Girlfriend looking for TV, budget around $200, recommendations? (1 Viewer)

[Chad Ellinger]

My girlfriend is looking to get a TV for her dorm room. She was looking at clearance 25" TVs, but I'm more inclined to recommend a smaller (20") higher-quality TV. Does anybody have any recommendations for smaller TVs? Your help is most appreciated.

 

[JoeDelan]

Well, for $200 you get what you pay for...At that price there really is not a whole lot of difference of what you get.

 

[Chad Ellinger]

Well, ok, let me pose a slightly different question then. As an example, for $250, you can get a 20" Link Removed or a 25" Link Removed. The 20" model is smaller, but offers S-Video capability. In this size range, is S-Video worth it over a loss of 5"?

 

[JoeDelan]

Chad, will you be using the SVideo for anything?

If you got a DVD player hooked up to it then go for it and upgrade, if it's only gonna be used for watching TV then all I would be concerned about is if I need an extension cord or not.

 

[Chad Ellinger]

She will be hooking up a DVD player. My only concern is that at 20", the difference between composite and s-video will be hard to detect, and she'll benefit more from running a composite connection to a larger screen. Does anyone have experience with 20" S-Video TVs?

 

[JoeDelan]

I would stick with the Larger TV. The SVideo will not improve it much on that unit. Go larger for now...

 

[Jack Briggs]

Yet, 20-inch direct-views have some advantages. For one thing, since the scanning lines are so compressed due to the small size, the pictures can often look sort of like progressive scan. There are some remarkably good 20-inch sets out there.

(My only complaint about the small Panasonics is that the color temp runs too high, giving everything a blueish appearance. Too bad sets of this size don't allow for more user controls.)

Your girlfriend just wants a TV, so don't throw a lot of techie jargon at her.

(BTW, my GF has a 20-inch WEGA. It's a smart little set, and DVDs seen through a composite connection don't look bad at all.)

 

[ThomasL]

For $250-$300 or thereabouts you should be able to find a 25 or 27 inch tv that also has Svideo and even component inputs. Check out the Sharp line and I think the new 27 inch Toshiba is coming in under $300. Depending on your viewing distance, room size, etc., I'd opt for spending the little extra money and getting the bigger set but it really depends on the rest of the factors. I have a small flat screen 20 inch Toshiba in our fireplaced living room that is used for cable tv and a dvd once every blue moon (during winter ). It has component and Svideo and came in at $270 and we're happy with it.
good luck,
--tom

 

[Bill Will]

I would also check out Samsung. For under $300 you can get a 27" set that has composite, S-Video & Component inputs. Plus I understand that a lot of Samsung sets (from 20" to 36") will do the "squeeze trick" (using a menu option) for DVD's. They also have Bass & Trebble controls which a lot of cheaper sets don't have & for what it's worth Consumer Reports rated the 27" Samsung's S-Video input as very good.
You might want to check Samsung sets out at www.audioreview.com.

 

[Luke_Y]

Look at this thread. I got the 27" Toshiba (27A41) for my GF. I know it is a little over $200 but was the best value in a quality set with s-vid and component I could find.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=31528

 

[Michael Cook]

I would go for the bigger screen. Most women don't really care about the technical stuff and just want to watch TV. My wife watches TV in the bedroom which has a standard antenna. Picture looks like crap, but she likes it because it is easy to use vs. watching in the living room where she will probably never understand the remote. Women