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Official Black Friday HDTV Discussion Thread

Brad

By Brad
in 2011

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shopping4my3son

shopping4my3son

Posted
Posted

On our list this year is a tv for our bedroom. We'd like to be able to watch Netflix on it. Are we better off getting an internet ready tv or purchasing a Roku box? We use a Roku in the living room for streaming and like it. We are looking at either a 26 or 32 inch that's wall mountable. So I was thinking the internet ready would be better since there isn't anywhere on the wall to add a Roku lol.

 

I was also hoping not to spend more than $300 and I've seen prices come down lately so that's good.

 

Advice?

 

Thanks.

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len_mullen

len_mullen

Posted
Posted

I would shop for a TV that pleases you for image quality. If you find one that includes internet toys, great. If not, get a BD player with that functionality. It'll be one more step to netflix, but compromising on image quality to get a TV in your price range with internet access is not a good compromise, IMHO.

 

That said, if you can go to $375, this might be a great TV for you...

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004M8SAMQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

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princess01

princess01

Posted
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what do you all think could possibly be the cheapest price a 32" LCD tv will come down to this year on bf? with some coming down to $199 this weekend, do you think they will drop even lower until bf or for bf? i am not too worried about the brand, etc. as it will be a bedroom tv that won't get a ton of useage, but i would love to surprise the hubby with a new one this year.
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racerfan

racerfan

Posted
Posted

what do you all think could possibly be the cheapest price a 32" LCD tv will come down to this year on bf? with some coming down to $199 this weekend, do you think they will drop even lower until bf or for bf? i am not too worried about the brand, etc. as it will be a bedroom tv that won't get a ton of useage, but i would love to surprise the hubby with a new one this year.

Last year Walmart had an Emerson for $198 so I am figuring there may be lower this year.

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JJMathes

JJMathes

Posted
Posted
We pulled the trigger on the $199 32" Westinghouse TVs from BestBuy yesterday for our kids' bedrooms. Great price for a decent bedroom TV - 1080P, plenty big for that small a space, and a decent number of inputs. Figure if anything cheaper happens to come along, we can always return them. The sad thing is that those TVs were really all we were planning on going out on Black Friday for - now we need to find a reason to stay up all night!
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stiltman

stiltman

Posted
Posted

Ok I keep hearing about the plasma hdtv's and it seems like most of ya'll have them. I have heard to many roumors about the life span of the plasmas and thought lcd was the way to go. Please help me:g_help: !!!!:confused: I'm in the market for a 55" to 60" and want the best bang for my buck. I was thinking of trying for a 55" lcd smart 3d for around the $1500 dollar mark. Do ya'll think I will need the 240hz or can I go with the 120hz. All the ones I have been looking at are 1080p so that wont make a differance. :eyepoppin

 

Now should I even bother with getting the smart/3D tv?? Please give me ya'lls personal opion on this matter as we are getting closer to the BIG day I want to know all my facts :smart:so I won't have to replace it in 2 years.

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nirvana4all

nirvana4all

Posted
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IMHO, very little difference you will see between 120 and 240hz.

I am holding off on 3D tv until they are glasses-less.

Dont worry about smart TV, get all the smart content delivery in you cheaper replaceable components (i.e. blu-ray player)...There will always be something new, and easier to replace $200 Blu-ray (or pass it to the kids) than a $1500 TV when you cant get the newest thing out.

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len_mullen

len_mullen

Posted
Posted

Ok I keep hearing about the plasma hdtv's and it seems like most of ya'll have them. I have heard to many roumors about the life span of the plasmas and thought lcd was the way to go. Please help me:g_help: !!!!:confused: I'm in the market for a 55" to 60" and want the best bang for my buck. I was thinking of trying for a 55" lcd smart 3d for around the $1500 dollar mark. Do ya'll think I will need the 240hz or can I go with the 120hz. All the ones I have been looking at are 1080p so that wont make a differance. :eyepoppin

 

Now should I even bother with getting the smart/3D tv?? Please give me ya'lls personal opion on this matter as we are getting closer to the BIG day I want to know all my facts :smart:so I won't have to replace it in 2 years.

You should post more information about your situation. How far will you sit from the set? Are there windows in the room? curtains? what is your budget? what do you watch? If you have $1000 to spend on a set that you will sit at least six feet from in a room with little glare, dell.com has a 60" 1080p set that will amaze you.
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Pnambic

Pnambic

Posted
Posted

Ok I keep hearing about the plasma hdtv's and it seems like most of ya'll have them. I have heard to many roumors about the life span of the plasmas and thought lcd was the way to go. Please help me:g_help: !!!!:confused: I'm in the market for a 55" to 60" and want the best bang for my buck. I was thinking of trying for a 55" lcd smart 3d for around the $1500 dollar mark. Do ya'll think I will need the 240hz or can I go with the 120hz. All the ones I have been looking at are 1080p so that wont make a differance. :eyepoppin

 

Now should I even bother with getting the smart/3D tv?? Please give me ya'lls personal opion on this matter as we are getting closer to the BIG day I want to know all my facts :smart:so I won't have to replace it in 2 years.

