My dad is making the plunge into a more high-end TV set and I need your guys help giving him some advice. Couple things:
-Definately wants an LCD, not plasma
-Has to be around 46 inches, probably not any bigger, maybe a little smaller
-Has 3-4 thousand to spend, if something is slightly over 4k it should not be a problem
-With me mostly for watching TV, he probably only watches a couple movies a week
-Brands limited to Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic, Toshiba (these are what the store carries that he will buy it from)
-He is not looking to replace something every couple years, so he will probably keep this for a minimum of 5 years
-Does not have much in the way of audio componets, those will be a later, seperate purchase
Some of the models that have interested him (he is open to other choices):
Samsung LNS4692D
Samsung LNS4696D
Sharp LC37D90U
Sharp LC45D40U
Sony KDL46S2000
Sony KDL46XBR2
Toshiba 47LX196
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Sdallnct
09-04-06, 12:56 PM
Sorry, I can't help with specific models, but I would find one that does well on SD TV. Some do better then others on a SD boadcast. And since you say this is mainly for watching TV, there will be a lot on that is not HD.
BobDole42
09-04-06, 01:06 PM
I am partial to the Samsung sets myself. I have a 26 inch Sammy LCD in the bedroom that I love. The bigger sets always look good when I see them in stores.
rayh78
09-04-06, 02:54 PM
2 years ago when I got mine the Hatachi seemed to be rated the best from reading on a lot of forums at that time. Not what you wanted but they had at sears. Also just on these large sets the extended warrenty always seemed to be recommended with any brand.
Dead
09-05-06, 04:49 PM
...
Some of the models that have interested him (he is open to other choices):
Samsung LNS4692D
Samsung LNS4696D
Sharp LC37D90U
Sharp LC45D40U
Sony KDL46S2000
Sony KDL46XBR2
Toshiba 47LX196
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I'm not real familiar with any of those, but it looks like a number of his choices agree with the reviews done by C-Net (though sometimes based on a different screen size).
why are you so against plasmas? my panasonic plasma has the best picture of any set I've seen. burn in issues are a thing of the past. you can get a killer 50" plasma from Costco for about $3200 and that means you can return it at any time for a full refund. or you can get it from online retailers for about $2800. definately don't rule out plasmas.
a friend of mine has one of the Sammy LCD's from above and the quality between his and mine is incredible. I almost feel bad for him....
Big Dave
09-05-06, 06:07 PM
why are you so against plasmas? my panasonic plasma has the best picture of any set I've seen. burn in issues are a thing of the past. you can get a killer 50" plasma from Costco for about $3200 and that means you can return it at any time for a full refund. or you can get it from online retailers for about $2800. definately don't rule out plasmas.
a friend of mine has one of the Sammy LCD's from above and the quality between his and mine is incredible. I almost feel bad for him....
It's my dad, so I am not opposed to an plasma, he is on the other hand is set on getting a LCD.
At this point I think he has more or less decided on the Sony KDL46XBR2, with the only choice left is if might want to go a bit smaller to the 40 inch.
I like the samsung models. I would check with the above link.
yakuza70
09-05-06, 09:32 PM
[QUOTE=Big Dave]My dad is making the plunge into a more high-end TV set and I need your guys help giving him some advice. Couple things:
-Definately wants an LCD, not plasma
-Has to be around 46 inches, probably not any bigger, maybe a little smaller
-Has 3-4 thousand to spend, if something is slightly over 4k it should not be a problem
-With me mostly for watching TV, he probably only watches a couple movies a week
-Brands limited to Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic, Toshiba (these are what the store carries that he will buy it from)
-He is not looking to replace something every couple years, so he will probably keep this for a minimum of 5 years
-Does not have much in the way of audio componets, those will be a later, seperate purchase
Some of the models that have interested him (he is open to other choices):
Samsung LNS4692D
Samsung LNS4696D
Sharp LC37D90U
Sharp LC45D40U
Sony KDL46S2000
Sony KDL46XBR2
Toshiba 47LX196
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.[/QUOT
My vote is for the Sony KDL46XBR2. It's 1080p so it will be able to broadcast the higher definition sources (ie PS3 and other Blu Ray and HDDVD) in the future. The Samsung LNS4696D would be my second choice.
Hudson187
09-05-06, 09:35 PM
I just purchased the Samsung LN-S4695D from J&R. The set is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! I would definatly recommend it to anyone - the display is fabulous. I also paired it with the Sammy HD-960 upscale dvd player - ups dvds to 1080p quality (still not HD or Bluray, but good none the less). I am holding out to see who wins the HD war before I commit to buying a new format player.
