# Flat Screen



## riptheirlips (Jun 30, 2008)

I know nothing about flat screen TV's but the wife would like to get a new TV for christmas. Any suggestions on best brand and what I need to make sure the TV has. I looked at a couple today and they had all these numbers that I didn't know what the hell they meant. Anyone who is knowledgeable about Flat Screens I would appreciate your help. I think I want a 50-60 inch.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I work for a company that deals with TVs on a very regular basis. The only suggestion I have is to buy a brand you have heard of. Those weird brands that you buy at Walmart are generally junk. Guys really like Vizio, but I see lots of problems with them so I would steer you away from them due to these issues. I wont go into specifics, but trust me a name brand like Sony, LG, Samsung, Mitsubishi, Sharp, etc are the way you want to go.

Personally I like LED TVs over LCD as they have a longer life span but you will pay a bit more for them. Plasma TVs are nice, but heavy and altitude sensetive and may not function properly if you are at too high of altitude.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Oh and dont buy too big of a screen for your room. If you have a smaller room, dont buy an enormous screen


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Get your wall bracket and HDMI cable from monoprice.com and then throw out everything bax just, ok, just kidding! One name to add to the list is LG of good ones. We just bought a 60" LG in plasma for $900 from Costco, it is great. 1080p is the number to look for, that is the designation of screen quality or resolution. Where will the TV be located? Will it face a window or be in a dark basement; that makes a big difference, reportedly, as to which type of TV. WE have the plasma at a cabin of 8,200' elevation in the basement. Costco has the best extended warranty anywhere especially if you buy it with an AMEX as AMEX extends the warranty for a year for free.


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## riptheirlips (Jun 30, 2008)

This information is all helpful I appreciate it. I can't go look today or tomorrow have to help work cows. First of the week I think I will head to Costco and start looking.

I did see some with the 1080p and some with 750p at Sam's. They were really trying to push the 750 or 780 whatever it was now I understand why.

Thanks again and enjoy the holidays but be safe.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

I don't know much about TV's, but I do subscribe to _Consumer Reports_. They rate the Panasonic Viera series at or near the top of the list in almost every size category. They really seem to like the Sharp brand in the largest TV's. LG scores pretty high across the board.


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## bwhntr (Sep 12, 2007)

BirdDogger said:


> I don't know much about TV's, but I do subscribe to _Consumer Reports_. They rate the Panasonic Viera series at or near the top of the list in almost every size category. They really seem to like the Sharp brand in the largest TV's. LG scores pretty high across the board.


Bingo! I own a Panasonic Viera. Awesome tv and rated the best or near best. I would trust Consumer Reports recommendations over anything else.


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## Wind In His Hair (Dec 31, 2009)

I have a 32" Panasonic Viera in one room of the house, and it has been a great TV. I wasn't expecting much, considering I paid $230 for it at Costco, but it has pleasantly surprised me for sure. It is just a 720P, but has a really nice picture. With a smaller sized set you aren't going to be able to tell the difference between 720 and 1080. 

My main TV is a 55" Samsung LED 1080P, and it has an absolutely beautiful picture. Great for watching sports and movies. Bax is right on the money about screen size in relation to the size of the room, or how close to the screen you'll be sitting. Sure, a part of me would love to have that 80" monster from Sharp, but in reality 55" is the perfect fit for the room I'm using it in. 

Don't buy a Vizio, just don't.


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## Cooky (Apr 25, 2011)

Make sure it has the kind of input and output conections you want. My wirelless headphones were really a pain to conect to my VIERA. It only has digital audio out, headphones are analog.


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## MKP (Mar 7, 2010)

I don't know if its been fixed yet but my grandparents bought a Vizio, and I wasn't able to program the Direct TV remote to control it. Its quite an annoyance to my Grandpa since he has to use two remotes.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

MKP said:


> I don't know if its been fixed yet but my grandparents bought a Vizio, and I wasn't able to program the Direct TV remote to control it. Its quite an annoyance to my Grandpa since he has to use two remotes.


