61" Toshiba projection TV for $675?

[Thunder]

i saw this on techbargains.com
Big Screen, Jan 24
Go big for the big game and Olympics. Best Buy has the Toshiba 61" TheaterView Projection TV with Picture-In-Picture Model: TZ61A60 for only $675 shipped free! (Thanks Neil) 800 lines, 4:3, Component video inputs.

but i couldn't find it on BestBuys site?...is this for real?...cuz that's pretty cheap...

http://www.techbargains.com/

[Ngkon]

Here is the link, but it is not available for delivery everywhere. I am in NJ 5 minutes from NYC and it is not available here.
http://www.bestbuy.com/Detail.asp?m=1&cat=24&scat=&e=11008305

Nick

[Loki]

I don't understand how that could be real? Is it HDTV compatible?

[cratervalley]

I tried several San Diego zip codes and no go. I doubt they have very many of these for shipment, or it is "very very" limited delivery areas.

Might be good for pricematching against, however the cheapest elsewhere is $1100 plus shipping...

[SailRabbit]

It is a pricing error they claim to have fixed.. obviously not

[aglio412]

no go in alexandria, va either...

definitely a good thing, my apartment is tiny and cramped as it is...a 61" TV won't make things any better.

[jhcl]

I just called Bestbuy, and they told me that the TV is not in stock anymore.

[nomoney]

nevermind

[cratervalley]

Probably should be $1675 instead of $675. If you add it to your shopping bag now while the price is broken, maybe when it is restored it will keep the old price as Best Buy's site is known to do!

[SpiNtEEwS]

i called bestbuy also and they said on that item theres something wrong, they dont know if its a pricing error or out of stock or something, so lady said to call back later or something.. damn haha they might fix it, pretty sure its pricing error

[cratervalley]

They already pulled the item from their site.

[Tico]

It's on the site now for $1699.99

[guerrillermo]

They;ve Just Fixed the price

[RyanJL]

Still in the shopping cart at $675, even after the price change, but can't yet get it to accept the order even with selecting the in-store shipping option. Oh well. The screen print alone might provide price matching potential...

[guerrillermo]

still in cart at 675 will try to pricematch too

[reguser]

Can anyone please post the screen print? Also, so any one of you know which B&M store does online price match for electronics? Thanks in advance.

[Loki]

yes how can you use a screen print of your shopping cart to pricematch? And where might this work?

[irwin]

I don't think any retailer would pricematch at a $1000 difference.

[ricks]

Originally posted by passwird
I don't think any retailer would pricematch at a $1000 difference.

Doesn't Sears still pricematch? If they carry it someone should give it a shot

[reguser]

I checked with Sears already. They carry a different model number, not the same. This is in the East Coast. You may want to check if you are anywhere else.

[mallowjr]

You want an HDTV for progressive scan. The normal projection tVs cant give this (but newer models give the 16:9 squeeze for anamorphic viewing), so standard projection TVs are going VERY low in price compared to what they used to be.

You can also get a 43-47" HDTV (4:3 or 16:9 your choice) for $1500.
Direct View HDTVs cost a bit more at around $1800-2000 for a 36".

They are only plummeting in price though. 2 years ago my friend bought a 65" HDTV for $5000, now it's $3000.

-ELmO

[mallowjr]

Also of note, NTSC signals were actually made for about 20" TVs max. You introduce the larger TVs (32"+) and it normally doesn't compare with a 20" TV on analog cable. For larger TVs it's time to go into the digital age, I can't wait till HDTV broadcasts are mainstream, Ive been drooling enough at RPTVs in best buy.

-ELmO

[bissond]

Hi,

I just bought a Toshiba 57h81 (57" 16:9 widescreen HDTV) at my local Best Buy. I got them to pricematch the $2,395.00 price I found at www.continentaltrade.com Best Buy sells this model for $2,999.95 in their stores.
I bought it from my local best buy because I didn't want to wait for it to ship to me, but the trade off is that I had to pay sale's tax. I also felt shaky buying a big screen on-line. This way if anything went wrong I could take it back to best buy, but that sucker is 230 lbs, and taking it back would suck. Moving it in sucked.
If you want the absolute cheapest price on this beautiful widescreen HDTV buy it on line and avoid the tax. If you want the reliability of BestBuy, go get it pricematched.

