Television shopping

Okay gang, talk to me. I am tech-tarded. Wifey and I are talking about getting rid of the 52" projection TV and hanging one on the wall. Probably will end up building a console for underneath to store all the mess of DVDs and Wii games and such which will double as the receiver/DVD player/cable box storage.

I have looked into Plasma and LCD. I think I like the LCD picture better. Seems like 1080DPI is pretty standard anymore. Obviously, we want as many HDMI outlets and such as possible. Seems there are some differences in the hz. Some are 60hz and others are 120hz. From what I am gathering, this seems to effect frames per second or something. More hz means less blurriness?

I am also seeing 2d and 3d. Truthfully? Probably doesn't matter to me. Unless they start filming hunting shows in 3d, I am not going to benefit any. Doubt the kids watch many movies in 3d either. Do you gain much by going 3d?

Smart TVs seem to be the latest trend as well. I pretty much doubt I will be surfing the net on the tv so this isn't a big deal to me. However, it seems like you would want this option simply to take advantage of any future advancements. Currently, the only bonus I see is streaming Netflix or something.

Is there anything I should be looking for? Anything I should write off as old school or unneeded?

For what it is worth, my current front runner is the Vizio Model M3D550KDE.

72"? Holy cow! You are looking at some serious coin Huck. haha

Samsung? Might have to look into them a bit more.

Alphamax- I agree you often do get what you pay for. I am not sure if I feel the same about electronics though. I think you often pay for the newest. I am okay buying technology 6mo-1yr old if it saves me money. You are correct though (in my opinion), it is usually worth it to spend a little more for quality.

cotty16 said:

Samsung is the best in my opinion. Sony is still good too.

Look into the LED instead of LCD. I believe it has the better picture. Especially for sporting events. The LED doesn't leave the blurry trail behind players or the scrolling info at the bottom of the screen.

Be careful of plasma tvs. They need a room with zero daylight to look good.

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This is what I am learning. Seemed like the LED/LCD screens look better in store with lots of lighting. Realistically, in our front room it will not be "dark" unless watching at night with lights turned off.

Anyone up to speed on the 60hz vs 120hz? I think this eliminates some of the blurriness. Hard to tell unless you watch two side by side and focus. At the store last night that is what I did. I wanted to see if I could visibly see a difference. I could. Am I correct in the "hz" being the difference in fuzziness? Is there another spec I should be checking out? I am really not a techy kind of guy.

Gern186 said:

It is the refresh rate of the picture from what I understand. HZ is hertz.....spend the extra coin and get the 120 HZ.....

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This is what I was thinking as well. Just wasn't sure exactly.

Great suggestion on the cable package as well. We do get some HD channels with our current package, so it is not pointless. We will be able to take advantage.

I have a 60" Vizio as well. 60 or 65". Can't remember. Picture is fantastic. There are 3 models (grades or levels I suppose you could say) of their "Smart TV". Believe ours was the "M" series. We have major issues with connecting to Netflix. Kicks out all the time. Netflix blames Vizio. Vizio blames internet. Internet provider blames Netflix and Vizio. Outside of Netflix connection issues, it has been a great TV.