42-46" TV as a monitor $1500-2000

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facesnorth

Limp Gawd
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Feb 5, 2007
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Hello, I have been requested to help a friend find what he needs.

He wants a 42-46" LCD either a monitor or a TV. He wants to use it primarily as a TV & for DVD/HD-DVD, but he doesn't particularly need the tuners.

Secondarily, but important, he wants to be able to use it as a PC monitor. He does not game at all. This will be only for reading forex market charts, and text.

He does not care about uber gamer features like 1:1 pixel mapping, number of inputs, etc. He primarily wants a nice looking TV & movies for himself and his wife, and to be able to interact with market charts during the day.

He's looking to spend $1500 but can max out at around $2000. We are hoping to get something on Black Friday, so with that in mind we can consider items slightly more expensive that will be steeply discounted on Black Friday.

Something else to consider is the return policy. We will highly favor items available at a place like Sam's Club, where you can return it 5 years from now if it breaks down for a full refund. We are less likely to jump on something refurbished or from a place like newegg that you would have to deal strictly with a manufacturer's return policy. However, if the absolute best options & deals are only to be found under such conditions, then we would consider them.

We welcome any help! Thanks!!
 
Are there any stores other than Sam's Club that offer returns at any point in the future for a full refund? Costco I understand only does this for monitors, whereas TV's have a 90 day return period.

Browsing Sam's Club's site, I have come up with the following options. Please comment on these as far as the above requirements, and add any additional items you may think meet them as well.

52" philips 1080p..............52PFL7422D/37......$2787.43.....(would have to be discounted)
46" Sony Bravia 1080p......KDL-46VL130.........$2178.68.....available for local pickup
47" Philips 1080p.............47PFL7422D/37......$1699.77.....low stock locally
42" Westinghouse 1080p...LVM42W2.............$1399.88.....online only
42" Philips 1080p..............42PFL7422D/37.....$1293.22.....not avail for local pickup
42" JVC 1080p..................LT42XM48.............$1293.22.....available for local pickup

Please note: I currently use the Westinghouse LVM-37W3SE myself, which is the equivalent of the above 42W2, and I feel it does not quite meet the TV viewing requirements, not because of the lack of a tuner - which is not at all important, but because of it's poor deinterlacing from 1080i and poor scaling from 480p/720p. I am still considering it, because of it's excellency as a computer monitor, but it's definitely on the low end of the scale in my book as far as TV viewing goes. Of course, for DVD/HD-DVD, it would be acceptable as they will output 1080p by the player.
 
The 42 & 47" Phillips sets look like winners. I'm reading their threads on AVS. Unless I get some more input, I think we've found a winner. Now the wait for Black Friday...
 
It's actually quite good. I use a dvi to hdmi cable and the picture is great. It's funny that you ask about the banding because one of the first things I noticed when I moved to it from my Dell 2405fp was the lack of banding. I only use it as a secondary monitor now tho because I like to have the TV going in the back when surfing and such but I would prefer gaming on it than on my pc lcd.
Overall I think its great for the money and the only drawback that it has imho is too few inputs. Only two hdmi and two component (no dvi/vga) and you'll lose one of those for the PC. Its worth checking out in person at a Best Buy or something and it only gets better once properly adjusted. The speakers are also surprisingly good and its the one thing most never talk about when shopping for TVs.
Happy hunting, its a tough decision when spending so much money:)

Edit- Some model specific characteristics
Finish is nice but way to easy to dirty with fingerprints and such
Even tho it supports 1:1 pixel mapping 720p signals will always be scaled to full screen (i don't mind this but some might)
Default color profiles will melt your eyes out, it definitely needs adjusting.
The auto backlight adjusting sensor is fooled easily as it's in a bad spot. Need to set this one manually for sure. Its also slow to respond.
The remote is larger than it has to be (way too long).
Remote backlight has a specific button and doesn't turn on when i press random buttons

Hope this helps:)
 
The fact that it's $200 more for a 42" than the Philips and JVC, and it's not available in my local Sam's Club - only delivery, means we will probably not pick it up for testing purposes. We don't want to eat any shipping fees should we return it. Sounds good - but so do the Philips and JVC at this point.

I am also now considering the Vizio 42" 1080p I forget the model #, but I'm intrigued that it offers 1080p over HDMI/Component/VGA, and does 1:1 pixel mapping, plus it's cheaper. Anybody comment on this one as a PC monitor and/or for HDTV viewing?

Thanks!
 
No problem. I definitely agree that you should check out the TV before buying. Always trust your own eyes first:)
 
I use the Westinghouse TX-42F430S as my gaming system's display, and a secondary display for my Dell e1705.

Let's just say it pwns.

Oh, and it's underneath your price range, too, at $1100
 
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