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* Official Black Friday TV / HDTV Thread *


ozziebandit

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Are Black Friday sale items like the Toshiba 51HC85 able to be price-matched? If so, then I could save myself having to get in line early in the morning to try and get one of theses HD sets next Friday and go to Sears or Best Buy now and buy it. This seems to easy to do, so I am guessing there is something in the fine print on Black Friday sales that say no price matching.
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Guest waltchan

Even though Toshiba does have some models that are Orion, there are still some sets that are true Toshiba made with the quailty. If you want Orion buy Orion.

Only the rear-projection (including the 51HC85), DLP, LCD (sized 27" and above), and plasma TVs are still made by Toshiba. All Toshiba CRT tube televisions, regardless of what size and price, are now made by Orion. All Toshiba LCD televisions sized 23" and under are either made by LG Electronics or Orion. If you have never heard of Orion, Orion is the maker of the low-cost Broksonic, Durabrand, some Insignia, Memorex, Orion, and Sansui brands in Thailand. Toshiba has a really strong alliance with Orion for its production capability.
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A dumb question: what is HDMI input? I plan to buy a TV and trying my best to educate myself.

The major benefit to HDMI is that it allows you to have one cable that will carry audio and video signals rather than other HDTV formats that have separate audio and video cables. Most of the newer upscale HDTVs have more than one HDMI input.

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Hello! I'm still looking for some consensus...is the 26" Westinghouse at Best Buy a decent screen or what? I just need it for my bedroom. I don't have HDTV yet, but may upgrade in the future. I just want it to hang on the wall and play my DVDs, my satellite and the odd VHS from time to time. Don't want anything fancy, just a decent picture. I've seen some conflicting reviews of Westinghouse stuff online and I'm hoping someone can clear it up a bit.

 

Thanks!

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Guest waltchan

Hello! I'm still looking for some consensus...is the 26" Westinghouse at Best Buy a decent screen or what? I just need it for my bedroom. I don't have HDTV yet, but may upgrade in the future. I just want it to hang on the wall and play my DVDs, my satellite and the odd VHS from time to time. Don't want anything fancy, just a decent picture. I've seen some conflicting reviews of Westinghouse stuff online and I'm hoping someone can clear it up a bit.

 

Thanks!

The Westinghouse 26" is a HDTV.
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plasma tvs die after 5 years of use, uve been warned

I'd like to chime in with another opinion regarding plasma TVs, at least those produced by Panasonic. This was cut and pasted from a white paper from a reputable source.

"Television manufacturers base the projected life of all TVs on “half brightness,” meaning the time it takes for the display to create an image that’s only half as bright as when the TV was new. The three-CRT rear projector is generally rated at 15,000 hours until half-brightness. Direct-view CRTs are generally rated to 30,000 hours. Panasonic plasmas have a half brightness rating of 60,000 hours – four times the life of CRT rear projection. This equates to more than twenty-three years at seven hours a day viewing, around the average daily TV viewing time per U.S. household."

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Are Black Friday sale items like the Toshiba 51HC85 able to be price-matched? If so, then I could save myself having to get in line early in the morning to try and get one of theses HD sets next Friday and go to Sears or Best Buy now and buy it. This seems to easy to do, so I am guessing there is something in the fine print on Black Friday sales that say no price matching.

 

This is a great question. Im actually on hold right now with my local best buy...trying to get an answer to this question. And the verdict is in....NO. They do no price matching or returns or anything during the Black Friday sale. They will not price match the following day for the previous day's price. :(

 

Of course, you may as well call your local BB to see if they say differently. If they do, be sure the info came from the store manager. Don't know if I would want to hang my hat on something like that.

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This is a great question. Im actually on hold right now with my local best buy...trying to get an answer to this question. And the verdict is in....NO. They do no price matching or returns or anything during the Black Friday sale. They will not price match the following day for the previous day's price. :(

 

Of course, you may as well call your local BB to see if they say differently. If they do, be sure the info came from the store manager. Don't know if I would want to hang my hat on something like that.

Your post says price matching the following day for the previous days price. That means to me, going there on the Saturday after Black Friday and getting Black Friday's price. I want to go to Sears now and pay whatever the price is currently, and then on Black Friday go there in the morning(not 6AM) and get it price matched at the current Black Friday price. Is this what you asked Best Buy, and they said no?

