kelseyellen wrote:I'm always up for a few more inches ;)

That's what she said...

SBCJester21 wrote:The image that's chopped onto the product on the w00t.com homepage, is of people costumed as the characters from the CBS Saturday morning cartoon: "Dungeons & Dragons". It ran from 1983 thru 1985.

I missed that. Thanks for the memories.
Also, I think the cosplay of "Acrobat" is a little... um.... wow.

allhighruler wrote:But you must remember, the broken part has been fixed and has been tested, so you know that it wont break (at least from its previous problem)!

My brother picked up a refurb straight from the Philips
web site about 4 years ago. He hasn't had any problems and it is
still going strong. He uses it for tv and DVD viewing as well as a
fair amount of video gaming with the x-box.

This would be worth it - at 240 Hz. Maybe even at 120 Hz. 60 Hz refresh is just way too slow for an HD TV. If you're using it just as a computer monitor, well - you'll have a really big monitor.

Its between this or the $488 Sanyo (probably Samsung panel) 720p plasma at Wal-Mart.

Hmmm.... 1080p... hmmm

jtravel wrote:LCD TV's in General have two and some times Three circuit boards,LCD Panel and a interconnect wire harness.
The repair process is isolate the problem to the bad board,replace it,retest and send it back out. In many cases the bad boards are just thrown away, The boards are so cheap to produce in over seas manufacturing plants that It's not cost effective to waste time and money isolating board failures and repairing.
These TV's run hot and many fail within the first year.
Most are repaired in the owners Home when this happens under warranty.
These are most likely retailer return units. Units that failed right out of the box or units that were returned to the retailer during the allowed return period. With Costco you can return within 90 days. models that the membership clubs sell often are available as refurbished units for this very reason.
The refurbisher knows some are retuned due to buyer remorse so when they test the TV and it meets specs it gets boxed back up.
Intermittent problems can and do slip thru during the refurbish test process.
Bad boards or Panel on others are replaced.
The replaced part and the originals that have not been replaced have just as much chanch as new to fail in the future.
The Problem with refurbished is the 90 day warranty. If it fails after the 90 day warranty it will cost you atleast 50% of the purchase price to repair and many cases more.
In That situation you will likely end up paying more to purchase and repair than the TV is worth.
Their will be winners and losers in this equation.
If you feel the savings buying refurbished over new with full warranty is worth the Risk then go refurbished.

My advise if this is anything but a disposable purchase for you is to buy New with Full warranty.
Use a credit card that doubles the manufactures warranty and save your receipt and credit card statement showing the purchase.
Buy new from a warehouse club like Costco that allows 90 day returns and doubles the manufactures warranty to Two years. use the Credit card that adds 1 year to the warranty and you have a 3 year warranty.

Can you recommend a good credit card that doubles warranty?

worldofjohnboy wrote:If I am reading this right, this is only a 60 Hz LCD TV, not a 'standard' 120Hz or 240Hz TV, correct?

If so, I wouldn't suggest this for Sports Watching or Video gaming.

I have a 60 Hz....I agree that a 120 would be better, but I think that 60 Hz is still serviceable. The difference (one man's opinion) isn't obvious until you see it. So if you're used to a 120 or 240, you might notice going backwards to a 60. However if you have a 60 already, or are taking the HD plunge for the first time, I don't think it's an issue.

Philips = junk. That's why you see so much refurbs from them.

zombiekicker wrote:Wow, I had no idea they ever made consumer 42" CRTs. That thing must weigh a metric ton...

Seriously though, I'd get something that's been around long enough (say 6 months to a year) to prove itself. Like, say, this...

Honestly, it all depends on what you'll be doing with it. LCDs are where it's at right now. Most of the more-affordable LCDs have trouble producing a true black (noticeable during dark scenes in movies). The 60 v 120 Hz argument falls in with the response time - gaming. Of course, if you want the faster refresh (120Hz) and quicker response time (<4ms) needed for gaming, you're gonna pay a bit more for it.

Plasma screens tend to have brighter, sharper pictures, but cut deeply into your wallet, as plasma display technology has shown itself difficult (expensive) to scale up.

