# Looking at new TV's



## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

I was looking at new TV's.

Looking at this here.
ViewSonic
37" LCD HDTV
$200 Off Reflected In Price
$1,299.99
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?...pnav=&mc=79

Toshiba
32" LCD/ DVD Combo
$1,499.99
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?...pnav=&mc=79

Zenith Z42PX2D 42-inch Plasma EDTV
$1,099.98
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_in...nch_Plasma_EDTV
http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Dis...=10&id=1041

Was: $2,799.99
$2,249.99 (19% Off)
SAVE $550 after:
$550.00 instant savings
Zenith Z50PX2D 50-inch Plasma HDTV
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_in...nch_Plasma_HDTV
http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Dis...=10&id=1052

TV's can cost so much and I like a better one but this is also going in my bedroom so I don't want to over do it. 
The 
Zenith Z42PX2D 42-inch Plasma EDTV is cheaper then all the rest and it is a Plasma EDTV with 5000:1 Contrast Ratio and it was really nice looking. Well so was Julie the sweet blond with the great smail who was showing me the TV's and the Mac Pro's. :wub:

But I wanted to know if there is anything I should know about getting a new TV.
Like I hear you need a cable box with some of the models. Other say Digital Cable Ready and then others say Digital Cable Ready (CableCARD).
I heard you get the CableCARD from your cable company for free to add to it or I was told by comcast it is free. 
See pdf file for more info on the Zenith, http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/downloads_pdf/Z42PX2DH.pdf
Your see a slot on the back of it.
I talked to a guy a costco and he got one that he said was Digital Cable Ready but said he never got a card for his but did not know about cards.
Said getting things at costco is best because you can return things and get all your money back. Like a camera he had for 7 years that he returned and got his money back and then got a new one a lot better for less money.
Is costco that way on returns? If so that is great.

But that Zenith Z42PX2D 42-inch Plasma EDTV is cheaper then all the rest and it is a Plasma EDTV with 5000:1 Contrast Ratio and it was really nice looking. Cost less and had at really nice picture. 
From looking here http://www.costco.com/Service/FeaturePage....hierPath=50485* the life span on a LCD is Lifespan: 60,000 hours and Plasma 50,000 hours but on that Zenith Z42PX2D 42-inch Plasma EDTV it says Lifespan: 60,000 hours so that makes it the same as a LCD.
They say a Plasma run hot but do they run any hotter then a CRT TV?

http://www10.epinions.com/Zenith_Z42PX2D_Television/display_~reviews

So is there anything I should know on buying?


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## thecoalman (Mar 6, 2006)

The ones you listed are HDCP compliant, whatever you do make sure whatever you buy is otherwise it won't play full HD from the next gen players like Blue-Ray. A lot of people that jumped on the "HD ready" bandwagon early are stuck with sets like this.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

It is just a tv for my bedroom and I am not going to really have anything hooked up to it but comcast cable and directtv and all is HD from them I may change over to.
Then maybe get a dvd player but I am not wanting anything fancy.
Maybe later have it so I can hook the PC up to it

What is blue-ray?


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## thecoalman (Mar 6, 2006)

hewee said:


> What is blue-ray?


Blue-Ray and HD-DVD are the next generation players, http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-8900_7-5600201-1.html They are just starting to ship now. DVD's don't have the capacity for HD content for one. Additionally DVD won't look any better on a HD TV than it will on a SD TV of the same size, the source is SD. Same as watching a standard broadcast on HD...

The commercial discs such as movies will require you have HDCP compliant system right down to the cables otherwise it will display at SD or not at all. This is to prevent piracy. Same goes for your computer, they just released the first computer drive but it won't play HD content, kind of deafeats the purpose  :

http://www.cnet.com.au/desktops/dvdburners/0,39029405,40091720,00.htm



> Bautista says that one of two reasons for this is the fact that commercial content is encrypted with High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP), which can only be decrypted using a HDCP-compliant graphics card that offers DVI or HDMI connections. *Since there are currently no PCs for sale offering graphics chips that support HDCP, this isn't yet possible*.


