Budget LCD HDTV help

[Chiliman]

so, i have posted in several different forums on this topic and no one can help, so i have turned to my trusty head fi

I am looking for a 26-32 lcd monitor for around 500-600 dollars.

Any help would be very greatly appreciated.

 

[ken36]

Buy last years model. Samsung LCDs are nice.

 

[SoundGoon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken36 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Buy last years model. Samsung LCDs are nice.

x2 The ones that were decent will still be around an they will be cheaper than this year's batch simply because they are last year.

 

[jjhatfield]

If you can get a Samsung model from last year, do that. They have a strong reputation for solid LCDs.

However, I would like to say I bought a Westinghouse 32" from Best Buy in December and have absolutely loved it. BB does have a 30 day no restocking fee return policy for their televisions, so it is worth a shot. I paid 600 plus another 100 or so for the four year service plan. I'm not a real big TV guy, I'm mostly in front of the computer and listening to tunes, but I did want a competent widescreen TV set I could use my oppo upsampling dvdp on, so the Westy budget choice was a good move for me.

 

[Jahn]

J&R clearance has a bunch of samsungs in that size/price range sitting out there - dunno if they would deliver, but it looks like you can just walk in and pick one up anytime.

 

[Chiliman]

thanks for all the input.

I have looked at a few samsungs and they look pretty good but I stumbled across this one from westinghouse and it looked VERY appealing because of the cornucopia of inputs.

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4077918

anyone have comments on westinghouse as a company in general, or better yet, does anyone have this tv?

 

[nabwong]

I'd wait till march. The stores need to clear stock then for new one.

 

[nineohtoo]

Westinghouse has poor viewing angles, at least for my monitor.

Even older model 26" from reputable brands are gonna be hard to obtain at that price. A lot of nicer Samsung and Sony LCDs aroudn 23" that were going for near 1000, are only dropping around 600. I was planning on buying a Samsung LNS2341 for 360 and monitor, but I couldn't bear the ginormous text and logos when hooked as a pc monitor(1366x768 resolution sucks lol). Even at the $400 price I was offered for a open box one.

You can probably get an Olevia or Polaroid around that price point, but I'd say they suffer in terms of image quality like the Westinghouse would. But at that price, I'd say Westinghouse would be the best quality. good amount of inputs, off angle viewing won't be nearly as bad as the Olevia seems to strive for, and the color won't look at saturated as the Polaroid. Plus the speakers can't possibly act up like the Olevia ones. I personally would fork up a couple hundred and get a Sammy LCD, or get an open box/refurbished one at your budget. If you're not mounting it on a wall or using it for PC, just get a CRT

deals to be had on craigslist for Sony XBR HD CRTs(some about 1/4 of original msrp).

 

[Chiliman]

Really? poor viewing angles? I read a review of this model in specific and they said the viewing angles were pretty decent. Also, it's not as though Westinghouse manufactures their own panels. They just rebrand.

Crt's are not an option. I need something light and thin because I live in a dorm.

 

[nfusion770]

I bought an Olevia a few months before they became so widely available (Nov 2005). I found a thread at AVS forums and took the plunge. I don't regret it one bit- very nice TV.

 

[jjhatfield]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiliman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Really? poor viewing angles? I read a review of this model in specific and they said the viewing angles were pretty decent. Also, it's not as though Westinghouse manufactures their own panels. They just rebrand. Crt's are not an option. I need something light and thin because I live in a dorm.

My Westy is the only LCD I have owned, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I've never had any trouble with viewing angles. Then again, I pretty much sit on the same couch and look dead ahead at the TV, so maybe I just haven't had the opportunity to notice.

I've heard bad, bad things about Olevia's. It was what I originally was going to get, but too many horror stories over at avsforums.com drove me away.

I stick by either a Westy or an older Samsung.

 

[ls20]

ive seen a few westinghouse and theyve exhibited noticeable ghosting and choppiness, much more outstanding than any other display panels

 

[stevesurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ive seen a few westinghouse and theyve exhibited noticeable ghosting and choppiness, much more outstanding than any other display panels

Yes, ghosting is not limited to the Westinghouse; there are many that have it - it can be a function of the scan converter used, which is usually the cost reduction item, rather than # inputs, etc. Sometimes, these TVs can be better used with a Digital to Analog source like a PC. In any case, the image quality is a combination of your video source and TV's capability.

 

[Welly Wu]

If you don't mind dropping the size a few inches, get the Samsung LN-S2338W. It's a 23" wide screen LCD HDTV with two component video inputs, HDMI 1.0, D-SUB, and RF input plus composite and S-Video. It's a great buy since I bought mine online at Costco for only $475 USD. I think it usually sells for about $575 - $700 USD. I also think it is last year's model. The set is beautiful in terms of design and the picture quality is very clean with calibration. I use it as my computer monitor, HDTV, and I upscale DVD-Videos at 1080i resolution to it too.

 

[nineohtoo]

^Just upscale to 720p. You're just making things harder for the display.

My westinghouse looks good straight into it, however if I adjust the tilt on my cantilever mount the least bit, I can notice changes in color. Mine isn't a TV though, just a 19" monitor I got for $150 last holiday. I haven't seen or paid enough attention to Westinghouse LCDs though to see the same problem(I work at CCity, so I'm used to what we have).