Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

[joyride]

Im looking for a new 60 in. tv now, any recomended brands thats use good capacitors,resistors,etc? Any brands that I should completly avoid?

Also, LED ,LCD or PLASMA?

Wanted some advice from the pros.
thanks
(sorry if this is the wrong subforum)

[kornwood]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

avoid vizio and dynex
I live where it gets cold in the winter so I prefer plasma for the bedroom helps keep room warm

[capkid]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

No pro here, but Panasonic plasmas are my favorite. I prefer plasmas in general over LCDs/LEDs because of their color rendering. One other consideration is that motion blur (trailing images, which are most noticeable while watching sporting events or action films) has been a minor issue for LCD/LED TVs. The newer LCD/LEDs seem to be closing the picture quality gap.

[tom66]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

Panasonic vote here too. If you insist on an LED/LCD, Sharp are market leading there.
Plasma in my opinion. You can get good picture quality from LED/LCD, but you will pay a lot more and it still won't match a good plasma.

[anotherdude]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

have to agree about the sharp

got a SHARP Aquos LC40LE831 excellent picture and very thin

[Steve.B]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

I agree, a good plasma is the best way to go. Last year i purchased a Samsung UE37D6100 led/lcd and have found that it does have a few problems that seem to be all to common with led/lcd.

Motion blur and judder seems to be the common problem - no matter how you set the tv up, it is hard to eliminate it. Mine is a mid range model, but i know that even the high end one's suffer the same.

Another issue is lag, and if your a keen gamer like me then it is a problem. Most led/lcd sets have an option called 'Game Mode', that basically turns off all picture enhancements, motion plus, etc, but even in game mode the lag is still noticeable. And simply forget about turning on any of the picture enhancement features for gaming, it makes for lots more input lag and picture judder. From reading countless reviews i see that lag is much less of a problem with plasmas.

Also, from what i have read on this forum, plus other places on the net, if you want to keep your tv for a few years, then you cannot beat plasma, yes plasmas develop faults, but most are repairable. Too often i see posts relating to lcd panels going bad, and once that happens the tv is basically ready for recycling.

When i get another tv, and if money was not too big an issue, i would go for a Panasonic plasma.

[twbranch]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

There seems to be no pros here. I agree if you go plasma Panasonic is leader. But to say Sharp is better than any other LCD/LED, I disagree.

Sharp is good but not that good. LG makes the best LCD on the market and when you say stay away from Vizio you must be crazy. Vizio makes one of the finest as well. Now for the real aspects to look for.

Refresh rate: 120Hz minimum, 1080p minimum, make sure you have connections for what you going to hook up to it. I look for at least 3 HDMI, at least some RCA connections for audio speakers, USB if you need it, etc.

I don't mean to say there aren't any pros here but those opinions are lacking. I am a TV reviewer for a local rag and I have reviewed over 300 tvs in the last 6 years. I also repair tvs. I am not a pro but I do know tvs.

Whatever you do, do not buy from walmart, target or kmart. If you do, buy the top of line model they carry. It will be the low line of HH Greg or Best Buy.

[tom66]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

IMO, Vizio sets aren't too badly built in the power supply area (a common failure of less well known brands), but they have so many main board faults it's hard to recommend them.

I do not recommend using 120Hz/100Hz interpolating TVs, for several reasons. Number one is the significant lag, making gaming hard on a motion interpolating TV. This can be turned off, but many forget how to do this and it's often buried away in the menus. Number two reason is it makes the picture look fake, too smooth, and creates many artefacts. Especially on 24Hz films.

Costco are one of the best places to buy from, going by what I've heard. They have a 90 day returns period plus I think two years free warranty, and five years for 60 bucks, which is hard to beat. I don't buy new electronics any more (not when I can repair so much) so I don't know that much about other places.

[twbranch]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

IMO, Vizio sets aren't too badly built in the power supply area (a common failure of less well known brands), but they have so many main board faults it's hard to recommend them.

I do not recommend using 120Hz/100Hz interpolating TVs, for several reasons. Number one is the significant lag, making gaming hard on a motion interpolating TV. This can be turned off, but many forget how to do this and it's often buried away in the menus. Number two reason is it makes the picture look fake, too smooth, and creates many artefacts. Especially on 24Hz films.

