# Over heard in Wal Mart today...



## bjlc (Aug 20, 2004)

while I was in Wal Mart this afternoon, I heard their salesperson telling a customer, that they shouldn't buy a plasma set because an LCD was better.. the reason. the plasma has a "shine ney" screen and the other tv did not.. meaning that you can't see the picture if light is shining in the room with the Plasma tv.. 

oh and that you should buy a TV from Wal Mart because there are so many of them.. 
Gees the last time I looked, I didn't see a service department in Wal Mart..


I had to leave before I swallowed my tongue.. 


just remember those tips before your next purchase.


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## jhillestad (Jan 13, 2007)

First of all Walmart does not have ' salesman ' on the floor - everyone who works has a ' ask me how I can help you ' vest on... so I'm pretty sure you need to do your own homework PRIOR to buying the tv. Best Buy and Target or Sears or Kmart would be NO better either... not to mention Costco , Sam's or BJ's ....

People who refuse to do their homework on a product deserve opinions like the one at Walmart but do not blame Walmart for an uneducated consumer... 

There are plenty of high end stores that would spend the time if your willing to spend the dough.


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## heisman (Feb 11, 2007)

Both platforms have advantages and disadvantages. I have a Pioneer 5070HD plasma that I wouldn't trade for any LCD, or any other plasma in its price range. I do hate the image retention associated with plasma however. After a football game, that damn ESPN logo stays on the screen for at least a minute or two after changing channels. You just have to hope that it never decides to become a permanent part of the set. Having said all that, I would never buy a panel from Wal-Mart, they are all the crappiest brands on the market.


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## heisman (Feb 11, 2007)

jhillestad said:


> First of all Walmart does not have ' salesman ' on the floor - everyone who works has a ' ask me how I can help you ' vest on... so I'm pretty sure you need to do your own homework PRIOR to buying the tv. Best Buy and Target or Sears or Kmart would be NO better either... not to mention Costco , Sam's or BJ's ....
> 
> People who refuse to do their homework on a product deserve opinions like the one at Walmart but do not blame Walmart for an uneducated consumer...
> 
> There are plenty of high end stores that would spend the time if your willing to spend the dough.


The low end stores have unqualified salespeople, and the high end stores are pushing the sets with the highest commissions. In other words, no matter where you go, do your homework.


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## warriorking (Jan 31, 2007)

I will have to say that my 42 " Plasma does show reflections from my living room during the day due to its position relative to the window but nothing to take away from its superb picture quality....be very cautious when buying any Plasma or LCD from Walmart... they purchase items that have slightly different specs than those sold elsewhere, example being my Vizio 32" HDtv, (needed one that would fit nicely in my bedroom)..It had the same price as the one I bought from Circuit City $599.00 also the same model except Walmart's has a lower contrast 800:1 compared with my Circuit city Vizio which has a 1200:1 contrast, also the Walmart brand Vizio has less connections in the back, just small points to ponder....by the way my Vizio looks amazing thus far and for the price I am quite pleased.....Please note I am not bashing Walmart, I shop there quite often but you do have to be careful.....


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## FlyBono24 (Jan 3, 2007)

I don't see how anyone would actually buy a TV from WalMart unless they were either cheap or just plain stupid.

All Best Buys are different... at one they didn't know much, but the one I went to the other day actually had a pretty good salesperson that knew his stuff.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Oh dear. 

Wal-Mart is not known for hiring people based on their expertise, that's a known fact. 

I generally laugh quietly to myself whenever I hear a sales pitch at my local stores, whether it's Wal-Mart, Best Buy or whatever. I try to keep from jumping in unless there's an out-and-out lie being told, though. These people are just trying to make an honest living.


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## jahgreen (Dec 15, 2006)

bjlc said:


> while I was in Wal Mart this afternoon, I heard their salesperson telling a customer, that they shouldn't buy a plasma set because an LCD was better.. the reason. the plasma has a "shine ney" screen and the other tv did not.. meaning that you can't see the picture if light is shining in the room with the Plasma tv..


Well, that is one of the factors to take into account, so what's the problem?


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

bjlc said:


> while I was in Wal Mart this afternoon, I heard their salesperson telling a customer, that they shouldn't buy a plasma set because an LCD was better.. the reason. the plasma has a "shine ney" screen and the other tv did not.. meaning that you can't see the picture if light is shining in the room with the Plasma tv.


So what? That's the very reason that I excluded plasmas when I was shopping for an HD TV. It's a real issue and a real negative for plasma TVs. None of the plasma TVs even seem to have an anti-reflection coating on the shiny glass surface like high quality glass computer monitors from a few years back had.


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## tealcomp (Sep 7, 2007)

cartrivision said:


> So what? That's the very reason that I excluded plasmas when I was shopping for an HD TV. It's a real issue and a real negative for plasma TVs. None of the plasma TVs even seem to have an anti-reflection coating on the shiny glass surface like high quality glass computer monitors from a few years back had.


