SquareTrade Warranty Blog

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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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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HDTV Warranty Sale!

Who says we can't celebrate the Super Bowl, too?  We like onion dip and quarterback rushes as much as the next guy.

And if you need proof, we're pulling 33% Off the price of any warranty you get for any television - tube, Plasma, LCD -  no matter where you bought it from now through Super Bowl Sunday (or February 3rd, for those who don't follow the pigskin).  That takes a third off our normal price, which is normally 40% less than what you'll find at most retail stores.

Just use Coupon Code SUPERBOWL at the checkout page to get the discount.  It's good if you add any options to your warranty, too, like an extra year of coverage.

You don't even have to buy your TV between now and then... if you got it within the last thirty days, it's eligible for a SquareTrade warranty.  Feel free to use the widget in the sidebar there to get an instant quote (it won't whisk you off the page unless you ask it to), and if you haven't found the television of your dreams yet, let's just say there are a few HDTV sales out there waiting for you.

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Cheap LCD TVs for Super Bowl Sunday.

It's that time again.  Now that we know who's going to be in Super Bowl XLII, it's time to start plotting the perfect barbecue feast, which combination of chips and cookies will best complement your flame-kissed Costco burgers, and who will bring how much beer. 

And then there's the new Super Bowl tradition: HDTV sales. 

Best Buy seems to be a little reticent on the issue thus far, so we'll concentrate on the many discounts and deals to be found at Circuit City.  We took a quick peak at their sale page, and found that in addition to 36 month zero-interest financing and a free autographed football, they've chopped the prices on some choice LCD sets (no Plasmas as far as we could tell).  They're advertising up to $800 off, but we immediately found a Samsung 46" 1080p LCD HDTV for $3200... which is $900 off their normal price. 

Oh, but they do also have that $800 off set, too.  It's a Samsung 52" 1080p LCD HDTV that's going for only $2200.  Is that extra eight inches worth an extra thousand dollars?  Depends who you ask, really.  Otherwise, you'll find a good collection of Sharps, Sonys, and Hitachis (among others) generally running in the $400-500 off range.  Depending on where you live, they'll deliver it for as little as twenty bucks, or you can opt for free in-store pick-up.

Getting more televison for less money means your SquareTrade HDTV warranty will cost you less, too... roughly half the price of a Circuit City warranty for better service.  Unless you use our 33% Off Super Bowl HDTV warranty coupon, in which case, it'll cost even less than that.  You'll even be able to add an extra year of protection if you want it.

Okay, we're ready now.  Who else thinks the Patriots have got their perfect season in the bag?

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Hitachi Ultra-Thin Plasma HDTVs are In.

It seems like half a forever ago (actually, last October) when we told you about those Hitachi Ultra-Thin LCD HDTVs that were only 1.5" thick.  Now we're hearing a that not only is Hitachi following them up with a line of equally ultra-thin Plasma HDTVs, but there's a rumor that Pioneer will crown themselves the thinnest of them all with a 9mm Plasma HDTV - for reference, that's thinner than a deck of cards - they plan to debut at CES. 

Hitachi's ultra-thins, however, are boasting a few surprises that sound awfully cool, but we're not sure the national bandwidth is there to support them quite yet.  The first may be loosing something in translation: the Similarity Based Image Retrieval System gives you an image search function on your TV, like "a movie scene or image on a camcorder," though they also mention a few law enforcement applications.  The other, Personal Video Sharing, lets you wirelessly share images off a digital camera and transmit them off your home server directly to someone else's Hitachi ultra-thin TV.  If they have one.  And if you have a home server.

But it's the dimensions that are really exciting at this stage.  Given how Plasmas are historically big and unwieldy, this could be the start of grand things.  Now that HD quality picture and sound has pretty much been sorted and television is all going digital by '09, the next big point of contention between television manufacturers is going to be who can put the best picture in the the thinnest package.  Expect everyone to start present ultra-thin televisions in '08.

And of course, they'll all be eligible for a SquareTrade HDTV warranty at an appropriately thin price for an amazingly deep service.

Oh, and Hitachi's also planning to display a concept "super" ulta-thin LCD at CES that's 3/4" thick.  We'll see how long that stays a "concept."

Ultra Thin HDTV televisions

Cheap Philips 37" LCD HDTV at Overstock!

We were just poking around on Overstock.com, and what did we come across?  A perfectly good Philips 37-inch Widescreen Flat Panel LCD HDTV for only $850.00.  Sound like a good price to you?  It should, because its list price is $2400.00.  That's right, they've marked this sucker down 65%.

And that means you can get your 3-Year SquareTrade HDTV warranty for only $102, according to the widget in the sidebar there. 

There can't be too many of these left, so early birds, worms, etc.

HDTV warranty

Olevia's new HDTVs set for CES debut.

It's only natural that after Wired Magazine ranked the 47" Olevia 1080p LCD HDTV over competition ranging from Sony, Sharp and Panasonic to Toshiba, Philips and Samsung, that Syntax-Brillian would move to capitalize on their good buzz.  And they're planning to do it with five new 1080p LCDs running with 120Hz motion processing technology.  Sizes will go from 42" to 47" to 52" and 55" and ending with a new 65" with everyone sporting JPEG/MP3 support. 

No word on prices yet, but Olivia tends to price under the better-known names (their current 65" prices out at a low-for-its-range $5500) for now.  That might start to change as word gets out about the quality of their work.  Naturally, you'll be also be able to put a SquareTrade HDTV warranty on them, though our prices haven't really changed since word got out about the quality of our work.

We'll keep our ears open, because these will definitely be worth a look when they debut at CES.  Expect a street date sometime in Q2 2008.

HDTV warranty, LCD warranty, television warranty