In the market for new TV. Looking for some opinions from people who have or have the knowledge of which technology is better. Looking at them the LED is unbelievably crisp. Any negatives known about the LED sets.

Not plasma. Too much of an energy pig.

I'd take a hard look at the Sorny Bravia LED line. Expensive at the higher/faster end stuff (240HZ), but impressive tubes! The 52" HX800 would be killer!

Not too sure or sold on the new 3D tubes yet. Might be something to look in to.

If you want cheap/practical, hard to beat the Vizio stuff at Costco, etc. Picked up a 120HZ 42" Vizio for the father-in-law for $750. Not a bad tube for the average intro Hi-Def TV watcher.

I looked at the Samsung LED sets last night and was blown away. It looks like you are viewing it out your window. They were playing pirates of the carribean on it and I was waiting for johnny depp to reack out of the picture and give me a high five. I have always liked sony stuff also.

Agree w Packer for once. I have a Vizio Costco special and it is solid for the price. Sony always is good but not sure about Sorny;) LCD for me as Ive seen plasmas burn out pretty quick and dont know much about the LED. Sounds like alot of it is going 3D in the future?

Wait for one of these. Then get ESPN 3D.

Las Vegas - Vizio formally launched here Tuesday a new XVT Pro HDTV series, featuring a range of advanced capabilities including LED backlighting with Smart Dimming technology, 3D TV support and built-in HD wireless content access.
The company said it will look to use the line to expand its distribution into select speciality and custom A/V retail accounts.
All XVT Pro HDTVs will include its Vizio Internet Apps (VIA) streaming Internet video access enabled by built-in HD wireless (802.11n dual-band) and wired networking, a Bluetooth universal remote control with sliding QWERTY keyboard, and interactive setup video to guide users in setting up connections.
For 3D support, the sets will utilize Sensio 3D technology that delivers 3D content over conventional 2D infrastructure. Viewers can view compatible 3D content wearing optional XpanD active-shutter glasses (sold separately).
The XVT Pro sets will present 3D in full HD 1080p video to each eye by rapidly alternating between the left-eye and right-eye images within the same visual space. The sets can produce 3D images from Sensio-encoded material on conventional DVD and Blu-ray players, as well as from future distribution channels such as pay per view, video on demand, DTV and HDTV broadcasts, the company said.
Highlighting the offerings here is a 72-inch 480Hz SPS TruLED Full HD3D with 480 zones of "Smart Dimming" technology, built in wireless HDMI and Vizio Internet Apps (VIA) with HD wireless networking. The set will ship in August at a $3,499 suggested retail
The company is also unveiling here this week a 58-inch Razor LED with Smart Dimming cinema display in a 21-by-9 aspect ratio that enables film enthusiasts to view 2.35:1 films on a full screen (2560-by-1080) without black bars.
The set also includes built-in wireless HDMI and VIA with HD wireless networking.
The line will also feature an XVTPRO550SV 55inch 480Hz SPS TruLED Full HD3D HDTV with 120 zones of Smart Dimming, built in wireless HDMI and VIA with HD wireless networking. It will ship in August at a $2,499 suggested retail.
The 47-inch XVTPRO470SV, which will ship in August at a $1,999 suggested retail, will feature 480Hz SPS TruLED Full HD3D model will offer 160 zones of Smart Dimming with built in wireless HDMI and VIA with HD wireless networking.
The built-in wireless HDMI feature eliminates the need for a HDMI cable connected to the display by streaming Full HD quality content from video sources wirelessly with 60GHz technology when connected to an optional Vizio wireless HDMI adapter.

The downside of Samsung is if you have to deal with their customer service for anything. Do a search to find out how incredibly bad they are.

You'd probably get a better deal on a set if you waited until after the Super Bowl.

i havnt researched them in a while but 4 years ago i got my 50" toshiba plasma. and have no issues with it and am happy with it. although i am sure it is probably dated at this point. my .02.

Pretty much can can say the same thing about the 42" Panaphonic Plazma tube I have - it just kills me knowing that it's a massive energy pig.

LED's are the way to go at the moment for the 40-60" range.

Anything bigger and I'd look at a rear projection DLP II (or whatever the latest is) system. I've got an older Tosheeba DLP II 52 rear-projection TV that's still on the original bulb and probably has a sharper image than the plasma tube does. It's just a bigger footprint that most won't like - but was as small for it's size at the time.

If I had all the money, I'd still get a Sorny and a new Yamaha receiver.

Life is too short for non stereo-ized, full-surround sounded Peasantvision!

Costco has 46" Sony Bravia LCDs for $1099...I have the 40" version and love it. No on plasma, don't know enough about LED to comment

Just upgraded from a crappy Sony Bravia 720p 46" to a Samsung 1080p 58" PDP (plasma). Awesome, spectacular picture, and it actually cost 1/2 what my Sony 720p cost 5 years ago. Found it at Costco for $1500.

