Need recommendation to sister for new TV (1 Viewer)

I need the collective wisdom of HTF so I can give my sister a great recommendation for a new TV.

[*]~42" HDTV
[*]Wifi connected out of the box
[*]Budget priced I'm thinking $500 - $1000.
[*]Will be used for internet streaming and maybe Apple's AirPlay. Integrated Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix are probably good features.
[*]Primary user is a four-year old
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She emailed to me:

Okay, I'm going to suck it up and get a TV. I want your opinion on what TV to purchase. I don't plan to purchase cable and will continue with internet only. So I will need a TV that will work with Wifi but I don't want to spend a fortune. Looking in the 42 - 43 inch range.

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A little more info:The TV will be watched from the couch straight on. Our front windows are shaded by trees so we don't have a problem with blinding sunlight during the day.I will use my amazon prime account and may also get a netflixs account.I want to spend the least amount of money so if I don't have to get a smart tv to have internet use that works for me.

Doing some hasty research, I come up with:
In order of recommendation, a few options:

$400
VIZIO E400i-B2 40"
http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-E400i-B2-40-Inch-1080p-Smart/dp/B00GKKI4Q6/ref=psdc117_t1_B00BF9MZY4_B00GKKI4Q6
http://www.cnet.com/products/vizio-e550i-b2/
A mediocre TV, but great price, and does better than some TVs that cost more. From an image purist perspective, the following Samsung is a better TV. But from a “4-year old is watching Disney Jr from Amazon during the day”, I slightly recommend this more, from what I’ve read. Has wifi and some smartTV features. This TV, like all LCD TV’s, suffers from the Soap Opera Effect. I hate it, but most people don’t seem to notice or care.

$400
Samsung PN43F4500 43"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BCPGMXQ?tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=as2&creative=374929&camp=211189
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-500-tv/
I’d probably buy this for myself over the previous Vizio. This is a mediocre TV, but it is the best quality under $500. It is the better choice for “watching quality TV / movies in a dark room” perspective. No frills. Good review. 50” also recommended for about $500. It’s a plasma, and like all Plasmas does not suffer Soap Opera Effect. I’m not sure if it has wifi, but you don’t need the TV itself to have wifi. Your shows come from a Roku or whatever. Two caveats: (1) Not as bright as an LCD, so might get washed out in the daytime. (2) Will suffer image retention. If say, Mickey Mouse is left paused for hours or the same news channel ticker scrawls on the bottom all day, that image will remain faintly there for a few hours longer. An annoyance, but not a real problem.


$550
VIZIO M422i-B1 42”
http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-M422i-B1-42-Inch-1080p-Smart/dp/B00JJNA10I/ref=psdc117_t2_B00CI3BP06_B00JJNA10I
http://www.cnet.com/products/vizio-m602i-b3/
Step-up model from the $400 recommendation. Has more bells and whistles and smartTV features. Including an Amazon app. Slighlty better picture than the $400 Vizio. Fancy-pants remote with full keyboard on backside.


$650
Samsung PN51F5300 51”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BCPGNF8?tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=as2&creative=374929&camp=211189
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-tv/
Excellent image quality. No frills. A Plasma, so not the best choice for watching in a brightly lit room.


$1800
Samsung PN51F8500 51”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BCPGOD4?tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=as2&creative=374929&camp=211189
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-tv/
Top quality, highest price. Larger than you wanted. This is what I would buy for my living room.

Stick with plasma...get a Roku, if need be.And plasma doesn't work in bright rooms?Since when?There is a pic somewhere on here of my Hitachi 50x901 at 2:00 in a south facing room with no curtains. No problems seeing the TV.

She's got a Roku or something, I think. Brightness: my Kuro is fine all day. But pro reviewers say the cheap plasmas are washed out in daytime room lighting. That's all I've got to go on.I prefer plasma myself. But I'm wary of recommending a TV that's very low res (1024x768), is washed out in daylight, and suffers from IR from how a toddler can watch tv. (Based on pro reviewers comments.) But I haven't sent the recco yet. I might've plasma back up to the main suggestion.

40" rec:http://www.costco.com/Samsung-40%22-Class-1080p-Smart-LED-HDTV-UN40H5201AF.product.100122180.html46" Rec:http://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-46-class-45-9-10-diag--led-1080p-120hz-3d-hdtv/8346045.p?id=1218872211460&skuId=8346045&cmp=RMX&ky=1whxm51gbOgORrn6M8JOUlLjDtR0yY7Rx

The day before your post, I had emailed my sister this:
There’s not a lot of good info on low- and mid-range TVs. Based on various reviews, here are five good choices, going from cheapest to most expensive. I haven’t been able to get to the store and look at these in person, so I’m going from (good) online reviews. Prices are what I found on Amazon and BestBuy this weekend. If you don’t want to even think about five options and want to spend as little as possible, buy the first one for $400.

$400
VIZIO E400i-B2 40"
http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-E400i-B2-40-Inch-1080p-Smart/dp/B00GKKI4Q6/ref=psdc117_t1_B00BF9MZY4_B00GKKI4Q6
http://www.cnet.com/products/vizio-e550i-b2/No $400 TV is great but this one is good for its quality, and competes with TVs that cost a bit more. From an image purist, the next recommendation is a better choice. But from a “4-year old is watching Disney Jr from Amazon during the day”, I slightly recommend this one more. It has wifi and some smartTV features. It’s an LCD and so has the "Soap Opera Effect”, where all movies look like they’re filmed on video. Some people notice, some don’t care.

