Please Help/advice !! Buying a LCD-HDTV tonight.

[ugamac]

The 4665f has a glossier ( if thats a word) screen resulting in slightly brighter colors and deeper black level while the a550 has a faster panel response time (less motion blur), newer generation panel, higher dynamic contrast, and a much better remote. If I were buying one of these two I would go with the a550. Based on what I have seen with my own eyes the difference between the two is hard to discern whether you are watching regular HD or a Blu-ray. Don't doubt your decision. In response to another question posed above, the reason the a550 is cheaper while being a slightly better tv (in my opinion) is because manufacturing costs get cheaper as well as there is more and more competition from "bargain basement" brands such as Vizio, Polaroid or Olevia. Price is not always the sign of a good product as is seen with Bose and Sony. And no you shouldn't call Best Buy for help you should of course call Circuit City.

 

[shvartsies]

what actually gets broadcasted in 1080P at the moment?

Put 2 46" tv's side by side and I prefer 720P to 1080i- without a doubt.. Not sure I'd spend the big bucks just because something has a consonant at the end of it unless I could take advantage of it right now.. I realize 1080P is future proof, but is it worth that much more when things are only being broadcasted in 1080i at the moment? I'm not sure it is..

at the moment, nothing gets broadcasted at 1080p. This will probably change sometime in the future. 1080i at the moment is The reason you prefer 720p to 1080i is being i means interlaced, and p means progressive, giving a less shifty/bland picture, this i believe is beause interlaced because in interlaced the picture is mainly composed of vertical lines (not sure). HOWEVER if you were watching something broadcasted in 1080i you would probably prefer the 1080i, since its native. Not only that, but that might be two entirely different tvs, maybe a different 1080i would look better than the 720p.

 

[jemeinc]

But isn't it sweet to research and assure oneself that what we buy is the best. Its some kinda sweet satisfaction... you know what I'm saying... you feel content at the end of the day...

Yeah, you're right.. But I always end up not being able to afford (or justify) the exact one I would REALLY like-lol-.. Either that or I end up confusing myself even more with paralysis by analysis and end up wondering if I made the right choice..lol..

 

[jemeinc]

at the moment, nothing gets broadcasted at 1080p. This will probably change sometime in the future. 1080p at the moment is The reason you prefer 720p to 1080i is being i means interlaced, and p means progressive, giving a less shifty/bland picture. HOWEVER if you were watching something in 1080i you would probably prefer the 720p. Not only that, but that might be two entirely different tvs, maybe a different 1080i would like better than the 720p.

Yeah, maybe.. But if it came down to it, and I could get a nice deal on the exact same TV with the only difference being one is 720P and the other 1080i- I wouldn't hesitate for a nano-second to get the 720p and save some serious cash..

It's a pretty significant price difference between the two right now and with the way things are always changing in the TV world these days I'm not so sure I feel it's worth shelling out the extra dough on the "future" benefits of 1080p.. I'm probably wrong about that, but I've always been leery of paying for something now based on possible benefits in the future.. It's usually my luck that I'd break it or something before I get to take advantage of the cool features already I paid for..lol..

 

[skiesforme]

<snip>...And no you shouldn't call Best Buy for help you should of course call Circuit City.

Great to hear about your experience!! Makes perfect sense !
I must also say that the BestBuy salespeople are jerks compared to the CircuitCity guy I talked to who explained the differences between the model. The guy at Bestbuy was underprepared and probably I knew more tech specs and reviews about all kinds of LCD HDTV's compared to him. Anyways, all is well that ends well. My TV might be delivered over the weekend.
Order placed on 04/03.
Amazon shows estimated delivery date of 04/14
CEVA/ Eagle (shippers) show it as 04/10
I called them up.. they said it could be delivered over the weekend.

 

[skiesforme]

Yeah, maybe.. But if it came down to it, and I could get a nice deal on the exact same TV with the only difference being one is 720P and the other 1080i- I wouldn't hesitate for a nano-second to get the 720p and save some serious cash..

