DEAL2DIE4 - Akai 27" (Samsung Clone) SuperFlat TV with Widescreen Squeeze Mode $379.00 !! (no rebates needed)

[vulcanman]

I was at my local Sams Club this evening. Found a extremely sweet deal ...


AKAI 27" SUPERFLAT 4x3 Television that features the Wide Screen Squeeze Mode. The interesting thing is the front of the box says "Widescreen zoom" ... and I initially took it to mean that it would zoom letterbox movies. But I was just too curious ... got hold of a friendly clerk ... had him open the box and get me the manual ... sure enough it mentions three modes: NORMAL, wide squeeze, and letterbox zoom.

Still not being convinced, I had them plug the store unit to a video feed ... using the remote, I confirmed that it does indeed squeeze widescreen movies. What does that mean for you, you ask ? ... if you are watching an anamorphic DVD ... the widescreen mode will allow you to squeeze the horizontal lines to the movies aspect ratio ... so you will not waste any of the lines on the gray bars ... all of the lines will be used to display the image.

The TV has component video inputs ... and three S-video inputs.

I have yet to plug it in ... waiting for our 5-year old to get into bed ... before launching into this installation project ... its 8:40pm EST here.

The price for the above TV ... $379.00 ... not too shabby for a 27" flat that does wide squeeze ... right ?



----------
Just found out that Best Buy carries a Samsung 27" Pure Flat for $500 ... its supposedly identical to this set ... except that the Samsung is black .. and this one is silver

(less visible dust on silver case ... IMHO).

 

[AznRyda]

it's been this price for a while. :Q

 

[vulcanman]

I would like to know whether the Sony Wegas sold in the US also do Wide Screen Squeeze.

Also out of curiously ... not being an avid net chatter ... I want to know what :Q symbolizes ... pardon the ignorance.

 

[WiseOne]

yes Wega's do, dunno if in all models thou.

 

[ghetto buck]

Seems like a sweet price. Thanks vulcanman.

 

[VRoOMdesigns]

Linked

 

[DanFungus]

= happy
= wink
= sad
= embarrased
:disgust: = disgusted
= big grin
:| = mad
:Q = shocked
= laughing/joking
= cool
:frown: = frown
= confused

 

[unique]

It looks exactly like the Samsung Dynaflat Analog TXL2791F (but in silver, not black). Bestbuy sells the samsung for around 500.

It sports the 16x9 mode that the Sony Wega's boast.

At this price, its a steal (flat screen, 800 lines, etc...)

 

[Katana]

Yes, I've also seen it at Sams Club and it is a really nice tv, I wonder if they'll ever get a 32" version of it? It also has A/V inputs on the side to hook up camcorders easily.

 

[JamesSki]

good gawd, why is the warranty only 90 days?

are these refurb? possibly furbys? ( sorry couldnt resist )

but seriously, i dont consider $379 alot of money but i wouldnt be very happy if i bought this TV and it died 100 days later and i was SOL.

 

[vulcanman]

This TV is actually a SAMSUNG. My programmable remote control (One4All) ... uses the Samsung Discrete Codes (0060).

As per consumer reports ... Samsung TVs are very good.

I like this TV ... we watched "The Man with the Iron Mask" last night .. (the anamorphic Widescreen version) ... I changed the setting on the DVD player to say that the TV was a widescreen TV ... then changed the TV to widescreen mode .. the picture was astonishing !!!!

Very happy.

max

 

[poolshark]

American Express doubles our warranty on this puppy

 

[Brodequin]

I was just in my locals Sams looking at this tv. I think it has only one S-video input (correct me if I'm wrong). Unlike the website, the shelf tab says the warranty is one year on parts and labor.

Also, they had an Akai 54" projection TV for only $999. Not a bad price on that either.

 

[savagemikel]

I bought this tv a few weeks ago. I too confirm it is the exact same as the Samsung mentioned above. Also confirming only one S-Video input. Get the pdf of the Samsung manual here
It is a very nice TV. There is a short thread on the board about the wallet which is of larger than normal girth. Search "flatscreen" to find it.
I like the TV quite a bit. Don't even have a DVD. I'm going to get one I think. Do they all have the feature as mentioned above to choose "wide screen tv" or is that a feature I need to look for? What is that feature called?

Thanks and good luck,
savagemikel

 

[vulcanman]

99% of all DVD players in the market have a setting for the type of TV you own.

Even though the AKAI (Samsung) is a 4:3 TV ... it can squeeze the screen to a 16:9 ratio.

So when you buy the DVD player ... set it for a Widescreen TV.

I suggest you set the TV picture setting ... to WARM mode ... after that you set the colors using Video Essentials / Avia test DVD disc.

Here are my settings:

Color: 30
Brightness: 43
Contrast: 43
Tint: 50 50
Sharpness: 0

The picture on this TV (from DVD) is 2DIE4

Killer deal for $379.00 if you ask me.

Regards.

 

[vulcanman]

But Sams Club does not take American Express ... right ?

At least my local store does not.

 

[redmango]

1 SVIDEO /1 COMPONENT/2 RCA video inputs


R

 

[loup garou]

Got my father this TV for Christmas. Excellent TV for the price.

 

[DerProfi]

vulcanman, you are correct, sir. Sam's does not take Amex.

 

[Brodequin]

Samsclub.com takes amex, visa, mastercard, and discover. The B&M takes discover only. I don't think you can order on the website and do in-store pickup (again, correct if wrong).

 

[TheSaint51]

what does this tv do when watching regular tv shows?

 

[savagemikel]

I bet in your mind, in context, that was a perfectly reasonable question.

 

[vulcanman]

<< what does this tv do when watching regular tv shows? >>



This is a regular TV .. so it behaves like one ... except when you want to watch 16:9 DVD movies. A lot of people dont know what anamorphic is ... so I suggest you look it up on the web ... tons of places explain it in detail. This is not the forum for that.

 

[VirginiaDonkey]

I picked up this TV today. It is a very nice set. The only thing I don`t like about it are all of the auto settings for the picture make the reds and oranges bleed.

$379 seems like a good price to me for all this TV has to offer

 

[vulcanman]

I strongly suggest ... changing the picture mode to "WARM" ... and then adjust the settings ... reduce the contrast to 40~50
color to 35~45. Lower the sharpness to zero ... you will not like that idea ... but believe me ... it makes the picture very very clean.

Also ... I think in WARM mode ... it disable the SVM circuitry (most videophiles recommend that this be disabled)

The picture is VERY VERY nice (assuming a good source). I use component out from my Toshiba SD-1200 ... and the picture is excellent.