Purchase Flat Screen Now or after Holiday?

GWC Community GWC Hive Mind
#1

Ok Solai, serious question that I was going to ask a couple of days ago:

Should I purchase a flat screen TV NOW, like I want to, making use of whatever big bargains are out there pre-Christmas…

OR,

Wait until AFTER Christmas, like the XO wants to, (cruel, evil little troll), figuring that the deals might very well be even BETTER after Christmas.

Talking about a 50"+ size TV…any retailers out there with some secret squirrel scoop on what’s going to happen in the after holiday market ??

note: I just reread this and added “TV” to the above sentence, to avoid any possible gutterage.

#2

I am kind of in the same boat. But i was wondering if anyone thinks the prices will drop around the February conversion to Digital that might be the better time to buy.

#3

I was thinking the exact same thing myself. I’ve been needing a new television for a while now. I just figured the post christmas sales would be a good time.

#4

Having had a little experience with HDTV lately, I’d say two things:

[ol]
[li]They’re only going to get cheaper.[/li][li]There’s a lot of difference in quality between TVs, even between sizes in specific brands. You want a quality TV.[/li][/ol]
It’s not that you have to spend a fortune to get a good set. There are good sets available in all price ranges. But you do need to shop. While it’s possible that one of the “deals” you run into might be sweet, it’s also likely that they’re not giving away the store. Just don’t get duped into buying a crappy set 'cause it’s a couple-hundred cheaper “today only.”

One other thot specific to your situation: Sometimes there’s a big price difference between the 47" and 50"+ TVs. You might look around a bit before deciding on the big ones for sure. For example, Sony’s 46" 46W4100 is in the $1,500 - $1,700 range, and it’s a seriously kick-ass TV. (Its 120 Hz processing is incredible – and actually watchable – and its color is very natural for its price.) You can’t get that quality in a 50"+ for less than $3,000. It’s a hell of a buy even at $1,700, and I’ve seen it on sale for far, far less lately.

Anyway, just my $0.02.

#5

I think we have that exact TV you’re talking about Chuck. I wholeheartedly agree, it’s a great TV. I wouldn’t want to go any bigger than 46-inch.
Now I just wish I had electricity so I could watch it :frowning:

Here’s a tip: Don’t buy your HDMI cables at for the TV at the store. Buy them online instead, you’ll save $60 or more—and am HDMI cable is an HDMI cable.Tests show any HDMI cable (which is carrying digital signals that are reassembled at the receiving end) under 8 feet is fine. No need to pay for gold-plated fittings and 18 AWG wire. Here’s one spot to buy cables: www.monoprice.com.

#6

How trust worthy are the reviews at CNET. I personally have found them to be pretty good but i have never used them for any big budget item. I think im going to go for the new 47" 120 mhz Vizio XVT. From what i have seen and heard Vizos are great buys for the price. It reviewed pretty good at CNET and vizios are always on their best bang for a buck lists. I know Chuck wrote up one of the Vizios in a review recently but cant remember which one.

#7

Damn fine advice, BTW. I tested an uber-buck Monster vs. a cheap-ass WalMart Chinese cable and couldn’t see a difference. (Here it is, BTW. Look at the bottom underneath the main article – which is also a good read if you’re considering buying a large TV.)

#8

Heeey, nice. This Chuck Cage guy, whoever he is, seems like he’s got some game writing-wise. I’ve seen his brother Nicolas in a couple movies too. Not bad.

#9

Chuck Cage is the Luke Cage of tech reviews.

(Which I guess makes Sean Iron Fist.)

#10

Topgun, how badly do you want it? I’ve worked in consumer electronics retail during the Christmas seasons of 2004, 2005, and 2007. What you’re likely to find after Christmas are discontinued models that need to move. What is it you particularly want?

If anything, I expect prices to go up. Converter boxes will see far better sales than TVs will in February. With the panic and the mob psychology being depressive, people will try to get more mileage out of their current TVs by way of converter boxes than buying outright new.

