HDTV for under $2,000

[phone33]

so i want to dive into the realm of HDTV this summer
my budget is $2,000 but i would like to shoot for ~1800 and throw the extra 200 at some nice speakers

anyways i live in a dorm so my viewing distance will be 4-12 feet
i mainly want the HD for gaming threw Xbox 360 and PS3 and some HD movies

however there will be no HDTV in my dorm i was thinking about getting an HD antenna so i can the local channels in HD but the big concern is that it displays non HD programing well

Also i want to use this TV for a long time to come so i dont want to buy anything that is going to become outdated to fast so i am ok with limiting size to make sure its 1080p

i really dont know what to go Plasma seems like it wont work at all for me, because i want to game and have such a close viewing distance

i was thinking LCD for a long time then i looked into DLP and i dont see why thats not the best choice, for the same price and can get another 10' on my display

here are a few i was thinking about

Samsung HLS5687W 56" DLP Projection TV
http/www.merchanthound.com/items/19432410/HLS5687W-56-DLP-Projection-TV

and

Sharp AQUOS LC-42D62U 42" LCD TV
http/www.merchanthound.com/items/26497890/AQUOS-LC-42D62U-42-LCD-TV

another issue was do i want to mail order or just go buy one from like best buy. best buy is having a sale on what looks like every HD TV but mail order is still cheaper, however i kinda dont want to throw 2 grand and a company i have never heard of...

 

[awesomesloth]

Look into the Vizio GV47LF.

It is a 47 inch full HD TV. 2 HDMI, 2 component, 2 composite, 1 VGA/RGB, digital audio out.

With the new spring Xbox Live update this TV can now produce 1080p via component, VGA, and HDMI, provided you have an Elite.

The set sells for 1699. You can buy at Costco or Sam's Club, or various other dealers.

http/www.vizio.com/products/detail.aspx?pid=20



I have this TV and I love it. Best purchase ever.

 

[jason6789]

Came here to make the same exact post heh.What i want is a 1080p LCD around $2000 when everythings done and paid for that plays games with decent black levels.Any reason not to go for Samsung LNS4695D? http/www.nextag.com/Samsung-LNS4695D-46-HDTV-507156536/prices-html .Really open to suggestions so please throw em out there.

 

[Jonny813]

I just bought a new HDTV so I will let you in what I NOW know.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889253075

Is what I bought, they sell it at Circuitcity so you can go check it out. BEST I found in that range, and comparible to the $2000+ LCDs sitting next to it. Some of the best black levels I have seen, 3 HDMIs, PC, S Vid, components, etc... Amazing in HD. But this is 720p... they do have a 1080p version as well for a couple hundred more. (I got CC to drop the price to $1200, theirs was $1400, remember they all will attempt to match prices, they might not go all the way if the "ad" is not from a retailer)

THINGS TO CONSIDER!

LCD is king, then DLP, then Plasma. (In my opinion at least)

These are some problems I unexpectedly ran into!

Heat. Since you are in a dorm which probably is about the same size of the room my TV is in. This can be an annoyance. This TV almost acts like a heater, it puts out a decent amount of heat which obviously will vary from TV to TV. I live in Florida so I can't just open a window. But whichever TV you are looking into, feel around to feel how much heat it is putting out.

Viewing distance. You will want to arrange a large TV almost as far away as possible. Mine is probably about ~10' from my "TV Chair". But I had to rearrange the room because it was TOO close at first (~7'). And mines only 42".... The day I set it up I plugged my Xbox into it and threw Halo 2 in just to check it out... I had to sit back as far as the controller let me. So I now need wireless controllers.

Viewing range. DLPs suck for this, atleast my Samsungs do. If you aren't sitting RIGHT in front of it, its all dark and looks like crap. My LCD does actually have large range where you can sit to the side and still see whats happening clearly. My vote goes for LCD all the way.

Just because its 1080p or 720p doesnt mean its out dated. That is just the capable max resolution. Which doesn't affect non-HD channels. I am new to the HDTV stuff aswell, but I now have 3 HDTV's in my house. 42" LCD(Toshiba), 42" DLP Samsung, and a 50" DLP Samsung.

The LCD is by far the best picture, even though it is smaller and cost the same as the 50" DLP. Like I said, go compare them in the stores. They are all running HD and mine was sitting next to a 1080p 40" Samsung LCD which looked amazing, but $1200 bucks more... there was absolutely no justification to pay that much more for the SLIGHT difference it had.

The only benefits DLP has its Pricer Per Inch, and repairs(bulb anyways).