For playback of HD discs protected by HDCP on a computer you are essentially going to have to purchase an entire system including the monitor.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Ok on the Zenith Z42PX2D 42-inch Plasma EDTV it has the HDMI/DVI connection on it.
See the .pdf file here.
http://www.zenith.com/sub_prod/product_Display.asp?cat=10&id=1052

Is this not what your saying I need?

Hooking up the PC is nothing I need to do either.
I just want a nice picture and that Zenith Z42PX2D 42-inch Plasma EDTV was a very nice looking tv with a great picture and color. Even looked better then others that cost 2 or 3 times as much.


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## thecoalman (Mar 6, 2006)

thecoalman said:


> The ones you listed are HDCP compliant,.


I said they were compliant, I was just pointing it out in case you found some incredible deal somewhere. If you do that would probably be the reason.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Well if that Zenith Z42PX2D 42-inch Plasma EDTV will do all I need and last tru the years of changes I think it is already the best deal for the price. Even better on picture then other that cost more. 
Guess only nice thing that you could get is PIP and side by side picture. Then another is one where no cable card or box is needed. 
But bet if I get directtv I will have a box that they have to use no matter what type I get.


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## InfernoReaper (Jun 13, 2006)

i know the price is nice but there's always a reason
plasmas start losing color/brightness from the first day and only last a few years

i highly recommend one of these

we had the 56" one of those and the picture was unbelievable


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

I did look at before the SAMSUNG and liked it a lot too but you needed a cable box. 
I will have this in my bedroom so do not want a bigger DLP.

Zenith Z42PX2D 42-inch Plasma EDTV it says Lifespan: 60,000 hours so can you not also adjust color/brightness to make up for changes from color/brightness as it ages?

Maybe I will look around more at the LCD


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## plschwartz (Nov 15, 2000)

Have you looked at the new syntax 500?
LCDs at a decent price LP s-ips panel

http://www.datavis.com/webapp/commerce/command/ExecMacro/search.d2w/report?key=syntax&x=0&y=0

much discussion at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=698254&highlight=syntax


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## linskyjack (Aug 28, 2004)

I have the Samsung 32" LCD (forget Viewsonic and Zenith). I bought it in Janurary for 1499.00. It has a brilliant picture, and HD looks awesome (via Cablevision here in the New York burbs).


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

It is getting late Hewee so I am not gonna be able to look thru the comments already posted that clearly. I will just tell you that if you can buy from a place that will let you take home the unit and return it no questions asked that it is an important thing to consider.

i bought one and it ended up being too large for my family room. Too big!! hard to figure

when the fog clears in the next day i will add to this a bit. And Gbrumb as i recall just picked up a tv so you could check his thoughts out also


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Don't know anything plschwartz about the Syntax brand.

linskyjack, Why forget Viewsonic and Zenith? I know Samsung has a very nice picture.

You bet wacorsaut I will only get a TV that I can take back if it does not look right orwork right or what ever is not right.


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## Wino (Dec 1, 2001)

hewee said:


> Don't know anything plschwartz about the Syntax brand.
> 
> linskyjack, Why forget Viewsonic and Zenith? I know Samsung has a very nice picture.
> 
> You bet wacorsaut I will only get a TV that I can take back if it does not look right orwork right or what ever is not right.


Heya, hewee!!

I love and prefer Samsung (be it monitor or TV), but not the price. Recently bought a Polaroid FLM-3232 (32") LCD Widescreen TV w/NTSC/ATSC tuners for <$850.

Note: edit ..........................not sure what happened to rest of rather long post and won't try to redo. Recap..........buy the least expensive TV with best picture, screw brand. My Polaroid is ID'd by computer as Viewsonics, so I guess they branded it for Polaroid. Have no complaints as to picture quality. Plenty of connections


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

I bought a Sony 50" about 3 months ago. It is an LCD. Unless you get off to the side too far there really is no difference between LCD, DLP and Plastma from what i could see. if off to the side the Plasma is better.

There is another method that i can not recall which somebody mentioned is better than plasma but i had not heard of it and can not remember it.

LCD and DLP have bulbs that cost around $300 to replace and they last about 3 years. Plasma has a life expectency which they have improved on so check hours Plasma is rated for. When it goes finally i believe it is a huge expense.