Look the code up online. Thats a super easy fix


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## MKP (Mar 7, 2010)

Bax* said:


> MKP said:
> 
> 
> > I don't know if its been fixed yet but my grandparents bought a Vizio, and I wasn't able to program the Direct TV remote to control it. Its quite an annoyance to my Grandpa since he has to use two remotes.
> ...


I tried that when they first got it and couldn't find it on the Direct TV website. Maybe they have it by now.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

MKP said:


> Bax* said:
> 
> 
> > MKP said:
> ...


Have you tried to program the remote for the TV without the code with the instructions that they have?


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## MKP (Mar 7, 2010)

Critter said:


> MKP said:
> 
> 
> > Bax* said:
> ...


Yep. I'll at the Direct TV website maybe they updated something. It was more than a year ago. I can program their Sanyo in two minutes. :?


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## MKP (Mar 7, 2010)

Hey! I found a code! I could have sworn there was nothing the first time I tried it. Now I have to get over to my Grandparents to try it. Thanks. Sorry about derailing the thread. The mods can delete this stuff if they'd like.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Vizio was a huge issue when they first entered the market. People were buying them like crazy and rumors abounded about their origin, and no one knew how to program their remotes to their receivers and no TV provider had a code to give to their customers. Finally after about 1 1/2 years, codes started being found and they are pretty easy to find now.

On a side note: if you have one of those oddball brand TVs that was on special on Black Friday and you cant find a code for them, research who made the TV for that company and generally the using the parent company's code will work. Emerson is a company that really pimps itself out and slaps other company's names on their TVs and this is becoming more and more common in my observation as people look for a "super deal" on TVs during sales events.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Best Buy's brand is Insignia, which is what I have. It's a 42" 1080p from several years ago and cost $1000 back then. Though I'm sure it's not the greatest quality around, it really has outlasted what the sales guy said it would.

I think we're on year 5. Crazy.

Any word on Insignia, Bax?


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

LOAH said:


> Best Buy's brand is Insignia, which is what I have. It's a 42" 1080p from several years ago and cost $1000 back then. Though I'm sure it's not the greatest quality around, it really has outlasted what the sales guy said it would.
> 
> I think we're on year 5. Crazy.
> 
> Any word on Insignia, Bax?


I deal with a couple companies that use Insignia TVs for their clients and picture quality seems decent. However, they are somewhat of a mixed bag. Obviously Best Buy is not a manufacturer of TVs so they contract manufacturing out to other known manufacturers and the manufacturer will generally use "last year's model" parts that are out of date (hence a cheaper price) which is a good thing for the consumer. But my personal issue with this is in the off chance that things go awry, figuring out repair options may be tricky. This is why I personally prefer to go with a mainstream brand like Sony, Sharp, Samsung, Mitsubishi, etc. If there is a problem, it is easier to repair them as the repair man knows where the parts came from. That being said, I have not seen any issues personally with Insignia....

However, PLEASE dont let me convince you to buy something that is out of your budget. But I would hate to see you buy a TV for a couple hundred less than a main brand TV and then it only has half the life span of the name brand. Then you really ended up spending more on a TV for the same life span.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

For what its worth, we have a 42" Vizio that we have had for 5 years now. It was the first generation Full HD LCD tv that Vizio offered, and we have nothing but praise to offer about our tv. We had DirecTV for 6 years, no remote issues. We now have Comcast, no issues there either. The TV has never had any issues at all. No burnt-in images, and it gets used a ton. When we bought it, it cost us about $1000. The same tv is now under $500. I would buy another one in a heartbeat, without question. Price was a huge factor for us when we bought it, and a comparable Panasonic, Sony, or other name brand tv would have cost nearly twice as much. I haven't done much shopping for tv's lately, but I don't imagine the price difference has changed a whole lot. With many things, you do get what you pay for, but once in a while a product comes along with just as high of quality, at a much lower price. I believe this to be the case with Vizio.

One thing I would watch out for, wherever you buy, is extended warranties and return policies. Do your homework, read the fine print, and don't get taken by whichever retailer you decide to purchase from.


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