# Need help with Flat Screen TV decision



## JT11 (Jan 5, 2008)

My wife and I are looking to buy a Flat Screen TV.  We seem to both agree on the Vizio. I know they have a 42 inch at Sam's right now for a great price of about $890.  Does anyone have any reviews or suggestions for the Vizio product or any other product from that matter? Is there anything I should know specifically before buying a flat screen.  I know there is LCD and plasma, what exactly is the difference? I am new to the flat screens, so please feel free to tell mw anything you think I need to know. Thanks very much!


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## crappie hunter (Jan 5, 2008)

*Flat panel tv*

My wife and I have the same LCD tv that you are looking at.  We are very pleased with it.  Great picture, no problems at all with it.  On a scale of 1-10 I would give it a 10


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## acurasquirrel (Jan 5, 2008)

My parents have that TV and from what Ive seen of it, seems to be as good as the more expensive models.  The speakers arent that great so you may want to invest in a home audio system if you dont already have one.  I have a 32" Vizio that Im actually using as a monitor right now.  I like that Vizio offers a no bright pixel guarantee.


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## Todd E (Jan 5, 2008)

We have the Vizio LCD Flat Screen. Absolutely love it. Great pics on Dish Net HD Channels. Good pic on reg channels. Only drawback....like mentioned above....speaker. Half time I can't hear or understand and turn it up. Then when commercial comes on, it is so loud it's outrageous.


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## brkbowma (Jan 9, 2008)

I talked to a rep at Circuit City and they said the Vizios were being returned a lot w problems. According to Consumer Reports, the top two brands are Sony and Samsung. We bought a 40in Samsung from there for $1200 ,with 28 mo. no interest. Great TV, and the best picture quality.


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## FX Jenkins (Jan 9, 2008)

I bout the 37" Vizio LCD from costco mainly because of the 2 year warranty...but all of my tech friends say the Vizio's are about the best bang for the buck right now..


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## Rick Alexander (Jan 9, 2008)

*Here's some useful information*

to also consider when you buy.  Seems from this video that the 720 p screens have a pretty good advantage over the 1080i screens

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-JXfyvlPh0


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## stevetarget (Jan 28, 2008)

I have a 42 Vizio, no problems and looks great, the price was right.  plasma tvs are heavy compared to the LCD. the plasma is sandwiched between two sheets of glass. two 42 x 42 x .20 in pieces of glass are very heavy, add the frame and the rest and there you go. i wanted to bring my tv in the house by myself. you can't do that with a big plasma.
 I shopped all the big box stores like HH Greg and BB. I got tired of the bull from the commision guys. walmart you can walk in and walk out. NO bull


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## Scout-N-Hunt (Jan 28, 2008)

Bought a 46" Samsung 1.5 years ago, excellent pic & audio. Great TV for the money. Going to Best Buy today to pick up another one for the bedroom. They have 40" Samsungs on sale for about $1k w/ 36 months no interest. Saw the 32" & 37" Samsungs in Walmart at a good price also.

 Another gent I work with is an electronice goo-roo and he has been thumbs up on Samsungs for quite some time now and still is. 

S-N-H


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## rutandstrut (Jan 28, 2008)

We purchased a 65" Toshiba HD DLP before Christmas and College Bowl Season. We also got the interest free financing and setup with this TV from Best Buy. We have been very pleased with this TV since getting it! Great Picture and it feels like you are in the game! We went with the DLP for seveal reasons. It is possibly the best picture available. This is debatable and depends on each individual. You get the most bang for the Buck Size versus Price with a DLP.


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## merc123 (Jan 28, 2008)

I'm in the same pickle!  I've got a list of comparisons and I'm torn between Philips or Vizio.  My neigbor has a 42" LCD Phillips that is awesome, but then I see the Vizio reviews and I just don't know.  Probably be a coin toss


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## DAWG FAN (Jan 30, 2008)

*tv*

I would stay away from the Vizio and go with the Samsung. I know people who have the vizio and have had problems. I have a 50" Samsung Plasma that is great. No problems and excellent picture quality. I paid $1200 for it at Circuit City. If you go to CC to purchase a tv check their prices on the net before going. They will be cheaper on the net and they will give you the net price in the store if you tell them. Also, if you are putting the tv in a bright room go with the LCD, and if you are putting it in a dark room go with the plasma.


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## shadow2 (Jan 31, 2008)

if you can afford it I would get a panasonic they were rated very high by consumer reports.  My wife and i baught one last summer and we are loving it.  I think that we found it for around 1000 or so.  it is a 40 in plasma.


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## Steady73 (Jan 31, 2008)

*Consumer Reports*

If you can get your hands on the Nov or Dec (not sure which month) edition of consumer reports, they have a very detailed section on DLP, LCD and plasma tv's. It helped me with my decision on the one I bought.


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## merc123 (Jan 31, 2008)

What did you buy?


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## Steady73 (Jan 31, 2008)

*Plasma*

50" Panasonic Plasma TV, I love it. It works best if you have a dark room or a room with a few windows.


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## dapper dan (Feb 17, 2008)

Whatever you end up buying, make sure you buy it from a wal-mart or a sams or costco. I have a 32in LCD made by Polaroid and it has a built in DVD player. I got it at walmart. Great picture and the extended warranty was cheap. I went to Best buy and couldn't find a 32LCD for the price i paid even with the warranty. I know Polaroid makes a 42in , not sure if it has the DVD player in it though.


