* Official Black Friday TV / HDTV Thread *

[okwdvc]

We need a new TV because ours is starting to flicker. It is probably about 8 years old.

 

Here are our viewing habits/needs:

My family does not watch a whole lot of TV. We all have our favorite shows but we will go weeks without turning the tv on. We do not own a Playstation, X-box, etc. and I don't foresee us getting one. We own one plug and play game that we hook up maybe once a month. We have a DVD player that is portable and isn't hooked up to our tv 3/4 of the time.

We do have a DVR that I couldn't live without! We always have our favorites available to watch whenever we want. We do have digital cable, as well.

 

So, what do we really need? I won't spend thousands on one because tv isn't that important to us. However, I don't want to spend $300 on something that will be obsolete in 2 years. Do we really need something that is HDTV ready? Do we need a flat screen? We would like something that is 32 to 36 inches max. Thanks for any help and advice.

 

Lisa

[cherry33778]

Well most tv's won't be obselete in two years, so you don't have to worry about that. I would just get the size screen inch you want and search for the best deal.

[majcpw]

FOR ALL WHO ARE LOOKING AT THE 42" PLASMA AT BEST BUY

 

I advise you check this one out and be prepared for disapointment. I think you will find this is an EDTV with built in HD tuner. The magnavox website does not show any HDTV plasma sets they manufacture. You can find the model 42MF130 for sale at various locations for around $200 more. It also has the built in HD tuner. This one is the 42MF230 so it is probably the same TV rebadged for BB. Notice in the scan it says "42 plasma with built in HDTV".

I was very interested in this TV until I checked it out. Could be wrong I suppose, but probably not. Also the reviews I found for 42MF130 are not that great for ED and very bad for regular TV. If you just have to have ED plasma for cheap, get one of the under $1000 dollar models. No HD tuner, but if you are on cable or dish how often will you use the HD tuner anyway? Better to upgrade to cable or dish HD box with DVR instead and save yourself the extra $500.

The model number listed in the scan is 42MF230A/3. If you search for this on the Best Buy website, you will find that the resolution listed is 1024 x 768, which is HD rather than ED as you think it may be. It's probably always safe to check out the store first before drawing any conclusions and perhaps speculating yourself out of a great deal. I plan to go tomorrow and see for myself.

[gatorbeetle]

Well most tv's won't be obselete in two years, so you don't have to worry about that. I would just get the size screen inch you want and search for the best deal.

Good advice!! Also, Go to a store which has TV's on display. If they use a good source for the TV's, you can see the difference. If you don't watch much TV, probably HDTV would be a waste. I recommend flat screen (not flat panel) because if you get the right one, you can definately see the difference for not alot of money. I'm hoping to pick up a 26" HDTV LCD this BF, if I can confirm it exsists ($500 after rebate.)

[CG480]

Thank you I was just thinking about a second tv for the bedroom and you made this so easy to find the pries at the stores.

[halpern]

I was looking at the Toshiba 51HC85 last night in Best Buy. The TV looked great and especially since it will be $900 on BF. Only thing is I went to Amazon and read some reviews. It received horrible reviews saying it had to go in for service multiple times within the few months of owning it. For the price the TV sounds good until you read the reviews. Does anyone have this TV and can they confirm how good it really is? Thanks.

[heebee]

the 51hc85 has had very few service issues in my stores. it sia great great greta tv at that price

[heebee]

also reminder the 51hc85 is a true monitor big screen-meaning you must use a cable box, sat receiver, or vcr as a tuner. can not just hook cable tothe tv-no cable hook up on tv

[TvBob]

I was looking at the Toshiba 51HC85 last night in Best Buy. The TV looked great and especially since it will be $900 on BF. Only thing is I went to Amazon and read some reviews. It received horrible reviews saying it had to go in for service multiple times within the few months of owning it. For the price the TV sounds good until you read the reviews. Does anyone have this TV and can they confirm how good it really is? Thanks.

LOL, that model only has one review at Amazon. From all accounts this tv is the same as the other Toshiba 51 inch models except missing a few features the others have, though it still has plenty of inputs, HDMI, and the same picture quality which is most important. But these toshibas have gotten fairly positive evaluations overall. Projections are prone to some problems, but this model not anymore so than others.

[mistereman1]

in response to the toshiba 51 in-this is a 51HC85 at both sears and cc. this is a hd monitor widescreen 16x9 screen. this is a great buy for this money. it retails at most locations for 1199-1299. picture quality is superb. wont find much out there any better. they also make a 57 in same set usually is about 200 higher.