I have had a Panasonic plasma for going on 4 years; frankly that image retention concern is very over-hyped. LCD has come a long way, but IMO cannot come close to the deep blacks that a plasma can. I am getting ready to purchase another screen and right now I am leaning towards another Panasonic plasma panel. As others have mentioned, plasma and LCD each have their list of advantages and disadvantages. The best thing you can do is your own homework; one such place you can get great advice is AVSFORUM (shameless plug); I think you will find many members here are members there as well 

Good hunting!

-Dan


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## Ext 721 (Feb 26, 2007)

tealcomp said:


> I have had a Panasonic plasma for going on 4 years; frankly that image retention concern is very over-hyped. LCD has come a long way, but IMO cannot come close to the deep blacks that a plasma can. I am getting ready to purchase another screen and right now I am leaning towards another Panasonic plasma panel. As others have mentioned, plasma and LCD each have their list of advantages and disadvantages. The best thing you can do is your own homework; one such place you can get great advice is AVSFORUM (shameless plug); I think you will find many members here are members there as well
> 
> Good hunting!
> 
> -Dan


bang for the buck, CRT still rocks.


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## Sirshagg (Dec 30, 2006)

bjlc said:


> while I was in Wal Mart this afternoon, I heard their salesperson telling a customer, that they shouldn't buy a plasma set because an LCD was better.. the reason. the plasma has a "shine ney" screen and the other tv did not.. meaning that you can't see the picture if light is shining in the room with the Plasma tv..
> 
> oh and that you should buy a TV from Wal Mart because there are so many of them..
> Gees the last time I looked, I didn't see a service department in Wal Mart..
> ...


I get all my audio / video advice from the guys at Wal Mart. :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## djwww98 (Jan 12, 2006)

I had a Hitachi plasma before my current Sony LCD. There are pros and cons to both. Reflections on the glass of the plasma were definitely distracting. In this particular case, the person's statement seems reasonable.
Having said that, I won't step foot in my local Walmart unless somebody put a gun to my head. Every single time I have gone in there, I have regretted it.
This all goes back to the general knowledge level of the average citizen regarding HD television. (Not to mention the average IQ of Walmart customers). 9 out of 10 people have no clue about HD. And that's not going to change for those doing their "research" at Walmart.


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## ActiveHDdave (Sep 15, 2007)

Well. when I was looking for a tv 2 years ago I wanted something that looked good in high def and was not too expensive ( I was replacing a 20" tube tv that was almost 25 years old.) I almost bought a Lcd 32 inch HD TV but I saw a tube TV that was 34" and the picture quality was really better on my new Panasonic Tau high def 1080i TV than the Lcd I was looking at. Plus it looks good in standard def too. I think that was the perfect choice for a high def TV at the time. The only thing is that it weighs a ton!


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## bjlc (Aug 20, 2004)

if I could buy a 46 inch HD CRT I would buy it.. because that is still the best buy for your money.. by far..


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

FlyBono24 said:


> I don't see how anyone would actually buy a TV from WalMart unless they were either cheap or just plain stupid.
> 
> All Best Buys are different... at one they didn't know much, but the one I went to the other day actually had a pretty good salesperson that knew his stuff.


There is nothing wrong with buying a TV from wal mart. Them carrying name brands has put alot of pressure in CC and BBY to keep prices low.


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## LDLemu4U (Oct 16, 2006)

bjlc said:


> the plasma has a "shine ney" screen and the other tv did not.. meaning that you can't see the picture if light is shining in the room with the Plasma tv..
> 
> just remember those tips before your next purchase.


That portion of the statement is accurate. Plasma is still the best medium right now. However to fully appreciate the great picture, you have to have the proper viewing environment. And if you are in a room full of windows...sad to say the reflections wopuld really limit your viewing enjoyment. If you go to CNet.com, plasma dominates the top 10 flat panels that they have tested. However, to increase their contrast ratios, LCDs are starting to introduce glossy panels. Samsungs LNTxx65/xx71/xx81 are glossy panels now similar to plasmas and if I'm not mistaken the Sony XBR4 is semi-gloss too.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

I am now allergic to scan lines and CRT jitter. That's sad but true.

In addition to lesser brands, Wal Mart sells Sony, Samsung, and Panasonic. Although my TVs came from Circuit City, those brands generally satisfy my needs.


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## sylvanir (Sep 14, 2007)

djwww98 said:


> I... I won't step foot in my local Walmart unless somebody put a gun to my head. Every single time I have gone in there, I have regretted it...


Funny but true: Every time I go into a Wal-Mart, they either are running or start running the floor polishers. _EVERY_ time. Middle of the day, late at night, holidays - doesn't matter. Even if I just run in and grab one thing at the very front of the store and leave in under 3 minutes.

I'm starting to think it might be a conspiracy.

