ubertuber

I took the plunge and bought an HDTV monitor, so I thought I would share with you guys.

Yesterday I bought a 27" Zenith 27v36. My friend got one a week ago and I was so impressed I realized I could finally stop dragging my feet. This television has the ability to display 480i, 480p, and 1080i (it converts 720p to a displayable format). There are more inputs than I can use, including DVI - which is the new display transmission format. There are already a few DVD and set top boxes that send DVI signals, with more on the way. I wanted to make sure that I got a TV that could recieve those DVI signals so 3 years from now I will hopefully be able to take advantage of the latest and greatest formats.

The picture is fantastic - video games, analog TV, and DVDs look really great. The settings out of the box aren't so great, so my friend and I adjusted them based on a calibration disc. I haven't gotten an HDTV tuner yet. I'm still looking around, think to get one before the end of summer.

The best part of this whole deal? The price. I paid $459 on an open box (opened that day because it was the last one and they needed to have it on display). This TV is a deal even at full price though. Circuit City has them on for $519, but they'll beat anything you can find advertised by 10%. (Best Buy will match prices but not beat them). Using this technique my friend payed only $430 for his. I didn't move fast enough to get that deal, as the store offering the low price that CC matched ran out of stock.

I just wanted to let you know that there is an HDTV out there that works well and looks great for a sane price. There is a small catch though - this model is being replaced by one that will have almost the same features (new styling) for more money. That's why the c27v36 is being listed at lower prices these days - dealers are trying to clear out their stock.

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brandon11983

That TV is fucking amazing. I'm looking at the 32" version for myself. The past 2 stores I have worked at have been Zenith dealers. That TV is a ridiculous bargain even at the full blown price of $519. Considering that you can get a piece of shit Sony non HD set for about the same money. The picture on the TV is exemplary. It has great contrast and black level, vibrant chroma (color), built in Faroudja DCDi chip that makes big improvements for non HD signals, and does extremely well on motion. It has the best picture in a "consumer grade" CRT based HDTV I have ever seen. I say "consumer level" because it is extremely diffucult to get a customer to spend $5500 on a 38" (Loewe) CRT HDTV, when they can get a 61" DLP with matching stand and cheapo HTIB and have a whole "entertainment system" for the same amount of green.

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pixelbend

Just saw this on dealmac.com

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...613790-1514451

30" Toshiba HD ready for $700.00. Wish I had $700 laying around.

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brandon11983

i'd be very cautious about this. A 30" model is typically a widescreen set, and they are usually much more than $700.

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agball

I bought a 30" widescreen Phillips HDTV at PC Richards for 825. Great TV love it. As far as the HD tuner goes, my local cable company provided it for free & I get about 15 HD Channels. If you have Direct TV or Dish Network you will have to purchase it. Caution! Make sure your service provider transmits some channels in HD otherwise its useless.

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tropple

Has anyone checked out the new ATI Video card with HDTV tuner built-in?

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