So what exactly is the Sony KDL40S20L1 available at Costco and how does it differ from the KDL40S2000?

I am not sure which specs to list. The audio out is not the same type of cable I had wired originally, it is a different type of plug, but I have no sound system yet anyway. NO side or front inputs, so I just ran a standard set of wires, and also a spare set of component wires for possible future use, or in case something craps out. I am using both HDMI inputs, one with my upconverting DVd player, one with a DV1 converter and my cable box. It seemed to set up easy. Standard TV looks pretty good, and VERY important, my Tivo looks ok. I am using a splitter and my Series 2 regular Tivo Box. I cannot record premium stations, but I have lifetime service ont his Tivo, so whatever use I get is great.

Thanks anyway, went back to Costco and the rep let me look at the input/output plugs. For me, this set has all that I need: 2 HDMI, 2 Component, PC, Digital-out, and tuner. I'm pretty impressed with what I've seen.

Yes, I really wanted 2 HDMI. The biggest difference for me was the digital audio input was missing, I used that on my damaged philips. But, running a few more cables is no big problem.

We LOVE the picture. I am using a upconverting Sony DVD player, and the DVDs look VERY good. House DVDs looked just about high def.

So what exactly is the Sony KDL40S20L1 available at Costco and how does it differ from the KDL40S2000?

I have that Sony model and so far have loved it. I believe the only difference is it's a slightly lighter color of silver.

I have that Sony model and so far have loved it. I believe the only difference is it's a slightly lighter color of silver.

Wow... why then does Costco have to confuse us with a different model number? The ONLY search result that came in for "kdl40s20l1" from google was a post on this forum mentioning this Costo-specific model. There isn't even any info on Sony's website. Did this model ship early or something?

Wow... why then does Costco have to confuse us with a different model number? The ONLY search result that came in for "kdl40s20l1" from google was a post on this forum mentioning this Costo-specific model. There isn't even any info on Sony's website. Did this model ship early or something?
It's marketing strategy and done on purpose to confuse the consumer. Makes it harder to compare pricing.

We got this at our Costco last week. VERY happy with it so far; still waiting for the Avia disc to arrive so I can tweak the setup a little better. Was a little hesitant about buying an 'unknown' model, since I wasn't sure what to compare it to (and Panasonic doesn't have it on their site), but I was able to answer most of my own questions by checking out the display model at Costco.

No front inputs (no big deal there), no SD card slot (again, so what?), and no CableCard slot (similar to the 60U).

My impressions:
Plenty of inputs. We only have DVD and cable connections.

Picture is stunning. DVDs look fantastic on this through component cables; don't know if I even want to bother with HDMI. We only have a standard cable (coax) connection, but even the standard-def picture is good on most channels, and the tuner works fine. Cable guy is on his way with an HDTV hookup and DVR.

Sound is decent. DVD goes through the stereo anyway, but the integrated speakers are good enough for day-to-day TV viewing.

Highly recommended, and you can't beat the return policy.
Now we've got to go back and watch "24" all over again!

Just my opinion, but I do not think Costco wishes to confuse consumers. I think their occassional unique model numbers reflect units that are in fact slightly different than the other models offered to the market at large. It seems to me that the manufacturer assigns a new model number to prevent confusion. Even if it is a different colored bezel, that makes it different (and possibly more or less attractive to different consumers). Or one more or less set of inputs, whatever.

Costco could not do any LESS to sell these TVs, short of failing to display them.... I felt like I had to beg for assistance to make my $$$ large purchase. There was only one left on the floor, and it had been opened. They seemed reluctant to get the fork lift to get me a new one. Finally they did when I insisted. When I brought it back next day, for cracked screen, they would not do an even exchange. It had to be a full return. I asked for one to be brought up for me to purchase, and they declined, said I had to scout out one of the big carts outside in the parking lot, go into the store aisle, and load it up, and re-purchase though the regular (long) lines. (I am a 47 year old woman, I had to ask other shoppers to help me load it!)

Their "stradegy" has always been to often buy up lots of certain items, at a great price, and offer them to members as long as they last....... members know things can disappear quickly, never to return.

It's marketing strategy and done on purpose to confuse the consumer. Makes it harder to compare pricing.

My theory is that they (the manufacturer) does it to protect the BB and CC of the world from having to price match the exact model that is on sale at the warehouse. I have noticed similar model number games with Walmart products, where the product is very similar to another product but it is just different enough so you can't get a price match if you bought it somewhere else for more money..

I have recently (2 weeks) got a new Vizio 42 PDP at Costco.
There has been some discussion about the service menu in several threads on the 50"PDP and the 37"LCD with the statement that the Service MENU settings are not saved when the set is powered off,( and also when inputs are changed?).
Apparently the numbers plugged in are stored, but the actual setting is not, and this can be verified by bumping the setting up or down one number, which is accompanied by a large change in whatever setting is being changed

However, the set I received is not acting that way and is apparently saving the setting as well as the number.

I verified this using the above method and the change that occurs is what is appropriate for one click. Also the picture quality remains at the SAVED setting. (In general I found the blue drive too low and turned it UP to match the other drives. It maintains this setting and the picture does not revert to the" duller" white it had prior to the adjustment. Powering off or changing input does not lose the picture adjustment. Also there appears to be only ONE setting for all inputs in the service menu, while there are multiple memory settings for the inputs in the STANDARD menu.

For information the Version is 0.17 dated 1-27-06, and the set build is April 06

My wife used to work for a company (not electronics) that was a supplier to Costco. Costco has VERY strict requirements for packaging and labeling - for example, the Costco product number MUST be visible on the outside of the package. They also use their considerable volume to force unique product changes for a variety of reasons - consumer research, price points, bundles, etc. Most suppliers end up with a unique model number for the Costco product because it IS different than what they sell anywhere else. Costco plays extreme hardball with suppliers - if you want to do business with them, you do it their way or not at all. In return, they can offer you outrageously large volumes - it is absolutely incredible how much product they can move. Unfortunately, Costco is also very well known for having absolutely zero brand loyalty - if they can find a competing product for a few cents cheaper, you are gone - no matter how much business you have done together in the past. They are brutal business partners.

All this adds up to being very good for us (the cheap b@stard consumers) - and also explains why you see products show-up at Costco and then suddenly disappear.

Costco is no different than Wal-Mart. The ability to move huge amounts of product gives them the leverage to muscle their suppliers.

For those that are interested, below is a link to the Panansonic TH42PX-6U (mine)

PS I am trying to get husband to move that cable wire so it's behind the entertainment unit!



http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i270/PatMcNJ/raquel002.jpg

Nice...I was hoping to see a picture of the PX6U since my local Costcos don't have these (yet I hope). I'm waiting to see if they'll get a 50" version. Looking at the picture this model has the style of the models from last year doesn't it? To me it looks more like the PM50 models from last year than the newer style. Just something I noticed but it's sometimes hard to tell from a picture.

I believe that Sam's Club has the best return policy on HDTVs. You can return at any time, no time limit. At least that is what they told me when I bought the Viore about a year ago. So far, have had no return to test the policy

Sams club is full of crap. When I signed up for my card at the counter they told me I could return it anytime---but when I got in line they tried to sell me a warranty and said tv's are only a "90 day return policy".
I joined costco the next day and will buy from them.

Does anyone know if Target has a restocking fee on their TV's? I know they have a 90 day return policy....but no one in "guest services" was able to tell me if they had a restocking fee.

I was in CostCo today and was looking at the plasmas. They had a 42X3 sitting there on a pallet with a manufacture date of June 2005.

This is at the CostCo in Plano, TX.

Their number is 972-246-2203.

Just posting this for the people who could never find one and may be in my area.

My local Costco now has a Sharp 45" LCD in stock! It has two HDMI inputs, and the picture is incredible! I am thinking about buying!

Just went into my local Costco as well and saw the 45" Sharp. DAMN. IT looked 100x better than anything else in the store. No picture came close except the 27" Sony LCD. Which is unfair to compare since the size was doubled and still clear. I didn't care so much for the silver bezel but otherwise that TV rocks for under $3k.
They also had the Plasma I have (Phillips 50") and it looked so bad I can't see ANYONE buying it. IT was SO washed out looking. The TV is much better than that though but now I am tempted to get the sharp. I just want a 55" and not a 45". Only reason I am holding back.

I just got back from Costco in MA. They had the Sharp (LC40C45U) AND the Sony (40S20L1). Both pictures looked great. Any feedback on quality of these two? What do I lose by going with the cheaper Sony (other than the screen size)? Anyone had problems with either of these two?

Thanks.

I also was looking at the Sharp 45". It looked GREAT. Thinking of getting it this week. Anyonehave any negatives to share about it?

I tried looking up the model number online for a spec sheet, but Costco and their damn unique model numbers squashed that.

Any experts know what model number this set would be outside of Costco?

They are brutal business partners.

All this adds up to being very good for us (the cheap b@stard consumers) - and also explains why you see products show-up at Costco and then suddenly disappear.

And I have no problem with that. I know if I see it, I had better get it if I am remotely interested in it because it could be gone tomorrow.

Your wife's company doesn't have to sell to Costco. As others pointed out, their purchasing policies are no different that other retailers.

Agreed - I wasn't judging them, just relaying what I observed. I was attempting to answer the question from thomase on why Costco may have products with unique model numbers - I should have quoted to make it more clear. :)

Can I get some help here. I am having a tough time deciding between the Sharp 45" LCD and the Vizio 50" Plasma. The Sharp is very vivid, but the Vizio Plasma is no slouch and that extra 5" of screen is HUGE! I guess I can't go wrong either way, especially with Costco. I just need some input. Is the Sharp LCD at 45" worth more than the Vizio Plasma at 50"? How much of a difference will the size make when I get it home? A lot, some, not at all? Any and all input welcome! I want to buy one or the other by tomorrow morning. Thank you.

Well, I wrote to both VIP and that eBay seller telling them that I'd do business with them if they would agree to use a reputable escrow service as the go-between. Neither replied.

It's a scam.

I hope no one bidding on that auction gets hosed.

DO NOT BUY FROM VIP-SALES CORP. , I was ripped off $680 from them, i wish i read this form first, serves me right, basicly what was said in last post is absolutely correct, i would never do western union ever again.
If anyway wants any details on the transaction, or have received their items from vip sales corp. please email me. :(

For those that are interested, below is a link to the Panansonic TH42PX-6U (mine)

PS I am trying to get husband to move that cable wire so it's behind the entertainment unit!



http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i270/PatMcNJ/raquel002.jpg

Very nice! I saw it yesterday, but it's a lot more than I paid for the Vizio, which is treating me fine (for now ;)).

Has anyone seen this Philips LCD TV yet.( Model 195459 / 11134219) It has some very nice specs. and is set at a pretty good price come July 3. Just wondering if this is a new model or not or if it's one of the Costco models missing some input. Thanks.

After seeing the latest tag on the 50" Vizio this week, I'm thinking of swapping out the 42 incher I picked up in April. Now, I've read every thread on the return policies and understand that Costco obviously rocks in this area. Still, I'd like a few people with experience to chime in if possible. Is just wanting the bigger TV a valid reason for them to allow a return or exchange? Do I need to say the 42" was giving me problems or actually detail specific problems?

I just got back from Costco in MA. They had the Sharp (LC40C45U) AND the Sony (40S20L1).
Thanks.


Hi all, just came back from Costco MA and saw both sets on display as well.
I have to say Sharp's model number is the strangest I've ever seen. Usually LC40 depicts a 40in but the box clearly marked it as a 45in display. I wonder if it is a variation of LC45D40U?

I have to say that this sharp screen is really nice looking. However it is only still a 1366x768 screen?

Hi all, just came back from Costco MA and saw both sets on display as well.
I have to say Sharp's model number is the strangest I've ever seen. Usually LC40 depicts a 40in but the box clearly marked it as a 45in display. I wonder if it is a variation of LC45D40U?

I have to say that this sharp screen is really nice looking. However it is only still a 1366x768 screen?

Anyone know the refresh time on the Sharp?

Costco has the manufacturer make specific sets for them. Therefore, the model numbers may not match up. Costco will sometimes have manufacturers add additional features to a set based on market research. The Costco Sharp 45" LCD is a great looking set. And, it is backed by Costco! It is a win win situation.

I just back from Costco and I must say that the 45"Sharpe does look Great, 2xHDMI inputs and a good price, anybody get one yet?

I would return the 42" vizio at all cost siting it's poor performance compared with the older vizio 50" This newer 42" model is much inferior! However, I hear costco is due to release a new vizio 50" this week with tuner. How will this perform I wonder? I might wait and compare this new 50" with old one before buying. A problem with their current 50" is way too much vertical overscan on 1080i sources

I also was looking at the Sharp 45". It looked GREAT. Thinking of getting it this week. Anyonehave any negatives to share about it?

I tried looking up the model number online for a spec sheet, but Costco and their damn unique model numbers squashed that.

Any experts know what model number this set would be outside of Costco?

I spoke to Sharp today and the lady on the phone confirmed that the Costco 45" LC40C45U is the same TV as the LC-45D40U with the only difference being the Costco one is Silver and the other is black. She went on to tell me that the "C" in the model number stands for Costco. I asked why they used a "40" in the Costco model number as it makes you think the tv is only a 40". She had no explanation for that. :)

I bought it! I bought the Sharp 45" LCD from my local Costco. The set is amazing! The price is incredible, the set is incredible. And, it is from Costco! I am so glad I purchased an LCD, I have been going back and forth for awhile, but for me, the LCD is just more vivid. And, this Sharp is an incredible buy.

I have only had digital cable on so far, as I do not have the High Def Cable Box yet. Comcast will be brining that over. The picture quality is amazing! I have not yet put in a DVD as I am in the middle of upgrading to a home theater system, and my old DVD player went out. So, I these are all the details I can offer right now.

I will report back. :)

I bought it! I bought the Sharp 45" LCD from my local Costco. The set is amazing! The price is incredible, the set is incredible. And, it is from Costco! I am so glad I purchased an LCD, I have been going back and forth for awhile, but for me, the LCD is just more vivid. And, this Sharp is an incredible buy.

I have only had digital cable on so far, as I do not have the High Def Cable Box yet. Comcast will be brining that over. The picture quality is amazing! I have not yet put in a DVD as I am in the middle of upgrading to a home theater system, and my old DVD player went out. So, I these are all the details I can offer right now.

I will report back. :)


Congratulations, your making me jealous...... ;)

Just noticed that the Panasonic site now shows both the 42" PX6U and also a 50" PX6U. Wonder when Costco will be getting the 50 and it lists features such as NTSC/QAM/ATSC tuners and dual HDMI.

I have been reading AVS forum for over 2 months - debating plasma, LCD and RAP. Last week I purchased the TH-42PX6U (9th generation) plasma from Costco, I like the return policy. After a week of viewing this plasma my family and I really love the picture, its fantastic. The only problem I have is adjusting the picture/color for certain DVD’s, so are darker. I am using Direct TV, I do not have HD TV at this time, and the standard picture looks great. I need to decide to go with Direct or Dish or Comcast (what forum for this topic). Any calibration recommendations for this plasma? I cannot wait for the break in period.