As for the LED backlight business, I'd wait till that tech cools down a bit before jumping in. It's still far more expensive than it should be.

If your main concern is the expense, another consideration is the (now somewhat defunct) DLP rear projection TV. Main drawback: you can't mount a DLP on a wall. My Samsung 61" DLP is absolutely amazing: sharp/bright picture, vivid colors, and it was $1600. Mitsubishi still makes DLPs and they're insanely inexpensive compared to LCDs (A 73" screen for ~$2k @ newegg). Granted, it's not the way of the future, but you get a lot of screen for the $$ (and, since it's user serviceable, it's still cheaper to replace the lamp on a DLP than the backlight on an LCD).

Hope that helps...

Good summary!

And for the record, I have moved a 55" CRT that was deeper than it was tall (or wide) up three flights of stairs in July. We nicknamed it "Mankiller", because that's about what it did to my roommate, who drew short straw and was pushing it up the steps while I tried to pull it. You'll never meet a person more enamored with flat-screen TV's than me, just because of this horrible memory.

And a home user CAN replace the lamp on an LCD. You just have to be brave.

What is a P&F warranty?

Shiftlock wrote:I mounted a similar 42" LCD TV up against the wall using a unique method that I haven't seen anywhere else. I purchased a foot of white link chain from Home Depot, along with two sturdy drywall-mount hooks. I put the hooks in the wall where I wanted the TV mounted. I cut two small pieces of the chain off, and attached them to the hooks. I hung the LCD on the chains using the top two mounting screws on the back of the TV. It was super easy, cost me $5, and the TV is closer to the wall than it would be with a conventional wall-mount bracket. It hangs in such a way that it tilts down slightly, which is perfect because I wanted it mounted it high so I could put a shelf under it for the bluray player, stereo receiver, cable box and slingbox. For the shelf, I used a couple of L brackets and a piece of generic white shelving ($10 total, again Home Depot) with a 1" hole drilled in it so the wires could pass through. I finished it off by putting all the wires in a white wire loom, which was only a few more bucks at Home Depot. Overall, for all the mounting stuff, shelf, and wire loom, it cost me less than $20, took about an hour for everything, and it's the cleanest looking wall-mounted LCD installation I've seen.

Do you have a link or any pics you can send of your DIY set up? Would really like to see how this turned out.

Yay! I'm in! Hoping this will be a nice addition to my new camp trailer!

nchamp wrote:Is the guy lying down in the middle in "black" face? If so, I find it offensive and would appreciate that image being removed.

It looks like he is either dressed as a bumblebee or some other character. Get over yourself.

Shiftlock wrote:
I mounted a similar 42" LCD TV up against the wall using a unique method that I haven't seen anywhere else. I purchased a foot of white link chain from Home Depot, along with two sturdy drywall-mount hooks. I put the hooks in the wall where I wanted the TV mounted. I cut two small pieces of the chain off, and attached them to the hooks. I hung the LCD on the chains using the top two mounting screws on the back of the TV. It was super easy, cost me $5, and the TV is closer to the wall than it would be with a conventional wall-mount bracket. It hangs in such a way that it tilts down slightly, which is perfect because I wanted it mounted it high so I could put a shelf under it for the bluray player, stereo receiver, cable box and slingbox. For the shelf, I used a couple of L brackets and a piece of generic white shelving ($10 total, again Home Depot) with a 1" hole drilled in it so the wires could pass through. I finished it off by putting all the wires in a white wire loom, which was only a few more bucks at Home Depot. Overall, for all the mounting stuff, shelf, and wire loom, it cost me less than $20, took about an hour for everything, and it's the cleanest looking wall-mounted LCD installation I've seen.

boatbuilder wrote:Do you have a link or any pics you can send of your DIY set up? Would really like to see how this turned out.

Yes please! Photos would be nice....this sounds sweet!

Just wanted to say i have this tv (watching doctor who atm) and its great for the price.

I bought it for $539 on buy.com about 2 months ago and it's a great tv.

After a bunch of research i found out allot of these were returned because the component and hdmi were going out withing a week of purchase. But don't let that scare you, it was a firmware problem, not a component problem.

