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With Circuit City going out of business I think I'm going to head over there this weekend and finally make the leap to HDTV. Unfortunately their website is down so I can't get a look at what they have. I'm looking for something for gaming and sports, basically. But I'm not looking to spend over $1,000. Any tips/hints/words of advice?

If you're still looking for one, check out Best Buy instead. They'll have some decent HDTVs on sale starting this Sunday. For example, they'll have a Sony 42-inch 1080p 120hz LCD for $999.99 (it will be on the cover of the weekly ad). If you're looking for a plasma instead, there will be a Panasonic 42-inch 1080p for the same price. Or you could just get the 46-inch right now for the same price. If you want the 46-inch plasma, you'll want to get it soon, because it's pictured in Sunday's ad at a higher price.

 

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I know sears has one of the better plasmas on sale for $899 thru Saturday if your store has it (in a similar deal, my BB doesnt have the 46 inch..BOO) but I might have to take a look at the Sony for $1000 at BB considering they're running 3 years no interest and I already have a BB account.

 

EDIT: Best Buy is wrong about the Sony though, its not 120hz if its a kdl42v4100 which is the V Series Bravia. Im not touching a LCD thats not 120 hz.

 

 

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It's my understanding people with cable (digital or analogue) are unaffected by this DTV thing, so who the hell cares? If you hate TV that much that you're will to watch it OTA, you don't need a converter. If you did, you could have got a coupon for a free one 6 years ago (seems that way, anyway).

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It's my understanding people with cable (digital or analogue) are unaffected by this DTV thing, so who the hell cares? If you hate TV that much that you're will to watch it OTA, you don't need a converter. If you did, you could have got a coupon for a free one 6 years ago (seems that way, anyway).

 

Actually, all of the few people I know who still get their TV through OTA got their converters quite a while ago, and these aren't big TV watching people...so I can't fathom that some people still haven't taken care of it. And you are correct in that cable and satellite customers (I believe roughly 75% of the US population) are essentially unaffected by the switchover.

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Im kinda back and forth between these two tvs

 

Samsung 40 inch 120 HZ

 

LG 42 inch 120 hz

 

The Samsung is $1199 and qualifies for the 200 NFL Rebate. The LG is $1299 and comes with an X Box 360 Pro console which I would likely flip back on Ebay for $200 (?) making the price cheaper than the Samsung for 2 inches more. I looked at both and they looked pretty much the same, and my best buy had neither in stock BUT the store in Dover has both and as an advantage I'd save about $70 in sales tax. Decisions..decisions..blah

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Eh, screw the people who aren't ready for the DTV transition. There's no good excuse for not being ready. Most of the people who aren't ready are probably the stubborn type who won't do a damn thing until their TV goes dark.

 

 

Best Buy is wrong about the Sony though, its not 120hz if its a kdl42v4100 which is the V Series Bravia. Im not touching a LCD thats not 120 hz.

Yeah, the KDL42V4100 is the one in the ad. It's pictured next to a 46-inch LCD, which is also advertised as 120hz. I'm guessing someone screwed up and that the 120hz feature was only supposed to apply to the 46-inch.

Edited by Deke Can't Read

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So is "120hz" going to be the new justification for not lowering prices fast enough.

 

It seems like most mid-level HDTV sets are ready to start dropping below $1000 but now with 120hz being the hot new thing, it seems it is going to automatically add at least $200 to the price of the TV regardless of the model.

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So is "120hz" going to be the new justification for not lowering prices fast enough.

 

It seems like most mid-level HDTV sets are ready to start dropping below $1000 but now with 120hz being the hot new thing, it seems it is going to automatically add at least $200 to the price of the TV regardless of the model.

120 hz isn't whats adding to the cost of the tv, its the processing power needed to create the extra frames inserted that aren't there via a process called Temporal Interpolation. The more horsepower the tv has, the better this will be and the better the smootness of the video will be, not even including each companies' anti-judder processes which have an effect as well.

