Well thanks to David(& that cjp guy uzzled: )i came out of my cave long enough to spend a couple hours researching the vizio brand.the website is awesome,they even have a discussion thread for the model you are interested in,that is answered by an vizio company tech.you can ask questions before instead of forgeting them at the store,answered by some 18 yr old kid,employed as holiday help.from what i found out, next weekend dec 8-9,their products will be on sale again:beer although the company is based in california,the tv's are made in Taiwan,a step above mainland China imho:laugh: if they look as good in person as they say,i'm dragging one home:laugh: thanks for all the advice & links:beer heres their web-page http://www.vizio.com/ wish i would have bought some stock in the company a couple years ago!
I was told buy a Sam Club employee that if you buy a TV there and keep the reciept you dont have to worry about the warrenty because if anything you buy doesnt perform like it did when you bought it bring it back because you are a member and not just a customer. You may want to ask your sales person at Sams about it if you are looking there.
Ed, I bought a Vizio 42 LCD at Sams Club today. Neither employee I spoke with during my visit made any comments resembling what you heard. In fact they did the typical "are you interested in an extended warranty" spiel. Comes with a 1 yr warranty, and I MAY buy a 2nd yr, at only $29. Didn't have to buy it today though. Have to say I'm very pleased with it so far. (btw, been a member for about 15 yrs)
I would ask at the customer service desk because I did when I went back and told them I was told if I buy something from SAM Club and it fails to perform like it did when I bought it I could return exchange it and it included TV's. Its worth a try.
All you people are so focused on the Plasma / LCD issue. I can't get past the idea of the pool table in the attic.uzzled: Damocles might be okay with it, but I'd probably move my bed. -- Steve
mines right next to my computer,my wife thinks it's a catch all for stuff she doesnt know where to put:spank: i got it three years ago & have played maybe a dozen games on it id rather have that in an attic than a waterbed!!
jamie, they only had one 42" Vizio model available. I "think" it's the GV but I'll have to check later. They did have 47" also, but more $$ than I was willing to spend.
Most if not all TV's are sent out from the factory, being way out of adjustment. The colors are cranked up, the brightness and contrast are wrong. It's a marketing thing, you get the impression that the brightest is the best. My Father-in-law's TV has the color guns turned way up, when I suggested that I bring my DVD to correct the color issues, he snapped at me, says he likes it that wayou: Also like anything else, just because you bought a brand that your happy with, does not mean that every model they sell is great. Years ago, I was in the market for a DVD player. Read the reviews, wanted a Panny XP30 (Still Great) Found out that Panny discontinued them. The replacement unit was junk. Seems Panny decided to make their own chip and ruined it in the process. As you move up in screen size, the components that you hook to the monitor become more crucial. Bit drops on a 19" are no big deal, but look like crap on a 50" screen. I can tell you that all the R&D dollars are going into LCD TV's and not DLP's, Plasma. LCD is where it's at least today (Subject to change), no dimming issue with time (Plasma), rainbow effect (DLP). There are a number of good sets out there. I like the Ambilight Philips sets, however, you can't judge it from a store shelf, you need to be in a high end store in a separate room, to see the advantages. Also remember, there's only a couple of places in the world that supply the glass (Screens) I don't think any manufacture makes their own. So it's the supporting electronics that make the set. Personally, I'd stay away from the budget store that sell the budget models, there is some truth in "You get what you pay for". I'd spend some time on the AVS website (http://www.avsforum.com/), this is were the geeks hang out. They are there everyday, just as crazy as some Buick people I know:beer Rich
Well, I just bought a Samsung 40" LCD, LN-T4071. Should be here in about a week. This set currently is on sale at BestBuy for $2000, but Amazon has it on sale, for $1449, free shipping, and free Logitech remote. 1080p, 25000:1 contrast ratio, and the better 120Hz LCD panel. I think I got a super deal and I can't wait to get it set up. I will post pics when I get it.
I'm looking for a 42" LCD... Prices presently range from $800 to $1500. I went to a specialty store yesterday, Ed's TV in Hatfield. Ed's has a great reputation. They do however have a limited selection of brands. They will match prices, so price is not a concern. They double the factory warranty, and do most repairs in-house. I asked about the brands they DON'T sell...low-end Visio and LG, and the highly regarded Samsungs. They primarily said many of the Korean-built sets are difficult to repair. Most repairs on those require replacing boards and not individual components. That is something they don't want to deal with, since they do repairs in house. Sounds like a good reason to me... So...Find out if there are service centers for your chosen brand in the area....apparently, Visio only has one in California....while LG has several around the country. Shipping your set across the country for warranty repairs could be a huge hassle, especially if you have to pay the shipping! Picture quality....they all look pretty darn good! Really need to see the sets side-by side to see any difference... Best time to buy? They told me Superbowl time generally gives lower prices than the Xmas season.... That's good since the Sony set I have my eye on is still a bit more than I want to pay.... Anyone know what the markup over dealer cost is for a TV? I'm guessing 20-30 percent, based on list vs sale prices I've seen..... I miss my 27" Panasonic. Had that since 93!... now I'm back to watching my 20" Hitachi that I've had since the late 1980's!!
Im pretty much in the same category - 1080p as well. My parents had a 27" hitachi that I dumped when they sold their house - still played excellent to the day it went to the curb:ball:
yeah my parents old Hitachi last for years and years! It was a wood console unit and it the picture tube finally went after 20 some years. I just cashed in on the whole lcd/plasma thing by buying a 54" projection tv that looks great for $500 after my budy bought a new plasma. I have the room so its all good for me!
