Yet another flat panel question. . .
 

The time has come to donate our Sony KD-XBR32 to someone who can carry 400 lbs of tube HDTV and join the flat panel revolution.

I'm looking at this Samsung 40" LED Flat Panel.

Don't want to go larger than 40" or over $2,000. Are there any obvious problems with this choice? Due diligence says not, but there is a bewildering array of devices out there. . .

Thanks!

I personally think Samsung is making some of the best panels out there besides maybe say panasonic....as you can see by the link below...most of their units come highly recommended

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...l_46otftxun8_b

avsforum will likely have threads about most models out there.

I got a 42-inch Panasonic plasma for the bedroom, figuring that was enough.

Wish it was 50-inch or even bigger.

I read an article saying that no one ever complained about too large a screen, but plenty of people wish they had gone on size larger.
Maybe not 100% accurate, but it is generally wize to buy up one size.

Samsung makes some great sets - I have had a 50" DLP set since 2004.

However, most of the forums (AVS, HDTVoice) have a lot of comments about back ordered parts for repair. When I bought a new set last week, I choose a Panasonic plasma because of the reported Samsung parts issues.

And, now that I have a 20 inch LCD in the bedroom, a 26 inch LCD in the kitchen, a 50" DLP in the basement/workout area, and a 50" plasma in the living room, DON'T go to small. We sit approximately 8-10 feet from the tv in the living room and 50" is just right.

Either go with the 46" Samsung or this 47" LG:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218084410226

Spend some time with the remotes of both units to ensure that you feel good about the ergonomics of the unit you choose - people forget about this aspect of the TV and yet once you purchase the set, all your activity will be through the remote!

LED sets are cool and energy-efficient; most plasmas still generate enough heat to raise the temp of the room a couple of degrees when on.

I agree with others: We tend to size a bit small in our minds. Go one size larger than you think is right and you will be patting yourself on the back for years.

I was surprised to find a row of fans on top of some plasma sets. Reading thru some specs, they can take 700-800 watts!!! It's terrible.

+1

How is your room lit? I got a LG 47" because I have large windows on 2 walls of the room and didn't want to see my reflection in the glossy screen

I don't about going one larger. I have a 5 year old 42" plasma in my family room that doesn't seem too small and don't have any regrets about (well, maybe wishing it had hdmi ports instead of dvi ports). I also have 65" Sharp Aquos (spelling?) LCD for my home theater in the basement and while it looks fine there, I would never want something that big in the family room.

My cousin just moved into a new condo and bought a huge (I'm guessing well over 60") Panasonic Elite. It's way too large for the room, I feel like it's right on your head. Your sitting so close that the picture looks horrible, and plus just looks really tacky to have something that huge in such a small room.

Two suggestions:

About two years ago, I surprised the Mrs. with a 40+ inch for Christmas. Did my homework by going to cnet.com and they have a series of articles explaining all the tekky stuff, what to look for, etc. etc. Do a search and it will be worth the investment in time. There is a science to picking a model/size/etc. depending on where you plan to put the set, lighting, etc. etc.

When I did buy, ended up at Costco after viewing sets at Best Buy and other electronic stores. Two reasons: they had a good price, plus a 90 days no-questions-asked refund policy.

We ended up with a Panasonic 740 dp set, great buy and we loved it. Guess what the Mrs. did? On the 89th day of the purchase, while I was away, she and my son packed it up, returned it to Costco and got the same exact model but in 1080 format for $100 less - Costco did the refund/new purchase, no questions asked!

This year's Samsung entry level LED backlit TV's (including the model referenced by the OP) have edge backlighting, which allows for a slimmer profile but not for local dimming, which was the feature that gave LED TV's such impressive black levels. Personally I would rather have the more even backlighting of thicker conventional model (including Samsung's excellent mid-grade 2009 CCFL lineup) than an edge backlit superslim one.

However, this model (and most of Samsung '09 lineup) does have substantially lower power consumption than last year's, which is all the buzz in East Asia, especially Japan, nowadays.

This isn't really true - the majority of people with a HDTV will be using it through a cable or satellite STB, which is the remote that will be used. I only use my TV remote to change between inputs.

Wow, Thamks for all the good advice. We're moving up from a 34" to a 40" so I don;t think we'll feel deprived. ;)

I assume you're not changing screen aspect ratio and staying with 16:9?

Only other consideration, is if you ever plan to hook up a PC to the HDTV, is if you plan to use VGA or HDMI. Not all HDTVs will allow VGA to display the full native resolution.