Shopping for Plasma TV - Opinions?

**Kevin P** · 30 August 2006, 17:08 Wednesday

Pannys are nice, great plasmas for the money. I have one in my family room. Pioneers, especially Elites, are excellent sets too, but are more money. If you like the look of it in the store, you should be happy, or I should say happier, at home once it's properly set up.

**dyazdani** · 30 August 2006, 20:06 Wednesday

Yep, that Panny is a nice set and the price is decent. My parents bought a plasma a little while back. They started off with a higher-end Panny (~$5k) but after in-store comparisons, ended up with a 50" Samsung.

My vote is to compare as much as you can (a video setup disc is helpful here) and get what you like best.

**kid320** · 01 September 2006, 13:09 Friday

I am now also looking at the Panasonic TH50PX600U. I am trying to decide between that and the forementioned TH50PX60U. They look like they are in the same line of displays, but the 600U has:
-VGA input for the PC
-PIP capability
-SRS TruSurround XT and Advanced Smart Sound Speaker System
-Cablecard slot
-A better looking bezel

I am debating on if I should do this because:
-I am probably not going to use the pc input, as I would rather use component cables like I am currently using. I am currently running my TV, DVD player and PC through a component switchbox. So, I could possibly eliminate the switchbox by upgrading and using the VGA input. Is this a plus? Yes. Is it worth the extra money? I don't know.
-The PIP would be nice, but I never use it on my current TV because it is disabled while playing HD content. I might use it on the new one once everything is hooked up. It would be nice to have my pc with the TV in the corner, but I don't know if I will ever do this. It might be nice to have the choice, but I need to decide if it is really worth the extra money.
-I am not going to take advantage of the televisions speakers and will probably turn off the SRS TruSurround XT and Advanced Smart Sound Speaker System because I am hooking the sound up through my receiver. I used the speakers on my current television for about a week and that was only because I didn't have a receiver yet. The only reason I would use this is if I were to get a new receiver and have some sort of delay between selling my old one and buying my new one. If this happens, it won't be a big deal and I won't mind listening through a tin can and a string if it means an eventual upgrade. So, this doesn't matter to me.
-I do not think I will ever use the cablecard because of its inability to be used as a DVR and I don't feel the technology is finalized enough to leave my cablebox just yet. If the technology were to take a few more steps and it were to become more mainstream, I would think about it, but at that point, this TV probably won't be compatable with it anyway.
-The better looking bezel is something that might be important to other people, but that's all personal opinion. Frankly, I don't care if it's made of tree bark sealed together with glue made from the smashed dreams of little children. As long as the screen gives me a good picture, I will be happy. That is all that matters once the lights are dimmed and the movie starts.

So, I am pretty much trying to decide if the VGA Input and PIP is worth the extra money. Even though the MSRP is $500 more, the prices listed online do not reflect this and I have found the 600U is not much more than the 60U in most cases. So, I am juggling my options. Does anybody think I would be making a terrable mistake if I didn't go with the 600U? If I find the 600U is within ~$200 of the 60U as pricegrabber and various other sites are telling me, I will go ahead and get the 600U. If not I will probably go with the 60U. I just don't want to spend all this money and feel like I "settled". Then again, I don't want to spend the extra money and never use the added features. I might just spend the extra money and then hide skittles inside of the cable card slot to make myself feel like I am making use of the extra features. Oh man, I hate decisions.

**Snap** · 03 September 2006, 10:30 Sunday

The LG 50PC1DRA is an awesome plasma. The price just dropped 500 bucks on those units! :T Last time I checked with the price drop the LG 50PC1DRA is less than the Panny. Plus it comes with a built in 160 GIG DVR.

I have installed several of these units, and I liked them so much I have one in my house. Very nice set.

**Clive** · 04 September 2006, 10:28 Monday

Excellent choices guys. I just installed the LG this weekend in my Living room. Great unit.......great price!

Kid you won't be dissappointed which ever one you go with. Keep the selection between two > three unit to avoid confusion. :T

**kid320** · 05 September 2006, 11:24 Tuesday

Thanks for the suggestion. I checked out that LG television online and I like it. I like the DVR feature being built in, but, then again, I don't. I will tell you why...

Remember when people had those all in one TV/VCR combo's? I never wanted to buy one of them because I felt there was too much to go wrong and that there was too much (at the time) "new" technology in it. If the VCR broke, you had to send the whole thing back. If the TV broke, you had to send the whole thing back. If you wanted to upgrade the VCR to a 4 head auto-tracking VCR or upgrade your television to a larger screen, half of the existing device is pretty much useless. What I am getting to is... I like a lot of features, but I don't like TOO MANY new features in my technology. That is probably why I won't go with the DVR being built into my television. I will check out this LG television in person, and if I find that the picture makes the Panasonic I've been looking at look like a rerun of Sanford and Son, then I will look at the LG a little more in depth. For now, picture quality outweighs the bells and whistles, but I do appreciate you letting me know that such a product exists and what you think of it.

