I'm in the market to buy a television & need assistance.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Im a sucker

That's what she said!

[mussa]

you must have gotten it from costco right after they switched their policy.  mine could break two years from now and i could return it for a brand new one.

yea now its 90 days money back guarantee. philips has a one year warranty so I am covered. i may actually buy the extended warranty. you never know.

[Father Demon]

Damn...   I can't see me spending $4000 on a TV.  That's a lot of Franklins, yo....

[paco]

Damn...   I can't see me spending $4000 on a TV.  That's a lot of Franklins, yo....

Yeah.  Basically, for the amount I spent, mom and dad are good for Xmas and next years birthday gifts.  If I feel generous, they will get a card.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I assumed the Bravia was ridiculously expensive, but $4000 for a 52" TV?  That's just ill, man.

Plus, it doesn't add to your asset column.

[Seabiscuit36]

Should have just went with a SXRD Bravia 60" for 2200 beans

[Father Demon]

I wish I could go with a DLP - they are so damn cheap.  My room has so many windows that the room is always bright during daylight hours.  The glare in there is a bitch.  That also, regrettably, rules out the plasma TVs, leaving me to look for an LCD, which of course are the highest price points.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I wish I could go with a DLP - they are so damn cheap.  My room has so many windows that the room is always bright during daylight hours.  The glare in there is a bitch.  That also, regrettably, rules out the plasma TVs, leaving me to look for an LCD, which of course are the highest price points.

Just get a phony DNA test drawn up and tell paco you're his Uncle or some shtein.

[Seabiscuit36]

HD DVD vs. Blu-ray: Wal-Mart offers Toshiba player for under $200

Toshiba HD-A2. Image: Toshiba
The battle for the future of the high-definition DVD has taken an intriguing turn: For the first time, mega-retailer Wal-Mart (WMT) has begun selling a player for less than $200.

In various online forums, enthusiasts have reported seeing the Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player available for $198, significantly less than its common price of $230-$280.


Such low prices could shift momentum in the high-definition format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray, which are vying to be the successor to today's ubiquitous DVD. Like mainstream DVD players, HD DVD and Blu-ray players accept DVDs. But they also play high-definition discs in their own formats, which look sharper on today's large, flat televisions.

Microsoft's Zune: The sequel (Photos 1-4)

"We reduced our HD DVD Toshiba player, the generation-two, to $198 earlier in the week," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien confirmed. "It's happening now, and that's really all I can tell you. We don't give any information on what we're planning to do for the holidays. We know HD DVD and Blu-ray are going to be popular items this holiday season for some of our customers. ... They will be more popular this year than they were in previous years."

O'Brien said rumors that each Wal-Mart store would stock only 18 units of the Toshiba player were false. "There are no limited quantities for stores or purchases."


Samsung P-1400 Blu-ray player. Image: Samsung
If the cut-rate Toshiba HD DVD players prove especially popular, Wal-Mart's move could also set up a holiday-season retail showdown with Best Buy (BBY), Circuit City (CC) and others who rely on popular items to lure shoppers into stores. Those other retailers could feel pressure to stock their own low-cost HD-DVD players to drive store traffic.

The best-designed Bluetooth gear (Photos 1-8)

As I wrote in June:

Blu-ray has an early lead, but that doesn't count for much. What matters is, who will have the lowest-priced high-definition players at a decent quality level when mainstream consumers finally start buying HD?

If the mainstream starts buying HD players this holiday season, expect to see HD DVD surge ahead of Blu-ray in a big way. Market makers like Wal-Mart will run with whatever player they can price below $200, just to draw people into stores. And most people in the mainstream won't necessarily buy 10 HD movies; they'll buy one or two, and wait for the studios to follow the installed base.

And if HD DVD sells big, you'd best believe the Hollywood studios will follow. Aside from Sony, they really don't care with HD format wins – just as long as they get sell a lot more movies.

It's not clear what the Blu-ray camp will do to respond to the price cuts. While the Sony-backed Blu-ray format has more support from Hollywood studios as mentioned above, Blu-ray players also cost more than HD DVD to manufacture. That's why Blu-ray players continue to cost more than $400 while HD DVD is available for half the price.

Apple's new iPod lineup: An analysis (Photos 1/5)


Transformers on HD DVD, released October 16, had a stronger launch week than any HD title so far.

