new TV advice?

[Ga Cat Fan]

Any is fine...it's a digital signal, that is to say transferring sound and picture using bits, not an analog signal consisting of frequencies. It really shouldn't be that susceptible to noise. Don't fall for the Monster Cable hype. If you get a brand name at Walmart like Philips, you'll be fine.

Okay, thanks for the info.:thumbsup:

[Carolina Husker]

This thread delivers.

OK, so I'm pretty sure I'll pull the trigger on a Plasma this weekend. 99% chance it'll happen at Best Buy because of their current promotions and 18 months interest free financing. I've pretty much boiled it down to these two:

Panasonic - VIERA / 50" Class / 1080p / 600Hz / Plasma HDTV

or

Samsung - 50" Class / 1080p / 600Hz / Plasma HDTV

but i'm leaning towards the Samsung from what I've read on here as well as the comparison on this site:

Head to Head

Few questions though:

Is the Geek Squad Warranty worth it? I think it's $299 extra.

I'm fairly sure I'm going with a mounted stand instead of a wall mount for several reason. One, the interior wall where the TV is going is brick and would be a bitch to install in mortar. Two, I don't really trust mounting it in brick. And three, I'm not going to pay a lot to have it installed in a place I may move out of in a year or so. Plus I will need a place to put the other equipment anyway.

I found this stand at Costco. Seems to be the best deal around for a mounted stand that can hold a 50" TV. Anyone seen anything better than this?

[Britneck]

This thread delivers.

OK, so I'm pretty sure I'll pull the trigger on a Plasma this weekend. 99% chance it'll happen at Best Buy because of their current promotions and 18 months interest free financing. I've pretty much boiled it down to these two:

Panasonic - VIERA / 50" Class / 1080p / 600Hz / Plasma HDTV

or

Samsung - 50" Class / 1080p / 600Hz / Plasma HDTV

but i'm leaning towards the Samsung from what I've read on here as well as the comparison on this site:

Head to Head

Few questions though:

Is the Geek Squad Warranty worth it? I think it's $299 extra.

I'm fairly sure I'm going with a mounted stand instead of a wall mount for several reason. One, the interior wall where the TV is going is brick and would be a bitch to install in mortar. Two, I don't really trust mounting it in brick. And three, I'm not going to pay a lot to have it installed in a place I may move out of in a year or so. Plus I will need a place to put the other equipment anyway.

I found this stand at Costco. Seems to be the best deal around for a mounted stand that can hold a 50" TV. Anyone seen anything better than this?

I've got the Panasonic and it is fuging awesome. They pawn all plasmas. Samsung i think have the best LCD's. I see you're in a hurry but they can run some great specials. When i got mine i got a free xbox and a free 5 year plan. I was ok with waiting though. I spent a lot of time to pick the one i wanted and then waited for the best deal.

[Acewalker]

Any is fine...it's a digital signal, that is to say transferring sound and picture using bits, not an analog signal consisting of frequencies. It really shouldn't be that susceptible to noise. Don't fall for the Monster Cable hype. If you get a brand name at Walmart like Philips, you'll be fine.

Just make sure you get one that at least looks a little sturdy, if the end of the cord gets yanked off or something, it's a real bitch trying to put it back on (personal experience). And they're so damn expensive too... $40 for 6 feet of cable, ffs.

[Carolina Husker]

I've got the Panasonic and it is fuging awesome. They pawn all plasmas. Samsung i think have the best LCD's. I see you're in a hurry but they can run some great specials. When i got mine i got a free xbox and a free 5 year plan. I was ok with waiting though. I spent a lot of time to pick the one i wanted and then waited for the best deal.

Where did you get that deal? I don't necessarily have to get it this weekend, but Best Buy runs these weekly specials, and if you miss them, they're gone. They ran one a while back for a Sony Bravia 50" LCD w/ 5.1 surround sound system and a PS3 for like $1700. I tried to get it one week later and they wouldn't offer it to me anymore.

[Britneck]

Where did you get that deal? I don't necessarily have to get it this weekend, but Best Buy runs these weekly specials, and if you miss them, they're gone. They ran one a while back for a Sony Bravia 50" LCD w/ 5.1 surround sound system and a PS3 for like $1700. I tried to get it one week later and they wouldn't offer it to me anymore.

