Chatty Kathy thread for the week of December 17th 2007

So is everyone ready for Xmas?

My wife won't allow me to buy a new GPSr or radar detector, but we can spend $1000 on our daughter. Now that isn't fair!

i already bought my self xmas present. new hdtv YAY

One GPSr (Streetpilot C580) has been delivered to the recipient, to much delight. Thanks to all who contributed suggestions on my questions on another thread.

I bought myself an New Vizio 42 LCD hdtv...and a Garmin 650....I must have been Very good..this year.

So, a friend of mine who use to work for Circuit City said that you have to replace the bulbs in Flat screen tv's every so often, like 1-3 years. What has been your experience? How much were the bulbs?

My Vizio 47". And DirecTV is the second thing I did...it's simply amazing.

DLP (today's, ED/HD rear-projection) units would require occasional bulb replacement. However, Plasma and LCD do not.

There is a lot of debate as to which technology is best, but most agree that it is now between Plasma and LCD - therefore no bulb to replace, per your question.

I, personally, am firmly in the Plasma camp. Most of the "cons" that LCD believers like to discuss have been more than addressed in the latest Plasma units, and Plasma gives you better blacks (therefore better D-range and contrast), faster/cleaner action and better viewing angles + + + .

There are probably multiple other forums for more lengthy discussion of this topic!

That's what our children are for!

A smile on their face is a smile on mine.

Well, doesnt it count that I am someone's child and moreso that I act and look like one???? lol

Who did you loose your GPSr virginity too?

I can't remember (I was drunk that day)....I hope it was jill and not jack! Actually, I had the c530 then did the mod, so it was jill...lol.

The things that you think of when you drink.

I'm not sure a GPSr could get us back.

How 'bout favorite things to watch in HighDef?

Mine: Giada on the FoodNetwork-HD; the Science Channel, History Channel, National Geographic Channel, and I'm even watching more sports than I used to...and HD Movie channels are good when the movies are good.

I need to come over there at night...we watch the same channels and I wouldn't have to fit the wife and daughter about what channels to watch.

Not to mention that your HD TV is much better then my $150 tube tv

if a person was in the market to purchase a 1080p hdtv LCD in the 52" range, what would be the leading brand/model. How accurate are the reviews by cnet? A little biased maybe ... or not?
The more I research and look, the bigger my headache, and instead of eliminating models...the list is growing.

Vizio is American made.

I had a Sanyo Plasma for 3 days and took it back and got a Vizio LCD. I Love it. I also bought a LG upconvert DVD player and HDMI cable...Very happy. I thought DVDs were good before..they are amazing now. I have to reWatch all my old movies...Glad to be off for the holidays..

noticed a vizio in Sams a few days ago, model GV52LF
the picture looked better than the sony/sharp/phillips and the plasmas. I just don't care for the silver look on the bottom, I'd prefer all black. I suppose I could get used to it.

The top ranked LCD's on the market are the Sony Bravia and the Sharp Aquos (sp?). The are both very nice ... delivering great pictures.

I would encourage you to look at the Panasonic or Pioneer Elite Plasmas ... even better.

As others said, Vizio is a very good, USA based, economical alternative. Not as good as those mentioned above, but plenty good for most people.

I have had two 37 Vizios for a little over a year, had to rent two HDTV boxes with DVR, but it is soooo worth it to watch the Patriots and all the other football games (even subscribed to the once free NFL channel).

Got tickets to Phoenix for February's Super Bowl. If the Pat's don't get to go, no problem. I'm visiting my daughter in Tucson for the week, just will have one more day to visit if there's no Pat's game.

Gifts were shipped two weeks ago, cards were sent a week ago, and I'm all done. In fact, I'm done with the holidays!

Never mind that I don't watch television, my daughter wants me to get a big plasma or LCD HDTV. She says she'll visit me more often.

Kids say the craziest things.

for me it would be national and discovery also sports.

Go for the VIZIO!!! I have the 50 inch VIZIO with a SONY sound system. Love the combo.

Now how do I hook my Garmin C340 to it? What a display that would be.

Hi Everyone:

I was doing christmas shopping last night and needed
to go to another store location for walmart. I had my trusty poi downloaded and it gave me the location.

It took me a while to adjust to the ease of having
the location right at my fingertips . The old days
of looking at a phonebook or memory are now gone!
What freedom on not having to think how to get from
point A to B and seeing options.

I really like the australian voice in my unit she
pronounces some of the street names differant and
it brings humor to my daily travels.

Well the saying that men dont ask for directions is
still true I am now told directions on how to arrive
at my destination.

Thanks for all the help from this group and I can now relocate to North Carolina this week with confidence through the smokey mountains.

