Tell us in one post which HDTV you bought and why, Read Post 1

[hugh]

Please only post if you have purchased an HDTV since Christmas since older sets are no longer available.

[aWcMTL]

We bought our first HDTV just after Christmas: Sharp Aquos LC32D42U, a 32', 1080p set.
My mind was pretty set on an Aquos, I was just waiting for the price to come down below $1000. I must admit I didn't research my purchase very much. I had always liked the aquos picture and the price seemed great.
I immediately got a CM4228 antenna. We watch mostly OTA digital programs and dvd from an upscaling player. I find the picture quality absolutely stunning in HD, particularly on channels like radio-canada (SRC) and CBC that seem to have the least amount of compression. Occasionally, I thought there were artifacts during fast motion, but this always happens on channels that have limited bandwith (such as PBS HD, which only has a bw of about 12-13 Mbps). The Superbowl, on Fox was stunning! Sunday afternoon HD movies on CBC have PQ and SQ just out of this world.
SD picture quality needs more tweaking, but I think this is true of most brands. SD picture will never look that hot on a 1080 set anyways.

Negatives: the tuner is notoriously slow, but it doesn't bother me that much because I don't zap all the time. I wish it had two coaxial inputs to accomodate the antenna and analog cable...but we will probably get rid of cable pretty soon.

All in all, HDTV is a revelation and that Sharp Aquos is perfect for our needs. And BTW, we have a pretty small living room and I like to sit real close, so i think a 1080 set was still worth it. I am not ready to pay $2000 for a large tv!

[bete_noir]

What HDTV you bought

LG 32LB4D

When you bought it

Feb 25 2008

What other HDTVs you considered

Panasonic TC32LX700

Why you bought the set you did

Lots of inputs....3 HDMI with HDCP, USB Media Host, 2 component,
one RGB PC Input .....important because I also use it as a PC monitor
and the Panasonic 32 inch set didn't have a PC input.

Good specs....at least on paper:

• 1366 x 768p Resolution
• 10,000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio
• TruMotion Drive (120 Hz)
• ATSC/NTSC/QAM Clear Tuner
• XD Engine®
• 178º True Wide Viewing Angle
• Super IPS Technology
• SRS TruSurround XT™

2 years warranty (plus 1 extra year with purchase on Platinum credit card)

Good price....$899 plus tax on sale at FS.

Light weight...only 30 lbs including stand.


Likes

Looks good, good feature set, brilliant picture for sports, movies, all HD inputs

Dislikes

It's an LCD so the blacks aren't as black as a Plasma...but that's a given.

Not 1080P, athough that doesn't matter for a set this size.

SD isn't that good....watchable but nothing to write home about.

[bdgtor]

What HDTV you bought

Panasonic TH-50PX80U Plasma HDTV

When you bought it

March, 2008

What other HDTVs you considered

Pioneer PDP-5080HD Plasma HDTV

Why you bought the set you did

I had a 42 inch Hitachi (T51 series I believe) in the family room. We sit about 10 feet away from it, and after purchasing it I discovered that it was too small. So, when an opportunity to swap it out came around I jumped on it(parents needed another TV after moving into a condo, so I gave them the Hitachi since they would be sitting closer to it).

I was looking for a 720p unit since at my seating distance of 10 feet, the added resolution of a 50 inch 1080p would make no difference to me. And since I am in the process of setting up a projection home theatre system in my basement, I didn't want to blow a lot of budget on my family room HDTV. So this year's Panny 720p model seemed to be a no brainer to me (although I did spend a lot of time with the Pioneer Kuro set, but couldn't justify the extra $1000, because to my eyes, I really couldn't see a difference that was worth that much).

Likes
Excellent colour saturation and accuracy (to my naked eye). Out of the box, this unit looks like it won't need any grayscale calibration at all, although I will confirm this once the set is fully broken in. Blacks are very deep. Maybe not as deep as the Kuro (although I was very pressed to tell a difference...to me they looked the same, but some folks think that the Kuro is darker...either way, in my opinion, the difference is negligible). Whites are extremely bright and lack that yellowish tint that I've seen on previous Panasonics. Awesome HD performace. Very Good SD performance too (DVDs look gorgeous, SD cable has the potential to look gorgeous...good channels do).