Yeah, i got mine from a weekly special. Just check the sunday ads every week for Best Buy. I got mine a year ago but, i have seen the same special pop up a couple of times since then. You can almost always get something free like a PS3, Xbox, Blue Ray player, Wall mount, etc... They didn't advertise the 5 year plan for free on mine, but when he added it to the bill he said it popped up free and must be part of the special. Deals should start popping up more now that football season is starting and new tv's are coming in for 2010, so they will try and get rid of older models.

[Carolina Husker]

Yeah, I wait for them every Sunday. Best Buy won't give anything away, but they have some good deals, especially with this 18 months interest free.

It pisses me off a bit they won't honor or even negotiate past specials. I offered to buy a $1800 package a few weeks ago and pay the difference if they gave me the PS3 instead of the Blue Ray player. They wouldn't even do that. That's a little disconcerting.

[shinner]

Few questions though:

Is the Geek Squad Warranty worth it? I think it's $299 extra.

I'm fairly sure I'm going with a mounted stand instead of a wall mount for several reason.

You'd pay someone 300 bucks to set a TV on a stand? Dude, c'mon! A 50" plasma isn't going to be that heavy. You have a wife, right? No reason the two of you couldn't handle it. My wife is a stick and we managed to get our 60" plasma on a wall bracket without any problems. Don't throw you're money away. That's easy money.

Just make sure you get one that at least looks a little sturdy, if the end of the cord gets yanked off or something, it's a real bitch trying to put it back on (personal experience). And they're so damn expensive too... $40 for 6 feet of cable, ffs.

why would that happen though? you basically plug it in once and forget about it.

[Carolina Husker]

You'd pay someone 300 bucks to set a TV on a stand? Dude, c'mon! A 50" plasma isn't going to be that heavy. You have a wife, right? No reason the two of you couldn't handle it. My wife is a stick and we managed to get our 60" plasma on a wall bracket without any problems. Don't throw you're money away. That's easy money.

Where did you get that from "Geek Squad Warranty"?

[shinner]

Where did you get that from "Geek Squad Warranty"?

Sorry, I misread....thought you were talking about an install service. In regard to an extended warranty...on something as expensive as this, I'm buying.

[Carolina Husker]

Yeah, that's what I keep hearing, even though it doesn't include physical damage, which I'm most afraid of. I can just see one of the dogs racing by it and knocking it over or something.

[cptx]

If you are worried about it getting knocked off, i suggest one of the stands that you actually mount to the back of the tv instead of just sitting the tv on top. They cost a little more but are worth it, imo.

[j2sgam]

Dude, I hang TVs any day for $250 without blinkin an eye. BBuy wants $350 or so to hang up to a 32", and closer to $500 for anyhting bigger. Hangin a TV is simple. If youre going to go with the stand instead of mountin it, you will be payin someone to take it out of the box, put it on the stand that probably comes with it, and turn approximately 4 screws. As far as HDMI any will work with most devices, but get the HDMI 1.3 if you have a newer BluRay player to keep it compatible with the current DHCP handshake.

Heres a couple places to check before you make a purchase:

tigerdirect.com for TVs

monoprice.com for mounts, cables, etc

[Carolina Husker]

If you are worried about it getting knocked off, i suggest one of the stands that you actually mount to the back of the tv instead of just sitting the tv on top. They cost a little more but are worth it, imo.

Yeah, that's what I'm getting.

Dude, I hang TVs any day for $250 without blinkin an eye. BBuy wants $350 or so to hang up to a 32", and closer to $500 for anyhting bigger. Hangin a TV is simple. If youre going to go with the stand instead of mountin it, you will be payin someone to take it out of the box, put it on the stand that probably comes with it, and turn approximately 4 screws. As far as HDMI any will work with most devices, but get the HDMI 1.3 if you have a newer BluRay player to keep it compatible with the current DHCP handshake.

Heres a couple places to check before you make a purchase:

tigerdirect.com for TVs

monoprice.com for mounts, cables, etc

I'm not paying Best Buy shit for installation. I laughed when the sales girl told me what "installation" consisted of. What a joke. I'm going to install the TV on the stand myself. My only decision was whether or not to mount it in a brick wall, which I've decided against. Another thing that has me favoring Best Buy is they'll deliver for free where HH Gregg wants $75.

Thanks for the links.