I love this TV, it's SO sweet! You should see the my Gamecube on it! =)

-Drew

[mallowjr]

Bissond, how is it for games that aren't 16:9 though (I think more than half gamecube games are 4:3, which means you are stretching it on that widescreen).

My main point in looking at 4:3 HDTVs is because I don't want to stretch the game, and most of my material is 4:3 (only DVDs and select games are 16:9). Oh it would be nice to watch movies in widescreen with very small bars, but I can live with bars if the widescreen pictureis still relatively large.

-ElmO

[bissond]

You NEED to get widescreen.

If you are making that kind of investment, you need to go widescreen. The Toshiba 57h81 that I have has 5 modes of viewing.

0 is Normal (It just puts grey vertical bars on the right and left and shows the picture in 4:3)

1 is TheaterWide1
2 is TheaterWide2
3 is TheaterWide3
4 is Full

The Theater Wide settings each have a different way of stretching the picture. Since I'm not in front of the TV right now, I can't remember which is which. But, one of them chops the top and bottom off a bit, another one chops it less and does some stretching, and the third one doesn't really chop it at all, and stretches it a different way, (By stretching it a different way, I mean it has different methods, and parts of the picture it stretches without messing up the way it looks).

Full is a plain strech which, doesn't clip any of the picture, but does make people look a bit fatter. =)

I don't really like full, but the TheaterWide settings are amazing. I was so amazed at how good the picture looked that I went through the whole manual to find out how they do it.

Ok, I can't explain it as well as the diagrams do, so here is the manual site: http://tacpservice.toshiba.com/ConsumerProductSupport/Manuals/TV/2001/42_50_57_65H81_R1.pdf

Scroll down to page 26 and 27, these give great little pictures that represent how the picture is changed.

TheaterWide 1 is definitely my favorite.
(The center of the picture is the same, the right and left edges are stretched slightly. Result, no clipping, and the 4:3 signal looks magnificently 16:9.)

I play all my games and watch all my DVD's in this mode. No black bars on the top or bottom because the TV is widescreen. AND, it's huge!

Everything is moving to HDTV, which means widescreen! A purchase of this magnitude really needs to be an investment, I'm sure you'll use this TV for 10+ years, and over the next 2 or 3 years, the transition to HDTV will be complete. Buying a 4:3 tv now would be like spending $200 on a VCR. You are spending almost the entire cost of getting a DVD player, but instead of putting that money toward a DVD player, you would be investing in dead-to-dying technology. Bad idea.

I would understand waiting, because the 16:9 HDTV's will be coming down in price over the next 2-3 years. I found a great deal, so I decided to go ahead and buy one. Plus, I wanted it sooner instead of later. =) I just couldn't wait.


One last thing. Do your homework, before you set up your TV when you get one. There is a 100 hour burn in period, where the system kind of settles in. Be sure to turn the contrast down FIRST thing. (It's factory set to 100%! The forums all call it FLAME mode. I have mine on like 30. You can turn the brightness up, but keep the contrast down, otherwise you will burn out the phosphores and over years of use, the brightness will get dimmer and dimmer.. (This is just what I've heard. Makes sense to me. Also, you aren't supposed to leave still images on for long during that 100 hour period. There is a possibility of screen burn, though the Toshiba has a lot of new technology to prevent this, but like tv channel logo's that are bright white and don't change position, are like the Devil I guess. Just read up and go easy with it for the first few weeks. (Also you will get to play with a lot of convergence settings to try to make your picture SUPER sharp. This has become my new favorite pass time. =) So tweakable!

Is short. Get the 16:9, the picture looks great! ALL aspect ratios look stunning in 16:9.

-Evil Lord Drewcifer:angry:

[mallowjr]

The thing is though it wuld be an investment if I were getting a huge screen like you, I'm getting a 43" TV..priced at about $1400. If it were $2000+ I think I see where you are coming from.

