Should I look at Factory Refurbs?

[Sentrosi2121]

As my other posts here have suggested, I'm in need of a 47" TV. Been looking around for the last week or so at the local Best Buys / Circuit City's and am sort of shellshocked by the prices I'm going to have to pay for the TVs I'm looking at (anywhere between $1000 and $1500). So should I consider a factory refurb like this place? Refurb Depot

 

[newnameman]

What's your budget?

 

[Sentrosi2121]

The budget is between $1000 and $1500. Just wondering if I could get a better deal for the money I'm budgeting. I'd like to save some $$$ to get a nice 5.1 receiver.

 

[manimal]

1500 can get you a nice 46 samsung 550 i. If your looking at closer to 1k for a 46 or 47 you gotta dig a little harder. If you shop B&M check your local BB or HHgregg's then walking in and try to make a deal. Alot of places are going lower than listed price if you can find a good price match to a online retailer like amazon. Even some of the advertised deals right now like Costco's 46 1080P panasonic for $999 is hella cheap if you dig around.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

Sadly, because we have a large picture window in our Living room, I can't really see getting the new Sammy's with their glass surface and reflective borders.

A couple I'm looking at;

Philips 47" Full HD 1080p LCD HDTV

Toshiba Regza 46" Full HD 1080p LCD HDTV

 

[sdifox]

why are you limiting yourself to bb and cc? Also, get some curtains. Have your wife pick them out.

http://www.6ave.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=SAMLN46A550

1300 with free ground shipping


which state are you in? shopping out of state can save you the sales tax. Unless you are in NY


mitsu 60" DLP RPTV 1288
http://www.6ave.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=MITWD60735


Samsum 56" DLP RPTV 998
http://www.6ave.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=SAMHL56A650

and I am not even comparison shopping, I just went to 6ave because I have dealt with them before.

 

[ivan2]

If you are not hell bend on the LCD, you can look into panasonic plasma which will surely fit your bill at a very reliable performance. I have the 46inch sammy 550, bought last year, the screen is not glossy, however I can understand that you don't want to look at the reflective border =(. But at 1100 from newegg.com shipped, it is a great set at a great price.

 

[erwos]

Seconding the DLP recommendation. Unless you're wall-mounting the TV, DLPs are an extremely good value.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

I've heard that DLPs have a shorter life span than LCDs. Is this correct?

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Sentrosi2121
I've heard that DLPs have a shorter life span than LCDs. Is this correct?

Not really. what dies is the bulb. With LCD your backlight might go to. Unless you got one of the fancy LED backlit models, which should have a much longer service life than the flourecent backlit ones.

Some DLP models (Toshiba) had a bad track record on lamp life. Other ones are fine. Sony made some great projection tvs based on LCOS (sony calls it SRXD) and it is a beautiful technology.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: sdifox
Some DLP models (Toshiba) had a bad track record on lamp life. Other ones are fine. Sony made some great projection tvs based on LCOS (sony calls it SRXD) and it is a beautiful technology.

It would be a bit of a miracle if you could find any of those left, display model or not - Sony discontinued them at the end of 2007. Absolute tragedy, IMHO, given the quality of the image they output and the low cost of the technology.

Replacing the bulb isn't a big deal, but it is slightly expensive ($150 a pop or so). The bulb _is_ covered under the one-year warranty, though, so if you buy a display model, you'll probably wind up getting a new one before it expires.

It looks like Amazon is selling the Samsung HL61A750 for ~$1500 with free shipping, so that might be an avenue to explore if you're looking for an LED DLP. I have no idea whether they have the (somewhat minor) bowing/geometry issues that were present with the previous versions.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: sdifox
Some DLP models (Toshiba) had a bad track record on lamp life. Other ones are fine. Sony made some great projection tvs based on LCOS (sony calls it SRXD) and it is a beautiful technology.

It would be a bit of a miracle if you could find any of those left, display model or not - Sony discontinued them at the end of 2007. Absolute tragedy, IMHO, given the quality of the image they output and the low cost of the technology.

Replacing the bulb isn't a big deal, but it is slightly expensive ($150 a pop or so). The bulb _is_ covered under the one-year warranty, though, so if you buy a display model, you'll probably wind up getting a new one before it expires.

It looks like Amazon is selling the Samsung HL61A750 for ~$1500 with free shipping, so that might be an avenue to explore if you're looking for an LED DLP. I have no idea whether they have the (somewhat minor) bowing/geometry issues that were present with the previous versions.

Samsung picked up a lot of Sony engineers which accounts for their huge improvement of recent. They have a few LED driven DLP RPTVs, even costco carries them.

 

[jtvang125]

I'd stay away from Philips. Heard too many horror stories with the brand.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: sdifox
Some DLP models (Toshiba) had a bad track record on lamp life. Other ones are fine. Sony made some great projection tvs based on LCOS (sony calls it SRXD) and it is a beautiful technology.

It would be a bit of a miracle if you could find any of those left, display model or not - Sony discontinued them at the end of 2007. Absolute tragedy, IMHO, given the quality of the image they output and the low cost of the technology.

Replacing the bulb isn't a big deal, but it is slightly expensive ($150 a pop or so). The bulb _is_ covered under the one-year warranty, though, so if you buy a display model, you'll probably wind up getting a new one before it expires.

It looks like Amazon is selling the Samsung HL61A750 for ~$1500 with free shipping, so that might be an avenue to explore if you're looking for an LED DLP. I have no idea whether they have the (somewhat minor) bowing/geometry issues that were present with the previous versions.