And of course, I love the price (the set can be had for a few hundred below MSRP with some haggling at the big box stores...surprising for a unit that just came out, considering last year's PX75 is still available widely).

Dislikes

The only one issue I have with this set so far is that the 3rd HDMI input is located in the front of this set. I would have liked to have 3 HDMIs at the rear, with an additional one in front. So, I guess the complaint is that an extra rear HDMI would have been nice. Not a big issue if you use your AVR as an HDMI switch, but I like some components to be connected directly, so an additional HDMI in the back would have been helpful...my plasma is mounted on the wall with wires run through the walls, so running additional component cables wasn't something I was interested in doing...stuck to HDMI).

[stump14]

What HDTV you bought:

Sharp Aquos LC-46D82U


When you bought it:

Boxing Week


What other HDTV's you considered:

Samsung version of 120hz, can`t remember model number


Why you bought the set you did:

I love watching hockey and I glad I got this model.


Likes

Amount of HDMI inputs
Picture overall

Dislikes

Blacks can be poor

[jammertime]

I've purchased 2 new HD tvs this year.

What HDTV you bought:
#1 Samsung FPT5084, #2 Samsung HPT4254

When you bought it:
#1 January 2008, #2 March 2008

What other HDTV's you considered:
#1 50" Panasonic and Pioneer, #2 42" LG

Why you bought the set you did:
#1 & #2 Best bang for buck in my price range

Likes:
#1 & #2 Beautiful picture quality, very nice tv design (simple and clean)

Dislikes:
#1 & #2 Makes watching my other tvs very difficult

[HT gearhead]

Panasonic Viera TH42PZ77U

January 2008

Toshiba and Samsung

3 friends have Pannys and they all look fabulous, one of the highest rated sets. After 3 Sony HDTV failures in 5 years, Sony is out. Permanently.
This set will be retired to the living room shortly to make room for the FP in the basement once the HT room is complete hence no need for a larger screen.


Razor sharp PQ and vibrant colour. HD and BD look excellent, DVD looks near HD on this set through the PS3, even SD satellite looks good. Full 1080p.

No pip. SD card reader in a bad spot. Would have preferred it in the front of the set behind a door.

[135iAndy]

I got the Sony Bravia XBR 46" at the end of Feb 2008

Requirements were. 40"-46" 120 mhz display.

My wife and I visited many stores, and different locations, so we could compare each 120 mhz model beside each other, one BB had a Sony, beside a Panasonic, the next had a Samsung beside a Sharp, Toshiba, etc.

A lot of stores did not know how to set a TV up, but after comparing just about everything we could find in FS, BB, AV2000, Badboy and one or 2 other stores in the area, we came to the conclusion that the Sony had consistently the best display, when it came to colour and motion.

So bought a Sony.

[HDLarry]

What HDTV you bought - Sony XBR46 46" LCD flat-panel TV
When you bought it - Purchased Jan. 2008
What other HDTV's you considered - Samsung, LG, Hitachi LCD & Plasma
short listed Hitachi HD Plasma, but it used too much energy.
Why you bought the set you did - It's a Sony, still very hard to beat.
overall color accuracy is very good, plenty of input ports.
Likes and Dislikes - Like the general look and configuration.
dislike the lack of a swivel base or the not very good speakers.

very good television set, highly recommend this unit.

used with: Motorola 6416 PVR ; PS3 ; Yamaha RV-X1800 ; M&K speakers.

[frankmar]

* What HDTV you bought
Panasonic Plasma TH46PZ80

* When you bought it
May 11 2008

* What other HDTV's you considered
Sharp Aquos LCD, was my other choice in but opt for plasma

* Why you bought the set you did
When I looked at several sets displayed beside each other, but I did several stores to make sure, comes some store setup the tv in a way, that where they make the most profit make it look better. The Panasonic looked the best, Pioneer was too expensive,

* Likes
Looks, 46" inplasma which I think its the only one that makes that size cause 42" would be a little small and 50" a little too big. But that was not the main reason. Plenty of connections, Great colors on HD, Analog, when we all know.

