Saturday’s HDTV Deals

More amazing deals on this fine Saturday for your consideration:

Sears.com has the well-reviewed and well-regarded Sharp LC52LE700UN AQUOS 52” LED 1080p LCD HDTV for $1299.98 and includes free shipping too. Great deal (the best we’ve seen for this exact model, in fact).

Walmart.com has an amazing offer on their own Element ELDHW421 42” 1080p LCD HDTV for $499.00 with free in-store pickup as well. Astounding how low prices have gone, even if this isn’t a Sony or LG exactly.

Big News at CES (Literally): Sharp announces a new 60″ LCD HDTV model

Sharp has gotten into the HDTV game at the latest CES by showing off their latest and greatest upcoming unit, the ‘LC-60E88UN’. It’s gigantic, energy-sipping, and has lots of advances for smooth action pics.

You start off with a huge 60″ screen, and if that isn’t enough, it includes Sharp’s X-Gen panel technology with 240Hz Fine Motion circuitry for a smooth picture with action-oriented entertainment content like movies and sports.

And your electric bill will appreciate the advances too; the unit will be ENERGY STAR 4.0 standard compatible and feature a range of ports built-in, including 4 HDMI and a component connection. It’ll be released in February, and price hasn’t been released yet. Expect around $3-4K or so, in our estimation.

HD Pie: Sony grabs a piece of new Sharp LCD manufacturing plant

As planned and reported among insider HDTV blogs and mags, Sony has grabbed up a small piece of Sharp’s new 10g LCD plant built a year or so ago, which should allow Sony to grow its manufacturing muscle for LCD panels quite a bit in the next few years.

For now its small piece only equates to about 7%, but will jump to 34% by April 2011 or so, and other companies are expected to bid for space in the highly-regarded plant over the coming year or so, so expect a good number of HDTV units to originate from the Sakai City facility.

Companies rumored to bid on a piece of the pie: Samsung and Panasonic, as well as possibly LG. Times are good for HDTV companies (and consumers), indeed.

Alert: The HDTV Deals of the Day Returns (Limited Engagement)

Hark, the return of the HDTV deals, for a limited time only! Here they are:

AbesofMaine – Here’s a nice deal on a top-rated model: The Samsung LN32B460 32” 720p LCD for $479.18 – $15 off coupon code we have nicely supplied you with: “LOYALTY15″ (Expires 12/31) = $464.18, and it includes free shipping. Now you’re talking.

6ave.com has a very nice offer on the Sharp Aquos LC-40E77U 40′ 120hz 4ms 1080p HDTV for $749.00 and we even include a $53 off coupon code “AFLSHP696″ (Expires 01/05) = $696.00 and they throw in free shipping too. How can you turn that down?

Enjoy the fruits of our labor and no need to thank us….we at Screen Sleuth are always looking out for you.

Legal Blow: ITC rules Samsung was bad, bans import of some LCDs

We love us some legal dirt, so witness the latest legal blow struck by Sharp in the TV wars: Samsung was found to have violated some patents, so has barred Sammy from selling LCD TVs in the US (a least importing them from here on out) until its corrected.

The US International Trade Commission already ruled in mid-June that they had violated 1 patent from Sharp, but this ruling says they actually violated 4 in total, and handed down the import ban.

Samsung has said they will comply with the ruling, but also saying there will be “no impact on our business and our ability to meet market demand., and has also said they plan no meetings to negotiate with Sharp for now, so a workaround is probably the plan for now. We’ll see how deeply this impacts Samsung’s bottom line in the long run.

Early ‘Black Friday’ Action: Wal-Mart fires first shot in HDTV war

On Saturday November 7th, Wal-Mart fired a huge early shot in the prequel to Black Friday with some pretty amazing HDTV deals on certain models that will definitely set a huge bar for other chains to beat, and many of them won’t be able to, to be frank.

The 1-day deals included a 42” Sharp LCD, the LC42SB45UT for $498. Its a 1080p television that offers a 2,000:1 contrast ratio and 4 HDMI inputs that’s about $200 cheaper than many online retailers such as Amazon sell it for. Or maybe a 46” Plasma from Panasonic (TC-P46U1) for $788 is more your style? With a eye-popping 30,000:1 ratio and $300 or so off the usual price, it was a huge bargain.

Let the HDTV pricing wars begin!

Saturday’s Scandalous HDTV Deals

Does scandalous fit? Maybe, maybe not…but there it is anyway, and here we go with our great HDTV deals for the day:

BuyDig.com – Sometimes a deal on a highly rated TV surprises you, and this is another example: The Sharp Aquos LC46E77U 46″ 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for $999 with free shipping too? Yes indeed…grab it before its gone.

