Please help recommend a display for a friend (1 Viewer)

[Rob Gardiner]

Hello everybody,

A friend of mine has $2,500 to spend on a new HDTV and would like some recommendations. Here are the criteria:

Price: $2,000-2,500 would be ideal. Could possibly go up as high as $3,000 for something really great.

Size: 50", 56", or 62".

HDMI: This input should be present.

PnP: Picture in picture is a big deal. The feature known as "50/50 screen split" would be preferred. Also, I understand some Samsung models don't allow channel flicking in the pnp -- would like to avoid that limitation if possible.

Burn-in: I understand newer sets have features that reduce or eliminate the possibility of burn-in. This would be a desirable feature.

Ease of (or lack of need for) repair: Ideally, the set would not require repairs. I understand some Toshiba models get bad reviews for lamp burnout. My friend would like to avoid any nasty surprises such as this.

Any other major concerns? My friend is new to HDTV, and I admit I don't know many of the finer hardware details that everybody here keeps up with.

Also, can anyone recommend a dealer? My friend lives in San Francisco, CA but is willing to buy online.

Any recommendations would be welcome. Many thanks!!!

 

[Rob Gardiner]

In lieu of a direct recommendation, can someone point me to an online buyer's guide or other resource that would help me and my friend make an informed decision? Many thanks.

 

[Robert Hoffman]

Have you picked a display format yet? (plasma, Lcos, d-ila, SXRD, etc) You can probably rule out LCD as the screen sizes don't go that large. Check out avsforum.com for their different display sub groups and look for recommendations.

For one of the top brands in Plasma (panasonic, pioneer, NEC, fujitsu), $3000 for a 50 inch would be tough to do. Your best bet would be one of the new Panasonic 50" 60U series TVs but they don't come out for another month or two (and would likely be right around $3000, possibly a couple hundred more).

I don't think the other techonolgies in that size suffer from Burn-in....and plasma has a much reduced risk with current technology. As I just purchased a Plasma, I can't really recommend one of the other technologies due to lack of knowledge.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Robert,

My friend has tentatively picked out the Samsung HLR5678W, 56" DLP with 1080p. He has seen it online in the $2300-3000 range (depending on the dealer). A search on this forum didn't turn up any threads -- I think this model is new.

I will keep looking around, including at avsforum. Any other comments or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Robert Hoffman]

My only other comment would be to make sure that whatever online dealer you're using is factory authorized. Usually (rather, probably always) the dealers that are forum sponsors (to both HTF and avsform) are factory authorized for the brands they carry. The price you get from them is usually within a few hundred of whatever an unauthorized dealer would give you (and maybe $1000 less than a local B&M that won't negotiate).

 

[Rob Gardiner]

Thanks, Robert, for the advice.