First time HDTV buyer confused and needs help

"Fred C. Dobbs" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:23:19 GMT, "JohnR66" wrote:

"deadendDan" wrote in message
...

"Robert A. Cunningham" wrote in message
...

"newshead" wrote in message
news:[email protected]

wrote in message
...
Hi All,

I thought I knew what I wanted. Now I am not so sure.

Currently I have a 27" Magnovox as my main TV(It seems big enough for
my wife's and my needs), but since we got a Wii and prices have
started coming down I am becoming more interested in purchasing an
HDTV.

I have $1000 to spend(maybe a little more).

Here are my questions

Should I go with plasma(saw a panasonic 40" for $900), or LCD?
I definitely know I don't know 1080p
and finally 37" vs 40". Having a 27", 37" will probably seem like a
huge upgrade and it's far less expensive. But, if 40" is that much
more I wouldn't mind spending a $100 on that.

Thanks

CRT is still the best for speed and color and image quality.
Plasma and DLP-Projector is second best for speed and color and image
quality.
LCD is the worst for color and speed and image quality.
Don't buy Sony TV's


Obviously, you must not think much of Consumer Reports, since they
rated
Sony as number one in 52" and 46-47" LCDs, number one and two in 32"
LCDS, and number two in 40-42" LCD TVs. Only one make of TV that has
a
lower repair rate than Sony (Panasonic has a repair rate of 2% vs
Sony's
3%). In addition, Consumer Reports has ratings on eight of Sony's
models.
All eight Sonys received excellent ratings for both HD and SD picture
quality, and seven of the eight models received an excellent rating for
DVD picture quality (KDL-46s3000 only received a very good rating).
Finally, in regard to your statement that "LCD is the worst for color
and
speed and image quality," even the lowest rated Sony (of the 8 Sony
models listed) received a higher overall score than 16 of the 29 Plasma
TVs that were tested in the March 08 issue of Consumer Reports.

So, your disdain for Sony is not shared by Consumer Reports, an
organization that has been objectively testing and reporting on
consumer
products since 1936.


You know, I appreciate where you are coming from. I too like to peruse
reviews and consumer ratings and reports etc. But to be honest, I go to
the store and my 'visual' experience does not always jive with what I
read. One thing about HDTV is that one has to consider the source input
and I understand that. But when all the TV's in the store are showing
the
same thing, no matter how it is canned....my eyes just can't tell much
difference...nothing like the articles seem to imply...they ALL look
great!!! SHEESE!!! I mean I never had such a hard decision to make.
As
soon as I make up my mind...here comes another expert opinion to tell me
how I"m so 'wrong'. Sony's sure look good on paper and in the reviews.
But I have to admit, that gray plastic isn't as rad as the spiffy new
shiny black ones [hehe].

Someone...pleeeeeze..help me. I have 2 grand burning a hole in my
pocket.


In stores, the TVs are all setup at high brightness and blinding bright
colors. It is not necessarily the way you want to watch it at home. When
properly setup and tested with differing program material, the differences
can be more apparent.

Go to your local library and and look at a copy of consumer reports. They
explain the pros and cons of each TV type and rate TVs on a number of
criteria.

Consumer reports is not the end all be all of Quality measurement. It
is a guide , They can not know how long a unit will hold up before a
major failure ,unless the unit fails during testing.

I have worked for a company that sold and serviced a product that
consumer reports had tested and deemed it was a excellent product, but
I knew that the product would not stand the test of time, on the other
hand. They deemed a product a poor choice and that product out
performed everyone expectations and is now regarded one of the best
products ever produced by the company .

Since you no longer work for that company please let me know the name of
that product, and also the name of the product they deemed a poor choice.


All Consumer Reports can tell you is if a product meets criteria
that they set as a quality standard and whether or not, in their
opinion, it is a good value for the money.

To me, that is very useful information.

That being said, my opionion is that Sony, as a corporation, is not
consumer freindly. They violate antitrust laws and practice price
fixing. They make a good product most of the time but I will not buy
Sony unless I have no other choice or if is an exceptional bargain.

Fred

I, on the other hand, am always looking for the best product, at the lowest
price.

Robert A. Cunningham

On Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:23:19 GMT, "JohnR66" wrote:

"deadendDan" wrote in message
. ..

"Robert A. Cunningham" wrote in message
...

"newshead" wrote in message
news:[email protected]

wrote in message
...
Hi All,

I thought I knew what I wanted. Now I am not so sure.

