Plasma TV Panasonic VIERA TC-P50U50 50-Inch 1080p Full HD $549-$599

[c627627]

I just pulled the trigger on this. Two options:
Sam's Club (need membership) for $549.77. However, tax will make it more than if you live in a state where Amazon does not charge Tax since it is $599.99, Free Shipping there:


Panasonic VIERA TC-P50U50 50-Inch 1080p Full HD Plasma TV


Plus 5% Discover Card Cashback on Amazon if you have it would make it $569.99 + Free Shipping.
[ EDIT: Amazon just dropped the price down to $549.99, so it would be $522.49.]


I have looked at all Black Friday 2012 leaked ads, this is by far the best deal on a 50" Plasma TV in 2012, please post if you know different but I don't think there is a better Plasma TV in this price range. Best Buy has 5% Chase Cashback this month and the next but they will not price match Sam's Club or Amazon and it is like $730 after tax there, so not even worth trying with Best Buy.

Next best deal will be LG 50PA5500 at Kmart Black Friday for $550+Tax. Dell and Sears will have Samsung PN51E530 for $580. But consensus seems to be that overall picture quality is better with Panasonic.

60" TVs will be considerably more expensive, so no deal there.


My gripe about TVs in 2012 is the reflective mirror piano finish frames. It detracts from the picture because the lights in the room reflect right off of it. Industrial Plasmas had Charcoal gray non-reflective bezels but unfortunately they are still in the multi-thousand dollar range now so I concluded there was no choice but to get this Panasonic since it was in the $550 range and pulled the trigger without waiting for Black Friday. .

 

[GoD_tattoo]

I bought a Panasonic plasma in 2006 for $3000. It is still in my living room running great. Not a single issue, not a single complaint. I will not buy another brand of TV. Nice choice!

 

[c627627]

Mine was a 2006 Panasonic too! But the industrial version (last year they came without HDMI inputs). My plan was to wait a couple of years for these $10,000 OLED TVs to come down in price:
55" LG EM960V
55" Samsung ES9500
http://www.lg.com/uk/tvs/lg-55EM960V-oled-tv
http://www.samsung.com/global/article/articleDetailView.do?atcl_id=113&ism=CCSep1012Twitter3
I saw them at CES 2012 and couldn't believe how much better and more advanced they were than current TV technology.


But for me, component/VGA inputs only and 720p can't cut it any more and the HDMI add on cards are so expensive, might as well buy a whole new TV with HDMI already in and full 1080p HD, I thought. Can't go wrong for $550, the OLEDs may take a few years or even a half a decade to come down in price. Picture is great, the only thing lacking in this TV are certain extra "features" but they are not worth an extra grand or two imho. This TV "only" has two HDMI inputs so if anyone needs more: http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=hdmi+switch

 

[ghost_recon88]

Man, the 60" is $300 more I've been looking for a good deal on a TV, this appears to be it. Wonder if this is a full-time price drop, or just a sale price?

 

[c627627]

I looked at 60" too but paying 50% more for 60" was not a financially sound idea!


I was going to wait for Black Friday and have looked at everything out there. This was clearly a pre-emptive strike by Amazon, there is no better Plasma deal, your choices are Amazon or Sam's Club (if they have it in stock + if you have membership).


Otherwise you'll have to settle for 2nd and 3rd place choices: Samsung 50": from Dell or Sears on Black Friday or LG 50" from K-Mart. But those are door buster deals + why wait and why choose those when top choice is available now, that was my thought process on it. My delivery is Thursday! Anyone doing research looking at Full HD Plasma will get this deal, I pulled the trigger after I heard Amazon already sold out but they did not.

 

[Mandrake4565]

Sweet deal, I haven't owned a Panasonic personally but I have a few friends that do and they are really nice TV's. Too bad I just bought a 55" Samsung 2 months ago.

 

[wagex]

idk how good sanyo is but last year i got my 50" plasma for $400 on sale

 

[c627627]

Only Full HD 1080P Panasonic, Samsung or LG Plasmas count! .

 

[psionic98]

I like my 55" samsung LCD LED 240refresh.. got it like 3 years ago for like 2500.. couldn't find a better picture at the time..still love it.

 

[Remove]

Looked at it on amazon from your link and it was under $600. Went downstairs and decided to look it up and get all the specs and reviews. Looked like a great deal. Open with the link again and $849 now.

 

[c627627]

$900 for 60"
$850 for 50" and *only 1 left in stock*.


Snooze > Lose.

 

[Remove]

Snooze > Lose.

You can say that again!

 

[c627627]

Boi did Consumer Reports get it wrong. 1. BF season started already. 2. Amazon just had a deal of the year on the best Plasma under $800.

 

[wagex]

Only Full HD 1080P Panasonic, Samsung or LG Plasmas count! .

this one IS 1080i it doesnt have any noticeable image retension though and i Play PC games on it with static huds

 

[c627627]

You can say that again!

Not yet, it's back in stock tonight, but for how long?

 

[Remove]

In for one for the GFs xmas gift. Thanks OP!

 

[c627627]

To get it a day early, I called to pick it up from the dock myself instead of having it delivered. The trick to getting the box in is to get the driver seat forward so it touches the wheel and get the passenger seat all the way down. Then get it in through driver side rear door.


The TV had this sticker on; clearly they're fighting the fact that Plasmas use more energy, but I don't think they have anything to worry about until OLED comes down from $10K.





A lot of people have old DVDs and not everything is HD, and that stuff looks pretty bad on non-Plasma displays. The picture on this set looks better than my calibrated 2006 Plasma, and it's only going to get better after I'm done with calibration and settings.


It seems that in 2012, it is no longer necessary to worry about breaking it in. I will run HD only for the first few days, no black bars, that's as far as I'll go to break it in.

 

[Remove]

Wow. Quick shipping. The called to arrange delivery and setup tomorrow. To bad I had already take off Monday to meet it at the door.

 

[cw823]

I wanted to sell my 50" Plasma to my inlaws, but it's a room with a couple windows and I fear with the screen coating it will be too shiny. I'm thinking there are only 2 or 3 mfgrs doing a non-glossy screen; most of the time I suggest LCD/LED unless it's in a room where you can control lighting (like a basement).

That said, I have some friends that just bought a 55" Samsung. Junk when it comes to watching sports compared to my plasma.

 

[SteveLord]

Most BF deals on electronics are lesser known brands? This is nothing new. It's been like this for a while!