Most of these tv's were "refurbished" by just simply upgrading the firmware. Mine came shipped with the new firmware and has been working great.

Also i have to note that the rca composite in is pretty crap for older gaming consoles (nes, genesis, snes, etc.) It looks really bad even when in 4:3, it also suffers from slight hd lag. To fix this I bought a $50 rca to hdmi converter and it works great, no lag.

Edit:

Here are a couple of photos of the TV playing HD net flicks from a Xbox 360 through hdmi.

http://www.austinnnnnnn.net/photo/tv1.JPG

http://www.austinnnnnnn.net/photo/tv2.JPG

johnnyschmitz wrote:Do yourself a favor and buy anything but this TV. I have this exact TV. It has had problems since new. It turns itself off and back on spontaneously. I read many reviews with the same problem and Philips refuses to do anything about it. Now I have had it for about a year, just dealing with the power on issue. Now I have to turn it off and on several times to get the picture to come on. Support from Philips is non-existent. I will never buy a Philips product again. Find reviews and read them before buying this!

have you upgraded the firmware with a usb thumbdrive yet?

not a fan of Philips but I do love my LG, not a bad price though

nchamp wrote:Is the guy lying down in the middle in "black" face? If so, I find it offensive and would appreciate that image being removed.

You have something against bumblebees?

Brand New At Sams Club!

Here is one brand new at Sam's club. Free shipping and only $80 more.

kelseyellen wrote:I have a 37" right now... but I'm always up for a few more inches ;)

sausage gravy!!!!

powdermilkman wrote:have you upgraded the firmware with a usb thumbdrive yet?

Frimware does not do anything for it

Lobstah wrote:I wouldn't go near a 60hz TV for any kind of viewing. Go watch a wall of demos and whenever there is a pan action, you'll see the 60hz sets stutter. 120hz is minimum, and 240 is smooth. Not just for gaming, but watching Two and a half men as well.

I'd have to agree. I ended up buying the 120hz version on yugster for just a little more.

F0rSaken wrote:That's what she said...

damn u for that!

mrlumpy wrote:Refurbished Philips products should be avoided like the plague. Unless things have changed they will NOT take returns - they direct you to a repair shop to fix any issues. I got a LCD TV from them a few years back that was grainy as all get out, and they pretty much told me to take a hike.

So, enjoy your refurb.

Here here. Got the refurb Phillips DVD and it simply freezes randomly during playback. Tried 7 disc (2 brand new from package) thinking it was my disc. it was the refurb phillips. Oh well, stay away from them. If it was a Vizio, I've had better luck with the last two LCD tv from them.

I like my women like I like my TVs...
http://sale.images.woot.com/MN94144C_specs4.jpg

...I'm debating whether to include the punch line as it might get me put on probation...

nchamp wrote:Is the guy lying down in the middle in "black" face? If so, I find it offensive and would appreciate that image being removed.

It is definitely a man dressed up as a woman in blackface.

It should definitely be removed!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/draxus/2302162931/sizes/o/

LinuxRandal wrote:Man, I am glad I am not the only one old enough to recognize that. LOL

Old enough? On about what are you children prattling?

SBCJester21 wrote:I shouldn't admit it, but I was a huge fan of the cartoon as a kid.

The photo appears to be from:

XIII Salón Internacional del Cómic de Granada 2008

Which I think I figured out is a comic book convetion in Granada which I think I figured out is part of Spain. (It was all in Spanish, so it was difficult to figure out exactly)

here is a link to the full size photo

Interestingly, the one dressed as Diana the Acrobat, appears to be a guy in black-face!

Granada is indeed in Andalusia, Spain. Beautiful place if you ask me.

bsmith1 wrote:I like my women like I like my TVs...
http://sale.images.woot.com/MN94144C_specs4.jpg

...I'm debating whether to include the punch line as it might get me put on probation...

uhh, with lots of colorful holes to plug?

I don't know exactly when Funai took over the manufacturing of Philips-branded products but Funai acquired the manufacturing, sales and servicing of Philips TVs for the US market ~2 years ago and Funai is the poorest of all electronics houses of Japan.

