Weekly ad starting 3-18-07

[bill]

The Office Max ad went up early so here it is-

Office Max (all media, hard drives and writers are listed)

Verbatim 52x CD-R, 100 for $15.
Verbatim 52x CD-R silver printable, 50 for $11.
Magnavox 52x CD-R, 75 for $11.
Verbatim 16x DVD+or-R, 50 for $15.


Seagate 160gb sata, $70.
Seagate 300gb pata, $100.

Seagate 250gb external(USB), $90.
Maxtor 160gb One Touch III mini hard drive (USB powered), $140.

Logitec LX 3-- wireless mouse (optical) & keyboard, $50. Same price @ NewEgg w/shipping..
Office Max & Kodak photo paper is offered as- buy one get one free.

Staples (all media, hard drives and writers are listed)

Sony 52x CD-R, 100 for $16.
Sony DVD+or-R, 50 for $15.
Sony DVD+or-R, 100 for $25.

Western Digital 250gb pata, $80.

Western Digital 160gb external (USB), $80.
Western Digital 500gb external (USB), $170.
Maxtor 80gb One Touch III mini hard drive (USB powered), $80.

Clear slim jewel case, 50 for $9.

BTW, that's a two week ad for Staples.

[TCAS]

Thanks bill very useful information specially on Staples's Sony CD-R a pack of 100 for $16 that look very good.

[bill]

Best Buy

Sony 16x DVD+or-R, 100 for $25.
Verbatim 16x DVD+R lightscribe, 30 for $20.
Memorex 2x mini DVD-RW, 3 for $9.

Maxtor 120gb One Touch III mini (USB powered) hard drive, $110.
Maxtor 160gb One Touch III mini (USB powered) hard drive, $150.
Western Digital 250gb My Book (USB), $110.
Western Digital 500gb My Book (USB), $190.

CompUSA
Memorex 52x CD-R lightscribe, 20 for $10.
Sony 48x CD-R, 100 for $13.
Memorex 16x DVD+R lightscribe, 20 for $12.
TDK 2.4x DVD+R DL, 25 for $30.
Memorex 48x CD-R, 30 for $4.
Sony DRU120C, $25 after $20 Sony rebate.

3-18-07 specials
CompUSA 16x DVD+or-R, 100 for $18.
APC Conext 950VA Battery Back-UPS, $60 after $10 rebate.
Western Digital 250gb pata or sata, $70 after $20 rebate.

NOTE; I'm going to pause right here until I fix this computer. Might have a trojan

[Ian]

Sony DRU120C, $25 after $20 Sony rebate.

I can't say I've ever seen the DRU120C in stores but that's not a bad deal for a rebadged Lite-On LH-18A1P.

[bill]

Sony DRU120C, $25 after $20 Sony rebate.

I can't say I've ever seen the DRU120C in stores but that's not a bad deal for a rebadged Lite-On LH-18A1P.

Yeah, not bad. I'm still holding out for some reports for the Pioneer sata 212D. Finally ordered a core2 duo board last week, it has one pata port.

[bill]

Office Depot

Ativa 52x CD-R , 50 for $8.
Memorex 52x CD-R lightscribe, 10 for $6.
Memorex 8x DVD+R lightscribe, 10 for $8.
Sony 16x DVD+or-R, 50 for $13.
Maxell DVD+or-R, 100 for $23.
Memorex 2.4x DVD+R DL, 15 for $25.

Olevia 37 inch LCD 1080i HD television with RGB input, $700.
http://www.olevia.com/jsp/products/detail.jsp?pid=437V

Circuit City

NexxTech CD-R, 100 for $9.
NexxTech 8x DVD+or-R, 50 for $9.


I didn't list any hardware at Circuit City or Office Depot due to the rebates. The after rebate price isn't that hot either..

[Ian]

Does anyone have any experience with those Olevia TV's? I see them being advertised a lot and at those prices, they're tempting.

[bill]

Does anyone have any experience with those Olevia TV's?

None with the Olevia LCD televisions but I had two 32 inch Westinghouse models, a W3 and the W6 models. I returned the W3 because the DVI didn't work properly and the W6 would lock up when channel surfing HD signal. Both issues, from what I later learned, are common with those particular models...

The more I read about LCD panels the harder it is to choose one at a reasonable price. All of them ( lower cost models) seem to have some type of issue, poor SD picture, weak black level etc or the lack of inputs. I guess its a matter of waiting for the technology to mature further or pick one that floats your boat most of the time.

If you decide to buy the Olevia I'm curious to know how you like its quality.

[TCAS]

Office Depot

Ativa 52x CD-R , 50 for $8.
Memorex 52x CD-R lightscribe, 10 for $6.
Memorex 8x DVD+R lightscribe, 10 for $8.
Sony 16x DVD+or-R, 50 for $13.
Maxell DVD+or-R, 100 for $23.
Memorex 2.4x DVD+R DL, 15 for $25.

Olevia 37 inch LCD 1080i HD television with RGB input, $700.
http://www.olevia.com/jsp/products/detail.jsp?pid=437V

Circuit City

NexxTech CD-R, 100 for $9.
NexxTech 8x DVD+or-R, 50 for $9.


I didn't list any hardware at Circuit City or Office Depot due to the rebates. The after rebate price isn't that hot either..

I saw this Olevia 37" in Big & Lot ( Formerly Pick & Save) today for $599.99.