Or maybe I'm just a little crazy


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

tealcomp said:


> I have had a Panasonic plasma for going on 4 years; frankly that image retention concern is very over-hyped. LCD has come a long way, but IMO cannot come close to the deep blacks that a plasma can. I am getting ready to purchase another screen and right now I am leaning towards another Panasonic plasma panel. As others have mentioned, plasma and LCD each have their list of advantages and disadvantages. The best thing you can do is your own homework; one such place you can get great advice is AVSFORUM (shameless plug); I think you will find many members here are members there as well
> 
> Good hunting!
> 
> -Dan


You misunderstood what was being discussed.... how a plasma TV's shiny glass surface reflects bright objects in the viewing room, not image retention or burn-in. It doesn't bother some people and is less of a factor in a dark room, but for me it was a show stopper which eliminated plasma TVs from my shopping choices.


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## shoelessjoe (Apr 11, 2007)

I will never ever buy anything electronic at Walmart. You get what you pay for. For example, I had a flash drive that I bought at CC but needed another one. My wife bought me one for Christmas. It was the same brand as the first one. However, it was DOA. I told my wife I couldn't believe it--the other flash drive worked great. She then finally confessed she bought it at Walmart. We returned it and bought one at Staples. Worked like a charm. When I was in college I bought a Walmart TV (didn't have much money to spend)-the analog channels bled so much between ch. 4-9 that those channels were not watchable. I didn't have a receipt so I couldn't return it. I put up with it for a year until I just got rid of it. Cheap is not always best. 

As far as LCD vs. PLasma. I have both and like both for different reasons.


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## Koyukon (Sep 12, 2007)

compnurd said:


> There is nothing wrong with buying a TV from wal mart. Them carrying name brands has put alot of pressure in CC and BBY to keep prices low.


everything is buying a tv with wal-mart is wrong. they know nothing. and excuse me. i work at Sears. come in my store. i will tell you everything that you should know. come on i dare you. i work in the sears in THomsasville, ga


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## Koyukon (Sep 12, 2007)

auburn won and i am going to bed whooooooooooooo!


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## waynenm (Oct 31, 2006)

Some, whose names shall remain unspoken, believe buying _anything_ at Wal-Mart is bad. Very bad.


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## ansky (Oct 11, 2005)

A friend of mine has a Panasonic plasma and he certainly has a problem with burn-in. After watching Yankees games he always gets the scoreboard burned into the top of the screen. I don't know how long it lasts but it is definitely more than a few minutes. It may even be permanent by now, not sure. I never noticed the problem with a shiney screen though.


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## compnurd (Apr 23, 2007)

Koyukon said:


> everything is buying a tv with wal-mart is wrong. they know nothing. and excuse me. i work at Sears. come in my store. i will tell you everything that you should know. come on i dare you. i work in the sears in THomsasville, ga


I would trust a wal mart associate over a sears associate on any purchase. Sears sales people are worse then the old circuit city commision people

and who cares if they know nothing, if i want a sony TV and walmart is 200 cheaper then everyone else, guess what, wal mart gets a sale. they have that purchasing power. To strike down wal mart because of there size is idiotic. If ANY company out there could grow like that, they would


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## dtremain (Mar 3, 2004)

bjlc said:


> while I was in Wal Mart this afternoon, I heard their salesperson telling a customer, that they shouldn't buy a plasma set because an LCD was better.. the reason. the plasma has a "shine ney" screen and the other tv did not.. meaning that you can't see the picture if light is shining in the room with the Plasma tv..


Well...an LCD is a lot less reflective than a plasma.


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## drded (Aug 23, 2006)

Does the Walmart bashing have to continue? It's as bad as politics. Everyone should do their homework and buy where they decide is best. Last I looked all the budget stores had plenty of people (i.e. customers) in them.

Can we limit the discussions to LCD vs. Plasma or whatever else and leave out the store bashing, please.

Dave


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## Jolliec (Sep 1, 2006)

I was in Best Buy one day in the TV section and the sales guy had just closed a sale on a Sony LCD to an older man and woman. He then began trying to sell them the extended warranty. 
He said that they really needed it because each year a tech would have to come out and "re-adjust the laser". I almost fell over!


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## Ein (Sep 3, 2007)

Here is an interesting read about current HD TVs.

http://hdguru.com/?p=187


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## Newshawk (Sep 3, 2004)

I've got my eye on a 32" Philips LCD... BB has it for almost $1k, but the local Wally World has the near-identical sister (silver/black instead of all black) for just a tick over $750. I wonder where I'll buy the set? Hmmm...


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Ext 721 said:


> bang for the buck, CRT still rocks.


Direct view CRT has arguably the worst problem with glare of any technology. Plasma is often a very close second.


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## Rockl (Jul 25, 2007)

bjlc said:


> while I was in Wal Mart this afternoon, I heard their salesperson telling a customer, that they shouldn't buy a plasma set because an LCD was better.. the reason. the plasma has a "shine ney" screen and the other tv did not.. meaning that you can't see the picture if light is shining in the room with the Plasma tv..
> 
> oh and that you should buy a TV from Wal Mart because there are so many of them..
> Gees the last time I looked, I didn't see a service department in Wal Mart..
> ...


