[Golfgirlrobin]

Four years ago my husband and I broke the bank and bought a 61" Samsung DLP television. Absolute state of the art at the time and with a price tag to match. We've never been really happy with the picture and we have replaced the bulb 4 times at a cost of several hundred dollars each time and the fan twice, which made the bulb look cheap.

It is the Corvair of televisions.

Last night we were watching that sit-com just after American Idol in which the husbands television breaks and he is completely at a loss, and there is a whirling grinding sound from our own tv and all goes black. The irony is not lost on us but we are still pissed.

We won't invest anything in this tv again so we're going to buy a new one. Is anybody incredibly happy with their big screen tv? Did you do all the research, make a great choice and are living happily ever after with it? Know of anything that your brother's sister-in-law's mother bought and just loves? Any suggestions would be very welcome.

 

[Labs4life]

I've heard great things from my son in law and daughter on their Samsung LCD (42 inch?). My wife goes over there quite a bit to watch hockey and movies with my daughter. Needless to say, I am very happy with their Big screen TV!

 

[Der]

Sony 61 inch LCD (HDTV). It's about 16 months old now and has been wonderful. We (mainly DH) did a lot of research on it. I would recommend checking out www.cnet.com. Cnet is a wealth of information and I check there when researching any electronic product. We had a differnt Sony big screen prior to this one -- rear projection, about 48 inches (was called "the big screen for small rooms"). It still works fine, we just wanted HDTV. Also, my parents have a 61 inch Sony LCD that is about 2 years old, no problems and some friends have a 70 or 71 inch Sony LCD, also about 2 years old, no problems.

 

[bibber]

We bought a Mitsubishi 65" projection TV four years ago and have had no problems with it. It is HD and the picture looks great. If I were buying one today, I'd get a plasma or LCD like one of these:

60" plasma $2600

46" LCD $2000

 

[imported_Aim]

My MIL and my SIL both have Sony's and the pictures are good. Not great. I think if they had someone come out and calibrate it probably, the picture would be amazing.

Have you looked into any of the LG's?? They always have the best pictures at the stores.

 

[imported_bearsdad]

Unfortunately when DLP's first came out they had a very high failure rate and as you said the cost of the bulb is high - if you have to relace the light engine, well its better to junk the set. LCD or plasma is the way to go now - LCD probably the better option in most cases. I have 2 smaller Samsung HD LCD's and loce them.

 

[Golfgirlrobin]

I'd never seen the cnet site. That is really helpful. It looks like a great place to spend the afternoon before I brave the salesman.

To top this all off, this is the weekend for The Masters, which in my family is the equivalent of all your major holidays rolled into one. My husband is going to want to buy whichever one they have in stock just so that we don't miss it.

I've always heard that the LCD can get images burned into the screen. Anybody have an familiarity with that?

 

[JollyMolly]

We have a Sony too. 51" wide screen, high def, rear projection. I love Sony.

 

[Labs4life]

I've always heard that the LCD can get images burned into the screen. Anybody have an familiarity with that?

I think that was with the plasmas. Samsung and Sony LCDs get decent reviews.The Masters starts tonight get shopping! ;D

 

[Labsrme]

We have a Sony HiDef LCD - I can't remember if it is 50" or 60". We've had it a year. So far it has been great and it has a great picture.

When we were looking at TV's my husband's secretary's fiance (now husband) follow that? - helped us chose a TV. He works for a high end audio-video store and he installs and sets up TVs and stereo systems. We were clueless so we bought what he recommended, then had him set it up for us, along with a new surround sound system and a remote for idiots (macros do all of the work for you - if you want to watch a DVD you just have to press "DVD" - even I can work this one