Need advice on buying 1st LCD TV

[majax79]

I've been wanting to get an LCD tv for my bedroom. It'll be situated about 4 ft from the foot of my bed so I figured a 32" would be a good size?

I've been looking and it seems that Samsung, Sony, and Sharp are the industry leaders (in that order)?

There's so many choices I don't know where to start. 1 thing I do know, I want the black colors not to look smudged or blurry like my Sony trinitron 27".

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

[guns1inger]

Sony Bravia would be my choice. If you are on a budget, then one of the 1366 x 786 models will do fine (probably v-series or current equivalent). If money is no object, an X-series 1080p model would be the one to buy.

[lordsmurf]

I have a 20" EDTV LCD (Sharp) in my bedroom, and I'm fine with it. Plenty large for a bedroom. This assumes you have a bigger set elsewhere in the house, and this is not for all-day watching, just when-in-bedroom watching.

[majax79]

Yeah, I've heard that Sony is really good. I'm kinda surprised, a couple of years ago when I was looking at lcd's Sharp was the brand everyone was talking about.

[yoda313]

I just bought a 32" westinghouse for my main set the other week. 720p very good in daylight.

Probably a 20" or 26" might be better for a bedroom. 32 can be a little overwhelming if you're right on top of it.

My Westinghouse has been excellent so far.

[neomaine]

- The TV will be 4ft from the foot of the bed. So assuming you don't sleep with your head at the foot of the bed, that'll put you at about 10' from the tv.

- A 32" widescreen tv will give you approx the same hight as a 25" 4:3 tv. That should be fine for a second/occasional use tv.

I'd stay with a 720/768p resolution tv. At that distance with a tv of that size you will NOT see a difference with 1080p. My only exception would be is you were also hooking up pc to it. It that case the additional desktop gained from 720 to 1080 is significant. The difference in cost is not even close to being worth it.

Any of the brands mentioned, newer models within 6 months, should fit your needs well. If you'll be watching mostly hi-def content any of these, well callibrated, should be very good. If standard def is important to you, I'd recommend a Sharp.

If you have the space and have an electronics store that has a good return policy, I'd go for a 37". The difference in price shouldn't be substantial and you can see what the difference in size between the 32 and 37 would give you. My recommendation at this size for 720p remains.


NOTE: If there's a problem with black on your trinitron, something's out of whack. That should be a superb set. I had a 37" that I replaced with a 46" Sharp Aquos 46D92U. The blacks on it are the best in the industry on an LCD...for now. It comes close but definitely a difference - again, if both a well calibrated.

There's not an LCD on the market now or for the next couple of years or so that should be able to touch a tube tv in regard to black level as measured by contrast ratio.

[Guest]

we have a 32" samsung lcd, 7 or so feet from the bed. Work well for us.

[fairytale00]

LG, Sony ,samsung and westinghouse are good brands for tvs .

[Heywould3]

Dont leave out the VIZIO i hava teh 42 LCD and i have to say its great full of good features. awsome pictuer in both SD and HD the uoconverting seems to work well. has pleanty of conections. and lots of user settings for pic quality sound etc. it has a VGA input as well. to top it off its one of the least expensive tvs on the market

[zzyzzx]

I plan on getting the Sony 26S3000 (26" LCD HDTV) as soon as I can get one for a decent price. Supposedly the best 26" TV that once can buy right now.

[Heywould3]

I plan on getting the Sony 26S3000 (26" LCD HDTV) as soon as I can get one for a decent price. Supposedly the best 26" TV that once can buy right now.

if all you need is 26 then go for it.. but you can get a vizio 37 for750 and a 42 for just under 900. if it is only slightly more for a bigger set then i would go bigger.

[zzyzzx]

I plan on getting the Sony 26S3000 (26" LCD HDTV) as soon as I can get one for a decent price. Supposedly the best 26" TV that once can buy right now.

if all you need is 26 then go for it.. but you can get a vizio 37 for750 and a 42 for just under 900. if it is only slightly more for a bigger set then i would go bigger.

Bigger is not better. That and I want something that I know shows a SDTV pic good.

[Heywould3]

youre right but a 26lcd to me is a waste of money. my 42vizio has an awsome picture for sd i hear all the people complain but i have no problem. its every bit as good as my crt on 90% of the SD channels granted ever once in a blue moon ill get minor weirdness with SD on it but not enough to complain. and the HD at 42 or larger is just night and day better than at 32or anything smaller.. you really need to see for your self.. and this is only worth thinking about if the cost is close enough to be in your budget still.

i posted similar topic before i bought. i use mine as a pc monitor as well as TV in master bedroom. wireless KB and mouse and a nice easy chair accross the room. the perfect slackers setup lol