shrippyshram

That's absolutely the lowest price I've ever seen on a 40" Sony LCD! And I've been tracking LCD prices for about a year. Crazy!

Sort of applicable to LCD projection. The image "dims" considerably as you get off-center-axis. Also, LCD projection offers really poor black level and contrast performance compared to other technologies. But they are also pretty darn cheap and offer fairly good performance in most other regards. So its just a matter of trade-off.

Is it in the ad? If its not in the ad, you can get there whenever you want. Early shoppers on BF have lazer-beam focus: they don't care what else is available or on sale, they are there for the model they came for. If it is in the ad, just not EB, you will be fine at 4am, unless you are in a pretty heavily populated area.

Makes sense. Retailers are trying to extend the madness to cover the whole weekend. I've heard rumblings about this happening at most of the big stores; the weekend ads will be "round 2."

If the number of people posting this question is a a sound metric, then it will be very popular indeed (even if its a hunk of junk).

You shouldn't expect the best deals to be online. Doorbusters, limited time deals, half-off specials--those types of things are known as "loss-leaders." They are intended to be sold at a loss just to drive people into the stores -- where they will presumably buy more stuff. Loss-leaders do most retailers no good online.

Concur. That Samsung TV is cheaper NOW at just about every other retailer, and Circuit City will have the same Panasonic plasma for $1999. CompUSA should stick their namesake... this is just embarassing.

You should be aware that you will have to sit about 3 feet away from a 1080p screen this size in order to be physically capable of discerning the difference between 720p and 1080p. Your eye is literally not physically capable of discerning the extra detail (it is far to fine) at any further distance.

Where's the "Nothing, their prices are too high and their advertised specials are garbage" option? For OP: every HDTV in the ad is a piece of crap. I tell you this because you seem to be viewing your purchase with a sense of "moment." Don't bother with the doorbusters, they suck. Save yourself the heartache and buy a good brand (Sharp, Sony, Samsung, Hitachi, Panasonic, Pioneer)--prices will probably still be better on BF than they are now, just not doorbuster good.

Do you actually have to have the coupon, or is the discount automatic? BTW: Thanks so much for offering to help!

The ad says that most deals will be available on THURSDAY at CircuitCity.com. So yeah, I'd say most will be online.

Those are both HD models. The Panasonic EDTV is the 42PD60U. Also, Panasonic doesn't make a consumer model that is 1080p. Any HDTV or EDTV will accept a 1080i signal, even if they then scale that signal down to the native resolution. And I guess I'm looking at a different ad than the rest of you, cause I ain't got no 13 pages... EDIT: Nevermind, found it. Not the one I got in the mail. If they are going to have the 42" for $1299, how much do you think the 37" model will go for? I've been looking for a 37" to 40" TV for the den.

Bah! Excludes electronics?! Idiotic...

Where did you see the $1299 price for that Panasonic plasma? Also, Panasonic is one of the best plasma brands you can get (at least that is widely available). Top plasma maker are (not necessarily in this order): Pioneer Panasonic NEC Fujitsu Runco

I don't think you can get the manufacturer's employee discount through a retailer. You can only get the retailer's employee discount -- but you have to work for the retailer. UNLESS Philips will reimburse you the amount of the discount. You should ask Philips before going to the store.

Agreed. To paraphrase Homer Simpson: "These deals are the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked. They suck!" TV deals are abysmal. Nothing in the 37"-40" range, and only a B-brand at 42". Craptrastic. EDIT: UGH! I just noticed that the one ray of light in their TV deals, the 42" Westinghouse, isn't the much acclaimed and well-rated 1080p model! And it ISN'T A TV: IT HAS NO TUNER! This isn't a deal, its a lure.

