Got my 42" Plasma at Wal Mart

[daveyd]

I honestly didnt thin I was going to get one. I arrived at WM at 4am and there were about 150 people in this huge line. Luckily that wasnt the line for the plasmas. They have the Plasmas and 15" LCDs in Sporting Goods.

 

I got in line about 4:05 and there were 15 people in front of me. I had called earlier and was told there were only 6 Plasma in. Come to find out they had 12 in!! A couple of people ahead of me didnt get the Plasmas. I got the 10th out of 12. There were like 50 people behind me.

 

Everything was organized and fairly orderly.

 

I hooked up the Plasma to my Direct TV receiver and it looks good. Some of the local stations dont look as good which I dont understand why since Direct TV is all digital. I wasn't expecting anything like a $2500 Panasonic plasma but for $997, its a great TV!!!

[laffnatu]

That's great that you like your tv! Enjoy!

[uscboy]

Local channels via satellite services are compressed more than the other channels. They're still digital.

 

Also, that set it an EDTV, right? No offense, but someone should outlaw EDTV... just don't get pissed off when you sign up for HD and can't do HD with that TV set.

 

 

I honestly didnt thin I was going to get one. I arrived at WM at 4am and there were about 150 people in this huge line. Luckily that wasnt the line for the plasmas. They have the Plasmas and 15" LCDs in Sporting Goods.

 

I got in line about 4:05 and there were 15 people in front of me. I had called earlier and was told there were only 6 Plasma in. Come to find out they had 12 in!! A couple of people ahead of me didnt get the Plasmas. I got the 10th out of 12. There were like 50 people behind me.

 

Everything was organized and fairly orderly.

 

I hooked up the Plasma to my Direct TV receiver and it looks good. Some of the local stations dont look as good which I dont understand why since Direct TV is all digital. I was expecting anything like a $2500 Panasonic plasma but for $997, its a great TV!!!

[daveyd]

Local channels via satellite services are compressed more than the other channels. They're still digital.

 

Also, that set it an EDTV, right? No offense, but someone should outlaw EDTV... just don't get pissed off when you sign up for HD and can't do HD with that TV set.

 

 

Yea, it's EDTV...but...this is just to replace my 13 yr old 31" Hitachi for casual viewing.

 

By the way, it accepts 720p and 1080i signals....obviously you wont get the full benefit of both but it accepts them nonetheless

 

I am getting a 56" Sammy DLP for my basement for my home theater:D

[uscboy]

Nice. :)

[Pliablemoose]

I was very tempted by that tv, but I got a projector instead. Still not sure if I'm going to keep it or eBay it...

[TvBob]

Local channels via satellite services are compressed more than the other channels. They're still digital.

 

Also, that set it an EDTV, right? No offense, but someone should outlaw EDTV... just don't get pissed off when you sign up for HD and can't do HD with that TV set.

More edtv ignorance. It's funny, over at the avsforums, of course they have some regular people, but they have an awful lot of tv gurus and when this debate comes up, edtv gets a lot of support, probably more than hdtv. The fact is its still very much worth upgrading to hdtv even if you have an edtv set, hd on a high end edtv set will look better than on a low end hdtv set. While hd obviously will look better on an hdtv plasma, it stil looks extremely good on an edtv.

 

But we covered this extensively in the tv thread. My view, like many others, is that you are not a dummy at all if you buy an edtv. The fact is edtvs can do things better than hdtvs, not just that they are a cheap shorterm solution. Standard tv looks better on higher end edtvs, and dvds in some cases as well. You can decide to invest in the future, but is it worth it to suffer with poorer sdtv for who knows how much longer, especially when hdtv still looks great on edtv? Why in the world should you outlaw a type of set that outperforms hdtv sets in several ways?

 

I laugh when people say most tv is not in HD, that's just not true at all. Even people with the most hd channels, and many others do not have any particularly since satellite companies don't plan to offer universal hd anytime soon, still watch standard tv for a vast majority of the time....keep in mind most hd channels still have relatively few hd programs. This is changing, but not nearly as fast as some like to believe....hdtv has been a painfully slow spreading technology.