Still pisses me off that Sony killed off their SRXD. They were beautiful. My sister in law picked one up during close out. 56" for C1K...

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: Sentrosi2121
I've heard that DLPs have a shorter life span than LCDs. Is this correct?

Not really. what dies is the bulb. With LCD your backlight might go to. Unless you got one of the fancy LED backlit models, which should have a much longer service life than the flourecent backlit ones.

Some DLP models (Toshiba) had a bad track record on lamp life. Other ones are fine. Sony made some great projection tvs based on LCOS (sony calls it SRXD) and it is a beautiful technology.

The bulbs (which, IIRC, are usually HID, not flourescent) burn out every few years. On the other hand, the actual projectors can last a long, long time.

The big advantages of DLP projection are light weight, a matte screen that reduces glare, zero risk of burn-in, and the gargantuan screen you get for your money. Disadvantages are high screen reflectivity (bright light is a bigger problem for DLPs than for LCDs), large size, bulb replacement, and poor reliability in some models.

A friend of mine has a Mitsubishi projection TV. He bought it pretty recently, but so far it's been excellent - great picture quality, great brightness, great contrast, and none of the DLP problems people have told me about. Background light in the room is not a problem, if only because the TV is so big that it completely blocks out all windows in the room. (I'm not kidding - it's freakin' huge!)

 

[Pardus]

just my .02 cents on this --

Originally posted by: jtvang125
I'd stay away from Philips. Heard too many horror stories with the brand.

100% agree, if you read on avs forums, there is a lot of talk about banding issues and the high rate of return, places like secondact usually dump these off to customers who don't know any better.

as far as refurb's go, avoid them, not worth the savings.. been looking for a year now.. and can honestly say Samsung LCD or Panasonic Plasma's seem really good to me.

right now cc has the Panasonic 42" VIERA Plasma HDTV for $949.99, try to pm
to worstbuy.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: Sentrosi2121
I've heard that DLPs have a shorter life span than LCDs. Is this correct?

Not really. what dies is the bulb. With LCD your backlight might go to. Unless you got one of the fancy LED backlit models, which should have a much longer service life than the flourecent backlit ones.

Some DLP models (Toshiba) had a bad track record on lamp life. Other ones are fine. Sony made some great projection tvs based on LCOS (sony calls it SRXD) and it is a beautiful technology.

The bulbs (which, IIRC, are usually HID, not flourescent) burn out every few years. On the other hand, the actual projectors can last a long, long time.

The big advantages of DLP projection are light weight, a matte screen that reduces glare, zero risk of burn-in, and the gargantuan screen you get for your money. Disadvantages are high screen reflectivity (bright light is a bigger problem for DLPs than for LCDs), large size, bulb replacement, and poor reliability in some models.

A friend of mine has a Mitsubishi projection TV. He bought it pretty recently, but so far it's been excellent - great picture quality, great brightness, great contrast, and none of the DLP problems people have told me about. Background light in the room is not a problem, if only because the TV is so big that it completely blocks out all windows in the room. (I'm not kidding - it's freakin' huge!)

I used to be on a 720p DLP projector now I am on a 1080p 3LCD pj.

 

[thomsbrain]

Costco has a 46" 1080P Sceptre for like $700. They have the 47" Vizio 1080P 120Hz XVT model for $1000.

 

[sportage]

DLP is fine for projectors and movie theaters. Poor for home use.
Bulbs go out, and viewing angle is limited. DLP is fine for front projection,
but not so for rear projection. (my opinion)
DLP bulbs are rated @ 4000 - 10000 hours. LCD screens rated @ 30 years.
Pretty simple decision.

 

[shempf]

Samsung 530/540 model (can't remember which) has a matte screen.
Panny Viera "720P" models are available for a couple hundred cheaper

I wouldn't touch a refurb myself. Warranty is usually nill & I'm guessing they may fail again

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: sportage
DLP is fine for projectors and movie theaters. Poor for home use.
Bulbs go out, and viewing angle is limited. DLP is fine for front projection,
but not so for rear projection. (my opinion)
DLP bulbs are rated @ 4000 - 10000 hours. LCD screens rated @ 30 years.
Pretty simple decision.

There is no way an LCD screen will last 30 years. The fatigue in the plastic alone will kill it off way before then. If you want to compare light source, you have to look at the MTBF of the backlight of the LCD in question. If you have the CCRT backlighting (the standard), it will not last 30 years. I don't think even the most up to date, LED backlighting, will last 30 years.

We'll see how the laser driven DLP fare. I think it is great technology, but it might be too late for RP parket. Laser driven FP is coming soon and I can hardly wait.

 

[DigitalCancer]

Phillips 47" 1080p - $999 Although, it doesn't have great viewing angles from what I could tell. It was in my top 10 b/c of price.

I personally picked up the Samsung LN46A550, PERFECT tv's for a budget..it's about $1,200 right now though. I got mine for $1,300 including a $200 warranty.

If you want to go perfect...the LN46A650's are REALLY nice. I drool every time I walk into BestBuy/CC and see them there. =/ They're much more expensive though.

 

[dclive]

I suggest the Samsung HL61A750. 61 inches of TV screen at 1080p.

It's an *LED* DLP (no bulbs to burn out). It's highly rated. It's dirt-cheap - $999 at Conn's, Best Buy will match + 10% to take it to $940 total, plus tax. Hard to beat. Even Crutchfield's has it for $1299 if you're not in a market covered by Conn's (or can't drive there...)