You are close to correct: Corning makes most of the raw material for plasma glass and LCD matrix (LCDs don't use glass) -- its generally called substrate. They supply this to the actual makers of the panels, who add in the circuitry and electronics. From Corning, its just glass and plastic; from the panel fabrication, its an LCD screen ready to be put into a TV. But Corning doesn't make what you and I would call a "screen." More like a "pane." As for what was wrong with your plasma, that is a totally incorrect. The word you're looking for is "pixels," and if you had a black BAND out on the screen, then it wasn't "burned out pixels," it was a problem with the control circuitry. Individuals pixels can go dead, but this is RANDOM (and good quality control limits this to generally 2% of the whole screen). If you have an organized PATTERN of dead pixels, then it is a man-made problem. It could be that the controller for that set of pixels died; in some models the controllers are actually part of the panel, meaning the whole panel would have to be replaced if one died (very inefficient design). If this were the case, it would be cheaper to get a new TV, as they told you.

Um, not true. 1) Samsung and Sony get their panels from S-LCD, which is a Sammy-Sony joint venture; 2) Sharp manufacturers their own panels; 3) LG and Phillips use panels by LG.Philips, their joint venture; 4) Toshiba makes their own panels; 5) Panasonic makes their own; 6) JVC makes their own. These makers do sell panels to other TV manufacturers (such as HP, Dell, Hitachi, etc). Additionally, lots of off-brand TV's feature panels made by 7) AU Optronics, 8) Chi Mei Industries, 9) Sansui, and 10) Tatung. And these are just the ones that I can think of off the top of my head. As for Insignia: there is no single manufacturer of Insignia TVs-- the different models are contracted individually. I have information that at least one is made by Tatung, and another by Toshiba, but I don't know which one. I highly, highly, highly doubt that Sony makes any of them.

What are the coupons like? I haven't received my H. book yet.

Re: Viewsonic I stand by the assertion: Viewsonic = third tier TV brand. Yes, they sell a lot of good PC monitors, but a good monitor is a far cry from a good TV. Across the board, Viewsonic TVs are inferior to Samsung, Sony, Sharp, Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, LG, and Philips televisions (on features, specs, image quality, and support). Re: Polaroid As for Polaroid, you can expect whatever you want by the use of the term "house brand." But the fact is CC has contracted with Polaroid as their provider of low-priced flat panel TVs. This relationship differs from an Ilo or an Insignia only in that it is not an exclusive contract relationship. But exclusivity is not the mark of a house brand; the actual markers are prominence, promotion, and price point, all by contract. Also, keep in mind that Insignia TVs are just rebranded Tatung and Hisense models, and Tatung/Hisense TVs are available from other sellers as well. In that sense, the BB-Insignia relationship isn't exclusive either, only the application of the Insignia trademark.

Only TVs up to 36 inches, which leaves out "big screen" TVs. Technically you could get a 32" flat panel (but remember, that's way too small for a living room TV). Aside: this new "TVs up to 36 inches" limitation on the rewards coupons is starting to tick me off. I get coupons from Circuit City all the time that are just good on TVs! When will BestBuy wise up?

Store brands (Insignia at BB, Polaroid at CC--yes, Polaroid is CC's house brand) are across the board inferior to the name brands, as are the third tier manufacturers (Vizio, Viewsonic, Syntax, Scepter). A Samsung, Sony, Sharp, Panasonic, LG, or Philips will always win in the performance and picture quality arena. There are many who think Westinghouse are the bee's knees (picture equal to First Tier, price equal to Third). But if you aren't nit-picky about image quality (I am), then you won't even notice, so there's no reason not to just jump on a good deal.

I thought I was the only one that consciously did that! I'll sometimes see a deal on Gottadeal and have to turn it down ("nope, its CC, and that tool in their TV department wouldn't leave me alone last week."). Gawd I wish there was a half-way decent alternative in my area...

I'm hoping to find some premium brand LCDs selling at a major discount this year. For instance, Samsung and Sony. If the rumor about the 42" Sharp for $1299 at BestBuy is true, CC might respond by dropping their own price (they are generally good for undercutting BB on TVs), or by dropping on a competing brand/model. But BB pricing doesn't help me this year, since I'll be at my mom's, and they only have a CC nearby!

Should have read the fine print. Their return policy clearly says that you have to return "free gift" items with your purchase. I can't link yet (not enough posts), but you can easily find it on their webpage under "Special Offer Returns." As for the no exchange policy: buy online but pick-up in store. It actually qualifies as an instore purchase and you get the instore return policy.