just bought this one.

52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV with Red Touch of Color $1799.99-$200= $1599.99 + free netbook or wii promo

I got the netbook, will probably sell it to offset the price.

8/31/2009 11:07:45 AM

I got the 650 a few months ago. You'll love it.

8/31/2009 11:31:44 AM

Just bought the Panasonic TC-50PS14 at Sams on Saturday for 1k flat. 1080P, 50 inch Plasma

Cant find any custom settings out there ... any suggestions on how to tweek it myself (any tools that I can use to do this?)

Also, I dont have any HD service yet, so I am looking at my alternatives .... and I have a question.

I have TW basic cable (channels 2-26). My TV did not auto-program any "digital" channels from the coax connection. On the specs, it seems like there is no qam tuner onboard the tv.

If I buy a QAM tuner, will I get the local HD channels? Or do I HAVE to go out and get a HD antennae?

9/7/2009 9:59:32 AM

After the digital switch over thing a few months ago I haven't been able to get digital channels over the time warner line either. I have basic cable as well.

9/7/2009 10:24:02 AM

Thats gay ...

I thought they were required to rebroadcast the digital QAM channels by the FCC? Anyone know if these rules changed?

Were you able to get all the local HD channels before?

9/7/2009 10:44:26 AM

I used to get a ton of digital channels.. I never really went through it and checked for all of the locals but I know it had to of been most of them if not all.

I can't even get PBS anymore in HD. If I could get digital over the coax I was going to setup an HTPC mainly for DVR so I didn't have to get one from Time Warner.

Also: What are you guys paying for the cheapest digital cable package from TWC w/DVR box? Cheapest I can find on their website is like $71. Is that right??

Found another one that says $17 for the "digital package" which is box/remote/blahblahblah. Gah I hate time warner. Wish I could get UVerse over here.

[Edited on September 7, 2009 at 11:17 AM. Reason : a]

9/7/2009 11:10:38 AM

Went to Sams in the afternoon, bought the little cheap $15 antenna (flat RCA one that looks really flimsy) ... and I get all the local channels in HD. Pretty Clear too! We will be dropping our basic cable service now (TNT and USA are not worth 12 bucks a month by themselves).

I am going to try making my own antenna today, per the youtube coat hanger antenna video, and see if its even more clear (yesterday was cloudy and rainy, and it still had an almost perfect picture. Every once in a while, I would get this digital video jitter shit, or pause, but it wasn't often enough to really matter). US Open and PGA golf looked pretty awesome.

Sure wish I could pay $10 a month just to add ESPN HD to my local service, and I would be all set, but its definitely not worth the 35 or whatever per month that TWC rapes you for to get that one channel that I want.

[Edited on September 8, 2009 at 8:35 AM. Reason : .]

9/8/2009 8:34:22 AM

Loving my new Samsung.

I didn't realize this before buying it, but it will decode all of the standard codecs out there, and you can play digital music/video using the USB ports either with a thumbdrive or external hard drive. Additionally it has an ethernet port that currently allows you to pull weather and stock data from the intarwebs. Really, it seems that it's only a firmware update away from having full DLNA client capability.

9/8/2009 12:28:51 PM

Damn, I didn't know it could do that. Does it have some built in app for that?

9/8/2009 2:10:04 PM

presumably it's a firmware based function, I haven't actually tried either, but maybe tonight i'll throw one of my ripped movies on a thumbdrive and see how it works.

here's a table of the supported codecs:

9/8/2009 5:43:38 PM

so is it better to get a 720p with 600Hz or 1080p with 60 Hz

12/1/2009 6:35:04 PM

don't buy a plasma

that should answer your question

12/2/2009 8:30:52 AM

I generally believe that the people who claim to tell a huge difference between 60Hz and 120Hz are full of shit and just want to justify the extra they spent on their set.

Granted right now there aren't many 60Hz sets left, and 120Hz has become the default. Now we have 240Hz sets!!! gimme a f'n break.

anyways, go for the 1080p. Most people can't really tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, but if you ever hook up a PC to it, you'll definitely notice the difference then. 1366x768 vs. 1920x1080

12/2/2009 8:52:25 AM

Yeah, I wouldn't even think about buying a 720p set now. Given the right price, I'd definitely "drop down" to 60 Hz though.

