Black Friday & need Help Buying new LCD HDTV

[nikeball]

Well Black Friday is around the corner

are yall looking to buy anything even though the economy has gone to the crappers?

www.blackfriday.info

....

I am currently looking for an LCD TV to buy for my parents (middle to higher end).

I am looking to spend around 1000-1200$.
1080p
46+"
120Hz is optional I guess.
> 10k contrast ratio
good refresh rate.

What TVs do yall have and would recommend?

I am currently leaning towards getting a Samsung 46" 5 series LCD TV.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218015167704


I saw for Black Friday at BB there is a Samsung 46" LCD TV (don't know the model) for the same price as abovel

[alexamenos]

Is there any reason you're hung up on the LCD? I love my plasma.

[nikeball]

Originally Posted by alexamenos

Is there any reason you're hung up on the LCD? I love my plasma.

Is ghosting still a factor in Plasmas? LCDs are less power consuming as well..correct? (go green!)

my parents love brightly lit rooms..which favor LCDs due to their anti-glare

What Plasmas would you recommend?

[Flacolaco]

Glare. Power consumption. Plus I have a LCD, so there's that. I'm cool.

As for the TV...as long as it's 1080p with a decent contrast ratio, you can't go wrong. I wouldn't stress about it. Especially if your parents haven't had one before, they won't know the difference.

The funny thing about HDTV's is that nearly all of the time people first plug theirs' in, they don't have any HD content to hook up to it yet, so it's inevitably going to look like crap that first time anyway.

[nikeball]

^It comes with a HD Tuner..so should be able to test it out

[DirkFTW]

I would recommend checking that the TV has an HD tuner built in for the exact problem that Flaco mentioned. At least with a built in tuner, you can start enjoying HD foosball, Mavs and other shows off the bat.

EDIT: I see you are one step ahead of me.

[Flacolaco]

You must really love your parents. As I've stated previously and repeatedly, I do not under any circumstances leave the house on black friday.

[jthig32]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

You must really love your parents. As I've stated previously and repeatedly, I do not under any circumstances leave the house on black friday.

Is there anything in particular this stems from?

I feel the same way, and it's from a couple years of working at Sears during college. Worst day of the year.

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by nikeball

Is ghosting still a factor in Plasmas? LCDs are less power consuming as well..correct? (go green!)

my parents love brightly lit rooms..which favor LCDs due to their anti-glare

What Plasmas would you recommend?

The picture is impeccable....flawless. I've got a Panasonic, at the time I purchased it Consumer Reports had it ranked as best value.

I guess the knock on plasmas is and has been they're not the best for brightly lit rooms, so...

[Flacolaco]

I've never worked in retail, thankfully. As I've also stated previously I was a manager at a fast food restaurant through college, and black friday is just about the worst day of the year for those people as well. All those shoppers....they're crabby, they're tired, and they're hungry.

I just think that in general there is a really sorry display of humanity to be had out there on black friday.

[jthig32]

Yeah, it definitely brings out the worst in people. Never had so many people just drop stuff on the floor when I tell them "no, that's NOT what's on sale in the ad, this is".

What a beating. It was especially a beating for people like me working commission sales. You spend all day ringing up 1% items instead of actually selling merchandise. Yuck.

I guess if I do ever venture out on Black Friday I'll just make sure I go nowhere near the Golden Triangle Mall, which should be easy enough since I no longer live in Denton.

[muzak]

Samsung puts out good products. I've had multiple TV's from them, cell phones, etc. I am currently with their 50'' DLP and love it. The LCD's are great too.

[alby]

Black Friday this year should be known as Sad Friday.

terrible "deals"

[fluid.forty.one]

I'm waiting for Silk Smoove to come in here and scream racism.

[u2sarajevo]

We need to be politically correct and call it "Friday that just happens to be black."

[fluid.forty.one]

Originally Posted by u2sarajevo

Friday that just happens to be black.

not that there's anything wrong with that...

[BGMaverick9]

Originally Posted by Flacolaco

I've never worked in retail, thankfully.

Try retail for the past five years...boo yah!



Man o Steel

[dude1394]

Plasma's will be a dying technology, just like DLP imo. LCD's will rule I expect.

[MavsX]

i have a samsun 42" plasma. i love it. although, i'm worried about screen burn in (cause of my ps3), so...maybe the LCD's have come along way.

also, plasmas weigh a lot!

