ORIGINAL: Argess
My TV died last night, and I'm thinking of purchasing a flat screen TV, and I have some questions.
How do they measure the screen? Still diagonally, like the older CRT TVs?
What type of sceen is best? Not even sure what there is...plasma, LCD, etc.?
Any brands to stay away from, or better brands to buy (although price may dictate this a bit)?
Can they all hang on the wall, or do some only sit on a base?
I do know to check for inputs, as I'll be connecting a VCR, DVD player, and stereo to it.
Anything else I should look for?
ps: I don't need the best, all singing, all dancing TV, but am looking for good value. Price is important, or I'll have nothing left for RCing! I see some on sale for about $400, but if I have to, I can go up to $1000. Is that realistic pricing?
1) Yup, still Diagonally.
2) See addtional questions below.
3) If you've never heard of it, stay away from it. A cheap TV is exactly that. A CHEAP TV. Vizio is the "cheapest" I'd recommend and they are a luck-of-the-draw brand as it is. Some batches of Vizios win awards and should have shrines built in their honor. Some batches are complete junk. Samsungs, LGs, Sonys (arguably Best in LCD), Panasonic (argubably best in Plasma)..all fine.
4) They all can hang on the wall, but buy a proper Wall-mount and USE A FRIEND!!! It is not a one-man job.
5) Most TVs these days have everything from the Red/White RCAs to HDMIs and everything in between. Whatever you have is gonna plug in.
Other questions to ask yourself.
A) What size do you want? Over 40" Plasma will be cheapest on your pocket book. Under 40" LCD/LED is the ONLY way to go. Plasma doesn't do small.
A.2) What size will fit? The only thing that sucks more than getting a TV home, unpacked and saying "Darn it, I've got room for 4 more inches." is "Crap! I bought a TV 4" too big!"
B) What do you watch? Dramas, sitcoms, disney movies, etc... take your pick. Everybody looks good on LCD/LED. If you watch a lot of sports, high-energy movies, fast paced video games, Plasma refreshes faster so the picture will me somewhat clearer (less fuzz between moving legs). I watch a TON of hockey and Plasma is the way to go, eh.
C) Where will this be placed in the room? Plasma, despite all of it's "anti-glare coatings" still relfects the sun like a mother-fricker. LCDs (and I believe LED) keep glare to an absolute minimum. If you've got glare now, think LCD!
D) If you plan on watching
Blu-Ray movies and/or playing some of the super kick-tail Video Games on PS3s, you'll want 1080p (and an HDMI cable. DON'T BUY IN STORE, go to monoprice.com. You'll thank us later when you're
not paying $100 for your cables.) Anything else, you can buy a 720p.
Hope that helps.