Best TV under 800

[bighouse]

What is the best TV under $800?

Will mainly be used to watch blu ray movies

[crackinhedz]

Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P42G10 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV ($962 + free shipping)

Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-P50X1 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV ($850 + free shipping)

Panasonic VIERA U1 Series TC-P42U1 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV ($800 + free shipping)

Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-P42X1 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV ($667 + free shipping)


...best TV for your money.

[bighouse]

I see at conns that the panasonic viera 46 s1 plasma is 799. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking some other tv before I made my decision.

Thanks for solidifying my decision.

[Kryptonic]

Sears has the 42 inch Panasonic S1 for between $700-$800 typically. $800 is it's normal price.

[garageinc2001]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P42G10 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV ($962 + free shipping)

Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-P50X1 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV ($850 + free shipping)

Panasonic VIERA U1 Series TC-P42U1 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV ($800 + free shipping)

Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-P42X1 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV ($667 + free shipping)


...best TV for your money.

+1 Absolutley no reason to be looking for any other type of Plasma tv. Get the Panny that closest to your budget and take it home and drool! For the record, I love my 42X1!

[robchaos]

I got my panny tc-p42s1 for $775 from best buy. Its a great TV for under $800. you should still be able to find it for around that price.

[maygit]

sears has the 42" panasonic S1 for $699.99 on sale right now. Plus if you have or apply(and are approved) for a sears card they will take another 5% off($35) making it $664.99. Happy shopping!

[JENKS]

This is a screaming deal on a x1 with a xbox 360 elite thrown in to boot. If it were a ps3 thrown in I would pick it up. But at this price its only $30 more then what the tv alone cost!
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasoni...rd121500050002

[ShockWave]

Originally Posted by JENKS

This is a screaming deal on a x1 with a xbox 360 elite thrown in to boot. If it were a ps3 thrown in I would pick it up. But at this price its only $30 more then what the tv alone cost!
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasoni...rd121500050002

That is a sweet deal, wish I could get it!

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P42G10 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV ($962 + free shipping)

Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-P50X1 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV ($850 + free shipping)

Panasonic VIERA U1 Series TC-P42U1 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV ($800 + free shipping)

Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-P42X1 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV ($667 + free shipping)


...best TV for your money.

So, this is a good series of TVs? Is it better than most LCD HDTVs in the $800 to $1,000 range?

Is screen burn-in still a big issue with a Plasma TV like these? That is a big concern for me.


EDIT:

2 more questions....

Is this series of TVs expected to stay at this price, or will they jump up soon (i.e. do I have some time to think about getting one, or should I jump on this soon).

AND, does the remote for this series of TVs have a button to adjust the zooming options (some TVs have one, while others require you to hunt through a menu to get to them)?

[blarneyrubble]

Panasonic TC-P50C1 for $769.00 and free shipping

http://www.buy.com/prod/panasonic-vi...tml?adid=17653

[SamC]

Originally Posted by maygit

sears has the 42" panasonic S1 for $699.99 on sale right now. Plus if you have or apply(and are approved) for a sears card they will take another 5% off($35) making it $664.99. Happy shopping!

thats a good find sir!

[xneox]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

So, this is a good series of TVs? Is it better than most LCD HDTVs in the $800 to $1,000 range?

Actually, the range of displays crackin posted is better than pretty much all LCD HDTVs up to $1500 or better.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

So, this is a good series of TVs? Is it better than most LCD HDTVs in the $800 to $1,000 range?

Better than most LCDs at double the price.

Is screen burn-in still a big issue with a Plasma TV like these? That is a big concern for me.

Burn-in is not an issue anymore. You'll still get minor IR from time-to-time, but it goes away quickly.

Is this series of TVs expected to stay at this price, or will they jump up soon (i.e. do I have some time to think about getting one, or should I jump on this soon).

Sorry, can't predict the future. However, I'd be surprised to see prices go up.

AND, does the remote for this series of TVs have a button to adjust the zooming options (some TVs have one, while others require you to hunt through a menu to get to them)?

Can't help you there, but why in God's name would you want to zoom a picture and loose resolution?

[Grif32]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

So, this is a good series of TVs? Is it better than most LCD HDTVs in the $800 to $1,000 range?

Is screen burn-in still a big issue with a Plasma TV like these? That is a big concern for me.


EDIT:

2 more questions....

Is this series of TVs expected to stay at this price, or will they jump up soon (i.e. do I have some time to think about getting one, or should I jump on this soon).

AND, does the remote for this series of TVs have a button to adjust the zooming options (some TVs have one, while others require you to hunt through a menu to get to them)?

Panasonic Plasma's are always having sales so you should be good. Burn in is really a thing of the past. You might get some Image Retention but that will go right away.

The remote will have a buttom to adjust the zoom.

Thast Best Buy deal is a crazy good deal... That is tough to pass up. If you do not need the Xbox 360 you could just sell it.

[Grif32]

Originally Posted by maygit

sears has the 42" panasonic S1 for $699.99 on sale right now. Plus if you have or apply(and are approved) for a sears card they will take another 5% off($35) making it $664.99. Happy shopping!

