- Jan 12, 2004
- 11,078
- 11
- 81
EDIT - <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://forums.gottadeal.com/showthread.php?t=61428">Here's a link to the printable 12% BB coupon
</a>
_________________________________________________________________________
Hi guys,
Lastnight I finally was able to convince the wife that it was time for us to get an HDTV (great holiday sales). Below is my experience at BB getting a pretty sweet deal on a great HDTV followed by some (really) imporant (and admittedly newbish) questions. I would like to add that, I'm really not an audio/videophile (IE: Ignorant). I love this technology, and I'm at heart...a gamer -which is the main driving force behind this purchase. Ok! On ward!
We ended up at Besy Buy with a 12% off coupon in hand ready to take advantage of their 18 month no interest financing. We took a look at with the following HDTVs with the following initial impressions:
Sony 46" LCD HDTV (KDL40XBR2)
When we approached this TV and it was hooked up to a full home theatre surround sound system and a Blu-Ray player. "Open Season" was playing on a BRD player and our jaws dropped. The image on this TV was absolutely stunning. The visual fidelity was the most impressive I've ever seen. My wife actually said, "Oh wow...I need to take a step back....I think I'm getting a headache" (the scene was moving around fast and she gets vertigo kinda easy). It was amazing -but a tad too small for us. When I say small, I don't mean the distance (of the physical screen) from side-to-side, but the distance from top to bottom. Another movie came on and it was in widescreen format and we noticed that is was not taking advantage of the entire screen -it had about 2-3 inches of un-used space on the top and bottom of the screen. I didnt fully understand why this was happening -but the movie came across as small -too small. So, we moved on to the 46'' below...
Sony 46" LCD HDTV (KDL46XBR2)
Holy Christmas! What an amazing TV. It was just like it's 40'' little brother, but much bigger. We sat and watched some football game. I wish we could have seen "Open Season" on this TV, but it appeared that the TV had a slightly less as sharp picture than the 40'' XBR2. Please keep in mind when I say this -it still looked incredible. It wasnt a huge difference -but I could swear that I saw a small difference. Anyway -loved this TV.
Sony 46" LCD HDTV (KDL-46S2010)
Another great TV -but it just didnt compare to the XBR2 line of Bravias so we moved on.
Sharp AQUOS 46" 1080p LCD HDTV (LC46D62U )
We had heard a lot about this TV from a few friends and on line. So, we were excited about the prospect of looking at this TV because it was slightly cheaper and (from what we heard) had the potentiol to be just as good, if not, better than the 46'' Bravia.
When we watched it for about 10 mins, it just appeared to fall a little short of the 46'' XBR2. It was running on the same football game feed, so it was easy to compare. It was nice, but it had a little more or a grainy picture and we moved on.
Sony Grand WEGA 50" 1080p Rear-Projection SXRD HDTV
The last TV we were going to check out was the SXRD. As we approached it, the first thing we noticed was the size of this thing. We really had our hearts set on an LCD (mainly because of the physically footprint -my wife really likes the size and weight of LCDs so thats where we were heading most likely). We tried to have an open mind because of the size and price -but we just wernt impressed after seeing these other incredible HDTVs (also, we're big on viewing angles). We quickly moved on.
We walked back to all three LCDs and found ouselves coming back to the 46'' XBR2. After about 15 minutes of consideration we decided to move on it. The 18 month (same as cash) no interest + the 12% coupon just kind of hooked and reeled us in. We pulled a rep aside and be began the purchase process of the 46'' XBR2.
After about 10 mins of paper work at the counter, it turned out that the TV was not in stock. In fact, the TV wasnt even at the warehouse for order. A manager (extremely nice and helpful) took over and attempted to track down the TV for us -but had no luck. He informed us of the situation and then said, "Ok, follow me..." and walked over to the "high-end exhibition room" and took us to a 46'' XBR3. He said, "Look, I have no idea when we're even going to get an XBR2 in -it could be weeks, this time of year, so here is what I can do for you. This is an XBR3. It's the exact same TV as the XBR2. The only difference is that it has a black piano finished on the outside and a "floating glass" look -so it's all asthetics. So, technically speaking -it's the same exact TV and I'll give it to you for the exact same price ($3419.99).
