T.K. asks from Grand Prairie, TX on January 15, 2011
What Do I Need to Know to Buy a Tv? - Where Have You Seen a Great Sale?
Superbowl brings tvs on sale. I want a new tv. Mine is 20 yrs old, bought used from a pawn shop. You can't even hook a dvd player to it! ha! I have scrimped and saved and worked extra hours and I am ready! I'm looking in the 37 to 42 in size, flat panel lcd. I know to get HD and 1080p. I've been told to get LCD because kids can mess up the plasma if they touch it. I do want great sound and picture of course. I'll probably have it 20 years so I guess brand might matter a little. I'd love to have a tv I could hook my digital camera to. I'm sure internet tv is way out of my price range. I'm trying to stay under 500 total, including tax, extra wries, and extended service warranty. So, If you've bought a new tv, what features should I make sure and get, what features dont make that much differance, where have you seen a great sale? I'm seeing WalMart and Sears with 42in in the 450 to 500 range. Any other ideas? Thanks Friends (Please if you don't know anything about tvs don't try to spread the gospel of Dave Ramsey here. I already have a God) :)
So What Happened?™
Thank you for all your great advice. I went to Best Buy and talked to the experts. I got prices and went home to do my research. I found a great deal on a great tv at Comp USA. They're big online but they have a local store here. I bought a 40 in Toshiba LCD and the picture blows me away. All the reviews were raves and looking at the picture I see why. The only problem is the sound really stinks. It sounds like an old am fm radio. None of the reviews mentioned that! But I have a feeling it's a plot to get me to buy a home audio system!
Featured Answers
G.T. answers from Modesto on January 15, 2011
I have a 51 inch Vizio my kids got me for christmas year before last. Walmart and bestbuy usually have great sales on them. They got mine for 500 and the quality is great. Definitely dont go plasma and if you can go bigger than 42 you should.
1 mom found this helpful
A.G. answers from Boston on January 15, 2011
If you go to Best Buy you can ask if they have any "opened box sets". They are just boxes thats have been opened for one reason or another. Or sometimes they will sell you the display for 20% off. I have a 32" LCD Samsung and it was the display model and I paid a little over $300. I did a lot of research on the TV that I wanted and I waited until it was on sale so I got a really good deal. I have had the TV for about 2 years now so it being the display model hasn't mattered much.
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A.B. answers from New York on January 15, 2011
Just read consumer reports on anything you are interested in. The consumer "us", give comment on satisfaction, quality cost etc. My hubs buys nothing till he reads them and all our electronics have been amazing.
1 mom found this helpful
L.B. answers from Stockton on January 15, 2011
We went to Best Buy since you can compare the picture quality and prices for yourself. We shopped forever (my husband is anal when making a big purchase) and ended up with a Sony LCD. Very happy with it but so many are comparable and there are a lot of sales out there!
1 mom found this helpful
C.G. answers from Denver on January 15, 2011
We have a 42 inch Phillips hubby got at Sam's Club. I like the fact I can read the words on it :-p Just go stand at the 'wall of TV's' and see which one you like the picture best on.
That's how I do it. I then have the cable guy hook it all up (prior to having a hubby).
1 mom found this helpful
L.D. answers from Dallas on January 15, 2011
BEST BUY!!!! Dont buy a TV anywhere else. My husband and I have bought all our tvs from there. Their tv people know what they are talking about. We actually have to 46 Samsung Lcd in the bedroom and 32 Samsung Lcd in son's room and our living room has 58 Plasma. All great Tvs.
I trust Best buy people. Best buy always has great deals going on where they even include a blue-ray player for free.
Hope its helpful. Good luck!
1 mom found this helpful
G.T. answers from Modesto on January 15, 2011
I have a 51 inch Vizio my kids got me for christmas year before last. Walmart and bestbuy usually have great sales on them. They got mine for 500 and the quality is great. Definitely dont go plasma and if you can go bigger than 42 you should.
1 mom found this helpful
T.S. answers from Sacramento on January 15, 2011
Well, nothing lasts 20 years in my house, so i got an Element (it's an economy brand sold through Walmart). I've been SOOOOO happy with it. I paid $199 for a 26" screen, with 1080p HD. That said, I can't recommend a GREAT tv because I just don't do GREAT tv.
I did want to tell you though, that for Christmas I got a blue-ray player with WiFi. It's an LG BD570. It cost under $200 all in. I can stream from netflix, youtube, pandora etc and link with my home pc to watch/listen to things I have downloaded. It doesn't actually "surf" the web, it just has apps for those particular sites, but it's awesome. If you can find a tv with room left in your budget, the wifi bluray might be a good way to get the internet tv you're looking for. (but make sure you get one that has wifi built in not "wifi ready" because then you still have to pay for the adapter) :)
1 mom found this helpful
L.S. answers from Tyler on January 18, 2011
Check Tigerdirect.com
Get as many HDMI ports as you possibly can.
720p is okay, too, in my opinion.
Good luck!
L.
J.E. answers from Los Angeles on January 15, 2011
costco has great prices.
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