Dead
09-06-06, 01:28 PM
why are you so against plasmas? my panasonic plasma has the best picture of any set I've seen. burn in issues are a thing of the past. you can get a killer 50" plasma from Costco for about $3200 and that means you can return it at any time for a full refund. or you can get it from online retailers for about $2800. definately don't rule out plasmas.
a friend of mine has one of the Sammy LCD's from above and the quality between his and mine is incredible. I almost feel bad for him....
Actually, you can get it for about $2575! (Though it is currently out of stock.)
[QUOTE=Big Dave]My dad is making the plunge into a more high-end TV set and I need your guys help giving him some advice. Couple things:
-Definately wants an LCD, not plasma
-Has to be around 46 inches, probably not any bigger, maybe a little smaller
-Has 3-4 thousand to spend, if something is slightly over 4k it should not be a problem
-With me mostly for watching TV, he probably only watches a couple movies a week
-Brands limited to Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic, Toshiba (these are what the store carries that he will buy it from)
-He is not looking to replace something every couple years, so he will probably keep this for a minimum of 5 years
-Does not have much in the way of audio componets, those will be a later, seperate purchase
Some of the models that have interested him (he is open to other choices):
Samsung LNS4692D
Samsung LNS4696D
Sharp LC37D90U
Sharp LC45D40U
Sony KDL46S2000
Sony KDL46XBR2
Toshiba 47LX196
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.[/QUOT
My vote is for the Sony KDL46XBR2. It's 1080p so it will be able to broadcast the higher definition sources (ie PS3 and other Blu Ray and HDDVD) in the future. The Samsung LNS4696D would be my second choice.
Caveat Emptor ... I picked up a new 46 inch XBR BRAVIA LCD HDTV from Best Buys a couple of days ago and hooked it into my existing system (Hybrid HDMI 7.1 receiver, 7.1 Polk speaker system, etc, etc). And, yes ... I could have bought one online ... I did buy a 40 inch XBR BRAVIA LCD HDTV from an internet vendor last year ... but dealing with those guys internet sales guys left me a bit shaky and I didn't want to press my luck buying an even bigger more expensive set. So, I decided to pay a few hundred more and save myself the aggravation and trepidation of last year.
I bought the 46 inch set because of the outstanding picture and construction quality of the 40 inch XBR BRAVIA LCD HDTV I purchased last year. The idea being to put the larger 46 in set in my "home theater" space and move the 40 in to my bedroom; where I also have some decent middle-of-the-range A/V equipment. I had been wanting to upgrade a couple of components in my "home theater" (center channel speaker, new integrated remote) and thought the purchase of the larger set provided just the opportunity to revamp a few items - just some tweaks.
When I picked up the 46 inch set, I noticed the box felt lighter and the external packing was not as sturdy as I recalled for the 40 inch set. When I got it home and extracted the TV from the box, I noticed the box and packing were a great deal less robust then the 40 inch set ... the 46 inch set was cheaply packed in comparison. Then I saw there were no cooling fans in the 46 inch set ... unlike the 40 inch set which has a top mounted/center 120mm cooling fan. Then ... to my complete surprise followed I noticed it was "Made in Mexico." I quickly ran into my bedroom and looked at the back of the 40 inch set ... "Made in Japan." I'm hispanic myself ... so I'm not a Minuteman or anything ... but we are known for building houses not manufacturing high-end HDTV's.
I hooked up the 46 inch set ... turned on the HDTV Cable Box ... tuned it to the best reference HD channel ... and noticed the picture was not as good as the 40 inch set. I did my best to adjust the picture with the custom controls ... but, to no avail ... this is simple not the same quality set as the 40 inch ... its like a knockoff ... it probably is a sanctioned Sony knockoff. I mean the colors and contrast are good mind you ... just not as good as what I expected from a second Gen XBR.
I wrote an email to Sony ... noting among other things that the warranty card was printed in Spanish ... "Guarantia de Poliza" and since I can read Spanish, it appears that all warranty issues must be referred to Mexico City to the independent Sony de Mexico subsidiary. So we are paying $4000 for Sony Model KDL-46XBR2 HDTV's that are made in Mexico and if anything goes wrong ... you better speak Spanish.
Well ... I feel a bit screwed by Sony. I thought long and hard about taking this Mexican-made set back and seeing if I could get one made in Japan ... however, I suspect that would be a major undertaking. I would recommend your dad take a look at a Samsung 1080 LCD set. One thing for sure ... I will be very careful buying anything from Sony again.
I think if your dad bought this Mexican-made set ... you will all be disappointed. Best of Luck!
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