SquareTrade

Sony Bravia Ultra Thin HDTVs dated and tagged.

And now we're starting to see prices and ship dates for those ultra-thin Sony Bravia HDTVs they flashed at us back at CES.  Unfortunately, most of them are in Yen, but it shouldn't be long before we get our dirty hands on them.

What we're showing you here is the 46" Bravia F-series with its super-awesome wall stand, which seems to defy the very power of physics itself.  Still, considering it's only 7.4 cm wide and judging by what we see in the picture, its center of gravity is low and all towards the back.  Sorry to take the magic out of it.  This model and its 40" brother are 1080p with a 3000:1 contrast ratio, three HDMI outputs, one Ethernet, and two S-Video, and break out at roughly $3700 and $2700.  There's also a 32" 768p version that prices in the mid-$1800 range.  They go live in Japan on March 25.  You may now weep.

Too much?  There's also got the smaller (and 6-inch thick) M1 series ranging from 16 inches to 2 0 inches, with 1366 x 768 resolution and two 1080p HDMI inputs each running at about $1000 and $840, respectively, also starting March 25 in Japan.  But it'll be worth the wait if they hit U.S. shores with all the different color variations available.  Naturally, we had to show you the pink one.

And once they hit our glorious shores, they'll all be eligible for a SquareTrade HDTV warranty, with an option to add extra years of coverage if you want.  Try out the widget in the sidebar to get an instant quote, and then cross your fingers.  Sony has to give these to us before too long.  We've all been very good.  We swear.

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Samsung's 3D Plasma releases in March.

Kick that Buck Rodgers wimp to the curb; we're going the full Flash Gordon on this one.  After teasing us at CES, Samsung's 3D-capable PN42A450P plasma HDTV is set for a stateside release next month in 42" and 50" flavors. 

Now before you start planning to Skype your folks just to see their holographic images hovering in your living room, know that we're still on the old funky glasses technology, integrating DDD Group's TriDef 3D setbox into the set itself.  That still gives Samsung room to claim the PN42A450P as the first 3D flatscreen.  Now all you need is some 3D programming to watch on it.  Spy Kids 3D, anyone?

Seriously, though, if this can take advantage of all the Hollywood blockbusters getting the 3D IMAX treatment - including but not limited to the last few Harry Potter, Spider-Man, and Batman movies - it'll be worth having in your home.  Particularly as quite a few high profile directors (Spielbergcoughcough) want their flicks to premiere in that format.

Otherwise, we know the PN42A450P dishes out a 15,000:1 contrast ratio, 18-bit color processing and a trio of HDMI-CEC plugs.  And a SquareTrade HDTV warranty will cover it nicely at about half the price of a Circuit City or Best Buy.

They're not saying what it's going to retail, but you'll have to pony up $200 for two pairs of 3D glasses.  We just hope for that kind of cash, we're not talking cardboard frames.

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Post-Super Bowl HDTV Sales are On!

Now that was a Super Bowl.  Sure, it wasn't as wacko as last year's "scoring in the first thirty seconds of the game" event, and there wasn't an interception every other play, but there wasn't much doubt that both teams belonged in the Big Game, either.

And now, in the cold light day, you're wishing you'd watched it on a new widescreen HDTV and feel you should've bought one sooner, well, Circuit City feels your pain.  They've put up a number of HDTVs for a post-Super Bowl sale, but we'll just concentrate on two of the better deals we found there, both going for under $1000. 

Top of the list is a Hitachi 42" 1080i Plasma HDTV complete with anti-reflective screen that's going for only $900.  Which is crazy talk, to be honest.  But if you're one of those plasma burn-in worry warts, there's a Samsung 50" DLP Projection HDTV for $999.99.  It's only 720p, though, so you're sacrificing resolution for screen area. 

And naturally, you can get a SquareTrade HDTV warranty for either of them.  Or both, if you're so inclined.  And naturally, our 3-Year plan is less money than their 2-Year plan.  They won't match our 5-Day Service Guarantee, either.

Of course, the Patriots fans out there might not ever want to watch television again.  It's okay, guys.  If we'd gotten mugged as often as Brady did, we wouldn't have thrown too straight, either.

