Posted on 11/16/2009 1:33:01 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- If you're in the market for a new flatscreen TV this holiday season, you're in luck.
As nervous merchants prepare to draw reluctant shoppers with juicy sales, retail experts say some of the sweetest deals in the coming weeks will be on high-definition televisions.
As they compete for customers, TV sellers are going to wage a price war, and the biggest bargains will likely be on smaller models.
"The difference from prior holiday discounts on TVs is that consumers will find really, really good prices on 32-inch to 37-inch HDTVs and not necessarily the 65-inch models," said Phillip Swann, a consumer electronics expert and publisher of TVpredictions.com.
"We're already seeing 32-inch LCD models under $400. Typically they are $500, or more," he said. "And we're also seeing prices drop from about a $1,000 for 40-inch screens to $800."
One example, Target (TGT, Fortune 500) is reportedly featuring a 32-inch Westinghouse LCD HDTV for $246 as a "doorbuster special" on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when holiday shopping kicks off in earnest.
"The $246 HDTV is the lowest price that we've ever seen for that model," said Brad Olson, founder of Gottadeal.com, a Web site that markets itself as one of many "official" Black Friday deal sites.
Ross Rubin, a consumer electronics analyst with market research firm NPD Group, agreed. "A 32-inch [TV] under $400 is going to be a key price point for merchants," Ross said.
"The smaller TV models also appeal to consumers who already have a 47 or 50-inch HDTV in the living room and they want to add another flatscreen in the bedroom or elsewhere," Rubin said.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
fyi
For the real price collapse, wait until February.
I’ve been looking at a 55-inch LCD, with an LED backlight (instead of fluorescent backlight). However, I doubt it’s going to be deeply discounted.
Why Feb??
Post Super-Bowl.
For the most part a screen that large has a comfortable viewing distance simply not available in the majority of stick-built single-family dwellings in this country.
I’m waiting for the post holiday sales around the first of the year to hopefully find a 40 inch or bigger for under $700.
I’ve been holding out for a while. My 32” CRT works just fine.
But get a 42” LCD under $400, and I could be swayed
I have this cabinet that currently has a 32” 720P ...if the prices get low enough ...maybe I would replace it with a the full HDTV ......
>>For the real price collapse, wait until February.<<
Yep. We just moved from our five bedroom home to a one bedroom condo. We retired our 7’ 480p projector. We’re gonna get a 32” to 40” for the condo. It’s gotta be 1080p with “motion smoothing” type technology. We figure next January or February will be the time to buy. We really don’t need it that bad or we would not be waiting though.
>>For the real price collapse, wait until February.<<
Yeah, but then we have to weave our way through the food rioters. :)
There’s talk in California of outlawing retail sales of big screen TVs.
So, um, what size would constitute ‘big screen?’ 46” ?? or 52 “???? Surely not 32!
What is motion smoothing technology....sounds like it would be good for watching Ball Games....?
ahhh. Wise man (or woman) Wise person anyway. ;D
That sounds about right. And I just may be in the market. My 32" Sony flat screen (not HD) is about 4 years old, but after buying a 19" HD for the kitchen, we're ready to upgrade our living room TV. Watching football & golf on the Sony just doesn't cut it anymore. My wife's threatened to move my recliner into the kitchen I spend so much time in there now.
Prices may be low for the holidays, but after the Super Bowl, and the economy still in the tank, they'll be lower yet, I'd bet.
No, you’re right. The LED tech is not mature enough to really be cheap, but it will come down a lot because the LEDs don’t fail as often as the lamps in traditional LCD screens do.
I saw split screen comparisons at Fry’s. A flyby of the space ship in WallE was dramatically clearer in the “smoothed” side. Another sample is scrolling text at the bottom of the screen. Without it the text is blurry, and sometimes unwatchable. With it, the text retains most (or even all) of the sharpness it has when static.
For anything with a lot of on screen motion,it is amazing.
The next generation hardware (super-thin screens, 120Hz/240Hz, LED backlit) is ramping up and the current screens are going to be both plentiful and less desirable.
Or so I hear.
That's actually farther than the standards:
http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html
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