I am looking at purchasing a smallish (32 inch) HDTV for use in my basement. It would be used for PS3/DVD playback/non-cable TV. I have found that there are 500-800$ CAD "no-name" tvs from brands like insignia, sceptre, Niko, Maxent, I-INC. I understand that these TV's picture quality will not be able to touch a big brand TV, but how much more likely is the TV to crap out? They all have 1 year warranties (same as big brand) but if it dies that really blows because I'd have to ship it out for the RMA.

Is it ok to go for the discount TV instead of something from the heavy hitters? Even if I purchased a service plan for the TV it would end up 400-1000$ cheaper than a name-brand TV. Then the service plan would have to pay to ship it out for the RMA in the case where the TV dies.

Another option would be the BenQ FP241WZ. It's a computer monitor that could display 1080p and has 1:1 pixel mapping - so no worrying about stretching the image. Unfortunately it's only 24 inches in size and I'm afraid that this might not be large enough at a viewing distance of 5.5-6 feet. I am leaning towards a TV solution at the moment as it would also include an NTSC tuner.

I used a sceptre flat panel LCD monitor before I upgraded to my widescreen LCD monitor and it was really nice. I know that this is an HDTV, but I was just letting you know that from my experience with the sceptre monitor, they were a pretty good brand.

I got an Olevia 32" LCD TV not too long ago, and I like it. It uses LG panels, so the quality is decent. It only does 1080i tough, and it doesn't have a lot of inputs, just one of each really (except DVI, which gives you Composite, Component, HDMI, S-Video, and VGA). Other than that though, it's pretty nice.

I second that motion. I want to note that it can do 720p too though. The TV was on sale for $499 at Circuit City back in May. If you are a AAA member, you can print out a coupon to take $50 off of it. When buying HDTVs, pay close attention to the contrast ratio (1000 and above is good) and the refresh rate (8ms is idea).

Okay, so after further research it's down to the Westinghouse 32" or Olevia 37".

The Westinghouse is 749.99 CAD from Best Buy. I'm trying to find a retailer in Canada that sells the TV set for less, so that I can just get a nearby BB to match the price.

Thanks for the help so far.

I own a 32 inch LCD from Insignia (best buy store brand), it was on sale for $699, but I managed to knock them down to $479. It's a great tv for gaming, and the HD picture quality on actual video is far superior to standard definition.

The Insignia 32" LCD is a Sansui that got really good reviews. Just FYI

Best Buy still matches prices?

Sorry to semi-hijack, I can remove the post if you like.

Does anyone know if 32" is large enough for split-screen gaming at a distance of ~6'? I'm wondering if I should be looking at 37".

I think 37'' will be better at that distance.