Dislikes
well, manual could have been more detailed.

[Bombtrack]

What HDTV you bought
Insignia NS-LCD40HD-09

When you bought it
May 17, 2008

What other HDTV's you considered
LG 32LB4D & Sony KDL32M4000

Why you bought the set you did
I was actually pretty set on buying the LG 32LB4D, it has impressive specs, and cost was definately a factor, so I only looked at 30-39 inch models. I got to the store, and the salesman was giving it a ringing endorsement - and then I pointed out there were no boxes underneath and appeared it was out of stock. I asked him to check the computer to see if it was in stock and he told me enthusiastically that they had one left in Gatineau. I pointed out that Gatineau is in Quebec, and that I'd look around a little on my own...

I then noticed the Insignia 40" LCD on sale for just under a grand (which was my budget), that it was full 1080p and had plenty of inputs. The picture quality of the set looked like almost every other tv beside it, mind you none of them were set-up as good as they could have been.

Likes
Very nice PQ in HD
Lots of Inputs
NTSC/ATSC/QAM
Size turned out to be perfect for my 400 sq foot apartment where I sit 7.5 feeway from the screen. Big difference from my 27" tube.
I use the TV speakers, and they sound great, volume can go up extremely high.
Very bright whites

Dislikes
Poor SD PQ. However, It is still being fed by Component inputs from the cable box while the HDMI cables are in the mail, not sure if that will improve the PQ - also, I'm unable to move back any further, to view SD.

Nitpick: Advanced Video features 'Adaptive contrast, Noise Reduction, etc' are not explained in the manual at all - it just tells you to select On and Off. They actually make PQ worse. Set to the default "off" though, it's a non-issue.

All in all, I was apprehensive buying a somewhat -no-name or discount brand, but am very happy with the results.

[Also would like to say Hi to everyone, have been lurking for a little over a month now and have learned a lot from this site.]

[donnyjaguar]

LG 42" LCD, 1080p, 10,000:1.

Why LCD? I have young kids. Think with old VCR and video games left on, sticky fingers, flying toys etc.

Pros:
Image quality excellent
ATSC tuner is hyper-sensitive
No bum pixels
Lots of I/O options

Cons:
(these are probably of little relevance to most users)
Soundtrack # can't be programmed per-channel
No RSL on analogue channels
No anamorphic widescreen setting

[Bombtrack]

Can't edit my post but would like to add that SD picture greatly improved once thru HDMI input.

[Interceptor]

Bought a LG 32LB4D for $699 in May. I wanted a TV for my computer room. I have been using an LCD 22" monitor as a TV which is OK but wanted something bigger. I looked up some 26" models as this seemed maybe the best size for about 4' away but in looking at the specs most of the newer models only had a viewing angle of 160 degrees which denoted probably a cheap 6 bit panel. If I wanted a cheap panel I may as well get a 26" computor monitor with an HDMI input as they come with a 1920x 1200 resolution. So I looked at 32" but didn't want to spend the money for the Sharp 1080p model which I have ogled for a couple of years. I also considered a lesser Sharp, a Phillips, a Sony and a Toshiba which came in close to the same price. I took a chance with the LG 768p as I thought I may be sitting too close but it's fine at 1 1/2 times the diameter distance for HD and SD. I think most people sit to far away from their LCD as we all grew up with watching 'hard on the eyes CRTs' and we're afraid to move in close for the theater experience.

At first I wasn't happy with the contrast or the SD quality but I found some settings on the net and fine tuned them for myself and now even SD is very very good and HD hockey is great.
I also have it connected to my computer via HDMI and the picture is fine for surfing, although I haven't tried any gaming yet.

My brother in law recently bought an LG and it seemed to be a fine TV and reviews also were good so I grabbed this one.

[Brett]

What HDTV you bought
Toshiba 42HL67
When you bought it
Sunday
What other HDTV's you considered
Sony Bravia's
Why you bought the set you did
Got a great deal on a open box set
Likes and Dislikes
Great TV so far. Ordering Dish HD only for it, so that should be nice. Great picture so far.
Cons: Can't get the DVI out on my PC to work with the HDMI in (DVI to HDMI cable)