I talked with a Panasonic Concierge and he told me this plasma was pretty much the same as TH-42PX60U, minus the front inputs and few other slots, no problem for me. The TH-42PX6U is now on the Panasonic website for comparison.

Now I am ready to start building my audio system for this plasma.

Thanks for all the information from the AVS Forum.

Last week I purchased the TH-42PX6U (9th generation) plasma from Costco.

Does this Costco model have the QAM tuner? (I don't understand post #1037: "The site shows the 42 and 50 -- when will they get the 50?" What?)

The Panasonic 50 inch plasma model 50PX6U is what I was referring to as "the 50". That is assuming it will ever be available at Costco.

I just saw a 42PX6U (at San Diego/Mission Valley, if you're after it). The picture looked dim...of course it need to be calibrated and, as many of us know, plasmas are best suited for low-light home theater vs. LCDs best for daytime-light sport events (for example), but the Sony 40" LCD beside it looked stellar out of the box. Can't believe people not-in-the-know would choose the plasma, the way it looked at this Costco.

More importantly, the glare off the Panny screen was significant. Again, if you watch in low lighting...even so, seems to me a small light anywhere in reference to your sight on screen is going to show.

I made a point to check out this Panasonic today as I have a Dell 4201C coming literally tomorrow, from Costco (not on their site now as of a week ago). I like the lack of speakers (option) and dual HDMI on this Dell; wish it had QAM. Which is why I ran to see this Panny, but the glare makes me iffy. Still don't know if the 42PX6U has QAM.

My 2 cents.

I've decided I'm getting a Panasonic, I've decided it needs to be 50 inches and I've decided that I'm getting it from Costco. That only took me about a year. Now I need to pick one of the three.

I'm going with Panasonic because of the quality/value ratio, and because I'm likely going to get Panny peripherals like the SCHT940 (theater in a box), wireless rear speakers (even though they're about as wireless as a payphone), and a Panny DVR. I know it's not ideal, but I have to do this on a budget (under 4.1K) and I've decided to sacrifice killer audio with the idea that the leap I'll make with a theater-in-a-box will still destroy what I'm currently used to (in-set stereo from my 10 year-old 27" Zenith CRT). I can always upgrade to a Denon receiver and better speakers later.

What I'm concerned about now is just getting a Plasma whose connections will allow me to keep it for awhile. I like the 2 HDMI ports on the 60U & 600U, and I assume that they will also be present on the TH-50PX6U IF Panny ever makes one and IF Costco ever makes it available. Not sure if I need 2 HDMI ports if I only ever plan to have a DVD player, DCR and game cube attached, but it seems like a good idea to have it. Factor in the slightly cheaper cost and supposedly more advanced feature set of the 9th gen—plus EZ sync, which my wife and kid would love me for—and I think I will have made a good choice. The Panny rep I called said that EZ Sync will make the whole set-up and user experience integrated and effortless. The HDMI will allow everything to talk to one another. Anyone know if this is just more hype or it actually works?

The 50PHD8UK and the TH-50PM50U are available now. Price is essentially a wash when you factor in an HDMI blade for the 50PHD8UK. The 8UK is much better looking, but a pain since it doesn't have what the TH-50PM50U has out of the box. Aesthetics are VERY important to me (I was actually veering towards Pio for a while because of this, but can't justify the cost differential for marginally similar PQ), but not over price or features. Also, 8th gen is legendary, and 9th gen reviews are spotty. I'm particularly concerned about how well these sets display SD, which is still probably the majority of what I'll be watching. Is this new gen as good as it should be? Is it at least as good as the old gen? Anyone other than a Panny rep put them head-to-head?

So I'm still scratching my head. Anyone else in this boat?

I've decided I'm getting a Panasonic, I've decided it needs to be 50 inches and I've decided that I'm getting it from Costco. That only took me about a year. Now I need to pick one of the three.

I'm going with Panasonic because of the quality/value ratio, and because I'm likely going to get Panny peripherals like the SCHT940 (theater in a box), wireless rear speakers (even though they're about as wireless as a payphone), and a Panny DVR. I know it's not ideal, but I have to do this on a budget (under 4.1K) and I've decided to sacrifice killer audio with the idea that the leap I'll make with a theater-in-a-box will still destroy what I'm currently used to (in-set stereo from my 10 year-old 27" Zenith CRT). I can always upgrade to a Denon receiver and better speakers later.

What I'm concerned about now is just getting a Plasma whose connections will allow me to keep it for awhile. I like the 2 HDMI ports on the 60U & 600U, and I assume that they will also be present on the TH-50PX6U IF Panny ever makes one and IF Costco ever makes it available. Not sure if I need 2 HDMI ports if I only ever plan to have a DVD player, DCR and game cube attached, but it seems like a good idea to have it. Factor in the slightly cheaper cost and supposedly more advanced feature set of the 9th gen—plus EZ sync, which my wife and kid would love me for—and I think I will have made a good choice. The Panny rep I called said that EZ Sync will make the whole set-up and user experience integrated and effortless. The HDMI will allow everything to talk to one another. Anyone know if this is just more hype or it actually works?

The 50PHD8UK and the TH-50PM50U are available now. Price is essentially a wash when you factor in an HDMI blade for the 50PHD8UK. The 8UK is much better looking, but a pain since it doesn't have what the TH-50PM50U has out of the box. Aesthetics are VERY important to me (I was actually veering towards Pio for a while because of this, but can't justify the cost differential for marginally similar PQ), but not over price or features. Also, 8th gen is legendary, and 9th gen reviews are spotty. I'm particularly concerned about how well these sets display SD, which is still probably the majority of what I'll be watching. Is this new gen as good as it should be? Is it at least as good as the old gen? Anyone other than a Panny rep put them head-to-head?

So I'm still scratching my head. Anyone else in this boat?

Good luck here, Grasshopper -- this thread is plagued with first-time posters. Suggest you post in appropriate plasma thread. Take a good look at available threads, there's some knowledgeable guys there ready to advise.

I asked a buddy of mine why he shops at BB and it was because of the warranty. The warranty is 4yrs and covers LCDs even if just one pixel goes out. Apparently, if one pixel goes out the entire TV has to be replaced since there is no fix. Not only is the warranty a year longer than CCity, but it's also cheaper.

I'm in the market for a new HDTV. I'm leaning toward plasma then DLP. I'm wanting to go Costco because of their return policy...however, their website doesn't have very many televisions...and older models at that. Their site doesn't list model numbers either.

My question is....do Costco stores differ in the sense that they do stock the newer model television with a large inventory to boot? There's one Costco way on the other side of town...pretty far. I'd like to know before I head out there. This way I save myself the trip if they stock only what their site lists.

Thank you!

I would return the 42" vizio at all cost siting it's poor performance compared with the older vizio 50" This newer 42" model is much inferior!

Leiff - Just curious: What do you base that assessment on? Personal experience at home, what you saw in the store, or what you've read?

The stock on the web site does not necessarily match what they have at the stores, and the stock between stores can also vary. But, remember what you are dealing with - Costco is a warehouse store that often doesn't get the latest models of items. If you want the latest and greatest, Costco probably isn't your best bet.

PS, the web site does usually have the model numbers at the very bottom of the page, right above the arrow that takes you back to the top.

One of the newer models that Costco is carrying in their warehouses is the Panasonic TH42PX6U. This is basically the 42" PX60U sold in most stores with the exception of the front inputs and SD card slot. It is the new 9th generation model. There is also speculation that a 50" version will be offered but no time line exists that I am aware of. You can check out the specs on Panasonic's website.

yea i wanted to buy from costco for their return policy but they do not have any newer good tvs. i want one of the sony xbr, sammy ln-s3251d, or westy lvm-37w3 and they dont have any... thats why sometimes costco is annoying

Darn!!

I purchased the Pioneer PDP-505MX from costco. It is a bare bones monitor and although it takes some thinking to set it up I'm pretty happy with it. No HDMI but it does have DVI-D inputs. I believe it has 5 total input lines. I'm using DVI for my DVD player. I for one like to use Costco because they are a good company that is good to employees and they have a great return policy. Which to date I've used twice. Once on a cell phone that quit. I bough tit in Seattle and they exchanged it for me when I was on the road in San Jose and the other was unworn underwear:) I swear I didn't try them on...

Good luck here, Grasshopper -- this thread is plagued with first-time posters. Suggest you post in appropriate plasma thread. Take a good look at available threads, there's some knowledgeable guys there ready to advise.

Being a plague was exactly what I didn't intend. Sorry if that's how I'm coming off. It's why I removed a lot of the variables — no brand battle — just a generation question: Which 50" Panny? Actually, I'm a creative director at a small video studio in Chicago. And none of my guys here knows what the hell to buy either. Cripe, just look at the pro installers' top brand choices article on the AVS home page today. Sharp, Sony, LG and Runco are in the top 6. None of those are even on most AVS posters' radar screens, and I don't think that's just because of price, either.

I've poured through tons of this site before posting. It's almost harder to get objective advice here than from a vendor, simply because many posters have whipped themselves into a frenzy in order to convince themselves they've made a wise decision on such a weighty purchase. Believe me, I'm concerned about not making a stupid, short-sighted buy as much as the next guy. I understand completely. But it certainly makes it harder to weed through the chaff when half the people get so subjectively ballistic based upon personal agendas.

The point is that Plasma technology is still the Wild West — and the six shooters of choice are expensive. That's a very dangerous prospect when you're not dealing with other people's money. It's also near impossible to get these sets in "ideal conditions" for ample and appropriate comparison. So you're left trying to identify credible sources, and select the ones you trust. No small task on a world wide web jammed with more folks looking to make a buck than to help.

As for me, I look at video all the time at home and work, and I know I'll hate video that isn't gorgeous. I'd love a beautiful, aesthetic design while I'm at it, but have decided I'm not willing to pay that much more for it. That took me a while to come to terms with, believe me! But last I checked, I didn't own a diamond mine. I also decided it's too big a purchase to leave to chance, so I'm getting it from Costco. Probably means I'll have to wait a while for it. Problem here is, if I wait too long, the old generation will be gone. Finally, I'm not interested in making my AV set-up my life, so I want it to be easy, and I want my wife and kid to be able to use it. Call me a cretin if you will, but I have other things to do. So if the difference between the two generations is negligible, if I don't need more than one HDMI port for the next several years, and if EZ Sync is all hype, I'll go with the old generation. If not, I'll wait.

Once again, sorry for plaguing the thread. Though when you call a thread "Costco/BB/CC/Sears/Target/Sam's /Dell Master Thread," I think you're getting what you asked for. 20,000 questions from the budget-conscious and very few answers. Not exactly a Gold Club Member's wet dream.

I bought the 50inch Vizio, and it's great, except that it buzzes and the component inputs don't really work. However, the picture is great, when I feed it with HDMI. But this boy is going back.
Now I just have to decide what I want instead. I really like the 45 inch Sharp LCD, but do I want to spend 700 more for 5 inches smaller? Or they have that Toshiba Hp16, but since they took off the rebate, it's 1K more than the Vizio. If I don't get the SHarp, I just might stick with the Vizio till something I love comes into the store. God bless their return policy.
Would you go 5 inches smaller for 700 more?

Attention all! Radioshack in the next couple months will start to sell in their stores LCD flat panel tvs and DLP RPTVs...another big name figther to join the battle...

Yeah but Radio Shack is almost never cheap, unless they are closing out on discontinued items. Otherwise they pretty much are full MSRP except for sales.

I bought the 50inch Vizio, and it's great, except that it buzzes and the component inputs don't really work. However, the picture is great, when I feed it with HDMI. But this boy is going back.
Now I just have to decide what I want instead. I really like the 45 inch Sharp LCD, but do I want to spend 700 more for 5 inches smaller? Or they have that Toshiba Hp16, but since they took off the rebate, it's 1K more than the Vizio. If I don't get the SHarp, I just might stick with the Vizio till something I love comes into the store. God bless their return policy.
Would you go 5 inches smaller for 700 more?

I did! I was set to buy the Vizio 50" Plasma until I saw the Sharp 45" LCD next to the Vizio in Costco. No comparison! The Sharp is so much more vivid! Go see for yourself. Let your eyes be the judge. Plus, 45" is nothing to sneeze at, it is a great size, especially for an LCD. I love my Sharp LCD! It is quiet, no burn in issues, energy efficient, VIVID, GREAT Picture, two HDMI inputs.

I did! I was set to buy the Vizio 50" Plasma until I saw the Sharp 45" LCD next to the Vizio in Costco. No comparison! The Sharp is so much more vivid! Go see for yourself. Let your eyes be the judge. Plus, 45" is nothing to sneeze at, it is a great size, especially for an LCD. I love my Sharp LCD! It is quiet, no burn in issues, energy efficient, VIVID, GREAT Picture, two HDMI inputs.

Hi I was set on buying plasma for a long time now but the Sharp line of LCD has me second thinking now. My biggest problem with LCD's are the black levels. How are the black levels on the Sharp 45" LCD that you bought. Are they comparable to the black levels that plasma's have?
Also, how does Standard Definition Television look like on the Sharp 45"?

Thanks.

Black levels are excellent. This sharp also has and Adjustable Backlight, it is in the menu system, so you can even tinker with the black levels. I do a lot of SD viewing, I love some of the old TV Land Shows such as Andy Griffith (the Barney Fife years). And, WOW, was I impressed with the picture. It is VIVID! I am amazed at the quality. Needless to say, I am very happy. :)

I think the Sam's return policy is only 90 days.

The TH-50PX6U is now in Costco's computer system. Just called yesterday. The warehouse rep told me that usually means it's about 2-3 weeks away from shipping, so they could be there soon. She said it will price in the sub-$3K range. I think this is what I'll purchase. The set is basically the 60 without TV guide, SD card, PC card, audio/PC inputs and VIVA speakers — all crap I don't need or want anyway. The Panasonic site says there is no remote available, but I checked with a Panny rep and he said that's a typo. Still not loving some of the posts that say this is not really a better set than the 8th gens in terms of PQ and SD viewing, but I'm guessing these differences are minor, and the added bonus of two HDMIs, EZ Sync and a slightly better look are too good to pass up. Anyone know of any legit, credible reviews on the TH-50PX60U?

Attention all! Radioshack in the next couple months will start to sell in their stores LCD flat panel tvs and DLP RPTVs...another big name figther to join the battle...

No rear projection in R'Shack (where would they put them?), just flat panel LCD.

Black levels are excellent. This sharp also has and Adjustable Backlight, it is in the menu system, so you can even tinker with the black levels. I do a lot of SD viewing, I love some of the old TV Land Shows such as Andy Griffith (the Barney Fife years). And, WOW, was I impressed with the picture. It is VIVID! I am amazed at the quality. Needless to say, I am very happy. :)

Thanks for answering my question. I'm leaning toward LCD now because I play lots of videogames and I think that LCD would be a bit better for playing videogames than Plasma.

Realize this may sound like a stupid question, but...

I'd like to buy the Vizio plasma from Costco. I've got a Costco membership and know they are very "do it yourself". With that in mind, do they provide any assistance hauling the darn thing out of the store? I think they only offer delivery to business customers with a business address.

Thanks in advance.