One thing to do is to check out the tv with the picture not on widescreen. in the stores they always show widescreen stuff and there are not that many networks that are Hi Def yet. and make them show you what the picture looks like with a normal broadcast and stretched to widescreen. you may not like that as it distorts the picture and if so you will lose about a 1/4 on the side in regular screen

If you live where there is decent over the air reception you can get the Hi Def signal with rabbit ear antenna for abc, cbs, nbc, fox and i think WB There were not enough other cable channels for me to justify paying for hi def cable. i think maybe there are currently around 20 channels is all.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Hi Wino,

Oh come on redo it all so I know what is missing.   
But even liking the Zenith Z42PX2D 42-inch Plasma EDTV and not to bad of a price at $1,099.98 there is the burn-in that a Plasma can get. So I think getting a LCD would be best and it is the Samsung ones I have seen that look the best. I have not seen a Polaroid yet to look at them so can't say yes or no on how they look. 

Hi wacorsaut,

Wow the LCD and DLP have bulbs that cost around $300 to replace and they last about 3 years so that can sure add to the cost and makes me think about getting a Plasma.
I know they say they use more power and run hotter then a LCD but does a Plasma get any hotter then a CRT?

Yes I would need to look at what ever type I want to get at all the formats and setting to see how the picture looks.


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## Wino (Dec 1, 2001)

Info for hewee:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2008038,00.asp

My preference is DLP for the larger screens. From all I hear much less expense to repair DLP than LCD or Plasma when they go south...........same statement made by my local electronic repair shop.


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## jonasdatum (Jul 15, 2000)

Hey check out cnet.com. An old site, but a great site.



hewee said:


> I was looking at new TV's.
> 
> Looking at this here.
> ViewSonic
> ...


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Thanks Wino, that was a nice right up. I have heard DLP are better also and looked at them long ago but should look at them again because it seems they are not as big as they used to be and they have table top models now when they used to be big floor models.

Thanks I will look at C-net again jonasdatum.


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## plschwartz (Nov 15, 2000)

hewee said:


> Don't know anything plschwartz about the Syntax brand.
> 
> linskyjack, Why forget Viewsonic and Zenith? I know Samsung has a very nice picture.
> 
> You bet wacorsaut I will only get a TV that I can take back if it does not look right orwork right or what ever is not right.


1. I was looking at DLP also but for several brands there was a lot of postings about quick bulb burn-out. Have not run across it with LCDs

2. Syntax:
I often try to find a smallish brand which gets some good reviews, and seems to be trading profit for market share.
Syntax recent merged with a larger company and now seems quite well financed. They have three new lines out of which the 5 series is a well priced middle range with some above average components.
There are several different techniques used to get the lcd picture. S-ips is considered the best and Syntax currently uses the LG Philips s-Ips lcd panels. Also one year on-site warrantee. Lots of discussion on these and all other HDTVs in AVSforum.
The 537 and 542 have some advanced chipsets also. I will get one of these after Labor Day when I have time to play.
A number of places sell the older Syntax models but only a few have the 5 series. JandR has the best price for 537 and Datavision has only listing for 542.
I saw them both at datavision and the picture was quite good. Not a Sharp but at a much better price. There seems to be a lot of adjusting possible to get a very good picture.
Vizio is another well thought of off brand. But it is sold mainly through Sams Costco etc and they each get a model "adjusted" for their cheaper price. Seems very hard to find out what corners were cut


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

Subscribing to your thread Harry cause I'm also looking for a new tube.

So far this one has caught my interest .. http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/SlimFitHDTV/TXS2782HXXAA.asp

Trying Bizrate for pricing ..http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.pro...zilla.datafeed.SAM+TXS2782#productTabShipping


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

Space Cowboy said:


> Subscribing to your thread Harry cause I'm also looking for a new tube.
> 
> So far this one has caught my interest .. http://www.samsung.com/Products/TV/SlimFitHDTV/TXS2782HXXAA.asp
> 
> Trying Bizrate for pricing ..


never did shop CRT's but if space is no issue then it probably worth is looking at.

another point is that if one is not really pushed to get something asap then technology changes so quick that costs and value will greatly improve in 6 months

But then I assume you all knew that.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Thanks plschwartz  Never looked at the Syntax brand but did go and look at costco but I need to go over to one of there other stores because I know they have more TV's then the one I just looked at.