6ave.com – LG makes a fine TV set, and this is a nice offer for any room of the house not blessed with LCD tech already: The LG 26LF10 26” 720p LCD HDTV for $399.00 – 15% off coupon code we provide “AFLTV15″ = $339.15 with free shipping as well. Very nice, and we can personally testify as to the quality of LG’s TVs.

Thanks for reading, and please visit us again soon.

Explosion: LED HDTV makers growing in numbers

It seems LED HDTV technology is starting to catch on with TV makers; four companies have now announced plans to release their own models in the next 3 months or so.

The companies: Sharp, LG, Sony and JVC, all strong market players in one area or another, and all vieing for a piece of a (relatively) small pie at the moment. Prices are pretty high right now (mostly 2-3K range) for mainstream consumption, but its only a matter of time, like any other technology.

More about the models themselves in this article from ZDNET, including the 32″ Sharp LED model coming for only $1,099.

Fabulous Friday HDTV Deals

More great deals to consider:

OnSale.com – A very nice deal on a high rated TV: The Sharp Aquos 40” Widescreen LCD HDTV for $913.99 + shipping = $918.98 Shipped. Grab this up, as it may be pretty limited.

6ave.com – Yet more amazing deals with the Panasonic TC37LZ800 37” 1080p LCD HDTV for $888.00 with free shipping as well – hard to beat that!

Join us tomorrow for more astounding HDTV deals.

Feel The Burn: New Sharp Aquos with Blu-Ray burner

Sharp introduced the world’s very first HDTV line with integrated Blu-ray players last year, so what could be next, you ask? How about BR burners? Yep, they did it, apparently.

The next DX2 series lineup one-ups the original DX models by adding Blu-ray burning as well. These do not feature the LED backlighting of the latest displays later this fall, but will settle for the more than adequate 15,000:1 contrast ratio shared with the other D-series televisions from Sharp.

According to reports, these sets will burn up to 30 hours of HD video on dual-layer Blu-ray discs via MPEG4 compression, which is very useful for those who like their movies and shows HD. We like it, even if the price may be a bit steep for some.

The price: from ¥170,000 ($1,740 USD) to ¥480,000 for the biggie. Ship date is estimated at September 15 but may take awhile to make it over to US shores; mainly a Japanese product for now. It’s only a matter of time though.

Speaking of Sony: To buy TVs from Samsung?

We just talked about a deal to partner up with Sharp, but don’t think Sony is done with their partner dreams yet. It seems they’re talking with Samsung about TVs too.

Word from the Seoul Economic Daily newspaper is that it may also make some sort of backroom deal with Samsung on LED backlight TVs, probably related to their recent decision to go with cheaper backlight technology on their BRAVIA line in the future.

A word of advice: Think about this story while TV shopping, if you’re putting it off until 2010. The big price differences between models might not buy as big a difference in actual performance as you may think it does, as either of these two stories today have established.

Finally: Sharp/Sony LCD factory up and official

The recent economic problems have made things slow way down for this deal to go through, but Sharp and Sony have finally completed a billion dollar joint deal that has Sony taking a 7% stake later this year and stepping up to 34% by the end of April 2011, in a much-needed partnership between two companies struggling to sell units.

Production access is the big draw for Sony, while Sharp views this as the first of 2-3 deals to help them sell the 13+ million 42″ers produced each year to other manufacturers and companies under various nameplates.

The Nikkei says other partnerships with Toshiba and various other Europe companies are in the cards, so after October (when the plant will open) whatever name is on the front of your TV, there’s a 50/50 chance it will originate at this factory.

Sunday Siesta: 2 Great Best Buy HDTV Deals

Here’s some great HDTV offers to stir up your quiet Sunday:

Best Buy – A nice TV at a great price: The Samsung LN32B360 32″ 720p LCD HDTV for only $450 and free shipping too (In-Store Pickup). Talk about a deal! Expires 8/1.

Best Buy (again) – Yet another eye-popper: the Sharp AQUOS LC46D85U 46″ 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for only $999.99 w/ free in-store deal again. Can’t beat that at all; solid reviews.

Thanks for reading and come back soon!

Still Going, Just Delayed a Bit: The Sharp/Sony LCD partnership

We told you awhile back that Sharp and Sony would be joining minds in a LCD factory venture, but up until now, it’s just been a blueprint, and the details were being worked out.

Now its happening: Sony and Sharp’s LCD joint agreement will be finalized by the end of the month and Sony is expected to agree on investing around $1 billion in return for a 34% share in the swanky new LCD plant by next spring or so, and Sharp is expected to take the reins in early October, assuming things go well.

What does mean for HDTV fans? Cheaper and better TVs, as the two companies will swap a few trade secrets, no doubt. And cheaper and better is good in any industry, HDTVs included.