The TH-50PX6U is now in Costco's computer system. Just called yesterday. The warehouse rep told me that usually means it's about 2-3 weeks away from shipping, so they could be there soon. She said it will price in the sub-$3K range. I think this is what I'll purchase. The set is basically the 60 without TV guide, SD card, PC card, audio/PC inputs and VIVA speakers — all crap I don't need or want anyway. The Panasonic site says there is no remote available, but I checked with a Panny rep and he said that's a typo. Still not loving some of the posts that say this is not really a better set than the 8th gens in terms of PQ and SD viewing, but I'm guessing these differences are minor, and the added bonus of two HDMIs, EZ Sync and a slightly better look are too good to pass up. Anyone know of any legit, credible reviews on the TH-50PX60U?

It looks like you are correct. I called my local Costco. They said the price would be [EDIT]. They approximated about 6 weeks before its there. That is just a guess though.

Realize this may sound like a stupid question, but...

I'd like to buy the Vizio plasma from Costco. I've got a Costco membership and know they are very "do it yourself". With that in mind, do they provide any assistance hauling the darn thing out of the store? I think they only offer delivery to business customers with a business address.

Thanks in advance.

They'll assist (i.e. load cart, will and or help load into vehicle). They want it to leave safely.

I know someone that works at Costco and will check it out tomorrow and give you an ETA on that Panasonic unit. Anyone can PM me on the price.

woodrow, i believe that costcos price will be the actual retail price of the 50px6u, because only costco will be carrying it and panasonic has not set an MSRP, if you look at their website...all it says is "check with retailer"...so technically what youre editing is the default MSRP.

I think the Sam's return policy is only 90 days.
wrong. sams return policy is now the same as costco's...satifaction guaranteed on everything but computers, which is limited to 6 months.

From dtrell,
"woodrow, i believe that costcos price will be the actual retail price of the 50px6u, because only costco will be carrying it and panasonic has not set an MSRP, if you look at their website...all it says is "check with retailer"...so technically what youre editing is the default MSRP."

Not even sure what you mean by this. It would make sense to me that this display would cost significantly less than the retail PX60U simply because it lacks so many of that model's features. I think it will be priced right in line with their currently badged 8th gen Panasonics, and likely cheaper to move volume. Plus they cost less to make than 8th gen models and Panny is determined to remain the price/quality leader and other comparable sets are moving closer to their range. Under $3K.

From dtrell,
"woodrow, i believe that costcos price will be the actual retail price of the 50px6u, because only costco will be carrying it and panasonic has not set an MSRP, if you look at their website...all it says is "check with retailer"...so technically what youre editing is the default MSRP."

Not even sure what you mean by this.

No, I think dtrell is asking the forum moderator to allow discussion of the Costco price of the 50px6u in this forum because it's a warehouse-specific product whose MSRP is not listed on the Panasonic site. It's a very good point which I hope the moderator will consider.

Has anybody had issues returning their TV within the return policy period? Have to pay any restocking fee or anything?

I've heard that the TVs look much better in your home then they do in the store due to the multiple splits and quality of the cable/signal. However, I'd like to know that if I am not pleased I won't take a hit trying to return it.

I returned a Philips 37" lcd tv a few months ago with no problems at all.

Has anyone gotten the 37" Sharp LCD from Costco? Impressions? It's on the website and now available in store. I have a 37" Philips but have been having issues with it so thinking of taking it back and just getting the Sharp.

No, I think dtrell is asking the forum moderator to allow discussion of the Costco price of the 50px6u in this forum because it's a warehouse-specific product whose MSRP is not listed on the Panasonic site. It's a very good point which I hope the moderator will consider.
Oh. You're good. I had no idea that's what was happening.

Guys, just keep it reasonable. Posting the "MSRP" price once or twice is fine, after that you can refer to the post. This thread is for technical issues, not price discussion.;)

Guys, just keep it reasonable. Posting the "MSRP" price once or twice is fine, after that you can refer to the post. This thread is for technical issues, not price discussion.;)

Thank you.

I'd like to propose that someone who actually sees a MSRP on the 50px6u at Costcos (we don't need to hear the latest rumor from your cousin's girlfriend) please post it here once. Then we won't have to post it or mention it again. It would be a great service for those of us who have a long drive to our local warehouse.

slksc, you are more than welcome.

enjoy the thread:)

Well, basically so I'm sitting on my buzzing 50 inch Vizio till something better comes along that I can return it for (don't wanna keep returning sets to Costco and abuse the policy). I like the 45'' sharp a whole lot, but its a lot more and a bit smaller, though much better picture. Has anyone seen or have that 50 inch Maxent plasma? I in one of Costco's coupon books that it will be back in stock in August, just wondering if its worth waiting for?

Fellow members out there, what's the longest amount of time after purchase that you successfully returned a TV to Costco?

Ok, the MSRP for the Panasonic 50px6u is $2899.99. The item# is 125050 for all interested.

Fellow members out there, what's the longest amount of time after purchase that you successfully returned a TV to Costco?

return a sharp TV i bought 1 yr ago to costco last week. no problem

Ok, the MSRP for the Panasonic 50px6u is $2899.99. The item# is 125050 for all interested.

Much appreciated .... and duly noted.

[EDIT]
That's the same price the Costco warehouse rep in Chicago gave me.

I purchased this sharp today. Saw the PQ in store...blew away all the other tv's. Black is BLACK. I will post more in a few days.

Hey gdog2004.
I am considering the sharp 45" like you just bought or the sony 2000 series 40" set. Did you compare these two tvs from Costco? Why did you finally choose the sharp?

Hey gdog2004.
I am considering the sharp 45" like you just bought or the sony 2000 series 40" set. Did you compare these two tvs from Costco? Why did you finally choose the sharp?
They were right next to each other the sharp and sony and they looked very comparable but to me the sharp aquos just looked a little crisper--and of course it was 5" larger.

whats the largest LCD available for under $4,000 MSRP? I couldn't find any besides a sharp, and it was commercially produced.

Looks like it's finally available. Anyone know any info on this model. Thinking of replacing my Vizio 37" with that one...

no one interested?

That is a hell of a nice price.

wrong. sams return policy is now the same as costco's...satifaction guaranteed on everything but computers, which is limited to 6 months.

Can you explain to me why they're still selling extended service plans on TVs? :rolleyes:

For those with inside info at costco, is there any reason the new toshiba dlp line is not currently being stocked at costco. Everytime I call or chekc they only have last year 62 inch model, with no sight for the new 06 models.
Any body wants to guess? Thanks

Is that 42" 6U is stock? They're not available yet in the DC area.

I bought 50 and 42" 8UKs, but despite the ugly silver bezel, I may have to swap them for these. The 8UKs are more expensive, have fewer inputs, etc.

Is that 42" 6U is stock? They're not available yet in the DC area.

I bought 50 and 42" 8UKs, but despite the ugly silver bezel, I may have to swap them for these. The 8UKs are more expensive, have fewer inputs, etc.

The 6U has a dark gray/carbon-colored bezel. That might be what you meant though.

Can you explain to me why they're still selling extended service plans on TVs? :rolleyes:
Sams Club warranty is 90 days. I spoke with a manager yesterday and elected NOT to get a flatscreen there as a result. I got my 45 " lcd from Costco.
Sams Club misleads you big time. I was told it was lifetime unitl I was in line with the tv and someone offered an extended warranty and told me it was only 90 days. F that ! Costco rulez

Sams Club warranty is 90 days. I spoke with a manager yesterday and elected NOT to get a flatscreen there as a result. I got my 45 " lcd from Costco.
Sams Club misleads you big time. I was told it was lifetime unitl I was in line with the tv and someone offered an extended warranty and told me it was only 90 days. F that ! Costco rulez

I knew it was, gdog. Thanks for backing me up.

Dtrell claimed I was wrong when I posted it was only 90 days.

Hope he didn't buy a TV from there thinking their policy was the same as Costco's.

For those with inside info at costco, is there any reason the new toshiba dlp line is not currently being stocked at costco. Everytime I call or chekc they only have last year 62 inch model, with no sight for the new 06 models.
Any body wants to guess? Thanks

Because Costco really is not known for having the latest and greatest. Some of the reason why they have the prices they do, is due to having older models or even models that only they sell. Not to mention one week they can have a certain product, but yet they may never have that same product again after that.

Oops. I meant the 50" 6U; the 42" 6Us have been in for a couple of weeks.

They are ugly, but they are a decent value. You can get a 60U for less elsewhere, but Costco has that awesome return policy.

This Philips 42" LCD just became available online today, so I don't think anyone could get the unit for about a week. I would like to know the "real" details though. I know the website has some stats, but sometimes they are not that accurate.

I actually had a Costco manager refuse to give me the new reduced $200 price on a computer I had purchased three weeks before. So I bought a new one, then walked it straight from the cashier to the customer service desk. Gave them my old reciept and got my cash.
My new reciept wasn't even marked, so I could have loaded up another one and walked out with that reciept. But that would be stealing in my book, so it wasn't worth it.

Actually as dumb as it seems, Costco actually comes out ahead if you return the old unit; here's why -

When you get a price match, Costco takes the hit. So using an example of a $300 price drop, they pay you the $300 from their pocket.

When you return the open box unit, it goes back to the vendor for full credit, plus return handling fees. When you buy the new unit, it's a new sale. This way the vendor takes the hit. Of course there is still some expense to Costco, but in most cases it is nowhere near the $300 in the example. This is especially true if the new hotter price is a special "wallet" deal or similar.

Costco's volume is still growing fast enough that the vendors feel that feeding the growth is worth the abuse. Once the growth levels out, the vendors will push back, and tighten up return policies.

You can see the logic in this when you look at the tighter return policies on computers. The reason.... the computer vendors shut off the easy return faucet a long time ago.

Enjoy the easy returns while they last.

Costco Philips 42"LCD

I ordered one last night. I have not received a ship date yet. I want to move the 37" Dell that is in the family room to our bedroom and get something a little larger for the family room. I just couldn't pass on the price of this set.

I am limited to a 32" LCD TV and I am undecided on these 2 Sony models.

The Sony KDL-32S2000 can be bought at Costco but the KDLV32XBR1 is not available at Costco but is available at Best Buy.

Do you think that I should get the KDL-32S2000 at Costco instead for these reasons below:

1. It is easier to return when buying at Costco if something is wrong with the TV or if I don't like it since Costco have a very good return policy (without that 15% restocking fee)

2. It is cheaper

Now can the KDL-32S2000 picture quality be manually adjusted to look very close to the picture quality of the XBR1?

Bottom line, would you get the KDL-32S2000 instead of the KDLV32XBR1?

moderator

where to buy based on price is not allowed

thanks

I am looking for a 15 lcd that is tv/pc ready and noticed costco has one-envision
A15X221. Anyone know anything about it ? I will paint the bevel black but I am not sure if you can wall mount it.

Ok, the MSRP for the Panasonic 50px6u is $2899.99. The item# is 125050 for all interested.

Hey Jimmy, I dont see this item online. Is it restricted to specific costco warehouse? will it be available in Glendale Costco ?
thanks.

Hey Jimmy, I dont see this item online. Is it restricted to specific costco warehouse? will it be available in Glendale Costco ?
thanks.

The content of their website is totally unrelated to what they sell in their warehouse. To check on availability, you need to check out your local warehouse.

Actually as dumb as it seems, Costco actually comes out ahead if you return the old unit; here's why -

Of course there is still some expense to Costco, but in most cases it is nowhere near the $300 in the example.

You still haven't mentioned the part where Costco comes out ahead from returns. :confused:

I just went to Costco Home to check out the Philips 42 LCD. I came away very impressed. It was set up next to the 45 Sharp and I thought the phillips looked much better. I am not sure how the TV's were calibrated so this just an initial impression based on how they were calibrated in store.

I spent some time watching both the Sharp and the Philips and here are some examples of differences I saw.

Black levels were better on the Philips. There was a scene with tuxedos on the HD feed. The philips produced really nice blacks while the sharp's tuxedo looked dark grey. There was another scene with a navy blue blazer. Origianally I thought it was a black blazer when I was watching the Sharp then I looked at the Phillips. I saw a deep rich navy blue blazer.

Flesh tones also seemed better on the Philips. They were very accurate and bright. It really made the HD content come to life. There was a travel HD program on and I really felt like I was standing there watching someone make strudel. The brigtness and contrast really jumped out at me. The program had a skyline picture of a german town and the Philips nailed it. I have spent alot of time in Europe and the colors were very real. Again the Sharp seemed to lag.

The bezel is a glossy black but the screen has no gloss. I didn't get any glare on the actual screen. The gloss on the bezel may distract some people but I thought it looked pretty good. In fact, when I was walking up to it I thought it was a Pioneer elite plasma. I tought to myself "wow, to bad I can't afford Pioneer cause that TV looks awesome and has an incredible picture" Imagine my joy to realize it was the Phillips.

I didn't see any motion blur while watchiing some of the France Portugal game.

I don't claim to be an expert but I know most folks don't live by a Costco home and have virtually no way to preview this set. I thought I would give my impressions but take it with a grain of salt. I'll be going back tonight to buy this TV. It was very impressive. Also, there were a few other folks looking at the TV. We all agreed this seet was better than the JVC and as good if not better than the 40" Sony. They all seemed pretty HD savy.

Let me know if you guys want any other info about the set.

I just went to Costco Home to check out the Philips 42 LCD. I came away very impressed. It was set up next to the 45 Sharp and I thought the phillips looked much better. I am not sure how the TV's were calibrated so this just an initial impression based on how they were calibrated in store.

I spent some time watching both the Sharp and the Philips and here are some examples of differences I saw.

Black levels were better on the Philips. There was a scene with tuxedos on the HD feed. The philips produced really nice blacks while the sharp's tuxedo looked dark grey. There was another scene with a navy blue blazer. Origianally I thought it was a black blazer when I was watching the Sharp then I looked at the Phillips. I saw a deep rich navy blue blazer.

Flesh tones also seemed better on the Philips. They were very accurate and bright. It really made the HD content come to life. There was a travel HD program on and I really felt like I was standing there watching someone make strudel. The brigtness and contrast really jumped out at me. The program had a skyline picture of a german town and the Philips nailed it. I have spent alot of time in Europe and the colors were very real. Again the Sharp seemed to lag.

The bezel is a glossy black but the screen has no gloss. I didn't get any glare on the actual screen. The gloss on the bezel may distract some people but I thought it looked pretty good. In fact, when I was walking up to it I thought it was a Pioneer elite plasma. I tought to myself "wow, to bad I can't afford Pioneer cause that TV looks awesome and has an incredible picture" Imagine my joy to realize it was the Phillips.

I didn't see any motion blur while watchiing some of the France Portugal game.

I don't claim to be an expert but I know most folks don't live by a Costco home and have virtually no way to preview this set. I thought I would give my impressions but take it with a grain of salt. I'll be going back tonight to buy this TV. It was very impressive. Also, there were a few other folks looking at the TV. We all agreed this seet was better than the JVC and as good if not better than the 40" Sony. They all seemed pretty HD savy.