 

But I always say don't be so fixated on whether it's an edtv or hdtv. Just try to look for a deal on a higher end model, a higher end edtv will always be better than a low end hdtv. There is more to the quality of a set than resolution.

[daveyd]

More edtv ignorance. It's funny, over at the avsforums, of course they have some regular people, but they have an awful lot of tv gurus and when this debate comes up, edtv gets a lot of support, probably more than hdtv. The fact is its still very much worth upgrading to hdtv even if you have an edtv set, hd on a high end edtv set will look better than on a low end hdtv set. While hd obviously will look better on an hdtv plasma, it stil looks extremely good on an edtv.

 

But we covered this extensively in the tv thread. My view, like many others, is that you are not a dummy at all if you buy an edtv. The fact is edtvs can do things better than hdtvs, not just that they are a cheap shorterm solution. Standard tv looks better on higher end edtvs, and dvds in some cases as well. You can decide to invest in the future, but is it worth it to suffer with poorer sdtv for who knows how much longer, especially when hdtv still looks great on edtv? Why in the world should you outlaw a type of set that outperforms hdtv sets in several ways?

 

I laugh when people say most tv is not in HD, that's just not true at all. Even people with the most hd channels, and many others do not have any particularly since satellite companies don't plan to offer universal hd anytime soon, still watch standard tv for a vast majority of the time....keep in mind most hd channels still have relatively few hd programs. This is changing, but not nearly as fast as some like to believe....hdtv has been a painfully slow spreading technology.

 

But I always say don't be so fixated on whether it's an edtv or hdtv. Just try to look for a deal on a higher end , a higher end edtv will always be better than a low end hdtv. There is more to the quality of a set than resolution.

 

 

 

Well put. I do not think there is anythong thing wrong with purchasing a 42" Plasma EDTV set for $997 especially if you are like me, just looking for a nice inexpensive TV to upgrade an old 31".

 

The Wal Mart Plasma most definitely looks better than my older Hitachi in standard definition on Direct TV.

 

It blows away my old Hitachi when watching DVDs.

 

For $997, I think it is an awesome deal for what you get.

[daveyd]

anyone else get this tv?

[pbradley]

I picked it up. I got in line at 3:40 a.m. and stood in 12 degree weather just for this. There were about 20 people in front of me but they all went for the computers and 15" lcd. It is a sweet tv for the price.

[daveyd]

I picked it up. I got in line at 3:40 a.m. and stood in 12 degree weather just for this. There were about 20 people in front of me but they all went for the computers and 15" lcd. It is a sweet tv for the price.

 

Man, that sucks...My WM was a 24 hour one so I was nice and toasty inside:)

[Guest general41391]

awesome!

[neile457]

Wasn't this available online. I went on Walmart.com, and it showed you could order online. Was this a mistake like BB?

[daveyd]

Wasn't this available online. I went on Walmart.com, and it showed you could order online. Was this a mistake like BB?

 

Yuo could order online, however I didnt know if it was going to be in stock by the time I got around to it and I didnt know how much shipping was

[BobbyDouglas]

I got it. Arrrived at 1:30am, waited until 5am. Talked about GottaDeal like it was king. Apparently quite a few others knew about it. After all of the research I did on the TV and the deals, I was able to get some of us entertained for quite some time.

 

The EDTV is going to be AWESOME for my 55+ dvd collection. It sounded like the EDTV was going to be crap at first, until I actually did some research on it.

 

TvBob summed things up great.

[daveyd]

I got it. Arrrived at 1:30am, waited until 5am. Talked about GottaDeal like it was king. Apparently quite a few others knew about it. After all of the research I did on the TV and the deals, I was able to get some of us entertained for quite some time.

 

The EDTV is going to be AWESOME for my 55+ dvd collection. It sounded like the EDTV was going to be crap at first, until I actually did some research on it.

 

TvBob summed things up great.

 

Yea, I am impressed with mine...especially on DVDs!!!

[uscboy]

More edtv ignorance.