My wife wasnt really sure, at first, because of the black "piano finish" and it's super-reflective surface. It bothered her and I could onyl respect that. We talked it over, and I asked the manager if he had any other deals. I informed him that we were interested in in the 46'' AQUOS as well. He thought it over and said, ok I'll give you that TV for $2399 ($700 off!). We ran back to the AQUOS and looked it over. What a sweet deal! We then ran back to the XBR2/XBR3 and considered our options.
The XBR2/3, really, just had a superior picture in the end. The excellent price on the AQUOS really had us stuck in consideration. We figured, what the heck -lets just get the AQUOS because thats an amazing price. We walked back to the counter, past the XBR3 and my wife stopped. I looked back and she says, "...it just has a better picture though, does it? I mean, look at it. It's beautiful". I've never, ever head my wife call ANY electronic device beautiful -that changed everything. We figured that, in 6 months, we wouldnt be saying, "Oh man, we saved all this money yay!". We figured we would be saying, "It was a great deal, but, I bet the image quality on the XBR3 would have been better". We wanted to be completely satisfied and figured if we had gone this far, then we might as well spend the extra money and get the best.
So, we changed our minds and picked up the XBR3 for the $3419 price tag. It seemed like an excellent deal (right?). It was scary spending that kind of cash on a TV -but we really wanted it.
Sorry this was so long winded, but it was an amazing experience and had to share.
1) How come some movies dont take up the follw screen on a TV that's 16:9? I imagine it's because some movies are true 16:9, correct?
2) The first time you went from a SDTV to a HDTV, did you notice that the image was a little grainier because it's such a higher resolution? A SDTV looks softer,
right, this is natural?
3) Technically, does the 40'' XBR2 have a cleaner picture than the 46''?
4) I hear that the XBR3 doesnt do SD very well. What are my options so help that?
5) I know nothing about DVD players that "up-convert". We have a ton of SD-DVDs and would like to watch them on this amazing TV with the best image possible. What would you recommend as a DVD player for us?
6) We have a DVR from Comcast (Adelphia). It was everything but HDMI. Whats the next best option. I noticed it had S-video, Componant and Composite. It composite or s-video our best bet for picture quality.
7) Where can I get a cheap, full acceptable HDMI cable. They wanted $50-$75 at BB!
8) Is there something I'm leaving out that you would like to recommend?
Thanks in advanced guys!
-Mark
</a>
_________________________________________________________________________
Hi guys,
Lastnight I finally was able to convince the wife that it was time for us to get an HDTV (great holiday sales). Below is my experience at BB getting a pretty sweet deal on a great HDTV followed by some (really) imporant (and admittedly newbish) questions. I would like to add that, I'm really not an audio/videophile (IE: Ignorant). I love this technology, and I'm at heart...a gamer -which is the main driving force behind this purchase. Ok! On ward!
We ended up at Besy Buy with a 12% off coupon in hand ready to take advantage of their 18 month no interest financing. We took a look at with the following HDTVs with the following initial impressions:
Sony 46" LCD HDTV (KDL40XBR2)
When we approached this TV and it was hooked up to a full home theatre surround sound system and a Blu-Ray player. "Open Season" was playing on a BRD player and our jaws dropped. The image on this TV was absolutely stunning. The visual fidelity was the most impressive I've ever seen. My wife actually said, "Oh wow...I need to take a step back....I think I'm getting a headache" (the scene was moving around fast and she gets vertigo kinda easy). It was amazing -but a tad too small for us. When I say small, I don't mean the distance (of the physical screen) from side-to-side, but the distance from top to bottom. Another movie came on and it was in widescreen format and we noticed that is was not taking advantage of the entire screen -it had about 2-3 inches of un-used space on the top and bottom of the screen. I didnt fully understand why this was happening -but the movie came across as small -too small. So, we moved on to the 46'' below...
Sony 46" LCD HDTV (KDL46XBR2)
Holy Christmas! What an amazing TV. It was just like it's 40'' little brother, but much bigger. We sat and watched some football game. I wish we could have seen "Open Season" on this TV, but it appeared that the TV had a slightly less as sharp picture than the 40'' XBR2. Please keep in mind when I say this -it still looked incredible. It wasnt a huge difference -but I could swear that I saw a small difference. Anyway -loved this TV.
Sony 46" LCD HDTV (KDL-46S2010)
Another great TV -but it just didnt compare to the XBR2 line of Bravias so we moved on.