Let me know if you guys want any other info about the set.
Pretty funny..I guess a lot of it comes down to setup. The costco I went to in NJ the Sharp looked way better than any lcd in the store. And on level with the best plasmas. This was pretty obvious to most people. Go figure :/

Pretty funny..I guess a lot of it comes down to setup. The costco I went to in NJ the Sharp looked way better than any lcd in the store. And on level with the best plasmas. This was pretty obvious to most people. Go figure :/


I think set up plays a big role. I think another factor is that Costco Home actually has a home theater section where the lighting is better than at a normal costco. Ultimately, I doubt one could go wrong with either of these sets. I must say I was dissapointed with the Sharp after reading about how spectacular it was in these forums. I was going to ask if I could fiddle with the setting on the Sharp but there wasn't an emloyee in sight. I didn't pursue it too much since the Sharp is $700 more expensive and I LOVED the philips.

I asked my local Costco about the Panasonic 50PX6U and they said it was due on the 7th, but was rescheduled for the 17th of July. Then it takes a day or two before it hits the floor.

They gave me the same price as was previously quoted.


Now to decide between it and the Maxent coming up in the coupon book.

Every Costco has 3-5 Panasonic 50PX6U on order for the coming week. The date on the computer is just an estimate. It can come in that day plus or minus a few days. However, eventhough it may take a day or two to get on the floor, you can call a manager to "drop" it. Just tell them how much you are willing to spend and they will do it. As for ETAs for your location, PM me on your store and I will give you some dates.

Has anyone determined who makes the glass for the Maxent that Costco has in the coupon book?

Has anyone determined who makes the glass for the Maxent that Costco has in the coupon book?

Maxent LCDs used to be manufactured by Sampo, I don't know which particular model you're referring to.

I knew it was, gdog. Thanks for backing me up.

Dtrell claimed I was wrong when I posted it was only 90 days.

Hope he didn't buy a TV from there thinking their policy was the same as Costco's.
again youre all wrong. my mom purchased an under the counter polaroid LCD tv from sams in january 2006. the screen went bad a month after she had it up when she moved in in april 2006. she returned the unit to sams in june 2006. she was given a full refund.

their poilcy IS the same as costco. if you are told anything else by any employee or manager, you get his boss involved, then you get HIS boss involved and you go as high as necessary to get them to make sure all of their managers know their official return policy.

again, as i had to do previously for costco, here is the samsclub.com return policy...whcih as costco is the SAME as the stores are SUPPOSED to be:

"What is the samsclub.com return policy?


Member Satisfaction is 100% guaranteed by samsclub.com on both products and Memberships. You may return your online purchase (except auction items) to any of our SAM'S CLUB locations nationwide. (Use our Club Locator to find the Club nearest you.) Or, you may return your merchandise directly to samsclub.com using our online return process in the My Account section of our site. You may also contact our Member Service Department for simple instructions. Items purchased on samsclub.com auctions can be returned within 30 days of purchase by contacting a Member Service Representative for approval and instructions. Merchandise purchased from samsclub.com auctions can NOT be returned to a local SAM'S CLUB location. No matter how you choose to process your return, a friendly SAM'S CLUB Member Service Representative will provide you with a full refund. For purchases returned through the online process, you will receive credit to the account that was charged at the time of purchase. For purchases returned to your local Club with a printout of your order, your refund will be in the form of a Shopping Card, cash, or credit to the account charged (if available in the Club of choice.) Returns made to your local Club, without a printout of the order, will receive a full refund in the form of a Shopping Card. Exceptions to this policy include:
Computers, which can be returned within 6 months of the original purchase date, except Dell computer which carry a 30 day unconditional guarantee.
Theme park tickets, which are non-refundable.
Shopping Cards, which can not be redeemed for cash.
At samsclub.com, we reserve the right, at any time, to modify, alter, or update this policy. Your order constitutes an agreement to be bound by such modifications, alterations, or updates to this policy. Our ultimate goal is for you to be satisfied with your samsclub.com shopping experience and purchases "

please note that there is NO mention of 90days..in fact they SPECIFICALLY mention 6 MONTHS on computers.

Sams club used to have 90 day policy, but it's been about 3 years since they removed the limit to match Costco.

again youre all wrong. my mom purchased an under the counter polaroid LCD tv from sams in january 2006. the screen went bad a month after she had it up when she moved in in april 2006. she returned the unit to sams in june 2006. she was given a full refund.

their poilcy IS the same as costco. if you are told anything else by any employee or manager, you get his boss involved, then you get HIS boss involved and you go as high as necessary to get them to make sure all of their managers know their official return policy.

Well I would love to purchase from Sams club. They are 10 minutes from me...costco is over an hour. However..I spoke with the store manager and they specifically stated 90 days. Why would I want to go thru World War 3 just to be able to return my tv ?
I dont want to invest 3000 in something I dont like and then go thru some big hassle or leave it up to some 20 year old kids "discretion" as to whether I can return my TV. Not worth it...
I wont buy anything from Sams Club...ever. I dont like to be misled by the people who work for their company--as I was when they told me when I signed up for their membership that it was a lifetime return only to say in line it wa 90 days and offer to sell me an extended warranty. BS---long live costco !

Well I would love to purchase from Sams club. They are 10 minutes from me...costco is over an hour. However..I spoke with the store manager and they specifically stated 90 days. Why would I want to go thru World War 3 just to be able to return my tv ?
I dont want to invest 3000 in something I dont like and then go thru some big hassle or leave it up to some 20 year old kids "discretion" as to whether I can return my TV. Not worth it...
I wont buy anything from Sams Club...ever. I dont like to be misled by the people who work for their company--as I was when they told me when I signed up for their membership that it was a lifetime return only to say in line it wa 90 days and offer to sell me an extended warranty. BS---long live costco !

Exactly. If this information were concrete, we'd have heard about it long before now.

And to say it's only 90 days doesn't mean it's wrong, especially when the store managers claim that's what it is.

I know for a fact they still sell extended warranties. Why the hell would that be? :confused:

Are we supposed to call corporate to get an answer to something so simple?

The more I read, the tougher the choices. I currently have a Visio 42 plasma and ready to return it due to unexpected shutdowns. My choices are the new Visio 50, the new Panny 50 or the Sharp 45 LCD. Decisions. Decisions. Hmmmmmmmm.

Maxent LCDs used to be manufactured by Sampo, I don't know which particular model you're referring to.

I'm referring to the Maxent MX-50HPM20 Plasma coming up in August.

Sams club used to have 90 day policy, but it's been about 3 years since they removed the limit to match Costco.
thank you klas....you are 100% correct. any 90 day info is coming from misinformed store managers and can easily be overridden with a call to corporate.

thank you klas....you are 100% correct. any 90 day info is coming from misinformed store managers and can easily be overridden with a call to corporate. Hmm--I wonder why corporate is telling the people who work for them to sell warranties at the register. Do you think its "rogue" managers conducting business on their own ? I am speaking from experience here...not hearsay.
You go plop down 3000 on a tv and try to return it 6 months later and report back. I'll stick with the peace of mind of knowing that Costo will always take my tv back..no questions asked. Same reason whyI buy from Circuit City and not Best Buy. Circuit City returns...pleasant--no questions. Best Buy does there best to make you feel like you are robbing the store if you return a large item.

You go plop down 3000 on a tv and try to return it 6 months later and report back. I'll stick with the peace of mind of knowing that Costo will always take my tv back..no questions asked. Same reason whyI buy from Circuit City and not Best Buy. Circuit City returns...pleasant--no questions. Best Buy does there best to make you feel like you are robbing the store if you return a large item.

'Nuff said.

I'll stick with the peace of mind of knowing that Costo will always take my tv back..no questions asked.
I wonder if this has changed.

See this: www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7960017&&#post7960017

I wonder if this has changed.

See this: www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7960017&&#post7960017


Ouch. If this is true, it certainly forces me to re-think my strategy.

Ouch. If this is true, it certainly forces me to re-think my strategy.

honestly? I wouldn't put much stock in that post. I don't doubt that someone at Costco said this to the poster, I just dont think there's anything of authority behind it.

Considering the recent Wall Street Journal article and yesterdays CNET article, doesn't this seem like an individual manager's verbal policy, rather than a sweeping company shift?

Here is it...even on their website...

Returns or Exchanges
Costco.com has a 100% guarantee on all of our merchandise. If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, we offer two convenient return methods. Costco.com refunds include shipping and handling fees.

1. You can return the item to the nearest Costco Wholesale location.
2. If you are unable to return your order to one of our warehouses, please e-mail us at customer service. Please include your name, order confirmation number, phone number, and reason for return. You will be contacted regarding your return within 5 to 7 business days.

Please note, as of November 4th, 2002 , the return policy for all desktop and notebook computers are six months from the date of purchase. Six months after purchase, all computer services and technical support will be subject to the applicable remaining manufacturer’s warranty.

Nothing has changed!!

;)

I am considering returning the Maxent MX-42XM11 that I bought at Chrismas last year. Are there any decent sub $2K plasmas in the Costco B&M stores these days? I don't even see Maxent on their web site anymore.

I just returned from Costco about 10 min ago. Panasonic 42 plasma looked nice. it was a little bit above the $2K but just a little bit. :)

Anyone know how common dead or stuck pixels on LCD's are?? I mean, I have my buzzing Vizio plasma which, I could see how you could get ghosting or burnin, but I mean how likely is it to have a dead or stuck pixel during the life of your LCD?

There was a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article on Costco and thier TV return policy. The sum total of it was that they have absolutely no plans whatsoever to change thier return policy for TV's. They said they believe the benefits far outweight the downsides.

Its true, nothing has changed. Unfortunately, a statement from just ONE sales person or return clerk does not change policy. The only item that has a time limit on return remains to be computers. There are some Costco return clerks that are personally sick of seeing these returns and may make an inaccurate statement in the hopes of discouraging returns. That being said, please don't consider me a Costco Representative, because I am not. Just think of me as a very well informed member. ;)

Also to clarify, one of my previous post, no price is negotiable. The only exception is if an item is not longer going to be carried, and it is the display, they will discount the item.

As for "dropping" an item. What that means is that large items that don't fit on the floor is put on the overhead shelves (aka "the steel"). If you want to purchase it, you can have a supervisor/manager get a forklift driver to bring it down. This is know as "dropping" a item. Most of the time the staff is reluctant to "drop" during business hours because they have to bring a forklift out from the back. For safety reason, they will also need two additional people to walk the forklift to the correct aisle. Then, they have to close the adjacent two aisles. But just tell the supervisor/manager you are planning on a big purchase and they will do it.

Since we are on the topic of Costco returns, I wanted to clear up a major misconception that Costco never loses money on returns. I found this on ************** and it reflects truly how the value of returns work. If you abuse the return policy and find using the excuse that Costco never loses out to make you feel better, you should consider that Costco does lose money on returns. Also if you wonder where those return units go, check out www.ehscomputersales.com


You are severely misinformed. While it is true that Costco has policies in place with manufacturers of the products they sell, generally the built in percentage is Coscto will pay for 1000 plamsma tvs, and receive 1015 for distribution. The 15 extra "built in" for are for returns, defectives, etc. That is it, so Costco does take a hit. for excessive returns.

Never is the product shipped back to the manufacturer. That is a myth and misconception. Returns are sold to Salvage dealers at 15 to 40 cents on the dollar (depending on the type of merchandise), who then resell the items.

Please do not spread information that you do not know. Excessive abusive returns do cost all merchants, including Costco, money, and in the long run these costs are passed along to consumers.

As stated earlier, Costco had the same generous return policy for computers, that was changed/limited to a 6 month time period because of abuse. Costco just completed a study on electronics returns (LCD and Plasma TV's, to be specific), and have decided to leave the return policy intact for now

They will follow up with another study next Winter/Spring, and are going to compare the data and go from there.

And lastly, the majority of profits from Costco do not come from merchandise sales, but the memembership

And lastly, the majority of profits from Costco do not come from merchandise sales, but the memembership [/I]


I really doubt that! That's ridiculous.
For one thing they are not always the cheapest place to buy a item from, yes they may have one of the best return policys, but they are not always the lowest cost to buy from. And also because it would be very hard for them to survive and profit just on sales of any new yearly memberships that sign up and from existing members that sign up for renewals. Making $50-$100 off of a membership once a year, is simply NOT going to be enough to keep any business up and running and profitable. They most definitely are making profits off of everything that they sell.

Just look at Sams & Wal-Mart. In our area they have quite a few Wal-Mart stores right next to a Sams, same owners different businesses. And on many items that are the same and that they both sell, it's often times cheaper to buy it from the Wal-Mart store than it is the Sams.

As I said before, these statements are not made by me. I do agree that the last statement is ridiculous, but find the rest to be very accurate. There is no way, that the profit only come from the memberships. I know that sales are a big part of profits. The way the company looks at returns is that it is part of doing business. In the big picture of sales, returns are only a small percentage of total sales. That being said, Costco still loses money on excessive returns. They just find having their liberal return policy creates more loyal customers in the long run. And given their track record this business model has been working.

Well it all depends on how you define profit. The statement could be coming from a simple thing such as costco makes 900 million in profit per year, membership dues are 800 million a year. If they decide that membership dues are no cost, pure profit, logically it leads to the statement that without the dues they would have made only 100 million, and that dues account for 800/900 million in profit.

Actually i can see that as being the case with costo, while not the cheapest, they do have a low markup. I wouldnt doubt costco has over 10 million memberships, so that could be 450 million in "profit" right there.

Well it all depends on how you define profit. The statement could be coming from a simple thing such as costco makes 900 million in profit per year, membership dues are 800 million a year. If they decide that membership dues are no cost, pure profit, logically it leads to the statement that without the dues they would have made only 100 million, and that dues account for 800/900 million in profit.


Again, doubtful and ridiculous. Your ratio is way off. There is no way that the membership money collected is that high in relationship to the profit that is made off of merchandise that is sold.

Its simple enough to look at their annual statement, had a link but not enough post to make it a direct link sorry LOL. If you want to see it just google costco annual report

For 2005 they declare a net income of $1,063,000,000

They also show membership rates of 16,233,000 for gold star, and 5,050,000 for executive memberships, giving you 21,283,000 memberships total. At $45 a piece annually thats $957,735,000 in membership dues, the vast majority of their net income (profit).

Again its simple enough for them to say they have no cost associated with membeship fees, so that is all profit, while all other cost are incurred through the selling of merchandise. It's up to them how they want to determine where the profit comes from. They could just as easily state that the membership fees pay for the store in the first place, and put their cost there, in which case the vast majority of their profit would come from sales, not membership fees. The overall profit number doesn't change, but how you get there is entirely up to you. So yes, based upon their annual statement, the vast majority of their profit comes from membership fees, not from sales.

Actually i just looked closer at their statement, they have reported membership fees as $1,073,000,000 meanwhile net profit is $1,063,000,000 so I guess you could say that they lost $10,000,000 by operating, so all their profits came from membership fees. Again its just a word game and an allocation game, its up to them how they want to play it.

No way, their prices are not so low that they are selling products at a loss.

Its simple enough to look at their annual statement, had a link but not enough post to make it a direct link sorry LOL. If you want to see it just google costco annual report

For 2005 they declare a net income of $1,063,000,000

They also show membership rates of 16,233,000 for gold star, and 5,050,000 for executive memberships, giving you 21,283,000 memberships total. At $45 a piece annually thats $957,735,000 in membership dues, the vast majority of their net income (profit).

