Best LCD Flat TV?

I've been looking at some LCD Flat TV's for about a week now and wanted to see what y'all thought was the best value for the money.

I like the Samsung 40" 1080P, which runs around 1100-1200. I'm moving into an apartment, so I can't get too much bigger because my viewing distance is limited. Anybody got any opinions? Thanks

 

Samsung LCD.

My family has several large HDTVs. The Samsung LCD is 1000x better than all of them. Such a great picture, it even makes VHS look good.

 

i searched for 2 months trying to decide...I went with a 52" Philips LCD 1080p
$2300 Sam's Club.

 

i have always been a fan of sony........nice flat screen lcds. too much $$ for us right now though. even some of the vizio's that i have seen are pretty nice.

 

Samsung all the way. I don't have a flat panel, but my 46" projection (only 19.5" deep) has always treated me well, so I led my parents towards Samsung also. They got a 42" LCD with a 30,000:1 contrast ratio for about $1,100.00 about 2 months ago.

 

Check out the Phillips Ambilight series, I cant get enough of the way it lights up the living room. Sharp clear picture. HDTV quality cable, and Blue Ray disc players make this a great home entertainment set up for me.

Just thought I'd share.

http://www.flattv.ce.philips.com/en/us/ambilight/overview.html

 

if money is no object the new pioneer elite is the best tv you can buy.

the sony bravia is also a very good quality.

but i own a 42" lcd samsung and have never been happier.
it has on of the best overall quality pictures without spending a fortune.

One piece of advice. When you are at the store or looking online keep a close eye on the model number.

example

1) Sony FWD-42PV1/B

2) Sony FWD-50PX3/S

tv one ends with a b and tv 2 ends with a s. the closer you get to the end of the alphabet the better the quality of the television. I learned this from a tv repair guy that had been workin on tv's since black and whites where all the rage.
also repair ppl are the best to ask for advice when buying anything. they know what breaks and what doesnt.

p.s. vizio is crap.

 

Not the greatest picture, but I figured I'd post one up of mine since everyone else is...



P.S. - Not an LCD, but it is a Slimline Projection.

 

I also like Samsung...I think they're the best right now, but the best LCD for the money are the Vizio LCDs...IMHO. I have the 47" 1080p Gallevia.

 

Check out the Sharp Aquos, its really great picture, the color is great and it has a thing where it changes it brightness to reduce the glare in the screen

 

There are only a couple companies that make the panels. Samsung is one of them. I think LG might be the other...not sure. Samsung will most likely keep the best performing panels to themselves, which means their image will be the nicest.

@Equin - Nice poster

 

I got a Samsung Bordeaux 32" LCD in my bedroom, and after 3 more payments its gonna be mine LOL

 

How about a rear-projection LCD?
We have a Sony 55" and we love it. They're a hell-of-a-lot cheaper now than they were when we bought ours only 1 year ago.

 

BINGO pittim! I'm an AV technician working in video communications, so this is a topic i can speak about with a good degree of certainty.

Pittim is right, Samsung and LG make their own panels, and they are the best in the industry. Sony makes a decent TV, but the problem with sony is they use the same parts as the other big companies, but charge more for them. they have been #1 in the industry so long they think they can charge what they want, but in reality, their stuff is over rated. i'm not saying its not good, because it is, but its not worth the extra money you pay for the name.

Personally i prefer LG for their picture quality as well as their build quality and customer support. Samsung is probably just as good but i tend to favor LG for some reason. Another brand worth looking at is NEC. We use alot of their industrial grade stuff but its pricey, you're probably better off with a samsung or LG, whichever one you get the best deal on

 

Yep, Sony is overpriced, when i bought the LCD, i was told by the sales dude, that Sony LCDs are lacking quality because they dont invest that much in research for that technology, they just buy it elsewhere, On the LG, i Tested them at the store, to compare with the samsung, with same dvd player and same movie, i didnt like them a lot, i liked the samsung better, even that it was a lil bit more pricey...

 

50" DELL Plasma ! I know its not a LCD but wanted to show anyways!

 

store testing is a bad way to compare, you need to talk to a professional or surf some forums. if you go to a store, that section will have the lights turned down low, and the contrast on the TV cranked all the way up so everything looks super vivid. plus, they usually use a cheap signal splitter without a booster so depending on the TV's location to the splitter, the signal may be worse on a better tv than the signal on a crappy TV. me and the other AV tech take many "research" trips to Best Buy and circuit city and places like that when we get bored, and we are always amazed at how the stores tweak the displays. large displays are never a good way to compare.

 

oh yea thats why i asked them to put the two screens together and we hooked them directly to the dvd player.... but yea, i did my research too...

 

consumerreports.com samsung rated number one, with sony not far behind.