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It does seem like the prices are kind of stuck for right now, with the recent advent of the 1080p and 120 hz features. I would like to upgrade from our Mitsubishi 48" rear projection set eventually (mainly because it's a bit too large for our current living room, and 1080p would be nice since we have a PS3 now). I just can't see spending over a grand yet for a reputable set with those features at this point. The other problem is that it seems like you can't give away an HD-ready rear pro set at this point, even one that is in excellent working condition and barely five years old...and we don't have anywhere else to put that TV set. I've tried craigslist and junk like that...seems like at best I have gotten a couple "tire kicker" responses from people that never bother to follow up after I answer their questions.

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Im kinda back and forth between these two tvs

 

Samsung 40 inch 120 HZ

 

LG 42 inch 120 hz

 

The Samsung is $1199 and qualifies for the 200 NFL Rebate. The LG is $1299 and comes with an X Box 360 Pro console which I would likely flip back on Ebay for $200 (?) making the price cheaper than the Samsung for 2 inches more. I looked at both and they looked pretty much the same, and my best buy had neither in stock BUT the store in Dover has both and as an advantage I'd save about $70 in sales tax. Decisions..decisions..blah

What's your budget? $1100? Amazon.com has the Samsung LN46A630 on sale for $1300. Is the NFL shop rebate through samsung or best buy? Plus I don't know if your state qualifies for sales tax through amazon, but I think it's free white glove shipping, which is nice.

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Really, no one should get a TV from anywhere but Amazon. HDTVs are a lot cheaper, no tax in most states, shipping is usually free, and they bring it into your house and plop it right on your TV stand for you.

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Really, no one should get a TV from anywhere but Amazon. HDTVs are a lot cheaper, no tax in most states, shipping is usually free, and they bring it into your house and plop it right on your TV stand for you.

I can drive 1 hr into delaware and not pay sales tax at Best Buy (I could go to Wal Mart or Sears in 1/2 that time as well). The trip maybe burns at most 3 gallons of gas for me, but the idea of it being much easier to return the tv is the key. If I were to buy it in DE at BB I can get Best Buy to come and get it if its bad like they did with the tv that I have now (blew up like 3 days after I bought it and they came and replaced it for free and put the new one up too).

 

and as much as Id like a 46 inch tv, I dont think I have the room for it. 42 is about the biggest I can go (I know, it stinks) given the measurements of the stand I have which is as big as it can be and I cant put it on a wall (which I honestly think looks stupid anyway..).

 

 

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Really, no one should get a TV from anywhere but Amazon. HDTVs are a lot cheaper, no tax in most states, shipping is usually free, and they bring it into your house and plop it right on your TV stand for you.

and as much as Id like a 46 inch tv, I dont think I have the room for it. 42 is about the biggest I can go (I know, it stinks) given the measurements of the stand I have which is as big as it can be and I cant put it on a wall (which I honestly think looks stupid anyway..).

Samsung is the best for LCDs. I would go with that one. My friend has the 46" 630 and it's nice. Plus, there's a 10% off coupon from BB floating around the internet. Google it or go to slickdeals.net and search for it. I think it expires at the end of the month though.

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CNN Money has posted an informative article about what happens at liquidation sales. Some of the people quoted are fairly critical, but even the liquidation company execs that are quoted admit that a liquidation sale doesn't exist for the benefit of the consumer. Here are the highlights.

 

* "Consumers think this is the time for bargains. That's not true."

* The CEO of one of the Circuit City liquidators says they'll need a "fairly sizeable" profit to help Circuit City repay its creditors. He says, "We want to make sure everything is fairly priced. Do we get it right every time? No."

* Deeper discounts usually appear as the sale continues. (One tipster told us we can expect approximately 10% discounts each Wednesday in the Circuit City liquidation.)

* "You'll get the absolute best prices a week before [a retailer's] liquidation sale start."

* Many liquidators will do everything they can to hide the fact that an item is refurbished, returned, or a floor model. Some will even fold other merchandise into the store's inventory to try to sell.

* "In truth, consumers dictate the discounts. If products aren't selling, we'll go deeper."

 

CNN Article

 

The truth will set you free.

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I just dread the thought of buying a brand new TV and if something is wrong with it, having basically no recourse to get it fixed other than going through the manufacturer.

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I saw this posted on Fatwallet and decided, Fuck it, Im going to get it.

