anyone have any 32-47" lg,samsung, insignia tvs?

my xmas present to myself is going to be a new tv this year and ive been researching on what is going to be the best tv for my room. looking to spend no more than 800 so that had me looking at a few of the 32" samsungs and for about the same price (oddly) i could get a 47" insignia. i have only looked at the 32" samsung at the store..... but of course, these are professionals setting the tvs up and have everything set perfectly for the best picture ever.... im not capable of that....at least.... until i find the right settings after messing around with it for the whole day. all are 1080p/60hz and a few of the 32"s (lg and phillips) are 120hz/1080p.... theres even one out there with a built in blue ray..... anybody have any of these? what do you think?


btw.... im kinda wanting big right now because when i move out after college, the tv is going to most likely end up in my living room at the next house/apt.

thanks

 

I've got a 32" samsung and there is absolutely no comparison to my friends 37" dynex. His appears grainy and dull compared to mine. You get what you pay for.

 

do not buy insignia. they make absolute shit. i had one in my NH house that got used maybe once a week over the summer and was stored in the winter. it lasted once and a half years of use then i got odly colored lines across the screen.

lg and samsung are both good. you wont be disappointed. get something with 120Hz. blu ray may be nice but i wouldnt make that the deciding factor

 

I bought a 42 inch LG in college for my room. I went big for the same reason, it is now my living room tv. i have had it for over a yr now and i am still very happy with it. it is a 1080p. My parents have a 52 inch samsung 120hz 1080p and that thing is crazy clear, freaking awesome.

 

i do remember looking at the dynex. they are really crappy.

 

insignia/dynex is Best Buy's "store brand"...almost always lower quality compared to the name brands. I would know. I used to work for BB.

I have a 50" Samsung plasma and love it.

Part of this depends on what you're going to be using the TV for? Plasma will give the best picture quality for sports and movies (especially hi-def), but needs a dark environment to work best and doesn't deal well with glare because of the glass display. Plasmas also consume a bit more power and produce a bit more heat.

LCD works better in bright environments but tends to be too bright because of the way LCDs work (backlighting), and you end up with grey "blacks" and some colors bleeding into one another.

I primarily watch sports and Blu-Ray movies on my TV, hence the plasma.

If you're going Blu-Ray, ABSOLUTELY get a full 1080p display. The difference from 1080i and 720p is noticeable.

Also, how far away from the screen are you going to be sitting? You need to be sure to get the right size display for your viewing distance. If it's 8 feet or more, you'll need 50" or more in order to be able to resolve the extra detail that hi-def formats offer.

This is a good reference for viewing distances:

http://www.cnet.com/hdtv-viewing-distance/

A lot of people screw up when setting up their home theater by going too small because of budget constraints. You're better off waiting a little longer and saving more to get a set that's the right size for your viewing distance in the first palce.

Some good brands:

For Plasma:

Panasonic and Pioneer make the best sets, with Samsung and Toshiba close behind. Pioneer recently exited the plasma market, but their KURO TVs were long considered the benchmark everyone else had to live up to. You can find them on clearance in some places still - if you do, don't think, buy. They're an absolute steal at any price.

With Pioneer's exit from Plasma, Panasonic's Viera series TVs are the new best-in-class, followed by Samsung's models.

Expect to pay a premium for the Vieras...Panasonic knows they're good, and prices them accordingly.


For LCD:

Samsung is the world's largest producer of LCD displays and for good reason - they have a clarity and color temperature that other manus just haven't matched yet. Sony and Toshiba are close seconds - Sony is pricier, Toshiba often one of the best bang for the buck selections.

 

We just got my mom a Samsung 32" and its really nice. I found an upconverting Samsung DVD on Amazon for $50 and added a $6 8ft HDMI cable now she can watch all her DVDs in HD too. She's a happy camper.

 

awesome thanks! is yours the 120hz or the 60?


thanks for the comments guys... looks like insignia is out. blue ray isnt a huge deciding factor. honestly, i dont really care what i have.... but im sure when i go to purchase the home theater system, it will most likely have blue ray. which brings up another question.... how well do those wireless speakers for the home theater systems work? im a little hesitant but i also dont want to run a bunch of wire all over my room.

 

Current or Past ownership;

52" Sony XBR-4: All around awesome, but expensive (current in upstairs "man-cave")
46" Sharp Aquos: Picture is great, sound is meh (current downstairs)
32" Insignia: Price was great, but the TV just plain sucks... eventually gave out. (college)
32" Samsung: Great price, sound and picture. Buy it! (current in guest bedroom)

 

tv will primarily be used playing the xbox and watching movies, and dicovery channel. thats about it.

right now, i sit about 6ft away from the tv. maybe a little less. im blind as a bat so i generally try to sit about that same distance from the tv all the time.

 

The wireless systems just don't hold up compared to the wired units to the discerning ear...but joe average probably won't notice the difference.

The best audio setup is to purchase a quality receiver (Onkyo, for example) and some floorstanding speakers from a quality company (Infinity, Orion, Klipsch, etc.) and wire it all up yourself.

That said, I have a 5-point surround with integrated Blu-Ray/Receiver from LG in my setup, and it does fine for my uses. I live in an apartment, and anything louder would get me kicked out.

 

awesome thanks! im big on sound. so im planning on dropping a decent $ on a sound system. my parents have bose speakers and i think an onkyo.... im not thrilled with bose speakers at all.. i will most likely go with the infinity's because of the rep. i have with them.... great product. i know someone here has a sound bar.... worth it or save my money and do individual speakers?



thanks for answering my questions guys.

 

Definitely individual speakers if you want true surround sound.

Bose is mostly marketing - their speakers underperform in almost all comparison tests. You can get better speakers for less $$ than Bose.

 

sweet. time to start really shopping! yeh bose is out of the question.

pulled a few tvs that are reasonable to me... all 1080p
sears.com

as far as specs go.... which is going to be the better one? im thinking the lg second next to the last.

thanks alot for the help!

 

I bought a 40" samsung, 1080p 60 hz, I believe 70,000:1 contrast ration (cant remember, maybe 50,000) And I love it. It kicks ass. It was $750 without the protection plan, but I added that on there. The TV kicks ass. I stood in Best Buy for a total of 4 hours and the 32" woulda been perfect for my room but I wanted it for the same reason you do, and It is way too big in my room, but I wouldnt have wanted to go any smaller. Get a samsung, best out there IMO. 32" is way too small.

 

I have a 42" Samsung plasma TV and love it. Samsung is the best brand right now when it comes to flat panels IMO.

 

lol looks like im getting a samsung. i knew they were good but not that good.

 

Mine is only the 60hz. Unfortunately i didnt know much about tv's when shopping for them until after i purchased one.

 

We have a 47'' Vizio 1080p, 120hz, and this thing is awesome! It's got all the bells and whistles. I can only say good things about this TV, as it's not grainy or dull. Only paid $900 for it from Costco.

 

Yeah don't rule out shopping at Costco, they have a 90 day return policy and automatically add to the manufacturers warranty