And what to get?

I am getting a 25in. or 27in TV. I want the best thing that I can get for my budget, which is around $200. The main things I want are stereo and a good picture.

Advice? Tips? Also I'm debating where to buy it at. I know most places price match now.

Thanks!

With that kind of budget I'd look into getting an Apex. They appear to be the least expensive, but without sacrificing features.

Circuit City has a 27" Apex listed on their website for $190.

I can't really speak for the picture quality, but for under $200 you can't expect greatness.

We have always had good results with Circuit City. I was not able to find many 25 to 17 inch TV's for under 200, but I was able to find This One (http://pcworld.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=929863/ut=432ac1ac07374d75), which seemed pretty nice. Most of the nicer 27 inchers start at around 250. Hope this helps!



~Sean

I do NOT suggest Apex. Our nieghbors bought two at the same time (they got one for the den and one for the living room). They both fried withen two months. Apex refused to replace them, saying that it was the Shipper's fault. :|

Thanks guys :) My parents are buying it for me for Hanukkah,so they set the price limit. If I can get something a lot better for about $50 more then I may be able to swing it. Right now I have a dinky Sharp 13in., so anything will seem better than this.

Bill, I've seen the Apexs and wondered how they were. DF, thanks for that heads up about the Apex too. I'll go read reviews on Amazon about them.

I'm leaning towards Circut City, I've read their customer service is better than at Best Buy and they offer a 110% price match.

What kind of features (besides Stereo) should I be trying to get? I just want a straight up TV, no combo thingies.

Thanks so much for your help!

I suggest getting one that has Component Video input. That will allow you to get the best possible quality on a Analog set from such devices as Digital Cable Boxes and DVD players. The Flat screen TV's give you a slightly better picture, and handle glare better. Other than that, Front Video Inputs are nice for connecting things quickly (such as camcorders and Digital Cameras). Thats about it! :)

I'm no tech expert, but from the bits I can decipher from DisneyFan's last post ;) I agree. It's all about the ability to plug stuff into your TV. Get one with the most inputs possible. We LOVE our front inputs too - they make it so easy to plug anything in temporarily.

If you have good speakers on your home stereo system, consider routing your TV audio through your stereo. That way you don't have to worry about paying more for better quality speakers in the TV. I wouldn't do it any other way at my place. If that one is obvious, I apologise, but I want to make sure I say everything.

Oh, and if at all possible, get a brand name. Definitely save all the paperwork and receipt in case you get a lemon....but you know that already. :)

Originally posted by DisneyFan25863
I suggest getting one that has Component Video input. That will allow you to get the best possible quality on a Analog set from such devices as Digital Cable Boxes and DVD players. The Flat screen TV's give you a slightly better picture, and handle glare better. Other than that, Front Video Inputs are nice for connecting things quickly (such as camcorders and Digital Cameras). Thats about it! :)

Component input is a nice feature to have, but probably impossible to find on a 25 or 27-inch TV for under $200. Flat screen is probably also somewhat unlikely. At that price, she is going to have to settle for a pretty bare-bones model. Front A/V inputs are a possibility, though.

My usual advice for those purchasing tube-type television sets is to buy the best Sony that you can afford. Unfortunately, you aren't apt to be able to get a Sony 25-inch TV for much less than $350-$400. For under $200, you wouldn't be likely to get a Sony that was larger than a 13-inch.

At that price range (even going up to $250), you really aren't likely to be able to get a particularly high-quality set. My advice would be to shop based more on the feature set than on any expectations regarding the quality of the unit. With that regard, Bill's advice to look at Apex. They are known for having the lowest cost for the feature set.

One other thing you might want to at least >consider< is settling for a 20-inch set instead of a 25 or 27-inch. If you can live with the smaller picture, you would be able to get a considerably better quality TV (likely with a much better picture quality) within your budget. Basically, your budget is absolutely the low-end for a 25 to 27-inch set, but solidly in the mid-range for a 20-inch.

-Jeff

Originally posted by JeffG
Component input is a nice feature to have, but probably impossible to find on a 25 or 27-inch TV for under $200. Flat screen is probably also somewhat unlikely. At that price, she is going to have to settle for a pretty bare-bones model. Front A/V inputs are a possibility, though.



There were 2 or 3 Flat Screen CRT's (all made by vendors such as Samsung and Panasonic) on PCWorld.com that were in the 200 dollar range. I do admit that she will probably not find a component-equipped TV for under 200, but there is a slight chance :)

Thanks guys, I really do appriciate it.

I should clairify a few things.

1) I'm not getting a say in the price. If I was well lets say I'd have a plasma wall TV ;) Apparently there are some 27in at Best Buy for $199. My parents seem to think that they can find me one for that price range and I don't have money to pay the difference.

2) I'm not all about the picture quality. To be honest I don't see a difference in the different priced TVs. I am on a 13in. right now and I really want a 25-27in one. Moving up to a 20in just seems pointless to me.

3) I don't care about the digital video input stuff. I don't have digital cable and my DVD player is junk.

4) I'm fine with a normal tube TV.

