heres a tip: find the tv you want and like, and then goto roboshopper.com type in the model number and click go. First you'll see nextag, and theyll list a lot of stores, enter the zip code on all of these so that you will see the total price (tax if applicable- if buying online hopefully not!, shipping), and then click sort by true price or whatever it is. Once you see those deals, go up to the top of the page and then click next. It'll take you to another consolidation page with some of the same stores, and some different ones too. Keep doing this- shouldnt take over 5 minutes and you should have a good gauge of what a good price is. Also, when you decide on a store, click the reviews or at least go with one that has high reviews. You have to be weary of online stores, but from experience: buy.com, amazon, one call, nycpowerseller have all been legit in the past. Next, goto slickdeals.net. on the right hand side of the page you'll see a search function, type in your tv/model number and select forums, and search. Those guys always post up to the hour best deals, so if there is a deal on your tv, youll find it there. One last thing: i just bought a tv from onecall.com...they have weekend sales, so if you can wait, check out that site and you might get a nice deal. They even gave me a free mounting bracket. Just checked the price of the tv I bought and its already 200+ over this weekends special. As for 1080p, if you can afford it, go with it. Im not sure on the vizios/westinghouse tv's, but its a good way to get a nice tv on a budget. If you have a little bit more money to spend and some time to comparison shop, my personal picks are samsung lnt **65 or the more expensive sony xbr versions. And if your gonna buy online, make sure you stop by a Best buy, etc to make sure you actually like the product in comparison to the other TV's around. Sorry if its long, but I've done so much HDTV research lately before I made my purchase that i figured some might be able to use the info. PS: not having to pay tax is awesome!
Well It looks I'm finally going to go HDTV, and get a 46" Samsung LCD wall mounted model with 3 inputs. I found it at Circuit City for $1699, and it comes with a free wall mount, and $50 off of installation I think. Some kind of comparable deal, I can't remember the details. But here are some questions I have. I'm going to have to upgrade the Direct TV, and I guess I will have to get a new Tivo or DVR from Direct TV that will be able to work with HDTV. Question #1 Is there a reason why one is better than the other? Question #2 Should I order the DVR and Direct TV upgrade before the installation of the TV so the people who are hooking up the TV can hook it all up at the same time? Question #3 To hook up the Direct TV DVR, and DVD(regular, not HD or Blu-Ray) player, and an X-Box 360, what additional cables would I need, assuming that I have only the cables that came with the Xbox 360? On a bad note I just noticed that to upgrade to an HD system with DVR from HDTV is $299. That sucks. I was thinking about cancelling and switching to Dish Network which offers all the receiver and dvr free for new customers, but I would lose out on my NBA league league pass, or have to buy that all over again, and I wouldn't get the same channels that I get now from Direct TV for the same price. Oh well, I guess I will have to bite the bullet. There goes the discount from the free wall mount and installation price reduction. Thanks to anyone who can help with this. I'm obviously new to this stuff and don't really know all the technical details.
Franchise, do you have the component cables (were you playing in HD before) for the 360? do you have a receiver? does it do video conversion or switching? the easiest thing to do is to get your all your inputs to the receiver and output just one video to your tv.
I don't actually have a receiver, and I was not playing in HD for the 360. My next step will be to get the receiver with sound system, but right now I don't have that, and it isn't in the budget. If the component cables didn't come with the xbox I don't have them. I guess I will have to purchase those as well then.
I don't know if Tivo is really better then DirecTV HDDVR. Obviously have all your equipment, cables and service ordered before scheduling an installation. This way you are sure everything is working before the techs leave. Tell DirecTV that you are switching to Dish Network and they will most likely throw in a free HDDVR. I really doubt you have to pay 300 bucks. Best cables are HDMI which include audio and video. Component are only video unless you get the 5 Component which includes audio and video. Hope that helps.
the problem is when you wall mount you want to have all your wires to the tv set. the easiest way is to have to have just one video cable coming from the receiver and the receiver acting as your a/v switch. however you can still do the other way, but you'll just a bunch of wires go to your tv.
That's true. Supposedly the install guys will work to hide the wiring to the TV, and once they do that I'm hoping switching to just one wire from a receiver won't be that difficult.
