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View Full Version : black friday deals....where's the best place to look for a TV



huggytree
11-20-2012, 07:59 PM
i always buy my parents very large gifts....this way i buy them 1 gift a year ....sometimes i get them something really special and im covered for 2-3 years at a time....
im looking to get them a Sony 46" led tv this time....Amazon has it for $50 off for black friday (whooopde do)....im wondering if there's somewhere else i should be looking instead..

any suggestions? or are the best internet deals on things like TV's going to happen closer to Christmas

billbenson
11-20-2012, 08:15 PM
Are you physically delivering it or having it drop shipped to them?

Freelancier
11-20-2012, 09:33 PM
WalMart
Target
HH Gregg
BestBuy
Amazon

If Sony is offering a deal on it, one of those will have the deal.

All the Black Friday ads for these stores are online already.

Harold Mansfield
11-21-2012, 10:41 AM
I don't even shop in store anymore for stuff like that. I buy electronics from either Amazon, New Egg or the Manufacturers website. There just really is no point in driving around to save $50 that you are going to burn up in gas anyway and still end up paying what you could have got it online for in 10 minutes.

If I do go to an electronics store, its Fry's, but I don't think you have those where you are.

I particularly like Amazon as that is where I do must of my shopping these days. I try to stay with products that are actually in stock with Amazon as opposed to 3rd parties, even though I have never had a problem with anything from there.


And if they are gifts it's really easy to have them sent where you need them to go. It couldn't be easier.

Russ in Vancouver
11-21-2012, 02:46 PM
costco is a place we have been scouting, walmart has some great deals too

billbenson
11-21-2012, 05:25 PM
One thing about Walmart and some others is you can buy it online and return it at your local store which is convenient. I find returning online purchases a pain int the butt if I can't return it locally. And Walmart will take ANYTHING back.

Pack-Secure
11-21-2012, 05:32 PM
I particularly like Amazon as that is where I do must of my shopping these days. I try to stay with products that are actually in stock with Amazon as opposed to 3rd parties, even though I have never had a problem with anything from there.


I do the opposite, if they have a 3rd party seller I buy from them. Amazon makes their cut for the commission and it helps keep the smaller places in business.

billbenson
11-21-2012, 05:55 PM
@Harold. I bought a mother board at Fry's recently. I have two PC's that I want to run Linux. Linux can have hardware issues. So I wanted a Linux compatible motherboard. I called Tiger Direct and New Egg to see if they knew what was a good Linux compatible board. I got a "well, uugh dunno" from both. So I tried Fry's online. I got a guy on the phone who recommended a board and knew what he was talking about. Of course this could be coincidence. I bought the board from Fry's. After that I wanted to upgrade a windows machine to Linux. That machine was a barebones kit I got from Tiger. The sales guy said it would run Linux. He was wrong. So I bought the second board, this time from Tiger to upgrade that machine to run Linux. Same motherboard as the Fry's board but $100 vs $120 at Tiger.

Point being Fry's was more expensive. I have no idea if that is across the board or just for this mother board. Fry's may have a more competent staff however. Particularly if you call a physical store in San Jose.

Pack-Secure
11-21-2012, 10:31 PM
I would rather pay more to a company that has competent staff. JMHO.

huggytree
11-22-2012, 11:42 AM
i thought i had a great deal on Amazon....then i went to Bestbuy and found the same deal

i found a lower priced 40" but it has only 60hz refresh rate....i doubt my parents could tell the difference between 60 and the typical 240 that they all have now, but im still not sold on it.....

is there a picture difference between the regular flat screens and the new LED ones......or is it just power usage is lower for the LED and thats why they are popular?

TV's are like computers now....1.5 years ago i bought a top of the line Sony and it was around $1,500 range.....now that same TV is $600 or less.......its outdated in less than a year by the next best thing...

billbenson
11-22-2012, 12:17 PM
I would rather pay more to a company that has competent staff. JMHO.

I think I just got lucky with Fry's online.

Harold Mansfield
11-25-2012, 08:09 PM
TV's are like computers now...

They really are. I used to know how to buy a TV. You just brought based on size, brand and maybe a few extras like Picture in Picture or whatever. Now you have to study all kinds of displays, mhz, LED, LCD, DLP, refresh rates, and all kind of stuff just to buy one.

MyITGuy
11-26-2012, 12:28 AM
They really are. I used to know how to buy a TV. You just brought based on size, brand and maybe a few extras like Picture in Picture or whatever. Now you have to study all kinds of displays, mhz, LED, LCD, DLP, refresh rates, and all kind of stuff just to buy one.

They don't necessarily become outdated, and you still get what you pay for.

It basically comes down to the 3 things you touched on, plus a few other items:
Screen Type: OLED > LED > LCD > Plasma
Refresh Rate/Mhz: The higher the better as this will reduce the blur effects that action/sports can have on a display. At a minimum you should be looking at 120Mhz
Resolution: 1080P is best for high definition content and should be what you look for. Only settle on 720P if you dont watch HD content or if it will be used as a secondary screen.
Contrast Ratio: Again, the higher the number the better as this number and is probably one of the most important you should look at. This variable is how bright/dark your screen can display blacks/whites.

After these items are taken into consideration, the last things you have to worry about are 3D or not (Not IMO), the screen size, then the number of ports to handle your equipment without having to buy/hook up extra receivers.

billbenson
11-26-2012, 10:31 AM
But what do you recommend in this category Jeff: "Screen Type: OLED > LED > LCD > Plasma"

MyITGuy
11-26-2012, 11:51 AM
But what do you recommend in this category Jeff: "Screen Type: OLED > LED > LCD > Plasma"
It pretty much comes down to what your budget is. OLED/LED is the newer technology and will come at a premium, but will likely have the higher contrast ratio. I would avoid Plasma at all costs as there was/is an issue with images burning into the screen fairly easily (Note: This may have changed since I last reviewed the plasma tech).

Personally, I would likely stay with LCD until the prices come down on OLED/LED screens to make them more competitive/worth while.

huggytree
11-27-2012, 08:10 PM
i found a nice Sony 42" on Amazon that id like to buy them....then i started thinking about how they get their signal

they have an antena on the roof and a HD converter box to get the signal....they dont have a HD tv currently


im wondering if their antenna is able to them TRUE HD??? its old, so i suspect it wont....they will have a nice new HD tv w/ no HD

am i wrong?

can they get 1080 out of any antenna?

MyITGuy
11-27-2012, 09:53 PM
im wondering if their antenna is able to them TRUE HD??? its old, so i suspect it wont....they will have a nice new HD tv w/ no HD

am i wrong?

can they get 1080 out of any antenna?

Depends on the broadcaster, but generally your looking at 720P or 1080i. 1080i still has the high resolution, but its not as crisp/sharp as 1080P due to the technology that displays the signal.

But if there only getting over the air signals, would a newer/bigger TV benefit them at all? Do they watch allot of TV?

Do they have broadband internet? If so, purchasing a device that allows them to access streaming channels might be something to look at?