Is it good to go with cheap brand in HDTV?

Question

I am in the market for a 20-32 inch flat-panel hdtv for my bedroom and i see a significant price difference between say a sony and a vizio. I was wondering whether or not to pay the extra 100-200 dollars for a sony or samsung rather than going for the vizio or westinghouse televisions. Is there a visual difference to justify paying the extra money?

Answer 1

I have a Vizio and it looks great!

Answer 2

Just like many other products, cheap is exactly what you pay for.

If you have a budget in mind, do your homework, ask some questions and actually go look at TVs on display.

$100-$200 can go a long way in features, reliability and most important...PICTURE QUALITY!

I have favorite brands, as do most people, don't forget, each brand name usually carries a good, better and best model. Example: Sony for 699, 799 and 999. Vizio may only carry one at 699.

In my experience (5 years with Tweeter, 2 with Circuit City) the less you know about a brand, the more I stay away.

Also, Sony, Samsung and Panasonic make more TVs than anyone else, so more of them break. It's the math of numbers....Don't be discouraged by a bad TV by one company it doesn't mean every one dies.

It's like cars...Toyota or Lexus...same thing almost. But a Camry is different than a IS 300.

Hope that helps, if you have more direct questions about brands, shoot me another question.

-J

Answer 3

While you may not see a significant difference while looking at them in two separate locations, if you were to see them side by side you would notice the Sony has a significantly better picture quality.  It may be worth sacrificing the money if you do a lot of gaming or are planning to watch a lot of sporting events, the difference it makes is shocking!! In my opinion, it is definitely worth it to spend the little extra money in the long run.  

The next big thing to look into is Blue Ray, if you are planning to get the whole set up it makes it even more worth the extra $$$.

Hope that helps, and enjoy your new purchase!!

Answer 4

For a smaller TV, the picture quality means a lot less because you need less pixels to make a good picture.  With a larger TV, you will see a big difference, but with a small TV you can save some money with a non-Sony brand.