 

I have a $50 Amazon gift card knocking the price down to $1300. 61 inch DLP at 120 HZ from Samsung + the $200 NFL rebate. I'll just have to buy a new stand.

 

My folks have a similar model. The colour reproduction is phenomenal, it's one of the best SD engines there is, but sports are incredibly noisy, almost like watching a snowy analogue signal. Still (I didn't click the link, I'm assuming), the LED bulb lasts, obviously, vastly longer than a traditional DLP.

 

That is a really good deal, though, even if 61 inches seems like way too much TV for me.

 

Edit: I suppose the 120hz could correct that problem quite a bit.

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I just dread the thought of buying a brand new TV and if something is wrong with it, having basically no recourse to get it fixed other than going through the manufacturer.

 

I had the same thought when I was looking at Amazon yesterday. Similarly, Canadian Tire has a special buy on a 40" LCD. It's only 1080i, but it's $599, which is a steal. But the brand is Hisense, who I have never heard of. My google result yielded a site from Australia. I suppose I could look into it a little further, but Australia? That's unsettling.

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Yeah...I'd stay away from a "no name brand" like that, unless you just have 600 bucks to blow and don't care what you're getting. Better to save up and spend a couple hundred more to at least get something you've heard of, I'd think.

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It does seem like the prices are kind of stuck for right now, with the recent advent of the 1080p and 120 hz features. I would like to upgrade from our Mitsubishi 48" rear projection set eventually (mainly because it's a bit too large for our current living room, and 1080p would be nice since we have a PS3 now). I just can't see spending over a grand yet for a reputable set with those features at this point. The other problem is that it seems like you can't give away an HD-ready rear pro set at this point, even one that is in excellent working condition and barely five years old...and we don't have anywhere else to put that TV set. I've tried craigslist and junk like that...seems like at best I have gotten a couple "tire kicker" responses from people that never bother to follow up after I answer their questions.

 

 

Yeah, I have a 46" I am going to be trying to sell when I am ready to get the new tv set and the only person remotely interested is my Mom and that's merely because it's a big TV, she can careless about "HD" LOL. The TV I have I bought for $999 and it came with a free upconvert DVD player and this was back in 2005, so you'd think the next step up in technology would be at least THAT price by now, but most models at the same size are still a few hundred dollars higher w/o factoring in any type of warranty.

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I just dread the thought of buying a brand new TV and if something is wrong with it, having basically no recourse to get it fixed other than going through the manufacturer.

 

I had the same thought when I was looking at Amazon yesterday. Similarly, Canadian Tire has a special buy on a 40" LCD. It's only 1080i, but it's $599, which is a steal. But the brand is Hisense, who I have never heard of. My google result yielded a site from Australia. I suppose I could look into it a little further, but Australia? That's unsettling.

 

I haven't heard of them and I live here.

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I take that back, I saw one in store today. Seemed noisier than the Panasonic next to it.

 

Anyone play normal DVD's in a Blu-Ray player? I was going to get a normal DVD player with HDMI, but figured since I could get my hands on some Blu-Ray discs rather cheap, I may as well spring for a Blu-Ray player. Would there be any difference with the upscaling between a normal HDMI DVD player and a Blu-Ray player with standard discs?

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A Blu-Ray player should upscale just as well as an upconverting DVD player. Actually my PS3 seems to make regular DVDs look better over an HDMI connection than my old Zenith upconverting player did over component video.

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Yeah...I'd stay away from a "no name brand" like that, unless you just have 600 bucks to blow and don't care what you're getting. Better to save up and spend a couple hundred more to at least get something you've heard of, I'd think.

 

I don't entirely agree, but you're more right than wrong. A buddy of mine has a house brand TV, which we talked about last weekend. If, say, 2 or 3 Samsung or Sony's die within manufacturer's warranty, compared to say, 15-20 Prima's or Cineplus - he's still got an 80% chance of a working set in a year. What I didn't quite get happened pretty often at Best Buy: Someone would spend 800 bucks on a Dynex, then happily drop 200 or 300 on the extended warranty, rather than spending 850 or 900 on a reputable brand. That seemed a little ridiculous to me.

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