Tax Refund Friday! HD question!

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sp00ge

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I finally convinced the wife to let me upgrade to HD (from our behemoth 500lb 36" CRT). We went to Circuit City and found this. Open box, but definitely not abused looking at all. It's marked at $1100, right about where we were limiting ourselves. It seems to have pretty good reviews, and for the price.

I have great trust in Philips. The last 5 TVs I've owned were philips(magnavox), and the only reason I got rid of them was in upgrading to something newer. In other words, I've never had one fail on me.

Anyone here by chance have/had this particular unit?
 
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The price is good, and if that is your price range its probably about the best you can get. Personally Im not a fan of plasma's and would save up to buy a good Samsung or Sony LCD, but that plasma is better than any 40-42" LCD you could get in the $1100 price range.
 
We sell this 42" TV at my work and compared to the 42" Panasonic and 42" Samsung next to it this TV is very poor. There seems to be some sort of haze/fog on/in the screen where it is not as clear as the other 2. I have done a ton of adjustments and the problem isn't in the settings. I'd steer clear from it.
 
[quote name='brendandwc']costco has the vizio 42" plasma for 999.99 i think they have it on costco.com[/quote]

I don't have a costco membership. No local costcos anyways.
 
Look closely at that Philips compared to other non-Philips/Magnavox TVs and make sure the bright red doesn't look drastically different. A few of those models screw up bright reds sharpness.

For example, I had a 37" model 37MF231D and in Wii Zelda: TP, when I'd use the bow crosshair, which is a pixel thin bright red +. the __ shaped line was perfect, the | shape was widened and dull, in both widescreen and full.

It's just the way that model did red. None of the TV/Wii options fixed it, yet pulling out 1 cable of the component cables so that red didn't come through, it'd look perfect.

Again, the way to tell if it has a problem like this is to simply see if the reds are much brighter than other comparable TVs.
 
For the money this is the best 42" TV you can buy.

http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=44

Check the "Find a dealer" and input your zip code. It is around $1,300.

Check reviews for this TV and you will see it is the best around in the price range. I'm considering buying one myself...but I'm getting married in a couple months and the future wife is telling me no, but I'm breaking her ;)

Edit: Also the Vizio @ Costco is a great HDTV!
 
[quote name='spoo']For the money this is the best 42" TV you can buy.

http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=44

Check the "Find a dealer" and input your zip code. It is around $1,300.

Check reviews for this TV and you will see it is the best around in the price range. I'm considering buying one myself...but I'm getting married in a couple months and the future wife is telling me no, but I'm breaking her ;)

Edit: Also the Vizio @ Costco is a great HDTV![/quote]

that Westinghouse looks pretty nice. Unfortunately, the locator shows two places. Best Buy (looking online, they don't carry it anymore) and Rex, they just up and closed a week or so ago. :/

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Keep them coming.
 
[quote name='brendandwc']costco has the vizio 42" plasma for 999.99 i think they have it on costco.com[/quote]

That Vizio I believe is at Sam's Club too. Same Price. I think you can download a 1 day pass, if I am not mistaken. Also, Sam's Club is owned by Wal-Mart. Maybe check there too.

Edit: I think they have a 50" Vizio Plasma for 1199 or 1299, I forget.
 
[quote name='Number83']That Vizio I believe is at Sam's Club too. Same Price. I think you can download a 1 day pass, if I am not mistaken. Also, Sam's Club is owned by Wal-Mart. Maybe check there too.

Edit: I think they have a 50" Vizio Plasma for 1199 or 1299, I forget.[/quote]

10% service fee for non-members. Drat! I think my in-laws let their membership lapse too.
 
I say stick away from the Bigger Vizio's also. They aren't as crisp and clear as a more name brand TV. The 37" and 32" Vizio LCD's are very nice for the price though.
 
[quote name='pimpinc333']I say stick away from the Bigger Vizio's also. They aren't as crisp and clear as a more name brand TV. The 37" and 32" Vizio LCD's are very nice for the price though.[/QUOTE]


I have to disagree with you on this, I have seen the 50" Plasmas in home and set up and it was very nice. And a Co worker has the Vizio 42" LCD and for the Money it was a very nice HD pic. but the SD was just ok.
 
[quote name='Kfoster1979']I have to disagree with you on this, I have seen the 50" Plasmas in home and set up and it was very nice. And a Co worker has the Vizio 42" LCD and for the Money it was a very nice HD pic. but the SD was just ok.[/QUOTE]

Sure it's you own opinion. But I sell these TV's and I see what they look like on a HD Source everday. I set these up and mess with the settings to get them as perfect as possible but the Samsung, Sony's, and Panasonic TV's blow these out of the water. You basically get what you pay for. Vizio's are a decent buy for the dollar though.
 
