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advice on buying a tv

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I have a vizio 20" LCD tv. It's 720p, and it only has 1 hdmi port. I want something has more ports, and has better built in sound. I'm looking for a 32", and I'm on a budget.
 
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What is your budget?
 
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Samsung LN32C530 32-Inch 1080p 60 Hz LCD HDTV (Black)

Price: $499.00 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.

Want the link sent from amazon?
 
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Have had my share of problems with samsung, and will no longer just buy something because of the Samsung name! I have owned many lcd tv's, and currently own 2 Toshibas. They have been PERFECT! I have 2 friends that have convinced themselves to purchase a toshiba of their own, and they are both very happy! All of our tv's have been switched to toshibas(besides the HP projector), best move in a long time! All of them have the "Dolby Digital" and "SRS Surround WOW" for sweet sounding sound from the stock 3d-sound bar.

If I had 500 to spend on a tv, this is the model I would buy...hinthint, my friend just got this...it's REAL nice!

Amazon.com: Used and New: Toshiba 32E200U 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV (Black Gloss)

Go to the seller "1onecall". They have excellent customer service!!
Or you can get it from TigerDirect.

1 thing that I have learned over the past couple years about tv's is that if a high volume name brand TV company, like Sony or Samsung, offer a low price range model for their stuff at the same price point as others, it's as expensive as other because of its name, and aren't always the best option, the less known company will most likely have more options in it. I know more people that are happy with Vizio than ones with Sony/Samsung combined! At $500 you WILL be able to find better options out there, one of those being the Toshiba I mentioned. I'm sure there are others too, but then you post wouldn't be a "recommendation" :)

Read some reviews about them.
 
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I don't Own a Samsung

I don't own a Samsung it was just cheap. I own a APEX Digital and it was actually made in the USA. It had 3 HDMI hook ups and has outlasted any other Digital TV I have ever owned. Consumer Best Buys gave it a 85% so for a low cost TV I'm not disappointed.
 
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well the samsung looks really good. The only downside is it doesn't seem to have place to mount a VESA bracket.
 

bobtomay

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Since you're asking for opinions - don't buy a Samsung - if you're looking for the company with the absolute worst customer service in the entire electronics industry - you've found it. They are also the number 1 brand name to have problems with Macs. Viewsonic comes in a distant 2nd place here - and only because they come in with sales numbers far behind.

The quality name brands I personally recommend are Toshiba, Panasonic, Hitachi and Sony. There are others, but these are my top 4 in no particular order.

Amongst the "throw away" brands are Westinghouse, Polaroid and Vizio. I would not advise buying these brands without purchasing an extended warranty. But, you can often buy them with the extended warranty for less than others.

The "throw away" brands are those for which you cannot get repair parts for their TVs. When they break, you buy a new TV or as with a BB warranty, you get your original purchase money back so you can buy another (after that is, your TV has sat in the repair shop for 4-5 weeks and they still have no idea when the replacement part might come in - because there aren't any).

edit: watch the local BB ads and others at this time of the year. You'll find some bargains on what are classified as "last years" models. Like cars, July thru Oct are when the new models come out typically and there are quite often some good bargains to be had as they try to get rid of inventory to make room for the new models.

edit2: I'd give serious consideration to that Toshiba idrinor linked to - $444 direct from Amazon, not bad for a 1080p at 32".
 
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Since you're asking for opinions - don't buy a Samsung - if you're looking for the company with the absolute worst customer service in the entire electronics industry - you've found it. They are also the number 1 brand name to have problems with Macs. Viewsonic comes in a distant 2nd place here.

The quality name brands I personally recommend are Toshiba, Panasonic, Hitachi and Sony. There are others, but these are my top 4 in no particular order.

Amongst the "throw away" brands are Westinghouse and Polaroid. I would not advise buying either of these brands without purchasing an extended warranty.

Sony, I recommend Sony with almost anything. I've used nothing but Sony equipment for my home theater centers...nothing but an amazing experience. Don't use their tvs though. I might one day with their 3d-tv. Panasonic, in my opinion, makes the best large screen tv, but they are closing doors soon(I think they already started), with their large screen tvs.
My recommendation still stands. That's the tv I would buy for myself:)

PS: in my room, I have the previous version(or maybe the previous version of the previous version) of that 32" with 1080p. I'm pretty sure there is one that slides in between mine and this one within the time I bought mine. I've had it for almost 3 years. The differences are that the new one has more features in the back, is a bit thinner, and also has a model with a dvd player built in, it's super easy to mount with the mounting area on the back, and has a cool usb connection to play mp3 music or view pictures...I wish I had that...
 

bobtomay

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Yep it's too bad that Panasonic may be going the way of the Pioneer plasmas.
I've replaced two of my TVs with Pannys this past year.
 
