Best Buy had a "brand new, not refurbished" Panasonic 42" Plasma for $999.00 before Christmas so this is no "killer deal".

Gerald214 wrote:$899.00 after $100 rebate at newegg

That one is 1366 x 768 not 1920 x 1080.

For all others out there...the 2560 x 1600 Resolution 30" Apple Cinema HD Display is what all you should really want.

Or if size matters, newegg has a 47" lcd 1920 x 1080 Westinghouse for $1599.99

Oh and there is such an overproduction of LCD's and Plasmas that in the next year prices are going to drop dramatically.

minnesotataco wrote:Best Buy had a "brand new, not refurbished" Panasonic 42" Plasma for $999.00 before Christmas so this is no "killer deal".

So go there now and ask for that same deal. Just make sure you get a picture of the salesman's face to post here afterwards...

Oh man, I've been hoping for a deal like this... thanks woot! Media Center will rock on this TV!

its ridiculous how much lack of knowledge some of you people have.......

no tuner, no tv, its a DISPLAY, you'll have to have a seperate cable/satellite box to watch TV,

What the smurf? is that a samurai squid?

Roundhill wrote:Oh man, I've been hoping for a deal like this... thanks woot! Media Center will rock on this TV!

Go for it or chip in $200 more and get a new one from Froogle

minnesotataco wrote:Best Buy had a "brand new, not refurbished" Panasonic 42" Plasma for $999.00 before Christmas so this is no "killer deal".

OMFG!!!! please go back and read the 10+ pages of comments!!!!!!
Plasma 1080p are outrageously expensive and the majority of them were introduced for the 1st time this year in January at the CES convention!!!!!!!!!

The 42" Plasma that you thought you saw for $999 before Xmas is NOT 1080p so therefore, this Westinghouse 42" LCD 1080p is a "killer deal" =\

mrstuddness wrote:its ridiculous how much lack of knowledge some of you people have.......

no tuner, no tv, its a DISPLAY, you'll have to have a seperate cable/satellite box to watch TV,

Are there any HD channels out there that are broadcast over a 'regular' cable (or satellite) feed that DO NOT require a STB (Set Top Box) from the provider for decoding any way?

Xplosonhed wrote:1080p? damn, is it I or P that is better? Any one of you more tech minded folks offer up an explanation?

1080p is better. The reason interlace was done in the first place is that the electronics were not fast enough to draw all the lines progressively. When 1080 was originally considered, the same concern, especially for CRT displays, was an issue. They were not fast enough to do 1080 progressive displays. There is now a 1080p definition in the ATSC standard, but many HDTV displays, like this one, do not do interlace anyway, so 1080i is sort of meaningless. So, when you send it a 1080i signal, it displays it progressively, because that is all the set does. But it is not truly 1080p, but rather 1080i displayed progressively. However, it is not truly double the horizontal frequency needed to do 1080p I am sure. That said, do you really care? Until late last year, no inexpensive display even did 1080i natively, so this is a gret display at ths price.

mmarola wrote:

Are there any HD channels out there that are broadcast over a 'regular' cable (or satellite) feed that DO NOT require a STB (Set Top Box) from the provider for decoding any way?

yes, all you need is an HD antenna on top of your house, and a tv with a HD tuner or an external hd tuner =)
heres one @ bestbuy http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7322499&st=hd+antenna&type=product&id=1118844006524

mmarola wrote:

Are there any HD channels out there that are broadcast over a 'regular' cable (or satellite) feed that DO NOT require a STB (Set Top Box) from the provider for decoding any way?

No. Over the air channels are broadcast ATSC standard, and will require an over the air HDTV tuner. About $100, look on Ebay. One way to get this is to buy an older HDTV DIrecTV receiver that include an off-air HDTV tuner. You can get these on EBay for under $50 some time (I just sold mine for $49).

On cable, they DO NOT rebroadcast the off-air signal in its original format (8VSB) but rather convert it to a cable digital signal (usually QAM) which requires a cable STB to get the signal.

too much arguing going on about who knows what and who and what not...See what happens when you put fighting squids on screens woot? shoulda gone with this one instead..

How much is it for a OTA tuner and antenna? Can you use component imputs for it?

edit: someone above answered, but what should I be searching for on Ebay?

SOmeone earlier pondered the rapid growth of the Wooting community. I think I cracked the mystery. There have been several posts on bensbargains.net for the woot of the day. That's how I found out about the Woot-off a few weeks ago, and how I ended up in this parallel wootful universe. I wonder if that is the case for anyone else...

orubin wrote:
On cable, they DO NOT rebroadcast the off-air signal in its original format (8VSB) but rather convert it to a cable digital signal (usually QAM) which requires a cable STB to get the signal.