Three years ago I purchased an LG 50'' 1366x768 plasma panel for about $4k and it is still all I watch in my media room for HDTV and HTPC etc...

Last week I purchased a Sharp LC-52D62U 1080p LCD for my wife's use in the family room, and all I can say is WOW. The plasma still looks great, but even the wife sees how much better the LCD looks compared to our plasma model.

Love the plasma, but hate the burn-in. LCD price and performance is at parity or better than plasma now, so why investin old technology?


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

easy fix... don't go to walmart


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

Jolliec said:


> I was in Best Buy one day in the TV section and the sales guy had just closed a sale on a Sony LCD to an older man and woman. He then began trying to sell them the extended warranty.
> He said that they really needed it because each year a tech would have to come out and "re-adjust the laser". I almost fell over!


!rolling

they just came out and re-adjusted mine the other day... only a $90 service call.. and then tractor supply came out and changed the anti freeze in my chainsaw too!!!


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

Newshawk said:


> I've got my eye on a 32" Philips LCD... BB has it for almost $1k, but the local Wally World has the near-identical sister (silver/black instead of all black) for just a tick over $750. I wonder where I'll buy the set? Hmmm...


check plasmabay.com


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

drded said:


> Does the Walmart bashing have to continue? It's as bad as politics. Everyone should do their homework and buy where they decide is best. Last I looked all the budget stores had plenty of people (i.e. customers) in them.
> 
> Can we limit the discussions to LCD vs. Plasma or whatever else and leave out the store bashing, please.
> 
> Dave


easy turbo.. the thread is about walmart... and i think it's fair if we share our thoughts/opinions on the store... it's not politics... it's common sense... there is a super target next to a super walmart in a very nice part of town here... if you go from one to the other... it's like going from mansions to the ghetto...


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

AirRocker said:


> and i think it's fair if we share our thoughts/opinions on the store... it's not politics... it's common sense... there is a super target next to a super walmart in a very nice part of town here... .


As long as the thoughts and opinions are based on real world personal experience(s), then it is fair to express an opinion. Lies and deceptions about television technology that someone overheard at WalMart probably doesn't belong anywhere near the DIRECTV forums though. There are plenty of lies and deceptions about DIRECTV from their CSRs to support few good-sized threads.


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## FlyBono24 (Jan 3, 2007)

compnurd said:


> There is nothing wrong with buying a TV from wal mart. Them carrying name brands has put alot of pressure in CC and BBY to keep prices low.


Sure they have a few mid-range name brands... but not many... maybe they'll have a decent Sharp Aquos... but they mostly have cheap RCA and JVC projections, a few Vizio LCDs, and those types...

And obviously the employees don't know anything about them, most of the time when I go over there, there are only 3-4 TV's that are even hooked up to anything, the rest are either off or showing a blank blue screen. :lol:


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## Hdhead (Jul 30, 2007)

shoelessjoe said:


> I will never ever buy anything electronic at Walmart.


I bought a clock once and it still works! :grin:


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

Sirshagg said:


> I get all my audio / video advice from the guys at Wal Mart. :lol: :lol: :lol:


Oh yeah, me too, the guy/gal who greets you at the front door. That is why they put that person there, they are the most knowledgeable, right?


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

Jolliec said:


> I was in Best Buy one day in the TV section and the sales guy had just closed a sale on a Sony LCD to an older man and woman. He then began trying to sell them the extended warranty.
> He said that they really needed it because each year a tech would have to come out and "re-adjust the laser". I almost fell over!


Yep, because the L in LCD is Laser... !rolling


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## vurbano (May 15, 2004)

heisman said:


> Having said all that, I would never buy a panel from Wal-Mart, they are all the crappiest brands on the market.


Sharp Aquos and Samsung are the crappiest on the market?


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## raoul5788 (May 14, 2006)

Ext 721 said:


> bang for the buck, CRT still rocks.


Sure, and pound for pound, too! :lol:


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## JonVig (Sep 23, 2007)

I have one of each:

50" Panasonic Plasma
50" Samsung DLP
32" A*star LCD

Of all three platforms I think the Plasma has the best, sharpest, most vivid picture. Do your research, know your budget and make the decision that is best for you.


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## HDTVFreak07 (Sep 12, 2007)

Walmart isn't so bad. Bought the 32" Polaroid LCD HDTV a couple of years ago and am still happy (very, VERY happy) with it. Very good picture quality for the price. Of course, I bought it for more than what it is selling for now WITH a DVD player built-in. Has the inputs I needed (at the time, they sold with just one HDMI input whereas they now have two). Walmart is good for those who REALLY can't afford high-end HDTV's. I bought mine at Walmart because I wanted a "cheap" one for use in my office with HD Directv receiver and VideoPhone hooked onto it and when receiving a VP call, I can just "split screen" (picture-in-picture) on my TV so I don't miss anything on HDTV.