Again its simple enough for them to say they have no cost associated with membeship fees, so that is all profit, while all other cost are incurred through the selling of merchandise. It's up to them how they want to determine where the profit comes from. They could just as easily state that the membership fees pay for the store in the first place, and put their cost there, in which case the vast majority of their profit would come from sales, not membership fees. The overall profit number doesn't change, but how you get there is entirely up to you. So yes, based upon their annual statement, the vast majority of their profit comes from membership fees, not from sales.

Actually i just looked closer at their statement, they have reported membership fees as $1,073,000,000 meanwhile net profit is $1,063,000,000 so I guess you could say that they lost $10,000,000 by operating, so all their profits came from membership fees. Again its just a word game and an allocation game, its up to them how they want to play it.The point people were debating is whether Costco sells items at a loss; they do not as a whole.

I believe their FY is August 31. You can talk about operating profit all you want. The point is you have to look at the COGS to see what the cost is of selling those goods. In 2005, their gross profit was $6.6B on $52.9B of sales, or a gross margin of 12.4%.

Since we are on the topic of Costco returns

I've read that Costco records each item a member returns. If Costco feels a member is abusing the return policy they'll refund your membership money and ask you to take your business elsewhere.

Now, that wouldn't be the end of the world, Costco isn't the only warehouse club in town. Just something to keep in mind.

In August, these tv's will be within the same price range. I am inclined to go with the cheaper one via costco's website, however, there are some technical differences between the TV's that I was hoping to get an opinion on.

1. the contrast ratio on the VIZIO is 600:1 typical, the Sceptre is 1200:1 typical. How much of a difference will I see - the TV will be in the bedroom, watching in indoor lighting and darkness?

2. the birghtness is 500:1 on the VIZIO vs. 550:1 on the Scepte. Again, how much of a difference will I see - the TV will be in the bedroom, watching in indoor lighting and darkness?

I am impressed so far with the VIZIO's reviews and performance in the store. Unfortunately, there are not any reviews of the Sceptre that will be on Costco website to be found.

Thanks.

Since you guys can't seem to get enough of this Costco return policy
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6548193-1.html?tag=cnetfd.sd

Does anyone have experience with this 50" plasma sold at Costco - good or bad?

Are the speakers detachable? I'm hoping they are.

(I'm not that close to a Costco or I would check for myself, and yes I've done searches and don't see anything mentioned about that.)

Thanks!

In August, these tv's will be within the same price range. I am inclined to go with the cheaper one via costco's website, however, there are some technical differences between the TV's that I was hoping to get an opinion on.

1. the contrast ratio on the VIZIO is 600:1 typical, the Sceptre is 1200:1 typical. How much of a difference will I see - the TV will be in the bedroom, watching in indoor lighting and darkness?

2. the birghtness is 500:1 on the VIZIO vs. 550:1 on the Scepte. Again, how much of a difference will I see - the TV will be in the bedroom, watching in indoor lighting and darkness?

I am impressed so far with the VIZIO's reviews and performance in the store. Unfortunately, there are not any reviews of the Sceptre that will be on Costco website to be found.

Thanks.

Contrast and brightness ratio specs are essentially meaningless. There is no standard for how the mfrs measure these numbers (if they really do), and even if we knew how they did the measurement, there is no one verifying the accuracy. Using your own eyes is really the only way. Check the whiteness of the whites and the darkness and definition of the shadows, and buy the one you like the best.

Being a Costco employee for the past 8 years, maybe I can shed some light on their famous return policy and anything else Costco related....

Costco will take virtually ANYTHING back and will usually offer a 100% money back refund...If the return is considered very old (IE 2 yrs) Costco will offer a "store credit" in the form of a Costco gift card....

The few exceptions are as follows : Prescription medications, Any product possibly tainted with bodily fluids (includes diabetic testing strips, diabetic testing machines, lancets, portable drug test machines, etc), and developed photos...With photos, you can pretty much preview them and decide whether or not you wish to pay for them..

Complete computer systems (HP Monitor, keyboard, tower, mouse combos etc) and laptops are in that "6 month return" window that they display clearly (or not so clearly) near the Membership desk... This is considered a pretty new policy since the return policy was being abused as people were pretty much just updating their systems at will...
-*-*-
Now, DeltaOne mentioned the following:

"I've read that Costco records each item a member returns. If Costco feels a member is abusing the return policy they'll refund your membership money and ask you to take your business elsewhere. Now, that wouldn't be the end of the world, Costco isn't the only warehouse club in town. Just something to keep in mind."

Yes, it is true that Costco does keep track of member returns (as well as purchases, duh!), and Yes you can get "flagged" for abusing the policy, BUT this would only pertain to those who abuse by returning extremely expensive products over a short period of time on a consistant basis..

The only time Costco will possibly revolk your membership card is if you:
1. Get caught stealing.
2. Bounce a cheque and not paying Costco properly.
3. Hurt an employee or other customer on premises.

That's pretty much the only reasons I can think of at the moment, and enough Costco talk for 1 post ;)

For all interested, the Panasonic units are coming into the LA area warehouses as soon as 7/9. Call you warehouse to check

Help! I need some advice, I have now narrowed it down to two TVs at Costco:

Panasonic 50px6u 50" Plasma

and

Sharp LC40C45U 45" LCD

I need a TV that would be good at watching SD and be safe for videogames. I play and average of 1-3 hours a night of videogames so my gaming habit is a factor in my purchase. Also, the room that the TV is going to be in has a lot of natural light because of a sliding glass door. I really what something that if versatile and still give be great PQ. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

If I were you I'd go for the Sharp. I have the 42" version of the Panny and love it but based on your habits and the lighting conditions I think you will be happier with the Sharp. LCD's are better in bright locations (less reflections). Both are excellent units.

I saw that Panasonic and Sharp at Costco right next to each other. O boy what a tough choice...they both looked excellent. For me it would probably would come down to the price difference.

Help! I need some advice, I have now narrowed it down to two TVs at Costco:

Panasonic 50px6u 50" Plasma

and

Sharp LC40C45U 45" LCD

I need a TV that would be good at watching SD and be safe for videogames. I play and average of 1-3 hours a night of videogames so my gaming habit is a factor in my purchase. Also, the room that the TV is going to be in has a lot of natural light because of a sliding glass door. I really what something that if versatile and still give be great PQ. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Your in luck dude because I was trying to decide between these TV's as well.
I bought the sharp...(see my official owners thread for detailed review)
My room has a lot of sun in it and I hate reflections. This LCD has NO REFLECTIONS---none. I can open every window and turn on every light and you get no glare at all.
I have a moto dvr and do a lot of pausing and I watch a lot of sports with the tickers and all. On an LCD burn in is not an issue.
Refresh rate is 6ms---there is ZERO motion lag on games or sports.
Standard digital on this tv thru my HDMI connection is good to great ! Nothing is totally unwatchable...even my analog channels look good. (coming thru the HDMI feed.)
HDTV is UN-F'in believable. Deep deep blacks and very vivd picture. Its Comparable to a Sony SXRD that my friend has.
TV picture is great and the silver black bezel looks damn sexy.
Hers a cnet review of the 37inch model to help you out...they give it a 7 but everything they dont like can be adjusted...they do say it has the blackest blacks of any lcd and no motion lag.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sharp_LC_37D40U/4505-6482_7-31830116.html?tag=pdtl-list

I thought I wouldnt like the silver and that a 45" is too small but when you get it in the house its much bigger than the store. One of the guys in the 2006 sharp thread said that this model looks much better than his new 1080p sharp aquos
...I have to agree. This tv is a gem--I hope costco continues to sell it..its probably the best tv they sell. Of course I am a tad biased :)

Hers a cnet review of the 37inch model to help you out...they give it a 7 but everything they dont like can be adjusted...they do say it has the blackest blacks of any lcd and no motion lag.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sharp_LC_37D40U/4505-6482_7-31830116.html?tag=pdtl-list


Please, no CNET references, all their reviews must be written by fifth-graders for third-graders. In fact their reviews are so bad, I'd never rely on it. They have no idea what they are talking about, and no serious audio-video purchase should be made ever based on their reviews. CNET is embarrasment.

I of course have no beef with that Sharp set, I saw it at Costco and it looked fabulous. And yes, the blacks looked amazing for any LCD.

Please, no CNET references, all their reviews must be written by fifth-graders for third-graders. In fact their reviews are so bad, I'd never rely on it. They have no idea what they are talking about, and no serious audio-video purchase should be made ever based on their reviews. CNET is embarrasment.

I of course have no beef with that Sharp set, I saw it at Costco and it looked fabulous. And yes, the blacks looked amazing for any LCD.

I could be off base here but it seems you dont like CNET :D

Your in luck dude because I was trying to decide between these TV's as well.
I bought the sharp...(see my official owners thread for detailed review)
My room has a lot of sun in it and I hate reflections. This LCD has NO REFLECTIONS---none. I can open every window and turn on every light and you get no glare at all.
I have a moto dvr and do a lot of pausing and I watch a lot of sports with the tickers and all. On an LCD burn in is not an issue.
Refresh rate is 6ms---there is ZERO motion lag on games or sports.
Standard digital on this tv thru my HDMI connection is good to great ! Nothing is totally unwatchable...even my analog channels look good. (coming thru the HDMI feed.)
HDTV is UN-F'in believable. Deep deep blacks and very vivd picture. Its Comparable to a Sony SXRD that my friend has.
TV picture is great and the silver black bezel looks damn sexy.
Hers a cnet review of the 37inch model to help you out...they give it a 7 but everything they dont like can be adjusted...they do say it has the blackest blacks of any lcd and no motion lag.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sharp_LC_37D40U/4505-6482_7-31830116.html?tag=pdtl-list

I thought I wouldnt like the silver and that a 45" is too small but when you get it in the house its much bigger than the store. One of the guys in the 2006 sharp thread said that this model looks much better than his new 1080p sharp aquos
...I have to agree. This tv is a gem--I hope costco continues to sell it..its probably the best tv they sell. Of course I am a tad biased :)

Gdog and to everyone else, Thanks for all the advice. I'm going with the Sharp LCD. I know that Plasmas have come a long way with burn in risk but any slight risk plus dealing with glare in my room setup, I will have to go with the LCD. If I ever move into a larger place with a basement then I will probably buy a Plasma for my movie viewing. The LCD sounds like a good everyday TV for all the things I want it to do.

I just bought the 50PX6U on Saturday. By Sunday they were all gone. It looked terrible on display in the Costco. They had it totally tweaked for sharpness, and it almost looked like a cartoon there was so much posterization. I saw poeple making side-by-side judgments with the Vizio and Maxent sets... it's a crime. High school kids with no idea what they're doing are setting these things up.

It won't win a beauty contest when it's off (why make the bezel medium gray and silver instead of black and silver?!), but I saw the 60U properly calibrated next to a Sharp at Tweeter and I preferred the Panny's picture the best of all displays there. Better blacks, smoother picture. I'll be doing very mild gaming on it, but I bought it for the twin HDMI ports, movie playback and HD PQ.

Had lots of work this weekend and couldn't set it up. Hope to do that soon. :cool:

I just bought the 50PX6U on Saturday. :cool: which costco was it ? it is not yet arrived at glendale, burbank 0r alambhara CA.

Contrast and brightness ratio specs are essentially meaningless. There is no standard for how the mfrs measure these numbers (if they really do), and even if we knew how they did the measurement, there is no one verifying the accuracy. Using your own eyes is really the only way. Check the whiteness of the whites and the darkness and definition of the shadows, and buy the one you like the best.

And keep in mind that the brightness and contrast settings in stores are generally way too high, and the screen is likely to look very different in your home - so essentially you can't tell much of anything by looking at a TV in the store.

Hello all,

Long time reader/member, first time poster.

I am at wits end now after nearly 2 months of researching a 42" plasma tv. I have narrowed it down to the following from Costco, just for peace of mind and satisfaction.

1. Vizio 42"

2. Panasonic 42"

3. Phillips 42"

I seem to like the picture quality the same on the Vizio and Panasonic, but just am not sure buying a brand I am not familiar with (Vizio). But the substantial savings is hard to pass on.

The Phillips is a nice intermediate, but I have not heard good things about it's reliability after researching here, and I always seem to see an ample supply available on Phillips outlet, which also worries me about their refurbished rate!

Any help is appreciated!

I'm looking for a budget LCD TV for my 'gaming' room and I saw this on Costco website with a very nice price-tag on it. I can wait till that sale.

I do know its a 720p set and I have no desire for 1080p as currently my sources are all non-1080p (XBox360, Up-scaling DVD player, 720p/1080i feeds via receiver).

I guess since its a newer unit, there's not a lot of info about it on the web. Is Sceptre a good brand to start off with? Who makes their panels?

Would appreciate any info on the brand/TV, etc!

Thanks
Fragster

I think there is nothing wrong with buying Philips. I see their plasmas all the time at Costco, they look pretty nice, certainly better than Vizio, to my eye. I'd consider Philips if I was on the market. I've owned a couple dvd players by Philips lately and they are working without a glitch. Plus their glass is from LG-Philips join venture, but LG 42 would cost you more.

I had a Philips 42" for a week, had to return it for the popular "black screen of death" issue (see Philips threads). I loved this set, I had the Ambilight feature model. The inputs were great, USB ports, media card reader, twin HDMI ports. But, the black screen thing was a deal breaker- constantly had to throw the breaker in basement to turn set off and reset. I had convinced myself that only a small % probably HAVE this issue, and assumed I would be lucky. I told myself, only the people with problems post about it, so it only appears to be a common issue, etc. Sadly, I became part of the unlucky group. We thought the picture was great. I still have to assume MOST people have no problems with the Philips Plasma TVs. I personally became wary of this manufacturer, as returning plasma TVs is a royal PITA.

Now I have the Panasonic TH42PX-6U. NEVER even one problem, just a great picture all the time.

I had a Philips 42" for a week, had to return it for the popular "black screen of death" issue (see Philips threads). I loved this set, I had the Ambilight feature model. The inputs were great, USB ports, media card reader, twin HDMI ports. But, the black screen thing was a deal breaker- constantly had to throw the breaker in basement to turn set off and reset. I had convinced myself that only a small % probably HAVE this issue, and assumed I would be lucky. I told myself, only the people with problems post about it, so it only appears to be a common issue, etc. Sadly, I became part of the unlucky group. We thought the picture was great. I still have to assume MOST people have no problems with the Philips Plasma TVs. I personally became wary of this manufacturer, as returning plasma TVs is a royal PITA.

Now I have the Panasonic TH42PX-6U. NEVER even one problem, just a great picture all the time.

Sorry did not want to roam through other threads. Briefly what is that Philips Black Screen issue?

My local Costco said that 4 of the 50PX6U's were on their way as of July 7th. They get shipments on Mondays, so hopefully next week I'll be able to check them out.

We dont have Costco here in LA, only Sams Clubs. I was looking at a Samsung Plasma the other day, model SP-S4223. Its an EDTV.

Anyone seen this? Im looking for opinions from experienced users. If anyone has any suggestions, please post. This will be my first big screen tv purchase.

I've said it before, I think is worth the money to upgrade to HD from ED.