 

yadda yadda yadda...

 

 

Wow, and even more of it here. EDTV < HDTV. I spend plenty of time over

on AVS too and telling people EDTV is okay who don't fully understand it is just

wrong. Someday they're going to want to watch HDTV and they won't be

able to... or worse, they'll have this slick looking, flat TV and they'll get HD

service and they'll be part of the problem by telling everyone they have

HDTV. It's retarded.

 

Now the original poster at least understands all this, but frankly, anyone who

says that EDTV can look just as good as an HDTV set with even a semi-

decent feed is a straight up moron. I've seen plenty of 480p in my life to

know that even compressed 1080i looks a ton better.

 

Bottom line? EDTV is adding to the problem of consumers not understanding

television technologies. It should not be made or sold anymore, I consider it

dishonest in a way.

[BobbyDouglas]

Now the original poster at least understands all this, but frankly, anyone who says that EDTV can look just as good as an HDTV set with even a semi-

decent feed is a straight up moron. I've seen plenty of 480p in my life to

know that even compressed 1080i looks a ton better.

- LOL TvBob did not mention ANYWHERE that HD on an ED tv looks as good/better as HD on an HD tv.

 

The myth I see now is that people assume that their DVDs are going to look awesome on an HD, and that's why they get an HD. Sorry, but you just paid a lot more than you should have if you plan to use it for non-hd tv. The EDTVs actually look better with DVDs. For people who do not pay that hefty monthly HD bill for their 8-11 HD channels, an EDTV is a MUCH BETTER OPTION.

 

It's people like you, uscboy, who try to make these EDTVs look bad. Truth is, you are here saying 480p doesn't look at good as 1080i- REALLY????? That's not what people are trying to disprove. The fact is EDTVs are the better tv for watching DVDs- they suck for HD.

 

Read this A Primer for HDTV Newbies and come back and reply after you know a little bit more about the subject.

[daveyd]

DVDs look great on my Wal Mart Plasma due to the fact that EDTV's native resolution is 480p which is what a DVDs resolution is.

 

EDTVs are not bad if you want a great picture for DVDs and regular definition broadcasts. The plasma I got for $997 at Wal Mart is money WELL spent as I got a 42" plasma that blows away my 31", 13 year old Hitachi.

 

Would I have gotten the EDTV Plasma to be a center piece of my High Def home theater? Absolutely not.

 

Would I get an EDTV just to replace an older CRT or if I wanted a better picture with standard def and an awesome picture with regular DVDs...Hell yea

[uscboy]

hd on a high end edtv set will look better than on a low end hdtv set

 

- LOL TvBob did not mention ANYWHERE that HD on an ED tv looks as good/better as HD on an HD tv.

 

Not that I really care... all I'm trying to do is help people out. Fact of the

matter is HD is the future... HD DVD, Blu Ray, and the already available HD

broadcasts. The future is not 480p... and those DVDs will look just fine on

an HD set.

 

I agree this is a better set than an old 31" 480i CRT, all I'm saying is I

wouldn't drop a grand on an EDTV personally and I listed the reasons why...

that money could be better used when put towards an HD set of some sort.

Besides, larger sized DLP and LCD HD sets are only $300-$400 more... only

reason to pay more for a plasma really is if you absolutely have to hang it on

the wall and need it to be flat.

 

But, to each their own I suppose.

[Gporter34]

I didn't get one but it seemed like a great deal to me. I'm glad you are enjoying your tv!

[gwking]

I wanted one so bad I went to every wal-mart in a 50 mile radius but they were all sold out so I went to Circuit City and bought the Panasonic 42" EDTV for $1925 tax included and I absolutly love it.I did a consumer report on it and it's pretty much the best EDTV plasma you can buy as of right now. I highly reccomend spending the extra money there is a huge quality difference and the contrast ratio on it is 4000:1 which is excellent.Just thought I'd share it with you guys.

[BobbyDouglas]

That quote of TvBob wasn't saying/implying "that HD on an ED tv looks as good/better as HD on an HD tv". He said the exact opposite.

