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HDTV Advice Needed...

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by Paul 13, Oct 28, 2008.

  1. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    First, the background... We (me, my wife, and two children ages 4 and 2) FINALLY moved into our own house! We've been living in a condo since we were married and were fortunate enough to have a fair amount of equity built up (even in today's housing market). So we now have a 3 br 1800+ sq ft single story house (detached, NO HOA'S!!!).

    I was hoping our 10 year old 32 inch Panasonic TV that weighs close to 100 pounds would last a little while before the HD TV's prices drop even further. So, upon moving in, we kept our DirecTv package the same (No HD dish). Yet, over the weekend, while watching the Bills game, the thing blew... bam... no more jumbo cube...

    Alas, this is where you come in. Now that I am on the verge of going with a new HDTV, I'm pondering the Vizio 42incher LCD, that Costco has selling online for $899. Is this a good deal? I've compared it to some other online places (national) and it seems to be... it's getting good reviews. What do you guys and gals think? I've read that LCD's are easily damaged, and I'm fearing my little 2 year old quarterback throwing something at the TV. i guess buying the extended warranty is a no brainer?

    PS. can I upgrade the Directv package to HD, free of installation charges??

    Thanks :wink2:
     
  2. Regan21286

    Regan21286 MCAT's, EMT's, AMCAS, ugh

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    Congrats on the new house!

    The Vizio is a very good deal and it's an above-average TV to have. Of course, I'm a bit biased. Make sure it's at least 1080p. I would be concerned with the damage like any bigscreen so if you have a toddler, I might consider the warranty if it covers accidents.

    You will need to pay the standard DirecTV charges for HD access, sometimes $5-9.99 a month and a new receiver most likely.
     
    Paul 13 likes this.
  3. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Not a great deal bro, bookmark this page slickdeals.net and check it every day for the next couple days until someone posts a great deal on an HDTV. The brands you want to look for are Samsung, Sharp, and Panasonic. The vizio you are talking about would be a decent TV but not great for that price, only has a 5000.1 dynamic contrast ratio, which is garbage for a $900 tv.

    Sunday they had a 40 inch 1080P samsung for $800 that would have blown that Vizio out of the water.

    And dont just check the front page of slickdeals, also keep an eye on thier hot deals forum. If you have $900 to spend you probably wont be without a great 1080P tv for too long though no one can predict when the deals will hit.

    Just to illustrate the kinds of deals you can find at slickdeals on TV's, just last week I bought a 32 inch 720P Samsung LCD for my brother for $499 shipped. 6mm response time and a 10,000.1 contrast ratio. Not 1080P but still a SUPER hot deal.
     
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  4. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    How soon do you need a TV by?
     
  5. NJFINSFAN1

    NJFINSFAN1 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    yeah its like 10 bucks a month and you need a HD dish also.
     
  6. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    How much space is there going between you (on the couch, TV chair ...) and the TV set? If you got 2.5 meters or less you might seriously consider opting for a smaller (32 inch/37 inch if available) LCD. 42 inch sounds cool but if you don't have enough space between you and the TV, the bigger screen will be useless essentially.

    After looking up the Vizio, I'd say that I'd go for a slightly smaller LCD (if you don't have massive space that is) and a better contrast ratio. 5.000:1 is pretty much garbage. I'm running 24.000:1 here and that's a huge difference.

    You might want to look up some models by Philips, they produce some of the best LCDs right now (in terms of picture quality). Samsung's great as well at the moment and the stuff by LG (if available in the US) is a lot better than its reputation and a cheap way to a good TV.

    Basically: Go for 32/37 inch if you have less than 2.5 meters and opt for as high a contrast ratio as your budget allows. And don't buy the Vizio :wink2:
     
    Paul 13 likes this.
  7. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    I'm getting by with my old 20 in. Sony for now, so I could probably wait a couple of weeks, or until my eyes start hurting from the strain... :shifty:
     
  8. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    That's where I'm thinking DirecTv is going to charge me for the installation, since they just set me up on my move. Maybe there's a trick to getting them not to charge you.
     
  9. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Best Buy has a 42 inch 1080P sharp on sale for $899
    Sharp - 42" Class 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV - LC42SB45U

    Its a lower quality sharp but would still be much better then the Vizio and for the same price. Also because its from best buy you can easily but one of their 4 year protection plans.
     
    Paul 13 likes this.
  10. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    Add a 100 bucks and go Samsung at Amazon:

    [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40A550-40-Inch-1080p-HDTV/dp/B001418W2C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1225228308&sr=8-3#productPromotions]Amazon.com: Samsung LN40A550 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV: Electronics[/ame]
     
  11. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    thanks, this contrast ratio stuff I didn't even know about... now I'm glad I posted this thread... i thought it was all about the 1080 vs 720, then I saw that they do a "FHD," I feel so old and outdated... :lol:

    As for the distance, the room is at least 10 feet wide, probably approaching 12 feet. I'll have to measure when I get back home, to know for sure.
     
  12. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    In that case I probably wouldn't get the sharp I linked, that was more for if you needed a TV right NOW.

    If you can afford to wait a little and keep checking slickdeals you should definitely be able to beat both the Vizio and the sharp for about the the same money.
     
