Home Entertainment

[#1]

I'm upgrading my TIVO to premiere and contemplating a new HD TV.

I'm very computer savvy, but HD TV is a bit of a mystery to me, so I need some recommendations. I don't mind shopping online and there's no rush.

Current TV is a 30" Toshiba that's served me well. I suspect any new TV should be at least that large to accomodate my old eyes.

I mostly watch movies and curently use my home souind system for the audio.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

[#2]

I have been happy with Samsung. But just recently purchased two Vizo panels. One plain LCD and the other LED. Both under $400. My Older Samsung is still my main Viewer, but to think I spent $4000 for a 46" TV makes me want to puke. But it has been about 5 years, and at the time it was cutting edge. I will not talk about Samsung being reliable because I want mine to keep working. I am sure there are many opinions, but I blew Sony off 5 years ago and chose Samsung. Trinitrons were nice in their day. But the 300lb TV I carried to the recycle place hurt my back. It was a 34" tube that weighed a ton, and it was replaced with a 36" flat panel that  is only 720P, but the price was right.

I would say if you want it to be your main viewer, don't go with the 720P, spend the extra for the 1080. The prices have come down, but the 26" LED Vizo cost me $199 at Christmas and doubles as a giant computer monitor. The 46" 1080p Samsung looks cool with Google Earth. It too has a PC next to it. If you wish to connect a PC, I would say 1080P is a must. 720 will work if you are on a budget. The 720p TVs are in the bed rooms and we mostly fall asleep to them.

[#3]

The biggest mistake that people make is buying an HDTV that is too small. Even if you have terrific eyesight, you can't see the difference between HD and standard television on a 30" screen from six feet away. My recommendation is nothing smaller than 42" for six feet away, and 46" if you're eight feet away. Don't think "television"; think "movie theater". Do you sit in the back row of the movies so that the picture is nice and small, or do you sit more towards the middle rows where the image fills your field of view (but not so close that you see the individual pixels)?

There are some good 46" LCD sets available in the $500 to $700 price range. I would not bother with 3D or network features. Instead, I'd buy a new Blu-ray player ($100 or so) that has the network connectivity built in.

Alfred

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