Fillyv, a few more things to consider.
First, I’ve done a significant amount of research on plasmas for my upcoming purchase. Panasonic, Pioneer and NEC are generally regarded as the current front runners in PQ. The Pannys get the edge because their blacks and details in dark scenes are better.
There are two choices with each of the manufacturers. The Consumer version (what you will normally find at Circuit City or Best Buy) come with speakers and tuners. The Commercial version does not include speakers and tuners. There is a noticeable price advantage for the Commercial models. If you are hooking the set to a receiver for your sound system, you don’t need to spend the money for speakers. If you will be hooked up to a cable or satellite tuner, you don’t need to spend the money for a built-in tuner.
Having said that, here are representative prices for the Pioneer plasmas from a quick visit to
Reseller Ratings ,:
PDP-5060HD (Consumer) = $3900
PRO-1130 (Consumer) = $5500
PDP-505CMX (Commercial) = $3400
Generally,
Visual Apex and
New Egg have the best pricing and customer service.
If I was buying a 50” plasma today, this
Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK is the unit I would get. It is very well regarded by its users.
Hope the information is useful.