Happy Holidays!

You mean that your wife didn't tell you where to go before you got the GPSr? If so, you are a lucky man!

I got a 42 inch and my book says to replace them around 250 hrs of operation. cost. dont know. hadnt done it yet but i got the Sears maint warrenty on it.

If one has a GPS.... do they still need a CB?

DW got diamonds this year... so I don't get anything... tell me how fair that is...

Yeah you still need a CB. GPSrs can't give you real time traffic info nor can it tell you where speed traps are, a CB can.

Asianfire, what model cb do you use?

Not to be a smarty, but its in my signature...lol

It appears that the hot item this year is the GPS. Every magazine I pick up has several ads for a GPS.

Yeap, and a big theft item. Don't leave in car.

ahh hdtv and gps what more could i ask for i sport a 55" plazma and till i have kids its my child

Well we won 600 hundred in gift certificates for the local mall at my wifes Christmas party and I had half of it to buy what I wanted, and I got a Nuvi 250W, i'm sure its not best but I got it for nothing and it seems to work pretty good.

LCD tvs (flat screen) use florescent lighting (the bulbs). Most of them last for years. The newer units give a half life rating of 4 to 5 years on the bulbs. At that point the lights are half as bright as when new. My Visio 42" brightness is set at 58% after over a year and it's still very bright. If it dims slightly I'll just crank it up a bit. Some LCDs are being produced with LEDs for lighting with a half life of up to 50,000 hours. It'll out live me. Rear projection flat screens use small, intense "bulbs" and a color wheel to project the picture. These "bulbs" typically last 4 to 6 average years depending on time used. They aren't cheap but most people will be looking for newer technology after 4 or 5 years anyway. Was your friend trying to sell you another type of TV?

But hopefully, that child's smile isn't a materialistic one from the money spent on them that got them the toys they wanted as is all too common these days. Hopefully, they will learn to smile through the joy of giving and receiving.

No they are not. They are made in Thailand. Vizio is only headquartered (i.e. corporate offices) in Irvine, CA. There is no way an American made LCD TV would sell as low as they do in North America.

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/vizio_pla...

"V, Inc. is a third-tier manufacturer bolting together components to build high-spec, low-cost TVs. V, Inc. sells its products under the Vizio name through big box retailers like Costco and Target.

The company manufactures the product in Thailand."

Man, you guys.
All this talk about new TVs makes me wanna go out an buy one. My wife and I both have had a hankering for a new TV but haven't committed to anything yet.
I've seen the Vizio TVs before but never paid any attention to it. Didn't know they were US made. You don't find that very often in the electronics industry anymore. Now you made me go research TVs.
Thanks

This is very Funny
http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/161107401...

They are not made in the US. Visit the post directly above yours and the provided link. Vizio is only headquartered in the US.

Check out this link and do a search for Vizio. ZERO results found.

http://www.madeinusa.org/

I think your friend at Circuit City just wants to sell you a Service Contract, which is 90% profit for the stores.
I have had my set three years and everything is fine. When the bulb does go out there is a little door that you unscrew in the back and carefully replace the bulb, which costs around $200. A Service Contract runs well over $200, per year.
You do the math.
JeffSh

Do LCDs put off as much heat as a plasma? My 42" plasma puts off alot of heat, I can't imagine how much it costs me to run it.

That figures. How else could they sell them for those prices. Oh well, would have been nice. I still would buy one.

I have a 47" LCD and it barely gets warm to the touch. My old Sony Trinitron CRT got so hot I swear you could fry an egg on that thing! Seriously, after it had been on for a while, the room got noticeably warmer, which was a nice byproduct during the winter.

Oh my God! I am a dumbass! Here's my sign. lol

Nice link on the speeding cam pics. LOL

Rules

I had a 50"Plasma for one day and took it back...it was heating my living room 5 degrees warmer than the rest of the house..It was 545 watts..My LCD is under 140....Much cooler..And my Vizio is all Black around the front

I leave town for a single week and now I'm so far behind here I'll never catch up!

just erase them all and start over...lol. That is what I have to do if I miss even a day.

I went to circuit city and bought a 32" lcd for 680.00, got it home and found out it was to wrong manufacturer and the TV I received was a more expensive(1020.00) one...now that’s a good holiday gift to me....

I also have a confession......I almost replaced my nuvi with a tomtom one XL. My wife was watching the qvc channel and the special of the day was the tomtom. She had me watch the presentation and it looked slick. I was going to order it (and return my nuvi) but decided to look for some reviews. After I read the reviews I decided to keep my nuvi. So to all the Garmin people I give my apologies and I won't stray again...