CNET’s reviews are normally good. Are you referring to megahertz (MHz) or Hertz (Hz)? Refresh rate is normally expressed in Hz…unless you’ve found something super cool that I haven’t ever seen.

#11

The main difference is how much each differs between wholesale and retail in price.

#12

That’s worth qualifying. The Monster cable does indeed include much higher-grade materials, and Monster has valid reasons for selecting/including them.

The bottom line is that rather than specifying material choices and so on in the HDMI spec, the spec simply outlines performance. The upshot of this is that as the cable gets longer it does indeed become necessary to use different materials and material specs to meet the standard – and note that longer cables get very expensive very quickly. Beyond that, it’s also pretty much impossible to go much more than 20’ without either ending up with an overly-thick and completely inflexible cable, converting to some other format then converting back again, or just ending up sub-spec. (This is a great argument for just not using HDMI in long runs. There are lots of other choices.)

OTOH, a 3’ or even 6’ cable is pretty easy to make. So while the Monster cable does indeed offer superior performance than the Chinese special, this doesn’t really translate to data loss vs. no data loss – hence why I couldn’t see a difference on the screen.

#13

I have a little knowledge on this.

Most TV’s with a steep markdown are chosen for a reason. now this doesn’t mean there bad, but it normally does mean that They’re an older model. or the store has 4 of them and your odds on actually getting them are not great.

Deals are pretty good right now because most retailers are freaked out. and i suspect that for the most part the deals will continue to be around the same after. but you never know.

So my general advice is Don’t buy the super best TV because your paying steeply for only modicum of difference in performance, on the same note if a TV is $300 less than its competitors there’s a reason. and that’s because there crap. So find a happy middle and if you do go for the lesser brand make sure to get an extended warranty. cause these things break a lot more than old fashion TV’s

My own choice is avoid Sony they’re really good but way overpriced, Avoid Toshiba. because there not reliable and tend to die early. I like Samsung. Good quality and a reasonable price. and fun fact guess who makes about 80% of every Sony TV that’s right Samsung

#14

Thank you all for the great input! It seems that I’ll be waiting till just after Christmas due to being hit on the head with a frying pan every time I mention “New TV” around here.:smiley: Just kidding, of course…rubs bruise on head and ducks
In the meantime I’ll be checking Chuck’s reviews online and looking around a bit more. I don’t mind getting ‘this year’s model’ next year, I just want something decent. I’d love to get a Sony, most of my audio stuff is Sony, but the price jump between their equip. and others is so hard to swallow sometimes! Beautiful picture, tho!
I’ll let you know what I ended up with.

Thanks HiveMind.

#15

We found that you really have to compare the TVs in the store—get one that looks good to you. If you put it in a room with a lot of light, LCD is better than plasma. Supposedly plasma has better performance for fast moving things like sports—but even the LCDs are have electronics now that make that not a an issue.
Oh (and come up here to New Hampshire and buy it, so you can avoid sales tax).:slight_smile:

#16

oh i forgot to add never!!! EVER!!! buy the HDMI cable in store… go online and find them for sale. Cause the price 90% of retailers sell them for is nuts.

p.s. When you decide on your shortlist models and know the prices let me know and i’ll see what the general mark up is and you can decide what the best deal is.

#17

Cue Mission Impossible music

OK. If my cunning mindgames work correctly, my wife will, today, within moments, actually, be ordering the 52" Sony Bravia LCD HDTV from Dell. They’re having a sale 'till Jan 3rd, no interest, free shipping, yada yada.

Wish me luck, fellow Alpacas.

Hi Def BSG for S4.5 is within my frakking grasp !! :D:D:D

#18

that’s it. January premiere party at Topgun’s!

#19

I bought a 42" Plasma last year. I wanted the 50" but compromised. My cable company finally hooked up the SciFi channel with HD. So I’m set.

Here’s to you getting hooked up TG!! raises Sam Adams Winter Lager

#20

Damn. We still haven’t gotten an HD converter for our ancient sets. (We watch “TV” on laptops mostly.)