[US/CAN] Need quick advice on TV purchase (42-47")

Heya fellas,

I am in the situation of having to buy a new TV really quick until July the 1st. Usually I'm the type of guy who digs really deep into reviews and technical comparisons, but I don't have the time anymore (and no computer from 25th-29th or so), so I really need some help to make a decision.

The TV must be available in North America because that's where I will buy it. It has to be 1080p of course, no matter if plasma or lcd, 42-47" would be ideal. Needs to have composite in, several HDMI and maybe USB. No internal HDD if that'd add unnecessary costs.


Price frame: up to 800$

 

How about this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889005192

42", 2 x composite, 3 x HDMI, 1 x USB, $579

 

One thing I will say for certain is to avoid Magnavox/Philips TV's like the plague.

 

What's so bad about Philips? The only thing I noticed so far that very few Philips models have more than HDMI and component input. No A/V composite? No S-Video? WTF? How am I supposed to hook up older components like a camcorder?

The LG leaves a solid impression. Might take that one into consideration, but I'm still searching. You can never have enough of them recommendations

 

My uncle had a Phillips for less than two years before it died on him. Apparently they have problems with the mainboard dying on them. The cost to replace it was almost as much as he paid for the thing. Buyer beware...

I've had a 42" Panasonic Plasma for about 5 years and have had zero problems. The only real downsides to it are that it is both heavy and power hungry like most plasma TV's and I wish it had more HDMI slots. That last one isn't likely a problem with newer ones though.

 

I can vouch for LG. I have a 32" one and it's really nice.

 

Another vote for LG.

If you want to save money go for plasma, allthough LED is nicer its more expensive and so you could go for 47 inch + under your budget.
But in the long run, plasma will comsume more power.

Here for 800 you could get an LG 50" 3d

 

I've just stumbled over the LG 50PV450:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=38d6683ed333d85150b158c111472b3aen02

It's now for sale for only 799$. A couple of days ago it was still 899$ and on amazon it's the regular 999$. I guess it's not a bad price for this model, the tv itself, however, leaves a good first impression as well. I believe nobody here on this forum has it? Any opinions?

Would be good if possible alternatives were available at futureshop since it's quite nearby.

 

I will never buy Sharp again. I had my TV for 1 year 2 months (so just barely out of any warranty). I e-mailed customer support to see if I had any options for repair, and TWICE I did not get a reply. The TV was great while I had it. The only problem I had was occasionally the screen would flicker with my N64 hooked up using S-Video. Until then I'm stuck using a 32" CRT. Which is nice for my classics, but god does my PS3 look awful on it.

I'm kind of curious about this thread as well. I will be buying a new TV in August when I hopefully have some money saved up + birthday.

One interesting thing I saw in the store the other day was a 47" Vizio with Real D 3D (the movie theater stuff) for around $800. I know Vizio is a cheaper brand, but from what I've seen with all my friends that own them, they do at least last.

 

I have the 350 model, got it as a replacement for a broken older model 50PF95 which was still under warrenty.
Allthough the older model started dying on me (actually only 1 vertical line showed up, which was probably my fault due to moving the tv to my new house) I cannot complain about LG, especially the service I got when I RMA'd the old model, within 1 week I had an engineer at home and another week to receive a replacement.

The 350 model looks good, nothing to complain after 6-7 months now, and is even cheaper then the 450 model.
Only downside to plasma is high power usage and the burnins, which aren't that bad but I would be happier without.

 

Based on visual output, I have a thing for Sharp Tvs (specially auqios but that will push it out of range).
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sharp+-...HDTV/2380127.p?id=1218323449483&skuId=2380127

ATM I have a Sony HX701 and it's great.

 

@ave

You can´t compare north american or asian Philips TVs with european Philips TVs. Those are manufactured mostly by Funai and only have the Philips brand (OEM). European Philips TVs are manufactured directly by Philips or its allies with better quality standards and better panels (almost all 8er and 9er series tvs have Sharp panels). It´s one of the best manufacturers here in europe.

I only buy those and never had a problem (currently i own a 46 pfl 9605K, http://www.amazon.de/Philips-46-PFL...1WQU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309357797&sr=8-1)

 

Would love to own one of those full ambilight philips tv's, sadly they are very expensive compared to samsung/lg etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDcuVhatTvY

 

The 350 model is cheaper because it's 720p. I was already considering it, but at 50" I'd rather buy a 1080p model because my parents only want to watch blurays/TV (incl. HDTV) on it. The TV will not be used for gaming at all, where 720p wouldn't be a big issue.

What about the screenburn, I thought this problem had been sorted out by now? It was an issue back when I bought an LCD in Dec. 2007, but that is almost 4 years ago. I think it was something like "be careful for the first 100hrs, after that screenburn is quite unlikely", right?

@remus
I'll buy a North American model of any brand, so thanks for the heads up - Philips is now definitely taboo. But you're right, back in Germany it never occured to me that Philips might produce something of bad quality.

 

The 350 is FullHD 1080p, not sure where you found your specs :thumbsup:

The screenburns as in real burns forever is not what i ment, the issue I pointed to which all plasma's have is that minor burns hang around for a while (temporary ghosting, image shadowing).. tv logos, menus etc stay burned in black but dissapear after a while. This is especially annoying when using my htpc on my tv.

Don't get me wrong it's not that big of a deal, it's just what you get with all plasma's.
I never liked the old LCD colors/quality, now I would go for LCD LED but if you are on a budget go plasma.

 

The 50PT350 is 720p according to LG.com:

http://www.lg.com/us/tv-audio-video/televisions/LG-plasma-tv-50PT350.jsp
Native Display Resolution1024 x 768The 50PV450 sounds rather nice. I might have a look today at Futureshop.

 

The PV350 is 1080p

http://m.lg.com/nl/tv-audio-video/televisie/LG-plasma-tv-50PV350.jsp

 

I don't think this one is available in North America though, or maybe not anymore.

 

How about the 50PK350? its also 1080p

 

Just a heads up, Futureshop/Bestbuy.ca will be having short weekend sales for Canada Day (July 1st). So you might be able to get a nicer tv down to $800ish (they are advertising a 40" sony 3D ready tv for 800).