Currently I have a 27" Magnovox as my main TV(It seems big enough for
my wife's and my needs), but since we got a Wii and prices have
started coming down I am becoming more interested in purchasing an
HDTV.

I have $1000 to spend(maybe a little more).

Here are my questions

Should I go with plasma(saw a panasonic 40" for $900), or LCD?
I definitely know I don't know 1080p
and finally 37" vs 40". Having a 27", 37" will probably seem like a
huge upgrade and it's far less expensive. But, if 40" is that much
more I wouldn't mind spending a $100 on that.

Thanks

CRT is still the best for speed and color and image quality.
Plasma and DLP-Projector is second best for speed and color and image
quality.
LCD is the worst for color and speed and image quality.
Don't buy Sony TV's


Obviously, you must not think much of Consumer Reports, since they rated
Sony as number one in 52" and 46-47" LCDs, number one and two in 32"
LCDS, and number two in 40-42" LCD TVs. Only one make of TV that has a
lower repair rate than Sony (Panasonic has a repair rate of 2% vs Sony's
3%). In addition, Consumer Reports has ratings on eight of Sony's models.
All eight Sonys received excellent ratings for both HD and SD picture
quality, and seven of the eight models received an excellent rating for
DVD picture quality (KDL-46s3000 only received a very good rating).
Finally, in regard to your statement that "LCD is the worst for color and
speed and image quality," even the lowest rated Sony (of the 8 Sony
models listed) received a higher overall score than 16 of the 29 Plasma
TVs that were tested in the March 08 issue of Consumer Reports.

So, your disdain for Sony is not shared by Consumer Reports, an
organization that has been objectively testing and reporting on consumer
products since 1936.


You know, I appreciate where you are coming from. I too like to peruse
reviews and consumer ratings and reports etc. But to be honest, I go to
the store and my 'visual' experience does not always jive with what I
read. One thing about HDTV is that one has to consider the source input
and I understand that. But when all the TV's in the store are showing the
same thing, no matter how it is canned....my eyes just can't tell much
difference...nothing like the articles seem to imply...they ALL look
great!!! SHEESE!!! I mean I never had such a hard decision to make. As
soon as I make up my mind...here comes another expert opinion to tell me
how I"m so 'wrong'. Sony's sure look good on paper and in the reviews.
But I have to admit, that gray plastic isn't as rad as the spiffy new
shiny black ones [hehe].

Someone...pleeeeeze..help me. I have 2 grand burning a hole in my pocket.


In stores, the TVs are all setup at high brightness and blinding bright
colors. It is not necessarily the way you want to watch it at home. When
properly setup and tested with differing program material, the differences
can be more apparent.

Go to your local library and and look at a copy of consumer reports. They
explain the pros and cons of each TV type and rate TVs on a number of
criteria.

Consumer reports is not the end all be all of Quality measurement. It
is a guide , They can not know how long a unit will hold up before a
major failure ,unless the unit fails during testing.

I have worked for a company that sold and serviced a product that
consumer reports had tested and deemed it was a excellent product, but
I knew that the product would not stand the test of time, on the other
hand. They deemed a product a poor choice and that product out
performed everyone expectations and is now regarded one of the best
products ever produced by the company .

All Consumer Reports can tell you is if a product meets criteria
that they set as a quality standard and whether or not, in their
opinion, it is a good value for the money.

That being said, my opionion is that Sony, as a corporation, is not
consumer freindly. They violate antitrust laws and practice price
fixing. They make a good product most of the time but I will not buy
Sony unless I have no other choice or if is an exceptional bargain.

Fred

nnJ wrote:
"Fred C. Dobbs" wrote in message
...

Consumer reports is not the end all be all of Quality measurement. It
is a guide ,


Exactly.

My uncle received $$ due to a class action lawsuit against CR from Hyundai
SUV owners.

It seems CR used a different sized turning circle for their G Force tests
with the Hyundai then they did with all the other vehicles tested which
caused it to have a MUCH lower rating. The differences in the test circle
was NOT disclosed in the tests.

Any googling will show great dissatisfacion with Consumer Reports thru the
years for many legitimate reasons.

CR is a loose, taken with a grain of salt guide not a Bible imho.



And, over the years, it has done as much
flip-flop as a politico.

In the '60s when European cars were the just
appearing in the U.S. market, CR started
criticizing U.S. automobiles for not putting
more control functions on steering wheel 'stalks.'

Last year CR was criticizing U.S. cars for
'overuse' of steering wheel stalks for control
functions.

--
pj

Consumer Reports is useful if you are aware of their test procedures.
Just be sure their tests are real world and applicable to your needs.

