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Calgary25951 Posts
I'm clueless when it comes to TV technology. I haven't owned a TV... ever. Since I moved out of my parents' house, I've always had a roommate with a decent TV to use. My new roommates have some 27" TV that gets the job done, but I've been dreaming of a nice big screen for awhile. Unfortunately, because black Friday is tomorrow, I don't have enough time to research all this. So here is my criteria:
- Price doesn't matter.
- Reasonable picture quality - I'm not a "resolution purest", so I will probably not notice a difference between 720p and 1080p. I don't think I want to drop down to 480i/p though.
- Good value - I'm not driving to the States to get 2% off. The one I pick should be a great deal.
- Lasting power - I don't want to have to replace this in a year. This should last at least 5 years before I feel I should upgrade.
- Other - The TV will be 10' from the seating area. I think 40" is the lowest I'd want to go. So far I only have one HDMI input to worry about, but 3 would be nice. Also, I'd like to be able to hook up a laptop to the TV, so SVideo or composite in would be nice.
Basically if you have any adivce regarding high-end TVs, please send it because I have no clue.
Here are the options from random black Friday ads in the cities I'll be travelling to:
LCD TVs
Dynex 37" (720p) $629.99 @ Best Buy
HP 42" (1080p) $996.99 @ Best Buy
Olevia 37" (720p) $549 @ Target
Sharp Aquos 46" (720p) $999.99 @ Sears
Sony Bravia W-Series 40" (1080p) $1399.99 @ Sears
Sylvania 42" (1080p) $899.99 @ Sears
Vizio 52" (1080p) $1,889 @ Sams Club
Westinghouse 47" (1080p) $1,299.99 @ Best Buy
LG 47" 1080p HDTV $1499.00 @ Best Buy
Plasma TVs
Panasonic 42" $899 @ Best Buy
Samsung 50" $1,399.99 @ Best Buy
Or alternatively, if you think I should wait and go with none of these deals, please explain why. Thanks! I have about 14 hours to make a decision.
 
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Calgary25951 Posts
Nevermind this link was from 2006 ;X
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Taiche
France1963 Posts
Samsung for LCD, definitely. I own a 37" Samsung R86 and it's so great (and all tests agree on that) 
I don't know about Samsung's plasmas, though.
However, if you have 10' between your TV and your seat, I'd suggest you don't take a TV bigger than 40". 10' is exactly what I have too and 37 is perfect. Forget about >45" TVs, it will hurt your eyes.
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I have a 42" Samsung DLP, and I'm extremely happy with it. Not that you have even mentioned DLP - but more so of Samsung. I am really happy with their tvs and all their plasmas that I see in stores also look extremely good.
LCDs look nice but generally they are smaller. They are just now starting to really push their size consistently over 40 or so inches and are kind of expensive. If I personally had to make the decision of LCD vs Plasma I would go with a Plasma right now.
If you really aren't a tech buff though and can't notice the difference and don't wish to hang it on your wall, then let me suggest to you the DLP. Not only does it look very nice, its also going to last a lot longer because all you have to replace is a bulb when things start going bad.
Anyway, happy shopping. I think the best thing to do is just go to a store and look around for what you like. If you are serious about getting one and price isn't really a factor then it shouldn't chap your ass if you miss out on a 100$ saving somewhere. Plus most stores will price match if you find something similar, I know I got $150 knocked off the price of my tv about 2 weeks after I bought it.
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On November 23 2007 01:18 Taiche wrote:Samsung for LCD, definitely. I own a 37" Samsung R86 and it's so great (and all tests agree on that) I don't know about Samsung's plasmas, though. However, if you have 10' between your TV and your seat, I'd suggest you don't take a TV bigger than 40". 10' is exactly what I have too and 37 is perfect. Forget about >45" TVs, it will hurt your eyes.
just wow, No > 45 !! ? !
Bigger is always better 
I was hoping to one day own this this
103" PLASMA FTW, and its only 70k, how can you beat that??
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8748 Posts
I'm not impressed with the deals. The fatwallet link shows the specific models for sale and they're old models. Online dealers offer similar, and in some cases lower, deals. And the online dealers are legitimate dealers with warranties, decent return policies, etc. The only advantage to buying in-person is that you can easily return a TV you are unsatisfied with, but how easy will it be for you if you are travelling just to buy it?
Honestly there is a lot of stuff to be aware of when buying a TV. The picture quality (PQ) is a big one and it has a lot of factors playing into it. The PQ will be different depending on your source -- PC inputs, standard def, high def (different resolutions on high def). And the PQ will fail at different things, basically it'll either show inaccurate colors when it's bright or will have artificial blacks when it's dark (or both). Also you might just have a preference between LCD and plasma so it'd be helpful if you could go to a store and look and cross one off if you can. Another thing to be aware of is what kind of inputs it has. You need to add up all the things you could ever imagine yourself connecting to the TV and see if it can handle it all, otherwise you'll be in the very annoying position of having to switch things out. If you don't have sound system waiting for it, how good is the built-in sound? Some TV's have inexplicably crappy built-in speakers. Does it have a built-in tuner? What kind? Do you know what kind you need at your home? Some TV's aren't TV's at all, they're simply "displays" because they don't have a TV tuner.
So what I'm suggesting is that you probably shouldn't buy a TV unless all the stars align and you find a deal that you've checked against Google's product search, Amazon, nextag.com and it still holds AND that deal is of a TV that you've read a review on and you know it has all the features you require and performs well in the areas you'll be using it for AND once you get to the store, it looks good to your eye.
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8748 Posts
Oh I see now that you provided an old link. Wellll I'd still like to see specific models of the 2007 deals ;o
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intrigue
Washington, D.C9931 Posts
rated a 1, would read again
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On November 23 2007 01:30 yubee wrote:
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i thought you were gettin that halo/tv deal you pmed me about a while back?
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Holy shit, tv's are cheap in the US.
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Calgary25951 Posts
On November 23 2007 03:27 Hawk wrote:
i thought you were gettin that halo/tv deal you pmed me about a while back?
I was but I bitched out at the last second because I wasn't confident in that TV's reviews. This time I'm 100% going into the US for this.
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Have you checked this slickdeals thread out? Seems popular and you can order online for $30-$50 shipping.
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=663295
The Samsung 40" ships for free according to the OP. Perhaps you can read some of the comments and see what's the best deal there.
edit: Frys.com, the site selling the TVs, is getting hammered right now. It was working fine yesterday.
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Vizio 52" (1080p) $1,889 @ Sams Club
Ladainian Tomlinson has one I think you should too, plus its a 52' with great picture.
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Well first off to pick the size measure the distance from your coutch where your head is to where you think the tv screen would be and divide that by 2 and you get your suggested tv screen size in inches of course
Most say under 40 inches across the diangol is not worth it to buy a HD tv
and as far as 720 1080 goes you can get i for interlanced progressive scan isnt always an option in tv mostly for gaming 1080p is recomended for ps3 and 720p is recomended for xbox 360 and you cant buy tv's without looking at them the best test to see quality is the self test where you just look at it.
but you would only want progressive scan for things with alot of movement helps to prevent lateral tearing of the picture in movtion becuase of the smaller blank bars.
but yeah i mean you have to see what the ports are on the tv how many HDMI slots are there usually it takes 2 to be happy 3 is recomended
soo many things to go over but really i cant go over them all got to get the turkey shoved full of bread and stuff then in the oven
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Calgary25951 Posts
Okay I'm leaving soon. Wish me luck :D
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/457588/2/istockphoto_457588_old_television.jpg)
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