Costco are one of the best places to buy from, going by what I've heard. They have a 90 day returns period plus I think two years free warranty, and five years for 60 bucks, which is hard to beat. I don't buy new electronics any more (not when I can repair so much) so I don't know that much about other places.

Good point on the Costco. They have a good selection. I didn't mention because you have to be member to buy.

Another company Element, has been advertising good speakers, but that is only to get you to buy crappy tvs. They are cheaply made and seem to have many issues that the company will not fix under warranty. I reviewed one this week and it has a good picture and sound but the case is cheap, not many out/in connections and seems to take forever to come on. The JBL speakers do sound really nice but I don't think I would spend 500 bux on this tv. I only get to keep the tv for a few more weeks and I am running it continually until then to see if i get any failures.

[joyride]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

Im considering :
1) VIZIO E601i-A3 its a great price and has good reviews. LINK

2)Samsung PN60E530 LINK

3)Sharp LC60LE835U LINK


Anyone have any input on this?

Also,is squaretrade the best warranty plan?

appreciate it

[tom66]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

Consider the Panasonic TC-P60S60 or TC-P60ST60 over the Vizio or Samsung. If you want a deal, last year's U50 or UT50 may be cheaper.
The Sharp is a good, well made TV, but the picture quality will be about the same as a plasma, and you are paying considerably more for this.

The Vizio uses a Sharp LED-LCD panel, which is good, but they have issues, which means I struggle to recommend them.

[joyride]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

Thanks tom.I will def. consider those panasonics.Everyone seems to say they are good tvs that last a long time.

Is there any significant difference bettween the u50/ut50 and the s60/st60 that you know of?

[tom66]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

The "T" indicates 3D support, which requires 3D glasses.
U = entry level no smart features.
S = entry level with smart features.

[joyride]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

So everything on the inside is mostly the same,as capacitors,resistors,etc.?

Also,Panasonic is known to use circuits that last a long time?

thanks

[tom66]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

I'm not sure what you mean. Every consumer electronics manufacturer uses capacitors and resistors...

Panasonic are the best television manufacturer at present, in my opinion; they use very high quality electronics and they are designed well.

[joyride]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

Basically I ment does the u50 and the s50 generally use the same QUALITY resistors,caps,etc?Or is one higher quality than the other?

I mean im sure certain TV brands,or just older models within a brand use cheap,chinese electonic components made to break,hence this forums name,vs. high quality electronic components made to last.

[tom66]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

They're basically the same TV with different Smart features, likely the plasma panel itself is exactly the same between the models. The panel assembly includes the power supply and sustain boards, the most common components which fail, and they are built very well on both models.

[joyride]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

Hmmm well I dont really need a smart tv.If i need internet on my tv i just plug my laptop into the hdmi and use a wireless keyboard/mouse.

Thanks tom.Im seriouslly considering the panasonic u50 or ut50....


Any advice on buying warranties? ive been looking at squaretrade but trying to find something better. They offer 4 years for about $150.You can get repairs done up the retail value of the TV.Pretty sure that 4 years doesnt add itself to the 1 year manufacturer warranty,so basically if you pay for the 4 years of coverage,you only have 4 years of coverage from the day of purchase.\

Oh , and this is the one your talking about right? http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TC-P...=panasonic+U50

[tom66]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

Costco sell 5 year warranties for something like $60 and I think they give 2 years minimum anyway if you buy with a credit card. At least that's what I'm told. I've never bought a new TV in my life...

To be honest I feel the same way about smart features. We had just fixed a 40" Samsung with the Internet@TV feature. I played around with it before we sold it, and have to say it was sorely disappointing. Far too slow and difficult to navigate, and it didn't support stuff like BBC iPlayer, which my friend's 4 year old Freesat HD Panasonic plasma supports (it's not a smart TV, but it can play on demand content.) For the new house we move into soon, I am building a very nice media PC (plus a media server) for the TV, I do not want a smart TV. I have a dumb Panasonic 46" plasma, but it works really well connected to a PC as a giant 1080p monitor.

[joyride]

Re: Looking for a new TV, what is a reliable,durable brand?LCD,LED or PLASMA?

Haha exactly.

Ok well thanks for the advice.To bad theres no costcos around here.I think im going to order this one off amazon..this is the one your talking about right?

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TC-P...I11GI0FDALEGWX

And wow 600hz...everything in bestbuy/walmart is 120hz.Maybe like one 240hz.600hz is a good thing right?Or does that refresh rate cause more strain on parts?

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