Deep Price Cuts Coming for HDTV's?

[rickfc]

So says Gizmodo.  I may have to end up getting a gaming TV for my birthday next month.

HDTV's Will Get Stupid Cheap Next Month

[ATB]

This would be stupid good news as we're on teh market for a second tv...

[Boudreaux]

Dammit.

[PaulBot]

Groovy

[CeeKay]

I've been thinking about replacing my hulking DLP with an LCD, and now may be the time.

[JohnathanStrange]

Perfect timing for this post: I'd been pricing 46" to 52" HDTVs the last few days, thinking that thanks to all those earlier adopters, a thrifty late-adopter could now find a bargain.

The bad thing? I'd have saved even more money if the price never dropped, because I'd never buy an HDTV and so would have saved the entire amount.

[Canuck]

I thought I'd noticed that the Sony TV's over here in Japan seemed significantly cheaper than they used to be.  A 32" used to be at least $1500 and I noticed that now you can get 37" for about $1400

[leo8877]

Interesting....


...on a side note, I feel like I have an unfair advantage playing console MP because the player models are so large compared to TVs that I played on when I was younger.  Go buy a TV and get this leg up on your opponents!

[Teggy]

And of course I just bought a tv this weekend.  It's a 32" Vizio, though, so I can't imagine that the price would go down much.  They seem to imply the big cuts would come from tvs that cost over $1K.

[Jeff]

I'm very interested in this. Thanks for the heads up. I've been looking to upgrade my 51" Magnavox 1080i rear-projection HDTV to something of similar size that will do 1080p. My current TV has a nice picture, but it's an older HDTV and I don't think is fully compliant with current HDTV standards. Also, it has only 1 component input, and no HDMI, which sucks.

I had to buy a smaller (26") 720p panel for my bedroom, so I could hookup my 360. I recently got a PS3, and neither it or the 360 will work on my Magnavox. Audio works fine, but I just get a garbled screen for video. After much googling and troubleshooting, it turned out that the Magnavox just doesn't comply with modern HD hardware.

[Shinjin]

Nuts - I just bought a 40" Sony about a month back.  I wonder if the B&M store will work with me on the new prices...

[Isgrimnur]

Nuts - I just bought a 40" Sony about a month back.  I wonder if the B&M store will work with me on the new prices...

Best bet is to review the return/price match policies.  Most places will give you a refund w/i a certain time if the price drops.  For the iPhone drops, it was 30 days, which was generous, although not enough for anyone that bought it at launch.

[Chaz]

Damn, I'll have to keep an eye on this.  I have a 57" RP CRT right now that has a very nice picture, but the vertical viewing angle isn't great, and the cabinet is huge.  I'd love to upgrade to a plasma or LCD if I could find a bigger one (probably aiming at 61") with good black levels for a decent price.  I don't see myself ever going for a TV that involves a bulb that has to be changed, as I put a lot of hours on my set.  Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to find anything for under $2000 for a while, and besides, I kind of want to hold out for OLED sets to come out and get to reasonable prices.

[snoleopard]

Hoping I don't sound dumb, but what is the difference between 1080i and 1080p? I've been waiting for a price drop, don't know much exept what I see in commercials, but would like to get something that's up to date at the time of purchase, and with all the cords and wires I need. Also a good, stable brand if possible. Looking for something from 37" to 40". Also, if I get a 37", do they come only in 720P, and is that good?

[rickfc]

Hoping I don't sound dumb, but what is the difference between 1080i and 1080p? I've been waiting for a price drop, don't know much exept what I see in commercials, but would like to get something that's up to date at the time of purchase, and with all the cords and wires I need. Also a good, stable brand if possible. Looking for something from 37" to 40". Also, if I get a 37", do they come only in 720P, and is that good?

Gizmodo has a decent write-up about some HDTV myths.

At the size you're looking to buy, you probably won't see the difference between 1080i and 1080p.

The i after 1080i stands for interlaced scan.  The screen draws every other line of the picture on the first pass, and then the remaining on the second, ad naseum.

The p after 1080p stands for Progressive scan.  The screen draws all 1080 lines simultaneously.

Hope that helps.

[Teggy]

Hoping I don't sound dumb, but what is the difference between 1080i and 1080p? I've been waiting for a price drop, don't know much exept what I see in commercials, but would like to get something that's up to date at the time of purchase, and with all the cords and wires I need. Also a good, stable brand if possible. Looking for something from 37" to 40". Also, if I get a 37", do they come only in 720P, and is that good?

Both 1080i and 1080p have 1080 lines of horizontal resolution.  In 1080i, the lines are drawn in interlaced - 540 evenly spaced first, then the other 540 fill in the spaces, so there is potential for jagginess.  1080p the lines are drawn in from top to bottom, so it is smoother. 

