[Leeboy]

All of a sudden we are on the hunt for a 32 inch flat screen. The only deals i found were a Viso at Walmat for $288 or a Dynex at Future shop for $297. Any feedback? Thanks

 

[hugh]

Equivalent. At this price, these are basic sets with cheap panels and limited feature sets. Buy the one that looks nicer.

 

[ScaryBob]

I wouldn't buy either of those, especially not at that price. House brands are typically poor quality compared to name brand sets. Look for a brand name set (Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, etc), on sale or discounted. I see that Sony has a highly rated 32" LCD for $399 retail. At most stores, it should be possible to negotiate a deal on that.

 

[hugh]

ScaryBob, people don't have unlimited amounts of money. If $300 is their budget for a birthday gift then you work with what you have.

 

[ScaryBob]

That's why I offered a moderately priced alternative and said to negotiate and look for a sale or discount. Also, the OP also didn't say the budget was $300, he indicated that he was looking for a deal. IMHO, a highly rated name brand set (such as Sony) for $350 is probably a better deal than a house brand set for $300.

 

[cooper83]

If it was, in fact, a Vizio, I'd take that over Dynex any day.

The OP also didn't specify a budget.

Here are some models for a tad more $$$ that can be had for $330-370 listed from low-to-high at Future Shop, Best Buy, London Drugs, or Visions:

Toshiba 32C100U
Samsung LN32C350
LG 32LD350
Panasonic TCL32C22

 

[eimaj]

I picked up that dynex for my gf about 6 months ago and it has a fairly decent picture and sound for a cheapo 32". But I agree with everyone else here, if there was a name brand set within a hundred bucks at that time, I would have snagged one.

 

[TECHNOKID]

Samsung LN32C350

Yep, if you can up that budget a little, that one is close to 50$ more than your desired budget.

 

[cooper83]

I picked up that dynex for my gf about 6 months ago and it has a fairly decent picture and sound for a cheapo 32". But I agree with everyone else here, if there was a name brand set within a hundred bucks at that time, I would have snagged one.

I tried to get a decent picture & sound out of the Dynex with digital cable & DVD and it was horrid. Audible buzz/hum at any volume. If connecting to an HD source, the picture might be tolerable, not sure.
OTOH, it belonged to a friend's gf and she has no complaints about it. And she apparently can't hear the buzz/hum.

I agree with TECHNOKID, just cough up the extra $50 for a quality name brand!

 

[eimaj]

No buzz or hum on this one from what either of us can hear, but I wouldn't be surprised there being lemons from a house brand. I have run my ps3 on it and I used the langom lcd setup site through the ps3 to get the picture as best I could and it is by no means spectacular, but it is decent for hd. Some SD is tolerable, some is pretty weak.

Sound is not an issue as I had an old denon receiver, a couple B&W monitors and a polk audio sub kicking around so all is good on that front.

 

[Leeboy]

Uuuummm, well, our budget is actually pushing it at $300. Shes turning 15 and all she will have is a dvd player hooked up to it.( we dont have cable or satellite in basement) $350, with taxs, thats getting a little out of range. Thanks for all the info.

 

[ScaryBob]

I see that the 32" Dynex at FS is $10 off right now. The specs and reviews look OK too.

 

[ScaryBob]

Let the deals begin...

Newegg has a Sceptre 32" Class 720p LCD HDTV X320BV-HD set on for $280 with promo code CEMCKGJD76.

 

[Leeboy]

Hey Bob, Sceptre for $280. That sounds pretty good. Do you know anything about that brand?

 

[ScaryBob]

It could be Newegg's house brand. All I can suggest is to check the product reviews on the site.

 

[Leeboy]

I made a mistake, when i mentioned the "Vizio" brand... The Walmart brand for the $288 is a Seiki or something like that.

 

[stump14]

I bought the Dynex LCD about 9 months ago from FS and have had no problems with it al all. Very happy with this set.

The sound is decent and the picture is great with my TTV HD box. The 720P HD looks very nice as well. Save your money and don`t waste it on a brand name for a small set.

 

[ScaryBob]

I noticed that some of the house brands do have decent specs. Specs can be fudged so I don't take them too literally. Some of the cheap name brand sets have pretty lousy specs these days. They are probably older models being cleared out. LCD panels are evolving fairly quickly so it's usually best to go with a newer model. Some of those "sale" sets can be old stock that hes been kicking around warehouses for a couple of years.