 

in response to the 46 in dlp at best buy. i would be very surprised if it was the 46hm95 series. i would guess they made major buyout on 46hm84 a last year model. all i will say is that if it is the 46HM95 series tv, that at 1499 this is a remarkable tv. Great pc for a smaller piece. This set will fit into the smaller rooms and give you great picture quality....

 

in response to the mitsubishi 65 in-1999 is a ok price. mitsubishi is a good tv set. i would agree that the toshiba and sony would be better sets. however i dont beleive they are making any sets above 57 in screen size.

Check the BB ad scan and you will see the 46hm95 model #. Great tv at great price. Don't forget to factor in cost of replacement bulbs though. At CC extended warranty is a good deal because it covers bulb too. Don't know if BB extended warranty does. I agree both Toshibas are great TV's. Mitsubishi has a great picture too. It's just the reliability issue. Could be very expensive in the long run. The Toshiba CRT projection TV, though smaller, would have as good or better picture and most likely last longer

[mistereman1]

The model number listed in the scan is 42MF230A/3. If you search for this on the Best Buy website, you will find that the resolution listed is 1024 x 768, which is HD rather than ED as you think it may be. It's probably always safe to check out the store first before drawing any conclusions and perhaps speculating yourself out of a great deal. I plan to go tomorrow and see for myself.

This could be great news!! I must have missed it when I searched. I added the "A/3" to my search and got nothing back. Closest thing I found was the 42MF130 and no HD plasma on the manufacturer web site. Just goes to show the power of many people researching gets better results. Post your eval of this TV if you have time!! Thanks and happy hunting.

[TvBob]

NM

[tapmba]

Thank you for confirming that compusa's prices blow! The 32 inch lcd deals are weak except for the protron at sears, too bad. Our only hope is syntax will rotate the 300 rebate with more stores than just compusa, then we could get the 32 inch online for 750 shipped AR.

I too haven't found any good deal on 32 inch LCDs.

The JVC one that BB is offering is an old model (model# 576), They have already come out with a newer model (model# 776).

Where did you see the Syntax 32 inch for 750 shipped AR?

[allystl]

I am lookingat buying a 37 or 42 inch LCD tv. The Syntax ones at Compusa are the best I've seen so far. The $37inch is getting cheaper and cheaper. I'm kind of hesitant about the 42 inch at $2500AR. Anyone have any thoughts on the subject, good or bad?

[TvBob]

I too haven't found any good deal on 32 inch LCDs.

The JVC one that BB is offering is an old model (model# 576), They have already come out with a newer model (model# 776).

Where did you see the Syntax 32 inch for 750 shipped AR?

I haven't seen it for that price. I meant that compusa is going to be offering 300 dollar mail in rebates on black friday, and if the past is any indication, while each syntax rebate is store specific, many stores will rotate the same rebate amount in the following weeks. And you can get the syntax shipped for 1050 at some places right now.

[TvBob]

I am lookingat buying a 37 or 42 inch LCD tv. The Syntax ones at Compusa are the best I've seen so far. The $37inch is getting cheaper and cheaper. I'm kind of hesitant about the 42 inch at $2500AR. Anyone have any thoughts on the subject, good or bad?

Syntax makes quality affordable lcds, but the prices at compusa are not very good. If you have a microcenter you can get the 37 inch syntax for 1199 or possibly 1099 if you sign up for a particular credit card. Check the other major hot deals forum for decent prices.

[tapmba]

I haven't seen it for that price. I meant that compusa is going to be offering 300 dollar mail in rebates on black friday, and if the past is any indication, while each syntax rebate is store specific, many stores will rotate the same rebate amount in the following weeks. And you can get the syntax shipped for 1050 at some places right now.

So you mean to say the stores that are selling the Syntax 32" at 1050 now may also offer the $300 mail-in-rebate in the coming weeks. That's how stores have priced in the past. That's definitely a great thing.

So it would make sense to wait for a few more weeks to get this TV at $750

[tapmba]

Syntax makes quality affordable lcds, but the prices at compusa are not very good. If you have a microcenter you can get the 37 inch syntax for 1199 or possibly 1099 if you sign up for a particular credit card. Check the other major hot deals forum for decent prices.

could you suggest some other hot deal forums?

[TvBob]

I could but this forum blocks most of those other sites names and urls. Just type something like "hot deals forum" in google.

[TvBob]

So you mean to say the stores that are selling the Syntax 32" at 1050 now may also offer the $300 mail-in-rebate in the coming weeks. That's how stores have priced in the past. That's definitely a great thing.