$400 Samsung PN43F4500 43" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BCPGMXQ?tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=as2&creative=374929&camp=211189http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-500-tv/
Based on reviews, I’d probably buy this for myself over the previous Vizio. It’s said to be the best overall picture quality under $500. It has no frills, no wifi, no smartTV features. Those are ok, since your shows come from a Roku or some internet device. It’s a Plasma TV and so doesn’t suffer the "Soap Opera Effect”. I like Plasma, but they have some caveats: (1) Not as bright as an LCD, so might get washed out in the daytime. (2) Will suffer image retention. If say, Mickey Mouse is left paused for hours or the same news channel ticker scrawls on the bottom all day, that image will remain faintly there for a few hours longer. An annoyance, but not a real problem.

If you want to spend more money, here are two sub-$100 options
$550
VIZIO M422i-B1 42”
http://www.amazon.com/VIZIO-M422i-B1-42-Inch-1080p-Smart/dp/B00JJNA10I/ref=psdc117_t2_B00CI3BP06_B00JJNA10I
http://www.cnet.com/products/vizio-m602i-b3/
Step-up model from the first $400 recommendation. A little better image quality. Has more bells and whistles and smartTV features. Including an Amazon app. Slighlty better picture than the $400 Vizio. Fancy-pants remote with full keyboard on backside.


$650
Samsung PN51F5300 51”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BCPGNF8?tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=as2&creative=374929&camp=211189
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-tv/
Excellent image quality. Same deal as recommendation #2: No frills. A Plasma, so same benefits and caveats.


And if you want to go high-end.
$1800Samsung PN51F8500 51”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BCPGOD4?tag=thewire06-20&linkCode=as2&creative=374929&camp=211189
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-tv/
Top quality, highest price. Larger than you wanted. Plasma. This is what I would buy for my living room.

However, today I was at BestBuy and I got a look at my #2, and Wirecutter's #1, recommendation the Samsung Plasma. I rescinded my recommendation for the Samsung PN43F4500 43”. The two Vizio’s still seem like good all-around budget choices.

That low-end plasma looked terrible. The low resolution was evident and everything was aliased. It was so bad, my wife commented on it, unprompted. Yes, it's settings were turned to torch mode and it looked washed out compared to the LCDs next to it. But the pixels were the size of my fist (figuratively speaking). I'm surprised Wirecutter recommended that set, and I am going to take more care with their guidance. Perhaps with the TV well tuned, possibly professionally calibrated, in a dim room the improved blacks and contrast ratio more than overcomes the terribly low resolution. And if you're sitting 15' away, that will help. But for a normal person with the TV set for daytime viewing, sitting 10' away...I can't recommend it to my sister and take the chance it looks like it did in the store.

720P plasma look great on 720p OTA.My 50" Hitachi are 1080( I or P is irrelevant for ALiS).The one in the bright room routinely is used on 720p and 1080i native(as ALiS does both...native).I have two LG 720p in two bedrooms. One of the bedrooms has French doors to the outside and is open to the outside quite a bit. It is never washed out...and the room faces south.

schan1269 said:

720P plasma look great on 720p OTA.

Click to expand...

Is that a new koan? What is the sound of one hand changing channels? I don't understand your meaning.

I'm sure a 720p plasma looks great with HD content. But I'm not sure a 1024x768 43" plasma does. Or at least, not without skilled setup.

Added to the above post...Over The Air.I use it and Directv. My LG plasma (wholesale a year ago) were $275 a piece. Nobody has ever complained about the picture via OTA, Directv, DVD, BD or streamed.

Do you use a standard setting, or did you calibrate it? What's your viewing distance?

The two 720p LG sit about 5 feet from the footboard of a bed. Then the bed is 6 feet??

At 10 feet, individual pixels were clearly visible. I expect it would have been less so if the TV's contrast wasn't blown out (Black was Grey on the display model).

I'm not sure what my sister's viewing distance will be. The daughter will, at times, be watching from about 4 feet

Unfortunately, that display model was so incredibly terrible looking, even compared to all the inferior LCD TVs, that I couldn't recommend it. I was afraid my sister would buy it, it would look like it did in the store, and whatever credibility I had on tech would be forever lost.

If I saw one reasonably configured -- especially using out of box defaults -- I'd suggest it. It's a pity. I like (and own) Plasma.

I put the blame on Samsung. They're not doing anything to ensure their TVs have a "demo" mode used in retail to suggest their sets are decent.

Best Buy, HH Gregg etc have always made low commission product look bad.Back in the day I sold/demonstrated RCA DSS(What Directv is now). It was comical when I'd remove a set from display for the DSS. I was always told to use the lowest cost RCA (eventually Sony as well) with an input(didn't want a coax hook up) on hand...already un-boxed.Since it was almost always the "door stop" model...the settings were hilarious.

Yikes!

Yep...I won't say the retailer, but their sales tactic(corporate) was...We'll price certain items below cost, to make the sales people...sell.One winter, there were 4 models of Sony 5 disc carousel (without a remote, with, digital output...programming).The non-remote was priced $99. Below cost. The salesperson lost 45 cents if they had to clerk it.

I'm glad I've never worked sales