Best Buy Samsung Ultra high def tv Black Friday

[Bob Rufener]

I just saw the ad for Best Buy for black Friday sales. It incudes a Samsung Ultra High def 55" tv for $900 which normally sells for $1400. Apparently, it runs at 60 hz. Is this a drawback for buying a set like this or not? I am not into gaming but like watching sports and will use it for streaming Netflix. What are your thoughts? Good deal or not?

[Jerome Stanek]

first off who transmits in UH

[David Weaver]

Go watch it on a Sunday and see what a football game looks like. IIRC, the first time I ever saw HD a decade or so ago, it was a football game that I saw and it looked divine while the players were standing still. When someone threw the ball, it looked as if someone had told you to look straight ahead and then spun you on a bar stool (as the cameraman scrolled down the field).

I think that I recall the LCD TV makers (LCD back then) doing something other than just refresh rate to try to fix that.

But, the only way you can tell if the TV is going to look decent to you (aside from the tricks of turning up brightness and contrast) is to go watch it while something high motion is going on.

[Scott Shepherd]

As someone that has stood in line (against my will) at Best Buy for these deals, in case you don't know how it works, I'll explain it. They have sheets of paper for each item that's a special. It's first come, first serve. As you are standing in line, waiting for them to open, an associate will walk the line with stacks of papers, asking you what you are there for. If you tell them the tv, they'll give you the tv sheet. Without that sheet, you can't get the deal, and there's a limited number of those sheets for each item.

I think we were about 20 people deep in line (stood there for a couple of hours), and we had no chance at a tv.

I'm not sure if that one tv you listed is working like that, but I do know they are doing a 50inch tv this year for $199, that's normally like $500-600, so I'm sure that'll work the same way.

I hope I don't have to do it again this year, but unfortunately, I'm the last to know ;)

[Brian Elfert]

One thing people have been doing is buying the doorbuster TVs beforehand with their Discover cards at full price. They then file a price protection claim with Discover stating the item was less on such and such day and including a copy of the ad. Discover will give a refund of the price difference. Many credit cards have price protection, but Discover is about the only one that covers limited quantity sales like doorbusters on Black Friday.

This is 100% above board. Nothing fraudulent or shady about it. You do have to be 100% sure that the model numbers match.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I just saw the ad for Best Buy for black Friday sales. Unless you're sitting in a tent by the front door of Best Buy typing this, your chances of getting a doorbuster are Slim and None & Slim just left town ;).

People started camping out @ Best Buy for the Black Friday add back on Nov. 12th.

[Jim Matthews]

I bought my Hockey-ready HDTV off Amazon.
Free delivery, no waiting in line.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-UN55H7150-55-Inch-1080p-240Hz/dp/B00ID2HGP4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1416879823&sr=1-1&keywords=samsung+55+60hz

[Steve Rozmiarek]

My wife tells me it's a competitive thing to chase black friday deals, guess I'm not competitive. I strongly second Jim's technique.

[Larry Frank]

I do not think that there is very much that is actually broadcast in Ultra HD. I would check to see if you are even capable of getting that through your current cable, satellite or antenna broadcasts.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

I'm sure TV's have progressed quite a bit since I bought mine - but if you're into sports, look at plasma.

I think they still have the highest refresh rates. I don't watch much sports - but when I do...wow!

[Jim Matthews]

I'm sure TV's have progressed quite a bit since I bought mine - but if you're into sports, look at plasma.

Those generate a tremendous amount of waste heat.
If you live in a part of the country where your "cooling days"
outnumber your "heating days" the new OLED sets run
much cooler.

My first Flat screen could drive us out of the room, in Summer.

[Brian Elfert]

Plasma TVs have gotten much better on heat generation. OLED is still pretty expensive compared to plasma. I have a Pioneer Kuro 50" plasma TV and I don't notice any heat issues with it during the summer months.

LED TVs do use very little power. (Really LCD TVs with LED backlighting.) I bought my parents a 47" LED TV last week and it claims to use $9 a year in electricity based on 5 hours a day at 11 cents per KWH.

[Tom Stenzel]

Plasma TVs have gotten much better on heat generation. OLED is still pretty expensive compared to plasma. I have a Pioneer Kuro 50" plasma TV and I don't notice any heat issues with it during the summer months.

LED TVs do use very little power. (Really LCD TVs with LED backlighting.) I bought my parents a 47" LED TV last week and it claims to use $9 a year in electricity based on 5 hours a day at 11 cents per KWH.

That's probably true. We bought a 32" visio, it uses 40 watts. At the above usage and power rate it works out to about $8 a year. A lot less than the 25" CRT TV it replaced.

-Tom