I got another question... I have a Philips 5140 DVD player. It's a pretty nifty player capable of playing several formats. But I don't think it does upconversion . So should I buy a good upconverting DVD player. Any suggestions on this one.. I do want a player which can multiformats (DiVX at least, JPEG, MP3).. and can upconvert to 1080p.
OR...
I won't see considerable quality difference when playing DVD's on this player of mine... by the way it doesn't even have a HDMI out...

 

[ugamac]

To be honest with you...upconversion as I see it is a way to sell dvd players with these HDTVs. I've been working at Circuit City for the last two years while I'm finishing school and I have yet to see an upconversion dvd player with an HDMI cable make the image look better then if it were running from a non-upconversion dvd player with component cables. I have hooked up identical dvd players with the same movie on nearly identical tvs and the image is the same to the human eye. The only device that I have seen where upconversion makes a difference is the Playstation 3 because it has a powerful CPU and GPU. The thing some people may not know is that every HDTV upconverts an incoming picture to the native resolution of the TV so if you have a 1080p TV then the set is taking that 480i/p image and upconverting it to a 1080p pixel count. You have to ask yourself would a $100 dvd player or a $1500 TV have a better processor to upconvert these images. Sorry if this got long but the bottom line is that I would not recommend that you get an upconversion dvd player.

 

[shvartsies]

I would most definitely recommend a ps3 skiesforme, for the following reasons

-It is a blu-ray player (plays high definition next-gen blu-ray movies)
-It upconverts DVDs
-You could wirelessly stream all your media from your computer to it

Definite plusses-
Its cheap for a blu-ray player ($400 for 40GB and spider-man 3 blu-ray)
Its beautiful
It plays games
You could put linux on it
It has an internet browser
the list goes on

 

[skiesforme]

To be honest with you...upconversion as I see it is a way to sell dvd players with these HDTVs. <snip>.....

Great to know that I don't have to get another DVD player !!

I would most definitely recommend a ps3 skiesforme, for the following reasons
-It is a blu-ray player (plays high definition next-gen blu-ray movies)
-It upconverts DVDs
-You could wirelessly stream all your media from your computer to it

Definite plusses-
Its cheap for a blu-ray player ($400 for 40GB and spider-man 3 blu-ray)
Its beautiful
It plays games
You could put linux on it
It has an internet browser
the list goes on

Sounds great... I have a PS2 but it would be great to get a PS3.. my next purchase is in the plans now !
Thanks a ton guys.

Update: My new baby reached the San Diego office of the shipper. I might go over to the shippers local office and fetch it !!

 

[shvartsies]

you could get it yourself but you wouldn't have the convenience of a shipper carrying it into your house, plugging it in, making sure everythings in order (no dead pixels, faulty motherboard, etc.), blah blah

I went to Best Buy today and saw the TV that you ordered, actually a beautiful TV, very nice design also. Good choice buddy.

 

[skiesforme]

you could get it yourself but you wouldn't have the convenience of a shipper carrying it into your house, plugging it in, making sure everythings in order (no dead pixels, faulty motherboard, etc.), blah blah

I went to Best Buy today and saw the TV that you ordered, actually a beautiful TV, very nice design also. Good choice buddy.

wow !! Sounds good !!
Makes me wanna ask few more questions
what things should I look out for when the tv is delivered ? I could google this out or check avsforum but nothings better than 1st hand advice from you guys.
So any suggestions/checklist ?
I went to Costco and Ikea to check out a good glass based tv stand which would look good n match my tv without making a big hole in my pocket ($120 max) but did not find anything that caught my eye. Although, there was one wooden "Z" shaped glass stand at costco. It had a vertical midbeam on which the tv was mounted above the actual stand. It looked good but was worth a crazy $279 :-(
I really want to get a good stand within my budget - preferably dark glass based.
It would be great to see what you guys here have

Thanks !

 

[albusseverus]

Top of screen below eye-level?

Now that you have the Samsung, have you noticed that it looks a little better if your eye level is slightly higher than the top of the screen?

That's been my experience - if you can get a unit low enough to stand it on.

Also, sit as close as you can, for widescreen, even 46" is not that big that you need to sit back... 60" maybe you can sit back a little... but the closer the better. As long as you can't see the pixels.