Sharp AQUOS 46" 1080p LCD HDTV (LC46D62U )
We had heard a lot about this TV from a few friends and on line. So, we were excited about the prospect of looking at this TV because it was slightly cheaper and (from what we heard) had the potentiol to be just as good, if not, better than the 46'' Bravia.
When we watched it for about 10 mins, it just appeared to fall a little short of the 46'' XBR2. It was running on the same football game feed, so it was easy to compare. It was nice, but it had a little more or a grainy picture and we moved on.
Sony Grand WEGA 50" 1080p Rear-Projection SXRD HDTV
The last TV we were going to check out was the SXRD. As we approached it, the first thing we noticed was the size of this thing. We really had our hearts set on an LCD (mainly because of the physically footprint -my wife really likes the size and weight of LCDs so thats where we were heading most likely). We tried to have an open mind because of the size and price -but we just wernt impressed after seeing these other incredible HDTVs (also, we're big on viewing angles). We quickly moved on.
We walked back to all three LCDs and found ouselves coming back to the 46'' XBR2. After about 15 minutes of consideration we decided to move on it. The 18 month (same as cash) no interest + the 12% coupon just kind of hooked and reeled us in. We pulled a rep aside and be began the purchase process of the 46'' XBR2.
After about 10 mins of paper work at the counter, it turned out that the TV was not in stock. In fact, the TV wasnt even at the warehouse for order. A manager (extremely nice and helpful) took over and attempted to track down the TV for us -but had no luck. He informed us of the situation and then said, "Ok, follow me..." and walked over to the "high-end exhibition room" and took us to a 46'' XBR3. He said, "Look, I have no idea when we're even going to get an XBR2 in -it could be weeks, this time of year, so here is what I can do for you. This is an XBR3. It's the exact same TV as the XBR2. The only difference is that it has a black piano finished on the outside and a "floating glass" look -so it's all asthetics. So, technically speaking -it's the same exact TV and I'll give it to you for the exact same price ($3419.99).
My wife wasnt really sure, at first, because of the black "piano finish" and it's super-reflective surface. It bothered her and I could onyl respect that. We talked it over, and I asked the manager if he had any other deals. I informed him that we were interested in in the 46'' AQUOS as well. He thought it over and said, ok I'll give you that TV for $2399 ($700 off!). We ran back to the AQUOS and looked it over. What a sweet deal! We then ran back to the XBR2/XBR3 and considered our options.
The XBR2/3, really, just had a superior picture in the end. The excellent price on the AQUOS really had us stuck in consideration. We figured, what the heck -lets just get the AQUOS because thats an amazing price. We walked back to the counter, past the XBR3 and my wife stopped. I looked back and she says, "...it just has a better picture though, does it? I mean, look at it. It's beautiful". I've never, ever head my wife call ANY electronic device beautiful -that changed everything. We figured that, in 6 months, we wouldnt be saying, "Oh man, we saved all this money yay!". We figured we would be saying, "It was a great deal, but, I bet the image quality on the XBR3 would have been better". We wanted to be completely satisfied and figured if we had gone this far, then we might as well spend the extra money and get the best.
So, we changed our minds and picked up the XBR3 for the $3419 price tag. It seemed like an excellent deal (right?). It was scary spending that kind of cash on a TV -but we really wanted it.
Sorry this was so long winded, but it was an amazing experience and had to share.
1) How come some movies dont take up the follw screen on a TV that's 16:9? I imagine it's because some movies are true 16:9, correct?
2) The first time you went from a SDTV to a HDTV, did you notice that the image was a little grainier because it's such a higher resolution? A SDTV looks softer,
right, this is natural?
3) Technically, does the 40'' XBR2 have a cleaner picture than the 46''?
4) I hear that the XBR3 doesnt do SD very well. What are my options so help that?
5) I know nothing about DVD players that "up-convert". We have a ton of SD-DVDs and would like to watch them on this amazing TV with the best image possible. What would you recommend as a DVD player for us?
6) We have a DVR from Comcast (Adelphia). It was everything but HDMI. Whats the next best option. I noticed it had S-video, Componant and Composite. It composite or s-video our best bet for picture quality.
7) Where can I get a cheap, full acceptable HDMI cable. They wanted $50-$75 at BB!
8) Is there something I'm leaving out that you would like to recommend?
Thanks in advanced guys!
-Mark
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