Buying 1st Big Screen- Apex 51"? Please help (1 Viewer)

[ashley__cooper]

I'm looking to purchase my first HDTV and am looking at the Apex 51-inch HDTV GB51HD09 (rear projection). I was just wondering if anyone knows/ has an opinion on:

1- Apex as a brand and their HDTVs in particular. It's so cheap at $1100 and the specs look good (as far as I can tell) that it seems like there must be a catch.

2- How good this TV is or other Apex HDTVs are at showing movies using the 2:3 pulldown correction for watching dvd movies?

3- Will this tv display 720p images w/o converting them to 1080i? Amazon says it will display "Signal type: NTSC, decoded ATSC: 1080i, 720p, 480p, and 480i" I know 720p w/o conversion is a rare feature, but it is very important to me.

4- Is this really progressive scan if it says it doesn't have "Line Doubling"? What is Line Doubling?

Thank you very much for any thoughts, advice, or suggestions!

 

[Bob_Campbell]

Ashley,

For what it's worth, in main stream tv's in my opinion,
from best to worse, mitsu, toshiba, sony are the best.
Then par or sub par are jvc, phillips, panasonic. After that is every thing else.

However, to each his/her own. If your going to buy a HDTV RP, spend a little extra money and get your moneys worth.
The only place that i know that sells apex products is K-mart. Now knowing that do you really want to invest 1100 at K-mart on a tv? If you go with a sony or a toshiba you won't have to worry about questions 3 and 4. It will probably cost you an extra 300 dollars. Plus both of thoses companys have very reliable customer service, I can't say the same for Apex.

Good luck in your search,

Bob

 

[videobruce]

Apex is one of those 'no-name' names that was one of the first to have a real cheap DVD player that I remember.
That you can really 'throw out' if you don't like it or it craps out.
I doubt you would/could do the same for a RPTV!

I would also include Hitachi in thje list as the more popular.

 

[Mando-R]

Don't dooooo it!!!! Stay away from Apex!!! *huff puff*

I work at Circuit City, and we have the Apex rule, "If it's an Apex, don't promise or compliment ANYTHING" We've had so many people come in and buy Apex televisions, and whenever they say, "Yeah it's a pretty good deal huh? A 32" flat screen tv for 70 bucks...?" And our associates keep their mouths SHUT, because they don't wanna lose their job when this joker comes back with that Apex tv screaming, "He said it works great and the thing exploded! I want him fired!"

Those TV's are doomed from the day we bring them off the truck. Put it this way, if Sony's cheapest 32" VVega tv costs 699 dollars... Aren't you going to be a LITTLE concerned if another 32" flat screen tv with the same features, costs 399 dollars? I've dealt with Apex, and almost all of the TV's we have that come in for service, are Apex.

Stay away from Apex... It should be like an unspoken rule, like never touch another guy's shoulder, even if he's related to you.

If you want a good deal, Circuit City has a 42" Samsung HDTV RPTV, for 1399. I know it's not 51", but Samsungs projector TV's are the best that Circuit City has next to the Hitachi's.

 

[ashley__cooper]

Thanks for the warning, I appreciate it. Thought Apex had a bad rep.
Now I'm off to find a rear projection w/ 720p display w/o conversion. Not having any luck so far.
Thanks again.

 

[TimG]

If I recall, the only sets that do 720p without conversion are the dlp and lcd sets. I don't believe there are any rear projection crt sets that will display 720p natively.

TimG