 

[shvartsies]

I sit a good 6-8 feet away from my 46", supposedly the rule is you're supposed to sit 1.5*size of tv(46 in mine and skiesforme's case) away from it so 1.5 times 46 would be 69, so we should sit AT LEAST 5.75 feet away from it.

cheers

 

[skiesforme]

Now that you have the Samsung, have you noticed that it looks a little better if your eye level is slightly higher than the top of the screen?

That's been my experience - if you can get a unit low enough to stand it on.

Also, sit as close as you can, for widescreen, even 46" is not that big that you need to sit back... 60" maybe you can sit back a little... but the closer the better. As long as you can't see the pixels.

I sit a good 6-8 feet away from my 46", supposedly the rule is you're supposed to sit 1.5*size of tv(46 in mine and skiesforme's case) away from it so 1.5 times 46 would be 69, so we should sit AT LEAST 5.75 feet away from it.

cheers

Point well stated and noted down !
My TV should be home either tomorrow (Monday) or the next day. I visited Target and Biglots but still no luck finding a glass-wooden based decent stand within my budget
As of now, my 32" Wega rests on this:-

This would easily hold a 60 lbs TV since it has been holding up a 180 lb mammoth for 8 months.
But it doesn't look good..
I am itching to get a new stand.. damn these stores who cannot give me one for a good price.

 

[Veritas&Equitas]

I bought the 65 a few months back at CC for $1490 total, which was a killer deal, and I still absolutely love it.

 

[skiesforme]

I bought the 65 a few months back at CC for $1490 total, which was a killer deal, and I still absolutely love it.

That's a great deal you got buddy !!
When I went to Bestbuy to have a look at all models, the 65 looked stunning and stood out from the rest. It was my st choice until I decided to go for the successor of the 65 series - the LN46A550
Paid $1699(shipped) and have the 30 day post purchase price guarantee from Amazon. Samsung makes exceptional displays.
Enjoy !!

 

[skiesforme]

These are the ones I like... but too costly..

Costco - Sonax 50" TV Stand Black Lacquer Finish - $279

Costco - Walker Edison Dynasty 60" TV Stand - $199

Something similar within $100-120... please advise...

 

[shvartsies]

That first one is really beautiful , i might have to go pick it up.

thanks a lot

 

[jemeinc]

why don't you mount it on the wall? I did mine and used the pvc channelling to cover up the wires and then painted over it.. Very nice, and you can only tell it's there if you're looking.. I'm a guy, so it looks fine to me..

BUT, my mother in law is not a guy, so she insisted I make sure there were zero wires visible.. It was a little more involved, especially since I hate working with electric, but I must agree with her that it does look better than mine.. In fact, seeing that TV, on the wall, with it's beautiful picture playing and not a wire to seen anywhere is actually quite stunning.. Looks like a huge digital picture frame with some good programs being shown..

I learned a lot doing it and will definitely wire my next one this way, and may in fact re-do my current one that's wall hung..

 

[jemeinc]

.
I won't see considerable quality difference when playing DVD's on this player of mine... by the way it doesn't even have a HDMI out...

I'm not sold on the benefits of upconveting DVD players.. If the DVD player has component hook-ups you'll be fine.. I wouldn't replace it.. Though you are eligible to get a Samsung Upconverting DVD player for $50 as a result of your purchase.. I picked it up for the M.I.L. because she need one.. It's a cool little unit, but if I didn't need it I wouldn't get it..

 

[skiesforme]

That first one is really beautiful , i might have to go pick it up.

thanks a lot

LOL. I too am making up my mind and preparing financially/mentally - I have lots to spare, only that I don't like spending without assuring myself that yeah, this product deserves this price and I am getting the best deal !

But shvartsies, I have an advise for you. There is another stand which is a new entry in Costco stores but doesn't appear online yet. It's looks fabulous. Looks like a wooden Z with glass racks and vertical beam to mount the TV. You might want to have a look at that one and you know what, it might change your mind
As far as I recall, that one is priced at either $199(perhaps) or $279 (most probably)

 

[skiesforme]

So how does it look ?

why don't you mount it on the wall? I did mine and used the pvc channelling to cover up the wires and then painted over it.. Very nice, and you can only tell it's there if you're looking.. I'm a guy, so it looks fine to me..<snip>

I would love to do that but my landlord would kill me if I do this to his walls
My lease expires in 2 months and I would be off to the shores of La Jolla, San Diego. That's where I could really use your advise. A wall mounted TV looks stunning ! No doubt about that.

