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The HDTV and Home Theater Podcast

Your weekly audio HDTV buying guide.
Make informed decisions.
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December 4, 2007 - Podcast #229
All the HDTV and Home Theater news and information you need, without all the reading.


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HT Guys 2007 HDTV Buying Guide
It's time for our annual HDTV buyers guide. Today we list TVs from three categories that we would like to own. The range from very affordable to if money was not an issues this is what we'd buy. Last year our most expensive TV was the $6000 for a 50 inch Pioneer Elite Plasma. This year out top of the line plasma is $7500 but for the additional money you get 60 inches of pure plasma fun. Our lowest cost TV in 2006 was a 32 inch Westinghouse LCD TV. It went for $600. This year for the same amount you get a 37 inch LCD. Last year $3200 got you a 60 inch SONY SXRD TV. This year we have a 73 inch 1080p DLP from Mitsubishi for $2500! Without further ado here is this year's list:
LCD
Olevia 237T 37 inch LCD HDTV - MSRP $799.99 ($765 HT Guys Store) - 720p, 1600:1 Contrast Ratio, HDMI, 8 ms response time. Ara picked this TV up for his In-Laws as a Christmas gift from Target on Black Friday. The OTA picture looked great for both HD and SD content. Keep your eye out for deals. Amazon (and the HT Guys Store) had these for $600 at one point. The 537 is essentially the same TV so check for that as well. The 237T may be a Target only model.

Sony KDL-40V2500 40" Bravia V-Series 1080p LCD HDTV - MSRP $1800 ($1500 HT Guys Store) - 1080p, 2 HDMI inputs, BRAVIA ENGINE. We are impressed with the Bravia line of LCD TVs. If you have a small apartment and you sit pretty close to the TV this is what you are looking for.

Samsung LN-T4681F 46" 1080p LCD HDTV with LED backlight - MSRP $3799.99 ($3,799.98 HT Guys Store) The creme de la creme in LCD - 1080p resolution, LED backlight, 500,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, ultra-sharp blacks, HDMI 1.3, beautiful finish, hidden speakers with SRS

Rear Projection

Sony Bravia SXRD KDS-50A3000 50" 1080p Rear Projection HDTV - MSRP $1799 ($1529 HT Guys Store) - BRAVIA Engine EX Video Processor, Motionflow 120Hz High Frame Rate Technology, x.v.Color technology (Sony name for Deep Color), BRAVIA Theatre Sync (HDMI-CEC), 1080/24p Input Capable

JVC HD-61FN97 HD-ILA 61" 1080p LCoS Rear Projection HDTV - MSRP $2899 ($1499 Online) - 3 chip 1080p, ATSC/QAM and Digital CableCard Capable, HDMI, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, great black levels, amazing price if you do a little digging online.

Mitsubishi WD-73733 73" 1080p DLP HDTV - MSRP $3300 ($2499.98 HT Guys Store) - 1080p and HDMI 1.3 (x.v.Color and Deep Color). At 73 inches the screen is almost as big as a front projector! All of this for $1500 less than Ara's original 50 inch DLP!
Plasma
Panasonic TH-42PX75U 42" 720p Plasma HDTV - MSRP $1400 ($1120 HT Guys Store) - 720p, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, two HDMI inputs. Last year our 42 inch 720p plasma went for $1300. Look for price cuts on this TV between now and Christmas.

Hitachi P50T501 50" HD1080 Plasma HDTV - MSRP $2199 ($1649 HT Guys Store) - This is HD1080 (1280 x 1080), not 1080p - it's more resolution than 720p but not quite 1080p so you can get a great deal on it. It has 3 1080p capable HDMI inputs.

Panasonic TH-58PZ700U 58" 1080p Plasma HDTV - MSRP $4499 ($3399 HT Guys Store) - An impressive 58-inch plasma screen with 1080p resolution, two HDMI inputs with EZ Sync HDAVI Control, Speakers (matching in color and barely noticeable) are set on both sides of the display, Anti-Reflective Coating. It's like a piece of artwork.

Pioneer Elite PRO-150FD 60 inch Plasma TV - MSRP $7500 - 1080p, Deep Blacks, 24 fps support, four independently calibrated HDMI ports. This is one of the best TVs we have seen. See Podcast #224 for a review.


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