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Super Bowl Kickoff Special: on-sale Toshiba 65" DLP HDTV.

Okay, one more before the Big Game. 

We've been showing you sales on 42" LCDs and 50" Plasmas, and that's all well and good, but who's interested in watching the Super Bowl on a kiddie set?  Not you, that's for sure.  So how about a Toshiba 65" 1080p DLP Rear Projection HDTV for $800 off bluebook?  Circuit City's got one.  It's priced at $1400.  That stand's not included, but that's okay, because it's a television that's bigger than your children. 

And why not get Circuit City's warranty on this monster?  Well, you can read about how their FireDog service really operates.  Or you could use the sidebar widget to see that a 3-Year SquareTrade warranty is about $100 less than their 2-Year warranty, and better reviewed to boot.

And then there's our 30% Off HDTV warranties special going on through February 3rd.  Just use Coupon Code SUPERBOWL on the checkout, but only if you really want to save yourself even more money.

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More Plasma HDTV Super Bowl Deals.

Well, it's nice to see somebody's making an effort.  If Best Buy won't step up to the Super Bowl HDTV  Sale plate, how about Fry's Electronics?  Sure, they have the most annoying commercials in the known universe, but what matters that to our greed?

Just a little poking around on Fry's website (which is about on par wi th their commercials) revealed two very nice sets that will present you with a character-defining choice.  First, you've got the Samsung 50" 720p Plasma HDTV.  It's got Samsung's patented anti-burn-in technology, three HDMI ports, and a filter system to counteract bright environments.  It's fairly huge, and the picture looks pretty damn good.

Then you've got a Panasonic 47" 1080p Plasma HDTV, with twice the resolution of the Samsung, an anti-reflection coating on the screen and a built-in SD card slot if you want to show your digital photo slideshow in Hi-Def. 

Both normally go for $2000, and both are currently priced at $1400. 

Really, it's your choice on whether you want a bigger picture or a sharper one.  But either way you go, you can still get a SquareTrade HDTV warranty on it, for a lot less than Fry's or anyone else will charge.  And if you get it on or before February 3rd, you can get 33% Off on your warranty, too.  Just use Coupon Code SUPERBOWL on the checkout page.

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Deal of the Day: a Super Bowl-Ready Panasonic 42" Plasma HDTV.

Day three of Circuit City's Super Bowl-themed Deal of the Day series, and finally they've rolled out a Plasma.  That's a good thing, because usually it's LCDs that get all the love.

Today, however, is a new day, and Circuit City has kindly lopped $400 off the price of the Panasonic 42" Plasma HDTV (model TH-42PX75U).  It's a 720p entry-level set, which means it's not the top resolution and there's no anti-glare screen, but that doesn't matter if your lighting arrangement is decent.  Everything we've read on the model says it's a good picture quality, particularly for the money... and it's always nice to see a plasma panel of this size going for a cool $1000.  CC's still running their 36 month no-interest financing as well, if you're interested.  It's up for the whole of today, and gone tomorrow.

And just for laughs, here's a quick comparison.  Circuit City's 3-Year Advantage Plan for this Plasma costs $250.  We just used the widget in the sidebar to get a quote for a 3-Year SquareTrade HDTV warranty: it's only $120.  Same warranty, only ours works better.

Of course, if you use Coupon Code SUPERBOWL on our checkout page sometime on or before February 3rd, you'll get 33% Off that $120.  Just sayin'.

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Circuit City's Deal of the Day: LG 42" LCD HDTV.

And they're at it again.  Circuit City's still chopping prices on random HDTVs for one-day only sales, and today's special is $300 off on an LG 42" 720p LCD HDTV.  Oh sure, they say it's $400, but that's on the MSP.  They sell it for a hundred bucks under that.  The upshot is the thing will run you $1000.

Now, it has to be said that this isn't a top-of-the-line set... a better (and bigger) HDTV went on CC's chopping block just yesterday, for $500 off.  There's no way to know if tomorrow's daily deal might be better, but we've definitely seen better from Circuit City.  If, however, this television is right in your price range and you're not interested in a level of detail that lets you examine Denzel Washington's skin pores, you'll find the 3-Year SquareTrade HDTV warranty is equally affordable... much more so than Circuit City's. 