I've said it before, I think is worth the money to upgrade to HD from ED.

I missed that post. Did you post any specifics?

I bought it at the Glenview Costco just outside of Chicago for the price mentioned previously.

Septre has announced a stripped down version of its 37" lcd at about the price of a Syntax 37.
I know that the former is not yet out, so let me ask a kinda general question of comparing the two manufacturers

Well...after much reading I was swayed from a TH-50PX60U to the Sharp 46" LCD at Costco. However, after going to see it in person today I'm not sure. I can never tell whether the source is bad or the TV, but the Panny (it was the 42" one) next to the Sharp looked noticibly clearer. The Sharp actually appeared to have jaggies where the Panny was crystal clear.

There is another Costco not too far, so I am going to see if the same thing happens there. I really want to like the LCD since the room I have is pretty bright during the day. The TV in there now get alot of glare so I thought an LCD would help.

Has anyone else seen similar things?

This belongs in the "Rear Projection Forum" and please no pricing....MSRP ONLY!!!

Thanks

Dave

well that last post is going to get hacked soon....


(Yes, you were correct)

Well...after much reading I was swayed from a TH-50PX60U to the Sharp 46" LCD at Costco. However, after going to see it in person today I'm not sure. I can never tell whether the source is bad or the TV, but the Panny (it was the 42" one) next to the Sharp looked noticibly clearer. The Sharp actually appeared to have jaggies where the Panny was crystal clear.

There is another Costco not too far, so I am going to see if the same thing happens there. I really want to like the LCD since the room I have is pretty bright during the day. The TV in there now get alot of glare so I thought an LCD would help.

Has anyone else seen similar things?
I currently own the 45" sharp.
I was never really impressed with LCD technology in general when I went to CC or BB. I ALWAYS thought the plasmas looked great. I went to Costco to buy either a sony A10 rp or a panny plasma...When I saw the sharp it really shined over all the other displays and was comparable or better than the panny plasma.
I may have to post some pics but believe me...this is a great tv and it is GREAT that there is NO glare in the daytime. Watching this tv on discovery hd is like looking thru a window. Not to mention my SD over HDMI looks really good.

I currently own the 45" sharp.
I was never really impressed with LCD technology in general when I went to CC or BB. I ALWAYS thought the plasmas looked great. I went to Costco to buy either a sony A10 rp or a panny plasma...When I saw the sharp it really shined over all the other displays and was comparable or better than the panny plasma.
I may have to post some pics but believe me...this is a great tv and it is GREAT that there is NO glare in the daytime. Watching this tv on discovery hd is like looking thru a window. Not to mention my SD over HDMI looks really good.

I am really hoping that the lcd just wasn't calibrated or had a bad signal. I am going to a different Costco after work and check it out again. I'd really love to not worry about IR and have lower glare. I'll post my results later. Thanks.

I currently own the 45" sharp.
I was never really impressed with LCD technology in general when I went to CC or BB. I ALWAYS thought the plasmas looked great. I went to Costco to buy either a sony A10 rp or a panny plasma...When I saw the sharp it really shined over all the other displays and was comparable or better than the panny plasma.
I may have to post some pics but believe me...this is a great tv and it is GREAT that there is NO glare in the daytime. Watching this tv on discovery hd is like looking thru a window. Not to mention my SD over HDMI looks really good.

What model is that Sharp?

What model is that Sharp?
This one
LC-40C45U
Its identical to the
LC-45D40U

The one in costco is silver/black(cool looking though...and I dont even really like silver) and the other one is all black.
This is the best 45" set sharp makes, even better than the 45" 1080p sets from last year. They were planning on doing a 1080p d90 series 45" which would have been better but they scrapped it due to a shortage of 45" screens.
Im pretty damn happy with it and Ive done a TON of resarch for a new tv.
It was this or the sxrd......Ive never seen a sxrd this bright or vivid though.

I too am thinking about getting the Sharp 45" LCD from Costco. I am debating between that set and the Panasonic 50" Plasma. Does anyone have any opinions?

I am really hoping that the lcd just wasn't calibrated or had a bad signal. I am going to a different Costco after work and check it out again. I'd really love to not worry about IR and have lower glare. I'll post my results later. Thanks.
If the set at the store looks crappy than their feed is crap or theres something wrong with their model. I will say I saw this model twice...first time I barely noticed it---I was focused on the plasmas.
Next time I went to costco it was a holiday weekend and they must have tweaked it or changed the feed...it looked awesome! As Ive said earlier..it put all the other plasmas to shame with the exception of the panasonic--but it was on level with that...with NO glare.
I will say this looks best when the signal comes over HDMI...over rf cable it looked pretty bad...Ive heard component isnt all that either.
Youll have to take my word for it man...theres also a guy on this forum under the username Mike53 who says this is the best 45" screen sharp makes(better than the 1080p sets from last year).
Why is he important ? He works for Sharp and demos there TV's/
Search under his posts...

This one
LC-40C45U
Its identical to the
LC-45D40U

The one in costco is silver/black(cool looking though...and I dont even really like silver) and the other one is all black.
This is the best 45" set sharp makes, even better than the 45" 1080p sets from last year. They were planning on doing a 1080p d90 series 45" which would have been better but they scrapped it due to a shortage of 45" screens.
Im pretty damn happy with it and Ive done a TON of resarch for a new tv.
It was this or the sxrd......Ive never seen a sxrd this bright or vivid though.

Nice. I told myself I would never buy another Sharp product. That was 12 yrs ago. Bought a 20" crt, died after 2yrs. Bought a 5 disc caraoul EC, cd started skipping after 1yr.

Ill check Sharp LCDs out again. My budget is $1500-1800 and I would like to get at least a 40" . Is this reasonable?

I still think the Sony Bravia - also available in Costco - kicks Sharp butt.

Nice. I told myself I would never buy another Sharp product. That was 12 yrs ago. Bought a 20" crt, died after 2yrs. Bought a 5 disc caraoul EC, cd started skipping after 1yr.

Ill check Sharp LCDs out again. My budget is $1500-1800 and I would like to get at least a 40" . Is this reasonable?

Probably not going to happen in that price range for a 40-45" lcd unless you get a no name brand. You may be better off going with the sony A10 rear projection...ive heard good things about it.

I bought that set from Costco and brought it home. Turned it on and let it run for 3 hours and I have calibrated it with my DVE disk. I spend enough time going back between contrast and brightness and color and tint, until I gotten as close as possible to the desire settings. After that I looked at the picture and I was unimpressed. It looked greyish, colors were realistic, but blacks were greyish and that affected the overall picture balance. I tried DVD's, HD feed from Dish, still washed out and greyish blacks. DVD actually looked better on the black level, but HD feeds from Voom were grayish.

In this set Sharp removed advanced color-calibration options and that limits the amount of adjustments that one can do with TV Spyder software. maybe they hidden them in the service menu but I do know the access path to them yet.

De-interlacer is quite good though.

I feed both signals through HDMI, I have not tried component but frankly I did not buy digital set to run component.

Another thing that nags me is the two fans that are on all the time. They are not loud-loud but they are always there and you can hear them. When you turn the set off you immediately hear the difference in the room.

I really would like to keep this set but I cannot get myself to like it. I have looked at the Bravia that Costco sells and maybe I should try that, but that extra 5 inch makes a huge difference to me. If I can only calibrate Sharp to display proper blacks that would be great, I can even put up with that noise.

I hope someone has better luck with this set and share settings with this forum. I will post mine when I get home tonight.

I bought that set from Costco and brought it home. Turned it on and let it run for 3 hours and I have calibrated it with my DVE disk. I spend enough time going back between contrast and brightness and color and tint, until I gotten as close as possible to the desire settings. After that I looked at the picture and I was unimpressed. It looked greyish, colors were realistic, but blacks were greyish and that affected the overall picture balance. I tried DVD's, HD feed from Dish, still washed out and greyish blacks. DVD actually looked better on the black level, but HD feeds from Voom were grayish.

In this set Sharp removed advanced color-calibration options and that limits the amount of adjustments that one can do with TV Spyder software. maybe they hidden them in the service menu but I do know the access path to them yet.

De-interlacer is quite good though.

I feed both signals through HDMI, I have not tried component but frankly I did not buy digital set to run component.

Have you considered 50 inch plasma from Costco? They have Panasonic

Another thing that nags me is the two fans that are on all the time. They are not loud-loud but they are always there and you can hear them. When you turn the set off you immediately hear the difference in the room.

I really would like to keep this set but I cannot get myself to like it. I have looked at the Bravia that Costco sells and maybe I should try that, but that extra 5 inch makes a huge difference to me. If I can only calibrate Sharp to display proper blacks that would be great, I can even put up with that noise.

I hope someone has better luck with this set and share settings with this forum. I will post mine when I get home tonight.

Have u considered a 50-inch plasma from Costco? They carry some, including Panasonic which are nice.

37" LCD from Costco: Philips or Sharp

I am in the final stages of selecting an LCD for my bedroom and am strongly leaning towards buying at Costco. Primary viewing will initially be SD with HD in the future. As near as I can tell, the Philips is one generation behind the Sharp. It is unlikely that any components or surround sound will ever be connected to the TV.

Is the Sharp worth $400 more than the Philips. Reliability is an important factor and if the Philips has significantly outdated technology as compared to the Sharp, then that would sway me to the Sharp. That said, I would love to save the $400.

37" LCD from Costco: Philips or Sharp

I am in the final stages of selecting an LCD for my bedroom and am strongly leaning towards buying at Costco. Primary viewing will initially be SD with HD in the future. As near as I can tell, the Philips is one generation behind the Sharp. It is unlikely that any components or surround sound will ever be connected to the TV.

Is the Sharp worth $400 more than the Philips. Reliability is an important factor and if the Philips has significantly outdated technology as compared to the Sharp, then that would sway me to the Sharp. That said, I would love to save the $400.

hi sully11,

what upcoming Philips are you referring to? TIA

If the set at the store looks crappy than their feed is crap or theres something wrong with their model. I will say I saw this model twice...first time I barely noticed it---I was focused on the plasmas.
Next time I went to costco it was a holiday weekend and they must have tweaked it or changed the feed...it looked awesome! As Ive said earlier..it put all the other plasmas to shame with the exception of the panasonic--but it was on level with that...with NO glare.
I will say this looks best when the signal comes over HDMI...over rf cable it looked pretty bad...Ive heard component isnt all that either.
Youll have to take my word for it man...theres also a guy on this forum under the username Mike53 who says this is the best 45" screen sharp makes(better than the 1080p sets from last year).
Why is he important ? He works for Sharp and demos there TV's/
Search under his posts...

I will check his posts. I REALLY want to like this LCD. I went to another Costco tonight. The LCDs and plasmas weren't next to each other, but I got another good look. The feed was through component (they never seem to have HDMI) This time the picture looked impreved on the Sharp, but the brightness was turned way down. Still not up to the Panny though.

Do LCDs generally show jaggies more than plasmas? For example, when I look at curved lines on the Sharp LCD I can definitely notive the pixel. The same image on the Panny looks smoother. Is that a calibration issue?

Anyone know any other place beside Costco which has the Sharp LCD? Maybe I will try CC.

hi sully11,

what upcoming Philips are you referring to? TIA

Sorry, should have mentioned that the model is Philips 37PF7320A

Sul

Have u considered a 50-inch plasma from Costco? They carry some, including Panasonic which are nice.

I agree Panny plasmas are excellent in every aspect but I do like bright LCD screens. My previous 37" Sharp had none of the issues that I am seeing on this 45-incher. It may have the latest panel but something is not adjusted properly there and I am looking for opinions from Mike53 and other users of those Costcotized Sharps.

I will be looking for a service menu but in the meanwhile here are my settings:
OPC - Off
Backlight -8
Contrast +22
Bright -7
Color -19
Tint +6
Color Temp -Medium

Looking forward to some opinions. Mike53 how do you recommend I set my TV?

I agree Panny plasmas are excellent in every aspect but I do like bright LCD screens. My previous 37" Sharp had none of the issues that I am seeing on this 45-incher. It may have the latest panel but something is not adjusted properly there and I am looking for opinions from Mike53 and other users of those Costcotized Sharps.

I will be looking for a service menu but in the meanwhile here are my settings:
OPC - Off
Backlight -8
Contrast +22
Bright -7
Color -19
Tint +6
Color Temp -Medium

Looking forward to some opinions. Mike53 how do you recommend I set my TV?
Do a search under the word "sharp" in the title of posts and you will find a tweaks thread.
When you say you see grey blacks do you mean that the shadow detail is some things grey some things black or is the deepest black your set displays just a dark grey ?
When I see something like an eclipse on the screen from discovery HD--the black is as black as the frame around the TV. I am watching over HDMI and using cable tv thru rcn. This is using the "standard" preset setting

Do a search under the word "sharp" in the title of posts and you will find a tweaks thread.
When you say you see grey blacks do you mean that the shadow detail is some things grey some things black or is the deepest black your set displays just a dark grey ?
When I see something like an eclipse on the screen from discovery HD--the black is as black as the frame around the TV. I am watching over HDMI and using cable tv thru rcn. This is using the "standard" preset setting

My blacks are just not deep black but grey and they certainly are not as black as the frame. Can you post your settings? I assume you use LC-40C45U?
I have done multiple searches for this generation of 45" panels and I could not find any calibrated settings posted. I understood these panels use new Trident chipset and settings from previous generation will not apply.

My blacks are just not deep black but grey and they certainly are not as black as the frame. Can you post your settings? I assume you use LC-40C45U?
I have done multiple searches for this generation of 45" panels and I could not find any calibrated settings posted. I understood these panels use new Trident chipset and settings from previous generation will not apply.

I thought that this TV has adjustable backlighting? From what I heard from users here is that it's one of the LCD on the market that produces the best blacks. I saw this set at Costco over the weekend and I thought the black levels were pretty good. By comparing it to the Phillips and Panasonic Plasma's, I thought that it was comparable. The Panasonic 42" having a slight edge on accurate colors.

I'm going to purchase the 45" Sharp because I need a TV that I can use for games, HDTV, SDTV, and a computer monitor. Since LCDs have less image rentention, I think that this TV fits my habits better than a Plasma. I don't want to play video games and have the HUDs showing up for hours when I watch regular TV afterward. Permanent Burn In is probably not an issue with modern plasmas but I find image rentention that take more than 10 minutes to disappear annoying and distracting. Since all the PS2 and Xbob 360 kiosk I have seen are hooked up to LCD displays, the games look really good on them.

My blacks are just not deep black but grey and they certainly are not as black as the frame. Can you post your settings? I assume you use LC-40C45U?
I have done multiple searches for this generation of 45" panels and I could not find any calibrated settings posted. I understood these panels use new Trident chipset and settings from previous generation will not apply.
The set does have an adjustable backlight to get the deepest blacks. As mentioned earlier I have mine set to the "standard" preset for HD.
My blacks look...black. Are they the deepest darkest blacks ever ? Probably not but they are black and certainly not grey. The Maxent plasma that was set up next to the sharp at costco had grey blacks. Even the sony bravia looked a little grey next to the sharp. When you watch 4:3 content in non stretch mode are the vertical bars black at least ?
If they are not theres something wrong with your set.
Check this thread for reference of the 40 series...Although very few members seem to own the 45"
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=661755

Question on the Sharp 45" they are selling at Costco. I was just reading the review of the LC-45D40U:

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtvreviews/sharp-lc45d40u-review.shtml

I think the model number at Costco is LC-45C40U. Is the only difference the bezel color? Would everything else in the review hold true for the Costco model?

