MNN - Mother Nature Network

Super Bowl XLVII (that’s 47 for those that don’t remember their Roman Numerals) is this Sunday and if you’re in the market for a new television, the upcoming game between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens means good news for your TV budget.  

 

Televisions of all sizes and types are on sale at retailers across the nation this week.  The post Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and pre-Super Bowl time period is typically one of the best times for television shopping, as long as you do your due diligence and sufficiently research what you intend to buy.

 

“This is one of the best times of the year to buy big, flat-screen TVs,” says Decide.com chief executive Mike Fridgen.”  Source: MarketWatch

 

Now that you know it is a good time to buy, you need to determine what type of television you want.  You need to choose between plasma, LCD and LED technology.  Do you want a 3D television or not?  What about refresh rate – the big game will look good in 240hz, right?

 

Of course, you need to figure out what size television you want and when it comes to TVs, bigger isn’t always better.  If you have a small living room, a too-big TV will be difficult to watch.  While buying a new TV may sound like an easy purchase, just stop by the local electronics store and pick out a TV, I recommend that you spend a little bit of time researching today’s television technology so that you can find the right TV at the right price.

 

Consumer Reports is a great place to start your research.  The Consumer Reports TV Buying Guide is accessible without a site subscription but if you want to find out which models the magazine recommends or look at TV ratings and reliability scores then you’ll need to subscribe.

 

There are other websites out there that provide reviews and ratings, though.  When researching any electronic purchase I head to BestBuy.com and Amazon.com to read user reviews.  Although these reviews aren’t the result of Consumer Reports’ fastidious testing, I’ve found that user reviews can be more useful at times.

 

Once you’ve thoroughly researched the type of television you want, the next step is to find the store with the best deal and go buy it.  I only have one last piece of advice, skip the 90 days same as cash type offers.  Sure, it sounds like a great deal but if something happens and you hit the 91-day mark without paying off your new Super Bowl television, you’ll be hit with retroactive finance charges and other fees.  These fees could basically negate the savings you thought you were getting by buying a TV the week before the big game.

 

As for me, I’ll be watching my San Francisco 49ers continue their Quest for Six (Super Bowl wins that is) on my 55” 240hz LED television.  I chose LED over LCD technology because LED TVs are brighter and more energy efficient and since I have a large family room, a 55” model fits well.