Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater What TV to Buy

I recently bought a Hitachi 42HDT52. No complaints at all, 2 HDMI ports, etc. Might be worth checking out at a Video Only store.

I was doing some more searching, and what do you guys think about the pioneer Elite series of 43 and 50 plasma sets? I know they are more expensive but all the reviews I read said these were the sets to get.

Filly, the Pioneer plasmas are excellent, but from both personal observation and test reports, the Panasonics appear to be just as good for a considerably lower price.

Holy crap...is that a reputable online dealer? Those look like excellent prices/shipping for 1080P technology. Especially compared to JVC's MSRP. I realize MSRP is crap these days, but those prices look real good...

Anyone bought from this dealer?

Nick

If you're asking about www.tapeworkstexas.com , thats where I bought mine. Excellent price and low shipping cost. This is one of the few internet vendors that I can say was a pleasure to deal with.

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.

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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.

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I will whole heartedly agree with that statement. Mine has been up on the wall for about a week and I'm more immpressed with it everyday. SD programming isn't exactly earth-shattering but watching Sky Captain and Bullitt in HD is freakin' sweet!!

What I didn't mention is that I am NOT buying one today, but willl in the fall. That's when their new 58" will be available. Can't EVEN wait.

probably just as well you're not trying to get it. they're backordered for about two months. apparently the factory makes a batch of 65s, a batch of 50s , and then a run of 42s. which might explain why it took 4 months for mine to show up! Maybe tomorrow i'll get some pics up of the new idiot box (or idiot panel now, i guess). Things have been busy at work so i haven't had much time for taking pics for y'all here.

Panasonic TH50PHD8UK