Rick Meyer
Veteran
Hey guys (and gals)-
I know this is a camera forum but I need some help deciding which direction to steer my mother. This is why I am posting this thread in the CAFE. I realize that it hardly belongs in this forum at all....
My mother and I just spoke and she is feeling generous and wants to purchase my older brother a nice HDTV. I'm all for it. She just now saw one on QVC for $1200.00 dollars. It's a 32" flat screen, flat panel LCD model that is HDTV-ready, meaning it still needs a converter. This TV is $1200.00 dollars during a one day sale only. The brand is MINTEN. I have never heard of them. (To it's credit, the TV is feature rich with lots of jacks and a DVD player). And, I hate QVC and the whole lot of those phony smiley faced cheeseballs. Now, before my mother makes this move, I told her to sit tight, I will do some research and get back to her before the one day sale is over. Needless to say, time is of the essence.
I am usually a research whore. I actually enjoy spending hours upon hours reading about what it is that I am going to buy before I buy it. I once spent hours reading about the differences of LCD vs. PLASMA. So, I understand the shelf-life limitations. But, what I am asking from you guys (and gals) is for real-world information about these technologies so I can steer my mother in the right direction, before 11:59pm Eastern time. I say "real-world" because on paper an LCD model and a Plasma model are neck and neck, but a standard def picture on my buddies High Def LCD looks HORRIBLE. Really fuzzy and noisy. Way worse than a regular old cathode-ray tube television. However, this might be his model OR this might be typical. Like I said, I've read about their specs, I just need to hear about actual performance. I wouldn't spend 500 dollars for his TV. The standard def picture is that bad. Though the High Def yankee game was incredible. For my mother, and ultimately my brother, I want it all. A great image in a High Def TV, for around $1200.00 that handles standard def well. Also, what my mother probably doesn't know is that my brother is going to remodel. He is planning on getting a TV that fits on a wall. So, that is a feature that the eventual TV will have to have.
Sorry to inconvenience you with a long post. But, you guys (and gals) have come through COUNTLESS times before.
So, thanks in advance for any input you might be able to offer!
Rick
I know this is a camera forum but I need some help deciding which direction to steer my mother. This is why I am posting this thread in the CAFE. I realize that it hardly belongs in this forum at all....
My mother and I just spoke and she is feeling generous and wants to purchase my older brother a nice HDTV. I'm all for it. She just now saw one on QVC for $1200.00 dollars. It's a 32" flat screen, flat panel LCD model that is HDTV-ready, meaning it still needs a converter. This TV is $1200.00 dollars during a one day sale only. The brand is MINTEN. I have never heard of them. (To it's credit, the TV is feature rich with lots of jacks and a DVD player). And, I hate QVC and the whole lot of those phony smiley faced cheeseballs. Now, before my mother makes this move, I told her to sit tight, I will do some research and get back to her before the one day sale is over. Needless to say, time is of the essence.
I am usually a research whore. I actually enjoy spending hours upon hours reading about what it is that I am going to buy before I buy it. I once spent hours reading about the differences of LCD vs. PLASMA. So, I understand the shelf-life limitations. But, what I am asking from you guys (and gals) is for real-world information about these technologies so I can steer my mother in the right direction, before 11:59pm Eastern time. I say "real-world" because on paper an LCD model and a Plasma model are neck and neck, but a standard def picture on my buddies High Def LCD looks HORRIBLE. Really fuzzy and noisy. Way worse than a regular old cathode-ray tube television. However, this might be his model OR this might be typical. Like I said, I've read about their specs, I just need to hear about actual performance. I wouldn't spend 500 dollars for his TV. The standard def picture is that bad. Though the High Def yankee game was incredible. For my mother, and ultimately my brother, I want it all. A great image in a High Def TV, for around $1200.00 that handles standard def well. Also, what my mother probably doesn't know is that my brother is going to remodel. He is planning on getting a TV that fits on a wall. So, that is a feature that the eventual TV will have to have.
Sorry to inconvenience you with a long post. But, you guys (and gals) have come through COUNTLESS times before.
So, thanks in advance for any input you might be able to offer!
Rick
