How do yall decide what to purchase? (1 Viewer)

[JoeyR]

I went to Best Buy today to buy a 20" tv for the bedroom, I'm eventually looking to get something 50"+ for the bedroom.

First off all the tvs looked crappy at Best Buy even the 1080Ps to me, I will probably have to buy there because I will have to purchase with credit. I know some of yall purchase online and such, how do you properly demo a tv? Any suggestions are insights would be appreciated.

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Hi Joey - it's really tricky to narrow down models, as the viewing/lighting conditions in the big box retailers are awful. More often than not the sets are poorly calibrated.

When I'm choosing a set, first I narrow down my search to reputable manufacturers. For instance:

LCD: Sharp, Sony, Samsung
Plasma: Fujitsu, Hitachi, Pioneer, Panasonic
LCoS: Sony, JVC

Then I calculate my viewing distance to determine optimal screen size. Then I determine what set is best for the room (Plasma vs LCD vs DLP, etc), based on lighting considerations and space requirements. Then I compare all of the models from major manufacturers, reviewing spec's for resolution (720p or 1080p), contrast, brightness, response time, viewing angle, number of HDMI/DVI inputs, and number of component inputs. I then narrow this search down based on price. Then I search for reviews on forums such as avsforum to see people's experiences with these models.

Usually at this point I'm down to only 3-4 models, which makes the search much easier. I prefer to visit specialized Hifi stores to review the models, as they usually have their sets in far more intimate environments and properly calibrated.

At this point hopefully you have chosen a set, and can purchase at the retailer of your choice.

 

[JoeyR]

I guess my question may have been to broad starting out, I will eventually be purchasing a DLP/LCOS set.