And if you use our 33% Off Coupon Code on or before February 3rd, it really becomes no contest.

That just leaves us with one pertinent question: Where are thou, Best Buy? 

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Great HDTV Deals for Super Bowl Sunday.

Well, we continue to find ourselves disappointed thus far with Best Buy's HDTV sale offerings, so we've pointed our browsers elsewhere and found many, many wonderful things.

Circuit City, for example, in addition to their other television sales, had brought back the Deals of the Day that were so popular last holiday season, only now with a Big Game twist.  Today's big deal: an Olevia 47" 1080p LCD HDTV.  We don't think this is the same 47" Olevia that took Wired Magazine's Best LCD award (over Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, et al), but even though the model numbers don't match up, the specs do.  And Circuit City's knocked $500 off the price, leveling it out at $1100, which really is a super deal.

Not content with that alone, we also found something in the "Size Matters" category.  Overstock.com has a 72-inch Toshiba CinemaSeries DLP HDTV, a projection television that will pretty much wins out in the More Power category no matter who your neighbors are.  Brand new, this sucker runs $4800.  Overstock's letting them go for $2650. 

Naturally, you'll want to make sure those sets are working for a while.  You can put a SquareTrade HDTV warranty on them for less than just about any retailer would charge, particularly if you use Coupon Code SUPERBOWL to knock 33% off your warranty's price.  It's good for any HDTV warranty purchased on or before February 3rd.

Downsides: that 72" probably wouldn't make it to your home before kickoff on Sunday (though you could still get the warranty on it with the coupon, no problem).  The Olevia?  Available for in-store pickup or free delivery, with 36-month interest-free financing.

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Best Buy's late HDTV sale.

Well, it's nice to see that Best Buy is finally getting in the game. 

A quick peek at their Midwinter Sale page - specifically, the 'too late to make it into the flyers!" page - and you'll find about a dozen LCD and Plasma HDTVs on sale in an attempt to one-up Circuit City's more robust sale.  The Best Buy sale has the benefit of including a few Plasmas - like $400 off the Panasonic 50" 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV - which Circuit City does not.  However, you won't find a discount much over $500 here... though that does put a good Toshiba 1080p 47" LCD down to a very affordable $1500. 

Also very affordable: a SquareTrade HDTV warranty, which is thirty bucks cheaper on that Toshiba than Best Buy's warranty (and better reviewed, too), and that's before you use Coupon Code SUPERBOWL to knock 33% Off your warranty's price.  Assuming you use it on or before February 3rd.

Despite all this, we still can't help but feel Best Buy's holding back, though we're not quite sure what for.  Are they really expecting people to panic-buy an HDTV mere days before the big game?  And of course, their lack of a free autographed football could be a deal-breaker. 

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Free Blu-Ray Player with Sharp LCD HDTV.

Week before last, we mentioned a deal at Best Buy for a free Blu-Ray player with purchase of certain Panasonic HDTVs.  Well, it looks like Circuit City's caught on to that action, because now they're making the same offer... only with Sharp televisions.

Now, you won't get the free autographed football for this, but if you pick out one of six Sharp LCD HDTVs, they'll automatically throw in a Sharp Aquos Blu-Ray player for free.  And naturally, most of the sets on this page are on sale, generally only $200-$300 off.  But considering that player (model BDHP20, if you want to check it out) prices at $500, an extra few hundred off is actually a nice touch. 

Oh, and we do have a 33% Off Sale for all HDTV warranties sold through Super Bowl Sunday (oh c'mon, you know that's February 3rd... everybody knows that).  Just use Coupon Code SUPERBOWL on the checkout page.  Even before that, our warranties cost a lot less and give you a lot more.  See for yourself: try out our quote widget in the sidebar and/or read our reviews.

Given that we saw this chart at Electronista today, which basically shows HD-DVD's hardware market share going from roughly 50% to 7.5% in the first two weeks of this year, we're thinking this wouldn't be a bad deal to take.  Nossir, not bad at all.

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