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Yep it's too bad that Panasonic may be going the way of the Pioneer plasmas.
I've replaced two of my TVs with Pannys this past year.

I hope not. The bar has already lowered as you mentioned with Pioneer out of the game. Blows my mind how this happened. I have a 60" Pioneer Elite Pro151FD plasma with 1080p in my media room. I am not looking forward to the day when I need to replace it. No one made a more stunning plasma. From what I gather, Panasonic would now have to be my next choice. I know we're above and beyond the OP's budget here, but I'm not sold on 3D, yet.
 
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Our company has had very good luck with the Panasonic Tv installs over the years and
mine will be 7 this year second brand we have had good results was Sharp the rest seem
to be a toss of the coin.
 
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thanks, all great stuff. Here's some more info:

I'll be getting the new version of the much derided apple tv when it comes out (I preordered it on the apple store.) I also have an acer nettop screwed into the vesa mount on my current tv. The tv only has one hdmi port, and although the selection of ports is nice, they're all scrunched up and under, which I suppose is for ease of access when mounting it on a wall, but it isn't so hot with a stand. I had a real hard time getting my fat hdmi cable to plug into that port, and dread having to unplug it.

Because I'm getting the new apple tv, i'm not too concerned with the new digital media features that are popping up like viewing videos/photos/music on a thumb drive.

Also, i have to ask, what's the performance difference between regular lcd and led. The brighter the screen can get, the better I like it.
 
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I hope not. The bar has already lowered as you mentioned with Pioneer out of the game. Blows my mind how this happened. I have a 60" Pioneer Elite Pro151FD plasma with 1080p in my media room. I am not looking forward to the day when I need to replace it. No one made a more stunning plasma. From what I gather, Panasonic would now have to be my next choice. I know we're above and beyond the OP's budget here, but I'm not sold on 3D, yet.

If i'm not mistaken, Pioneer was the BEST plasma tv maker. I've been reading on a couple of HTheater magazines saying that word is out about Panosonic possibly following in the footsteps of Pioneer due to low sale compared to the competition. Sad...
 
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thanks, all great stuff. Here's some more info:

I'll be getting the new version of the much derided apple tv when it comes out (I preordered it on the apple store.) I also have an acer nettop screwed into the vesa mount on my current tv. The tv only has one hdmi port, and although the selection of ports is nice, they're all scrunched up and under, which I suppose is for ease of access when mounting it on a wall, but it isn't so hot with a stand. I had a real hard time getting my fat hdmi cable to plug into that port, and dread having to unplug it.

Because I'm getting the new apple tv, i'm not too concerned with the new digital media features that are popping up like viewing videos/photos/music on a thumb drive.

Also, i have to ask, what's the performance difference between regular lcd and led. The brighter the screen can get, the better I like it.

Technically, the only difference is in the way the lcd panel is lit up. Similar to the way a Macbook Pro's screen is lit. Instead of one or two light panels causing the brightness, LED has multiple points of brightness areas, which can help distinguish from between white and black colors. Other than that, people, as well as salesmen often lie and say that the LED aspect of a tv helps to get better resolution, which is a big FAT lie! The resolution is EXACTLY the same. Only the contrast between 2 colors increases with LEDs. I don't think it's worth excess money they charge for it, not now at least.
 
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Actually, that samsung that was recommended is 3 dollars or so more expensive then the next highest model (the 550). I think i'll go with that one, assuming I can justify the money.
 
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A word to the wise get the extended factory warranty on the models mentioned earlier
in the thread by some posters that had bad luck and most of those had cheap power supplies we have a few of those dead in the shop they did not make the 3yr mark.
 
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in my opinion, if this hasnt been said yet, hold out till black friday.
 
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I don't know where all the bad experiences with samsung are coming from. I've had my sammy plasma for 4 years, now, and it's absolutely awesome! Actually, comparing it to panny, I find it superior, although it's not as good as the pioneers were.

Too bad plasma seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. It's infinitely better quality, and cheaper technology.
 
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I don't know where all the bad experiences with samsung are coming from. I've had my sammy plasma for 4 years, now, and it's absolutely awesome! Actually, comparing it to panny, I find it superior, although it's not as good as the pioneers were.

Too bad plasma seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. It's infinitely better quality, and cheaper technology.

bah, you hipsters always going forward, yet we have the best!
CRT is the best quality monitor, if you buy the right ones, too bad their bulky as heck and can cost up to 30,000 dollars.

Plasma has issues with heating though, and if you leave it on the same image for too long, the image can get burned into the screen. All types of monitors/screens have this issue, but plasma has it worse than others. this is also why your computer has screen savers, and why their called screensavers. more you know!
 

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