I'm not sold on the benefits of upconveting DVD players.. If the DVD player has component hook-ups you'll be fine.. I wouldn't replace it.. Though you are eligible to get a Samsung Upconverting DVD player for $50 as a result of your purchase.. I picked it up for the M.I.L. because she need one.. It's a cool little unit, but if I didn't need it I wouldn't get it..

Ok, so 1 night after I got the TV. The best quality I got was from the DVI-HDMI connection out of my MBP. My DVD Player (Philips DVP5140) disappointed me.. . Example: In the DVD Menu the rounded selection cursor had jagged edges. Picture quality was defnitely not the sharpest and I ended up unplugging my DVD player. In fact I ended up playing the movie from my MAC which throws out 1920*1080 60 Hz compared to the meager 720*480 60 Hz output from my DVD player. My AT&T DVR too was kinda ok, since I have not checked the HD channels yet. Both the DVR and DVD player are hooked up to the TV using component cables. I ordered HDMI cables to see if it would make some difference. Although, I know from forums that component is more or less the same quality as HDMI but its worth giving a try since the cables came cheap at 5$ a piece from monoprice.
To summarize my experience till now:-
* Very Happy with DVI-HDMI quality from MBP
* Very disappointed with Component output from DVD player
* DVR output over component is acceptable

Would try running DVD's off my PS2 and check out the quality since the PS2 has a decent GPU. Else I might be tempted into buying a good DVD player... or a PS3 as you guys suggested...
Researching these options meanwhile:-
Philips DVP5982
[URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N254LU/ref=pd_cp_e_1?pf_rd_p=250314601&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000F2KUK8&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0SECJDPTX1J02W0B3G1V"]Samsung DVD-1080P8
[/URL]

 

[skiesforme]

Refunds, refunds and more refunds

I have not heard back from you guys but something interesting happened over the past couple of days. There were several price drops for this TV and as expected Amazon is supposed to refund me the price drop amount per their "Post Purchase price protection policy".

These are the refunds I got:-
$43.63 - legitimate
$19.86 - legitimate
$45.12 - legitimate
$195.12 - no clue whatsoever, should have been $13 but they price matched some other seller on the product page instead of Amazon.com
$121.75 - same as above.. no clue why

Two transactions have been posted to my Credit Card and the remaining ones have been approved as the Customer Support people suggested. In short, the Amazon CS people screwed themselves real bad
==> Net refund = $469 <==
So the TV cost = $1743 - $469 = $1274 !!!!
Yoohooooooooooooooooooo, I feel EVIL !!

 

[shvartsies]

if I were you, I would definitely, definitely get a ps3.
dvds will be a thing of the past soon, like vhs. blu-ray is the new era

and i realize you're not just going to throw away your DVDs, but the PS3 upconverts them, and is also a very good quality blu-ray player.
and on top of that, it plays games, surfs the internet, acts as a media center (you can wirelessly stream media from your computer to it), is linux capable

and it cures cancer (google "folding at home")

 

[skiesforme]

if I were you, I would definitely, definitely get a ps3. dvds will be a thing of the past soon, like vhs. blu-ray is the new era
and i realize you're not just going to throw away your DVDs, but the PS3 upconverts them, and is also a very good quality blu-ray player.
and on top of that, it plays games, surfs the internet, acts as a media center (you can wirelessly stream media from your computer to it), is linux capable

and it cures cancer (google "folding at home")

Now that I got so much $$$ back from Amazon, I can invest in a PS3. Just a matter of time before I get bit by G.A.S (Gadget Acquisition Syndrome) again in a couple of weeks. My gf coined that term for me
I saw that the PS3 has a Hard drive. So can I play DivX on the PS3 ? If it can upconvert or improve that as well, I would buy it right away !