Incredible new Sanyo 32" Flat Screen HDTV - Page 3  

It doesn't seem as though you lose resolution (but I'm not an expert on this), but obviously when you zoom an HD broadcast, you lose the sides of the image.

By the way, although this set allows PAP, it only contains one HD tuner and one analog tuner. Therefore, if you are viewing PAP, one side will be digital and one side will be analog (unless you have a external tuner). If this is unclear, it means you cannot watch 2 HD broadcasts at the same time (or 2 analog broadcasts) without an external tuner.

Thanks for your help!! BTW, I would only zoom windowboxed 4:3 content, not 16:9.

Ben

Is it just me, or does this post sound like walmart's getting a free ride? Is it possible, for a store, to create a member on this post, and push the virtues of their product? Having just lived through walmarts friendly assault in Inglewood for their monster store, this post should be taken with a grain of salt.

It's just you. The creator of the post is a Home Theater enthusiast who just happens to work at Walmart, and found out about this before anyone else did.

Considering he has over 250 posts, I doubt they all are "Walmart is great" propaganda ;)

Apoligies if this posting appears twice, having problems with my internet connection.

My question is, how does one choose between the 32 inch 4:3 (HDTV)Sanyo which is supposedly going to be available at Wal-Mart, and the 30 inch 16:9 ???

Is it a matter of personal preference? Do you get more land area with the 32 inch when viewing your typical DVD movie ? Or would you get the same relative picture size with the 30 inch 16:9 (30 inch) screen? What about viewing standard cable broadcast ?

I assume they are both in the same price range.... So, how to choose?

thanks
mike

A good starting point is this comparator:

http://www.cavecreations.com/tv2.cgi

It shows that when displaying 16:9 programs, a 32" 4:3 set displays just as much as a 29.4" 16:9 set would. In other words, the two set varieties are almost equivalent for 16:9 programs.

But for 4:3 programs, a 30" 16:9 set displays only as much as a 24.5" 4:3 set! This is pathetic! Whereas the 32" 4:3 set, if it has a Zoom capability to eliminate windowboxing, can naturally display the full 32" of picture.

Considering what you wrote I would go with the 32 inch. If you are using standard cable, I highly recommend the 32" 4:3 over the 30" 16:9. You really have NO idea how the stretch modes will look on this Sanyo.

You get just a smidge under the viewing area with the 32" as compared to the 30" with letterboxed material.

Your viewing habits seem to lean more towards this direction.

Actually, in a futile attempt to find another retailer, I checked most electronics and department stores around my metropolitan area only to discover that the only place selling Sanyo is Walmart. Sanyo makes some very good products (ie. the PLC-Z2 HDTV projector), many of which are sold by other retailers, but Walmart seems to be the only retailer of their TVs.

This all sounds really great... aside from the fact that I'll never give Walmart one red cent of my money. What an awful company.

When Wal-Mart takes over the world they will introduce Wal-Tique. These will be boutique stores for 10-cent millionaires. We may get rid of competition with Wal-Mart, but we'll never get rid of snobbery or class-that's what drives Americans to produce. I don't dislike Wal-Mart for lowering prices or value on objects--I dislike them for lowering wages and value on people!

I have one more question for whoever has bought this set, what does it do with a 480p DVD signal? Does it double, upconvert, or leave it alone? I thank those who are helping me find out about this set!!

Ben

C'mon guys, let's try to keep it clean. We're talking about the tv, not the company. Believe me, nobody knows better than the employees some of the negative things about Wal-Mart, but there are always 2 sides to a coin. They are also involved in a great deal of good for this country. Personally, I think the bad and the good pretty much cancel each other out. I'll give you an example: critics bash wal-mart for sacrificing American jobs to buy cheaper products overseas. This is completely true. Here's the other side of it: Fortune 500 found in an extensive reasearch analysis (where they named Wal-Mart America's most admired company replacing GE) that right now Wal-Mart is the country's single greatest factor in controlling inflation rates. They estimate that our entire country's inflation rate would be as much as 50% higher if not for Wal-Mart. Does this justify the job sacrifices? Don't know. Nobody can know, because opinions will differ. All I'm saying is that you can't simply choose to look at only one side of a 2 sided coin.

*rolls eyes* I was waiting for this. Yes, oryan and I work for wallyworld, but that doesn't mean we have any interest in "selling" for them. We're both active members of AVS, and he just wanted to give a heads up on a new tv because we would be the very first people to know about giving that Sanyo is a walmart exclusive and all. The reason I work in retail is because I enjoy HELPING people find products they'll enjoy, not because I want to SELL stuff to people. Otherwise, I would have forced myself to go back to college.

edit: my thanks, btw, to goldm and other first buyers here who are providing feedback about this model. Since I couldn't find out for myself about the zoom modes and 720p support, I can now answer those questions for other people if it comes up.

I would be very interested in hearing more about 27 inch when it becomes available.

Thanks for the heads up, we are always looking for more selections as the new HDTV's come out.

Funny thing is: When Walmart hits a town, suddenly a lot of businesses, especially ma and pas, get shut down real quick like. And yes, the veil has been getting lifted on WalMart's behind the scenes activities.