1080P,
HDMI's
HD tuner

do it

[muzak]

Originally Posted by dude1394

Plasma's will be a dying technology, just like DLP imo. LCD's will rule I expect.

I see DLP's lasting. Projection is like a tube amp - some technology will never be outdone. Projection will always be around. I don't know...maybe I'm bias. I researched and shopped for LCD's too, and I thought DLP had the best picture and smoothness during fast scenes ala sports. LCD's get block-y images when the screen moves too fast. I think the new ones are supposed to be better.

[MavsX]

Once Skynet becomes self-aware, it is destined to trigger the nuclear holocaust of Judgment Day and deploy an army of Terminators against humanity. Skynet has also mastered time travel, and sent numerous Terminators into the past in order to kill Sarah Connor, John Connor, and other leaders of the Resistance.

[Big Boy Laroux]

Hey man, you need to go to Amazon's web site and participate in their "vote for black friday deals" page. Whichever deal "wins", those that vote may get a chance to purchase at that price. They have a 47" samsung for $699.

http://promotions.amazon.com/gp/cv

[92bDad]

I hear that Circuit City will be putting out a 42" Panasonic Plasma 1080P for $899.00

That's a pretty good price and Panasonic is one of the better brands on the market.

Best wishes in your TV Hunting!!!

[alexamenos]

Originally Posted by MavsX

i have a samsun 42" plasma. i love it. although, i'm worried about screen burn in (cause of my ps3), so...maybe the LCD's have come along way.

also, plasmas weigh a lot!

1080P,
HDMI's
HD tuner

do it

my understanding is that the screen burn has basically been resolved -- i've had my plasma & ps3 for a year and no problems whatsoever.

[muzak]

what sort of maintenance is involved in a plasma? i mean, it essentially uses gases, do those gases ever need to be replenished?

[MavsX]

Originally Posted by alexamenos

my understanding is that the screen burn has basically been resolved -- i've had my plasma & ps3 for a year and no problems whatsoever.

yeah i finally said screw it and plugged the ps3 into the plasma about 4 months ago. so far so good. thanks for the update though.

[MavsX]

Originally Posted by muzak

what sort of maintenance is involved in a plasma? i mean, it essentially uses gases, do those gases ever need to be replenished?

i dont think it works like that. i think you do need to be careful during the first couple of hours that the phosphorus is being used though.. (maybe the first like 20 hours of tv time??)

[Dirkadirkastan]

I have an old tube that was made some time in the 90s.

[Murphy3]

It's African American Friday...

[FreshJive]

I still have a CRT projection HDTV. I burnt it in a little from watching The Wire DVDs many days in a row leading up to season 5 with the side bars. I hate having to be careful with gaming and stretching/zooming sdtv, so I'll eventually replace it with an LCD, but the blacks on all the affordable LCDs right now still don't seem to compare to my TV.

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by muzak

I see DLP's lasting. Projection is like a tube amp - some technology will never be outdone. Projection will always be around. I don't know...maybe I'm bias. I researched and shopped for LCD's too, and I thought DLP had the best picture and smoothness during fast scenes ala sports. LCD's get block-y images when the screen moves too fast. I think the new ones are supposed to be better.

Wall Projection TVs could hang with DLP. But not the enclosed 50 inchers or so. They are still being sold because they are cheaper than the larger LCDs at the moment. But they won't hang imo, I think that day is done. And I have one also..At the time it was the best deal...but not now.

I think the Digital Cinema's will stay DLP.

Plasma's won't go down the cost curve like LCDs will. So I think LCDs will rule the actual TV technology...DLPs might have a play with projection, especially Wall Projections, business projectors also. I've seen some pretty impressive business projectors that hook up to your cell phone that DLP is doing, but the small form factor is being challenged by LCoS also.

[nikeball]

The "half life" for plasmas and lcds are supposed to be 30-60 years...before they start losing their luminosity or whatever. We should have holograms by then q=).

I ended up going with that 46" Samsung LCD. I am very satisfied with it. My parents were pleasantly surprised. They weren't expecting me 'til Thursday night (after UT/Faggies game that I told them I was going to).

And best of all the TV fit into my small 2 door '98 Acura Integra perfectly, which got a "wow, i am impressed" by a Best Buy passerby patron.