After milling around Best Buy today a bit, I'm starting to consider a Plasma

[SlickSnake]

After reading some threads various places about the ToC bezel separating, I think I can use some tiny drops of superglue around the outside of the bezel edge where it meets the case to fix this problem. But if the TV ever needs servicing, it may cause a problem if they have to take off the bezel. You would think a few screws would have fixed this stupid design problem before some engineer tard thought of double sided tape to attach it, but you would obviously be wrong.

That being said, I still love the picture quality of the TV, and think it is the best LCD currently out there, but I would like to kick the guys in the nuts who designed the ToC bezel.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: scootermaster
Huh. I'm taking a look at that Panny TH-50PZ800U and it's looking pretty good. Seems like a better deal than their top of the line model. Although in the Cnet review, they said that it was the best bet, or at least until the "new" kuros come out. Have they? (I don't know how old this model is or when that review came out).

I'll have to look at some of them in person, but is this a decent starting point? Maybe I should start my own thread, but here's my parameters:

Budget: ~2k. I'm in CA, so that's 8.25% tax if I buy it here, which is incentive to not. (Hello Amazon?) But then again, there's shipping. Fry's and Costco are an option since they're both around here. I can go above 2k if there's a good reason to, but I also think I need to upgrade my trusty, die-hard Denon AVR-3801 (god I love that thing) to something that'll switch HDMI. And I might need a Blu-ray player too. And, of course, an Xbox 360. =]

Uses: Mostly HDTV. Some SDTV. Some Xbox 360. Likely some Blu-ray. Biggest use in the [near?] future: HTPC (likely blu-ray on this, as well as other stuff. So that's the big reason why 1080p is needed.)

Distance: Don't remember exactly, but it's probably 9-12 feet.

Picture quality is very important to me, so I'm willing to pay for that. I'm thinking 50" is a decent size for the room and the future. I'm not in a super hurry to get something, so if new models are coming in, say, December or something, I could be convinced to wait I also might be buying a 2k Macbook Pro, so I don't know if I need to buy a 2k TV right now (and a 1k receiver, and a $300 Blu-ray player, and a $300 Xbox, and, and and and and....=] )

Yes the "new" Kuros have been out for awhile. You can find the 50" here for a few hundred dollars more than the PZ800U. If you can swing the Kuro, I'd get it instead. If it is stretching your budget too much, the PZ800U is still a great panel.

 

[aphex]

I think my best bet at this point is just to wait till black friday. With the economy in the shitter hopefully BB will throw some good deals out there.

 

[tanama]

Hey There!

I wanted to purchase a TV for my sister and Im between two models that are in my price range for a gift. They are two different types of TV's (Plasma and LCD) but are comparable in size (42" vs 40") in price $700 vs $630 and that both are a generic brand (Element vs Polaroid)

I obviously want the best deal but Im a rookie in regards to TV's and Im branching out for help from the Tech Experts! Here is the information in regards to the 2 brands:

Element 42" Plasma HDTV #ELE PHD42W39US $700.00

Polaroid 40" LCD HDTV with Digital Tuner #TLX-04011C $630.00

On another note I have a friend that has a projector and doesnt have e TV at all....its pretty cool (theater like with surrond sound speakers) the bad thing is that he dedicates a whole wall to it and it has to be a closed room....

What do you guys think?

Thanx!!

 

[tanama]

Hey There!

I wanted to purchase a TV for my sister and Im between two models that are in my price range for a gift. They are two different types of TV's (Plasma and LCD) but are comparable in size (42" vs 40") in price $700 vs $630 and that both are a generic brand (Element vs Polaroid)

I obviously want the best deal but Im a rookie in regards to TV's and Im branching out for help from the Tech Experts! Here is the information in regards to the 2 brands:

Element 42" Plasma HDTV #ELE PHD42W39US $700.00

Polaroid 40" LCD HDTV with Digital Tuner #TLX-04011C $630.00

On another note I have a friend that has a projector and doesnt have e TV at all....its pretty cool (theater like with surrond sound speakers) the bad thing is that he dedicates a whole wall to it and it has to be a closed room....

What do you guys think?

Thanx!!

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: tanama
Hey There!