[quote name='sp00ge']that Westinghouse looks pretty nice. Unfortunately, the locator shows two places. Best Buy (looking online, they don't carry it anymore) and Rex, they just up and closed a week or so ago. :/

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Keep them coming.[/QUOTE]
I've heard and seen nothing but good about the Westinghouse LVM-42w2. If you check the AVS forums, it's highly recommended. From the looks of the post I quoted, it seems as if you don't want to order online. Trakan, a moderator here, just bought this monitor about 2 weeks ago online from Crutchfield for $1499. Here it is at techonweb for $1254.92 shipped.

If you are "afraid" of buying online you would be passing up on a great TV. Plus, plasmas are much more prone to burn-ins and you're getting a 42" used plasma for almost the same price as 42" new LCD 1080p TV. To me, it seems like an easy answer as to which one to get.

EDIT: Ugh...the plasma is only 1024x768, while the Westy is 1920x1080. It's not even 1366x768 like most monitors.
 
Yeah lots of Plasmas are 1024x768. They look great but I still like the idea of going to 1080p rather than 720p myself.

What is interesting is that Panasonic is pushing Plasmas rather than LCDs. They must have more money or make more profit on the plasmas. They have a page explaining why Plasma is better on their main page now.

Personally I'm leaning toward LCD for my next tv.
 
Thanks for all of the input everybody. I still have to consult with the wife, but I think I may go with the Westinghouse afterall.

Getting it from techonweb, like noted above by zewone, will only be about $80 more, after sales tax and such, than the Philly. Sure I'll have to wait a little while longer for it to be shipped, but that does seem to be the best deal thus far.

And yes, DLP/Projection are totally out of the question. Our couches are arranged so they are not directly in front of the TV, so the limited view angles alone would present a problem. Plus the wife demands a flat panel, which I totally agree on. :D
 
[quote name='spoo']For the money this is the best 42" TV you can buy.

http://www.westinghousedigital.com/details.aspx?itemnum=44

Check the "Find a dealer" and input your zip code. It is around $1,300.

Check reviews for this TV and you will see it is the best around in the price range. I'm considering buying one myself...but I'm getting married in a couple months and the future wife is telling me no, but I'm breaking her ;)

Edit: Also the Vizio @ Costco is a great HDTV![/quote]

Bad contrast ratio, is only a monitor, and only has 1 hdmi input.
Though, I guess if you're looking for a cheaper tv, you'll have to make some sacrifices.
If you're not planning on wall-mounting it, go with rear-projection, unless you literally have no room. You can get 50" 1080ps' (brand name too) for $1500.
 
I retract my previous statement. I didn't realize the Westy didn't have a built-in tuner. So that's a pass. Moving on....
 
[quote name='sp00ge']I retract my previous statement. I didn't realize the Westy didn't have a built-in tuner. So that's a pass. Moving on....[/QUOTE]

You only have basic or no Cable?
 
[quote name='pimpinc333']You only have basic or no Cable?[/quote]

Currently, no. That's another battle with the wife. I rarely watch basic cable, but she does, so it needs a tuner. I want HD for movies and gaming. She'll probably break down and want digital HD eventually, but until then....

Part of being married is having to make her happy in order for you to be happy.
 
[quote name='nativetongue88']http://www.outlet.philips.com/b2c_redesign/promotions/list.do?PROMOTION_ID=OUTLET-42PLASMA-0207&NEXT_PAGE=promotionDetails&shop=OUTLET

there you go. 799$ philips 42inch plasma. i have the same model and also got it from the philips online outlet. the tv is very very impressive. it has a tuner, hdmi, 1080 and 720, cablecard slot. it has it all. check it out, you cant beat that price.[/quote]

Nice find. Looks similar to what I was looking at, just need to do some side-by-side to see what differences there are.

Free shipping is icing on the cake.
 
[quote name='spoo']Go to http://www.avsforum.com/ and ask over there they are very knowledgeable and most likely help you out more then us.

Not knocking us CAGS they just know their stuff like we know how to find a great $5 dollar game.[/QUOTE]

I agree... those guys have given me tons of great advice.

Also, have you considered a good old rear projection? They're a bit fatter (depth) but they weight about as much as an LCD and are capable of better picture quality than competing LCDs or Plasmas.
 
philips units have alike a 25% failure rate, the westinghouse is a piece of crap. i work in distribution man, honestly, a toshiba or a sharp aquos is your best best for an HD LCD. the vizio's arent bad, but their colors seem to be off. so if you can deal with that (most people can, thats your ticket to ride). westinghouse's 1080p unit will not accept a 1080p signal, only 720p and 1080i and will upconvert it to 1080p and looks like shit.
the toshiba 1080p wont accept 1080p either, but has a much better scaler in it to accomodate 1080p.

a great deal would be the LC37D42U at www.crutchfield.com, they have them pretty cheap, or call the guy at www.plasmamax.com
 
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