going to buy a 3D TV, I would recommend waiting a little. There really, really expensive right now, and not to long from now they'll be releasing a 3DTV where glasses are not needed for cheaper.