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Category Archives: Bargains

Best HDTV Deals for Black Friday 2008

Now that the Black Friday 2008 picture is more clear, we’ve analyzed all the HDTV-related deals and have come up with a list of the best deals worth waking up early for. Looks like Wal-Mart might be one of the best places to shop for Black Friday this year. Check’em out below.

Picture Item Price Store Notes
Smasung Black Friday Deal Samsung 50-inch 720p Plasma $798 Walmart Model unkown (We think it's the PN50A450). Link to ad scan.
Xbox 360 Best of Black Friday 2008 XBOX 360 w/ Guitar Hero III: Lgeneds of Rock and Wireless Guitar $199 Walmart $70 video game and guitar for free. Nice. Link to ad scan.
Xbox 360 Best of Black Friday 2008 Xbox 360 Arcade w/ 7 games including Rock Band 2 (no instruments) $199 Dell Home $50 video game for free. (Instruments sold separately). Link to ad scan.
Transformers Blu-ray for Best of Black Friday Transformers Blu-ray disc $9.99 Best Buy Awesome Blu-ray disc with stunning visuals at a bargain DVD price. Push your HDTV to its limits. Link to ad scan.
Sony BDP-S350 Best of Black Friday Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray Player $179 K-mart *Note* Thanksgiving Day only. One of the better reviewed Blu-ray players out there. Link to ad scan.
Sharp Black Friday best Of Sharp 42' 1080p LCD HDTV $779 Dell Home Model LC-42SB45U. Link to ad scan.
Sharp Black Friday best Of Sharp 46' 1080p LCD HDTV $899 Sears Model LC-46SB54U. Save $500. Link to ad scan.
Magnavox Blu-ray Player Best of Black Friday Magnavox NB500MG9 $128 Walmart Cheapest Blu-ray player currently available. Link to ad scan.


Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-ray Player for $150 at Sears.com (Sold Out)

Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-ray Player Profile 2.0

Starting Sunday, November 23, Sears.com has the Panasonic DMP-BD35 Blu-ray player on sale for $150. The player won the coveted Editor’s Choice award from CNET as one of the best Blu-ray players for the money. Unfortunately, it looks like the site quickly sold out of them. No word on if they’re getting more in stock.

*Update* Looks like they removed it entirely from their online store. Bummer.

Link

Panasonic DMP-BD35 $150 at Sears.com

Best Buy Black Friday 2008 HDTV Deals

Best Buy Logo

Best Buy’s Black Friday deals have just been released. The are a few standouts, but most of the deals are underwhelming. Check out the entire list below:

Panasonic TH-50PX80U Viera

HDTVs

  • Mitsubishi 60″ WD-60735 1080p DLP HDTV $999.99 (regular price $1299) (link)
  • Dynex 19″ 720p LCD HDTV $199.99
  • Dynex 32″ 720p LCD HDTV $399.99
  • Dynex 42″ 720P Plasma HDTV $599.99
  • Insignia 47″ 1080P LCD HDTV $999.99
  • LG 32″ 1080p LCD HDTV (w/ Geek Squad Setup) $699.98
  • LG 42″ 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV $1299.98
  • LG 47″ 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV $1499.98
  • small starPanasonic Viera 50″ 720p Plasma HDTV $899.99*(regular price $1399) (link)
  • Samsung 40″ 1080p LCD HDTV $799.99
  • Samsung 42″ 720p Plasma HDTV $699.99
  • small starSamsung 46″ Class 1080P LCD HDTV $1099.99
  • Samsung 720p LCD HDTV $499.99
  • Sharp 22″ 720P LCD HDTV w/ built-in DVD player $349.99

Transformers Blu-ray 2

Blu-ray

  • Insignia Blu-Ray Disc Player $249.99
  • Samsung 1080P Upconvert DVD Player $49.99
  • small starSamsung Blu-Ray Player $199.99
  • Sony Blu-ray Disc Player $249.99
  • small starTransformers Blu-Ray Disc $9.99

Klipsch VF-35 Floor Speakers

Miscellaneous

  • Sony Playstation 3 80GB w/ Ratchet and Clank game + Casino Royale Blu-ray $399.99*
  • XBox 360 60GB Console w/4 Games (Lego Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, NBA2K9, Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground) $299.99
  • Init Black Metal Stand For TVs Up To 50″ and 300 lb $149.99
  • Init Dark Cherry 3-in-1 Stand $249.99
  • small starKlipsch Icon VF-35 5.25″ Floor Speaker $299.99 (each) (original price $399) (link)
  • small starKlipsch Icon VF-36 6.5″ Floor Speaker $374.99 (each) (original price $499) (link)
  • Polk Audio 100-Watt 10″ Subwoofer $99.99
  • Polk Audio 5.25″ Bookshelf Speakers (Pair) $49.98
  • Samsung 5.1-Channel Home Theater System With Built-in Blu-Ray Player $599.99
  • Sony 3.1-Channel Surround Soundbar With Subwoofer 199.99
  • Sony 5-Disc 1080P Upconvert DVD Home Theater System $359.99
  • Sony 7.1-Channel 735-watt Home Theater Receiver $199.99
  • Harmony Universal Remote $59.99
  • Canon HF10 1080P Camcorder w/HDMI cable$799.97

*Doorbuster item.

