Which HD tv is for me?
I’ve been looking into it for weeks now and all the #’s and info have overwhelmed me. I’m looking for 1 to use for HD and SD, 1 that is great for gaming and movies. Also I’m a big old school gamer, is there a chance of image burn with some older style NES era for ex. games? I’m looking for a tv around upper 30″s to lower 40″s hopefully around $800 less would be great 
but no more then $1000. Would perfer 1080p and 120 hz. Found this 1 on best buy Insignia Advanced 42″ 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the Insignia brand not sure if it’s a good brand or not. Been told Samsung brand is the way to go. One last thing, I’ve got a Philips DVR/DVD recorder and a VCR (yeah still use one like I said I’m old school) since I can’t find any pics I’m also wondering if there would be a way to have a HD cable box from Time Warner, the DVR/DVD recorder, VCR and the HD tv? Alright all that should do it, much thanks to anyone who can actually help with all this lol.
Yikes.
(1) Go to cnet.com. You can get loads of helpful information there in the review section and then Home Video. You can get both reviews and articles.
(2) Panasonic, Sony, Sharp, Samsung, LG, and Toshiba are your main friends. I would stick with them for the most part. Vizio is an okay up and comer as well, but I think still have a bit more work to do.
Insignia is a bit of a lesser known brand. Most likely considered a 2nd tier or “no-name” type of brand. That being said, the Insignia Advanced Series NS-L42X-10A rated as a recommended buy from Consumer Reports recently. And it was the #5 rated 40/42 inch TV amongst the 28 that they tested.
(3) All HDTVs are rated for SD playback. That’s why if you read their full specs you’ll see they all say 480i and/or 480p playback. That’s SD content. So you can play older gaming consoles on them just fine. The risk for any kind of image retention is the exact same with HD or SD content. There is no added risk for any type of specific video.
An LCD shouldn’t suffer from burn-in either. I know some apparently do, but they are not supposed to. Plasmas used to suffer from this, but modern ones don’t (unless you purposely try to do it). A good TV shouldn’t be afflicted by this issue.
(4a) Okay this is what I would do,
Hook up the cable box (get an HD one) via HDMI directly into the TV. So when you just want to watch live programming, set the TV input to HDMI and you’re good to go.
VCR and DVD Recorder – for recording something you’re watching, or recording something that say you’ve left the cable box on a specific channel while you’re away, you should be able to use RCA cables to run a feed out from the cable box into either recording device. It could be Component RCA (Green, Blue, Red w/ Red/White audio) or Composite RCA (Yellow w/ Red/White audio). It depends on the cable box and your recording devices.
BUT, to have those devices control the cable box, so they can have it bounce around to difference channels, that I’m not sure about. I would imagine it varies from provider to provider what they will allow to work. Mine doesn’t allow other devices to change the channels on the cable box. That way you have to buy their PVR box. But perhaps Time Warner is different. If not, it means you need to turn on the cable box, set it to a specific channel, and then you can use the timer on either recording device to record the content on that channel, but that’s it.
(4b) Figure out which devices you want to be plugged into the TV at the same time. Then make sure the TV has the adequate inputs to correspond with the outputs of the devices. HDMI from cable box to TV should be a given in today’s world. DVR/DVD Recorder and VCR will likely be RCA based, but will it be Component or Composite, it depends on your devices and on the TV. So that’s the stuff you need to watch out for.
(5) Check out ABC Warehouse and Amazon and I think you can find a suitable model for your demands and budget.
PANASONIC TCP42S2 42″ 1080p Plasma – $809 @ ABC Warehouse
TOSHIBA 40G300U 40″ 1080p 120Hz LCD – $749 @ ABC Warehouse
Panasonic VIERA U1 Series TC-P42U1 42-Inch 1080p – $700 @ Amazon
Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P42G10 42-Inch 1080p – $776 @ Amazon
- G series is an amazing line
Sharp LC40E77U 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz – $754 @ Amazon
Sony BRAVIA V-Series KDL-40V5100 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz – $800 @ Amazon
Sony BRAVIA VE5-Series KDL-40VE5 40-Inch 1080p 120Hz Eco-friendly – $850 @ Amazon
I’d go with a Panasonic Viera Plasma myself. Watch movies/TV on it for about 100-200 hours. Keep the brightness and contrast (picture) settings cranked down during that part. That will condition the set. Then optimize and enjoy. Great for TV, movies, and gaming.
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