Looking to buy an HDTV....probably today.
 

I know hambone made a thread that he was looking to purchase an HDTV, but I'm not looking to spend near that much. Mods if you need to merge this with his go ahead.

Anyway, I'm looking to spend around $500-700 on a 32" - 34" HDTV. Mainly what I'd be using it for is for my 360 and maybe HD movies later down the road. Does anyone have any suggestions or could give some feedback on certain brands like Vizio? They seem to have some nice TVs at good prices, but I'm still a little skeptical.

Also, a friend of mine was telling me that a 1,000:1 contrast ratio is the very least I should be looking for in an HDTV among the other things. Can anyone give any insight to that?

I found this through some searching on Sam's Club's website: http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/nav...249&pCatg=5883

Seems like a good buy, but wondering what some of you guys think. Any help is appreciated since I plan on going shopping for a TV today after work.

32" if far more common than 34"

Contrast ratio is all but useless as a measurement since there is no standard and every manufacturer tests their own sets differently, sometimes even different sets of their own differently.

Sharp Aquos sets are beautiful. I'd dig a touch deeper into the one I linked, as it's not the same line as mine, but Aquos = happy across the board as far as I've seen, and that's a great price on one.

Odd brands are hit and miss, usually miss with some exceptions like Westinghouse.

Good luck!

I think mine's a 34' version of this, but I shopped and researched heavily before spending my hard-earned money. It's a great TV and surpasses some of the more established brand names. I've had it for nearly a year.

And yes, I did buy it at WalMart.

Best Buy has a 10% off coupon on TVs $399 and up right now so you may want to look for deals there.

http://consumerist.com/assets/resour.../04/Coupon.gif

When my wife and I started looking at TVs we had settled on a Toshiba 40" because of consumer ratings and price.

THEN we went to Best Buy and compared the pictures on all of the LCDs they have (which included the Toshiba we were looking at online).

When I compared the picture quality of all them with the Sony Bravia KDL40V3000 I just couldn't believe my eyes. I tried adjusting the Toshiba to look like the Sony and couldn't get anything close to the clarity and color. The Sony even blew most of the plasmas out of the water.

I ended up buying a Sony Bravia (online NOT at Best Buy -- sorry, I just can't pay a premium for what I consider sub-standard customer service). It was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but well worth it -- in my opinion.

The Bravia 32" TVs (KDL32M3000 and the new KDL32M4000) are around $800 ...

I'd go for a Panasonic Plasma without even thinking about it. I'm the proud owner of a Panny since 2 years ago (TH-42PWD8UK) and it has hands down the best image quality I've ever seen in any plasma or LCD, and it's not even HD but EDTV. If I was to buy a new set today, I'd go with any of the PZ700U series. They were ranked as "best ever" plasmas by consumer reports last year.

I have a 42" Panasonic TH-42PX60U, and it was amazing until I started to notice that the outer borders, where the grey is filled in my the HD goodness, has a slightly different shade, making for a rather glaring border on two sides of the screen which I can't for the life of me ignore.

So, don'ta getta thata.

So I ended up purchasing the Samsung LN32A330 from Best Buy and it came out to $674 and change after taxes thanks to that coupon. Thanks a lot for that Las, it was originally $748 and change before it. I haven't gotten a chance to actually see it in action with the 360 or TV, but I did get to set it up on the stand. I'll finish setting it up today after work.

I need to stop by Wal-Mart and get a surge protector first though.

No probs. A coworker went and bought a 52" Plasma for $2,500 from best buy this past christmas and I showed him that coupon and it saved him $250. He was going THAT DAY to buy it without the coupon...$250 ain't a bad gift from a coworker ha ha ha.

Agree. Sony is the only brand i'll go. i just received the KDL32M4000these days, it's a deal price of $770

http://www.dealstudio.com/searchdeal...=104452&ru=290

With the size you got, I suggest hooking up your 360 with VGA if you have a port for it :)