The question between plasma's and lcd's should be based on viewing preference. Both have their positives and negatives. One thing to really watch out for on both units is what is thier native resolution. Most LCD's only go up to 720p and upconvert to 1080i which can cause artifacting. Plasma's on the other hand usually have a native resolution of 1080i and down convert to 720p which is usually not a problem. One thing to really watch out for is cheaper price LCD's and Plasma's are EDTV....meaning native resolution is 480i or 480p depending on the manufacturer...not good! As one poster mentioned, go to avsforum.com and spend some time in there. I personally own a 55" rear screen mitsubshi that is now 3+ years old and still looks like day one. Mitsubshi is a very highly rated manufacturer as well as panasonic plasmas. You will also notice some manufactures rate native resolution all the way up to 1080p. 1080p is being driven by Xbox and Playstataion only....why you might ask...1080p is a progressive scan which rescans every line, unlike 1080i is interlaced, meaning every other line gets rescaned. 1080i doesn't handle fast motion very well and causes pixilation, whereas 1080p can handle that. At this point of time broadcasters are likely not to switch to 1080p because of cost of new encoders, but the main reason is the amount of bandwidth that it takes to make a 1080p picture. In conclusion, watch out for the native resolution that the set can deliver, go to the avsforum and ask questions, visit your local retailer and look at the sets your interested in, but don't look at any animated pictures because they always look good, instead visit the stores in the evening when broadcasters are broadcasting in HD and compare. Lastly your budget will dictate what you can buy. By the way..I'm a director of engineering for a Fox station so I see both sides :Brow: it's amazing on how much miss information is out their, so it pays to educate yourself before you go shopping becuase most sales people don't have a clue. o No: Steve 72 Vert undergoing frame off restro
Steve, concerning 1080i resolution... As I see it the higher resolution can only be utilized for those using the set with games, hi-end DVD (BluRay), and maybe as a computer monitor. Correct? I don't see a need for the hi-res in my case. I use Dish Network sat tv, and receive local stations via air. I mentioned warranty issues with Vizio...I'm not picking on them, just using them as an example. In looking at their website: - Warranty repairs will be done on-site on 30" and larger sets. - If repairs can not be made on-site, set must be returned to Vizio. - For mail-in repair, shipping is at customers cost. Return shipping is covered by Vizio. - If unit needs to be replaced under terms of the warranty: >>(Quote)For displays forty-two inches (42") and larger, VIZIO will generally cover the transportation charges to perform an on-site swap of the original unit with the replacement unit. For displays under forty-two inches (42"), the customer is responsible for the transportation charges to VIZIO's service center.(end Quote)<< What does 'generally' mean?? My whole point is....read the warranty before buying! In the case of Vizio, coverage is better for a 42" than a 37" set. So you can justify spending a bit more for a larger set.... or at least tell your spouse that.:Brow: Another reason I like the idea of buying from a retailer like ED'sTV is that they double the factory warranty. Guess I should read the fine print tho! BTW, I'm starting to see some smokin' deals on 50" plasma sets.....some are near the $1000 dollar mark!
NBC, CBS, CW and PBS offer 1080i native resolution when in network programming right now, whereas Fox and ABC offer 720p. With Direct, Dish or AT&T U-Verse you are receiving a MPEG-4 stream which is highly compressed, but still considered decent HD material. OTA (over the air), Blue Ray or HD-DVD and HD Games is where true HD really shines since it's not compressed. Depending on the cable provider you have, it may be a MPEG-4 stream or a compressed Quam signal, most likely Quam since it provides better picture quality, but here again it also depends how at the cable head-end they compress the decoders to fit all the channels. Example: a 1080i signal is approx 19.38 Mbs per second. You can squeeze this down to 15.5 Mbs per socond, but your going to "starve" the bandwidth when you have high motion scenes and get pixelazation. Steve 72 Vert
Just bought a Philips 42" LCD 1080P. I also got a all in one Philips 1080i upscaling DVD/CD/AM-FM/USB/Ipod Dock Surround sound:beer . I also have a 1080i HD recorder cable box. OK, I work for them and the price was well, impossible to pass up. But I must say, I'm impressed with the set-up. This is the everyday TV, so it needed to be simple to use. The TV has more inputs than you'll ever use, including 3 - HDMI ports (The HDMI Cables are :dollar: , but noticable difference). It was very easy to set up. The TV asks you a series of questions for set up, do you like picture A or B, sound A or B. The all in one, is not bad considering I paid $70 for it. Small compact, 5 speakers and a sub. Neat part is it plays everything. I can plug my MP3 into it, a USB stick full of pictures. I have a Sony 50" LCD projection in the Video room with a big surround sound system and I paid a lot more for it than the new set up, it's a few years old. Today's techonolgy is impressive and so cheep compared to a few years ago. Anyhow, more than happy with this inexpensive set-up. Rich
No need to pay a lot for HDMI cables. Digital cables either work or they don't. A $7 set from monoprice works they same as best buy $75 "monster cables". DL
Yea, the Monster Cables are a complete waste. I usally shoot for a mid grade cable. You can go with the dirt cheap and I have done this, but you can tell a difference when you get into the bigger screen sizes. I don't think that anyone could see issues with a 19" screen. It all depends on how pickey you want to be. A $1K display with a $7 cable? I'd put a couple hundred in the budget for the interconnect cables, if your replacing all of them. I really like the Dayton Brand, great reviews: http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&CAT_ID=56&ObjectGroup_ID=628 Rich
