Need TV Expert's opinion

[sweet-t310]

So I was initially going to wait until after the Super Bowl to buy an HDTV (I heard that's when they're cheapest and that's around the same time I'll be getting my tax return), but I just found this today:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8632802&type=product&id=1194052334530

To me and my coworkers, this stands out as a great freaking deal. As of right now, I'm 90% sure I'm going to go to Best Buy over lunch and pick this up before it sells out, but I wanted to see if there are any electronics experts here that can shed some light on any reason why NOT to buy this today. Granted, $600-$800 was the range I was looking for and 40"-45" was the size I was looking for, so this seems perfect to me.

Any comments??

[culturedog]

It's supposed to be a very good looking unit - very bright for a 42" LCD though with middle of the road black levels. It's really made by Westinghouse (with possibly an LG lcd panel) and is later rebranded with Best Buy's inhouse brand Insignia. ([EDIT]: Actually, it may be made by ProScan)

The only downside is that apparently many units exhibit artifacts like vertical lines or hazy splotches on black backgrounds. All of these incidents have been solved by replacing the TV with a new unit, so there's a chance the first one you bring home won't be the last. I've also heard that some Best Buys have given people problems over trying to return defective models, so make sure you use a credit card if you buy it.

There was also some talk that it wouldn't accept 1080p signals over HDMI, but that has proven false - and apparently it looks fantastic when coupled with a PS3. It does exhibit some motion blur, but nothing too egregious. Standard def also looks mediocre - but with the raves about how good it looks in HD, I wouldn't let that sway you away.

For the price it's a heavy hitter. Just make sure you put it through its paces right away and check for any picture abnormalities, so you can return it quickly if necessary.

[The_Wurm]

im not a "pro" on hdtvs, but that seems pretty good considering it has 3 hdmi inputs and its price. The contrast ratio seems a little low, and i bought my hdtv about a year ago so im not exactly sure what the average is for hdtvs regarding contrast ratios and refresh time.

[Bonez]

How long is the sale in effect for? Sounds like a pretty awesome deal to me.

[mrfattbill]

im not a "pro" on hdtvs, but that seems pretty good considering it has 3 hdmi inputs and its price. The contrast ratio seems a little low, and i bought my hdtv about a year ago so im not exactly sure what the average is for hdtvs regarding contrast ratios and refresh time.

The contrast ratio is what jumped off of the page at me as well. I was trying to find the CR on the Toshiba in that price range, although it's 2" smaller. The Insignia also has a slightly faster response time at 6.5ms vs 8ms.

Despite being the "house" brand it looks nice given the price. I would go into the store and look at it a bit. Make sure to look at the settings as usually they have the contrast ALL the way up to make them stand out. Also, even though it's not the exact same model, you can print these setting out and adjust them and see if you think the tv looks good (http://www.tweaktv.com/tweak-my-tv/calibration-guide/insignia-ns-lcd32-09.html)

Bill

[culturedog]

Best Buy also has a similarly cheap model from Dynex (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8719078&st=dynex+42%22+lcd+1080p&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1201306784758), which has a (very slightly) better contrast ratio and less glare.

[sweet-t310]

Cool, thanks guys. My coworker bought an Insignia 42" 720p last year for $750 bucks and said it actually rang up as an LG TV, which after some sleuthing he found out that Insignia is just last year's LG model with a new Insignia casing.

I've made up my mind that I'm buying it at lunch and am going to set it up right after work and "test" it because I did read some rare instances where there were some "out of box" problems, but for those that didn't have any it worked great. Hopefully I'll be able to get a sound system next month with my tax return since the tv speakers apparently aren't so great either. Still, 1080p 42" for 700 smackaroos...I don't know if there's many "down" features that can steer me away from that.

[bood-boy]

the brand name 'Insignia' would be enough to turn me away.

[mrfattbill]

The only down "feature" is looking at an ad 6 months later and crying at what can be had for the price, lol. I bought 2 40" Samsung's last year around this time ($1,200/each) :-) Don't get me wrong, I love the televisions but now I want bigger for a primary display, lol.

Bill

[sweet-t310]

The only down "feature" is looking at an ad 6 months later and crying at what can be had for the price, lol. I bought 2 40" Samsung's last year around this time ($1,200/each) :-) Don't get me wrong, I love the televisions but now I want bigger for a primary display, lol.

