Futureshop Norcent 42inch Plasma EDTV -> 1299

[bb]

well went ahead and ordered 2 units, one for me and one for a friend. hopefully i won't be disappointed...

[Traveller999]

Anyone buying the addional FS warranty with this plasma TV???
If so, What price did you get the warranty for?

[bb]

used my VISA card, and got an automatic warranty extension to 2 years (as the factory norcent one is 1 year). Many people do not know about this cool feature from VISA.

[isajoo]

I am happy with this purchase... I did a lot of research on this tv and on plasma EDTV/HDTV... and the reason I bought this is because there were a few plasma website that describe what is EDTV and HDTV and the differences...

on ANY 42" plasma tv regardless of ED/HDTV model...will never get the REAL HD experience reason being that the pixels for minimum HD content is 1280X768 or 1365X768 AND THERE IS NO 42" PLASMA ON THE MARKET HD or ED that can get that resolution.

(1) DVD material look better on an EDTV 853 X 480 than it would on a HDTV 1024X768 resolution. At DVD quality resolution
(2) 80% of the content available to viewers -- whether on TV or on DVD -- is NOT high definition
(3) If deliberating between a EDTV resolution plasma purchase compared with a HDTV plasma resolution purchase, consider that you will likely get around a 20% bump in picture quality with the HD unit when watching a good incoming HD signal. An EDTV plasma can display and HD signal, but only at its native pixel resolution after down conversion.

another thing to remember is that...here is the math.

widescreen 16/9=1.775 ....not exact

42" plasma EDTV = 1.775*480=852
852X480 - which is what 42" plasma EDTV's native resolution

standard 4/3=1.333 .... not exact

42" plasma HDTV = 1.333*768=1024
should be minimum 1280X768 or 1365X768
1024X768 - which is what 42" plasma HDTV's native resolution BUT IS NOT 16X9 format

that means that any edtv 42" plasma will have better 16:9 resolution.

[sbermunk]

Just thought I would correct myself...
I posted that there are very few full-HD (1920x1080) devices available, and that they are very expensive. I forgot that there actually are a couple of 37" LCD tvs available now (Sceptre, Westinghouse that I know of) for reasonable prices which are 1920x1080. I haven't seen these available here in Canada though yet, unfortunately.

[Mad.Whack]

Thanks guys... totally thought this thread died long ago, I purchased it, I'll just return it if it sucks, comming in on the 30th.... (Got the extra year from VISA too )

[bb]

anyone tried this TV out yet? i went to FS to take a look at the norcent, and the unit itself looks quite nice for the price. but when displaying the hockey game demo, the ice itself looked a little yellow when compared side by side to a samsung...

[pdotnet]

I'm pretty fussy about picture quality. I guess those of you who say the picture in futureshop was ghosting and blurry obviously the store didn't have it set up properly because the store I bought it from had this Norcent EDTV next to an Insignia HD and an LG HD (both over $800 more i might add) and I couldn't believe how comparable the quality was between ED and HD.

Don't get me wrong, HD is sharper, and when you're up close you can tell the difference for sure... but step 8 feet back (to where you'd be watching TV from) and the difference becomes almost indistinguishable. Nevermind that though, the fact is that when you take the set home you WONT have a room full of HD sets sitting next to it showing you the minor differences. You'll be able to appreciate the picture for what it is, and when I brought it home and set it up that confirmed it.

Got my Media Center PC running through VGA, Motorola HD receiver through DVI and DVD player, XBOX running through Component and in each case the picture quality exceeded my expecatations.

Like I said I'm pretty fussy about picture quality, and my stance was like most of yours - I can always return it if it's no good. Well, I'm keeping it! And it's a fantastic TV for a great price!

About the extended warranty - I haven't bought one yet but after reading the fine print of Norcent's Manufacturer's Warranty card I'm considering it. You have to pay shipping to California, so for fun I got a quote from fedex.com, $190 to ship - so maybe a FS warranty isn't such a bad deal.

Hope that helps!

[bb]

i'd have to agree with pdotnet. got my tv yesterday, and spent quite a few hours fiddling with it. For the price, it IS a great buy (price back up to $2000 now). Quality is 90% of a HD set. TV tuner could be a little faster when changing channels, but that is pretty much all the negatives that I had with it. It looks great too. Too bad that having such a large TV means that cable looks much crappier now I also hooked up my laptop to it, and it displays 1024x768 pretty well. Now I can surf from my couch