12/2/2009 9:39:35 AM

^^the 60hz to 120hz miiiight be valid in terms of 'can tell the difference', but its moot since there really aren't any 60hz sets left. It is a valid concern when using 24fps sources though. The 240hz is total bs.

As for plasmas, the 600hz refresh rate is kind of a worthless marketing thing. Most plasmas will do a 60hz refresh rate, but when used with a 24 fps source (like blu-ray) you end up with pulldown. Because 60 isnt divisible by 24, you end up needing to do pulldown (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecine#2:3_pulldown) to get the 24fps source to display smoothly at 60hz. The result can be judder which is that thing when you see jerky movement in a panning shot.

LCD fixes this by using 120hz. 120 is divisible by 24 and 30 so it doesn't have to do pulldown for either standard tv sources or film sources.

Plasmas fix the problem by opperating in both 60hz modes and modes divisible by 24. Mostly 48, 72, or 96. Some say the 48hz ones can cause flickering so its best to go with a plasma that does 72 or 96hz. Normally this topic is covered in reviews so id look there before buying.

As for lcd vs plasma, the general concensus is that plasmas have better color reproduction than lcds, but its somewhat subjective. I have a panasonic tc-p58v10 and i love it.

12/2/2009 10:43:54 AM

Quote :

"don't buy a plasma that should answer your question"

12/2/2009 2:22:37 PM

i <3 plasma tvs

12/2/2009 8:25:28 PM

Anyone have a Panasonic Viera X1 42" plasma? How good/bad is this deal right now?

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1722543

12/7/2009 2:24:47 PM

Just in time for Christmas, I got this at the Big Screen Store

http://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-LT-52153-52-Inch-Integrated-Projector/dp/B002AKK8K0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1260214149&sr=8-1

Got it for 1499, extended 4 year warranty included. hell of a deal. the picture and sound are pretty much amazing.

12/7/2009 2:30:43 PM

gf has the 650. 120hz makes me fucking sick to watch. I can 100% tell when it's on. the moving elements on the screen look like they're in fast forward. I'd be curious to see if 240hz was any smoother for me.

12/7/2009 3:11:48 PM

Anybody ever had an issue with a TV that powers off any devices that are plugged into it when it gets powered off itself? My dad just bought a 54 inch Panasonic S1 and every time you turn the damn thing off it also shuts down the receiver and the Popcorn Hour that are hooked up to it. It's causing some unwanted behavior concerning the bootup time of the PCH and the activity setup of his Harmony remote.

12/8/2009 8:07:57 PM

Turn off the vieralink thingy. The feature that allows the tv to send power on/off comands to connected devices via hdmi.

12/8/2009 9:01:25 PM

Yeah, I tried turning that off but I'm still having the same issue. Maybe I need to power cycle it or something. I dunno.

12/8/2009 10:05:29 PM

Does the TV still do it if you remove the HDMI connection

12/8/2009 10:44:08 PM

I figured out what it was.

Rather than buy a new power conditioner my dad decided to plug his TV into an APC battery backed up UPS that he had bought for one of his computers. We had also plugged the Popcorn Hour and the receiver into the battery backed up slots on this UPS.

For some EXTREMELY odd reason the television decides that when it is powered off it's time to power down every other device that's plugged into that UPS. Even if the devices are not connected to the TV at all. I even plugged a lamp into the UPS and now IT turns off when I turn off the TV.

I'm not even going to begin to try and figure out why or how this is happening. I simply plugged the receiver and PCH into non battery backed up slots on the UPS (they're still surge protected) and everything works as it's supposed to.

Anyone know of a good reason why using a UPS designed for a computer would be a bad idea for a TV? I assume it's just as good, if not better than your normal everyday power conditioning surge protector, no?

12/9/2009 6:33:44 PM

Hey Erryone,

Looking for a new TV in the 46-50 range. Havent necessary decided between Plasma and LCD, but I think I maybe have it narrowed down in each option. I like the blacks, colors, and motion of the plasma; but, i think the lcd is a little more crisp and offers me a little protection from leaving my tv/xbox on for a long time without touching it.