Bill

Yeah, but I live in a small one-bedroom apartment, and work in a business where relocation is common, so I'm not looking for anything massive...just something managable. And thanks for that tweak site, I'm definately going to use that!

[mrfattbill]

Yeah, but I live in a small one-bedroom apartment, and work in a business where relocation is common, so I'm not looking for anything massive...just something managable. And thanks for that tweak site, I'm definately going to use that!

Happy to help, the setting I got for mine made a nice improvement in my Samsung's. I personally like a more natural look to what I watch, while I have friends that love the super bright high contrast blooming look, lol.

Bill

[culturedog]

Enjoy your new TV! The fact that it has fans on the notoriously persnickety AVSforums.com should be a solid indicator that it'll be worth the clams you throw at it.

[sweet-t310]

Enjoy your new TV! The fact that it has fans on the notoriously persnickety AVSforums.com should be a solid indicator that it'll be worth the clams you throw at it.

At least now people won't be able to make fun of me for buying Blu-Ray without having an HDTV anymore!!




(oh, and the fact that I can actually play my ps3 the way it was meant to be played!)

[R33DH4M]

if i were you, sweet, I would go with this samsung plasma 42" for the same price.

You will be a lot happier as the screen will be crisper, better colors, no input lag for games (which LCD's have a lot of, not good for RB), and just a better value for your money. My brother has one and it's great. Also Samsung makes a lot better stuff than Insignia.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-42-Series-4-Plasma-HDTV-PN42a400/sem/rpsm/oid/228762/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[mrfattbill]

if i were you, sweet, I would go with this samsung plasma 42" for the same price.

You will be a lot happier as the screen will be crisper, better colors, no input lag for games (which LCD's have a lot of, not good for RB), and just a better value for your money. My brother has one and it's great. Also Samsung makes a lot better stuff than Insignia.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-42-Series-4-Plasma-HDTV-PN42a400/sem/rpsm/oid/228762/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

The drawback with the one you posted is that the native resolution is only 720p as opposed to 1080p. I had a 50" plasma in my living room (720p) and decided to move one of my 40" Samsung's in (1080p) I was willing to give up the size to gain the quality the 40" offered when using my PS3 for BluRay movies.

Bill

[R33DH4M]

The problem with the is that the native resolution is only 720p as opposed to 1080p. I had a 50" plasma in my living room (720p) and decided to move one of my 40" samsungs in (1080p) I was willing to give up the size to gain the quality the 40" offered when using my PS3 for BluRay movies.

Bill

Yea but at 42", I doubt anyone can really notice the difference unless you're sitting up close. My brother also has a 1080p and I can't notice any difference. Also at the store side by side with other 1080p's this TV actually looked better.

[mrfattbill]

Yea but at 42", I doubt anyone can really notice the difference unless you're sitting up close. My brother also has a 1080p and I can't notice any difference. Also at the store side by side with other 1080p's this TV actually looked better.

Here is where I will kindly disagree. When you actually feed a 1080p signal to a true 1080p capable television as opposed to a 720 television I would argue that you can easily tell the difference ON A PROPERLY CALIBRATED TV. As one of my first post suggested that can make a night and day difference in what you see. I loved my 720p plasma UNTIL I started really watching BluRays exclusively. I always encourage anyone shopping for a TV to change the settings while in the store on all of the models you are considering spending your hard earned money on. Some people even bring their own source material in, I have never done that though, lol.

Bill

[bse523]

Here' a list of Insignia TV reviews from CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com/1770-5_7-0.html?query=insignia%2520tv

You shouldn't get too much lag on RB with it. RB2's instruction manual has some good default settings for A/V calibration. But do remember that you get what you pay for. You may want to consider a warranty if it's affordable.

[sweet-t310]

Welp, the Insignia is bought and set up! Took a nice 2 hour lunch and got it all. Now I just need to get an HDMI cable since the only ones at Best Buy are the $79-129 ones.

Thanks to everyone for their help and comments. They clerk who rang me up said they had already sold 4 of them before me in the 1.5 hours they were open, so glad I went when I did!

I think the hardest thing for me was to move my old 38" 1998 tv off my stand since it literally weights 280 lbs. I am planning a nice "sledgehammer/throw a giant tv off a balcony" party, so I will try to record as much as possible.

[bse523]

Having done it myself. Sledgehammers to a TV is FUN. The hammer I used ended up getting stuck in the glass of one of those real old console TVs.

