My final tv purchase decision is upon me.......... (1 Viewer)

[Daniel Becker]

As some of you may know already I purchased a Sony KV-32HS500 from Circuit City for $1200 last month. I knew I wasn't moving into my new apartment for another 6 weeks so I chose to have it delivered directly to the new apartment (on the 3rd floor) on the day I moved in.


So, here I am about a week away from my move in date and i've been doing lots of research in the last couple weeks just to make sure I made the right choice on the tv I bought. This is my first really nice tv and I want to make sure it's the right one for me and the next 5 years before I figure i'll be buying a 16:9 plasma or something.


Here are my final choices that i've narrowed it down to and the prices I am currently aware of. So, please if you've got a minute let me know what you think and if you can answer any of my questions I would really appreciate it. Thanks......


Of course, the current tv i'm set to buy is the KV-32HS500. I'm happy with everything is offers but there are a couple of other options that are very intriguing and i'm having a very hard time deciding exactly which one is the best. Here are my options.....


Sony KV-32HS500----$1200

How much better will the HS510 look? Wideband amplifier? Thats the only difference i've noticed. Let me know if you think there will be a noticable difference betweeen the HS510 and the HS500.


Sony KV-36HS500-----$1500

This tv is on sale at Circuit City for this week and that is a really nice price. This one is extremely tempting because it's just a really nice sized tv for my place. It's got a massive 4:3 viewing size for my favorite Gamecube and Xbox games and it also allows for 720p which will be great for some of the upcoming Xbox games which will support it. Lastly, 16:9 movies will look nice and big since it's nearly the same size as a 34" Widescreen tv in that mode. Of course the 32HS500 has the 720p feature as well. Again though, how much better will the new HS510 look?


Samsung 32" EDTV------$699

This tv was just released last week and only allows for 480p signals and no 1080i. That probably won't matter since I have no real HDTV aspirations currently. However I won't allow me to see the upcoming Xbox games like Halo 2 in 720p and that is something that sounds like a religious experience to me. This tv will allow my Cube games to look great though and movies will still look great in progressive. The big question here is how much of a hit am I taking in image quality compared to the Sony's? If it's not that big a difference I could save myself at least $500 by going with this tv and then i've got a nice progressive set for the next 5 years until I make that big plasma purchase.



Well, thats it fellas. What do you think? I'd love you input and I appreciate anyone's advice. I need some help here. I'm about to lose my mind trying to figure out this whole mess. I'm looking at the bright side though. Either way it goes I come out with a nice new tv.


Dan.B

 

[Bill Will]

For the difference in price & seeing your planning to step up to a new set in 5 years or so I would go & take a look at the Samsung in person especially because of the price difference & because it really can't be compared to the old Samsung sets because their using a new fine pitch tube in them. If you can live with the picture for a few years you saved yourself a lot of money. Also see my post on how this set can be turned into an HDTV set by just changing one number in the service menu.

 

[Daniel Becker]

I get the feeling on this board sometimes that if your not buying a widescreen RPTV no one really cares what your talking about.


Anyway, I made my final decision tonight. I bought the Sony KV-36HS500. I only paid $1500 and I got a free cheap DVD player that I can sell to a family member for $50. So, in my mind I only paid $1450. I'm really happy I spent the extra money. I know I won't regret it for the next few years. I don't know if I could have said the same thing if I had bought the Samsung EDTV or the 32" Sony. The 36" is nice and big for my living room and it's got all the features i'll need for the next 5 years.



Dan.Becker

 

[Bill Will]

Congrats on your new tv & enjoy it. I hate to say it but I'm with you waiting for the Plasma or LCD sets to come down in price. I can't stand projection tv's & If I was you I would have done the same thing & bought a 36" set. It's too bad the 40" Sony is only an "XBR" model & way over-priced. Again, enjoy your new Sony it's a really nice model!

 

[DaveF]

Enjoy. I bought the 36HS500 last fall and really enjoy it. It's fantabulous for NGC games, too!

 

[Daniel Becker]

Great to hear it Dave! Thats what I love about this tv. It's big enough that 16:9 material still looks great and provides a satisfactory image size, and for those videogames that are 4:3 you've got yourself a massive 36" 480p image staring at you! I can't wait to see this sucker in my living room. Only 9 more days!


Dan.B