kromike

Sony KDP65XBR2

I've decided on this particular model based on the wide range of specifications the unit offers. But I'd welcome your opinions on whether to go with buying local at your friendly neighborhood retailer, or going with mail order.

Obviously, mail-order (m.o.) can often guarantee a much better purchase price, but many of the m.o. shipping policies won't accept returns on HDTVs. And whether it's damaged during shipping or bad-out-of-the-box has got me a little skittish.

Now, I'm no stranger to mail order. I've built many home PCs this way and have never had problems. But given that this is a much larger big-ticket purchase, what would any of you recommend?

Thanks,
Karl Romike
Peoria, Az.

p.s. I saw the comments regarding X-Box. Has anyone thought of or tried hooking up a PC with a standard high-end accelerated VGA card to this or any other HD unit? If so, what was the result?

Mazdaspeedguy

I have and I will be giving this a shot when I get my Sony on tuesday! Will post my results on here!

grayvader

I had the same dilema when I got my 60WF655. I ended up going local (A&B TV) here in Austin. They matched 6th ave's online price so i really only had to pay taxes. For me, it was worth it to be able to load it up in my truck and know if I had issues I'd have local support. Not a bad trade off.

And, hooking up a PC to it via DVI to HDMI is easy as pie and works great. Hard to beat DVD playback using a PC (TheaterTek SW). I love it!

jeffbox

I think the answer depends on whether you are "obsessive-compulsive on saving money" or looking for a pleasurable experience that includes having someone haul it in, unbox it, set it up, and stand behind it if things aren't perfect.

I took the latter path. Got a good discount by citing Internet pricing and letting them know I wanted the Sony stand and service agreement as well.

It showed up at the scheduled time (not possible with a freight shipper). Two guys came with it to haul it up to the 2nd floor.

But the key value was this: After a few days, I found the unit had a couple bad pixels (my set is a LCD RP unit). I went to dealer to ask about it and got an instant response: "Not a problem...we'll just send out another".

It showed up, on time, with two fellows to do the swap. The 2nd unit is perfect and I'm most pleased (had it 5 months now).

However, if it had come mail order, I'd probably have been stuck with it or have to spend all sorts of time repacking, reshipping, and getting friends to help me move it in and out.

So the question is: What's your time worth to you?

Your mileage may vary, but here in the Dallas area I use Circuit City for everything because I consistantly get this type of service. (No, I'm not affiliated with them.)

Jeff Box