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Your post says price matching the following day for the previous days price. That means to me, going there on the Saturday after Black Friday and getting Black Friday's price. I want to go to Sears now and pay whatever the price is currently, and then on Black Friday go there in the morning(not 6AM) and get it price matched at the current Black Friday price. Is this what you asked Best Buy, and they said no?

 

Yes...this is what I asked...and they said no. They will not price match that day. So if you buy now, go in on Friday, they will not do a price match. The salesperson I spoke to initially said that they may do it the following day for the Black Friday price, but she double checked and then said NO. So, you're out of luck if you buy now. Guess we're doomed to stand in line all night long freezing our butts off. :D

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I just stopped by WalMart on my lunch break to take a look around. The only 42" ED plasma TV they have at my local store is the Tatung ILO $@" ED plasma display. I like the ILO stuff so I hope that's what they have on friday. Has anyone found anything more aobut which 42" plasma Walmart will have for $1000? Also, if you're looking for the 26" ILO LCD TV it's $696 right now which is the BF price. I also didn't see the 15" Polaroid TV there, they only had a Sanyo 15" with 1024x768 res and 300:1 contrast ratio. The only number I could see was on the tag CLT1554. It's currently $297 and I'd prefer this to the polaroid probably, and the BF ad does say "model may vary by store". Just thought I'd share what I saw.
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The polaroind is HD resolution at 1280x768 wtih 400:1 contrast ratio. I would bet that the 20" LCD is high def resolution as well. Here's a link to some info on the polaroid: (I'mn new so add www. in front of it)

circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetailReview.do?oid=119184&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&BV_SessionID=@@@@1626780189.1132264341@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccchaddgfffgjhlcfngcfkmdffhdfko.0

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Any Best Buy folks know how many of these TVs (the Maxent 42" Plasma) Best Buy is going to have?

If you can afford it, PLEASE spend a few more bucks and buy a better plasma. The $999 Maxent at BB is gonna be drek; there's a reason they will have it for that price. I'n not just saying that because it's inexpensive; this TV has gotten horrible reviews. It the other Maxent at Costco that';s gotten great reviews because of it's Panny guts.

 

A pretty good deal at BB right now is to find a LG/Zenith z42px2d (BB might have to order it from their warehouse); they are on on clearance for $1599, and you can use the 15% off coupon (expires 11/19) found on the main TV paige on bestbuy.com to get the cost down to $1360. Not a great TV, but a pretty dasm good TV that's gotten some very favorable notices, plus it has tons of bells and whistles like QAM and CCslot. Yes, it's only an EDTV.

 

I think the best deals on plasmas and big LCDs are gonna be at the small and medium sized regional chains. Based on current pricing and trends and talking to salesmen in the NJ area, I'd expect to see:

 

Sharp 37d5u : $1799

Panny 37px50u: $1999

Panny 42pd50u: $1499-1599

Westy 37w1: $1399-1499

Philips 42pf7320a: $1799

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That Zenith plasma edtv is a great tv in my opinion if you can find it, has more features than some of the panny edtvs it was competing with, with an extremely good picture. One of the top edtvs on the market, discontinued or not. A great option for someone who wants to play dvds and won't have many HD channels for a while (like those of us waiting for free directv hd tivo upgrades), though HD looks pretty darn good on the zenith and panny edtvs too.

 

There is no comparison between the pictures of these better edtvs and the 999 ones I am afraid to say, or with the number and type of inputs in most cases.

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That Zenith plasma edtv is a great tv in my opinion if you can find it, has more features than some of the panny edtvs it was competing with, with an extremely good picture. One of the top edtvs on the market, discontinued or not.

The Zenith has to be ordered from the warehouse, as it seems NO BBs have them in-stock (I was shocked to find one NIB at a BB in CT, so I grabbed it for my in-laws, as the NJ wrehouse was completely OOS and we hoped to avoid the hassle of a transfer fromanother district).

 

Have a HT salesdude check their warehouse inventory; if they have some, ordering it should get it into the store in 3-4 days. If the warehouse for the area is OOS and the salesdude says he can't get one for you, you have to speak to the store's Inventory Manager, who can then have one transferred from another district. As of last Saturday, there were still a bunch available in the New England District; IIRC it's district 38 or 39(?).....

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I bought the Zenith last night. A local BB had 2 in stock + the display unit (Cary NC). The price is now lower $1499 less 15% and a $100 rebate. Watching it right now, great picture. Previous posts are correct - lots of bells/whistles for this price point.
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I bought the Zenith last night. A local BB had 2 in stock + the display unit (Cary NC). The price is now lower $1499 less 15% and a $100 rebate. Watching it right now, great picture. Previous posts are correct - lots of bells/whistles for this price point.