And it's Energy Star rated. Not that it means dick.

Sony 58" LED here, The frecken porn is awesome

Sony 52" LCD for me, 120hz 1080p, matte screen, paid $1699 at Costco 6 months ago, at Christmas they had them for 1399. Custom picture settings, love it.

I'm still on my 55" Mits rear projection 1080i with a better pic than most I see in the store and a Denon receiver with 5.1 that will shake the house if I want it to. We also have a 720P 32" Panasonic lcd that looks fantastic. My next upgrade will be to a 65" with a smaller footprint and a 7.1 surround but I'm waiting for a larger selection of 65's.

Love these threads since I'll be needing a new A-V system after I get moved into the new house. I wired a couple speakers into the ceiling and have wire in the deck roof to install a couple more later. TV isn't important enough to me to buy a really big screen, so I'll probably want something around 40". Last year Parker suggested a Sony LCD and Yamaha receiver as I recall. And some kind of blue ray thingy, but I'll inquire about more of the pieces later.

Sg

Take a look at Costco, I just picked up a 37in. 1080p Vizio for $500, they also have a cool companion sound system for $250 that fits under the TV.

Easy there SG! It's a dangerous slope to go down!

Hell, one can pay more for speakers than all of the combined equipment on this thread....if they are truly an audio/visual geek!

There are MUCH better receivers that Yamadog. It's that whole budget and "do I really need this" thing that brings one back to reality.

Still hard to beat a Sorny tube and a Yamadog receiver for the average -house hold hifi setup. Invest in a good set of speakers, and maybe even a relay if you want to get all fancy with a touchpad remote, etc.

Aunty,

I don't think Parker's recommendations were for cheap stuff. Quality without going off the deep end. I'm not a TV or hifi geek. Just want a good picture and good sound. As for biggest, that ain't gonna' happen, retirement or not. I alloted a certain amount of wall space for TV, and around 40" or so is it. I paid $350 for the speakers I put in the ceiling; they had 2 that cost less and 1 that cost more, and they all sounded decent. I do buy things that last. My 1988 20" Sony JVC TV still works fine, except the remote won't turn it on and off anymore. My stereo is really old, and we've just been using a bookshelf system in the condo I got at Costco for $200 that I run the TV sound through. But since TV went digital, sometimes the picture doesn't keep up, and I hate that distraction. So we're pretty much forced to get a new hi def digital TV of some kind. And I think you need the blue ray doo dad to watch DVDs in digital or hi def or whatever.

I'm not interested in a fancy remote. That's just another gadget to misplace. The electrician said we could have a remote to operate the big center ceiling light and fan. What? Who cares? Where would I keep the damn thing? A regular switch on the wall works just fine, and I won't lose it or forget where it is. I want the new house to be operable when I get old and feeble minded and can just rely on habit and instinct.

I have a conduit running from the AV control center to the place on the wall where I want the TV. Presently it has two wires, one standard coax for cable and another for new fangled, maybe it's the HD digital. Anyway, we put in conduit so I can fish a new wire should the technology change and need it.

I doubt I'll have any more time for TV during retirement than I do now. I watch too much as it is at nearly 2 hr ave per day, counting weekends.

Sg

OK. I went and bought the Samsung 55" led. 240hz 5,000,000 to 1 contrast. Bought a blue ray player at same time. So far I have to say I am completely satisfied. The picture quality is absolutely unreal, or maybe I should so real it is a trip to watch at times. The sound on these new TV's suck though. So now surround sound is a definite must.

Stick with a 1080 LCD, Plasmas are good for bars and gaming but for the average family watching at home LCD is the way to go. Stick with Samsung and LG for the best brands. Supposedly sonys are made by a cheap manufacturer and they slap sony on them. Although they all look good these days you'll notice samsung is usually a little more expensive. The good stuff isn't cheap and the cheap stuff isn't good.

I've heard in the 65" category that both Sony and Samsung use Sharp for the screens. The latest Sony 65" get's rave reviews as the best out there but it's $4,500.

That Samsung is a nice one. For surround don't skimp either. You need a good receiver with lot's of inputs as you pretty much want everything going through the receiver and good speakers/subwoofer that won't blow or rattle during an HD DTS explosion. Then you put on something like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, crank it up, and the wife, kids and pets will love you for it.

You can get the Sony 52W5100 here at Costco for $1199, 52", 1080p, bargain.

I am still running a Flintsoner TV's so have no advice except the March 2010 Consumer Reports came yesterday and they have lots of info on the latest stuff. Plasma vs LCD vs LED, blue ray players, and downstreaming from the Interwebz to your TV or blue ray player. They did suggest when it comes to size, all our wives are correct, bigger is better! Go as large as you can considering amount of room available and budget. Would suggest to check it out. I am looking to buy a small one for our computer room 26" or maybe 32".

Oh and 1 more piece of advice:

Look for the one with the most HDMI inputs.