It is still going to be at least a month before I make a purchase, but I will keep you all updated on my findings.

I don't want to totally change the path of this thread, but on another small note, what is everyone's opinion on someone dropping ~$1,500 on a new receiver with the technology where it is at today. Should someone wait about a year? Until the whole HD-DVD/Blu-ray war is over? Is there some kind of a new HD-DTS standard that the industry is waiting for?

Originally posted by Clive

HEY!! Why buy movie tickets when you can own a Theater?

At a home theater, you can successfully reproduce the sound quality of a movie theater, improve it's picture quality by leaps and bounds and make the seating much more roomy and comfortable, but you can never replicate the feeling that you get as you peel your shoes off of that sticky floor with every step. Does that answer your question Clive?

**Clive** · 06 September 2006, 07:43 Wednesday

:yesnod: :yesnod: :yesnod: :T

**aud19** · 06 September 2006, 11:07 Wednesday

I'm with you "Kid". Nevermind most cable/sat services require you to use their own STB's (cablecard's a joke IMO) which most have available PVR (particularly for HD STB's)... your just paying for redundant, unnecassary tech.

**RobP** · 06 September 2006, 23:57 Wednesday

Originally posted by kid320

but you can never replicate the feeling that you get as you peel your shoes off of that sticky floor with every step.

We in the industry refer to that sticky substance as "Cinemuck" :lol:

**dbphd** · 17 September 2006, 14:44 Sunday

Kid,

I have 5.1 audio (separate components), but I don't usually bother to turn them on just to watch a TV program (with certain expections like CSI:Miami, where the surround sound and LFE are as spiffy as the HD video), so the TV audio is important to me, but not simulated surround.

db

**Ralph** · 25 September 2006, 12:37 Monday

I looked at the pannys also & opted for a Sharp Aquos 45" lcd. I only look straight on, and have windows behind me that the panny would have shone a glare. The Sharp has a matt screen.

**kid320** · 03 December 2006, 18:34 Sunday

So, I finally did it. I ordered the TH50PX60U after it had a HUGE price drop. I got it for $2199 plus $99 shipping at newegg. It should be at my house by Thrusday. I will keep you all updated and hopefully get some pictures up. I plan on putting shelves under the tv to stack all of my AV equipment and computer on. Then, I can eliminate my computer desk and wall mount my monitor also. I hope everything works out the way I imagine. I think it will.

Thanks for all of your help and input. I appreciate it.
Jeff

**peterS** · 03 December 2006, 18:41 Sunday

dont use the factory color setings on the panny... you will burn it out in no time

**nopat** · 04 December 2006, 08:04 Monday

I have the non-DVR version of this (50PC3D). You are correct, this is a phenomenal set.

What are you using for display settings? I'm picking up the AVIA disc today so I can really calibrate it, but am curious what everyone else is coming up with.

**peterS** · 04 December 2006, 15:32 Monday

i am a fan of the 42" of this set do to its single pained pannel (like a pioneer)

in a 50" id opt for the samsung since lg uses a double pain in this size (as does everyone else but pioneer)

im surprised samsung doesnt come up more on this forum but am glad pannasonic is no longer blindly recomended as the "best"

infact the only plasmas that ive seen go dim on diosplay are pannys 8O

**peterS** · 04 December 2006, 15:34 Monday

also wanted to add (dont know if anyone else mentioned it) the dvr on lgs virtualy useless as a cable card or atsc tunner is the only meathod in wich to record (ie coax input)

current models amaizingly exclude the cablecard but I no longer recal if this model is one

**kid320** · 11 December 2006, 23:42 Monday

I GOT IT! WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!

I have said it before, but now that it is in my room I must say that it is truly AMAZING.

There is a picture. I hope that works properly. I got the tilt mount and there are a few things that I still need to adjust including the tilt of the screen and I need to blackout the lights on my ceiling fan so they don't reflect off of the screen when they are on. I am also going to build a nice wooden piece of furniture to put all of my equipment into, with a handy little hatch in the bottom of it to store and access all of those ugly wires and surge protectors. It is also going to have a spot for my computer tower. I am going to wall mount my monitor to the right of the tv so I can use the tv as a secondary monitor and send video directly to it. So, yes, it is going to be a little prettier than it currently is, and will also eliminate the computer desk from my little 12x12 room, giving me a lot of room to move around.

nopat - I ran my Avia disc today, and I came up with some settings. Now, I do not want you to use these and take them as perfect because our optimal settings are going to be different and I am in no way a professional. These are the settings that I came up with:

Picture: +16
Brightness: +5
Color: +5
Tint: -5
Sharpness: -1
Color Temp: Normal
Color Mng: Off (This is supposed to make your greens and blues more vivid, but I don't think I should have to if I am getting a good feed and have everything else adjusted properly.)
Other Adjust:
-Video NR: Off
-MPEG NR: On (I wasn't sure about this noise reduction setting, but I will tweak as needed)
-Black Level: Light

Make sure you do it yourself, don't just use my settings!

peterS- You said not to use the factory settings on the Panasonic beacuse I will burn it out in no time. I noticed when I turned the TV on, it was set to "Vivid" mode and the brightness was at something like +60. That is such a rediculious setting for them to have as the factory default. Why do they do this. First off, it looked as if I was watching a claymation special, and having the brightness set that high will KILL your tv in no time! Most people buying these tv's are going to plug it in and not going to know how to adjust the settings, and if they do, they probably aren't going to do it. So, why does Panasonic have it set so high?

I assume that the brightness is what you were referring to as far as getting burn-in in no time. My settings above looked good to me, I just want to make sure I am not doing anything wrong, considering the Avia disc seems like it was made a little before the birth of plasma tv's.

And no, this model isnt a cablecard. There is a 600u that has pc input and cablecard, but I am not going to use either of these features, as I am hooking my PC up through component cables and I am using the cablebox with the DVR.

Thanks for all of your help. I will try to update with pics as I get them.

**peterS** · 14 December 2006, 05:38 Thursday

^exactly
but people read consumer reports then buy it
horrible marketing decision
when i worked at bestbuy panasonic reps would routinely change the settings back

samsungs have the contrast too high too but nothing like the panasonic

**nopat** · 15 December 2006, 08:35 Friday

Originally posted by peterS

^exactly
but people read consumer reports then buy it
horrible marketing decision
when i worked at bestbuy panasonic reps would routinely change the settings back

samsungs have the contrast too high too but nothing like the panasonic

After reading reports about this, I was surprised to see LG put their "normal" at relatively tame settings.

nopat - I ran my Avia disc today, and I came up with some settings. Now, I do not want you to use these and take them as perfect because our optimal settings are going to be different and I am in no way a professional. These are the settings that I came up with:

Nice! I have yet to run my Avia disc, but was able to get into the service menu and play with some of the settings. There's a lot of life in these displays. I'm actually surprised they allow for so much configuration, even out of the box.

**Lex** · 18 December 2006, 09:03 Monday

kid320, first, I'd like to stress the importance of a good dealer for any major electronic item. this may or may not be online. There are obviously bad dealers both online or locally potentially. however, and I say HOWEVER, BEWARE of the New York/Jersey area "Electronics mafia"!!! What you say? Well, it may not be a mafia, but there are places that advertise cheap products all day long, and on well put together web sites, that look like they must be a solid and reliable company. nothing could be further from the truth.

Stick with one of the very major e-tailers, and ALWAYS check www.resellerratings.com on them before buying to make sure you won't be duped.

Examples of places to buy? Well, our own sponsor here Media Design is a great place to start! Give Brent a shot at your business, he's a good guy.

Next, I'd consider B & H Electronics, Adorama, possibly even Newegg. But be aware of EVERYONE's busted pixel policy. I know NewEgg says it has to be more than 5 pixels to be considered returnable. Myself, I say one is to many.

Lastly, I'll say, please don't run in and look at the local retailers, and then run online to buy. Support local dealers with purchases, not time waisting tire kicking if you do not intend to buy. Someday, the local dealer won't be there, unless we support them today.

Local service CAN be worth 500 more. I remember a time having 2 rear projection televisions go out on me within 2 months. Sony XBRs too, not cheap stuff. Fortunate for me, I bought at a good local dealer, that picked up both sets, and finally allowed me to change to a Pioneer Elite after so much trouble getting a good Sony.

**kid320** · 21 December 2006, 20:22 Thursday

Originally posted by Lex

kid320, first, I'd like to stress the importance of a good dealer for any major electronic item. this may or may not be online. There are obviously bad dealers both online or locally potentially. however, and I say HOWEVER, BEWARE of the New York/Jersey area "Electronics mafia"!!! What you say? Well, it may not be a mafia, but there are places that advertise cheap products all day long, and on well put together web sites, that look like they must be a solid and reliable company. nothing could be further from the truth.

Stick with one of the very major e-tailers, and ALWAYS check www.resellerratings.com on them before buying to make sure you won't be duped.

Examples of places to buy? Well, our own sponsor here Media Design is a great place to start! Give Brent a shot at your business, he's a good guy.