See the chart on the first page of this thread to determine if you'll even be able to see the difference between 720p and 1080p in your actual viewing environment. Don't waste your money on 1080p if you're not going to be able to actually tell the difference.

 

As to the life of these TV's, that's more dependent on the manufacturer than the type of screen. You can buy a cheap set from a no-name brand and hope to get 2 or 3 years out of it or you can buy a quality set from one of the big boys (Panasonic with Plasma's, Sony and Samsung with LCD's) and the set will most likely outlast its relevance. Panasonic's plasma panels are now good for 100,000 hours before their brightness falls to half of what it was originally. 100,000 hours is roughly 45 YEARS of watching TV 6 hours a day, or more than 11 YEARS of watching TV 24 hours a day. The way I figure, in 11 years, we'll have 4D smellovision and I'll be looking to replace the TV long before the screen is ready to die.

 

IMHO, 3D TV isn't worth spending money on right now. Its still in transition with several different competing methods in the market. The smart money is in waiting for the market to settle on a non-glasses or at least the non-active polarized glasses version in the theaters. Smart TV options are nice, but as mentioned, most Blu-Ray players will do this for you anyway. Plus, keep in mind that you still have to pay monthly access fees for much of what's available as "Smart" media.

 

From personal experience, I won't buy a large HDTV unless its a Panasonic Plasma. I know it will be a quality TV and if there's trouble, they'll take care of it. I've been there. They've done it. They've earned my loyalty.

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lkonkel

lkonkel

Posted
Posted
So, is there better TV deals on BF or Cyber monday??? Looking for a 40"-46" in LED LCD TV not sure how I would get it home if I did get one on BF and was wondering if I would be better to order one on Cyber Monday with a store with free shipping?
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Pnambic

Pnambic

Posted
Posted

I like LCD better than Plasma. IMHO it looks better. :gdbees:

Everyone is welcome to their opinion. Even if they ARE wrong....;)

It used to be popular opinion that the Earth was flat. We all know how that worked out....

 

Honestly, when you go with good quality, its not going to really matter one way or the other.

On the cheaper quality, 60hz LCD sets, you will see a difference.

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daftande

daftande

Posted
Posted

Here is my top wanted HDTVs of BF: (Im shopping online for BB and WM and doing in store @ Target)

1.) Sharp 42” 1080p LC42D69U $199 @ Best Buy Online (free ship)

2.) Westinghouse 40” $TBD @ Target (secret doorbuster item speculation?)

3.) Samsung 32” 720p 60Hz LN32D403 $264.09 @ Target w/ Redcard

4.) Element 40” 1080p 60Hz $251.75 @ Target w/ Redcard

5.) Emerson 40” 1080p 60Hz $248 @ Walmart Online

6.) Dynex 32” 720p $TBD ($140-190) @ Best Buy Online (free ship)

7.) Emerson 32” 720p 60Hz $188 @ Walmart Online

8.) Westinghouse 32” $TBD ($140-197?) @ Target (secret doorbuster item speculation?)

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mrn8

mrn8

Posted
Posted
Does anyone know if there's a noticeable power consumption difference between LCD and LED lit tvs? I know the difference between plasma and LCD, and though some say it's a huge increase, it's a large percentage, but the actual power consumption by either device really isn't that much.
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peppysfireball

peppysfireball

Posted
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It's not a lot according to my electric company. I went with led because it's led lights and lcd is flourescent which gives a slight color change. I was told it's 90% less power than plasma.

 

Does anyone know if there's a noticeable power consumption difference between LCD and LED lit tvs? I know the difference between plasma and LCD, and though some say it's a huge increase, it's a large percentage, but the actual power consumption by either device really isn't that much.

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Pnambic

Pnambic

Posted
Posted

Here's an interesting site...

 

90% doesn't seem to hold up to real life tests, though it does use less.... Trouble is, you're talking less than the average person is carrying in their wallet right now. Yeah, LED may use 50% of the electricity that plasma does, but over the course of a year, you're probably talking about a difference of $30. Not $30/mo - $30 over a year.

 

An important thing to take away from that page is how important it is to properly calibrate your TV.

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Pnambic

Pnambic

Posted
Posted

Generally speaking...if I type in a manufacturer's name and can't find a website (like Dynex) or at least not one in English, I run away.

If I find a website and it looks like a 7th grader made it....like Sceptre's, again, I run away.

 

As discussed, 60Hz is the bottom of the barrel. Sure, it shows you an image, even a moving one, but discerning people complain that it tends to blur heavy motion shots to a noticeable level when compared to 120Hz and better. Plasma's are generally 600Hz, plenty fast. But if you only use your TV to watch "The View" or "Good Morning America" with the occasional "Desperate Housewives" thrown in, 60Hz will probably be fine. If you intend to watch much in the way of sports - like hockey, baseball, soccer, things with fast moving objects - you may experience blur.