Thursday’s Thrilling HDTV Deals

We once again present more great HDTV deals for your kind consideration:

6ave.com – Great offer on a fine TV: The Sharp LC46E77U Aquos E-Series 46” LCD TV for $1599.00 – $465 off coupon we provide for your eternal joy: “AFLSHP1134″ (Expires 08/04/2009) = $1134.00 with free shipping too. That’s about the lowest we’ve seen on this model.

Newegg.com – You know how we appreciate our LG TVs and this is no exception: here’s an LG Electronics 42LH30 42” LCD Full HDTV for $899.99 – 15% off coupon code “HVD15″ we’ve given you (Expires 07/25/2009) – $50 instant discount too = $754.99 – with free shipping. Good stuff, folks.

Thanks and feel fee to come back and catch more great deals soon.

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Sales: DisplaySearch shows Plasma to best LCD in some tests

The past year or so has been pretty rough on Plasma, and yet we’ve said there are times and usages that Plasma beats LCD. And now the tests of a company whose specialty is TVs has backed that up. The  “old” gas capsule technology is considered outdated in many circles, but test results don’t lie.

The lineup of 2008 top of the line LCDs from Samsung, Sharp and Sony were carefully calibrated and compared against a top-end Pansonic plasma TV.

Here’s the full details of the test, but the gist is: the plasma set beat all of the LCDs in contrast, color accuracy and black level, and in some cases, it wasn’t even close. That should be alarming for those who know that Plasma is on its way out for most companies, but it appears maybe it could be another Beta vs. VHS kind of situation (Beta was also clearly superior in sound and picture quality, but lost the cassette tape wars anyway and faded away).

Thursday’s Tempting HDTV Deals

Yes, once again we present our great, now almost famous HDTV deals of the day, a pair of amazing offers from 6th Avenue Electronics:

6ave.com – The LG 42” 720p Plasma HDTV for $799.00 – $150 off coupon code we provide for you “AFLLGE649″ = $649.00 with free shipping as well. Hard to beat this; LG makes a solid Plasma HDTV.

6ave.com – Yet another nice deal: The Sharp LC32E67U 32” 1080p LCD HDTV for $699.00 – $91 off coupon code we once again provide for you “AFLSHP608″ = $608.00 with free shipping to you. Well reviewed, very solid TV set for any home.

Hope you soaked in the savings, and we’ll see you again tomorrow for more HDTV temptation.

Release News: Sharp announces its new AQUOS HDTV Line

CEDIA (a fanatical home theater related show) is only two months away, but Sharp wasn’t content to wait until then to announce a bunch of new AQUOS TVs.

First off, we’re taking a look at their first LED-backlit AQUOS TV, which will be available in 52″ (LC-52LE700UN), 46″ (LC-46LE700UN), 40″ (LC-40E700UN) and 32″ (LC-32LE700UN) screen sizes. That’s quite a bit of variety in size there.

Each of the sets features full 1080p resolutions, a new X-Gen Panel (which supposedly leads to deep black levels that could be some of the best ever), a 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast and 176-degree viewing angles for great viewing anywhere in the room.

Sharp also debuted the gigantic 65″ LC-65E77UM and the 60″ LC-60E77UN, 1080p sets that are part of the E77 series and offer 120Hz tech, 4 ms response, four (count em, four) HDMI sockets and an RS-232 socket. These should really be something to behold.

More details about these to be released shortly, and we’ll cover them here of course when they’re released.

Wednesday’s Wacky HDTV Deals

Yet another installment of our now famous deals takes off:

RadioShack.com – Talk about breaking the price barrier – How about the AOC Envision 22” 720p LCD HDTV for $199.00 + free In-Store delivery too. No way? Yes way. Valid until July 5th.

6ave.com – Killer deal here: The Sharp Aquos LC46SE94U 46” 1080p HDTV – Black for $1499.00 – $311.00 off coupon code we have provided you with “AFLSHP1188″ = $1188.00 with free shipping as well. Great deal on a gorgeous TV set for any room in the house.

See you all tomorrow and feel free to peruse the deals above.

Sunday’s HDTV Deals

Here’s our deals for this fine Sunday:

6ave.com – One of the better reviewed TVs out there right now, the Sharp Aquos 40″ 1080p 120Hz LC-40E77U LCD HDTV for $868 – 5% off with the Sleuth supplied coupon code “AFL5” + free shipping = $825 total. That’s a little chunk for a big HDTV you’ll enjoy for many years.

BestBuy.com – How about a nice deal on a LG 47” 1080p LCD Full HDTV – Black for $997.99 with free shipping too. That’s a lotta TV for a small price, and LG always makes very solid TV sets.

Have a great Sunday, and we’ll see you on the flip side next week.

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