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## 5678YN (Jun 29, 2007)

I just can back from ours, needed new slippers, great price. Just for the heck checked out the TV's. Not bad. All were running same channel and there were probably about 40 sets. Some looked pretty good!!! Looking at a vizio 32 for bedroom and they had the lesser model (700 contrast) and was quite impressed for the short $$.


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## mhking (Oct 28, 2002)

bjlc said:


> while I was in Wal Mart this afternoon, I heard their salesperson telling a customer, that they shouldn't buy a plasma set because an LCD was better.. the reason. the plasma has a "shine ney" screen and the other tv did not.. meaning that you can't see the picture if light is shining in the room with the Plasma tv..
> 
> oh and that you should buy a TV from Wal Mart because there are so many of them..
> Gees the last time I looked, I didn't see a service department in Wal Mart..
> ...


Wal-Mart/Target/any other discount store: Caveat Emptor. But if you don't know that, and if you aren't doing your homework ahead of time, then you don't really know how to shop for much of anything, do you?


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## kf4omc (Apr 11, 2006)

All this talk about LCD & Plasma. No one is talking about DLP. I find that DLP looks better than both LCD and Plasma. But that is my opinion.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Hdhead said:


> I bought a clock once and it still works! :grin:


Twice a day. :lol:


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## msmith198025 (Jun 28, 2007)

jahgreen said:


> Well, that is one of the factors to take into account, so what's the problem?


Well the fact that he said you CANT see the screen with lights in the room isnt actually true....and light is just as much of a factor in seeing a LCD screen as it is in plasma, just for different reasons


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## msmith198025 (Jun 28, 2007)

Rockl said:


> Three years ago I purchased an LG 50'' 1366x768 plasma panel for about $4k and it is still all I watch in my media room for HDTV and HTPC etc...
> 
> Last week I purchased a Sharp LC-52D62U 1080p LCD for my wife's use in the family room, and all I can say is WOW. The plasma still looks great, but even the wife sees how much better the LCD looks compared to our plasma model.
> 
> Love the plasma, but hate the burn-in. LCD price and performance is at parity or better than plasma now, so why investin old technology?


Three years of advancement will do that for any panel, LCD, Plasma, DLP, ect.
You would be hard pressed to find a three year old HDTV that would look better than one put out today, that is if they are in the same class.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

kf4omc said:


> All this talk about LCD & Plasma. No one is talking about DLP. I find that DLP looks better than both LCD and Plasma. But that is my opinion.


DLP is being marginalized by expense relative to three chip LCoS and the fact that it isn't "flat".


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## allargon (May 3, 2007)

kf4omc said:


> All this talk about LCD & Plasma. No one is talking about DLP. I find that DLP looks better than both LCD and Plasma. But that is my opinion.


Rear projection DLP looks better than LCD. However, you must be looking at some crappy plasmas. Even calibrated Samsung and Mitsubishi's shouldn't best calibrated Panasonics. They definitely won't compete against Pioneer or Fujitsu (much less Vidikron). If you're talking about DLP front projectors, that's another matter entirely.

Older plasmas *do* have issues with reflections. Panny has newer models that do *NOT* have this problem.

Back to Wally World, they are starting to carry name brands like Sony in an attempt to move upmarket. However, upmarket customers know better than to buy expensive electronics at Wal-Mart. The support infrastructure's not there.

Vizios aren't a big deal, but $3k 1080P 50" plasmas are. No one that shops at Wal-Mart expects an expert opinion on electronics, paint or vitamins. They just want cheap prices. Wal-Mart delivers. I told one guy asking what to buy to buy the Vizio over the Ilo and the Polaroid. He lucked up/out and got my "expert" opinion that day.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Currently, DLP gives the most bang for the buck. I'm looking at this huge 65" Mitsu
1080p DLP (WD-65733) for well under $2k. The screen is non-reflective, and just
look how thin the bezel is -- it's all screen.









. . . .. . . . *Mitsubishi 65" DLP WD-65733*

I would _not_ consider buying any HD display with a reflective glare screen.


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## aim2pls (Jun 18, 2007)

Koyukon said:


> everything is buying a tv with wal-mart is wrong. they know nothing. and excuse me. i work at Sears. come in my store. i will tell you everything that you should know. come on i dare you. i work in the sears in THomsasville, ga


AHHHHHH the town with BOTH a city AND county High School ........ they both still have those 3.7 M Miralites


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## aim2pls (Jun 18, 2007)

Funniest thread I've read in a LONG TIME ... almost no factual data ... got to love emotions (tongue in cheek guys)


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

DLP front projection is dropping like a rock now also. The projector that I have hanging from my ceiling (Optoma HD-7100/HD-7300) that cost me $3,000 under a year ago can now be found for close to $1,000. Of course, mine keeps breaking down, so I have had four of them in that one year period.