Blu-ray does have its technical advantages. Chief among them: its discs hold more information than those from the HD DVD format, potentially allowing studios to pack more special features and higher-quality audio onto a disc. Blu-ray's manufacturing costs will also come down over time — but if HD television buyers choose this holiday season as the time to seriously consider getting a high-def player, Blu-ray will be at a disadvantage because of some of the choices Sony made in developing the technology.

"Sony has great technology, but Sony many times makes closed technology," said Randy Giusto, group vice president of the mobility, computing, and consumer markets at technology research firm IDC.

Meanwhile, there are signs that this could indeed be the season where holiday shoppers open their wallets for HD equipment.

The summer blockbuster Transformers, released on HD DVD on October 16, has had the strongest debut of an HD movie so far, selling 190,000 copies in its first week.

Also, the large-sized LCD market is expected to reach 370 million units by the end of 2007, according to researcher iSuppli. That could create a hunger for high-definition players that connect to them. "iSuppli expects 20 percent unit growth for monitor panels, 35 percent growth for notebook panels and 51 percent growth for the TV panel market in 2007 compared to 2006," said Sweta Dash, director of LCD and projection research for iSuppli.

The cost of HD players at Wal-Mart are:

Blu-ray at Wal-Mart:  Sony ($488), Phillips ($498) and Samsung ($448 and very limited; not in all stores)
HD DVD players at Wal-Mart: Toshiba ($198) and RCA ($298)
Filed under Analysis, Audio, Blu-ray, Digital Home, Gaming, HD DVD

http://bigtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007/10/25/hd-dvd-vs-blu-ray-wal-mart-offers-toshiba-player-for-under-200/

Now its gets fun

[paco]

I assumed the Bravia was ridiculously expensive, but $4000 for a 52" TV?  That's just ill, man.

Plus, it doesn't add to your asset column.

Its an XBR baby.  Nothing but top of the line for my family.

(Plus, the XBR is supposedly the best TV out there for watching sports on, and the majority of TV watched in this house is Football, Golf and Baseball)

Should have just went with a SXRD Bravia 60" for 2200 beans

Since the wall that is adjacent to the TV is pretty much one big window, we are forced into getting an LCD.  Even plasmas will probably not be bright enough.

I wish I could go with a DLP - they are so damn cheap.  My room has so many windows that the room is always bright during daylight hours.  The glare in there is a bitch.  That also, regrettably, rules out the plasma TVs, leaving me to look for an LCD, which of course are the highest price points.

Just get a phony DNA test drawn up and tell paco you're his Uncle or some shtein.

If he doesn't live in a trailer park, I won't buy it.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Ended up picking up the Sony Bravia KDF-37H1000 at Circuit City for $864, including tax.  Since we place our bedroom TV on top of a dresser and weren't planning on a wall mount, it actually made more sense to go LCD projection.  Flat panels of the same size plus the bases are actually significantly heavier.

Anyway, it's a great TV, and I can see why the high-priced Bravia brand is doing well.  If I could have found a TV with similar technology with another brand for a significantly lower price, I might have hit it... but because LCD Projection is being phased out in favor of flat panels, I actually got a great deal on the Sony.  The one-time-use 10% off coupon code didn't hurt either.

[Geowhizzer]

Alright - I'm finally nearing being ready to get into a HD television myself (barring any money-draining events).

I've saved about 1500 towards a television, and want to get a nice TV for the price.  Something that will give me the best sports picture for the price I can afford.

Any recommendations?

[Wingspan]

I have heard that the Sony Bravia KDF-37H1000 is a great way to avoid having sex.

[Geowhizzer]

I have heard that the Sony Bravia KDF-37H1000 is a great way to avoid having sex.

I have two children for that purpose.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Alright - I'm finally nearing being ready to get into a HD television myself (barring any money-draining events).

I've saved about 1500 towards a television, and want to get a nice TV for the price.  Something that will give me the best sports picture for the price I can afford.

Any recommendations?

Do you have any restrictions on the type of display due to the way the room/furniture is set up?
How far will you be sitting from the TV?
Are there any glare issues in the room?
Do you already have an HD DirecTV receiver, or are you going to have to factor in the price of one into your budget?

Generally, plasmas are the way to go for sports.  LCD TV technology is still getting there as far as movement goes, although anything you could afford for under $1500 should be small enough to be a negligible difference.

Anyway, answer the questions, bitch.   

I have heard that the Sony Bravia KDF-37H1000 is a great way to avoid having sex.

I'm sure that would be the case if I weren't such a powerhouse sex machine.