If you go to the link Wino posted and your find a flash that will show you how to "How to Calibrate your HDTV" guide.
Ok where did it go I found it here. :up: 
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1975752,00.asp

You know Space Cowboy if your read the Pro's and Con's on TV's and Monitors your still find most says that a CRT is still the best so I am going to have to look at all types and a CRT will be cheaper too. I like that SlimFit too. But maybe get a 30" model.  http://www.samsung.com/products/tv/slimfithdtv/index.asp
Plus lets not forget what it cost to run the TV. Seen a Plasma say 600 watts. Then seen a LCD that listed the watts twice. Yes one for the power of the tv and again for the bulb in the LCD.

Your right wacorsaut  Need to look at the CRT's and I think or bet the Samsung's SlimFit would give me what I need and be cheaper to buy and also cheaper to run.


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

Harry ... please tell me why I should even consider a widescreen.

I just don't get it ..


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

widescreen is very nice when it is available. problem is there are a lot of things on tv that are not widescreen. so you end up losing a good deal of the picture on the sides. in the store they always show stuff that is widescreen and when shopping it would be wise to have them put on something in regular to see how much is lost and then have them stretch that to widescreen. i think some sets are better than others at stretching. and it depends on what is being stretched. for some reason a regualr tv show does not stretch well but i have stretched a hockey , basketball and basketball and they dont look as bad


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## Wino (Dec 1, 2001)

Space Cowboy said:


> Harry ... please tell me why I should even consider a widescreen.
> 
> I just don't get it ..


With a widescreen TV you can go either way......Normal 4:3 or widescreen. Shows broadcast in 'normal' mode may be some what distorted in widescreen (people look shorter/fatter) so I watch them in normal mode most times. A show broadcast in widescreen, or with VCR WS format or DVD (my DVD players are set to show WS if the DVD can go both ways, which I believe most can). My personal preference for DVD/VCR is widescreen on any TV (4:3 or WS). With WS TV you eliminate the blackband at top & bottom and get the full WS effect with nothing cropped vs normal 4:3 view. Boils down to personal preference, but I prefer to have the options of how the picture is viewed.


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

Just got back from Best Buy and looked at their Samsung CRT's and Lcd's and Plasma's..

This one was looking very sweet.. Made me dizzy watchin it though ..

Suppost to be on sale thru today? --> Pioneer


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

just a personal observation if one is thinking buying from Best Buy. Don't

Have heard many complain about how they were treated when something does not work. 

Maybe I have been lucky but have bought many things at Circuit City. Never had any troubles returning an item no matter the reason. Even got them to give me a refund when i found a tv cheaper elsewhere as their price gurantee indicated they would.


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## Wino (Dec 1, 2001)

wacorsaut said:


> just a personal observation if one is thinking buying from Best Buy. Don't
> 
> Have heard many complain about how they were treated when something does not work.
> 
> Maybe I have been lucky but have bought many things at Circuit City. Never had any troubles returning an item no matter the reason. Even got them to give me a refund when i found a tv cheaper elsewhere as their price gurantee indicated they would.


Can't say I've had a problem with either store. But when I go in to return something, I'm in no mood for guff and that is projected. My most recent was with the Polaroid LCD TV I bought from Circuit City............had a problem with the antenna connection for the HDTV....small internal ferrule pulled out when I removed the coax cable to relocate TV. Two weeks later, returned it and was in and out in 15 minutes with a brand new replacement............no questions asked.:up:


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

Just got back from ABC Warehouse and they tell me THIS one is rated top by consumer reports 

Best Buy told me it was the Pioneer that had top ratings ??