[TheWizard]

I have heard and read about some of the bad sides to LCD also, as bill pointed out. If possible, I say aim for a plasma or rear projection HDTV. Alternatively, wait for the next generation of rear projection TV's, with LED instead of a traditional light bulb, to become mainstream. The price on plasma and rear projection sets has really come down, and they should continue to become more affordable.

The only reason why I would get an LCD TV is if I wanted to use it as a computer monitor as well. For more info, as well as reviews of specific models (including some Olevia models), check out PC Magazine. Search for "olevia" or any other term, also take a look at articles and reviews by Robert Heron. He is the HDTV expert at PCMag.

[dolphinius_rex]

Rear Projection over LCD?

Wow.... Honestly, I've never heard *ANYONE* make that suggestion before. I'm fine with Plasma and LCD, and the points and counter points against/for both of them, but I've never seen a Rear Projection TV that could compare on any level to a good LCD or Plasma TV.

[TCAS]

I agree %100, projection TV (even with LCD display) is twenty years old technology I will not even go for DLP TV also. The only one is to look for as far as I am concern is new LCD with 1080P resolution (1920X1080P) and if plasma start using 1080P too then I would go for it.

[CowboySlim]

Copy that, TCAS.

1080p are overkill at this time as nobody transmits in 1080p.
Many transmit in 1080i and some, ESPN & ABC, transmit in 720p.
Regardless, I bought a Sony 1080p LCD around Christmas time.
I just wasn't going to leave anything on the table.

[TheWizard]

For the price, I think Rear Projection is the best bang for the buck right now. Plus, with televisions, size does matter, therefore, all other things being equal, I'll take bigger any day.

When choosing between Rear Projection, LCD, and Plasma, there are several things to consider. Cost is only one aspect, an important one though. For my situation, I needed a TV that would display well in a room that received a good portion of sunshine, and Rear Projection was the answer that fit into my budget.

[dolphinius_rex]

The problem with rear projection TVs is that the viewing angle tends to suck. So you get this huge TV for a cheap price, but when you're looking at it dead centre, you already see colour differences on the edges of the screen (in the worst cases at least).

The price is deffinately low, as has been said... but in my opinion the quality is so poor that it's not worth the cheap price. It's kind of like comparing Ritek DVD+RDL to Verbatim DVD+RDL... yes, the Memorex might work on some drives on some occasions, for a short period of time.... but if you're going to bother using DVD+RDL, you may as well buy something good and get the Verbatim.

That's why when I bought into HDTV, I went all out (and put myself in pretty heavy debt in the process....) and bought a Sharp 46" LCD tv. Sadly, it has some banding issues, so I'll be calling in that extended warranty I got (don't worry, I bought it from a store that offers actual after-sales service). Since the company I work for is also a Sharp dealer however, I'm just waiting until the model I have is completely out of stock (it's end of line already), and then I can get it replaced with the next step up model, which would either be a 52" of this line, or a 46" of the new line (I'd prefer the 46" of the new line).

[CowboySlim]

For my situation, I needed a TV that would display well in a room that received a good portion of sunshine, and Rear Projection was the answer that fit into my budget.

This is no longer an issue with the more recent, higher end LCDs.
They have sufficient contrast ratio to provide an excellent picture in a well lit room.

[TheWizard]

Fair enough

[CowboySlim]

Costco is selling a brand of LCD HDTVs called Vizio at prices well below those of equivalently sized Samsungs, Sharps & Sonys.
They are reported to have great quaility pictures.

With Costco, you can return for full refund if not satisfied.

I've heard about that business of SD on a HDTV being not good.
Have they done a side-by-side with a top quality, equivalent SD and HDTV of the same size and with both tuned to the same
SD channel?
No, because it's not possible.
So what they end up doing is comparing between an HD channel and an SD channel on the same HDTV and report their dissappointments in the SD picture quality.

Outside of that, the reports are quite accurate.

[TheWizard]

Just a word of warning, Costco will be (if they haven't already) tightening their return policy for things like TV's. They used to not have a time period for when a customer could return an electric appliance, but they will institute a 90-day return policy. For most of us, this is not a big deal because after you take your TV home, you can tell pretty much within a few days whether you are happy with it or not. This policy is mainly to crackdown on people who used Costco as more of a rental outlet, purchasing TV's then returning them a year or two later and exchanging them for the latest and greatest set.

I do agree though, Vizio makes very good units and they seem to balance quality and price well. I don't know how they do it, but they do!

As for poor SD reception on HDTV's, I've only noticed this with analog channels. Once you get into the digital tier, it's smooth sailing. Everything will be going digital in 2009 anyway, so I don't see this dichotomy being a big deal in a couple years. Hopefully, by then we'll have more HD channels!

[Ian]

The Vizio GV47LF is tempting. Looking at the comments at Cnet, its pretty decent for the price.

[bill]

I picked up a Vizio (thanks Slim) model VX37L at Sams Club a few days ago. So far I really like the unit, PQ is good, plenty of inputs and the no bright pixel warranty is nice. If anyone decides to try this model, do some research. There has been a revision and the newer unit (from what I've read) isn't as good. If the package contents includes the back lighted remote control the TV should be the better unit...

The one negative that I read points out that when using a OTA HD antenna (w/rotor) you must re-scan the channels each time the antenna is rotated because the HD channels can't be manually entered or saved... We'll install the OTA antenna today and see first hand how it works.