Yeah, just call DirecTV and tell them you are interested in going HD, but you can't afford the ridiculous $299 price tag. Ask to speak to the customer retention department if the person says they can't give you a deal. I've been with DirecTV for about 8 years and have gotten a big discount or free when I ask retention. I just got the latest HR20 receiver with is the HD-DVR absolutely free just for asking. I used to have the HD-TiVO, but upgraded to the HR20 because it is the only one that supports MPEG-4, which is the format of all of the new HD channels. They don't even offer the HD-Tivo anymore, so you don't want to consider getting that. Get the HR20.
I tried this when I went back to DirectTV for the Sunday Ticket this year. I was given so much runaround and hassle (no shows 2x for installation) that I wrote an email and sent it to all of the shareholders of DirecTV (I found the email address on the web) and CC'd the VP of Customer Relations and various members of the Board (also found the emails on the web) Everything was addressed within 48 hours and my installation was done with 2 units and a manager on site at my house... But still I couldn't negotiate down the receiver prices - and I ended up paying for all 3 HR20 dishes that I currently have in my house. I envy you for being able to get it done - perhaps my negotiation skills are lacking?
Well...DirecTV are a bunch of panzy asses about their HD DVR. On the HR10 Tivo DVR DirecTV (that the HR20 replaces and will eventually be phased out), Tivo provides for dual buffers of 30 minutes each...meaning you can flip back and forth between two programs with one button push accessing up to 30 minutes of the buffered feed for each. This...for me and a lot of others...helped revolutionize the way we watch TV, especially when watching sports. On the HR20, they have so far decided not to enable dual buffers but, instead, have a single 45 minute buffer. If you change channels, then the buffer is emptied. In order to duplicate the Tivo dual buffer behavior, you have to actually record one or both programs. The problem with this is you no longer have the flexibility to change channels and start dual buffering two other channels you want to watch. Plus, you have to hit record on at least one program every time and clean it up afterwards...just to even get back to replicating the older HR10 dual buffer behavior. It's a pain in the ass. Now, I know that alot of people don't even know how to use dual buffers on the older Tivo models...so they could care less. However, dual buffers revolutionized the way one watches TV and a lot of people did pick up on this feature. Since HR20 doesn't support dual buffers currently, everyone who thought they were getting an "upgrade" actually felt like they were getting a "downgrade"...even with all the HD channels their getting on the HR20s. I'm still pissed about it because I have to watch TV like a grandma again. The funny thing is...all DirecTV has to do is turn on the feature but they flat out REFUSE. It's the number one requested feature on their wish list. Yet, they still REFUSE. So, if you have not chosen a satellite provider and are on the fence, I would highly recommend you consider Dish because they do support dual buffers. However, first you have to care about the feature. How many channels of HD which provider offers...their making a big deal out of this? It's all a bunch of bullcrap. Pretty soon....all the providers will offer up enough HD channels to where nobody cares. Each provider is adding channels left and right. Plus, once you get past the main HD channels that anyone cares about, the rest of the HD offerings are on channels you rarely watch and nobody cares about. HR20 could be a great DVR. It's not there yet IMO. I would take the HR10 Tivo model any day over it at the moment...but you can't get the new HD channels without the HR20 DVR.
Completely agree. The lack of a true dual buffer on the HR20 was a huge letdown when I first got it. I miss my HR10.
This one http://dealnews.com/Samsung-52-1080-p-Widescreen-LCD-HDTV-for-2-000/203040.html Unless you want that 120hz bullcrap.
I also have DirecTV and just got an LCD HDTV. Someone told me that you have to get a new dish in addition to a new receiver to get HD on DirecTV. Is that true? Or do you just need the HD receiver?
Yes you will need a new dish as well. The standard dish isn't enough to handle the HD signals, is what I was told. Thanks for all the help. I'll try and see if I can wiggle a discount out of direct tv, but I guess I will suck it up and be prepared to pay the $299. It just means a longer wait until I get a sound system for the TV. I'm bummed.
I see. So we're looking at paying for the receiver and a new dish, huh? The sound system is definitely on hold for the forseeable future ...
This may be my misunderstanding, but when I was talking to the lady, she didn't mention an additional cost for the new dish, just that I would need one. I may have misunderstood because I was still in shock over the $300 receiver and dvr that they were saying I was going to have to pay. I think I'm going to call them again today, and when I find out for sure, I'll post back here.
That's cool -- thanks for doing that. I got the info from a friend of a friend who claimed he was going to have to pay for the dish and the receiver. When I heard that, I didn't even bother to call DirecTV because I figured it would be a while before I could afford all that additional equipment. That was before the excellent tip in this thread about threatening to cancel and getting the receiver for free.