Sony is $1080 with a PS3 at Best Buy, 46" and 120hz. Looks nice, friend has the 'W' model and I like it. Seems to have more 'pop' than the plasmas in terms of a 3d/flat picture.
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/sony-kdl-46v5100/4505-6482_7-33485092.html

Panasonic is like 1240 and just rocks out in all the reviews but Im secretly worried about the brightness and how the detail/pop will be, which I realize sounds silly (dont know anyone with a 1080p plasma).

Im not too worried on the price, I'd like to keep it between 900 and 1150 before tax. The Panasonic g10 just got such good reviews that Id be fine spending a little extra. Not too concerned with any streaming ability, strictly making sure over (a) picture quality, (b) ability to customize picture, and (c) sufficient inputs for xbox, blueray, home theater, laptop, and some kinda of usb/sd.

Ideas guys? I like them both a lot but seem to be stuck between plasma and lcd. Probably an even split between television and video games, some movies here and there.
http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/panasonic-tc-p50g10/4505-6482_7-33497901.html

12/9/2009 7:17:31 PM

soo

any recommendations for a cheap 42" or bigger LCD or plasma? The cheapest I've found is around $600 which I admit is pretty damn cheap.. any other crazy deals out there right now?

Don't care about the brand as long as it isn't shit and really don't need many inputs or any other extras

12/26/2009 10:15:36 AM

Just picked up a Panasonic TC-P42S1 1080p Plasma from Sears for ~$650 after Bing cashback comes in, really great set. Check out the threads on AVS forums about it, many videophiles own the set and it is on par with very high end plasmas when properly calibrated. It's been great so far, works great with a Panasonic BD60 Blue-ray player as well.

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1764536

12/26/2009 3:21:06 PM

cool

wonder how much i can get out of my old 32" LCD

anyone know what a Panasonic TC-32LE60 is worth? Can't find one for sell anywhere..

[Edited on December 26, 2009 at 4:42 PM. Reason : asdf]

12/26/2009 4:25:57 PM

cabnit for sell

12/26/2009 4:47:10 PM

SO

here are the options that are local and within my price range:

Panasonic TH-42PX80U - Plasma
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Viera-TH-42PX80U-42-Inch-Plasma/dp/B00142HLV4

or

Philips 42PFL5704D - LCD
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-42PFL5704D-F7-42-Inch-1080p/dp/B001RPHMKS

Any recommendations? I'll be leaving to buy one or the other in an hour or so.. I was leaning towards the Philips but I dunno. HALP!

[Edited on December 30, 2009 at 11:33 AM. Reason : price is exactly the same between the two and assume both are more or less new..]

12/30/2009 11:31:10 AM

If you can wait a couple more weeks you should find some great deals as electronics stores start receiving the new models and try to get rid of the older ones. New model deliveries generally start to roll in around the end of January.

I would take the LCD since its 1080p and at 42" you should be able to tell the difference. Although you can get 1080p plasmas for around the same price too...and in that case I would take a plasma.

Also hit up HHGregg...they are commission-based so you can haggle with them and drop their prices (which are already pretty low).

[Edited on December 30, 2009 at 11:38 AM. Reason : a]

12/30/2009 11:36:39 AM

well, i can't imagine seeing a difference between 1080i and 1080p honestly, esp with what i'll be watching on it..so i dunno. i like them both.

these are super cheap via days of lowballing on craigslist lol.. like $400'ish cheap.

still leaning towards the LCD but i dunno.. thoughts?

12/30/2009 11:42:50 AM

those are 720p and 1080p, so there's a lot more difference than 1080i/p

12/30/2009 12:04:04 PM

oops, misread

k..lcd it is.

12/30/2009 12:06:08 PM

in my opinion 1080i is worse than 720p. Progressive vs. interlaced is more noticeable than the number of lines (IMO).

12/30/2009 12:37:53 PM

well

what do you people recommend then

[Edited on December 30, 2009 at 12:56 PM. Reason : asdf]

12/30/2009 12:49:38 PM

Quote :

"in my opinion 1080i is worse than 720p. Progressive vs. interlaced is more noticeable than the number of lines (IMO)."