720p has less lines of resolution, but it is still good - some people like it better than 1080i because it can be smoother.  Also, on a smaller set, more lines of resolution doesn't make as much difference as on a larger set.

[hentzau]

Heck with that...did you guys see THIS?!?!? 

[Blackadar]

Heck with that...did you guys see THIS?!?!? 

That is FRICKIN AWESOME!!!!!!!

[PeteRock]

Heck with that...did you guys see THIS?!?!? 

That is FRICKIN AWESOME!!!!!!!

I would replace our living room carpeting and install brand-new hardwood floors just so that I could use one of those. 

[pr0ner]

Heck with that...did you guys see THIS?!?!? 

Yeah.  That's hot.

[snoleopard]

Thanks for the info on the difference of i and p for HDTV's. Side note, I really want one of those:

Heck with that...did you guys see THIS?!?!? 

[CeeKay]

Heck with that...did you guys see THIS?!?!? 

i....

i love you man....

[JohnathanStrange]

So has anyone seen any overall decline in prices? I've seen the occasional $1000 drop on certain sets  - but I'd seen these sort of price cuts on the $3000 price sets before so I don't put too much weight if a set drops from $4000 to $3000 as I have no intention of getting it at either price.

The tvs I'm interested in would range from $1800 down, approx. 45 '', and while I've seen a $100 price drop here, they appear to be temporary sales - not across the board price declines. Certainly not big ones anyway.

I guess what I'm saying is: what's your impressions? I've saved some BestBuy ads for three or four months and they don't seem to have changed all that much, imo. A temporary $100 drop here or there doesn't feel like "deep price cuts" on sets selling for $1800-$1500.

So when does the sky fall?

[rickfc]

So has anyone seen any overall decline in prices?

I've saved some BestBuy ads for three or four months and they don't seem to have changed all that much, imo.

Being that the article mentioned that the price cuts were coming this month, I'd say that any old papers would be moot.  I haven't been following, so I couldn't tell you if there have indeed been any cuts yet or not, though.

[JohnathanStrange]

Huh? The point was to compare the old prices with the current as it's hard to tell if prices have been slashed without the old prices. I didn't think that a price cut to start May 2008 would be advertised and begun in March 2008. As it's May 13th I was trying to find out from someone who WAS following to see if indeed the so-called "price cuts" due in May were appearing.

[rickfc]

Huh? The point was to compare the old prices with the current as it's hard to tell if prices have been slashed without the old prices. I didn't think that a price cut to start May 2008 would be advertised and begun in March 2008. As it's May 13th I was trying to find out from someone who WAS following to see if indeed the so-called "price cuts" due in May were appearing.

My bad, dog.  Me no read so good.

I just looked at circuitcity.com, and didn't see a huge price difference, but there are some deals where they'll throw in a surround sound system and such. 

[Ironrod]

You should see a brief wave of discounting right before Fathers Day. After that, there is nothing on the retail calendar that would encourage serious sales on TVs until Thanksgiving. The price cycle bottoms out in January, when stores are taking inventory, annual model changes are under way, and the super bowl is coming up. I'd be pretty surprised to see major price cutting before then.   

[Hrothgar]

Hmm.  Doesn't seem to have happened yet at least on they Sony model they mentioned.  Too bad, that price cut combined with the Best Buy 12% off coupon this weekend would have been tempting.  Oh well.

[JohnathanStrange]

Well, I bought a HDTV but I have to say I didn't notice any particularly good price cuts. It's difficult to say what's a good deal and what's just standard prices: there are so many options with regards to  screensize, supposed quality, models, brands, extras, etc. and frankly, so many sets just looked alike. Then toss in temporary sales, discounts for using their credit, warranty plans, free delivery, free TV stand, clearance items, "open box" price cuts, etc.

Bottomline for me: I was satisfied with my old TV's picture before. The new one is better but...big whoop. I bought one mainly because...well, 'cause I'm going to "go console" and I might as well have a big screen.

Anyhow, my brother's ex-wife is a manager at a nearby store (initials: BB) and she got me an open box and employee discount on a new 52'' HDTV, so that settled the issue for me. So it was a good buy but not a "Wow! There's a price war and I've just made a killin'!"

[Pyperkub]

You should see a brief wave of discounting right before Fathers Day. After that, there is nothing on the retail calendar that would encourage serious sales on TVs until Thanksgiving. The price cycle bottoms out in January, when stores are taking inventory, annual model changes are under way, and the super bowl is coming up. I'd be pretty surprised to see major price cutting before then.   

Football season is on the retail calendar, at least for HDTV's.