I need a new TV...

[ollie]

If you want to do serious tests, go to a good indie store in Ottawa. They'll be hooked up and the levels will be set right. I go to Best Buy from time to time and they suck at presentation. TV video levels are erratic, and it can't always be by coincidence.

Maybe it's the lack of good indie electronics stores in Ottawa but I still can't think of one that would let you do this that also didn't move such low volume that you pay a ridiculous markup in the price.

It just sounds like one of those advice things that everyone suggests but no one actually does.

[Jaimoe]

If you want to do serious tests' date=' go to a good indie store in Ottawa. They'll be hooked up and the levels will be set right. I go to Best Buy from time to time and they suck at presentation. TV video levels are erratic, and it can't always be by coincidence.[/quote']

Maybe it's the lack of good indie electronics stores in Ottawa but I still can't think of one that would let you do this that also didn't move such low volume that you pay a ridiculous markup in the price.

It just sounds like one of those advice things that everyone suggests but no one actually does.

I can name you 5 great indie stores that'll let you do what I suggested. I'm sure Ottawa has several as well, and any good store won't mark their product up that much if at all; however, indies lean towards high end.

[AD]

Sears has good deals right now (same prices in Canada as Black Friday US Sears sales)

[AD]

Ollie, find a store that will let you do the tests. Remember what models you like. Price-check them everywhere and buy where the price is best. Not difficult.

[jaybone]

So what tv does pete recommend?

LOTR on Bluray is a great one to bring with you.

I asked Pete if the one I was looking at was a good deal. It wasn't a 1080 and I wasn't sure if it was something I would miss.

This is a second tv for the mancave that is our basement. We don't really game or watch blu-ray. Mainly for watching football on Sundays and keeping up with the odd tv show we watch.

He thought that the one we chose was a great value for what we will be using it for and so I went ahead and picked it up yesterday.

Edited November 26, 2010 by Guest

[Guest Low Roller]

Bring some 1080p content on USB as well. If the TVs aren't set up to play movies you can ALWAYS plug in USB content.

[Jaimoe]

So what tv does pete recommend?

LOTR on Bluray is a great one to bring with you.

I more asked Pete if the one I was looking at was a good deal. It wasn't a 1080 and I wasn't sure if it was something I would miss.

This is a second tv for the mancave that is our basement. We don't really game or watch blu-ray. Mainly for watching football on Sundays and keeping up with the odd tv show we watch.

1080p matters more the bigger your TV set. 720p is just fine for sets under 40-inches. Your eye won't be able to know the difference, as long as you avoid buying junk. TV networks at the most, send out signals in 1080i, but most are 720p or upconverted SD signals.

[ollie]

Ollie, find a store that will let you do the tests. Remember what models you like. Price-check them everywhere and buy where the price is best. Not difficult.

That sounds like a pain in the ass. Plus I'd feel bad for making the little guy do all the work only for me to buy at a big box store.

My question still remains: has anyone actually done this?

[Northern Wish]

If you want to do serious tests' date=' go to a good indie store in Ottawa. They'll be hooked up and the levels will be set right. I go to Best Buy from time to time and they suck at presentation. TV video levels are erratic, and it can't always be by coincidence.[/quote']

Maybe it's the lack of good indie electronics stores in Ottawa but I still can't think of one that would let you do this that also didn't move such low volume that you pay a ridiculous markup in the price.

It just sounds like one of those advice things that everyone suggests but no one actually does.

Audiotronic on Merivale has a pretty good selection all hooked up and ready to demo.

[Jaimoe]

Ollie' date=' find a store that will let you do the tests. Remember what models you like. Price-check them everywhere and buy where the price is best. Not difficult. [/quote']

That sounds like a pain in the ass. Plus I'd feel bad for making the little guy do all the work only for me to buy at a big box store.

My question still remains: has anyone actually done this?

I have, and I also went with two friends that did the same.

[Booche]

Rule #1-Don't ask a bunch of people who don't know about TV's about TV's. I see this on PT all the time and it is absolutely hilarious. There are lots of video specific forums that have tons of great information on them. A lot of the people who sell this stuff hardly have a clue as to what is going on--the hobbyist/enthusiast crowd are the ones that can steer you right--just as you could likely find out what the top 5 Slip shows of all time are on this site, you can quickly and easily find out what the top 5 50-55" models are on the AVS forum or similar.

Rule #2-Go out and look with your own eyes. You may find that one set or another has less glare, better viewing angles, better colour, less grain etc. Deciding on X, Y, or Z brand before you go out and look is not a good idea as different models/sizes from a given brand can be sourced from different manufacturers--for example a Sony 40" can look like sh!t but the 55" is tits due to where the actual panels themselves are being sourced from.

There are lots of good deals on this weekend so it is a good time to buy.

/end thread already

[bouche]

here's a nice one i found on kijiji

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Ollie' date=' find a store that will let you do the tests. Remember what models you like. Price-check them everywhere and buy where the price is best. Not difficult. [/quote']

That sounds like a pain in the ass. Plus I'd feel bad for making the little guy do all the work only for me to buy at a big box store.

My question still remains: has anyone actually done this?

You sound like a pain in the ass.

Maybe the little guy will have a better price or have some room to negotiate. You never know until you ask / try.

[Freeker]

Blu-Ray is supposed to look good on these TV's, thats why they are always playing movies when you go into FS or BB. For a real test get them to turn or regular cable television to get a good sense of what it will look like on a day to day basis.

I'll second Audiotronic for anyone in Ottawa looking. No pressure, knowledgible staff who will walk you through everything if you want.

Thanks for the heads up on Boxee AD, I'll check out the others you mentioned. I might just run cable and just use the plugins in Windows 7 anyway and use XBMC for front end.

[bouche]

has XBMC been upgraded? I haven't used it since I started using Tversity > PS3. I know they've updated the entire front end of the xbox dashboard...so if the media center has been improved, I'll have to try it out.

[Jaimoe]

Blu-Ray is supposed to look good on these TV's, thats why they are always playing movies when you go into FS or BB. For a real test get them to turn or regular cable television to get a good sense of what it will look like on a day to day basis.

I'll second Audiotronic for anyone in Ottawa looking. No pressure, knowledgible staff who will walk you through everything if you want.

That's good advice. Keep in mind HD signals via networks and local channels are not all the same, quality-wise. Many stations cheap it out and fool nobody with a good TV set. You can even flip between football games on Sunday and notice differences in the feeds.

[ollie]

You sound like a pain in the ass.

I can't help feeling this is one of those internet conversations that would be so much easier to have in person. I'm also not doing this complex issue justice so out for now.

[bouche]

You sound like a pain in the ass.

I can't help feeling this is one of those internet conversations that would be so much easier to have in person. I'm also not doing this complex issue justice so out for now.

hell no, and your attempt at justice in the mp3 thread is embarrassing.

[bradm]

I do not want a 3D tv at this time.

Maybe you do. This article raises an interesting point:

Want to buy a set knowing that it'll have excellent performance without having to do a ton of poking and prodding? Buy a 3DTV. The thing about 3DTVs, says HD Guru's Gary Merson is that in order to do 3D competently, they "have to do certain things really really well." 3D sets are, generally speaking, the best performing sets in the product line. So even if you never intend to watch a single piece of 3D content, it's worth considering a 3DTV.

Because the set's delivering different images for the left eye and the right eye (here's a refresher on how 3D works) it has to be able to switch the image it's displaying "very completely and very fast," says Gary. The end result is a TV with better processing power and better performance.

Aloha,

Brad