Buy Sony BRAVIA KDL32EX710 32-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV,

Sony BRAVIA KDL32EX710 32-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV, Black (Electronics) 

The tv arrived yesterday. I had to look at an included brochure to figure out how to put together the stand but it was pretty simple. Then I connected the white cable from my ATT Uverse DVR to the television. Then I called ATT Uverse and learned I'd have to pay $10/month more to get high definition television. I told them to go ahead and upgrade me.

Then I asked if they would send me an HDMI cable. They said no - you have to buy that yourself. I got online and did some research and found the Amazon AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable (6.5 Feet/2.0 Meters)[Supports 3D + Audio Return Channel]An engineer had written a review that you do NOT need an expensive HDMI cable. I ordered the Amazon one and it comes on Saturday.

A brochure in the paperwork that came with the tv says you have to connect your tv to the internet to get Netflix streaming and other things on your tv. If you go to the menus on the tv screen it also tells you to "connect your tv to the internet." But neither the paper instructions nor the onscreen instructions tells you how to conect the tv to the internet. I looked online and found that with a special Sony USB dangle (that cost a hundred bucks) I could connect the tv to my modem wirelessly. I really didn't want to spend that much money after having purchased the new tv. I called Sony tech support and asked what type of cable I should buy.

Sony told me to go to Radio Shack and buy an ethernet cable. The back of the ATT Uverse modem has 3 or 4 unused ethernet ports. The back of the tv has one "LAN" port. Sony said the ethernet cable can be used to connect the ethernet port on the modem to the LAN on the television. I did that and then on the tv clicked on the Netflix icon to get a code. I went to Netflix on my computer and input the code, which linked my netflix account to my tv via the internet.

I rented a movie through the tv internet connection from Amazon Video on Demand, and also watched a Netflix movie that was in my queue. You have to add movies to your queue using your computer, but once you have done that they show up on your tv and you can pick from all the ones in your queue for which Netflix has streaming rights. (For movies for which Netflix does not have streaming rights you will have to wait for a DVD to arrive in the mail. The issue of DVD rental versus streaming is one that is in flux right now - within a few years I think we will be able to stream everything instead of waiting on DVDs to arrive, but until all those rights get worked out we'll still have to use physical DVDs to watch some things on our televisions.)

Update: Today (Saturday) the HDMI cable that I ordered from Amazon arrived. I connected one end to the HDMI jack on the back of the ATT Uverse settop box/DVR and the other end I plugged into one of the HDMI ports on the back of the tv. VOILA. Oops, NO picture! TV was showing it is getting NO signal! I called ATT Uverse Tech Support. They had to reset my settop box/DVR before it would send a signal through the HDMI cable. The technician who was on the phone with me was able to do it himself (isn't the computer age GRAND?). After that the picture appeared. Then I saw that the picture didn't take up the entire screen. The tech walked me through the process of resetting the set top box to the 1080 setting and then the picture took up the entire screen.

The truth is that it IS a bit of a hassle setting up an HDTV to get HD signals from your cable/satellite/ATT Uverse/FIOS to your television, and getting your tv connected to the internet so that you can use services like Netflix and Amazon Video on Demand on it. It IS possible to do it yourself, but if you want it all done quickly and with minimal hassle then you might want to pay someone who deals with this type of thing all day to handle it for you. If you have time and either patience or determination (aka stubbornness) you can do it yourself.

I have one more thing to do - connect my new tv to my old stereo system so the sound comes through my stereo speakers. I'll take a shot at that next week.

Sony technical support and Uverse technical support did a good job at quickly figuring out what help I needed and explaining things to me.

As for the tv itself - beautiful picture, excellent sound through the tv speakers, easily understood onscreen menus, includes electronic components for multiple services - movies by Amazon video on demand, Netflix and QRiocity, videos via Youtube (I haven't tried that yet)Pandora for music, etc.

Definitely call Sony at 866-918-2485 for help as this tv did NOT come with good instructions.

Buy Toshiba 55G300U 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV

Toshiba 55G300U 55-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black Gloss) (Electronics)

I received this 55" Toshiba TV today from Amazon. I did a lot of comparisons, with the most-popular brands (in person and online) before deciding on this purchase. I have an old CRT Toshiba TV that's still going strong, so I thought I would research their LCDs as well. The picture is stunning, and Blu-ray movies are amazingly crisp and fluid. The sound is average, but that's not a deal-breaker for me because I hooked it up to my BOSE home theater system. I got a great price, free shipping with white-glove delivery, and saved a couple hundred dollars over the "popular" brand I was planning to buy. I highly recommend it.

Buy Toshiba 40G300U 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV

Toshiba 40G300U 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black Gloss) (Electronics) I ordered this TV from Amazon about three weeks ago, and received it one week later. Although I was concerned about safe shipment of such a large object, it arrived in excellent condition. The packaging, with foam plastic inserts to support the TV at all four corners, was quite impressive.

Set-up was very simple. I only had to look up a few points in the manual. The manual is even written in legible English!

The picture quality on this TV is excellent. I watched a football game on broadcast TV, and that was a completely different experience from watching the same games on my old CRT TV.

I bought this TV for use in my "Home Theater" system that I am still putting together. Playing movies from my HTPC or watching Blu-ray movies really demonstrates the excellent picture quality of this TV. Just as an aside, the remote is easy and fairly intuitive to use. That's not a big point, but a poor remote can frustrate the user of an otherwise excellent TV. This remote works well enough that it doesn't add any irritation to the total experience.