Next, I'd consider B & H Electronics, Adorama, possibly even Newegg. But be aware of EVERYONE's busted pixel policy. I know NewEgg says it has to be more than 5 pixels to be considered returnable. Myself, I say one is to many.

Lastly, I'll say, please don't run in and look at the local retailers, and then run online to buy. Support local dealers with purchases, not time waisting tire kicking if you do not intend to buy. Someday, the local dealer won't be there, unless we support them today.

Local service CAN be worth 500 more. I remember a time having 2 rear projection televisions go out on me within 2 months. Sony XBRs too, not cheap stuff. Fortunate for me, I bought at a good local dealer, that picked up both sets, and finally allowed me to change to a Pioneer Elite after so much trouble getting a good Sony.

Thanks for the help Lex. I actually already bought my tv, but I will write down that website for future purchases... that is some valuable information.

Thanks

**peterS** · 22 December 2006, 16:49 Friday

keep in mind that even big box stores where the people on the floor are not on commission the managers pay is bonus based

it was not uncommon to match or come very close to online prices if other items were being purchased (install, service, cables, clean power, etc...). just dont spend 2 hrs getting educated then demanding things at cost- two way street imo.

bb and circuit city are very aggressive in getting sales, if you are denied try again because those decisions are influenced by the daily and monthly numbers
my advice would be to go towards the end of the day or month
you can always ask BB for there best sale price in the last 30 days- it is not uncommon for certain models to be sold near cost to push sales

keep in mind that online prices sometimes are w/in 5-10% of the bigger stores cost if not lower- many times they actually pay more than the privately owned businesses. you will notice that some models are almost %50 margin where as others are sold almost at cost (westinghouse, maxent, etc)

my advice is to buy locally for a few reasons but when doing so estimate as well as you can what there costs are. if you are interested in warranty read the print and make sure it is in house not outsourced. another thing to be cognisant of is that locally we had audioking they were bought out by ultimate electronics. as with most acquisitions no liability is assumed- so bought a warranty? **** you.
as for out of house warranties we all know how rebates are handled so not much need to elaborate.
install should be in house too for obvious reasons (ie not third party)

the way my dad buys cars is to decide what he wants on his own and make an offer in paper. sooner or latter the numbers will justify selling a car at $500 above cost

**kid320** · 13 April 2007, 10:38 Friday

I hate to bump my own thread, but I have an update for you all. I also wanted to, once again, thank everybody for their help in this matter.

I got my Plasma mounted a while ago and had a friend of mine who is a cabinet maker make some custom cabinets for my A/V equipment. Here are a few pictures of it installed in my room:

The bottom left hand corner of the cabinet has my wiring and surge protectors in it. That piece is going to have a door put over it (which is still being made). On top of that, you can see my dvd player, cable box, receiver, etc. on two adjustable shelves. I am going to put some velcro strips behind the lip of the top of that section so I can hang some material from it when I am watching a movie and want to totally black out the little LED's on my equipment. To the right of that, in the lower section is my center channel speaker. Just above that is a slide-out shelf with my DVD case on it:

Sexy, eh?

On that countertop sits my computer and printer. Then, I have a little spot to use as a computer desk.

Everything worked out very well, and my room is finally in the form that I want it to be. There is one last thing that I need to figure out how to resolve. I have a ceiling fan with lights on it in the middle of my room. It creates a nasty reflection on my television. So, I put a piece of cardboard on my fan (as you can kind of see in the second picture). That works great in the winter, but when I have my fan on in the summer, I can not use this piece. I either have to watch everything in the dark or have that piece hanging from my fan. Has anybody had a similar problem? How would you resolve this? I am thinking about getting a piece of sheet metal to wrap around the neck of the lights (below the spinning blades) and extend out and down to a point that covers the reflection, but I don't know how to approach this. If anyone knows of anything that will help, please let me know.

Once again, thank you for all of your help. I really appreciate it.

**David Meek** · 14 April 2007, 16:55 Saturday

Sweet Jeff! :T

I like the cabinets a lot - especially the tops.

**Danbry39** · 14 April 2007, 20:54 Saturday

Agreed. Are those tops marble? Love Homer as well.

Only suggestion I have is that you might experiment with moving the speakers out a little so that they nose at least a few inches in front of the cabinets.

**kid320** · 16 April 2007, 09:49 Monday

I wish I could afford marble countertops :-d They are firmika countertops the cabinetmaker had left over from another job that matched perfectly. I will try to move the speakers out a few inches to see if I notice a difference. I watched 16 Blocks on Saturday night and there is a noticeable difference in the acoustics of the room. It sounds so much better than it did before, bouncing off of my computer desk and all over the place.

Thanks again for your help!

Shopping for Plasma TV - Opinions?

Shopping for Plasma TV - Opinions?

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