I would be very cautious about buying anything with the Philips name on it before doing an extensive survey of problems with this or any other product sold/made by Funai.

Other junk names they own:
Funai, Symphonic, Sylvania, Emerson, Aventura, Durabrand, ESA, Magnavox, Insignia and Misakai

Hmmm, how many 'refurbs' does it take for Woot to be interested in offering them??

bigmercy wrote:It is definitely a man dressed up as a woman in blackface.

It should definitely be removed!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/draxus/2302162931/sizes/o/

Oh my god - this is political correctnes run amok...

There is a huge difference between a person dressing in blackface, trying to look like a black person (as they used to do in old minstrel shows) and an spoon in black makeup trying to look like a character from a very old television show...

Please look up the definition of blackface before you get offended again...

Holy crap, I gotta stop reading these messages, or I'm gonna think the entire world has gone stupid...

I guess Albert Einstein said it best: Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

Less giant LCD TVs.

More giant LCD monitors. WQXGA monitor plx.

colbytitus wrote:Philips = junk. That's why you see so much refurbs from them.

Couldn't agree more. We bought a 47" Phillips LCD tv 2.5 years ago for around $1700 for our family room downstairs. It was not used all that often, sometimes even going a month or two without ever being turned on. We recently joined Netflix and so we have a movie night once a week. But the other week the stupid Phillips tv would not turn on. The power supply had to be replaced to the tune of $250. I guess if we would have used the tv daily the power supply would have failed after 2 months.

People should stay far, far away from ANY Phillips product. After our problems I googled Phillips tv power supply and there are a LOT of unhappy Phillips owners out there.

bigmercy wrote:It is definitely a man dressed up as a woman in blackface.

It should definitely be removed!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/draxus/2302162931/sizes/o/

Do you really think the dopey kid in the picture intended to offend? Or do you think he's just some goober trying to look like a character from a TV show?

I understand that some people might take offense, but let's face it, there's a bit of grey area with this one.

bigmercy wrote:Can't you tell the difference between brown and pitch black?
Black face is a historically offensive way of demeaning black people.
and in response to your dave chappelle question. What does one have to do with the other? Black face is wrong no matter what Dave Chappelle does.

What's more commonly available when buying costume makeup? Pitch black or brown? This kid clearly isn't a professional makeup artist like Robert Downing Jr had in Tropic Thunder. The kid did his best to look like the character working with what he had. If he's portraying his "hero" I doubt he had any racist intent.
Do you know the difference between white and whatever color you want to call what white people really are? If a black kid wanted to be a white superhero for Halloween, I bet he'd have the same problem and only be able to find bright white makeup.
You're right. It's "historical" as in "history". I'd like to think we're beyond all that by now. Why not get over it? I, as a whitey, am not offended by Dave Chappelle painting himself pure white when portraying a white person, so why are you still offended by the innocent actions of a D&D nerd?

nchamp wrote:Is the guy lying down in the middle in "black" face? If so, I find it offensive and would appreciate that image being removed.

Are you serious? I would hope you could tell the difference between racism and cosplay.

amyteg1 wrote:Do you really think the dopey kid in the picture intended to offend? Or do you think he's just some goober trying to look like a character from a TV show?

I understand that some people might take offense, but let's face it, there's a bit of grey area with this one.

I know most of you can't understand why this would be offensive but know that it is. I can't begin to explain it to you all so I am done trying...

johnnyschmitz wrote:Do yourself a favor and buy anything but this TV. I have this exact TV. It has had problems since new. It turns itself off and back on spontaneously. I read many reviews with the same problem and Philips refuses to do anything about it. Now I have had it for about a year, just dealing with the power on issue. Now I have to turn it off and on several times to get the picture to come on. Support from Philips is non-existent. I will never buy a Philips product again. Find reviews and read them before buying this!

Some LCDs do that. My Sony did that. Luckily Sony released a firmware update that fixed that problem. Check Philips website or call them to see if there is a firmware update

icewinsagain wrote:Frimware does not do anything for it

Hmm that stinks. Fixed my Sony. I guess I should read the entire thread before posting my previous comment.