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## bjlc (Aug 20, 2004)

and after reading about all the bulbs that burn out, I never would buy a DLP tv.. on another forum, I am reading about Samsungs burning out left and right..


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I haven't had a bulb burn out problem with this projector, but then, I haven't had one long enough for the bulb to burn out. :lol:

I had an InFocus x1 before this and the original bulb lasted right around the projected (did I really say that?) 3,000 hours.


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## bdwill (Jun 26, 2007)

ansky said:


> A friend of mine has a Panasonic plasma and he certainly has a problem with burn-in. After watching Yankees games he always gets the scoreboard burned into the top of the screen. I don't know how long it lasts but it is definitely more than a few minutes. It may even be permanent by now, not sure. I never noticed the problem with a shiney screen though.


I have a Samsung 42 plasma and I get this all the time. I almost hate watching sports and "Live" shows because the burn in last 5-30 mins depending on length of viewing.


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## msmith198025 (Jun 28, 2007)

bdwill said:


> I have a Samsung 42 plasma and I get this all the time. I almost hate watching sports and "Live" shows because the burn in last 5-30 mins depending on length of viewing.


that is not burn in. It is image retention, and could possibly be avoided my adjusting your contrast ratio.


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## georgeorwell (Jun 21, 2007)

bjlc said:


> if I could buy a 46 inch HD CRT I would buy it.. because that is still the best buy for your money.. by far..


Why? Do you have some desire for a 900 lb beast with a 4 foot depth?


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## bjlc (Aug 20, 2004)

one because I have the room for it.. my living room is 28 foot by 32 foot.. and I am not kidding.

two because in our house the TV is seldom off. so in long term for your money use, I would be far, far ahead...


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## satwood (Dec 11, 2006)

cartrivision said:


> So what? That's the very reason that I excluded plasmas when I was shopping for an HD TV. It's a real issue and a real negative for plasma TVs. None of the plasma TVs even seem to have an anti-reflection coating on the shiny glass surface like high quality glass computer monitors from a few years back had.


Actually the vast majority of PDps have very sophisticated multi-layer neutral spectrum A/R coatings on them. They are good down to about 0.5% specular reflectance, and generally do not have the blue cast of cheap single or two layer coatings. The problem is that even 0.5% reflectance of a bright light at the right (or wrong) angle is still annoying. PDPs have a relatively high reflective internal phosphor and they do not have high contrast as LCDs when treated with anti-glare (etch) coatings so the manufacturers are forced to use specular front surfaces with A/R treatment only.

Just FYI


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Wal-Mart, like most other retailers, has a mixed bag of people working in their stores. They actually spend quite a bit of money training these employees, and those who are assigned to Electronics, Sporting Goods or Hardware get a fair amount of "basic training" on produts sold in their departments. The Electronics department has a "fact book" that has a wealth of information in it. Problem is, they are so short handed in those specialty departments that the good people don't last too long. 

I've seen both good and bad salespeople in Wal-Mart, Target, Circuit City, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Sam's and Costco. I've purchased many appliances, digital cameras, TV's and even computers at Wal-Mart, including a 27 inch RCA CRT TV, a 31 inch Sanyo, DVD players by RCA and Panasonic and DVD recorders by Panasonic and Sanyo. Granted, there are many Wal-Mart stores I wouldn't want to frequent, but the supercenter near me is a pretty nice store. A few of the people in the Electronics department are reasonably knowledgeable. Looking at their TV stock, I see several sets that are quite good and reasonably priced It really pays to do a lot of research before making a purchase, though. For example: Wal-Mart sells a Vizio 37 inch LCD that is pretty nice for $765. However, it lacks a few features that you would find on a similar set at Sam's and Costco for $750 (and at Circuit City for $799) -- No S-Video input and no audio outputs. Also, the receiver at Sam's and Costco has Picture in Picture, while the Wal-Mart model does not. The Samsung and Sony TV's sold by Wal-Mart are entry level sets.

I have to smile a bit at people who are too snooty to shop at Wal-Mart. If you are a smart shopper, you can find excellent merchandise at very reasonable prices. It is annoying, though, to see them turn their backs on Sam Walton's "Made in America" policy. With their aggressive pricing and purchasing policies, they have driven a lot of manufacturers offshore. But then, the same is true for other retailers, although to a lesser degree.


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## Lord Vader (Sep 20, 2004)

bjlc said:


> and after reading about all the bulbs that burn out, I never would buy a DLP tv.. on another forum, I am reading about Samsungs burning out left and right..


The new LED DLP units don't have color wheels or light engines; consequently, they don't burn out--a huge advantage over older DLP units.


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## EVAC41 (Jun 27, 2006)

bjlc said:


> while I was in Wal Mart this afternoon, I heard their salesperson telling a customer, that they shouldn't buy a plasma set because an LCD was better.. the reason. the plasma has a "shine ney" screen and the other tv did not.. meaning that you can't see the picture if light is shining in the room with the Plasma tv..
> 
> oh and that you should buy a TV from Wal Mart because there are so many of them..
> Gees the last time I looked, I didn't see a service department in Wal Mart..
> ...