I honestly don't fall into the "16:9 is coming in 2 years hurry!", theme..and I won't be getting HD signals via satellite or anything for a long time (still in parents house). The larger 4:3 set in 43" gives me good video game size, and a decent 16:9 size (39") for me. I'm on a 27" NON HDTV right now....

I know 16:9 is the future, but the present for me resides in 4:3.

-ELMO

[mallowjr]

Also to note, I've seen the panasonic 47" widescreen in the stores.
It's not overwhelmingly large at all and this is because it indeed is a widescreen.

I can't really call it a "HUGE" TV. In fact it may have been as "tall" as my 27" TV. Basically my point is a 47" widescreen just seems smaller than a 47" 4:3 TV.

It also comes down to size, I'm sure you've read this too..
47" 16:9 = 47" 16:9
47" 16:9 = 38" 4:3
47" 4:3 = 44" 16:9
47" 4:3 = 47" 4:3

Your choice now (considering black bars if you don't stretch on 4:3 pictures on 16:9, but since you do I would go with 16:9 in your positoin) - in mine I'm going for a smaller TV and need the largest 4:3 I can get for video games.

-ElmO

[bissond]

Believe me, 57" widescreen is a monster, it's almost half of my dorm room wall. (Mind you this is in a dorm room, but this set is big for a house (which I'll be moving into next semester)).

They look a lot smaller in the store. When this thing is put into a room with walls and a couch, you'd be amazed.:eek: I'd have you guys all come over and see it if I could. =)

I know what you guys are thinking, because I did all the research too.
I considered the 4:3 (mostly because it's cheaper), but the 16:9, baby, that's peripheral! That practically wraps around you. I was skeptical about the height of the unit too. (the 50"+ 4:3 is a vertical giant.) So it seems like the 16:9 is small, but it's really not. You need to sit in a room with one. It's like in a movie theater. Next time you go to a movie, picture the screen WAY taller and the sides shorter. :hmm:Blah!

Maybe it's personal preference, but I'm all about the Component video, 16:9, progressive scan, 3:2 pulldown, videophilia perfection.

Not to mention audiophilia with the 5.1 Klipsch Promedia 500 watt surround sound. (I know, they are computer speakers, but they are pretty nice too.) I decided to spend $2,000+ on the video and not another $2,000+ on audio, becuase the Klipsch were so nice.

To address the conversion... the widescreen 57" is 57" because there aren't any black bars. The whole screen is video. This is the case with all wide screen tv's.

Best thing to do is find a friend with each type and compare. =)
Howerver, so far I'm the only friend I know with a tv of any aspect that is this big.

[bissond]

Oops, one other thing. To comment on your earlier question...

The wide screen is GREAT for games. Today I was playing Tony Hawk on gamecube. (Two player).

The screen is split down the middle, and it's like having two Big 4:3 TV's one for each person!

=) I love this TV!

Remeber just because the signal is 4:3 doesn't mean the TV has to show it in 4:3. Go in to like best buy and ask them if you can change the mode between Theater 1-3, Full, and normal with a 4:3 signal. That way you can see for yourself. It's just incredible how they stretch the picture without distorting it. (TheaterWide1, all the way!)

-Evil Lord Drewcifer:angry:

[mallowjr]

I understand the conversion issue, I was just trying to say the only way I'd get a widescreen is if inches mattered. It's really hard to get a 65" widescreen picture on a 4:3 TV.

The 4:3 HDTV can do 3:2 pull down, 16:9 squeezing, progressive scan the whole deal - just the 16:9 picture is smaller.

It comes down to content, do you use 16:9 or 4:3 more, or what do you value more. At this time I'm going 4:3, I can get bars on 16:9 and not feel bad about it. If 16:9 is prevalent in 5 years (I don't think anything is happening even in 2 years), then at that time I can go 16:9 easily (I'm sure the price will be 1K range or even less by then, considering the prices 16:9 HDTVs have dropped the past few years).

At this time I personally use 16:9 only for DVDs, which is only 10-20% of my viewing time. Why cripple my other time? I've seen stretched, and I'm sure I could get used to it- but it's just not my mojo to view stuff not in OAR.

