Help deciding which brand of HDTV to buy

[Shougo B'Stard]

My trusty, regular TV just croaked, so it's time to buy a new one -- and time to upgrade to HDTV (well, they leave you no choice, since that's all they make now). My problem is, I don't know which brand to go with. I want something as reliable as my regular TV was -- it was an RCA that lasted for a little over ten years -- but I get conflicting advice on which brand is best. I'm not a really techy-guy, so I need advice on this.

Some recommend a Samsung or Sanyo, others say they've had problems with them. Some swear by Sony, but I've read those have too many problems for being the most expensive. I was this close to just buying a Sony, but I've heard about people experiencing problems with stuck pixels. Everyone says RCA is junk, yet a store salesmen recommended I buy one of them over all the others. :shrug:

I basically just want a TV to watch stuff on, but one that will last and has good picture and sound (and one that's easy on the wallet). I'm not really interested in fancy features or all the crazy hook-ups it comes with or whatever. So, who out there has an HDTV that they've had a good experience with? What brand would you recommend?

Thanks!

 

[arnoldmcguire335]

Nothing says better value but for me it comes to two brands:

Sony and Vizio.

you pick.

 

[KingRanger]

I have a 42 inch toshiba regza. It has 3 hdmi slots, video game mode, and many more options. I wouldn't go with vizio unless you want dead pixals.

 

[ShinmeiSuzaku]

Just look at the specs and costumer reviews. I mean on newegg I managed to snag a 24'' AOC 1080p HDTV for only $300 bigs. A great bargain. Had no dead pixels, great speakers. HDMI, Component and Composite. Really nice stuff for a great value.

 

[KingRanger]

Just look at the specs and costumer reviews. I mean on newegg I managed to snag a 24'' AOC 1080p HDTV for only $300 bigs. A great bargain. Had no dead pixels, great speakers. HDMI, Component and Composite. Really nice stuff for a great value.

I got one almost exactly like that with two hdmi inputs at costco, but it only cost me 249.99

 

[Shougo B'Stard]

I always go over the reviews, and as I said, there will be conflicting information. Some people praise a TV, while some will say it died within three months of purchase. :shrug: That's why I wanted to ask people here who might have owned a particular brand for a while and know whether it's dependable or not. Some positive reviews are obviously within the week of a person buying the TV, when it could have ended up conking out shortly afterwards.

And I don't trust the salespeople are stores, because you never know if they're told to push one product over the other or if they're just telling you to go for the more expensive one to make the sale.

I've been a bit cautious before just buying one, I don't fancy the idea of dropping $600 on a TV that might only last for a few months.

 

[Adrienzo]

I got a Samsung one. It's been in perfect condition for just a little bit more than a year now. Samsung's are good, dependable, and relatively cheap.

I use it for DVD, PS3 and sometimes for basic cable TV. If I were you I would wait for the good deals to come along. I got my Samsung with additional surround sound for the price of just the TV...they do that quite often since the TV business is quite competitive.

 

[KingRanger]

Just as a heads up there are some new LCD tv's that upscale regular broadcast TV.

 

[KRBlack]

Can't go wrong with either Samsung or Sony.

 

[Badonkadonk]

Don't get a Vizio. I have a 26" LCD Vizio and the first thing I'm doing this Summer after I get paid is replacing it. The problem is that its resolution is 1380x768, which means that almost everything you plug into it is upscaled and comes out all jaggy and wrong. Check out this picture to see how PS3 games look because of this:

[HIDE]

[/HIDE]

I've heard Samsung is the best, and from what I've seen in person it is. I'm planning to get a 26" Samsung that costs the same as what my Vizio did. I've heard Sony in particular isn't worth it. But whatever you get make sure its resolution is actually 720p (1280x720) to avoid your stuff looking like the picture I showed you.

EDIT: Forget what I said about resolution. Pretty much every TV I've been looking at is 1366x768, and they all say 720p. I'm still researching, if I find anything helpful I'll come back and post it here.