  13. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    It kinda depends. Over here in Germany I'd go 720 every day (a lot cheaper and pretty much the only stuff really making use of 1080 are the PS3 and Blueray) but I really dunno about over there in the US. With HD football every Sunday, 1080 sure sounds tempting.
     
  14. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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  15. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    I'm not really familiar with US prices but judging from the technical specs of this one and the Vizio or the Sharp you mentioned, this looks like a very good deal. I'd kill for such a price over here, that's for sure :up:
     
  16. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Over here there is still very little in 1080P as well. I think all football is 1080i/720P but there is a new satellite service that is starting to broadcast on demand 1080P stuff. Cant remember what its called, might be a dish network thing.

    I would still go 1080P though because you plan to keep the TV for the next 4 years or so and in that time blue ray will become the standard DVD format.
     
  17. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    I would say its a decent deal, but it can probably be beat if he doesnt have to have a TV RIGHT NOW.

    I have found that the best way to buy electronics is to NEVER say "I have to have something today". If you are willing to be a little patient and keep up with a simple website like slickdeals you can get way more bang for you buck.
     
  18. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    As I said, I'm not really that familiar with TV prices in the US but over here it's currently ~550€ for a decent 32 inch 720 and ~1.000€ for a decent 1080 - so I'm figuring that by the time the 1080 has become standard, I might as well buy one then for probably ~550€ as well and, at the end of the day, spend the same money and have two TV sets :wink2:
     
  19. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    They have a Samsung 40in at Sears for $799, per that slikdeals site. 30,000 contrast!!
     
  20. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    Got a link, so we can look it up and give you some feedback?
     
  21. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    I saw that, and if you can still find it at your local sears then by all means BUY IT UP. The reason I didnt post it is that when I went to thier website it was no longer in stock.... If your local sears still has one though that would be a great TV to buy.
     
  22. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    This was the TV I was able to get for 500 last week
    FRYS.com | SAMSUNG

    Its out of stock now and the price has went back up. That was a super hot deal though, normally that would have been about a $700 TV.
     
  23. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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  24. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    Wow. Slick deal, mate. I've just bought a 32 inch 720 for my bro today and I was getting a slick deal at 500€. I really need to go to the US more often and think of a way to smuggle consumer electronics past the German customs agents.
     
  25. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Bribe them with Booze. :shifty:
     
  26. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    Sadly, been there, tried that. They have more than enough booze already :sad:

    Speaking of that Sears deal: Out of curiosity I just checked it on their site and it's at least available in Miami. Dunno where Paul's from, but hey, you never know ...
     
  27. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Its certainly worth checking IMO.
     
  28. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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  29. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Are you actully seeing the TV there Ven? All I get is
     
  30. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    Uhm ... yes I do. Seems like it's in stock too. Maybe try searching for ...

    "Samsung 40 in. (Diagonal) Class LCD Full HD (1080p) Television"

    ... and click at the fourth match? Link works like a charm here though.
     
  31. ILPhinFan88

    ILPhinFan88 Premium Member Luxury Box


    Not if you say you were thinking of switching to Dish Network because they have HD free, then they will wave the HD fee. Thats what I did :up:
     
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  32. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    Paul, how long are you planning to keep this TV for? If you intend to hang on to it for a while, I would suggest skipping Vizio, Westinghouse, etc and going upmarket for a Sony XBR8 series or a Samsung A950 series.

    What's your budget look like? Also, note that if you're only going to watch TV (meaning, no video games, no Blu-Ray) then you don't REALLY need a 1080p set. All HDTV is currently 720p or 1080i. 1080p TV channels, even on DirecTV, are a couple more years off.
     
  33. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Seems it was a cach issue with FireFox, works fine in IE. And yeah Paul you definatly want to grab this TV if you can.
    Samsung 40 in. (Diagonal) Class LCD Full HD (1080p) Television - Model LN40A500T1FXZA at Sears.com

    On the right side of the page there is a place you can plug in your zip code and see if there are any sears stores in your area that have it.
     
  34. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    So we found Paul a TV. Now let's see if we can find Alen a girlfriend or Hardcore a boyfriend! :knucks:
     
  35. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    And as far as the HD service goes.... Just call Direct TV and tell them that you just got an HDTV but are thinking of switching to Dish Network because they have great sign up stuff like free HD DVR's for new customers.

    Direct TV will hook you up with some kind of deal. Might even be free HD for 6 months or so.
     
  36. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Alen, well that might be hard, who would want that guy? But Hardcore, well, he will take just about anything so we should be able to take care of that by the end of the day.

    I say we just start googling "homeless men" has to be some eligible bachelors in there.
     
  37. dolphan117

    dolphan117 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    Wait, that cant be right, we just slammed Alen and Hardkor without making a lucky joke.

    Lucky we will find you a nice puppy, I would try to find you a human friend but some things are just not possible. Keep your head up though, cloning is on the way and then we program then to like you. :up:
     
  38. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    Or me might just pair Alen off with Hardcore. It's a match made in heaven!
     
  39. Vendigo

    Vendigo German Gigolo Club Member

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    Damn. You're right. I'll look for an inflatable doll on slickdeals. You check Amazon and Sears.
     
  40. NJFINSFAN1

    NJFINSFAN1 Premium Member Luxury Box

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    They won't screw you, they are pretty good, they want the business
     

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