Dell Home’s 2008 Black Friday Deals

XBOX 360 Arcade Holiday Bundle at Dell

Dell Home (link) will have some HDTV-related deals for Black Friday. The most impressive is an XBOX 360 Arcade with 7 games, including Rock Band 2, for just $199. Wow. Check out all of Dell’s HDTV-related Black Friday deals below:

Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray Player

Sony BDP-S350 Blu-Ray Disc Player $249.99. This is a great player, but K-mart has same model for $180 on Thanksgiving Day. (Link.)

Sony DAV-HDX275 BRAVIA Theater System

Sony HDX275 Home Theater System $229.99. 5-disc DVD/CD changer. 1000 watts. iPod dock. DVD upscaling to 1080p. HDMI interface.

Sharp LC-42SB45U LCD HDTV 1080p

Sharp LC42SB45U 42″ 1080p LCD HDTV $779.00. This is Sharp’s bargain line of LCDs. Not a bad price. Sears will have a 46-inch Sharp Acqous 1080p LCD for $900. (Link.)

Rock Band 2

XBOX 360 Arcade With 7 Games Including Rock Band 2 $199.00. The Arcade bundle includes 6 packaged games like Feeding Frenzy, Luxor 2, Boom Boom Rocket, Pac-Man Championship Edition, Uno, and Superstars Tennis. The real value is the addition of Rock Band 2, which is $60 on its own. Doesn’t come with instruments, however.

Via BlackFriday.info

K-Mart’s Thanksgiving Day 2008 HDTV Deals

K-Mart Sign

K-Mart’s Thanksgiving Day 2008 deals have just been released. They will be good for Thursday, November 27, 2008, which is the day before Black Friday. Here are all the HDTV-related deals. A star means we find the deal interesting. Check out the Sony Blu-ray player for only $180!

  • small starSony Blu-ray BDP-S350 Disc Player $179.99 (Ed. One of the better quality Blu-ray players. See a video review below.)
  • Element 32″ LCD HDTV $399.99
  • Memorex 26″ LCD HDTV/DVD Combo $399.99
  • Samsung 42″ PN42A400 720p Plasma HDTV $699.99

The Sony BDP-S350 Blu-ray player received a 7.0 out of 10 rating from CNET (link), who said it delivers a superb Blu-ray picture as well as very good DVD upscaling.

Link to scanned copy of K-Mart’s Black Friday ad.

Via BlackFriday.info.

Wal-Mart’s Pre-Black Friday Sale: Sanyo 46-inch LCD $798, $100 Gift Card With PS3 Purchase

Sanyo DP46848 46 inch 1080p LCD HDTV

Wal-Mart is getting their Black Friday bargains started a little early with a sale on November 8. They will have a Sanyo DP46848 46″ 1080p LCD HDTV for $798. The Sanyo has not been professionally reviewed, but there is a small discussion thread about it over at AVS Forums (link).

Wal-Mart is also are bringing back a previous bargain: a free $100 Wal-Mart gift card with purchase of a Sony Playstation 3 ($399). If you’re know you’re going to spend $100 on something (e.g., groceries), and it’s available at Wal-Mart, the gift card essentially knocks a $100 off the price of the PS3.

PlayStation 3 at Wal-Mart

There are a few important details:

  • The deals are only good at 8:00am at a Wal-Mart store. (Online store will have its own specials.)
  • There is a limit of 1 per customer, but they are stocking at least 10 of each item at each store.

Via BlackFriday.info.

Sears HDTV Deals for Black Friday 2008

Black Friday 2008

Here’s an early look at a list of HDTVs and other interesting items of note that will be on sale for Sears on Black Friday 2008.

HDTVs:

Element 37″ LCD HDTV - $599.99
Panasonic 37″ Full HD LCD TV - $749.99
Panasonic 42″ 720P Plasma HDTV - $699.99 *
Proscan 32″ LCD HDTV - $499.99 *
Samsung 19″ LCD HDTV - $299.99 *
Samsung 32″ LN32A300 LCD HDTV - $499.99
Samsung 40″ 1080P LCD HDTV - $799.99 *
Samsung 46″ 1080P LCD HDTV - $1099.99 *
small starSamsung 46″ 1080p LN46A530 LCD HDTV - $1199.99 Ed. Great TV.
Samsung 50″ 720p PN50A400 Plasma HDTV - $899.99
Samsung 52″ 1080p 120Hz LN52A650 LCD HDTV - $2099.99
Sharp 26″ LCD HDTV - $399.99 *
small starSharp 46″ Class Full HD 1080P LCD HDTV - $899.99 * Ed. A lot of screen for a low price.
Sony Bravia S-Series 40″ 1080p LCD HDTV - $999.99
Sony Bravia S-Series 46″ 1080p LCD HDTV - $1299.99
Sony Bravia V-Series 40″ 1080p LCD HDTV - $1099.99
Sony Bravia V-Series 52″ 1080p LCD HDTV - $1799.99
Sony Bravia W Series 52″ 1080P LCD HDTV - $1999.99 *
Sylvania 42″ Class 1080P LCD HDTV - $699.99 *
Toshiba 40″ 1080p 40RV525U LCD HDTV - $849.99
Vizio 26″ LCD HDTV - $379.99
Vizio 37″ 1080p Full HD LCD TV - $699.99