I remember a few years ago they were testing DVD players and one of
their tests was to put a DVD disc in a toaster oven, deliberately warp
it, then see if any DVD players could play it. Talk about a dumb test.

Also, years ago when they would test high performance cars they would
use the same criteria as they would with family sedans. Thus a Hemi Cuda
would be deemed unacceptable because of "excessive wheel spin upon
acceleration" or "extremely small trunk with high liftover height" or
"unacceptable cabin noise levels", or "high effort clutch pedal",
"inadequate rear leg room", etc.

LOL!

On Sat, 9 Feb 2008 21:03:29 -0800, "Robert A. Cunningham"
wrote:


The only rear projection Sharp TV that was rated #1 by Consumer Reports in
the last couple years was the Sharp Model 56DR650 "


Yep, that's the one I had. Stunning picture for the first six months.
Dave, did you get the extended warranty, as Consumer Reports
recommended?

Yep, and never got close to using it...money down the drain.

"nnJ" somethingwitty AT andagain.com wrote in message
...

"Fred C. Dobbs" wrote in message
...

Consumer reports is not the end all be all of Quality measurement. It
is a guide ,

================================
As for me, I do not trust an organization with Ralph Nader on the board!

He HATES American business.
==================================

Exactly.

My uncle received $$ due to a class action lawsuit against CR from Hyundai
SUV owners.

It seems CR used a different sized turning circle for their G Force tests
with the Hyundai then they did with all the other vehicles tested which
caused it to have a MUCH lower rating. The differences in the test circle
was NOT disclosed in the tests.

Any googling will show great dissatisfacion with Consumer Reports thru the
years for many legitimate reasons.

CR is a loose, taken with a grain of salt guide not a Bible imho.

"Richard C." wrote in message
...
"nnJ" somethingwitty AT andagain.com wrote in message
...

"Fred C. Dobbs" wrote in message
...

Consumer reports is not the end all be all of Quality measurement. It
is a guide ,

================================
As for me, I do not trust an organization with Ralph Nader on the board!

He HATES American business.
==================================

Let us hope you information about TVs is much better than your information
about Ralph Nader.
He is not on the board of Consumer Reports.

DONT GET SONY!!!

I wont buy Sony again due to poor reliability of the last two XBR HDTV
sets Ive had in 6 years.
2 XBR sets in six years went bad. 1st one was replaced (they couldnt fix
it). The one that is dead now might cost 300-500 to fix, so Ive read.
How can I tell another person to get a Sony product with these results.
Yeah picture was great though while it lasted.
One thing that nagged me was the reflective black border. In my search
for new set it seems many a tv set has this same border.

Now just because I wont get another Sony doesnt mean the next brand I
get wont have issue. Its all a crap shoot just hope the next crap is
better than the Sony CRAP.


Ray

"Robert A. Cunningham" wrote in message
...

"Richard C." wrote in message
...
"nnJ" somethingwitty AT andagain.com wrote in message
...

"Fred C. Dobbs" wrote in message
...

Consumer reports is not the end all be all of Quality measurement. It
is a guide ,

================================
As for me, I do not trust an organization with Ralph Nader on the board!

He HATES American business.
==================================

Let us hope you information about TVs is much better than your information
about Ralph Nader.
He is not on the board of Consumer Reports.
===================
I guess I am wrong. He WAS on the board from 1967 to 1975, however.

Their standards have not changed much since then.

"Richard C." wrote in message
. ..
"Robert A. Cunningham" wrote in message
...

"Richard C." wrote in message
...
"nnJ" somethingwitty AT andagain.com wrote in message
...

"Fred C. Dobbs" wrote in message
...

Consumer reports is not the end all be all of Quality measurement. It
is a guide ,

================================
As for me, I do not trust an organization with Ralph Nader on the board!

He HATES American business.
==================================

Let us hope you information about TVs is much better than your
information about Ralph Nader.
He is not on the board of Consumer Reports.
===================
I guess I am wrong. He WAS on the board from 1967 to 1975, however.

Their standards have not changed much since then.

I don't guess you were wrong; I know you were wrong, but I appreciate the
fact that you admitted it, so thank you for that.

As far as your statement on Consumer Report's "their standards have not
changed much since then," I'm really glad of that. IMHO I don't think there
is a more objective source of information about consumer products available
anywhere. For those of you who do not believe in their objectivity, that's
ok with me, but I'll continue to turn to them for buying advice. The
information I receive from them is worth many times more than the cost of
the subscription.