Looking at getting a new TV
 

I'm looking at picking up a new TV. Ours isn't ancient, but I just got a PS3 and its honestly hard to read text in some games. Of course, I'd like something efficient. However, a good regular LCD may be fine. I really liked the Veco320L that I reviewed a while ago from Vizio. It fit right in my existing entertainment center which was great. But, I am thinking about getting a larger TV too. I'm thinking up to 42" (maybe even 46"). Even going up larger is still an energy savings over my current TV since it is a CRT.

It looks like Samsung has a good lineup of LED LCDs. Other companies don't have as many offerings from the tiny amount of research I've done so far.

Anyways, any suggestions and/or help would be great.

I really like my Aaxa projector, not the best for use in the day time but it only draws 15 watts, they have some newer and brighter products coming out it looks like, mine is the P2 and is impressive enough that friends that come over to watch movies want to get one as well.

I suggest measuring any new TV with a Kill-a-watt. If a remember correctly, my old 26in CRT uses 75W and my 37in LCD uses ~90W at 50% brightness and ~170 at full brightness (which what you would likely find in a store). Newer LCDs with an LED backlight should be a little more efficient.

I did measure my current 27" CRT a while back. It was drawing 75W while in use. I'd definitely like to keep to that power usage or less. I don't see that as being a real problem.

When looking at the 32" LCDs, I could go with either LED or CFL back lighting. There are a few CFL backlit models that have a ~75W or lower max power usage rating. The Vizio I tested had a 85W max rating and only used about 60W under normal usage. If I go up to a 40", I need to be a bit more picky about what TV I get as they're rated for more like 90-100W. IMO these would still be acceptable based on what I found testing the Vizio. It seems the max power rating is roughly 30% higher than the actual power usage. However, the Samsung LED 40" is only rated at 55W! :eek: I like... And, then there is the 46" LEDs that start at 90W, but again the Samsung has an amazing 60W usage... Very nice, but getting pricey.

Ryland, those projectors are a very interesting idea, thanks. It looks like their resolution is a bit low compared to a conventional TV. Its not too much lower than 720, but it is lower... I wonder if I could find one locally to test.

I put a great list together with prices in another thread. This'll definitely help me pick the next TV out.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/applia...t-tv-list.html

Looks like I'm leaning heavily toward the Samsung UN46C5000. Its large, and still very power efficient (60W max). Only downside is the price tag of roughly $1300. A bit of saving has that covered. I'm not too concerned with spending a bunch considering I'll likely have this TV for quite some time.