animalmystic

Ok Friday is payday, I am making the plunge and making my purchase, I need some advice for the following TV's. They are within my budget, and the size that I like.

Mosty between 50% TV watching and 50% DVD watching, so I think this is right up my alley, plus these are HDTV ready when I make that move too.

I need to make a purchase at a major retailer (BB or C. City) for delivery because I have no turck, and shipping is free at BB right now with a free 6.1 HT system that I will be selling to my buddy...hehe.

Anyways these 3:


It says sold out, but its at my local store...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....0050029&cmp=++

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....6&type=product

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....6&type=product

Suggestions? Advice? Opinions?

I realize no TV is perfect, but a nice picture, decent sound and overall something that will last is important.

If anybody has another suggestion similiar to these, def let me know.

Thanks in advance!!

chipmac

I don't trust either of those brands reliability. If they have the features you want any of them will do fine once calibrated but you need to pray they continue to work down the road. For a forth choice take a look at the 48" or if you can fit it the 55" Mits. Other brands I think are better are Panasonic and Hitachi both of which can be found at CC.

animalmystic

Oh wow, really? I alwyas thought (and have been told) that Sony and Toshiba and good picks in this size range for reliability.....but then again those suggestions were not from fellow DVD talkers With the Mitsu being a great buy.

The Mitsu TV's are nice but most are out of my price range.

Thanks for the suggestions, they are appreciated, now I am doubting my picks now, thinking I might need to look at some other options.

Any other advice??

chipmac

Toshibas have a white line down the center issue that have plagued their sets for years now. Some people get lucky and don't have the problem and love their sets.

Sony makes good direct view sets but was never known for their CRT based RPTVs. They had a problem with several models where the CRTs themselves would start to flicker and even after having the CRTs replaced sometimes the problem would return. Now it seems that Sony is more interested in selling LCD models and the R&D is going there.

Every mass produced product can have problems that might need a service call but certain brands are simply known to have defects that make it a risk IMO.

What's your budget. Hitachi usually sells in the higher end but Panny sells towards the lower end of the scale with Mits in the middle. I've seen the 48315 from Mits for under $1500.

BB shows the 55315 which has no HD tuner for $1799 and the 48515 with the HD tuner for $1999. They aren't showing the 48315 without the tuner on their site but I've seen it in the store. I don't remember their price though. CC doesn't sell Mits in my area but I don't know if that's a corporate decision country wide.

Check out this 47" Panny at CC for another option. It sells for $1350 which is in the ballpark of what you already listed.

Shannon Nutt

I have a 55" Mitsu, so I'm a little biased towards them. If these are your only three options, I'd go with Sony over Toshiba.

taa455

Get the biggest you can afford. You won't regret it.

I have a Toshiba 57" RPTV personally. I have never experienced a single issue with the set. It has always been 100% reliable. YMMV

animalmystic

Wow thanks for all the input, looks like the Mitsu's are very good TV's, I might be able to go the Mitsu route if they are really worth the extra money I will be paying, if so Mitsu might be the one for me.

animalmystic

Taa thanks for the input!!

svadas

I know this one used to be popular:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...A3996%3A136937

animalmystic

Hmmm thanks for the link, does Pioneer make good TV's? Never owned or knew somebody that owned a Pioneer TV....interesting.

chipmac

Yep Pioneer is another well regarded brand however I recently read where one of their newer models has a green gun issue. Head over to HomeTheaterSpot.com and search the Pioneer forum for more info. Hell while you're there search thru all of the manufacturer forums to get a feel for which brands and models have known issues. I've heard Costco also sells a Pioneer model at a great price. I didn't mention these earlier because it sounded like you were locked into BB and CC.

agrall

My only advice...

Avoid Best Buy. If you like customer service, you should look elsewhere. I have had nothing but bad experiences with them.

Circuit City, Sears, or almost any other electronics store should have better customer service.

animalmystic

Hmm thanks for the heads up..

the only thing is BB has free shipping on there TV's and free KOSS HT system, which I am selling to a buddy.

Damn too many decisions...

animalmystic

Ok any thoughts on this Hitachi TV

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Hitac...oductDetail.do

hail2dking

I have the model up from that, the 51s715 it has a built-in tuner. I picked it up at Video Only for $1604 (normal price $1799, msrp $2199). Hitachi's are top of the line.

If you are looking for a bargain, grab that Toshiba at Best Buy, it is $999 this week and comes with a (crappy) home theatre system if purchased online (price match to sears if you don't want best buy to get your business.)

or, better yet, swing into CompUSA tomorrow and pick up this

panasonic PT-53X54 for $999. Get there early, it won't last long

shadowhawk2020

I have the Toshiba, my brother has the Hitachi and the picture is amazing on both! I know that doesn't help you decide, but I will tell you that both T.V.s are great despite what some have said here...

svadas

I don't think that Pioneer model is a new model though so it may not be affected by the gun issue. I like Pioneer stuff because they tend to incorporate a lot of their Elite line stuff into the regular models. People like Panasonic too, doesn't CompUSA have a Black Friday special on a 53incher? Personally I think it's really hard to compare different manufacturer's stuff, especially in-store.

Ginwen

CompUSA has the Panasonic 53" TV (see Hail2King's post for the link) for $999 tomorrow if you can find it. Apparently many CompUSA stores don't even have one in stock (is that legal, advertising something you don't even have one of?) Lots of people have been having good luck pricematching that one (with an extra 10% off) at Sears so I may try that tomorrow (I'd much rather buy from Sears than CompUSA anyway, given the terrible service at CompUSA). If it doesn't work out, I'll probably go for the Toshiba--I just can't resist under $1000.

One question, is about 7 feet away too close for a 53" TV?

chipmac

7 feet could be too close for SD signal depending on the channel and the source. If you have digital cable or sat the compression artifacts could be murder at that distance. It really depends on the signal and how picky your eyes are.

Ginwen

How about with a 46" then? Is this going to be a problem with any RPTV? I don't think I can put the chairs much farther back.

chipmac

This will be a problem with almost any big screen HDTV. After all they're HDTV and are meant for HD images and DVDs that aren't overly compressed. An SD image can look decent on an HDTV but overcompression tends to make it more difficult for the line doubler and or scaler.

A 46" inch will make SD tolerable. Your decision on size should be weighed against how much SD, DVD and HD you'll watch. I bought a 55" and sit 8 feet away but I mainly watch DVDs on it and SD cable is tolerable depending on the channel like I said.

Ginwen

Thanks for all the info--the whole TV thing is complicated! I will have HD (Comcast) but I'm sure my wife will still watch a fair amount of SD, since she generally watches a lot more regular TV than me and I want her to be happy with it too.

Edit: I actually measured instead of estimating. It's around 9'6" to where our heads are (in our recliners) from the screen of our current TV (which goes out about 2'6"from the wall which is, I think, comparable). What a dilemma!

taa455

For deciding on size the best thing to do is visit a store where you can sit and "test drive" all the sets and sizes you are considering. Try it before you buy it!

Ginwen

Good plan. Checked them out today. The Panasonic is just too big for the room, and I think (in the store at least) I like the Toshiba better, so that's what I'm getting.

animalmystic

Beware of those Toshibas, I read on another site that the Toshiba's have a white line issue running through the screen (on some) so the Toshiba is out for me, not spending $1K on a TV with possible issues, looks like its down to the Hitachi or Sony 51" for me...Sony is looking good , free delivery free HT system I am selling to my buddy, so that will make up for the differance.