 

Fact of the matter is HD is the future

- I agree, a few years from now I would expect HD to actually have more than 11 channels, and being able to watch DVDs with a better video signal. The 11 channels that HD is actually in, are just sports channels. By the time HD is actually going to be the norm, the TVs we buy today will be outdated or at least half the price we paid for them.

 

HD DVD, Blu Ray, and the already available HD broadcasts.

- Blu Ray? Where? I heard that with the huge bandwidth costs, Blu Ray wasn't going to really make it mainstream- but I'm no expert.

 

Nobody is trying to argue that HDTV is going to look as good on an ED as it does on an HD. Its just that most people are not going to make use of the whopping 11 channels of HD, and thus would be better off saving their money on an ED.

 

It is these statements right here that make me happy to have people like TvBob:

Bottom line? EDTV is adding to the problem of consumers not understanding

television technologies. It should not be made or sold anymore, I consider it

dishonest in a way.

Btw, you don't have to hit return while typing out a paragraph, the forum here will automatically format it.

------------------------------

Also, isn't Blu Ray and HD DVD going to be 1080p? Something that a lot of these HDTVs do not have?

[uscboy]

I know, I hit return. It's a habit from other boards. I kind of like it.

[BobbyDouglas]

Isn't Blu Ray going ot be 1080p, while most of the current HDTVs are only 1080i? Kind of making the "prepare for the future, now" argument not supportive?

[RossMAN]

Bobby,

 

Sorry if you already mentioned this but what's your HD source, cable, satellite, OTA or PC?

[BobbyDouglas]

Haven't mentioned it because I don't have one However, it would be either Cox Cable, or that one TV Tuner card (that you couldn't stop talking about earlier this year) that will let me "borrow" the HD channels. I won't take advantage of HD until I get an HDTV, and the number of channels increase greatly.

 

About 6 months ago, I believe it was with DirectTV, they only offered about 5 normal channels in HD; Cox Cable on the other hand offered 11. Made my Uncle switch from his Direct TV to Cox.

[uscboy]

Isn't Blu Ray going ot be 1080p, while most of the current HDTVs are only 1080i? Kind of making the "prepare for the future, now" argument not supportive?

Not sure, but even if it is true, HD = HD = HD... even downconverted to 720p

or 1080i (if possible), it'll still look better than being downconverted to 480p.

That's my main point. Yes, technology changes all the time, but EDTV

screams price point to me and when HD gets big there will be people having

to replace their 'expensive' sets to get real HD... or worse, they'll think they'll

have real HD and they'll misrepresent it to others who also have no clue.

[RossMAN]

or that one TV Tuner card (that you couldn't stop talking about earlier this year) that will let me "borrow" the HD channels. I won't take advantage of HD until I get an HDTV, and the number of channels increase greatly.

 

That would be the DVICO Fusion-HDTV5-Lite for $99, great HDTV tuner card which Brad told me about.

 

Of course mine is still in it's box somewhere around here.

[BobbyDouglas]

That would be the DVICO Fusion-HDTV5-Lite for $99, great HDTV tuner card which Brad told me about.

- Wow, price sure dropped on that. The one you couldn't stop talking about I think was around $249 or $299 w/ that QAM technology I think.

 

but EDTV screams price point to me

- And according to the newspaper, it was considered the 2nd best buy item for Black Friday.

 

or worse, they'll think they'll have real HD and they'll misrepresent it to others who also have no clue

- NONE of the people I talked to, thought it would give a better picture than these $2000+ HDTVs. Most of the people who got in on the EDTV deal at WalMart, plan to use it for minor HD viewing, but mainly for DVDs and standard TV (Note, these opinions are based off of what I saw, and people who I have talked to at other Walmarts). Those who watch HD a lot, mentioned they already have an HDTV, and this is going to be used in one of their bedrooms or spare rooms.

 

You are fighting a losing battle. There are too many people out there that know quite a bit about HDTVs and EDTVs. After about 10 minutes of reading it seems like I can make a pretty good argument about EDTVs.