Other items of note:

Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray Disc Player - $199.99
Samsung DVD-1080P Upconvert DVD Player - $49.99
Sony DVP-NS700 1080p Upconverting DVD Player - $69.99
Belkin HDMI Kit - $34.99
Logitech Harmony Remote - $59.99 w/32″ TV Purchase
Samsung 1000 Watt Home Theater System - $159.99 *
Samsung HT-BD2E Blu-ray Home Theater System - $599.99
small starSony Blu-Ray Disc Player - $179.99 * (Ed. Model unknown, probably the BDP-S300)
Sony DAV-HDX275 1000-Watt 5-Disc Home Theater System w/1080p Upscaling HDMI
Sony DAV-HDX576WF 1000-Watt 5-Disc Home Theater System w/Wireless Rear Speaker - $349.99
Tech Craft 48″ TV Stand - $149.99
Tech Craft 58″ TV Stand - 50% Off
300 BluRay - $19.99 *
National Treasure 2 Blu-Ray - $18.99 *
Sleeping Beauty Blu-Ray - $18.99 *

*Doorbuster item.

(Via BlackFriday.info)

Sylvania NB500SL9 Blu-ray Player Falls to $199.00

Sylvania NB500SL9 Blu-ray Player

The Sylvania NB500SL9 Blu-ray player had its priced chopped to $199.00 at Amazon.com.

Sylvania Blu-ray Player at Amazon

The unit has not been professionally reviewed, but it shares the same internal hardware of three other bargain Blu-ray players manufactured by the Chinese company Funai, two of which were rebranded:

Of these brands, only the Insigna NS-BRDVD was reviewed by CNET. It received a 6.0 out of 10 rating. CNET liked the unit’s 1080/24p video quality and its DVD upconversion. They also liked its ability to output Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio in bit stream format. They didn’t like the subpar video quality Blu-ray discs in standard 1080/60p mode, and the fact that it’s forever stuck as a Profile 1.1 player. Check out CNET’s video review below:

Links:

Sylvania NB500SL9 at Amazon.com

CNET’s review of the Insignia NS-BRDVD

Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray Player $209

Samsung Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray Player

Rounding out the recent Blu-ray player price drops is the Samsung BD-P1500, which is now $209 at Amazon.com. The BD-P1500 is a Profile 2.0 player (after a firmware update) with 1080p output, DVD upconversion (1080p), in-player decoding for Dolby TrueHD, and bit stream audio output.

Price 2

CNET rated the player a 6.8 out of 10 (or 3 stars). They liked the image quality for Blu-ray discs, but disliked the DVD upconversion quality and the lack of analog multichannel outputs. For a second opinion about the unit’s DVD upconversion, Ultimate AV Mag also reviewed the unit and had this to say:

The PS3 had a slight edge over the BD-P1500—and I do mean slight. Playback of The Incredibles on the Samsung appeared a little flatter, while the PS3 exhibited a bit more detail and vibrancy in darker scenes.

The Samsung BD-P1500 should continue to be aggressively priced as we head into the holidays and may be an ideal choice for bargain hunters to keep a watch on.

Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player

Helpful Links:

CNET review.

UltimateAVmag.com review.

Panasonic DMP-BD30K Blu-ray Player Now $259

Panasonic DMP-BD30K Blu-ray player with Remote

The cost of Blu-ray players continues to fall before the 2008 Holidays. Buy.com has cut the price of the Panasonic DMP-BD30K from $399 to $259 with free shipping. The DMP-BD30K is a profile 1.1 player with 1080p/24fps output and 1080p DVD upconversion.

Price of the Panasonic DM-BP30

CNET rated the player a 6.6 out of 10. They loved the picture quality, but didn’t like the lack of in-player decoding for high-resolution audio and that it has no ethernet jack for firmware upgrades. See CNET’s video review below.

We still like the Sony BDP-S350, a Profile 2.0 player (with firmware update) that can be found for around $275 on Amazon, but the Panasonic is likely to see its price fall even lower in the near future.

Other Helpful Links:

Buy.com link.
CNET review.
Ultimate AV Magazine review.
High-Def Digest review.
Home Theater HiFi review.
AVS Forum thread for the Panasonic DMP-BD30.