1080i isnt something anyone has to consider when buying a new tv. so his choice comes down to 1080p LCD vs. 720p Plasma. 42" is right at the point in the curve where you can barely tell 720p from 1080p when sitting at the appropriate distance away (any bigger and you can, any smaller and you definitely can't)...

when i was making this decision a few weeks ago, i was pretty set on 720p, thinking i wouldnt notice the difference...but i went to a store and looked at two 42" screens side by side and definitely noticed the 1080p screen was much clearer. i would go for the 1080p so that you have as much resolution as possible for the foreseeable future, and so you won't keep looking back second guessing yourself.

as far as plasma vs. LCD, theres a lot of debate but after reading tons of shit about each i think plasma wins for overall picture quality. especially for the price. the comparable LCD screens to a good plasma are 2-3x the cost (i.e. to get the same quality of black levels in even a low-end plasma you'd have to get a high-end LED-array backlit LCD, which run at least $2k). the "cons" people always cite about plasmas just aren't an issue anymore, like they were 5-10 years ago (power consumption is on par with LCD, burn-in is a complete non-issue unless you really try hard, and they are both just as viewable in bright rooms - however the plasma especially shines when you are watching it in a dark room, can't say the same about an LCD). don't fall for the newer is better philosophy.

so in summary, i would highly recommend getting a 40" or bigger 1080p plasma set from anyone except Insignia/Magnovox/all the other cheap-brand store-specific models. The one I posted above (42" Panasonic 1080p plasma) has been terrific, and there is an extensive community of owners who regularly post on AVSforums at your disposal.

12/30/2009 1:23:53 PM

got the 1080p lcd

badass tv

12/30/2009 9:49:14 PM

Great Room: TC-P46G15
Bedroom: LN26B360

Somebody recommend a 26-36 inch TV for a gaming setup. Samsung LN32B650 looks promising.

1/9/2010 7:35:20 AM

Seeking recommendation for a purchase four months from now.

Read a lot. Now looking for testimony.

Requirements: LED, 1080p, 55" or greater, 240 Hz drive

Really would like but not dealbreaker: Wall-mountable, no built-in speakers showing (i.e. sleek small bezel), authorized dealers in Maryland

[Edited on January 18, 2010 at 12:24 AM. Reason : ]

1/18/2010 12:19:10 AM

Can you afford Full-Array LED? If not, I would skip on the LED and spend the money elsewhere on the TV or on something else altogether..

Personally, if full array were out of the question for me, I'd be going with a plasma. But i realize that for some reason LCDs are what's hot on the street (as the kids once said).

1/18/2010 2:59:09 AM

^ Let's say the budget is $8k or lower.

1/18/2010 8:43:13 AM

hold out for the 3D tvs man!

1/18/2010 9:22:46 AM

Not a fan of 3D. Gives me headaches, it's gimmicky, and I disagree with the notion that the next step in the art of film should be 3D.

1/18/2010 10:47:56 AM

oh i completely agree with you, it was more of a jab at all of the recent tech media frenzy about it.

1/18/2010 11:03:39 AM

Quote :

"Personally, if full array were out of the question for me, I'd be going with a plasma. But i realize that for some reason LCDs are what's hot on the street (as the kids once said)."

yeh, plasmas are the way to go now. cheaper than LCD in any many instances (stick with Panasonic), deeper blacks, more natural look to colors/images, I think they blur less than LCDs, no viewing-angle issues, and the lifespan is nearly up there with LCDs. The only things to watch out for are power consumption, image retention, and room-/day- light intrusion.



[Edited on January 18, 2010 at 12:19 PM. Reason : .]

1/18/2010 12:18:11 PM

I just got a Sony Bravia 40Z5100 for $750 at the Sony Store in an outlet mall. Seems like a ridiculously good deal. Cheapest i've seen else where is like $1150. Its pretty cool, it has all the internet crap built in like netflix streaming and it can pull media from DLNA servers. It all works really great.

1/19/2010 10:13:16 PM

Picked up a Panasonic 1080p 54" plasma from BJ's a couple weeks ago for $1099. Great TV, I have always liked the Panasonic plasmas. I replaced a 42" 720p Panasonic that now gets to hang in my bedroom.

[Edited on January 20, 2010 at 2:33 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on January 20, 2010 at 2:37 PM. Reason : ..]

1/20/2010 2:30:12 PM

damn. these prices are getting ridiculous

1/20/2010 2:36:54 PM