Maybe I'm asking the wrong crowd. I know that some of you have full blown home entertainment centers and want the best quality video equiptment out there. Thats not me. I guess what I am trying to ask is what type of things should I be looking for when I buy it. What are the signs of a good TV vs a bad one?

Ok....that changes things a bit ( :D )

Basically, you are probably gonna want something name brand (Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, ect). Not those noname ones you can get at Frys. The front inputs are definatly a plus. The thing is, you can't really go wrong with a CRT. The best thing to do is to go to the store and look at them. What colors do you want? The Sliver TV's look more "Hi-Tech", while the black ones are more conventional. Pick one that has a remote that you like. Something Universial is a plus. It really all boils down to personal choice. :)

You might try Sam's Club or Costco - they usually have some good deals.

-Demigod

So these are some of the ones I am looking at. I dunno where I am going to get it yet though.

This is a Toshibia (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051806306095&skuId=5340856&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03003)

This one is a Sharp (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051806133195&skuId=4501293&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03003) (and the one they want to get me)

UGG the site stopped working. I'll get more tomorrow.

I would go with the Toshiba. Looks like you get more bang for your buck. Plus Component inputs ;)

Originally posted by DisneyFan25863
Plus Component inputs ;) I hate to burst your bubble, but Component inputs on a 27" TV are unnecessary. With a screen that size you won't be able to see any difference. The real advantage to Component inputs is with progressive scan players, but if the TV can't handle a progressive scan signal then, again, unnecessary.

What is S-video?

I really just want the best TV for my money. I wish I could get a flat screen, but my mom said absolutely we will not spend that kind of money on a TV. Even with a 10% off coupon from BestBuy :rolleyes:.

Just for kicks, it was mentioned that I could get a 1/2 way decent flatscreen for about $250?

Originally posted by HB Tigger Fan
What is S-video? It's a video input/output and offers better video quality than that little yellow "composite" video jack. It's the next best thing to component video, and (IMO) the only way to watch DVDs if you can't go the component video route (or if component video is unnecessary as I meantioned above). With a 27" TV you will see a difference between S-video and composite.

If you're parents are only willing to spend $200 and you want a better TV than what $200 can give you, have you thought of going in with them on the purchase? You pick the TV you want, let them pay $200, and you pay the difference.

Originally posted by Bill Catherall
If you're parents are only willing to spend $200 and you want a better TV than what $200 can give you, have you thought of going in with them on the purchase? You pick the TV you want, let them pay $200, and you pay the difference.

Thats what I am thinking of doing. My dad is working on my mom (it does pay off to be daddys little girl ;) ). I do have to buy the entertainment center thingie this will go in. I know what I want and it'll be about $70 (I think). So I could maybe pay $50 more for something if that price makes a huge difference. KWIM?

But I also know that I am not a huge movie buff, I don't have surroundsound, my dvd player is junkie and my vcr is ancient so I won't have the best quality coming out of there.

We're going to go look on Friday.

Not that this is my first choice for small appliance shopping....but I happened to be in WalMart the other day and noticed some seemingly great deals on TVs. Under $250 for brand name flat screen 27" tvs. There were Apex's, but also RCA and one other (Sanyo maybe? can't remember...) One, for $230, even had pip, flat screen, component input, rca input, etc. I doubt WalMart offers any decent warranty, but it's worth a look at that price.

Well, here at the Nuclear Muffin Test Kitchen, we just replaced our 27" Mitsubishi with a 30" Philips Widescreen HDTV :) :geek:

but, that's a bit out of the $200 range...

I went to Best Buy today. I think I am going with this one (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1051806175843&skuId=4542775&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03003).

The picture quality looked really good and it has lots of inputs. The front inputs are actually on the side.

I went to Circut City and walked out. They were so rude. :(

Good choice!

The monkey and I looked at one of those, but we went crazy and spent a bit more. ;)

Does anybody know anything about this TV:

Sony TV (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1055388007291&skuId=5607006&type=product)

It's a rear-projection set....I'm not sure I'd go with a rear-projection unit.

Gateway has some plasma and LCD screens....price depends on size.

-Demigod

It's a rear projection LCD TV. Isn't that different than a regular rear projection TV?

Originally posted by DopeyWife
It's a rear projection LCD TV. Isn't that different than a regular rear projection TV? Rear projection has typically been done by using CRT projectors. This TV is the same type of thing but uses an LCD projector instead. The benefit to LCD is the cabinet can be much smaller because the projector is much smaller. CRT projectors are pretty big. Another benefit to LCD is the cost of replacing the bulb. When things start to go dim the bulbs are much cheaper than replacing a CRT tube (which can also go dim and require replacing after a certain time of use, although they usually last longer than an LCD bulb). But even though they're cheaper, we're still talking about $600 for a bulb. But you should get 1000s of hours out of it before it needs replacing.

My one problem with the TV you listed is that it doesn't have any VGA or SVGA inputs. Personally, I wouldn't buy an HD TV without SVGA inputs, but that's me. You may not have any need for one. (I would be using it to hook up a computer without going through a converter box.)

Other than that, Sony makes great TVs and this one has some nice features.