I this conversation with my mother-in-law last weekend.
Her, “So this Curtis Mathes LCD isn’t any good? You sure, ’cause they are a good brand.”
Me, not looking directly in her Medusa-like eyes, “Nope.”
And today, I find that the Home Theater Specialist of America warns against purchasing a cheap HDTVs. You know they are serious ’cause they are specialists.
The group says that most of CrunchDeal-ish HDTVs have cheap processing engines and lesser warranties that will come back to bit you in the end. So, their recommendation is to buy only the best TVs on the market, which includes:
- Limited Edition Sharp Aquos LCD
- Pioneer Kuro
- Sony Bravia XBR7 & XBR8
- LG
- Mitsubishi
So, basically, they only recommend the most expensive TVs on the market. I, for one, only recommend a BMW M5 or a Bentley Brooklands.
As for HDTVs, go to the store and buy the picture/brand you are the most comfortable with. Everyone’s eyes are different so what looks good to some, might look like poo to you. But I too would also stay away from the cheap models.
Also, see if the merchant offers any sort of extended protection plan.
Hmmm… I wonder why samsung isn’t on that list…. isn’t it strange, lol!
There’s no way that list is valid with LG and Mitsubishi ahead of the missing from the list Samsung. It is generally regarded that in LCD’s, Samsung and Sony are the best, and in plasma, Pioneer and Panasonic are the best.
Some experts. Samsung is missing. I compared the Sam L750 to the XBR 6,7’s and there was no contest, the Sam won, and that comes from a die hard Sony fan.
I got one of the last three 52″ Samsung L750’s at my local Circuit City for $2K. There’s not even anything close to that performance at that size until you spend $2K-$4K more.
Please let me clarify a few things.
While their is certainly truth to the fact that we try to always recommend the best first. The point was to showcase why the best are worth the investment. If it’s within that person’s budget.
I would also like to point out that SAMSUNG is a fine brand and we offer their 950 and select other series of their product line within our network. I even own one of their 50″ Plasma Panels and it’s awesome!
I also recognize that for $1500 more, my Pioner Elite panel is better and I was just willing to compromise the other room because of budget restrictions. I didn’t lose my common sense and decide to buy a $1000 panel, so I could spend the additional money on something else or even save it.
We certainly had no intention of giving the impression that they are any less or more, than their primary competitors, but the press chose to publish only five of our list. Additionally, there were two model numbers missing from the LG and Mitsubishi lineup.
The issue is more based on price. If a person was intending to spend less than $1000 on an 42″ HD Panel. I would caution them against that and to save for a while longer.
Sub $1000 panels, in most cases are the reasons that the industry return rate is still as high as it is.
There are reasons why a BENTLEY costs more than a LEXUS! It costs more to build and that makes it better. We need to instead determine the value in the differences in price and decide what we are willing to compromise.
It is my contention that we often compromise too much because of misinformation, and lack of education.
The better brands and products within those brands, are built better with better displays, chassis’ and features. They cost more and, therefore; are better. Cost doesn’t necessarily mean you will like the picture of that more expensive TV over one that may be less expensive, but it will be better in some fashion as determined by the price.
It is also a good idea regardless of the price you spend, and let’s face it, it will be quite a large sum, to either get your new HDTV professionally calibrated or at purchase a DVD so that you can do the calibration yourself.
I totally agree about Samsung missing. Personally, I think there’s a better list of affordable HDTVs at:
http://tech.spotcoolstuff.com/best-affordable-inexpensive/hdtv
I disagree, too, with this warning against cheaper HDTVs. I think it is a little self servicing — the group that came out with this advice is run by the people who produce the more expensive sets. Sure, the cheaper sets might have lesser warranties. But how often to TVs break down anyway? And if a set is 1/3 the price it needs to only last 1/3 as long.
I think it’s really difficult to know what’s what. I agree with @anarchyreigns on the general consensus of samsung-sony for lcd and panasonic-pioneer for plasmas, but that may reflect more marketing than anything else. I saw a kind of an interesting breakdown of BEST-VALUE-CHEAPEST flat-panel tv lists at this site:
http://www.hdtvmatrix.com
If you’re going to buy a cheaper tv, it would seem wise, to me, to buy it at a place like Costco that may extend the warranty beyond the manufacturer defined time period.
The best HD-TV is a PC with a WinTV-HVR card in it and a big flatscreen MONITOR. Forget this TV set rubbish. Get a TV card and computer and you can play and record DVD’s & Blu-Ray, capture and record TV shows, view webstreams as well as tune in over the air TV broadcasts. BurnImg, AnyDVD & ReplayMedia Catcher works a treat. You don’t have to buy separate players & recorders and such.