help me buy a TV

[Soma]

I'm looking for a 1080p LCD Tv to mostly use for Gaming. But i need one that has a VGA port. It needs to be over 40 inches, up to 47' and possibly cheap-ish. Not really looking to spend over 1500 or so. I can't really find a place online to look that is really specific about features. The VGA port thing stumped me and I don't feel like pricing at a physical store. Any websites you can point me to? Recommendations?

[Bahamut]

I've had my eye on this one for a few months: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LNT4061F-1080p-LCD-HDTV/dp/B000N4Z42C/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1205079333&sr=1-12

If you buy from Amazon though, be sure to buy it through the OCR store - http://www.ocremix.org/amazon/

[FR]

Vizio is a good alternative to the more expensive brands

[Majin GeoDooD]

This one here has a VGA port - http://www.ecost.com/Detail/Televisions/Sharp/LC-42D64U/38347392.aspx - as does this one - http://www.ecost.com/Detail/Televisions/Westinghouse/TX-47F430S+REF/40437178.aspx

[vega12]

I've had my eye on this one for a few months: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LNT4061F-1080p-LCD-HDTV/dp/B000N4Z42C/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1205079333&sr=1-12

If you buy from Amazon though, be sure to buy it through the OCR store - http://www.ocremix.org/amazon/

I actually have to chip in about this one in particular.

I went about buying my LCD TV sometime around summer last year I believe. I was buying through FutureShop and initially got a 42in Sharp Aquos. However, there was definite banding in that model. Basically, there was a strip where the backlighting was noticably lighter. This was especially apparent when watching hockey, as the rink is fairly light colored already, and it scans across. Also, it had a dead pixel. I ended up bringing it back in. I then hooked my laptop up to a floor model, put on a grey screen, noticed banding, then a white screen and found a dead pixel. So I received a new closed box model. Took that one home, and it again had the same problem (although the dead pixel was just one of the 3 colors dead ). So I ended up exchanging this 3rd Aquos for the other model I had my eye on, the 40in Samsung. Took it home, and haven't looked back. No banding, no dead pixels, good darks, good resolution.

So yeah, I would recommend Samsung based on my experiences. Also, the price I see has gone down from about the 2100 I originally paid, so it about is in your price range. The other option is to get a 1080p LCD monitor/TV. They are way cheaper, but don't have a TV tuner built in, and tend to be lower in quality.

[Soma]

I actually have to chip in about this one in particular.

I went about buying my LCD TV sometime around summer last year I believe. I was buying through FutureShop and initially got a 42in Sharp Aquos. However, there was definite banding in that model. Basically, there was a strip where the backlighting was noticably lighter. This was especially apparent when watching hockey, as the rink is fairly light colored already, and it scans across. Also, it had a dead pixel. I ended up bringing it back in. I then hooked my laptop up to a floor model, put on a grey screen, noticed banding, then a white screen and found a dead pixel. So I received a new closed box model. Took that one home, and it again had the same problem (although the dead pixel was just one of the 3 colors dead ). So I ended up exchanging this 3rd Aquos for the other model I had my eye on, the 40in Samsung. Took it home, and haven't looked back. No banding, no dead pixels, good darks, good resolution.

So yeah, I would recommend Samsung based on my experiences. Also, the price I see has gone down from about the 2100 I originally paid, so it about is in your price range. The other option is to get a 1080p LCD monitor/TV. They are way cheaper, but don't have a TV tuner built in, and tend to be lower in quality.

Yeah i have a samsung 32in 720p LCD now. Samsung Lcd's are just really amazing from my experience even if a bit pricey. The reason i want a VGA port is because I use my TV as a PC monitor, though I suppose a DVI connection would suffice but I don't want to have to buy a new cable really.

My brother had an experience like yours. He bought a westinghouse 47 inch from bestbuy because it was "cheap". The first one had dead pixels, the second one had alot of color bleeding. and the third one had more dead pixels. I finally made him spend like 200 bucks more and get a Pioneer. No problems at all. Some brands of TV's are really iffy sometimes.

[Majin GeoDooD]

My brother had an experience like yours. He bought a westinghouse 47 inch from bestbuy because it was "cheap". The first one had dead pixels, the second one had alot of color bleeding. and the third one had more dead pixels. I finally made him spend like 200 bucks more and get a Pioneer. No problems at all. Some brands of TV's are really iffy sometimes.

That's a shame.. I have one of the nicer Westinghouse 32" models and it works great.

[SleazyC]

At 40" and $1500 you are pretty much restricting yourself to LCD's. I would really recommend going with any of the 8G Pioneers as they are probably the best flat-panel tech TV's but their 1080p variants are also pretty damn expensive.

Samsung is a pretty safe bet, their 81-series uses a semi-flawed LED diming technology that gives pretty damn good black levels for an LCD. I think they would also fall around your level. By no means are the cheaper HDTV manufacturers bad products but when you spend a little more you usually see it in areas like the TV's scaler, black levels, and other aspects of the picture quality that may not bother your casual user but could become problems if you can easily spot out impurities.

Also pretty much no TV out there is pefect (well, HDTV CRT's are about as close as you'll get but they also weigh about 200+ lbs.) so you'll have to deal with whatever flaws the set you buy is going to have. Shoot over to avsforum if you want to read up more on the sort of things you should look for when buying an HDTV.