I heard thru my brother that you should not get a plasma tv. He was telling me that his friend had one and after the year warrenty was up (which he should have gotten the extended warrenty... I always get one if the item is $100.00 or more). Well a couple of weeks after the warrenty was up the TV went out on him and they would not return it or it would cost him $675.00 to fix it. So he had no tv but a very expensive paper weight/boat anchor


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## msmith198025 (Jun 28, 2007)

EVAC41 said:


> I heard thru my brother that you should not get a plasma tv. He was telling me that his friend had one and after the year warrenty was up (which he should have gotten the extended warrenty... I always get one if the item is $100.00 or more). Well a couple of weeks after the warrenty was up the TV went out on him and they would not return it or it would cost him $675.00 to fix it. So he had no tv but a very expensive paper weight/boat anchor


So what is the reason not to get a plasma?
Im sorry but this could happen to ANY type of panel


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## txtommy (Dec 30, 2006)

bjlc said:


> if I could buy a 46 inch HD CRT I would buy it.. because that is still the best buy for your money.. by far..


Better buy a forklift to help move it into the room...


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## Sirshagg (Dec 30, 2006)

msmith198025 said:


> So what is the reason not to get a plasma?
> Im sorry but this could happen to ANY type of panel


The guy at Walmart told me this only happens to plasma TV's


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## txtommy (Dec 30, 2006)

Sirshagg said:


> The guy at Walmart told me this only happens to plasma TV's


Actually it only happens to the cheap brands of plasma TV's sold at Walmart. If you buy a 1 year extended warranty then it will fail after 2 years and 1 day.

Who are we to dispute the skilled and highly trained Walmart salespeople.


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## Christopher Gould (Jan 14, 2007)

Im a Merchandise Supervisor(dept manager) over Sporting Goods, Hardware, and Paint. I tell you that there is a very little training on the stuff in your dept. You are expected when you get a chance to read the boxes to learn about them. The real problem is when there is a staff problems and they just throw an associate in to cover the dept. That has no idea what he doing.


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## msmith198025 (Jun 28, 2007)

txtommy said:


> Actually it only happens to the cheap brands of plasma TV's sold at Walmart. If you buy a 1 year extended warranty then it will fail after 2 years and 1 day.
> 
> Who are we to dispute the skilled and highly trained Walmart salespeople.


Well neither this or the statement that you were quoting are true all of the time. Several of the plasmas at wal-mart have anti burn technology built it. Sometimes deals can be had, who am i to knock someone for saving a buck.

And the point i was making was, ANY type of panel can fail after the warrenty expires and would be expensive to replace or fix depending on what went wrong. This is not a plasma specific problem, and anyone who thinks it is is gullible and needs to do some research on their own.


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

Sounds like a excellent time for me to hold off purchasing a HDTV.


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## msmith198025 (Jun 28, 2007)

Mark Holtz said:


> Sounds like a excellent time for me to hold off purchasing a HDTV.


why?


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

> Overheard in Wal Mart...


Anyone who totally relies on statements of a salesman in any store,
rather than (not then) doing their (not there) own research is a fool.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

Nick said:


> Anyone who totally relies on statements of a salesman in any store,
> rather than (not then) doing their (not there) own research is a fool.


Agreed! Here's a case in point:
Yesterday, I upgraded my bedroom TV from a 26 inch LCD HD monitor to a 37 inch Vizio VX37L 10A LCD HDTV, which I purchased at Costco. I researched several brands, including LG, Toshiba, Sony, Samsung, JVC, Philips, Magnavox, Sharp and Westinghouse before settling on the Vizio. I read the specifications on each, viewed them at several retailers and read the reviews on avsforum.com and in the November issue of Consumer Reports (which, incidentally, has a good discussion on "why Plasma" and "why LCD"). I visited Wal-Mart, Sam's, Costco, Best Buy, Compusa and Circuit City, checking the various 37 inch receivers each had to offer(rejecting the offers for help from the salespeople). My buy decision was one of best bang for the buck, which was met by the Vizio. I chose to buy at Costco because they extend the manufacturer's warranty to two years at no cost.
I set it up last night -- antenna input to TW cable, HDMI to my Scientific Atlanta 8300HD HD DVR from Time Warner and component input to my Sanyo DVD recorder. I also connected the analog audio output to an Onkyo stereo receiver.
When I ran the auto setup, I was surprised at the number of digital channels the QAM tuner picked up. A lot more unscrambled digital channels than I expected to see! First viewing impression --WOW! Better than I expected. I made no adjustments to the Standard color settings other than decrease the backlight level. Today, I put an "Avia Guide to Home Theater" DVD on and was pleasantly surprised to find no need to adjust calibration on the set. Discovery HD theater looks great. Analog 480i and digital SD programs look quite good, as does the 480p from the DVD player. I'm definitely a happy camper!