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## DBM78 (Feb 20, 2008)

One of my friends bought a Samsung 61 inch DLP tv a couple years ago. Its rear projection and the blub has already burnt out after owning it for 2 years. It has a great picture but he's had a lot of problems. Everyone needs to be careful with what you clean the screen with do not use windex.


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## firebiker (Feb 20, 2008)

*Happy Vizio owner here
got a 32 inch Flat screen LCD.
my only reget is that I did'nt get the 42 inch.
so we have decided to get another one 46 inch and put the 32 in our bedroom.*


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## JerryC (Mar 16, 2008)

Consumer Reports and Clark Howard had great things to say about the Olevia brand, so I bought a 42" LCD from them and have been very very happy with it. In fact, when cable guys have come change out the cable box and do something else, they both commented on what a great picture it had, and they see a lot of tv's in the field. -JerryC

PS They're also one of the only ones either Made in USA or designed and assembled in the USA.

If you expect a lot of light in the room, LCD usually works better.
Plasma gives you truer blacks and is usually better for gaming, if you are a gamer.


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## patterstdeer (Mar 17, 2008)

Tried a couple of the high dollar LCD's and once home was very dissapounted with the pictures(won't name names) happen to be in a Target store one night and saw a Phillips Magnavox for around $700.00 took it home and have noticed a night and day difference in the others. Absolutely the best picture I have ever seen in a television bar none.


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## ch035 (Mar 21, 2008)

you should not be concerned with brand as the same companies make the components for 90% of all the tv's...LCD is better than plazma for mounds of reasons and you need to look for the highest ratio for the best picture quality...samsung makes one that is realllll sharp but if you look on craigslist you can find used ones for cheap... if you go to stores like walmart and bestbuy they do not sell tv's with high contrast ratios you will have to go to higher end stores to get higher end tv's...if you got to circuit city they sell out of the box items and will cut them down to cost for you if ask a manager...and their is like atleast 60% market up in most tv's


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## h20fowlin (Mar 24, 2008)

Got a 50" Toshiba Plasma after two weeks of researching and store shopping. 

I found the TV i wanted....Toshiba Plasma. Good reviews and since i have a 4 year old, i wanted the protected plasma glass front. With an LCD, a crayon can ruin your day.

After i found the model i wanted, i price shopped 10+ retailers.

It came down to Best Buy and HH Gregg. The salesman at best buy finally admited he was not on commision and couldnt come off the price due to that.
The salesman at HH Gregg was on commision, and knocked a $150 off, and threw in the High Def cables for free. He also gave me a 40% discount on a nice black glass front tv stand. 

THE ONLY NEGATIVE to plasma, is the real dark scenes will give you a brief digitized pattern around the edges. But the other picture qualities are very impressive for a 50" tv. 

Sporting events are fantastic!

Good luck in your search....100 people, a 100 opinions.

Make sure you got a warranty and pull the trigger.


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## whitworth (Apr 4, 2008)

*Great Video*

Although my brain was starting to melt down.  

I don't live in a huge home, where the television is on the other side of the river. 
I never, ever sit in the front of a movie theatre, so real big is out.  

I'll have to make sure to look for the p after the number.  Seen a number of HDTV's that look good.  I think the stores finagle with the contrast and brightness, so you don't get a perfect look.


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## Javelin (Apr 4, 2008)

I love my panasonic plasma as the central room tv, what I did before getting mine was have the sales guys hook differant ones up side by side to compare the picture. Plasma by far had the best picture but the biggest thing for me was the viewing angle. Although lcd's are good in there since if you get to far to the side its a bad picture,with the plasma you can stand beside the tv and look across the screen and see the whole picture. Now i have a LCD hanging on the wall at the foot of my bed that i like also it has an outstanding picture quality,but then again I am directly in front of it watching while in bed.The black color around the viewing screen is alot easier on the eyes opposed to the grey or silver that some other models have(this gives better defination)why i have all mine with a black border. But the main thing is have the sales person set them up to compare apple and oranges ------ Then you will see the differance.


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## pcsolutions1 (May 9, 2008)

We just bought the 42" Vizio and are very impressed with it.  We put it on the wall in our bedroom.  I have lot's of friends and customers that have them and have had great luck with them.  Great bang for the buck.


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## tailchaser85 (Jun 24, 2008)

dapper dan said:


> Whatever you end up buying, make sure you buy it from a wal-mart or a sams or costco. I have a 32in LCD made by Polaroid and it has a built in DVD player. I got it at walmart. Great picture and the extended warranty was cheap. I went to Best buy and couldn't find a 32LCD for the price i paid even with the warranty. I know Polaroid makes a 42in , not sure if it has the DVD player in it though.



I have a 42 inch Polaroid and love it. The wife and I got it for Christmas from my parents and we have not had a problem with it at all. Ours did not come with the built-in DVD player though.


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## JeffC3030 (Jun 29, 2008)

I have owned a Vizio 42" for about a year now. Bought at Walmart. Love it!!


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## widgethead (Jul 20, 2008)

I bought a 52" LCD 1080p Samsung and love it. I hooked my 
Blu-ray to it and the picture is awesome. It does give off alot of heat from the cooling fans in the back. I have a 20" LCD mounted in the kitchen also. The viewing angles are better than plasmas to me. They also don't have a glare off of them. I do reccommend go 1080p as 720p is becoming outdated.


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