Anybody Know Anything About TV's?

[Ranis]

So, I'm looking to get a new TV to put in my room for gaming purposes. My cousin essentially sells them for a living; I asked him about a Vizio model I was looking at, and he shot it out of the sky. He pointed me toward Samsung, whom has apparently signed a deal with Microsoft and has a special mode on the TV for gaming, so this sounds very much up my alley.

Here's the problem: the model I'm currently looking at is a 32" Samsung widescreen HDTV with 2 HDMI ports and 5000:1 contrast ratio(!), but it's too expensive. I don't want to spend any more than $800 on this television. Anyone care to share their thoughts?

[Death, your friend the Reaper]

My first thought is that T.Vs are hopeless for gaming. My one went a half ork wizard. What a total moron, never invited it to a D&D after.

The second thought about the money is to ask is thievery frowned upon in your country?

[Nibleswick]

You could just go get an El Cheepo brand telly that is going to do everything you want it to anyway. They're all pretty much the same anyhow.

[Tirian]

So, I'm looking to get a new TV to put in my room for gaming purposes. My cousin essentially sells them for a living; I asked him about a Vizio model I was looking at, and he shot it out of the sky. He pointed me toward Samsung, whom has apparently signed a deal with Microsoft and has a special mode on the TV for gaming, so this sounds very much up my alley.

Here's the problem: the model I'm currently looking at is a 32" Samsung widescreen HDTV with 2 HDMI ports and 5000:1 contrast ratio(!), but it's too expensive. I don't want to spend any more than $800 on this television. Anyone care to share their thoughts?

I trust salesment more when they tell me what not to buy than what to buy. If he can explain to you why the Vizio is a bad choice, then that's good information. But this whole Microsoft special gaming mode sounds mildly silly. What, will you have to go over to a friend's house to watch football because he has the NFL-enhanced mode television? :smallamused: If it's a difference than you can physically see, then I apologize, but otherwise I'd suspect that it is a more a marketing alliance than a technological one.

I also think that, if you can stand to wait, pick out a couple models you like now and see if their prices don't dip during the holiday and post-holiday shopping frenzy.

[daggaz]

dude...its his cousin... I would hope he isnt taking him for "the ride."

Samsung makes pretty good TV's, they usually last past their warranties. Stay away from cheepo no-name brands, they are famous for burning up a day after the paperwork expires. Course, you dont wanna get suckered into a bunch of snazzy hoobyjoobs you dont really need, either. Just get a solid TV with a good name, keep looking till you see something in your pricerange.

[StickMan]

What ever happened to all the cheap TVs I've been looking for a TV for months at stores now and the cheapest I can find costs $150 and my laptop has a bigger screen. Use to be able to get a good size TV for $50.

[Ranis]

My first thought is that T.Vs are hopeless for gaming. My one went a half ork wizard. What a total moron, never invited it to a D&D after.

Er.....huh?


You could just go get an El Cheepo brand telly that is going to do everything you want it to anyway. They're all pretty much the same anyhow.

El cheapo TV's aren't HD. They're also not widescreen. They also don't have 5000:1 contrast ratio. I actually looked at the TV's at the retail store I work at, and I saw the model I was looking at sitting right next to other widescreen HDTVs of the same size, and the contrast of how sharp the model I'm looking at is compared to the others is simply astounding. So no, they're really not 'pretty much the same anyhow.'


I trust salesment more when they tell me what not to buy than what to buy. If he can explain to you why the Vizio is a bad choice, then that's good information. But this whole Microsoft special gaming mode sounds mildly silly. What, will you have to go over to a friend's house to watch football because he has the NFL-enhanced mode television? If it's a difference than you can physically see, then I apologize, but otherwise I'd suspect that it is a more a marketing alliance than a technological one.

I also think that, if you can stand to wait, pick out a couple models you like now and see if their prices don't dip during the holiday and post-holiday shopping frenzy.

He said that Microsoft paid them to make a special mode for it; on the TV's I've looked at so far, Samsung's have a little sticker advertising their special game mode, so I'm inclined to beleive him, especially since, y'know, he's my cousin. As stated above, I have noticed a severely sharp difference in the sharpness of this model versus others.

[Jack Squat]

I have a Vizio at my house, it's not bad for watching movies and TV. Haven't hooked a game system up to it as a) I'm at my dorm, thus have the Wii here, and b) the display model at Sam's was pretty pixel-y with some racing game hooked up. Granted, it was a different model than what we got, but I'm not sure there was that much of a difference.

You never said, how much does that Samsung your cousin suggested cost?

[North]

If your looking for good quality and a lower price I do recommend DLP. When I went bigscreen shopping my primary focus was big screen and video games. LCD is good for TV but not as good for gaming I find. Plasma is very nice but a lot more pircey, and Ive found the quality to be just as good if not better on my DLP. The only downside about DLP is they got a bit of booty so you cant mount them on a wall.

Brand name does matter. El cheepo brand does not have the same quality, features, durability, etc. I actually did get Samsung. I got a 56" DLP three?ish years back and its still working great. Anyone who has sold TVs will say that its important, especially because garbage brands have so many warranty issues.

Also can your cousin give you a deal?

[Trog]

I know they are evil. :smalltongue:

But other than that Samsung is an okay brand. I think I had heard that LG is a good brand too. One or the other of them essentially produces the screens for several other major models. Plasma is definitely out of your price range, of course so you're talking LCD HD TV. 5000:1 is good. The higher the better. Check screen resolutions too. 1080 ones are usually more expensive. Also you NEED to watch the refresh rate. The lower the better. You will see the difference in fast movement scenes especially. The screen will pixelate a bit if the refresh rate cannot keep up with the action. Not good. Shoot for last year's models which have been marked down due to their shiny new looks vs. other features. And see if your cousin can get you a discount. No idea on the "gaming mode." I'd be interested in finding out exactly what the heck that means. :smallconfused:

[Tirian]

He said that Microsoft paid them to make a special mode for it; on the TV's I've looked at so far, Samsung's have a little sticker advertising their special game mode, so I'm inclined to beleive him, especially since, y'know, he's my cousin.

Sorry, I didn't mean to insinuate that your cousin was shady and especially not that he would try to play you. It's just been my experience that people who deal in devices get (understandably) excited at a new widget that improves the device and don't always stop to think that the widget makes the device $100 more expensive but it's maybe not really a $100 better result.

But if you can look at two televisions side-by-side and decide that the one that costs more provides value that is worth the difference, then go for it.

[Ranis]

This is from Samsung's home site:


Samsung's 87 Series DLP models feature the latest digital connectivity enhancements. Gamers will become totally immersed in the latest video games played in Game Mode, which delivers their most sought after features, such as graphic optimization, dark area enhancements, increased response time and improved sound capacity.

So apparently it does exist, and this looks quite good to me. Also, thanks on filling me in on the refresh rate. I'll definitely look into this.