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Hi there. I'm interested in buying a big screen tv (50"-60"), and have a budget of about $2,500. Any advice/suggestions/warnings? (One concern I have is that my budget may be too small to get a quality tv)There is a Panasonic 53" wide screen rear projection (model PI 53WX42) for about $1800. Does anyone have any experience with this model? I've had a hard time finding reviews of this TV-- any suggestions on where I can find one?
Follow Ups:
SD gave some excellent advice.In defense of Toshiba, I have been very happy with my 8.5 year old (!) 55" Toshiba RPTV. Of course it is not HD, but the picture remains fairly bright, clean and well-balanced.
A year ago the convergence board went. Due to financial and space factors, I decided to repair the set. It cost me $600, but I also had the shop tweak the picture a bit (especially making the greens a bit hotter, always a weak point of this set). It now looks terrific. Keeping the brightness and contrast at sane levels, using the Avia DVD, is prolonging the life-span of my RPTV. The repair tech couldn't believe how good my then 7.5 year old set looked ("Do you ever use this thing? You could get another 7 or 8 years out of it at this rate!").
I would buy another Toshiba in a New York minute.
Only one thing to consider not mentioned in this thread. Many new models have silver cabinets or cabinet accents. In a darkened room, you may get annoying reflections from this, and the cabinet may be visible. I love the fact that my RPTV cabinet is all-black. In a dark room, you can really get lost in the image on the screen.
I just went through this. Whatever you do, try to include the 3-5 yr warranty package. I would not look at Sony in this price range. You would end up with a WS model which has had flickering CRT problems. You probably can't even get the better 55-57" models in this price range (out the door with warranty). I would look at the Hitachi 51SWX20b model (rated #1 by many this year) or the Toshiba HDX82 model. Maybe Mitsubishi 55" if you get a good deal (but stay away from BB and Sears) on the 55411 model.I went with the Toshiba 50" HDX82 (NOT the HD82) from ABT in Chicago for $2050 including delivery & 3-yr warranty. Note Toshiba's also have their problems (as will all makes). They have had staticy sound (easily fixed with a resistor soldered on) and some have had color bursts on shutdown, needing a CRT replaced. For the money the Tosh is probably the best value, and also has better regular TV (non-HD) picture quality and 4:3 stretch modes according to many reviewers.
I currently have the 57hdx82,after trying the panny 53wx52. After trying the Mits 55857 last year. Bought it last month after returning the Panny. Mine does not suffer from the hiss or the power off flash.(known issues) Perhaps they fixed the latest batch?
Tosh does one if not the best jobs at standard def. Although they upconver to 540P my RP-91 looks great.
Panny can't be beat if all you watch is DVD's Panny only has global settings for the video inputs!BTW their converg. geom. can cause suicide.
Mits is awful on anything below DVD.You'll need an ISCAN. And a Zenith 420 HD tuner can be had for 300bucks.Mits offers NO tech support, they will refer u to an *AUTHORIZED SERVICE SCHMUCK*
Sony does a great job, it too has some issues, but you pay extra BUCKS for the name.
Hi SD,I went through this process about 18 months ago. Prices have come down quite a bit since then, so IMO, your budget is likely to be right on target for a great set. Here are a few ideas for your search.
- Check out the reviews at Stereophile Guide to Home Theater here:
http://www.guidetohometheater.com/
I don't always agree with them, but their advice and opinions are usually on the mark.- Use the net for research and negociating a better deal. I found the best price on the net, printed it off, and then took it to a local vendor to negociate a better price on my set. That saved me $650.
- Be cautious of brand loyalty -- it will cost you extra dollars. In this price range, you should find very nice sets from Mitsubishi, Philips, Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi and Panasonic. There may be others, but these seem to be the most widely discounted in my part of the US.
- Go to a high-end store and check out a couple of sets that are VERY expensive, perhaps 2-3 times your budget. It'll help you see what's possible, and also help you decide what features are important to you.
- Beware of maladjusted sets. If you're in a high-end store, that's less likely to be a problem, but if you're shopping at your local Circuit City or Best Buy, the sets on the floor often have the brightness cranked up to give the illusion of the best picture under poor lighting conditions. That can mean disappointment when you get the set home.
- Know the return policy. Suppose you have the set for a week and decide that you just don't like it. What are your options? Or suppose it dies in the 1st 30 days. What's the return / swap policy? This may not sound important, but my first RPTV was DOA -- pretty annoying when you just paid 4 figures for a set.
- Verify how the set looks with the sources you plan to use.
- Watch for price drops as the models change. My set is a Philips 55" RPTV that initially was released at $4600. A month or two after I bought, the last sets available were going for $1900 at Costco (IMO, a steal). If you have time, you may find a better set than you thought you could afford by waiting for the model year change.
In any case, have fun shopping, and let us know what you buy. And for whatever it's worth, yes, I'm still very happy with my Philips RPTV.
Good luck,
-BQ
I am not an expert either, but I would have to believe that for $1800 a 53" set would be lacking some of the better features currently available. Why not spend the entire $2500 and get the best deal you can find on a big screen Sony?
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