[pommysmommy]

Originally Posted by airics

not even close.....

FWIW my husband agrees with you.

[airics]

on the Sony Bravia's you have to be very careful.. there are 3 levels of quality.. the bottom is the one that you find at Walmart.
BB carries all 3 levels.

The 46" for under a grand is the lowest level.

The mid level comes with an internet connection to watch movies..

[MediocreButArrogant]

It is true that there are only a handful of LCD panel manufacturers, and Sony is not one of them. Sony uses either Sharp or Samsung panels in their TVs, though they do have a joint venture with Samsung in an LCD panel factory where they (Sony) are the minority partner.

There's a lot more to a TV than the panel though. Picture processing has much to do with picture quality, and here most of the mfgrs have their own proprietary technology. Based on my experience with a half-dozen mid to high-end LCD TVs, I find I prefer Samsung's Auto Motion Plus to Sony's Motionflow, though I'd be content with a Sony Z series or XBR for anything other than the main TV in the house.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by airics

on the Sony Bravia's you have to be very careful.. there are 3 levels of quality.. the bottom is the one that you find at Walmart.
BB carries all 3 levels.

The 46" for under a grand is the lowest level.

The mid level comes with an internet connection to watch movies..

I'm aware of at least five series of models: S, V, W, Z, and XBR, and I think there might even be one more. Walmart carries the S series (the worst). Based on my own viewing, and that of people whom I trust, I would not buy anything less than a Z series.

Sony does make a KDL-46VL160 for Canada and the membership stores (Costco and Sams Club). This is actually not a V series, but comparable to a Z4100 model, so when Costco put it on sale for $1099 (with coupon) recently it was a steal. I think it may still be on sale at costco.com (nope, just checked).

The network connection on all these TVs is pretty useless, because of limited codec and media container support, as well as limited or no aspect ratio control. Better to pay a couple hundred bucks for one of these and stream your content from it.

[airics]

Originally Posted by MediocreButArrogant

I'm aware of at least five series of models: S, V, W, Z, and XBR, and I think there might even be one more. Walmart carries the S series (the worst). Based on my own viewing, and that of people whom I trust, I would not buy anything less than a Z series.

Sony does make a KDL-46VL160 for Canada and the membership stores (Costco and Sams Club). This is actually not a V series, but comparable to a Z4100 model, so when Costco put it on sale for $1099 (with coupon) recently it was a steal. I think it may still be on sale at costco.com (nope, just checked).

The network connection on all these TVs is pretty useless, because of limited codec and media container support, as well as limited or no aspect ratio control. Better to pay a couple hundred bucks for one of these and stream your content from it.

forgot about the w and xbr... and you are correct the costco/samsclub tv was a steal.. i have 2 of the 46" models in cleveland, i bought them a year ago for 1299. but they both came with 80 downloadable movies each with the internet connector (free)

[mojavedxer]

Originally Posted by pommysmommy

I suspect that most of these brands are assembled at the same overseas factories and are almost identical.

Your not far from the truth. There is a plant in China turning out these low end LCD's under the Sony, Samsung, Philips, Sanyo, Westinghouse, Insignia, ect, ect. Like what was already posted, it takes more than indentical pannels to create an unit. The scaling and deinterlacing chips used plays a big part of it. Cheap power supplies will also hinder a LCD performance. Personally Im not a big fan of LCD since my majority of veiwing is movies via DVD and HDDVD / Blu-ray. I perfer the later plasma panels put out by Panasonic and Pioneer. Getting an accurate ISF calibration is important to me and the current LCD pannels are not up to par at the moment to that challenge.

[aqualung8705]

I got my first paycheck from Hilton Grand Vacations today. It was only for 23.5 hours, but it was better than nothing. Hopefully with this job, and the help of my roomie, I'll be able be able to make rent. One thing's for certain, my computers will always be in good repair.

[mojavedxer]

Originally Posted by aqualung8705

I got my first paycheck from Hilton Grand Vacations today. It was only for 23.5 hours, but it was better than nothing. Hopefully with this job, and the help of my roomie, I'll be able be able to make rent. One thing's for certain, my computers will always be in good repair.

Are you having any luck with the commisions. I hope you can make a decent buck and get your finances back on track.

[aqualung8705]

I only got on the phone on Monday. No sales yet, but I'm getting talk time comission. Unless my roomie can swing something, we're going to be late on our rent.

[pommysmommy]

Aqua, do they give you a list to call? Are these people who expressed interest or cold calls? I could never do sales. Hope all goes well for you.