Not bad but the BB deal is so much better for only $30 more you get the Xbox 360 Elite & a game which you could sell making your TV cheaper.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Can't help you there, but why in God's name would you want to zoom a picture and loose resolution?

This has more to do with older 4:3 ratio TV shows on DVD than anything. I tend to watch those on my current 37" LCD 720p set in (what on that set's settings) it called 'zoom 2' mode, in which it stretches the picture to fill the whole screen, but also stretches it some vertically cutting off a bit of the picture at the top and bottom.

I don't particularly like doing this, but with my current set, I had a scare once when my wife and I went through a stint of watching a lot of 4:3 content on it, and there was some pretty major image retention of the black bar on the left side of the screen for quite a while after that. So, ever since I've avoided it.

What is the difference between the G10 and U1 sets?

EDIT: Nevermind, it looks like the G10 has a few additional options and a better contrast raito

Originally Posted by Grif32

Thast Best Buy deal is a crazy good deal... That is tough to pass up. If you do not need the Xbox 360 you could just sell it.

I would go for it, except that it is only a 720p set. I already have an Xbox 360 (in addition to a Wii and 2 PS3s), but with the RROD issue still being around, I could use an extra (plus, I've been wanting to upgrade to a 120GB HDD for it anyway, since I have the older 20GB model, and those separate HDD's are very overpriced... so it would be like getting the HDD for $30 in a sense).

However for the TV (which is the most pertanent issue here), I want to get one that is 1080p. Right now the G10 42" set is looking to be more up my alley.

I can afford to buy a TV now, but I would prefer to wait until around tax return time (plus I've been going a little crazy with Christmas shopping lately anyway). If our tax return ends up being anything like it has been for the past couple of years, we are probably looking at something like a $2,000 to $2,500 return (but I don't want to start spending the money until we actually definately know what the return will be this year). My wife is very insistent on getting a new computer.... we want to get a laptop that can handle gaming and video editing (video editing for me, gaming for her... I do most of my gaming on consoles), so we are figuring about $1,000 or so for that. And then I will likely budget about $1,000 for a new TV. I'd be willing to even go a little over that to get something of better quality (I don't mind if I have to spend a couple/few hundred more than what we get back from the tax return, and if the return ends up being closer to the $2,500 side, then I can afford to splurge on something better).


We currently have a 720p 37" LCD HDTV (LG brand), which we will be 3 years old next month. It's sad to think what we paid for that (I think it was about $1,300 to $1,400), considering that for less money we can get something much nicer now, but that's technology for you.

I would like to get something that is better quality, plus there is some pressure mark damage to the left side of the screen which is startring to drive me nuts. I will be fine moving this set to the bedroom or something, but I don't want it as our main TV if I can get something better.

Plus, I know if I were to get it now, I would likely push myself to stay below the $1,000 mark, therefore possibly getting a lower quality set than I might allow myself to get if I wait until I get my tax return (or at least until I know what the tax return will be... even if I buy the set before actually receiving the check).

I'm just trying to get some ideas now.

I'm probably going for a 42". It would be nice to get something a bit bigger than what we have now. In some respects I would really love to get something more around 50 inches, but we live in a condo (not too small, but not very large) and with the way the living room is shaped and set up, I just don't think the viewing distance would be appropriate for a 50 inch set.

[JENKS]

I have been told once you are past 5 feet in sitting distance there will be no visual difference in 1080 or 720 especially on a smaller screen like a 42". I wouldn't base my purchase on that as 1080 will run ya a few hundred more anyway. If you are willing to wait until tax returns do it! Then you can get the most bang for the buck and probably a much larger tv. Bigger is always better. After you have a 42" or bigger for a couple weeks you will start to think you could have gone bigger as that's just the nature of the beast. There will always be deals to be had!

[iccarus]

I've had my TC-P42G10 for about 2 months and absolutely love it. My only regret really is not being able to afford a larger screen at the time. Still, I would have no problem buying it again.

Also worth noting, if you buy from Amazon, they often have a deal where you can get a free blu player with some Panasonics. It actually knocked $30 off the price of my G10 at the time. The promotion still appears to be going right now.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by JENKS

I have been told once you are past 5 feet in sitting distance there will be no visual difference in 1080 or 720 especially on a smaller screen like a 42". I wouldn't base my purchase on that as 1080 will run ya a few hundred more anyway. If you are willing to wait until tax returns do it! Then you can get the most bang for the buck and probably a much larger tv. Bigger is always better. After you have a 42" or bigger for a couple weeks you will start to think you could have gone bigger as that's just the nature of the beast. There will always be deals to be had!

Well, I definately want to go for a 1080p screen no matter what. I may go for the 46" version (I just think 50 will be TOO big for the area I am putting this in). The Panasonic G10 46" is currently going for just under $1,120 on Amazon. That seems like a reasonable price. Hopefully it will still be around that price and avaialble about a month and a half from now.