Inexpensive 32" LCD for $500-$600 (1 Viewer)

[JohnRyan]

I have an aunt who is looking to replace her 25" Tube tv with a 32" LCD HDTV. She's not as picky as the rest of us are when it comes to picture quality. Let's just say she's been looking at brands such as Envision, Westinghouse, Vizio, and Element because they seem to be within her price range. She's looking to spend no more than $600.

How dependable are these cheaper brands (Westinghouse, Vizio, Envision, etc.)?
Are some better than others?
Any recommendations?

 

[john harshman]

i just bought a vizio vx32 and love it
i have it hooked up to a tosh a2 - rabbit ears - dish network (non hd)
i was able to pick up all the hd locals and some are 40+ miles away
i was suprised the dish network picture looks better then my analog tv it was hooked up to
the speakers on the tv are not so good but who buys a tv for the sound here

i will probably go back to sams club this week and pick up the vx42 on sale for 899

 

[LanceJ]

Sanyo has traditionally been one of the most reliable TV brands, not just for an inexpensive brand but for any price point (while this was a decade ago, when I used to sell HT their TVs hardly ever came back for repair & we sold buttloads of them, way more than any Sony, Panasonic, etc).

They sell a 32" LCD HDTV (only at Wal-Mart though :frowning, it's all black and after seeing it in person it doesn't look like a budget TV to me.

 

[JohnRyan]

I thought I'd update ya'll on the purchase that was made. Co$tco.com had a 32" Envision for $499 after a $100 off coupon. This certainly swayed my aunt to make this purchase. As soon as she received it, we set it up. I must say that the picture looks teriffic...as teriffic as Comcast cable is going to get, but under the circumstances, she's happy with it!! From the little bit that I heard, the sound was alright as well. Only time will tell as far as reliability goes. I guess we'll find out!

Thanks to everyone that posted.