Buying a new plasma/LCD is this a good buy?

[quote name='sonic911']Big Lots has this phillips HDTV for $600 http://www.pricegrabber.com/rating_getprodrev.php/product_id=9571048/id_type=M/

Is it worth the price?

Plus can any technical people tell me if the resolution is 720p or 1080i or 480p?[/quote]

It says in the product specs it supports up to 1080i, along with 720p & 480p. It looks like a good deal, as long as it is new in the box and not a display model that has been on for the past 4 months and beaten up by every kid that walked by it.
 
[quote name='GLOCKGLOCK']It says in the product specs it supports up to 1080i, along with 720p & 480p. It looks like a good deal, as long as it is new in the box and not a display model that has been on for the past 4 months and beaten up by every kid that walked by it.[/QUOTE]

I believe they have the tvs in boxes, but they are refurbished by Phillips.
 
I checked Consumer reports for you. They dont have this model but they have one that looks very close
Philips 32PF7321D

That was their 4th highest rated in that size.

I would look for the differences between those and go from there.

I do notice that the contrast ratio is only 800:1 that is really really low. I would go in and take a peak at a display model. I love the samsungs picture over all others in this size range. The samsungs have a 7000:1 or even 8000:1 contrast.

Good luck
 
[quote name='sonic911']Big Lots has this phillips HDTV for $600 http://www.pricegrabber.com/rating_getprodrev.php/product_id=9571048/id_type=M/

Is it worth the price?

Plus can any technical people tell me if the resolution is 720p or 1080i or 480p?[/QUOTE]

I'm suprise they didn't have a display model to show you. The 800:1 contrast ratio is really outdated. at least 3 yrs old. You need something with at least 2000:1 for a TV.... it is a 720p unit that will accept a 1080i signal, which then down grades to 720p. Everything else looks good. HDMI input, 8ms/ response time, the 550 cd/m2 brightness is a bit low... remember this when buying a tv, its about the digital video processor inside. You need to see for yourself before buying this. The remote on this unit seems flimsy and didn't have that much function.

Buy this.. and you'll get big time buyer's remorse. I say pass.
 
Definitely pass. Comparable sets were around $600-$700 on Black Friday, and it's not rare to find such a deal today. Bookmark Slickdeals.net and wait for a good price, you can get either a much better set or a much cheaper set.


As for 720p, etc... the native resolution is 1366x768. All material will be displayed at this resolution. Non-1366x768 material is scaled to this resolution. 1080i/p requires 1080 vertical pixels, this set only has 768, so you lose a great amount of detail. You won't even get full quality from 720p, since it's going to be upscaled by the set. But that's really common for fixed-pixel HD TVs.

To clarify the technical features you were asking about, the specs list this:

Broadcast Format Supported:
1080i (HDTV),
480i (SDTV),
480p (EDTV),
576i,
720p (HDTV)


Broadcast Format Displayed:
480i (SDTV),
480p (EDTV),
768p

That means this TV set will display an image if the source is on the top list. But, no matter what the source is, it will only display one of the resolutions from the bottom list. E.g., 720p and 1080i will both be scaled to 768p, but 480i, 480p and 768p will all be displayed in their full glory. Since most HD sources are 720p or 1080i right now, the vaaaast majority of HD you'll see is going to be scaled to 768p. This resolution is ideal for a HTPC (home theatre PC), though.


In short: Save your money. Wait for a good deal, either getting a comparable set for cheaper or a much better set for the same price.
 
Reality Check Time:

No LCD display has a native contrast ratio greater than about 1400:1, any number higher than that means the set is using "Dynamic Image Enhancement" or "AI" or whatever it is they call their "Dynamic Contrast" abilities, which can usually be turned on or off in a menu.

The panels are improving, maybe they are as high as 2000:1 or more now, but thats not on generic everyday sets from brand X manufacturers.

In order to achieve the higher contrast ratio numbers, the set will detect how much brightness is being shown in a given scene....if there is alot lf darkness in the screen, the set will automaticlly lower the overall screen brightness and bulb output to give the "illusion" of deeper blacks and a higher overall contrast ratio, but if the scene has some bright objects on it, then it can't do that (or it will dim out the bright object), hence those claims should be taken with a grain of salt.

Having Said That, 800:1 is still a pretty low CR...thats 2001 specs. You can get a Westinghouse or Syntax Olevia refurbished from newegg in the 32" size for about $400 to $500 these days, I'd go with one of those over anything from Big Lots, and those will have contrast ratios above 1000:1, maybe even 2400:1 (again, Dynamic Contrast mode)

Most LCD panels these days 32 or 37" in size have a native screen resolution of 1366x768, which makes them 720p capable. Most can accept a 1080i signal and downconvert it to 720p.
 
o.k. now that i've ordered my tv i guess i'll let other people know theres this sale on frys.com on an olevia 37" LCD TV 337h for $549 + shipping , my total ended up at $614

oh and its a good tv , you can find reviews anywhere on the net (check neweggs ratings)
 
[quote name='GLOCKGLOCK']Wow, I haven't looked at any of these prices lately. This deal is definitely worth the $200 more that you could pay over the refurbished one, plus Costco has a great return policy.

Thanks Koggit, I think I might have found myself a new TV![/QUOTE]

One problem is the contrast ratio. About costco as I remember now the return policy has changed to only 90 days for TV.
 
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