you got to be kidding me, the unknown brands can incorporate the new technologies faster than the big brands because big brands have to keep the same model circulation for years, while the small brands can and do bring new models every month. even if I had the money I wouldn’t buy it because the big brands have been monopolyzing the market with price fixing ever since I can remember, I am resentful for that, because I understand how they work.

Ahh, I love how the anonimity of the internet brings out so much instant hate/flaming.  The only problem with this is that most arguements on the internet have little or no thought/reasoning behind them an amount to name calling.  Everyone wants to be heard but most posts on the internet inn my opinion are the same as the ranting of a drunk in real life.
  Anyway, in more intellectual thought;  I agree with the author’s point of view that many low-end TVs are not up to par with big name TVs, however the low-end TVs are matched to a different type of consumer.  Processing/scaling is terrible in htese products.  As such items like DVDs will look like crap on the TVs when upscaled , however since most content in the US on HD channels is 720p or 1366 x 786 <—720p native PC Resolution, poor upscaling becomes a non-issue.  I think the better point the author would have is that low-end PCs are good for content today but not ready for the content of tomorrow and thus is poor buy in the long run.
  I personally don’t buy cheap electronics as they have a tendency to be outdated very quickly and to also break often.  Also, low-end consumer electronics have little or no warrranty as the author states which often make it more simple to buy a new item than fix what you have.  This is not only extremely wasteful finacially, but is also not so good for the environment.  This is the point the authro was trying to make.
  As an example nearly 10 years ago I purchased a $1k Yamaha RX-V995 5.1 reciever and to this day I’m still extremely happy with it.  To give you a rough idea of age of the unit, Component video was very much non-existant or in it’s infancy at the time of purchase.  The unit still works 100%, but I’m finally considering a new reciever for 7.1 surround and HDMI processing/upscaling.  Upon buying a new unit I will move this amp into my bedroom since it still works flawlessly.  Meanwhile last year for Christmas i recieved a cheap HTiB DVD player and speaker system.  I hate this unit.  I has problems playing burnt DVDs and sometimes even store purchased DVDs.  It has a single secondary input which is Composite video with stereo RCAs.  This input works only 5% of the time with sound (I’ve never gotten video to play back properly).  The only method of getting it to work is to walk to unit and physically turn the unit on and off until the cheap sound processor decides to work.  BTW it sound like ####.
  In closing, I suggest commetns in the future focus more on detail and less on name calling as the internet already has enough trash and junk that finding good information is difficult.  Put more thought in your comments and at least cite an example.

I have a Yamaha RXV995. it was dropshipped to my store on Christmas Eve 1999 as a free contest prize from Yamaha. I whored myself out that selling season and only sold Yamaha stuff instead of the Denon I normally would. the VCR input has since dropped dead (who cares) and the volume control frequently won’t answer remote commands (very annoying). other than that it still works fine.

I’m not sure why this is even an argument. The major brands have been heavily discounting their HDTVs this holiday season in an attempt to salvage sales (not profits) and there have been some exceptional deals out there, such as Panasonic’s TH42PZ80U 1080p plasma, brand-new, free shipping, from NewEgg.com.

And some of the Vizio products work very well, have extended warranties available for reasonable prices, and are also heavily discounted.

I see this press release as trying to salvage sales of HDTVs and related products by specialty AV / HT retailers, which are in for tough sledding in Q4 2008. Realistically, HDTVs in 50-inch and smaller sizes are becoming commoditized.

Even some of their “preferred” brands are having fire sales on HDTVs. Dell is now selling Sharp LCD sets!