Some tv's come with a qam tuner so you can pick up the UNencrypted channels, thru cable, without a cable box. Cable companies are supposed to pass the local channels 'in the clear' so you should get those, with that type of setup. Other channels like espn or hbo you probably wouldn't get (since they'd be encrypted) but lots of people report they do get some of these. But that's more just dumb luck that their provider hasn't tightened all the screws they were supposed to.

and whoever said this forum is full of misinformation is right. People please go to a site like avsforum where there are people that actually know what they are talking about.

And never listen to the salesmen!

brikbats wrote:SOmeone earlier pondered the rapid growth of the Wooting community. I think I cracked the mystery. There have been several posts on bensbargains.net for the woot of the day. That's how I found out about the Woot-off a few weeks ago, and how I ended up in this parallel wootful universe. I wonder if that is the case for anyone else...

word of mouth here.. although it kinda sucks some folks sell the ever-so-elusive random crap or screaming monkeys on ebay using the woot name and catchy descriptions.. kinda takes the fun outta the whole thing... but hey its only my opinion so no name calling please... i didnt call these folks jerks or anything of the sort =)

People need to understand, there is no one best tv. Each person has different viewing habits, different issues in their room to deal with, different priorities... you need to take a little time to read, learn, and understand what the hell all this is about. Figure out what you want, what you don't want, look at the options, and try to make an educated decision. Don't just listen to whatever the salesman says, and then spout it off on here as if it were fact. Because some of us do understand this stuff, and you just look dumb when you say something totally false.

man.. If I would have waited like 1 week on a new tv I would have gotten this one. I just purchased a 42" 1080psi toshiba about 1 week ago and even though it works great, the price here is a lot better then what I paid. I paid close to $2000 with the wall mount and whatnot for it too..

Good Woot!

Internet+ anonymity = Jerk?

I find it to bring out the stupid more than anything.

The essence of the internet is people being snarky. It's something Al Gore put in from the start.

I know that I can be a bit of a jerk sometimes. In my own defense, I feel that I am only responding to those who act like they are the diety of all. Or those who state opinions and false information as if it were facts. I like to find people who have already made themselves out to be an imbecile and make sure that they know it.

Alrighty then. Some technology, in terms of Television, to look for in the next 5 years might be OLED, SED, and Laser. All technology becomes "old news" at some point in time.

Does anyone know if this model has compatibility problems with the PS3 and 1080p over component?

sweaver32 wrote:

Some tv's come with a qam tuner so you can pick up the UNencrypted channels, thru cable, without a cable box...

Interesting to know. I have never seen an HDTV with a built in cable QAM tuner. I have seen many with ATSC 8VSB tuners for off-air, but as I said, no cable company that I have ever worked with sends off-air HDTV signals in their original 8VSB formats. A "cable ready HDTV would be a ribs thing. Can you point me to one of these?

For those who want the know the tech reason why, an off-air 8VSB signal consumes a full 6 MHz channel and gives about 19 Mbps of data for HD. How the channel is split is up to the broadcaster. It can be 4 to 5 standard def channels, two 720p channels, or a 1080i channel. Often, cable does not want to carry all 480i channels (for example) if broadcast that way. So, they take the signal they want and sometimes re-encode it, and send it over QAM on the cable. Cable also brodcasts 6 MHz channels. When they QAM-64 them, they get about 27 Mbps of data, or about 32 Mbps in QAM-256. By converting the approx 19 Mbps 8VSB signal which takes a full 6 MHz into QAM, they have a good deal of space left over for other channels on that same 6 MHz channel. Most cable companies only allocate 50Hz to about 550 Hz for analog channles, or 72 channels. That only leave about 300 digital channels for EVERYTHING else, so wasting a full 6 MHz channle to rebroadcasting an 8 VSB singal, which costs maybe 5 to 7 digital channels is not a good plan. Just in case youwanted to know, and you did not have to go to another forum to find out! Over simplified on purpose, ask me for more detail if you like.

minnesotataco wrote:Best Buy had a "brand new, not refurbished" Panasonic 42" Plasma for $999.00 before Christmas so this is no "killer deal".

yes that is true but that was on black friday and they only had like 100 pieces. This is a good deal , if you were to buy this in a store or online it would prob cost you $1200 with shipping

WOW i got the 37" 1080p model for $1050 after shipping and LOVE it. I use it as a PC monitor primarily and its gorgeous.

This 42" for the same price is truly a sweet deal. Refurbished is not a problem.