I wanted to purchase a TV for my sister and Im between two models that are in my price range for a gift. They are two different types of TV's (Plasma and LCD) but are comparable in size (42" vs 40") in price $700 vs $630 and that both are a generic brand (Element vs Polaroid)

I obviously want the best deal but Im a rookie in regards to TV's and Im branching out for help from the Tech Experts! Here is the information in regards to the 2 brands:

Element 42" Plasma HDTV #ELE PHD42W39US $700.00

Polaroid 40" LCD HDTV with Digital Tuner #TLX-04011C $630.00

On another note I have a friend that has a projector and doesnt have e TV at all....its pretty cool (theater like with surrond sound speakers) the bad thing is that he dedicates a whole wall to it and it has to be a closed room....

What do you guys think?

Thanx!!

To be honest, those are junk TVs. $700 is a hell of a budget for a gift, but quite frankly, not very good when it comes to buying a decent TV.

Does she want anything else besides a TV?

 

[aphex]

Looks like the price tanking has started!!!

http://shop1.frys.com/product/5678651

Samsung 46" 120hz LN46A630 (Matte version of the 650) is only $1299 right now

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: aphex
Looks like the price tanking has started!!!

http://shop1.frys.com/product/5678651

Samsung 46" 120hz LN46A630 (Matte version of the 650) is only $1299 right now

Oh my. That's one hell of a deal. The 630 is the diamond in the rough of the A series. A650 tech without that annoying glossy screen.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: vi edit

Originally posted by: aphex
Looks like the price tanking has started!!!

http://shop1.frys.com/product/5678651

Samsung 46" 120hz LN46A630 (Matte version of the 650) is only $1299 right now

Oh my. That's one hell of a deal. The 630 is the diamond in the rough of the A series. A650 tech without that annoying glossy screen.

Yea, but I have a fairly dim room, so I kinda want the gloss for the added contrast.

 

[SlickSnake]

Great deal on that set. I was able to price match Fry's at Sears when I got my Sammy 46" 650 series, then Sears gave me another 10% of the difference, about another $85 off, plus a good financing plan on mine. They had to price match Fry's since it was local. Normally, they add a shipping charge to the price match on delivery orders, but since Fry's has free shipping a lot on these TVs (dunno how they can do it at these prices!) I got a great deal on mine.

The 52" version of the 650 series is often on sale at Fry's cheap, too, but the reports of flashlights and clouding on that size/model are a bit more frequently reported online. And I saw uneven lighting weirdness on the 52" LCD 650 series display at Sears, too.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: boomerang
I've had my Panasonic TH-50PZ80U for about 5 weeks now. I'm very happy with the unit with one exception - power usage. My first electric bill with this set was about 30% higher. I started a thread here with more details. I'm anxious to see my next bill. I'll know in just a few days. A similar sized LCD uses far less electricity.

I just wanted to do an update on power usage. I just got my second electric bill after getting the Plasma and it appears my meter was read wrong. All readings on the last two bills show as 'Actual', no estimations, so I'd say it was human error. When averaging out both bills the increase was minor and doesn't look any different than normal swings in my electric usage.

Sorry for any concerns my posts may have caused. I realize there was no real response to my post in this thread, but I still wanted to make the correction.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: boomerang

Originally posted by: boomerang
I've had my Panasonic TH-50PZ80U for about 5 weeks now. I'm very happy with the unit with one exception - power usage. My first electric bill with this set was about 30% higher. I started a thread here with more details. I'm anxious to see my next bill. I'll know in just a few days. A similar sized LCD uses far less electricity.

I just wanted to do an update on power usage. I just got my second electric bill after getting the Plasma and it appears my meter was read wrong. All readings on the last two bills show as 'Actual', no estimations, so I'd say it was human error. When averaging out both bills the increase was minor and doesn't look any different than normal swings in my electric usage.

Sorry for any concerns my posts may have caused. I realize there was no real response to my post in this thread, but I still wanted to make the correction.

yeah, it did make me raise an eyebrow

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

Originally posted by: boomerang

Originally posted by: boomerang
I've had my Panasonic TH-50PZ80U for about 5 weeks now. I'm very happy with the unit with one exception - power usage. My first electric bill with this set was about 30% higher. I started a thread here with more details. I'm anxious to see my next bill. I'll know in just a few days. A similar sized LCD uses far less electricity.

I just wanted to do an update on power usage. I just got my second electric bill after getting the Plasma and it appears my meter was read wrong. All readings on the last two bills show as 'Actual', no estimations, so I'd say it was human error. When averaging out both bills the increase was minor and doesn't look any different than normal swings in my electric usage.

Sorry for any concerns my posts may have caused. I realize there was no real response to my post in this thread, but I still wanted to make the correction.

yeah, it did make me raise an eyebrow

I thought he had just posted the wrong model number, and actually had this panny.