Question on the Sharp 45" they are selling at Costco. I was just reading the review of the LC-45D40U:

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtvreviews/sharp-lc45d40u-review.shtml

I think the model number at Costco is LC-45C40U. Is the only difference the bezel color? Would everything else in the review hold true for the Costco model?
Same TV.

Question on the Sharp 45" they are selling at Costco. I was just reading the review of the LC-45D40U:

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtvreviews/sharp-lc45d40u-review.shtml

I think the model number at Costco is LC-45C40U. Is the only difference the bezel color? Would everything else in the review hold true for the Costco model?
CMAY--good job finding that review. It really describes everything I see when I look at my tv. To the guy having issues with his black level check to see if the backlight is turned down...I cant remember if I adjusted mine when I first got it.

How much is Costco selling that Sharp tv for?

How much is Costco selling that Sharp tv for?


In the title of the thread, it also says NO pricing/NO coupon talk!

The set does have an adjustable backlight to get the deepest blacks. As mentioned earlier I have mine set to the "standard" preset for HD.
My blacks look...black. Are they the deepest darkest blacks ever ? Probably not but they are black and certainly not grey. The Maxent plasma that was set up next to the sharp at costco had grey blacks. Even the sony bravia looked a little grey next to the sharp. When you watch 4:3 content in non stretch mode are the vertical bars black at least ?
If they are not theres something wrong with your set.
Check this thread for reference of the 40 series...Although very few members seem to own the 45"
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=661755


Would be helpful if you guys post your settings. My backlight is at -10 now and below this point it crushes blacks really bad on PLUGE test. The reasons I know that these are not the blacks that Sharp can produce is because my 5th generation 37" panel was giving me better blacks without crushing. I would like to try settings that other people use and see if I get improved picture.

CMAY--good job finding that review. It really describes everything I see when I look at my tv. To the guy having issues with his black level check to see if the backlight is turned down...I cant remember if I adjusted mine when I first got it.

Guys, either review at lcdtvbuying guide is completely wrong or Costco 45" and LC-45D40U are two different sets. I suspect the latter becasue Costco unit does not have blacks anywhere close to those in the review and, most importantly, Coscto unit comes with two fans that are quite audible and noticeble and run all the time!!!

<<< from lcdtvbuyingguide Like many of the LCD televisions Sharp has developed before the LC-45D40U, this model ran very quietly. Unlike some plasma televisions, the LC-45D40U does not require a fan to cool the pixels. Additionally, this television uses about half of the power required to operate a plasma display. Because of the lack of a fan and lower power usage, this Sharp television is virtually silent at the recommended viewing distance of six to eight feet.>>>

Do not trust all the reviews, check for yourself. Costco Sharp LC-40C45U comes with two fans and blacks are certainly not that black. If you dial settings that lcdtvbuingguide recommends picture looks plain horrible. Blacks are just plain grey. I am looking at it right now and listening to that "quiet" hum from fans...

Mike53 from Sharp has indicated that with the exception of the case the Costco 45" sharp is a clone of the LC45D40U unit. Visit the 2006 Sharp thread if you want confirmation.

Guys, either review at lcdtvbuying guide is completely wrong or Costco 45" and LC-45D40U are two different sets. I suspect the latter becasue Costco unit does not have blacks anywhere close to those in the review and, most importantly, Coscto unit comes with two fans that are quite audible and noticeble and run all the time!!!

<<< from lcdtvbuyingguide Like many of the LCD televisions Sharp has developed before the LC-45D40U, this model ran very quietly. Unlike some plasma televisions, the LC-45D40U does not require a fan to cool the pixels. Additionally, this television uses about half of the power required to operate a plasma display. Because of the lack of a fan and lower power usage, this Sharp television is virtually silent at the recommended viewing distance of six to eight feet.>>>

Do not trust all the reviews, check for yourself. Costco Sharp LC-40C45U comes with two fans and blacks are certainly not that black. If you dial settings that lcdtvbuingguide recommends picture looks plain horrible. Blacks are just plain grey. I am looking at it right now and listening to that "quiet" hum from fans...

dvzzz ---I would suggest exchanging your unit. Sounds like you got a bad one.
The LC-45D40U is the exact same tv...call sharp to verify if you like. This IS a great tv but it sounds like you either have a bad set or your signal is bad.

I have a quick question for you guys with the Sharp set (Costco 45" or LC-45D40U).

They both have two HDMI connectors, correct. However, only one of these have audio in inputs. Please forgive my ignorance, but does this mean you have to use an A/V receiver with the HDMI input without the audio in input in order to get sound? The one HDMI without the audio-in inputs will not produce sound through the TV???

I am hoping to hookup a HDMI DVD player and a HD Sat Receiver using its HDMI connector. Now, before you flame me about using the TV speakers for these two sources, my wife like it simple when she watches TV and like the sound to come from the TV (when I am not around) when she watches a DVD or watches TV.

Please help me resolve this issue as I was hoping on picking one up within a couple weeks.

thanks

I have a quick question for you guys with the Sharp set (Costco 45" or LC-45D40U).

They both have two HDMI connectors, correct. However, only one of these have audio in inputs. Please forgive my ignorance, but does this mean you have to use an A/V receiver with the HDMI input without the audio in input in order to get sound? The one HDMI without the audio-in inputs will not produce sound through the TV???

I am hoping to hookup a HDMI DVD player and a HD Sat Receiver using its HDMI connector. Now, before you flame me about using the TV speakers for these two sources, my wife like it simple when she watches TV and like the sound to come from the TV (when I am not around) when she watches a DVD or watches TV.

Please help me resolve this issue as I was hoping on picking one up within a couple weeks.

thanks

Both will produce audio via HDMI, the one without RCA inputs for the audio will only work with true HDMI device, e.g. your DVD player. For you tuner you most likely will need RCA connections for audio, unless your TV settop box is also true HDMI. Regardless if you have two HDMI sources you will get sound through your TV speakers from both.

I have a quick question for you guys with the Sharp set (Costco 45" or LC-45D40U).

They both have two HDMI connectors, correct. However, only one of these have audio in inputs. Please forgive my ignorance, but does this mean you have to use an A/V receiver with the HDMI input without the audio in input in order to get sound? The one HDMI without the audio-in inputs will not produce sound through the TV???

I am hoping to hookup a HDMI DVD player and a HD Sat Receiver using its HDMI connector. Now, before you flame me about using the TV speakers for these two sources, my wife like it simple when she watches TV and like the sound to come from the TV (when I am not around) when she watches a DVD or watches TV.

Please help me resolve this issue as I was hoping on picking one up within a couple weeks.

thanks


HDMI carries both an audio and a video signal. The additional audio inputs that go with the HDMI are just in case you are using a source with a DVI output and connecting it to the HDMI input.
DVI only carries a video signal, so you'd have to hook up the audio inputs on your TV to the analog audio outputs of the source with DVI.

Just got the Panny 50" plasma from my local Costco (Montebello, CA) tonight. They only have two left. Very good picture, but no PC input and only one anteena input. It's kind of basic model.

HDMI carries both an audio and a video signal.

That is what I though but the one with the audio in inputs confused me.

The additional audio inputs that go with the HDMI are just in case you are using a source with a DVI output and connecting it to the HDMI input.

Now I know!!!!!!!

thanks!!!

I visited my local Sam's Club and was intrigued with their ticket for the Panasonic 50" Plasma HDTV model # TH-50PX6U. The ticket said 1080p (not i) Digital Process Chip-Set. The packaging/box for the unit did not recite this feature (or 1080i either). Anyone know if this model at Sam's is really a full 1080p HDTV?? Thanks

I visited my local Sam's Club and was intrigued with their ticket for the Panasonic 50" Plasma HDTV model # TH-50PX6U. The ticket said 1080p (not i) Digital Process Chip-Set. The packaging/box for the unit did not recite this feature (or 1080i either). Anyone know if this model at Sam's is really a full 1080p HDTV?? Thanks
Its probably a 720p set but it can display 10890i as well. They all can. No way sams club is selling a 1080p panny plasma..

I visited my local Sam's Club and was intrigued with their ticket for the Panasonic 50" Plasma HDTV model # TH-50PX6U. The ticket said 1080p (not i) Digital Process Chip-Set. The packaging/box for the unit did not recite this feature (or 1080i either). Anyone know if this model at Sam's is really a full 1080p HDTV?? Thanks
I don't think it is 1080p. It is the same model number as the one carried by Costco and described on Panasonic's site. It accepts 1080i and 720p input and scales and displays them (progressively) to its native 1366x768 resolution.

Well, I pulled the trigger on the Costco Sharp 45" LCD. WOW! It is AWESOME! GDog was right on with his reviews of this set. The Blacks are Black and the color is vivid! HD is amazing and SD is great! I was pleasantly surprised with the excellent quality of the SD. It is a tremendous buy. I don't think there are a whole lot of these sets out there, so if you want one, you better grab it. I highly recommend the set.

I played around with my settings, using various settings and combinations from the posters on this forum, and from internet reviews. For my house, my current settings work phenomenal for HD, Digital Cable, and SD. Woooo Hoooo!!! I can post them if anyone is interested. GDog, thanks for the tip on the Sharp!

Damn...my will to resist is fading.

I'm ripping apart my build-in's this weekend so I can fit the TV and I think I'm going to go with the Costco Sharp 45. The bright room I have and gdog's review have swayed me.

I'm very confusing about my Panny 50" I got last night from Costco. This TV only have active 1366 x 768 pixels, however, from the included manuel, it also says it does supports the followings from HDMI terminal:

480/60i
480/60p
720/60p
1080/60i
1080/60p

Anybody who are interesting, you can download the manual from Panasonic website for TH-50PX60U on page 42:

Well, I pulled the trigger on the Costco Sharp 45" LCD. WOW! It is AWESOME! GDog was right on with his reviews of this set. The Blacks are Black and the color is vivid! HD is amazing and SD is great! I was pleasantly surprised with the excellent quality of the SD. It is a tremendous buy. I don't think there are a whole lot of these sets out there, so if you want one, you better grab it. I highly recommend the set.

I played around with my settings, using various settings and combinations from the posters on this forum, and from internet reviews. For my house, my current settings work phenomenal for HD, Digital Cable, and SD. Woooo Hoooo!!! I can post them if anyone is interested. GDog, thanks for the tip on the Sharp!

I'd be interested in your settings. The review I posted a few posts ago had settings and I am wondering how different yours are.

I'm very confusing about my Panny 50" I got last night from Costco. This TV only have active 1366 x 768 pixels, however, from the included manuel, it also says it does supports the followings from HDMI terminal:

480/60i
480/60p
720/60p
1080/60i
1080/60p

Anybody who are interesting, you can download the manual from Panasonic website for TH-50PX60U on page 42:

That just means it can ACCEPT a 1080p signal...it's just that it'll downconvert it once the set receives it...

Well, I pulled the trigger on the Costco Sharp 45" LCD. WOW! It is AWESOME! GDog was right on with his reviews of this set. The Blacks are Black and the color is vivid! HD is amazing and SD is great! I was pleasantly surprised with the excellent quality of the SD. It is a tremendous buy. I don't think there are a whole lot of these sets out there, so if you want one, you better grab it. I highly recommend the set.

I played around with my settings, using various settings and combinations from the posters on this forum, and from internet reviews. For my house, my current settings work phenomenal for HD, Digital Cable, and SD. Woooo Hoooo!!! I can post them if anyone is interested. GDog, thanks for the tip on the Sharp!

Congrats cool ! There are so few of us out there that really know what a great tv this is. So many on this forum are so hell bent on 1080p they are looking past important things like black level, contrast ratio and response time which this set rocks the house on !
Im sitting here looking at Batman Begins in HD(with many dark shadow scenes) and it is just awesome. I hope the other guy here who bought his set and says the blacks are grey exchanges his and gets a good one. Here are my settings for HD that look really good to me over HDMI input...feeding the set 1080i from my cable box(I tried 720P and it did not look as good)
OPC: Off
Backlight: -16
Contrast +30
Brightness 0
Color -10
Tint 0
Sharpness +3

Color Temp-Medium
Everything else in advanced is set to default.

For SD Cable over hdmi
OPC: Off
Backlight: +5
Contrast +30
Brightness 0
Color 0
Tint 0
Sharpness 0

Color Temp-Medium
Everything else in advanced is set to default.

This works for me with my digital feed. I would suspect calibrating will make it look even better....
I maintain anyone who thinks LCD's have motion blurs and grey blacks have not seen this set. Its PQ is UNMATCHED in the daytime and is comparable to the best plasmas at night.

The only thing I wish this tv had was about 20 more inches in size but I dont have an extra 13000 laying around... :)

Congrats cool ! There are so few of us out there that really know what a great tv this is. So many on this forum are so hell bent on 1080p they are looking past important things like black level, contrast ratio and response time which this set rocks the house on !
Im sitting here looking at Batman Begins in HD(with many dark shadow scenes) and it is just awesome. I hope the other guy here who bought his set and says the blacks are grey exchanges his and gets a good one. Here are my settings for HD that look really good to me over HDMI input...feeding the set 1080i from my cable box(I tried 720P and it did not look as good)
OPC: Off
Backlight: -16
Contrast +30
Brightness 0
Color -10
Tint 0
Sharpness +3

Color Temp-Medium
Everything else in advanced is set to default.

For SD Cable over hdmi
OPC: Off
Backlight: +5
Contrast +30
Brightness 0
Color 0
Tint 0
Sharpness 0

Color Temp-Medium
Everything else in advanced is set to default.

This works for me with my digital feed. I would suspect calibrating will make it look even better....
I maintain anyone who thinks LCD's have motion blurs and grey blacks have not seen this set. Its PQ is UNMATCHED in the daytime and is comparable to the best plasmas at night.

The only thing I wish this tv had was about 20 more inches in size but I dont have an extra 13000 laying around... :)

Interesting. Why do you think your settings are so different than the reviewer?

OPC On
Backlight +2
Contrast 25 / 40
Brightness +8
Color +12
Tint 0
Sharpness -4

Also, how are is it to switch back and forth between settings?

I'd be interested in your settings. The review I posted a few posts ago had settings and I am wondering how different yours are.

First, GDOG, you the Man! Thanks again for the tip on this Sharp. It is phenomenal! And, I mean PHENOMENAL FOR HD, SD, and DVD, both in the day and at night. I love it! Also, WooBah, a great friend of mine, has one as well, and he loves his set. He raves and raves about this LCD! He was banned for posting under more than one scree name, although only the posts under his name were his. The rest of the screen names belonged to his neighbors. They share a high speed wireless connection; it is pretty cool.

