Low Cost HDTV's? (1 Viewer)

[Rosario]

Looking at 3 HDTV's right now, they are:

Samsung HCN4727W
Philips 46PP9302
RCA D40W20

Asking for a friend. We saw them in person and they seem to look good, but i'm wondering if there's anything else we should really know about these, like what inputs (DVI being 1080i or 720p) he would want to have for future HDTV broadcasts and DVD's.

My friend will be watching a lot of satellite TV as well as DVD movies, and whenever HD DVD's are available he'll want to check out those too.

If anyone has any other suggestions for TV's within the same price range that are at least 40" and freestanding, I would definitely appreciate hearing them.

Thanks for the help!

 

[ChrisTheg]

You are looking at three huge problems right now. These tvs wont last any longer then your worst headache. If your looking for a HD TV on a budget then look to sony. I still wouldn't even recomend one of those but if your looking to save money then you dont really have many options.

 

[scot_salmon]

You might check out Panasonic. They look really atrocious out of the box. But, if you can swing the price of a calibration, even the really inexpensive ones look good post-calibration. One I calibrated recently was under $1000 and looked really nice after I was done with it.

Best of luck.

Scot

 

[John S]

ChrisTheg,

That has to be one of the most rediculous statements, I have ever seen posted on here ever.

Philips sets, especially that level and higher, have some of the best reliability specs in the industry. This is verified by watchdogs such as concumer reports even.

I'd highly suggest the Philips out of those choices.
I use a 60PP9202 myself. Really great quality stuff.

And to use the cash cow Sony's as examples of bargains??? Whoa...

Best of luck for you.

By the way Rosario, www.electronicsalley.com has that Philips for $1,125. I highly reccomend it and them for the purchase.

 

[ChuckSolo]

It's funny how these "urban legends" proliferate. I have had the RCA TV mentioned in the first post going on a month now and am extremely happy with my purchase. While I do acknowlege that Consumer Reports rated the RCA below the other mentioned in reliability, I have purchased other RCA products and none have ever let me down. One thing about the RCA D40W20 is that I would definately go with a larger screen if I could, alas I could not since the space for a TV in my 2 bedroom condo is very limited so a 40-42" was as large as my house AND wife would accommodate. The price was right and everything on it works really well. It does have a DVI input and all the doodads one could want. While cable broadcasts PQ, on certain channels, leaves a lot to be desired, the HD broadcasts look absolutely fabulous and DVDs look fantastic. The 3:2 pull down and progressive scan features of the TV really make the picture from DVDs played on my non-progressive scan Panny player look excellent. I don't see anything wrong with any of the choices you have listed in your original post. Compare the PQ on them all and decide which one looks best to your eyes, and enjoy. While I like Sony products, many times I cannot justify the extra cost that their products carry. However, someone has to bear the weight of their outstanding debt burden; that usually translates to us, the consumer.

 

[Rosario]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

Chris, thanks for the input, but i'm curious as to what your sources are for that information as I have not heard anything about these TV's being lemons.

Once again, thank you all, this definitely helps