So it would make sense to wait for a few more weeks to get this TV at $750

I would think so unless we get some indication that the compusa black friday rebate is a one time thing (you can usually tell, all the syntax rebates at various stores have the same wording). Of course the other stores could jack up the price somewhat to account for a larger rebate, but I doubt it.

[illusion]

Does anyone know anything about the 999 plasma at best buy? I looked it up on google and couldn't find any bad reviews. Should i go check it out at best buy before i go on bf?

[AZwildcatsR1]

Does anyone know anything about the 999 plasma at Best Buy? I looked it up on google and couldn't find any bad reviews. Should i go check it out at Best Buy before i go on bf?

 

Illusion -- we went in to check out all of the TVs personally and I'm glad we did. We thought we'd go for the 51" Plasma Toshiba at first, but fell in love with the 46" DLP instead. Better to make that kind of decision ahead of time in a calmer environment!!

[illusion]

Illusion -- we went in to check out all of the TVs personally and I'm glad we did. We thought we'd go for the 51" Plasma Toshiba at first, but fell in love with the 46" DLP instead. Better to make that kind of decision ahead of time in a calmer environment!!

yeah i was thinking that would be the smart thing 2 do. Im prob gonna go sometime this week.

[magator]

I am considering Samsung / Panasonic / Toshiba.

 

Any pointers on deals, opinions, mail-in-rebates would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Sam

[mistereman1]

Illusion -- we went in to check out all of the TVs personally and I'm glad we did. We thought we'd go for the 51" Plasma Toshiba at first, but fell in love with the 46" DLP instead. Better to make that kind of decision ahead of time in a calmer environment!!

I think the 51" Toshiba is a CRT set, not plasma. The 46" is sweet!!

[chrisb482]

Hi guys I need a little advice. I'm looking into buying a TV this BF, with a budget under $400. I was interested in the Insignia 30" Widescreen Flat-Tube HD-Ready TV - $399.99, Insignia 32" Stereo Color TV - $199.99 AR, Electronics Magnavox 27" Stereo Color TV - $122.99 AR, Samsung TX-R2765 DynaFlat 27" HDTV Monitor - $369.99, and the Toshiba 32A35 32" Color Television - $279.99. I'm interested in the Ingignia HDTV, but I dont know about the quality of this product. Which TV do you techs think would be the best choice?

 

Thanks for your input

[loved1]

This thread is extremely helpful. Just purchased my first home - a small condo. and would like to wall mount a LCD. w/ a moving extendable arm in the living room dining room - about 26 inches, w/ either a speaker stand style pole, & a wall mount in my bedroom (about 32 inches ), & a 3rd for a media room (between 32 & 42 inches), so eventually I'd like to purchase 3 LCD HDTVs, but I'm starting w/ whatever the best value for my money is on BF. Does anyone know of a place that has those skinny pole style stands that hide the wires at a great price? The lowest I've seen is $500. I would like to wall mount all 3, but that seems to require quite a bit of damage to the wall.

[dregerer]

I checked out the Magnavox 42 Plasma @ BB and was pretty impressed. When I first saw it, I was skeptical but the BB I was at had all the flat panels set up in isles, so the furthest I could stand was literally 2 feet away from the screen. I asked the guy if there was a way he could demo it for me and he spent the next 45 minutes isolating it to Satellite Cable service, prog. scan DVD, and upscaling/HD DVD. I also tried to check out the 999 edtv plasma but they already pulled the display. The sales guy told me it was going to be one of thier thanksgiving specials, but wouldnt go any further then that.

 

It looks like the 1499 price is after a 300 MIB, which is frustrating... but still worth it. The other thing is, it isnt a door buster. So I am guessing I wont have to wait in line for it. Should I be concerned about availability?

[herculesmomma]

Scaling down in TV size here a bit, what do you all think of the value for the Polaroid 15" LCD HDTV from Walmart for $194.99 on BF?

 

I'm not interested in spending a lot of money, but was hoping I could use this as a little TV in computer/exercise room and or use at also as a computer monitor instead of the bulky one I currently have.

 

Is it a good value for the money? I noticed Walmart is not even listing it online - is there a reason for that? I saw Target has it listed as a web only item, so I have no idea where I might be able to go to view the picture quality in person. Any ideas?

[herculesmomma]

I see now that Target has added their sales ad and has a TruTech Silver 15" LCD TV - PLV1615T for $188.00, but the one at Walmart is HD ready. Does HD make a big difference in a TV? Would you be able to use the Target 15" LCD as a computer monitor like you can with the one at Walmart?