I'll find a 4:3 for my room and view 16:9 when I can..I think 16:9 is just a novelty at this time, it looks sweet, but when it comes down to overall usage I think 4:3 is better until 16:9 is used in every source.

-ELmO

[bissond]

Maybe it's best to wait and see..

No matter what, over time both will get cheaper and better. :thumb:


Personal preference. I like watching everything in 16:9. regular TV, games, DVD. TheaterWide1 on the toshiba makes it look like everything was made for 16:9. But it's all personal preference.


-Evil Lord Drewcifer:angry:

[LPMiller]

I can't stand the stretching of non anamorphic signals on a wide screen TV. Or the smushing of a 16:9 signal on a 4:3 screen, I'd rather have the bars. HDTV is NOT 2-3 years away from mainstream, it's much longer, because the broadcasters are dragging their feet, and the standards keep changing. The FCC can't seem to get it's act together, despite the fact that Europe managed it just fine.

IF you only really have wide screen from DVD's, 4:3 is fine. The standards still favor 4:3 for regular broadcast/cable, and I have Direct TV - there is still hardly any HDTV signals, though that should change faster now that the new satelittes are up.

Really, if your current TV is like between 20-30 inches, widescreen on a 43 inch 4:3 tv stills seems plenty big. I have a 45 inch 4:3, though it isn't HDTV because they were still too expensive at the time. which is fine, this one only needs to last me oh, 3-4 more years. When there is a lot more 16:9 HDTV signals out there, then I will make the jump to widescreen.

And while the audigy is a great card, and the Kips great speakers, you are still cheating yourself. With a good set of speakers and a quality reciever, you will blow away your current setup, mostly because those speakers really aren't designed for a larger screen, or a larger sound area. Sure they sound good...but one day you'll upgrade, and wonder what the heck you were thinking.

[Jah Rulez]

Onecall.com has the 57h81 for $2519 with free shipping and the big brother the 65h81 for $2969.10 with free shipping.

Not to mention that cool Pioneer receiver from the deals page. Nice combo buy if you have the $$$$

Free financing on the Toshiba tv's too.

[mallowjr]

Yeah that's way out of my range here, I'm looking for $1500-1600 for a 43" I think. It makes me mad though that for $1800 you can get 50".

I don't think I can sit far back enough for that though...

-ELmO

[cratervalley]

I have maybe found out a way to get the order to go through for those of you who added the Toshiba 61" TV to your carts at the $675.50 price! I just submitted the order and it says I will receive an email within 24 hours when the store has the order on hold ready for pickup. If it works, I will let everyone know how to do it. Of course they may just cancel the order altogether, but the status is currently "In Process".

[mallowjr]

Lucky you =D

[nomoney]

I was able to get the order through too (yesterday) but it was "investigate" as I was told and canceled. Oh well...

[nerftoe]

spectravox (http://www.spectravox.com/57h81.html) has the 57H81 for $2,197.94 not including shipping.

Has anyone other than bissond had any luck with Bestbuy matching prices from online stores? I had heard that they will only match B&M stores. It seems that they would be reluctant to match the $800 difference.

-Nerftoe

[cratervalley]

PsillyPyro, my order status changed from "In Process" to "On Order".

Not sure what that means.

[cratervalley]

Oh darn, it's been cancelled :) They didn't even say why in the email. The store didn't have it so it told me to call or email. I told them to ship it to me instead and then I got a nice little cancellation email.

Anyway for people who have it in your shopping bag -- add another item that is in stock, select store pickup on the checkout screen where you get the order summary. Save the page as HTML and copy the <--Store Pickup--> HTML code block so it is under the projection TV. Make sure you change the hidden tags to match the item number. Also add the <base href="https://ssl.bestbuy.com/checkout/"> code to the beginning of it. Then you should be able to complete checkout by selecting store pickup for the tv. If your store does not have it in stock your order will most likely be cancelled like mine.

[nerftoe]

Bissond -

I just called my local bestbuy, and they will not pricematch online retailers. I'm not sure how you pulled it off, but I'd like to know.

-Nerftoe