[Sneaky Snake]

My parents gave me the task of finding them a good, cheap, TV. They don't need 1080p and don't really want a massive one either.

The budget is about $600 CDN

At the moment I'm looking at these two TV's as the main contenders:

1.Dynex 32" 720p - $490
Upside is that its cheap, downside is that its maybe to cheap (will it die after a year). I googled for reviews but nothing was very helpful, except perhaps the fact that is only got a 1.9 our of 5 rating at future shop.

2.Toshiba 32" 720p - $600
Upside is that its Toshiba which I have found to be very reliable or the years. However Samsung sells a nearly identical screen for $630, which is a possibility if Samsung is known to be better then Toshiba. Downside to both the Toshiba and Samsung though is the price, which is a youch above the budget. However is the Dynex is a crap TV in turns of longevity I think that my parents will settle for either the Toshiba or Samsung.


Thoughts on these two TV's, and any other recommendations. Also if you know of another Canadian store that I can browse online that would be good, as at the moment I only know of Best Buy and Future Shop. I don't want to ship a TV as the shipping costs would be to much.


-Snake

[Hansi]

Dynex is a no-name cheap ass brand. If they are going to keep this TV for a while, go with the Samsung even if it's a bit more pricey.

[dojoboy]

I got a 47" Vizio (720P) recently for approximately $550 - love it.

[teflon]

Yeah, youre better off with a brand with a good rep when it comes to LCDs. 10 years ago you could just go and look at a TV in a store and buy one which you wanted, but now you need to consider black levels, resolution, backlighting, brand, power consumption, image enhancement, 120/100Hz capabilities etc. etc. is a big hassle.

But as a rule of thumb, Samsungs are popular and fairly capable, Sony are expensive and good and Panasonics are well recommended everywhere you go (partly thanks to the IPS panels they use).

So Id say that the Samsung is probably worth it. Can you go to a store and view them side by side??

[Sneaky Snake]

teflon, on June 6th 2009, 01:33 PM, said:

So Id say that the Samsung is probably worth it. Can you go to a store and view them side by side??

I'm going in to a store today to compare the Toshiba and the Samsung

So Samsung is rated better then Toshiba?

[teflon]

Generally yes. I havent really been paying that much attention to the lower end models, but I believe that even there Samsung's budgets come out on top.

[charmin]

Samsung make some very cheap, yet capable for the price, equipment – at least in the TV arena. My own 40" panel is a Samsung because it was the cheapest offering for that specification when I bought it.

[Sneaky Snake]

I think I just found the right TV:

Sharp Aquos - 32" 1080p $700 on sale

The Samsung looks good, but this is definitely worth it for $70 more

[Bernie]

If you have any warehouse clubs near you, check out what they have. You might be able to save (much) more than the cost of membership on a new TV.

[Tetsuya]

we just picked up a 42" 1080p Westinghouse from NewEgg for 550 or so (theyre no longer available), but using their search options you can find good deals:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....00%20-%20%24750

this 32" also got good reviews where i looked, though i dont know about Sceptre as a brand:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16889112024

[Sneaky Snake]

Bernie, on June 7th 2009, 06:17 AM, said:

If you have any warehouse clubs near you, check out what they have. You might be able to save (much) more than the cost of membership on a new TV.

We have a membership at Costco but they only sell really low end - or higher end TV's. Under and over the price range

[Silver Samurai]

Tetsuya, on June 7th 2009, 08:53 AM, said:

we just picked up a 42" 1080p Westinghouse from NewEgg for 550 or so (theyre no longer available), but using their search options you can find good deals:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....00%20-%20%24750

this 32" also got good reviews where i looked, though i dont know about Sceptre as a brand:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16889112024

I've actually NEVER seen a Westinghouse here in Canada... maybe they're just not available here?

OP- I see you're in Elmira. I'd check out some of the smaller TV shops in the K-W region. 2001 Audio/Video in Cambridge comes to mind. Not sure if theirs 1 in Kitchener or Waterloo, but their is an indepdent electronics store in Guelph by the automall.
And lastly theirs good old wallyworld if you really want.

[Sneaky Snake]

Silver Samurai, on June 8th 2009, 09:24 PM, said:

I've actually NEVER seen a Westinghouse here in Canada... maybe they're just not available here?

OP- I see you're in Elmira. I'd check out some of the smaller TV shops in the K-W region. 2001 Audio/Video in Cambridge comes to mind. Not sure if theirs 1 in Kitchener or Waterloo, but their is an indepdent electronics store in Guelph by the automall.
And lastly theirs good old wallyworld if you really want.

I'll check those places out (maybe not the guelph one) or at least phone them to get some price estimates. We have Gibson's Sound and Vision in Waterloo but the last time I was in there was about 12 salesmen in suits all 'talking' to me. Most were going through either my pants, wallet, or jacket, while they had two others distracting me with some new headphones from Bose. I didn't buy anything.

[Tetsuya]

Sneaky Snake, on June 8th 2009, 08:54 PM, said:

I'll check those places out (maybe not the guelph one) or at least phone them to get some price estimates. We have Gibson's Sound and Vision in Waterloo but the last time I was in there was about 12 salesmen in suits all 'talking' to me. Most were going through either my pants, wallet, or jacket, while they had two others distracting me with some new headphones from Bose. I didn't buy anything.

Like i said, try NewEgg; the Canadian Dollar is still pretty strong against the US Dollar, so the prices listed there wont be much off, and you can find great deals. Our Westinghouse was an open-box deal, but it was in perfect shape and works great.

Using their search features you can narrow it down to what you need in no time and get a great deal - usually with free shipping (though i dont know if that applies to canada)

[Mister Mumbles]

I didn't think a new thread was warranted for this (although I'm looking at slightly pricier models)... so I'm looking at ditching my old 26" tube TV for a shiny new 40" LCD HDTV once I get my tax refund from last year.

I've narrowed my choices between two models: a Toshiba or a Samsung TV. The only feature that could possibly make a difference for me is the response time: the Toshiba one has 8ms while the Samsung has 6ms. Frankly, I didn't notice any real difference when I was looking at both models earlier today side by side. So do you think it really matters enough to cough up an additional $150/200?

I tested out to see how my old DVDs would fare via upscaling, and they look fine, though I think my absolute favorites might get replaced by blu-rays down the line. As far as gaming is concerned I have noticed that while a good few titles do support 1080p via PS3 a lot of them are locked at 720p. For those who do have 1080p displays do the latter look worse for wear or not?

[charmin]

Pegasus, on January 31st 2010, 06:17 AM, said:

So do you think it really matters enough to cough up an additional $150/200?

For those who do have 1080p displays do the latter look worse for wear or not?

No.

I think you'd need a TV bigger than 40" to look at 720p on it and think "That's crap".