 

From the looks of that Sceptre's reviews, assuming all people, happy and mad, reviewed their purchase, you get about 1 in 8 that gave it a 1 or 2 star review. Compared to a similar sized Samsung at Walmart with more than 100 reviews, you get about 1 in 20 giving it a 1 or 2 star review.

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123abc

123abc

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Posted

Generally speaking...if I type in a manufacturer's name and can't find a website (like Dynex) or at least not one in English, I run away.

If I find a website and it looks like a 7th grader made it....like Sceptre's, again, I run away.

 

As discussed, 60Hz is the bottom of the barrel. Sure, it shows you an image, even a moving one, but discerning people complain that it tends to blur heavy motion shots to a noticeable level when compared to 120Hz and better. Plasma's are generally 600Hz, plenty fast. But if you only use your TV to watch "The View" or "Good Morning America" with the occasional "Desperate Housewives" thrown in, 60Hz will probably be fine. If you intend to watch much in the way of sports - like hockey, baseball, soccer, things with fast moving objects - you may experience blur.

 

From the looks of that Sceptre's reviews, assuming all people, happy and mad, reviewed their purchase, you get about 1 in 8 that gave it a 1 or 2 star review. Compared to a similar sized Samsung at Walmart with more than 100 reviews, you get about 1 in 20 giving it a 1 or 2 star review.

Thanks for your input. I will forward on to my girlfriend for her to decide what she wants.

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stiltman

stiltman

Posted
Posted
Ok here is a question. I am going to be getting a 3D hdtv this bf and I have noticed alot of places trying to sell " HIGH SPEED HDMI cables" is there really a differance in the hdmi cables or can I just get the ones from new egg or other sites that are really alot cheaper?
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NicM87

NicM87

Posted
Posted

So my TV died today (actually, its stuck in standby mode and won't turn on anymore). I have a Wal-Mart protection plan and they will be reimbursing me for the cost of the TV because it is not repairable.

 

Anyway, so I wasn't in the market for a TV this BF and now I am! I'm looking for a 32" to 46". Love the price of the $199 Sharp at BB but won't be standing in line for that. So I'm looking at these:

 

32" Emerson, Walmart, $188

40" Emerson, Walmart, $248

40" Element, Target, $265

46" Westinghouse, Target, $298

 

Can anyone give me any input on these? Are they worth the price or effort? Would you recommend one over the other? None at all?

 

Thanks SO much. :)

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Pnambic

Pnambic

Posted
Posted

Ok here is a question. I am going to be getting a 3D hdtv this bf and I have noticed alot of places trying to sell " HIGH SPEED HDMI cables" is there really a differance in the hdmi cables or can I just get the ones from new egg or other sites that are really alot cheaper?

get your cables from newegg, or even better monoprice.com there is no real difference....oh, yes there is, there is monoprice will get me a 50ft HDMI cable for around the same price bestbuy will charge for a 6ft one.

+1 on Monoprice. I've bought all my cables there for years now.

 

As discussed here many times, with the analog component and composite cables (reddish/blue/green/red/white and yellow/red/white), the quality of the cable made a difference. But with digital signals such as those used in HDMI, it doesn't matter near as much. When it's digital, it's just sending ones and zeroes. It doesn't matter how strong or weak the one or zero is as long as it gets there. And the loss rate on even the worst HDMI cables is sufficient for distances of 15 ft or less.

 

There are several versions of HDMI though. The newest standard is 1.4, so when you're shopping, make sure you get HDMI 1.4.

This one should serve you well (assuming you don't need the cable longer than 6ft).

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stiltman

stiltman

Posted
Posted
Ok now heres another brain tickler..... I want everything in the wall. Im bulding a fake wall in the livingroom (I have the space and the equipment will be recessed in the wall also) Now what I want to do is put wall jacks in for composit, component, hdmi, speakers and so on. Now I want to put a jack down low where the equipment is and a jack behind the tv up higher. So there will be a very short cable going from the (i.e. xbox 360, ps3, blu-ray...) to the wall jack..... and then there will be a cable INSIDE the wall going up to the wall jack behind the tv..... and then a very short cable from the wall jack to the tv. How much signal will i lose in doing this or is there a better way. Im trying to put extra jacks in for addtional equipment that will come down the line. Please understand I have ALOT of equipment to install so there will be close to a mile or maybe more of cords and I want it to look really clean!!!!
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mrn8

mrn8

Posted
Posted
Stiltman, that will work great. I've set up 4 conference rooms at work that way and Blu-Ray looks great set up that way. We have all the A/V equipment in a small cabinet, it connects to jacks mounted in wall plates, and then connects for that plate up to the TV. Another option you could look into is using an A/V Receiver and only running one cable to and from your TV, then everything else connects through the receiver. I think that would be a lot cleaner of an approach.
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stiltman

stiltman

Posted
Posted
sorry Im doing that too. I will have the 5-7 componet cables going to a reciver box then the reciver box 1 wireto the wall. Same with all the composit and hdmi and speakers. ( Speakers will have a switch box so I can pipe music to the master bedroom and bathroom and also outside. Then I will be able to turn on/off any aera in the house with 1 button
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