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

heisman said:


> Both platforms have advantages and disadvantages. I have a Pioneer 5070HD plasma that I wouldn't trade for any LCD, or any other plasma in its price range. I do hate the image retention associated with plasma however. After a football game, that damn ESPN logo stays on the screen for at least a minute or two after changing channels. You just have to hope that it never decides to become a permanent part of the set. Having said all that, I would never buy a panel from Wal-Mart, they are all the crappiest brands on the market.


On the flip side LCDS use less electricity.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

mhking said:


> Wal-Mart/Target/any other discount store: Caveat Emptor. But if you don't know that, and if you aren't doing your homework ahead of time, then you don't really know how to shop for much of anything, do you?


At my Local Target they had a gray haired woman at the TV counter, I said: I wonder if she knows what HD is? They didn't have many set, (one) SD set. This Target store took over a Wards store.

I'm buying a Vizio at cc next year.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Mark Holtz said:


> Sounds like a excellent time for me to hold off purchasing a HDTV.


Yup!


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## jfeheley (Oct 4, 2007)

I recently decided to get an HDTV. I did my homework on the internet. Then went to Costco and purchased a 50" Panasonic Plasma. I was extremely happy with the HD picture I was getting from D*. This months (Nov. 07) Consumer Reports had on the front cover.. "the best flat screen we've ever tested".. inside it stated.. "The Panasonic TH-50PZ700U had the best picture of any flat-panel TV we've ever tested." This was the exact TV that I had bought. 

I'm not bragging but wanted to point out that it is possible to buy a good HDTV without ever talking to a sales person.


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## chucksvstar (Jun 17, 2006)

This seemed like a good place to put this. Ok I bought my 32" Samsung LCD from walmart.I never thought I would make a major purchase like this from wal. The reason I did was,convience and price. I live in a hick town[ nuf said] I went in knowing that Wal. didnt no beans about their tvs,thinking I keew enough. I have done a little research on LCD-Plasma,Projection. Through the internet.magazine etc. When I would go to Best buy or CC the samsung picture would always stand out to me,it looked great. Ok my situation, I went from a 32"Sony CRT, beautiful picture HD&SD,Ok,first of all I have a lot of windows in my room,Iam using component wires for tv,vip622,I cant seem to get my HDMI cable to work with the tv and dvr.The HDMI cable will work for my DVD player to the tv.I am getting another DVR sent to me free of charge to see if it is just the connection on the DVR.Ok my picture on SD chanels pretty much suck,grainy,blurry,I am constantly wanting to change the color,brightnes,tint settings.True Hd channels are real good looking at front center seating.If you get at any angle at all the picture is real pale looking. My front and center seating is about 4- 5 Ft. side viewing 7-8 ft. Will the HDMI cable make that much of a difference ? Will it be for HD only not SD? I have never seen a better picture than on a CRT,for the money.I have 80 more days left on the walmart warranty,I am going to Best buy,to look and talk. Can there be that much of a difference in what wal. sells than that of Best buy,CC.


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## Cholly (Mar 22, 2004)

If the HDMI input is not working with your DVR, you are probably having an HDCP handshake problem. Try this: Turn your TV on before the DVR. Quite often, handshake failures occur because the DVR doesn't see the response from the TV, because the TV isn't ready to respond. Sounds weird, I know, but I've seen this on several TV's that are HDCP compatible. Also, your TV may need a firmware update. Go to the Samsung website and view the FAQ's for product family. You'll find info on HDMI problems with satellite boxes there (#55). Further, your HDMI cable might not be HDCP compliant.


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## jeff125va (Jun 4, 2007)

I just bought a new plasma TV for our bedroom. I got a 37" Vizio LCD for the bedroom last summer, with the intention of eventually moving that to our family room to replace the 32" 4:3 CRT, which is what I did after getting the plasma. Our bedroom is rather large and our bed where we watch and the TV are on opposite walls on the long side of the room (a little over 20' away), so I wanted something in the 50" range. I went to Costco and narrowed my choices down to a 47" 1080p LCD for $1499 or a 50" 1080i plasma for $1299 (both Vizio). I figured for 13% less money and a 13% larger picture, the picture quality and/or other features would have to be clearly superior to go with the LCD, especially for the limited amount of viewing we'd use it for.

I'm more than happy with the plasma. I have noticed, though, that my bedside lamp reflects on the screen, depending on how light or dark whatever is on that part of the picture is. But since it's all the way to one side of the screen, I'm not sure that I wouldn't have had the same issue with the LCD if it were as big as the plasma. It's not a big deal really - we just watch with the light off now most of the time, and with the bigger screen it's easy enough to see to find remotes or whatever we need light for. I have definitely noticed much less reflection from lights or windows on the LCD that is now in the family room where the CRT was.


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