What TV should I be looking at for Movies?

Emelth

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Jul 30, 2010
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Alright looking for a new TV for my living room, mostly be used to watch movies on (huge movie lover). Also looking for a good sound system to go with it. I was thinking of getting a Bose sound system (use a lot of their smaller speakers already and love the shit out of them). Budget will be $1500 I would guess for now, can raise if needed to fit good quality. Thanks for all the help and info
 
you did not list many specifics...

size of tv?
brand preferences?
did you want a cheap brand which you could replace in a few years if it breaks or a quality brand you would have repaired?
do you care about 120/240hz or 3d?
how many channels in your sound system?
did you want a htib or are you comfortable building your own with individual speakers?
what is your max budget?
and most importantly what is your country of origin?

as for televisions...

i like to only suggest 3 brands: sony ,samsung and possibly lg. you can get parts for them and they are the industry leaders right now at least for sales in the usa.

i've always liked sony (i'm using one right now for my computer right now) and the bravia engine is just wonderful. i've had good luck in terms of quality with them as well. my tv is years old now and still has had zero issues. parts are also readily available. i cannot recommend any specific models as mine is too old to recommend and i'm not sure what is good in their current lineup without actually looking in person.

samsung is top dog right now and trumps sony and lg in sales. my parents recentely were in the market for a new 50" sized tv and ended up with the UN50EH6000FXZA which i helped them set up. its a very nice clear crisp tv however only once you disable 120hz (and revert back to 60hz mode) as well as disabling motionflow and all the other gizmos you pay extra for. they result in what is known as the soap opera effect and many people used to watching tv will say that things look "fake" or "plasticy" even though on paper it is technically better. our brains are already used to the blur and slight choppyness of movies and anything else looks bad to some of us (myself included). of course some people really like the feature. you can get the tv when it goes on sale for about $950 and i would wait for a tv to be on sale before buying. dont ever pay full retail price.

i cannot really recommend too much from lg as i dont have much dealings with their televisions. i can only say that they have some pretty decent offerings.

as for sound systems....

most bose is synonymous with crap. yes, i do realize that in many cases they sound alright (i even have a bose sound system in my car) however they are typically rather cheaply built and the only reason they sound good is through good engineering and design. the only well built models are some of the expensive high end models. yes, i've heard the displays (and as i said i own a system in my car) but i just do not think they are worth anywhere near the price they demand. for the same cash you can do much much better.

what i would highly suggest is to build a system from scratch instead of buying a home theater in a box (htib). htib are the ones which typically come with a dvd player/receiver combo with all speakers and the sub. of course there are a few notable exceptions: these are sets like the energy take 5.1 classic $350 or klipsch hd theater 600 $500 which contain all speakers and a subwoofer but lack a receiver. you would then pair the set up with a decent receiver you buy seperately. also of note are a few htib sets by boston acoustics and a few other brands which pair a real receiver (not one of those crappy dvd player combo boxes) into the deal.

if you wanted to spend more money on a speaker system and wanted more than just satelite speakers then i would highly suggest sony floorstanding speakers like the ssf6000 (or whatever the current model is in in their tower speaker lineup). they have a pair of them in the living room and at the time they were on sale for $120 for two speakers (yes thats only $60 each). they run them with a sony 5.2 receiver they bought for $200 and honestly they do not even need a subwoofer. you can manage fronts and rears for about $300, a receiver for $200 a center channel for $150 +/- and then a subwoofer. say a budget of perhaps $800-900 thinking on the high side. if you bought a $950 tv this would total about $1850 which is a bit more than your budget however the pure amount of sound output and immersion is a huge difference.

what do i use? i use a klipsch quintet iv 5.0 satelite speaker set, a 450w klipsch sub and a pioneer vsx-30 receiver. about $1300 of equpiment however klipsch is a bit higher tier than sony although that isnt to say that they are necessarily better. i do find them more clear and precise than my parents set however since they are satelites (and they have floorstanders) they lack the pure volume and bass output. i'm still very happy with my set and they work great. you can see a photo of my set in my signature link if you care.

other things of note:
-sony bookshelf speakers are also a decent price and could take the place of the floorstanders i mentioned before. i think the floorstanders are a bit better deal though.
-boston acoustics has some good speakers. klipsh is a pretty decent brand however is expensive. sony doesnt have the best speakers but they are very good for the price so are definitely good for those on a budget. i'm likely missing alot of brands but at least it helps you start looking.
-good receiver brands are pioneer, yamaha, onkyo. sony can be a bit iffy but isnt terrible for the price. i had only minor issues with the unit i helped my parents set up for their new entertainment center and since then there have been no issues.

as far as actual specifics of pairing this with that and using this gage speaker wire etc etc etc.... that would be determined when you actually figure out a baseline for what you want to buy.

anyways, just a few thoughts.
 

Emelth

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Sorry should have got a little more detailed but wanted to leave it open to see what options I can go with.

I would like a 55"+ since it is for the living room

I know Samsung has great TVs which is what I am leaning towards.

I want one that will last me 5 years or so with still good quality

I hear 240Hz is pointless

As for smart TVs i can give 2 shits about I find that stuff pointless (if I can easily hook up my ipod to the theater system is good enough [bluetooth, aux, etc...]).

Along with 3D I can give two shits about (kinda hurts the eyes after a while for me lol)

Wow, I've never heard anyone say Bose has shitty products, so it may take me a bit to steer away from it and look at some of your other options. But besides that for sound system setup I'm all ears.
 
i would take a look at the lower end samsung televisions then. likely you wont be able to find 60hz models anymore sadly but there is no need for smart tv, 240hz, 3d and all that junk which it sounds like you would never use. in fact, quite a few people disable motionflow and 120hz mode anyways due to the aforementioned soap opera effect. at 55" you are probably looking at about $1000-1100 on sale for a samsung.

at one point in time bose did make a pretty decent products, however they are now owned by a supercorporation which makes products in china and quality has gone steeply downhill. if you ask anyone what a decent speaker set is many will say bose. this is akin to people asking what good headphones for music are and someone saying beats by dr dre. in both cases the products are severely overpriced for the actual performance they give. bose spends quite a bit of money on advertising campaigns to maintain this illusion that they are one of the top end options.

i really would highly suggest that you take a look into the other options available.

if you want any more details, comparisions or suggestions just list some comments below.
 

Emelth

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Thanks for your replies and help. Sorry for taking so long to respond been so busy with moving to a new state and what not havent had much down time to relax.

Alright should I stick to Plasma TV? Since they generally have the best quality when seated correctly (TV is going to be at an angle in a corner so I cant have it "blurring"out on the sides for when I have company over. (been a while since I looked at monitors but I think it was called IPS for the enhanced viewing angle?)

For sound system I think I would stick to HTIB, just for simplicity sake. Unless I can find a good deal on putting one together.
 
your choice if you want to go plasma or not.

personally i wouldnt every buy one for myself but they do have the best contrast levels. led is best for power consumption though.

are you talking about color shifting? that really isnt much of an issue anymore. viewing angle is great on most lcd panels used in tvs unless you go with some bottom of the barrel cheapest tv option from some unknown brand made in who knows where. ips is for monitors mostly but some tvs did use the tech. for the most part tvs use their own sub-variations of existing tech so what is used on tvs may not match what is used on monitors.

HTIB sets are simple... but depending on what you buy you could be a bit limited down the line. some models for instance have hdmi input ports but dont allow surround sound as an input and limit it to 2.1. others work fine. its hit or miss. as for deals... well the best one i know of is the energy take 5.1 classic for $350 and buying your own receiver for $150-200. that set gets stellar reviews for being a cheap entry level set.