Salesman .. Ya Gota Hate Em


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

the salesmen as i am sure you know are gonna sell whatever provides them the best dollar commission wise. and i know there is quite a bit. to the tune of probably $300 on a $2700 unit they could afford to lower the price. best you can do is to research and look for unbiased ratings. not sure but would imagine consumer reports has some


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

SC was thinking so that went you see a wide screen movie it feels the screen. I know if it is not widescreen the the picture would showand another format so it would be a smaller picture. So a bigger screen like the 30" would be good.
Wow you going to get that Pioneer? Too much money for me.

Now I have a 20" screen and on some cable channels when they show a widescreen format it cuts off 1.5" to 2" from the top and bottom of the screen so the picture is smaller. Then I have also seen widescreen movies that cut off about 4" from the top and bottom and that really makes the picture smaller. 
So t would have to be something that I would have to look at and check out to see how all the formats show up. 

Wino,
You get the blackband at top & bottom on a nomal tv that shows widescreen like I was saying.
But with a widescreen tv would you not have a blackband at the sides for the normal shows?

I too think going over to Circuit City is better. Price shop at Best Buy and other places so you can get them to match or bet the others price. I know Best Buy says they will bet anyone by 10% and I think Circuit City may do the same.

To bad we losted the GoodGuys store here because they were a good store to go too also but CompUSA took them over and the store is not around anymore. They say go to CompUSA but they don't have all the GoodGuys had so we losted a really good store.

Here Costco is great at returns but they may not have the brands or models your looking for either. 

I think what consumer reports is good info. But there are just to many brands and models so they can only report on what they test. I take consumer reports and there is a new report on HDTV's in March 06. 
 looking at there rating it is not good on so many brands and models.
For a CRT Sony is the best.
For Plasma Panasonic is the best.
For LCD it list many models for each size. (Same with rear projections.)

So if you look at the rating from Excellent to Poor on all types of TV and I haved use there rating for years on buying trucks. But so many of the tv's are ratting are not that good.
So go and look at consumer reports, March 06


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

Widescreen sometimes can be misleading if we are talking about TV broadcasts. Not all HI Def is broadcast in widescreen.

So when you buy a tv you really need to make sure of the size of the viewable screen on things that are not widescreen, so you are not disappointed when viewing things not available in widescreen.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Yea you need to look at all fomats and types of broadcast, DVD etc that a tv can do to see how it looks. 
Man sure is not like buying a TV 20 years ago when maybe all you needed to know is if it had a good picture and a cable hookup some RCA jacks and that was about it.

But now you can go nuts just trying to find out everything a tv can do and then just what all does the tv your looking at does.


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

> Wow you going to get that Pioneer? Too much money for me.


I doubt it Harry .. My brother offered me a old Sears tube today with no remote 

Since I'm to cheap for cable I only watch one channel anyways.. So I might just hold off for now.

Was fun lookin at them today though .. Got me outa the house anyway.. And now i know alittle bit about them.

If I were buyin I'd buy the Panasonic 42" Plasma for about 2k .. But for now .. I'd rather upgrade me CPU 

Good Luck


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Yea I hear yea SC. Even the Samsung's SlimFit that I was thinking would be so good and cheaper after looking in consumer reports 30" Samsung's SlimFit TX-R3079WH only has a over all scrore of 36 so is fair. Sp that is not so good. Out of all the tv types the best over all score is very good at 72 for the 32" Sony FD Trinitron Wega Hi-Scan KV-32HS420

Maybe the Sony 27" FD Trinitron® WEGA® Digital TV that is not listed in consumer reports. 
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony...y9991JJJqYfwp3sG8JS!-1278026882!1156646618385

Wow right now on sale for $369.99 too. 

Hard when you read reviews but models change so fast.


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## wacor (Feb 22, 2005)

If time is not an issue then give it a few months. i am not that patient when it comes to buying things but seems to me there is something coming up that is going to make the current models much cheaper. just cant remember what the reason was but have heard that a couple times


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Yea and prices will also drop for Xmas too so that will add to any other price drop.


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## vreyens (Oct 25, 2001)

Hi All,
Syntax 537H Olevia 37" LCD HDTV
I have had this HDTV for about two months
and all I can say it's great. I still can't get over
quality of the HD picture. I did have to upgrade
my dish system to dish 1000. Also, to receive HD had
get new HD receiver.
Just my two cents.
Barry


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