[mrfattbill]

Welp, the Insignia is bought and set up! Took a nice 2 hour lunch and got it all. Now I just need to get an HDMI cable since the only ones at Best Buy are the $79-129 ones.

Thanks to everyone for their help and comments. They clerk who rang me up said they had already sold 4 of them before me in the 1.5 hours they were open, so glad I went when I did!

I think the hardest thing for me was to move my old 38" 1998 tv off my stand since it literally weights 280 lbs. I am planning a nice "sledgehammer/throw a giant tv off a balcony" party, so I will try to record as much as possible.

Congrats on the purchase. When it comes to cables you don't need to go any further then http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

Bill

[mrfattbill]

Having done it myself. Sledgehammers to a TV is FUN. The hammer I used ended up getting stuck in the glass of one of those real old console TVs.

Being able to toss them into giant trash compactors is fun as well :-)

Bill

[sweet-t310]

Having done it myself. Sledgehammers to a TV is FUN. The hammer I used ended up getting stuck in the glass of one of those real old console TVs.


Being able to toss them into giant trash compactors is fun as well :-)

Bill

My goal is to roll it down my stairs to ground level, put it in a friends truck, then drive to an open field and go Office Space style on it. This thing has caused my hands to bleed on multiple occasions during past moves. God, I think I'm giddy.

[topperharley]

Now I just need to get an HDMI cable since the only ones at Best Buy are the $79-129 ones.


When it comes to cables you don't need to go any further then http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

mycablemart.com is good too

[harbingerofdoom]

look around at BB on the cables, i picked up two of them there previously for around $20 each. sounds like they were trying to get you to buy monster cables or something equally overpriced

or...find someone (like me) who doesnt use hdmi in the first place and see if they will give you one of their cables?

[sweet-t310]

look around at BB on the cables, i picked up two of them there previously for around $20 each. sounds like they were trying to get you to buy monster cables or something equally overpriced

or...find someone (like me) who doesnt use hdmi in the first place and see if they will give you one of their cables?

See I went all ninja style, got in, got my own cart, loaded the tv I wanted on to it, and got out without having to deal with a service rep. I used to work at Best Buy so I know how ignorant they can be. But yes, the only HDMI cables I saw on display were their Monster cables at 120 bucks, or the crappy Dynex cables for $20 bucks. All I need is a 3.4 gb/s cable, and Best Buy didn't have anything under $80 bucks that fit my need. The Dynex ones were like 2.2.

[R33DH4M]

You can pick up high quality long 1.3a HDMI cables on monoprice.com for under $10. That's where I get all my cables and a lot of other people I know get them. The cables at Best Buy, Cicruit City, etc., all the same stuff just with the Monster name on it.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024004&p_id=3661&seq=1&format=2

[seinman]

I second (or third? fourth?) the suggestion of using monoprice.com for buying cables. I buy all my cables there, they're very cheap yet VERY well made. Their console cables are good too, I bought the Wii component cable from them for like $6 and it looks amazing.

[DarthAthema]

I would just suggest going to the store and checking it out. You won't get a really good idea of how you like it until you get it home, but it helps to see it in action. The Superbowl is definitely the time to buy an HDTV because all the stores go crazy with sales. I bought my Panasonic last year at Superbowl time. I love it, and I have three years to pay it off with no interest.

[mrfattbill]

I used to work at Best Buy so I know how ignorant they can be.

Me too, many years ago, lol.

Bill

[iamtheddrman]

All I need is a 3.4 gb/s cable, and Best Buy didn't have anything under $80 bucks that fit my need. The Dynex ones were like 2.2.

Monoprice has 10.2 Gbps cables for like 3 to 6 bucks, depending on length. If you need them for in-wall installation, they're about 10-30 bucks each, depending on length.

I bought 3 HDMI cables from them and even got a discount for buying "in bulk" lol.

On the original topic: I personally wouldn't have bought the TV just because the contrast ratio is so low. If it has 500 cd/m^2 and only 1500:1 contrast ratio, then the blacks will be pretty gray. Also, that response time is gray-to-gray not black-to-black, so the response time is really 13ms. It's not a terrible set by any means, and you really can't beat the price for 1080p.

Also, I'm a little biased because I have a contact at LG that can sell me TVs at cost. So I got a nearly top of the line LG 42" LCD last year for 1100 bucks (MSRP 2400).