buying a bigger TV

[Cleveland Dave]

well i just got my tax return and i have been saving up to get a new tv. currently i have a samsung 23in LCD....its time for a upgrade!

i have a budget of about $1300ish, i will mostly be using it for xbox360 and watching HD movies.

i have my eye right now on the Panasonic G10 50" plasma.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Panasoni...0g10&cp=1&lp=1

is warranty worth the 300 dollars...
is calibration worth the 200 dollars...

anything else i should know before shopping this weekend?

[Exitspeed]

From what I read Samsung makes the best TV's right now.

[Want_Notch]

I recently bought a panasonic plasma. Love it. I dont think the warranties are worth it. I got one once and when it broke they said it wasnt covered.

[07ROUSHSTG3]

i think i have a panasonic?!?! the only thing i hate about it is the heat that it gives off. other than that the picture is great!! as for the warranty, i would never buy a big piece like that from best buy, so i don't know what their warranty is like. if you are willing to drive a bit, check out Rays Tv and Appliance in fond du lac. they are a great family owned store! do a lot of their own service in house, and had the best prices around, even compared to the big box stores when i was looking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYBzx...layer_embedded

not sure about the calibration either. i plugged mine in and it looks good enough for me.

call and ask for tony. ask what kind of deals they have. they are constantly buying discontinued models and offering them cheap.

[Cleveland Dave]

From what I read Samsung makes the best TV's right now.

no doubt, depends on which source you read, ive heard good things about panasonic as well. ive been looking at samsungs too.

[Exitspeed]

do doubt, depends on which source you read, ive heard good things about panasonic as well. ive been looking at samsungs too.

All the TV whores I talk to on other sites pretty much all agree.

[PureSound15]

Don't pay for the calibration -

You can get most of the settings that it changes right off of some home theatre forums.

Definitely worth looking up the settings, but not worth paying $200.

[jbiscuit]

samsung....and why plasma?

[Cleveland Dave]

samsung....and why plasma?

doesnt have the issues with motion blur, has better color. from what i have been reading plasma is the way to go.

[jbiscuit]

werd.

[brotherbenn83]

My Sunday purchase FTW!

[Cleveland Dave]

nice, i wish i could afford an LED tv

[WhatsADSM]

Meh LED TVs are definately nice but over hyped. It is just an LCD that is LED backlit, I wouldn't exactly call it a breakthrough.

As a general rule of thumb if you go LCD Samsung, plasma then Panny.

As mentioned before I personally don't think the calibration is needed. You can get decent settings from forums, and in many cases I have found people don't even like a true color perfect calibration anyways and will just change it how they like it.

[brotherbenn83]

nice, i wish i could afford an LED tv

You can get a 40" for about $1200, that's under budget for you. If you want something larger for less, LCD or plasma is the way to go...although plasmas do use a lot more power/get hotter.

[Jsho13]

I have a 50" G10 and the picture is great. I picked it up when Best Buy had them on sale right after Christmas. I would definitely recommend it.

[pOrk]

Thats too much money, buy this one. Better TV too for 1000

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/p...0fp30289c0s441

These are always on sale for 650 - 700: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16889005079

Check slickdeals.net

[WhatsADSM]

The Panny plasma has a far better picture than the LG or even the Sharp LCDs (and I agree p0rk sharp LCDs are actually pretty good).

The biggest downside with plasma for most people is the lack of lumens. I.e. if you have a plasma in a bright room such as a bright living room with a few windows it likely may not be bright enough. The energy consumption of the plasma is greater as well. However OP if it is a darker room, I think you have a great TV picked out.

[BoosTT]

I have a 42" panny plasma in my bedroom. Good picture. It does use a lot of power though. Twice as much as my DLP. Its heavy as hell too.

[jakedrew]

I had a lg plasma and nothing but problems with it. exchanged it for a lg lcd and couldnt be happier.

I say go with LCD. The tv repair in town was telling me that plasmas are phasing out slowely.


good luck.

[GTSLOW]

What about:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+47%...lh90&cp=1&lp=1