Well, back to the Sharp. This is One GREAT BUY! My settings work for me in my house. They work in both the daylight and at night with no lights on. Give it a try and tweak for your situation if needed. Here are my settings:

Sharp 45" LCD Settings

OPC OFF
BACKLIGHT PLUS 4
CONTRAST PLUS 30
BRIGHTNESS PLUS 1
COLOR MINUS 4
TINT PLUS 5
SHARPNESS MINUS 2

ADVANCED SETTINGS
COLOR TEMP MID LOW
BLACK OFF
MONOCHROME OFF
FILM MODE OFF
RANGE OF OPC MAX = PLUS 16
RANGE OF OPC MIN = MINUS 16

37" LCD from Costco: Philips or Sharp

I am in the final stages of selecting an LCD for my bedroom and am strongly leaning towards buying at Costco. Primary viewing will initially be SD with HD in the future. As near as I can tell, the Philips is one generation behind the Sharp. It is unlikely that any components or surround sound will ever be connected to the TV.

Is the Sharp worth $400 more than the Philips. Reliability is an important factor and if the Philips has significantly outdated technology as compared to the Sharp, then that would sway me to the Sharp. That said, I would love to save the $400.

I'm also interested in hearing what folks think about this unit. Saw it yesterday at my Costco store.

I also really like the picture of the 32" Panasonic unit they had as well, but need a 37" size for the bedroom. Even while plugging in the settings provided by other forum members, the 37" Vizio's picture appears muddy compared to Sharp/Panasonic/Sony comparables. Haven't heard much positive about the reliability of the Philips units from anyone and seems to be similar in cost.

Does anyone own this 37" Sharp unit from Costco who can elaborate on it's performance? Thanks.

Interesting. Why do you think your settings are so different than the reviewer?

OPC On
Backlight +2
Contrast 25 / 40
Brightness +8
Color +12
Tint 0
Sharpness -4

Also, how are is it to switch back and forth between settings?

My settings are different because that what works for me in my room I have it set up in using my cables and my cable feed. It differs from set to set because no one has the EXACT same set up unless its your neighbor who had everything the same as me and he has a sony SXRD(which this sharp is comparable to)
Plus these settigns look good to me...no one has the exact same vision as I do either you know ?
Im going to buy a calibration disk too

That's why I said "IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY". I'm in Canada though so maybe the policy isn't the same as in the US.


Actually I just purchased a Viewsonic LCD for my son as a house warming gift. Before the purchase I double checked Costco's return policy vis a vis my purchase. The gentleman said..that their return policy on TVs was the same as on their hotdogs...a product (except computers) can be returned at any time if it is unsatisfactory. He did add, that I shouldn't try and return it 30 years from now...but otherwise there should be no problem. Needless to say, they got my business.

I have been raving about the Costco 45" Sharp LCD, and rightfully so from the picture sitting on my couch. The picture from my couch is phenomenal. But, I have noticed that LCD's suffer from off angle viewing. If I watch from my love seat or recliner, which are at angles, the picture is not as vivid; the colors are lighter. The picture is still pretty darn good, but there is a difference. I did not know that LCD's do not have full angle viewing. It is no where near as bad a rear projector set, but the picture quality does diminish.

I have not seen the 50" Panasonic Plasma that Costco is getting. At least from reading the posts on this forum, I believe Costco is getting this set. I will take a look at the Panny when it arrives and check the angle viewing. I may exchange the Sharp for the Panny if the angle viewing is significantly better.

There is also a thread below titled, Why I may Exchange my LCD for a Plasma, started by another poster who has the same issues. Any comments?

Hello,
I just purchased the 45" Sharp LCD. Since I don't have an HD feed yet I really can't comment on the PQ just yet. As for the person that complained about the fan noise of the TV. I do not have any noticeable fan noise. The fans are one but on my unit they run really quiet. In fact when my Dell Laptop fan runs, it's make way more noise than the 45" Sharp. Maybe you have a defective unit. So far the only thing I can hook up to it is my old Xbox on composite. It doesn't look that great but I figure it's because I'm not using component. Hopefully I can get new cables for my PS2 and Xbox soon.

I did not know that LCD's do not have full angle viewing. It is no where near as bad a rear projector set, but the picture quality does diminish.

This is a well-known issue with LCD's, and is one of the two main reasons I prefer plasma over LCD (the other reason being that I need at least a 50-inch set since I'm sitting 12 feet away, and I can't afford a 50-inch LCD at the current stage of technology).

Having said that, it is clear that off-angle viewing in LCD's has improved significantly recently, and varies between brands. And each person's tolerance will vary. You really need to go to your local warehouse and judge this for yourself. The warehouses are notoriously bad for judging picture quality in general, but it's fairly easy to judge the degradation in off-angle viewing even in the harsh viewing environment of the warehouse.

Hello,
I just purchased the 45" Sharp LCD. Since I don't have an HD feed yet I really can't comment on the PQ just yet. As for the person that complained about the fan noise of the TV. I do not have any noticeable fan noise. The fans are one but on my unit they run really quiet. In fact when my Dell Laptop fan runs, it's make way more noise than the 45" Sharp. Maybe you have a defective unit. So far the only thing I can hook up to it is my old Xbox on composite. It doesn't look that great but I figure it's because I'm not using component. Hopefully I can get new cables for my PS2 and Xbox soon.
Congrats madflava.
You really want to try and use HDMI input--it seems to be what the tv is built for.
This tv is very good on SD over hdmi WITH a GOOD SIGNAL. Of course HD is spectacular. Check out monoprice for cables...they are great. I assume I can mention monoprice because they advertise on this site.

I have been raving about the Costco 45" Sharp LCD, and rightfully so from the picture sitting on my couch. The picture from my couch is phenomenal. But, I have noticed that LCD's suffer from off angle viewing. If I watch from my love seat or recliner, which are at angles, the picture is not as vivid; the colors are lighter. The picture is still pretty darn good, but there is a difference. I did not know that LCD's do not have full angle viewing. It is no where near as bad a rear projector set, but the picture quality does diminish.

I have not seen the 50" Panasonic Plasma that Costco is getting. At least from reading the posts on this forum, I believe Costco is getting this set. I will take a look at the Panny when it arrives and check the angle viewing. I may exchange the Sharp for the Panny if the angle viewing is significantly better.

There is also a thread below titled, Why I may Exchange my LCD for a Plasma, started by another poster who has the same issues. Any comments?
Hey Cool..I sit a few feet off center and it looks fine to me but your setup may be much more off center. Maybe plasma may be better for you. I would imagine the panasonic would have a better picture at night(marginally--but better) but a much worse picture in the day due to lack of brightness compared to the sharp. and of course screen glare and image retention and burn in.
It all depends on your setup. The only TV I would consider exchanging my sharp for is a Sony SXRD 55". But who knows how these tv's will look in person and whether they have green blob etc. I honestly didnt expect to like the Sharp THIS much and it has exceeded my expectations. Hopefully you work out your situation with the viewing angles. I would move the furniture ;)
Now when sharp comes out with a 52" 1080p in 3 months who knows...I have a fairly big room that could probably accomodate a 60" if I choose. I am glad I bought from Costco with their great return policy so I dont feel trapped or stuck with anything.

Hey Cool..I sit a few feet off center and it looks fine to me but your setup may be much more off center. Maybe plasma may be better for you. I would imagine the panasonic would have a better picture at night(marginally--but better) but a much worse picture in the day due to lack of brightness compared to the sharp. and of course screen glare and image retention and burn in.
It all depends on your setup. The only TV I would consider exchanging my sharp for is a Sony SXRD 55". But who knows how these tv's will look in person and whether they have green blob etc. I honestly didnt expect to like the Sharp THIS much and it has exceeded my expectations. Hopefully you work out your situation with the viewing angles. I would move the furniture ;)
Now when sharp comes out with a 52" 1080p in 3 months who knows...I have a fairly big room that could probably accomodate a 60" if I choose. I am glad I bought from Costco with their great return policy so I dont feel trapped or stuck with anything.

Yeah, the Costco return policy was the major factor is deciding to buy this TV from them. I did the the Panasonic 50" in the store, it's the best looking Plasma that Costco carries but IMHO, I thought the Sharp had more vibrant colors when comparing the two. Also, I'm beginning to realize how much I don't like screen glare when blacks are displayed now that I have an LCD. One thing I have to say about this TV is the black levels are very good for an LCD. I was using my Xbox and set the TV to 4:3 with game mode on, and I could see where black borders and the black on screen met. And I'm still connecting via composite too.

Folks, I have exchanged my 45 Sharp at Costco last night and I have to say that blacks issue that I had with that was a hardware issue. I do like blacks on this unit now, it is very well presented. Off-axis viewing is an issue, you have to be fair about it.

Fan noise, again let's be fair and let's just say that fans are audible during silent moments and if you are used to fanless TV's then this one is noiser one. Noise is there, but it is not like a PC fan noise.

Folks, I have exchanged my 45 Sharp at Costco last night and I have to say that blacks issue that I had with that was a hardware issue. I do like blacks on this unit now, it is very well presented. Off-axis viewing is an issue, you have to be fair about it.

Fan noise, again let's be fair and let's just say that fans are audible during silent moments and if you are used to fanless TV's then this one is noiser one. Noise is there, but it is not like a PC fan noise.

Hmm--Glad you exchanged it and seem --happy ? --
I dont hear the fans on mine but I sit about 8-10 feet away. Off axis viewing I dont really notice as an issue...I am about 9 feet back and 4 feet off center. It doesnt bother me at all. As far as blacks...using my settings Ive wtched batman begins on hd and after a week I still cant take my eyes off it for the amount of detail in the dark scenes.
I have a 20" dell widescreen ultrasharp and when I display a all black screensaver(flying thru space) I see all sorts of light leakage and greyish blacks. Nothing like this sharp. If the panny plasma had no glare and 0 burn in/image retention issues I would consider it but it does and always will. There is no getting around it.
I will take a hard look at the new SXRD's when they come out--as well as the 52" Aquos...but as of right now I am loving the sharp. Gotta love costco--dropping all that dough feels a hell of a lot better if something you really love comes out 3 months from now.

Anyone have any experience with the smaller (32"-37") sharps, sonys or pannys from costco? I know they have a coupon valid in August for a 32" panny, but I can't figure put which one & if its worth the wait.

Anyone have any experience with the smaller (32"-37") sharps, sonys or pannys from costco? I know they have a coupon valid in August for a 32" panny, but I can't figure put which one & if its worth the wait.
See everything I wrote about the 45 inch sharp ?
It will all be the same for the 37. Its the same tv...smaller. :)

Has anyone seen the new Sony Bravia S-Series LCD TV's at Costco ?

How are they different from the Bravia XBR LCD TV's I see at Circuit City and Best Buy ?

Are the specs very different ?

Thanks, Tim

Does anyone have the specs behind the Maxent 50" plasma that is in Costco's summer flyer? Is it panny glass? LG? model #? Not much info in the flyer. I currently have the 42x3, which was a great deal last year; I'm hoping this one is similar..

Thanks!!

Does the Costco 45"lcd sharp do well with ps2 games via component? How about compared with the 50"vizio?

i saw a 40" sony lcd at costco, alhambra. any feedback on this lcd?

I don't know about the 40" Sony but I was looking at the 46" at Rex's this weekend. Looked really good but it only has one HDMI input. What's with Sony??? Every HDTV should have at least 2 HDMI inputs now, at a minimum anyways, with HD-DVD and HD Cable/Sat coming on strong.

I don't know about the 40" Sony but I was looking at the 46" at Rex's this weekend. Looked really good but it only has one HDMI input. What's with Sony??? Every HDTV should have at least 2 HDMI inputs now, at a minimum anyways, with HD-DVD and HD Cable/Sat.

True, 2 should be the minimum. The new Pio Elite flagship receiver has 4!

Does the Costco 45"lcd sharp do well with ps2 games via component? How about compared with the 50"vizio?
no experience with this tv(45" sharp) with ps2.
SD looks great on it...no motion lag on xbox at all and no screen glare or burn in. Vizio plasma is not in the same class. This is a top of the line 45" plasma from sharp. It is a 2006 model...review here..

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/lcdtvreviews/sharp-lc45d40u-review.shtml
Same tv except the one in costco has a silver/black frame.

Does the 45 inch Sharp have a PC connesction? Also it says that the inputs are all located on the side of the panel..how does that look if is mounted? I am guessing you will see all the wires.

Thanks for the review!

Does the 45 inch Sharp have a PC connesction? Also it says that the inputs are all located on the side of the panel..how does that look if is mounted? I am guessing you will see all the wires.

Thanks for the review!
Mines not mounted so I cant say...they are on the side but still on the back of the unit.
It doesnt have a vga connect but you can get a cheap dvi-hdmi cable and connect it that way...or s video.

Great..thanks. I am going to have to stop by my local Costco and check it out this week. Thank God I didnt blow $500 for the extended warranty on amazon..great thread!

True, 2 should be the minimum. The new Pio Elite flagship receiver has 4!
are you talking about a home theater receiver or a plasma tv?

"45 sharp with no vga is dissapointing. For xbox 360 I was told 1:1 pixel mapping with vga was superior to component. Care to speculate on rumor for new x box with hdmi that would make vga a moot point? Also, does this sharp have the 'zoom' feature, or is this not an lcd trait?Does this pannel seem to be on par with the new "50 panny?Looking for best 45" to 50" Costco pannel; Thanks for any advice.

Wonder how the OTA reception is on the Costco Sharp 45" Aquos. They look great at the warehouse.
Before I saw the Sharp, I was going to go with the 40"bravia LCD. Now I am leaning toward the Sharp.

Steve

To all asking about the Sharp...do a search for posts under my name--you will find all you need to know about the 45" sharp. Is it a better picture than the panny plasma at night ?
Its close but the panny maybe has a slight edge I would guess.
Is it better in the day ? By a mile. Does it have burn in or image retention? no, never. There is no glare...ever. Is it brighter than the panny ? Yes.

To all asking about the Sharp...do a search for posts under my name--you will find all you need to know about the 45" sharp. Does it have burn in or image retention? no, never. There is no glare...ever. Is it brighter than the panny ? Yes.

I thought everyone was talking about the 45" LCD Sharp ?

I thought everyone was talking about the 45" LCD Sharp ?

Yes.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8026828#post8026828

Yes.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8026828#post8026828

Thats what I thought, but why did he say it didnt have burn-in issues? LCDs dont have burn-in issues.

Thats what I thought, but why did he say it didnt have burn-in issues? LCDs dont have burn-in issues.
I was comparing it to the panny plasma--stating that lcd is a better choice for gaming and daylight viewing than the panny plasma.
And thats not to say the sharp 45" at costco doesnt have deep blacks at night to rival the panasonic. It does. MAYBE the pannys are deeper but its if the panny blacks are a 9 on a scale of 1-10 than the sharps are an 8---and it does so many other things better. No brainer to me to choose lcd but those who have already shelled out 3000 for a plasma may beg to differ :D

How much is Costco selling that 45" sharp for?

How much is Costco selling that 45" sharp for?

1. Read the Title of this thread.

2. It's on the Costco website.

Does anyone know if the Maxent in the passport book has a built-in HDTV tuner? I can't decide whether I should just wait for the Maxent in August (which I read is not going to be the M0x3 model, which uses better parts) or just pickup the Vizio 50". Decisions, decisions! :(

Costco also had an attractive Panasonic 50" model, but the model number slips my mind (and the price was about 1/3 more than the above two considerations).