plasma tv question

[aanderud]

I was just saying that there is a lot more to it than saying I should get the plasma because it's 600hz. They say that the human eye can't even tell the difference over 120hz unless you really know what to look for. If you put a samsung 8000 LED model next to an avg plasma, the Samsung will blow it away in almost every category but it's not a fair comparison putting a $4000 tv against a $600 tv even if the Samsung had a slower processor.

I'm not a tv expert.. I just did a little research when I bought mine in Nov.

Your $4000 samsung 8000 LED model might be bright, but it is far from the best you can get for that kind of money. Yes, it'll perform better than the average plasma, but not the plasmas that run in the same price range.

I assume you're talking about something like the UN65F8000 here (65 inch variant). First off, it doesn't even compete well against its Samsung brethren. The samsung F8500 plasmas are great in medium-bright rooms, and they produce some of the finest quality pictures ever seen. For around $3000 you can get the 64 inch model -- PN64F8500. For just a few more bucks, you can get what many consider the best TV ever made for consumer-grade (at least consumer-grade under $5k). This would be the $3800 panasonic TC-65ZT60 (65 inches as well). These will blow the water out of any LED/LCD TV in the same price range. Dollar for dollar, you get better picture quality with plasma -- whether you're spending 600 bucks or 3000 bucks, the same dollars will get you a better looking plasma TV almost always.

[Whoaru99]

Picked up my Panasonic TC-60ZT60 at Best Buy about an hour ago. I'm stoked to get it set up this evening! Darn glad I got one when I did. Prices were great over the last couple months, but climbing back up now that the supply is dwindling. Picked up mine pretty close to bottom of the market for new at $2299.

[aanderud]

Picked up my Panasonic TC-60ZT60 at Best Buy about an hour ago. ... pretty close to bottom of the market for new at $2299.

Wow, I've never seen it even close to that at Best Buy. It's 2999 right now. Tax puts it over $3200. For that price, you got a steal. Enjoy your TV!

I'm still sporting the Pioneer 5080HD Kuro circa 2006. It's old, and it's only 720p, but it still looks leaps and bounds better than my 1080p LCD on the porch.

This new family room is a bit brighter than my old, and I think I may go with the F8500 from samsung rather than the zt60 on my next TV. I've heard they're just a bit better in brighter rooms and not too bad, relative to the zt60, in the dark room. It's a tough call though.

LOL I just noticed that the best price you can find on the 65zt60 (from a reputable vendor) has gone up to $4k now. Up 200 bucks in a couple days. I swear it was under $3500 when I was looking before christmas. Think I'll be buying a sammy...which I see can actually be found on a couple of reputable sites with free shipping for $2700 or so. About 1300 less, plus better for my well-lit family room. I guess I'll compromise on dark scene quality a bit for that price differential. :-)

[LMITOUT]

LOL I just noticed that the best price you can find on the 65zt60 (from a reputable vendor) has gone up to $4k now.

I see $3200 from BB. $2500 for the 60" model.

[aanderud]

LOL I just noticed that the best price you can find on the 65zt60 (from a reputable vendor) has gone up to $4k now.

[LMITOUT]

OK. I was wondering why the difference in prices. Not that BB ever manipulates prices or anything....

[aanderud]

OK. I was wondering why the difference in prices. Not that BB ever manipulates prices or anything....

Yeah I was wondering how the heck it could be that far off too, so I went back to google shopping and did the whole search/click/add/checkout thing just to see what the heck was going on. Crazy, but I suppose they're below some "minimum advertised price" thing.

I guess lots of manufacturers put a MAP on a product, which is why people like Frys and Microcenter will send out ads with TVs listed at very cheap prices and just say something like "major manufacturer", leaving the model # out of the ad. The "see the price when you add to cart" thing must be one of these similar workarounds.

[Whoaru99]

Best Buy is sold out in this region. You can add one to your cart but regardless if you select home delivery or store pickup they say they're not available once you get that far.

[LMITOUT]

There is a 60" model available in Minot, ND.

[Whoaru99]

Says there is one, but won't let you buy it (unless you already have ). When I try to proceed with the order it says no longer available.

Read about quite a few people getting burned because it says ship to store or whatever, but then you try to actually order and no can do.

The good getting is gone. I got one of the last in the State. When I ordered mine BB had 11 left in the Bloomington warehouse. I called back that afternoon to cancel my delivery and do will call instead. They said the inventory was zero...they suggested I just leave my order alone since it was already allocated.

Now the problem is the darn thing is too heavy and awkward for me alone to safely get it up on the mount on my stand...and all my help has gone home.

[LMITOUT]

Says there is one, but won't let you buy it (unless you already have ). When I try to proceed with the order it says no longer available.

I can go all the way to "place order" and it says it's "in stock", so if you want another and are in the mood for a road trip to Minot there ya go!

[Whoaru99]

Nice. It changed since last night because it wouldn't go that far for me before it said "not available".

Even if the price is up a bit it's still a pretty good deal for someone on that TV. Not interested in another though. I still have my older 50" Pansonic plasma to contend with as well. Doesn't really fit in my bedroom scheme...

[Whoaru99]

Oh, and about plasma energy consumption, here's the decal from the Panasonic 60ZT60...

Considering my electric rate is almost 25% lower and average usage is roughly 50% lower, actual for me is quite a bit less than the energy guide decal.

[aanderud]

Yeah, paying 30 bucks a year to power the TV doesn't seem excessive to me. You hear lots of oldschool "plasmas use too much power" around various forums, but they've gotten a lot more efficient lately.

[aanderud]

Well, the samsung F8500 series is coming to an end. For anyone in the market, there's been pretty good drops this month and stocks are actually running out in some e-tailers (newegg, bhphoto, crutchfield are all out of stock, amazon says 'shipping in 1-2 months', and I wouldn't bet that they'll get more in stock by then even). Authorized resellers are priced around $2497 for the 64 incher (PN64F8500) with other non-authorized sellers selling at prices ranging from $1800 to $2400. I've pulled the trigger on one. It's the last of the great plasmas and there probably won't be a better looking 64" picture for under $2000 in the near future. OLED will get there eventually, but it's going to be several years before there's anything worth 'upgrading' to without paying through the nose.

Whoaru, how's that panny treating you? I'd probably have pulled the trigger one of those if I wasn't putting it in this bright of a room....with all these windows in my family room, I decided I better wait on the F8500 price drop (which took longer than I thought it would, admittedly, since they decided not to upgrade it at all for 2014 and basically just kept the same model for this year).

[Whoaru99]

It's great! Excellent picture and been rock-solid just like my previous Panny plasma

Haven't been able to part with the previous one since it still works well too. There hasn't been any problem at all with the older one in roughly 6000 hours of use so I expect it'll last a long time more as well.