They remind of the Borg in Star Trek. They're so big and they seem unstoppable. "Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated." :p

Let me tell you all a little story.

As you can see by my location, I live in what probably would be described as a medium sized town. Population is somehwhere around 250,000 thereabouts.

One thing I do miss about my former home was that I had a Best Buy, Circuit City, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and any other big chain you want to name within five minutes of where I lived. (That's about the only good thing I have to say about my former home.)

Now, you have Walmart and Super Walmart and Sam's Club. Period. There's a regular Walmart on the west side of town where I live, and the Super is on the east side of town. Kmart is about dead thanks to them, there is no Target, no Best Buy, no CC, etc. The closest BB and CC, and BN and Borders are 45 minutes away in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Wal Mart owns this town outright, and I don't like that. I don't like any one company having such command like that. The ma and pa businesses are being killed off left and right, and there is no competition against Wal Mart nearby. That sucks for the economy.

I have written every major company and begged them to come closer to our area and I am going to continue to do so. I don't want ANY one company to have that kind of command like that. It's wrong and it hurts the economy. That's nothing personal against WM per se.

WM has a little bit of everything, but not enough. I have become a real great Amazon customer since moving here! Their good about having latest releases of DVDs and CDs, but there's no backlog, so if you want to go deeper, you have to go to the Internet or drive to Fort Wayne if you live where I am at. That stinks.

Sanyo has made a genius move here. They will establish themselves as THE entry level HDTV thanks to the alliance with Walmart. Awesome move for them. Pity Zenith and some others don't get the idea and make simillar alliances. Sanyo is going to ultimately own my town in terms of the HD market thanks to this setup. Amazing marketing decision!

I so wish a Best Buy would move into town. That would shake things up mightily. We NEED a Best Buy here!

Just a FWIW anecdote for perspective. :p

OT:
Customers deciding to save a few pennies off a purchase somewhere else, coupled with poor management/service are reasons why stores go out of business.

I did a census search of Lima and it appears to have a population of 40,000 in the year 2000. Am I missing something?

<generic rant> for all the walmart haters.
If you don't like walmart don't shop there. You always hve a choice to go somewhere else.


Back on topic:
Walmart definitely has an edge when it comes to offering diverse products. But... The Sanyo's they had "setup" were connected with the worst posible connections. 16:9 TV's were connected via composite with dvd player in 4:3 mode. So there is a huge vertical black bar on both sides of the picture.

So here is a great example of where a mom and pop shop could highlight something that they could offer over Walmart. Expertise of how to setup a tv correctly to utilize the functions of a HDtv. As well knowledge and expertise.

bg

You may be right about Lima's population... LOL! Unless something real crazy happened. Bottom line: It's a medium sized town at best.

I don't "hate" WM, I just don't like the fact that they're the only game in town and for about an hour's radius. I'd say the same thing if it were anyone else.

WM 's prices are good, no doubt about it.

The ma and pa shop that sells TV's here is the authorized Zenith dealership that I did business with. Awesome! They definitely know their game! :)

I am seriously considering getting the 16:9 to hook up to my htpc. Has anyone bought the 16:9 yet? Impressions? Anyone using the hdmi port?

Also, any opinions on comparing this to the similarly priced monivision?

Is an adapter required to connect a DVI cable to an HDMI port?

Get the Sanyo. Much better package and future proof with HDMI. I own the Moni.

bg

Hey Q,

How is your Zenith treating you?

The Zenith is treating me wonderfully. I couldn't ask for more really. :)

Sorry, another question, but a little OT. I did a quick search but couldn't find any info...

HDMI is essentially dvi + digital audio, correct? I see there are dvi to hdmi cables, but are there dvi + digital audio to hdmi cables?

The question for me is... Sanyo or Zenith... I've noticed the Zenith Dropping down in price. Bestbuy is currently selling them for $808. The price difference between the two is probably going to be negligible soon. So which is better? BTW... I have never lain eyes on either of them :)

Well, all I can do is vouch for the product I know. The Zenith TV's are really made now. The c32v37 is the hot number around here, but it has a widscreen cousin, the c34w37, that is also pretty amazing.

They have built in HD tuners and they handle every signal I have ever thrown at it without any difficulty. Take the time to browse through a few of those Zenith threads and see what you think.

1-877-9Zenith or www.zenith.com can help you find a dealer near you, which is the best way, otherwise Best Buy, Circuit City, or www.wildwestelectronics.com. All authroized.

www.zenithservice.com will let you download the manuals to just about any Zenith product there is.

I don't know Sanyo. Up unti this thread showed up, I considered them cheap forgettables like Apex or Durabrand or God knows what else, but maybe that's about to change. Certainly on the surface of things, the new Sanyos look extremely promising but...I just don't know that brand at all.

I heard recently that WalMart is now China's 8th largest trading partner in the world - more than many countries!

Thanks Q... I've read through all the Zenith topics. Some of the problems such as the white line thing and buzzing/zapping issues concern me. Zenith also isn't known for high quality/durable products (according to consumer reports) The only thing (for me) that the sanyo has going for it is the reliability of the company. I guess I'll just have to wait until I can see them with my own eyes.