"No where in your rambling incoherent response did you come close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. We are all dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul."

name the movie...

woot needs to distinguish who knows what about what as this thread only confuses the casual consumer with regards to who is right /wrong

but the deals are what they are and they are doing enough already i guess

yeah and also the best buy units everyone keeps talking about were 720p...

i would have gone with the brand new 720p, but it's a different ballgame when you have ps3

anyways...if my unit has stuck pixels or is defective...woot takes care of that, right? glad i ask after i purchase!

markinsand wrote:"No where in your rambling incoherent response did you come close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. We are all dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul."

name the movie...

woot needs to distinguish who knows what about what as this thread only confuses the casual consumer with regards to who is right /wrong

but the deals are what they are and they are doing enough already i guess

billy madison duh...

gsswho6 wrote:Too much.. I can get a VIZIO for cheaper.

Not a 1080p 42" you won't! You're not understanding what this unit is, and you'll probably kick yourself when it's gone. I have this set, and it's INCREDIBLE.

I bought this TV new about 6 months ago for $1389. This is a great deal and an AMAZING TV!!!

Xplosonhed wrote:i see people griping about the 1000:1 ratio. whats the norm? whats preferred?

My Samsung 46" 1080P has a contrast ratio of 6000:1 (and cost 2 grand). Frankly, I'd avoid this Westinghouse.

if you have to send this monitor backhow much is the shipping going to cost me?

Someone please help me. I need a tv... this looks liek a good one. im not tech or anything so i need to know some things. Can i hook up a regular cable for std cable in the back? If it doesnt work like a tv then what the hell do i need a 40'' comp. monitor for? Is this a good deal? refurbish? i dont know.... PLEASE HELP!!!!

It's funny reading all these plasma vs lcd vs contrast ratio vs no tuner flame wars. Reminds me of the old Mac vs. PC days.

And I thing the "is 1080p better than 1080i" question from page 1 has been answered. So you can give that dead horse a break.

markinsand wrote:"No where in your rambling incoherent response did you come close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. We are all dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul."

name the movie...

woot needs to distinguish who knows what about what as this thread only confuses the casual consumer with regards to who is right /wrong

but the deals are what they are and they are doing enough already i guess

ummm billy madison??

orubin wrote:Interesting to know. I have never seen an HDTV with a built in cable QAM tuner. I have seen many with ATSC 8VSB tuners for off-air, but as I said, no cable company that I have ever worked with sends off-air HDTV signals in their original 8VSB formats. A "cable ready HDTV would be a ribs thing. Can you point me to one of these?

I bought my hdtv 2 years ago (I prefer plasma so that's what I bought) so I'm a little out of the game as far as models go. That said, I did a quick search and found, for instance, the samsung hls(xx)88 series comes with a qam tuner.
And I know many other brands have models with this too, like sony, pioneer, panasonic (TH-50PX60U, 42px500U), toshiba, hp, westinghouse, and so on.

Here's a thread from avs with some discussion on this:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=810796

This is a great set for a monitor. If your monitor isn't 42" or greater righ now, jump on this deal.

To start with off with you can't beat 1920x1080 resolution at this size. It's got both DVI and VGA inputs to come straight form the computer, making sure you can get a real 1920x1080 signal. The screen has a flat finish so you won't be getting any glare. PiP options let you move and resize a window so you can watch TV from your cable or stellite box while you surf the web or play games. It has a tiny foot print on you desk. I just set it at the back of my desk, and sitting at the other side gives me enough distance to see the whole thing. It's LCD so you never have to worry about any sort of burn in issues like you would on Plasma.

If you want just a TV, you could probably find something with better contrast or a tuner (who really uses an in-tv hd tuner these days though?). I fyou want one of the best monitors on the market today that also happens to make a decent TV, pic this up while you can!

StephanieMarie wrote: Someone please help me. I need a tv... this looks liek a good one. im not tech or anything so i need to know some things. Can i hook up a regular cable for std cable in the back? If it doesnt work like a tv then what the hell do i need a 40'' comp. monitor for? Is this a good deal? refurbish? i dont know.... PLEASE HELP!!!!

This won't work like a regular TV in that respect (just running a cable line to the back). Sorry to de-wootivate, but I'd pass in your case, Steph.

StephanieMarie wrote: Someone please help me. I need a tv... this looks liek a good one. im not tech or anything so i need to know some things. Can i hook up a regular cable for std cable in the back? If it doesnt work like a tv then what the hell do i need a 40'' comp. monitor for? Is this a good deal? refurbish? i dont know.... PLEASE HELP!!!!

It does not recieve a co-axial input. You must first plug that into a set-top box (like a cable or satellite reciever) and then run another connection (Compnent, HDMI, DVI, S-Video, or composite ) into the TV.

The only way to get analog cable into the TV without one of those boxes would be to first plug it in to a VCR or something, then run component into the TV. If you would do this, save your money, you don't need an HD TV.

If you are asking what you would need a 42" monitor for...you probably haven't seen a 42" monitor ;)