It was when I hooked up the TV to my existing stereo receiver/amplifier that I discovered one point about the TV that is less than perfect. I had not noticed any deficiency in the sound while watching broadcast TV or even watching DVD movies on the TV. But once the stereo receiver/amplifier was hooked up and I could hear the sound over that set with top quality Altec-Lansing speakers, the sound quality was much better. In short, if you want the best home theater experience with this TV, it will need to be supplemented with a good amplifier and speakers. But I expected that going in. I'm not downgrading the TV set just because its audio performance, with its small speakers, isn't quite up to what I get out of my 100 W amplifier and 15" speakers. Heck, each of those speakers cost almost as much as this TV!

This TV set is great for what it does - providing an excellent picture. The fact that it isn't also a professional sound system is irrelevant to its function. Besides, if we have a home theater system, we will have the tuner/amplifier and speakers already for other purposes.

Hooking up the audio output from the TV to a separate amplifier may be a trap for the unprepared. The TV sound out is via TosLink, which is an optical digital signal. I knew that from the Amazon description and pictures of the input/output connections for the TV. I had already ordered a TosLink optical cable and an optical/digital to analog sound converter and two RCA cables to connect to my amplifier. The total cost of those items was about $50. Not a big deal, but just an advance notice to any purchaser of this excellent TV that you really do need the cables and D/A converter, because the sound from your existing home theater or stereo amplifier and speakers will be needed for the complete enjoyment of this TV. If you have a more modern amplifier with optical digital input, only the TosLink cable will be necessary.

All things considered, I don't have any complaints, and I would buy this same TV again. In fact, I'm thinking about buying another one for my bedroom!

Five Stars! No doubt about it!

Buy Samsung LN46C630 46-Inch 1080p

Samsung LN46C630 46-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black) (Electronics) The picture on this TV was stunning right out of the box. After a few minor adjustments it was as close to perfect as I could imagine. It came with the SQ01 panel and it would be hard to differentiate the color depth and quality from some of the plasma sets I looked at. The TV is in a very bright room and the matte screen cuts out glare with no picture degradation. The viewing angle is very good, though we are never more than 25 to 30 degrees off center. The picture is very stable from channel to channel with no change in the back lighting that I can see, and the standard definition picture is almost HD quality when using the 16:9 picture format. It has separate settings for processing speed and anti-judder for motion blur when using the Custom view mode, unlike the majority of sets that combine both settings into one. 

 

I watch a lot of sports and really don't notice motion blur at 60hz so its certainly not an issue at 120hz. I'm not a gamer, so for my viewing habits I see no need to spend more for a 240hz option. The sound is very good for normal TV viewing. It can be connected to a home network and I have also hooked it up to my laptop using the VGA connection to watch Netflix and even that produces an acceptable SD picture. There are multiple picture settings you can use to suit just about any programming source, including watching at 120hz without the "soap opera" effect that some people find so annoying. There are 4 HDMI and 2 USB connections, plus one for headphones. There is no S video so you may need cables to hook up older external equipment. UVerse is the programming source.

One thing about settings. The first evening the picture suddenly got much darker and even though I would reset the brightness, it would get dark again once I left the menu. I spoke with Samsung and they had no idea why this was happening. It turns out this set automatically adjusts the picture to your room brightness in the Standard viewing mode, which is the factory default. You can change this in the Eco portion of the picture menu to never go below a certain brightness level or you can turn it off completely. This is not an issue when using any other viewing mode.

The last time I bought a LCD I continued to look around in case I found something better. That will not be the case this time as I am completely satisfied. Pilot shipping through Amazon was great. They delivered on time, set up the TV and swivel stand, and had everything working in 5-10 minutes.

Added note on Warranty: If you purchase an item with your Amazon Visa, or pretty much any credit card from a major bank, it extends the manufacturer's warranty 100% over the original duration (one year to two, etc.) at no cost. Amazon verified this but check with your bank if you use a non-Amazon card.

Buy Samsung LN40C630 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV

Samsung LN40C630 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black) (Electronics) I did a lot of research for TV's in this price range. I've bought a few plasmas and LCD's previously, and this TV blows them all away. This is a great price point, size and brand name TV. You can't go wrong really, you will most certainly be satisfied. The 120hz setting on Clear works best, otherwise gives your TV content a weird soap opera look, so either set it to Clear or turn it off. This LCD works great with a PS3 also, and supports 1080p/24hz resolution, so when you watch blurays, the picture is crystal clear. If you experience any input lag when playing games (delay from button press to action on screen), try setting the source name of your PS3 to PC, it seems to fix that issue pretty well.

The sound on this TV is very robust and clear, although when watching blurays I have to turn it up to hear dialogs, which then makes action sequences really loud, but it's not a big deal.
The design of this TV is just awesome. It has the glass bezel and gloss table top, definitely one of the best looking TV's that I've ever seen. The stand also swivels, which is something every TV should have, but usually don't.
The remote works well, and is very sturdy. The onscreen menus are very clear and even provide descriptions to most of the settings so you don't need to try and figure out what certain settings do.
Its a pretty thin and light panel too, so if your mounting it, it should stay pretty flat on the wall.
I've got nothing but positives to say about this set, its worth every penny, and I'm usually very critical about electronics, but I'd recommend this LCD to anyone. It doesn't look that great out of the box, but after a week of playing with the color settings, I think the picture has been perfected.

UPDATE
Here are my picture settings for anyone that needs a little help getting started
Mode: Standard
Backlight: 14
Contrast: 80
Brightness: 40
Sharpness: 20
Color: 51
Tint: G48/R52
Eco Solution: all off
Edge Enhancement: off
Digital Noise Filter: Low (though I'm sure auto is about the same)
MPEG Noise: Low
Color Tone: Normal (some people seem to like the Warm settings)
Auto Motion Plus 120HZ: Off (I didn't really like this feature)

If you have any adjustments to these, let me know