Sub-$1,000 42-inch HDTV coming for Black Friday

[Epicurus8a]

According to the Si-Fi channel, this 42" Plasma Vizo HDTV will be on sale at Costo the day after Thanksgiving. The price is $999.99. (No 1080p, though.)

http://blog.scifi.com/tech/

[stiltman]

http://bfads.net/store/costco

[edDV]

Far from 1080p with 1024x768 native resolution but OK as a living room TV that will be viewed from >6 feet. DVD would look good.

The real question is how SD looks on it. Some Vizios have Dcdi but probably not the entry model.

[HatchetMan]

http://www.viziotv.com/products/detail.aspx?pid=19

[edDV]

It has all the basics including an ATSC/QAM tuner. If you feed it with 720p/480p off a cable box, the cable box takes the deinterlace load. It has computer/gamebox VGA input but watch out for burn-in.

Resolution is OK at 1024x768 but in the low medium range of high def. This set makes a perfect replacement for that 32" NTSC TV in the living room but falls short for true "home theater".

It won't be the best for playing VHS or DVD recorder 480i.

[MJA]

I think the Westinghouse 42"LCD at best buy is a better deal same price
I'm not sure about the model number but if its the Westinghouse LVM-42W2 one it 1080p. 1920x1080

http://bfads.net/pop/3061

[Wile_E]

I have read so many conflicting things about Plasma vs LCD, and burn-in issues, I feel it is now a non-issue for most consumers. Buy a TV that you want and like. According to what I've read, newer Plasma's don't have the problem as much as previous generations. Even LCD's can have burn-in problems. I have seen plenty of them with burn-in in local area stores. But again, this is a non-issue as long as you aren't stupid and leave a static image sit on the TV for an hour or longer. For images that have tickers at the bottom of the screen, make sure they are transparent. Otherwise don't leave the TV on that channel.

The Westinghouse 42" is 720p (1366 x 768). It is also a monitor only. No built-in tuner according to Best Buy website. Personally I'm going to try and get the Vizio 42" plasma this weekend. But if I'm unsuccessful, I'm falling back to the new Vizio 37" LCD that is at Sam's for $999 as I've waited long enough to upgrade my old CRT TV.

For those who want to compare 16:9 to 4:3 screen sizes, here is a nice calculator.
www.tvcalculator.com

[edDV]

That is a useful calculator. First thing people should grasp is this. 42" sounds big but it is really a 34" with ears. The 4:3 image will be approximately the same size.

[Epicurus8a]

Wow, that calculator is sweet!

[stiltman]

42in 1980x1080
Viewable Image Info:
Image Dimensions: 27.36" x 20.57"
Image area: 562.8 sq. in.
Screen Utilization: 74.71%

General TV Info:
Equivalent 4:3 TV: 34.2"
Pixel Density: 2752 pixels / sq. in.