Thanks for letting me know! I'll do a PM/BVG tomorrow; that's almost 200 bucks back.

 

Was that $100 rebate the one being offered on all HDTVs? I was wondering when I saw the rebate advertised if it would now print for this TV, even tho it's ED not HD.......

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Is this an LCD? I'd be very interested. Is it an HD ready? When it's HD ready vs. HD how much extra will I have to pay to get the HD picture?

No, not an LCD, it's a CRT (big and bulky, guessing around 125 pounds). Yes, it is HD ready. HD local channels via an antenna are free; cable/satellite companies usually charge ~$10 extra/month.

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Any Best Buy folks know how many of these TVs (the Maxent 42" Plasma) Best Buy is going to have?

I disagree with everyone else, i went last night and checked out the tv personally. I mean Its not quite as clear as the hdtvs but that was expected. And hell all i have right now is a 19" 1902 POS! so the 42" maxent plasma will do way more than i could ever want.

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Illusion,

I was going to wait until midnight to get into line but since you'll be there at 10PM, I guess I better be there by 9:55PM. :-) Actually, I live in Maryland rather than Texas and I still think that 12AM will be a good time to start with my folding lawnchair, sleeping bag, notebook, spare batteries, headphones, and DVDs. I just hope that its warmer than the 35 degrees that it is right now. I've just gotta get my hands on the BB Magnavox 42" Plasma.

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I disagree with everyone else, i went last night and checked out the tv personally. I mean Its not quite as clear as the hdtvs but that was expected. And hell all i have right now is a 19" 1902 POS! so the 42" maxent plasma will do way more than i could ever want.

I also went to BB earlier tonight. The Maxent 42" ED plasma TV had HORRIBLE quality. It would've been unbearable for meto watch it had I bought it. It is a complete waste of time. I also looked at the 26" maxent LCD screen. If you're looking for a 26" HD TV for $500, then this is the screen to buy. Great looking picture, no blurring duing fast movment, and decent contrast. The blacks weren't perfect, but they were good. I am probably going to get this TV for my living room for now and upgrade later. This thing was really nice. I'm going to go to sears to check out that Protron 32" lcd TV. I'm stl curious if the 42" ED plasma at walmart is teh ILO. If so I'll probably try to get that, but Im waiting in line at BB, so I'll but the 26" maxent and then return it if I'm able to get that walmart plasma later. It looked quite a bit better than the BB plasma, but the walmart one had horrible signal so it was harder to tell the quality of it. I'll have to look into it more once we find out which plasma it is at walmart. I hust thought I'd share my thoughts. Now I wish I knew which digi cam to buy. Looking for advice if you look at the camera thread.

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Illusion,

I was going to wait until midnight to get into line but since you'll be there at 10PM, I guess I better be there by 9:55PM. :-) Actually, I live in Maryland rather than Texas and I still think that 12AM will be a good time to start with my folding lawnchair, sleeping bag, notebook, spare batteries, headphones, and DVDs. I just hope that its warmer than the 35 degrees that it is right now. I've just gotta get my hands on the BB Magnavox 42" Plasma.

haha i understand totally! Im soo excited now!

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I also went to BB earlier tonight. The Maxent 42" ED plasma TV had HORRIBLE quality. It would've been unbearable for meto watch it had I bought it.

All im looking for is something BIG and something Flat that i can hang on my wall. I dont care what the quality is, im rarely home anyway. Just when i am, i want to be able to see the tv instead of my 19" tv i have now. Im only 19 years old and i have a budget, and this tv fits that budget! Especially when i just lost my job.:cool:

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A dumb question: what is HDMI input? I plan to buy a TV and trying my best to educate myself.

HDMI is a single relatively small input connector that combines digital video and audio in one single connector. The video component is actually identical to DVI but simply in a different connector. You can get DVI to HDMI adapters in both directions, either as cables with DVI at one end and HDMI at the other end, or as a small 2-inch adapter that you put on the end of a cable. Of course, DVI is video only (no audio), and a full DVI connector (DVI-I) is capable of carrying both digital and analog signals (e.g. 15-pin VGA analog), but the signals in HDMI are the digital signals only (DVI-D) and do not include any analog video signals.

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