Panasonic 47WX52 for $1239 ... a good deal? (1 Viewer)

[Aurel Savin]

I was prompted from another thread to look for a long overdue wideescreen set and came across this deal at www.etronics.com

http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?...de=panpt47wx52

Since etronics has a retail store here in NY, I can take this price match to Sears and get the set even cheaper ... probably around $1200 even.

Anyone have any experiences with this set?

Was looking at a 30" Samsung tube but I think the screen size is too small when watching regular programming. I am not a big rear projection fan though and will be mostly watching cable (HDTV box will be supplied by the cable co.) and DVD's. Do not play video games ...

Any tips? I think this is the best deal I can get for a wide HDTV set out there.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

It's a nice set and great bang-for-the-buck--I have the 53" version. There are plenty of tweaks you can do for it. And $1200 is a good deal, especially if you can get that from Sears.

_Man_

 

[Jack Briggs]

It's a whopping good deal. Jump on it! Terrific set, too.

 

[Chris Drenner]

Man,
I am looking at TVs and the 53" that you have is one of the ones im very very interested in.
Id like to know if you would buy it again if you could do it over?
What kind of tweaks are you talking about for this TV?

Thanks

 

[Chris Drenner]

i just got the 47wx42 47" panasonic at frys electronics today for $999..being shipped on wednesday...i so cant wait

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Chris,

For tweaks on the Panny TV, you can either post here or go to www.panny.tv. If you're new to all this stuff, you should probably do some reading also (at least the basics) at the Keohi site (http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/index.htm) before trying to do any tweaks--and ask plenty of questions whenever you're not sure.

Some minimal things to do when you get your TV:

1. If it was coming into your house from the significantly different conditions outside, eg. cold, high humidity, make sure to give it some time (maybe an hour) to adjust to the new environment before turning on for the first time.

2. First thing to do after turning on is turn down the contrast, ie. Picture setting on Panny's, to maybe 40% at around 30 to avoid any risk of burn-in. If you change the overall setting from Vivid to Cinema, that should do this for you as well as giving you generally better picture. The picture might seem a little dark at first, especially if there's a lot of ambient light in the room.

3. Turn off SVM, ie. VM toggle setting. Personally, I'd also turn off the VNR also unless you have very noisy video signals.

4. Do the 2 user level convergences, but always give the TV at least 30-45min to warm up before doing convergence (and most other tweaks).

5. Highly recommend buying AVIA for calibrating the TV and doing any other tweaks/tune-ups and occasional checks.

And oh, congrats on a great deal on a nice, new TV.

_Man_

 

[Michael Hughes]

Aurel,

What is the name of the Etronics Local NY store?

Thanks

 

[Aurel Savin]

Michael:

Here is the link on their site to the store location:

http://www.etronics.com/nyc_store.asp?store=nycstore

It's a little shop downtown. Their main operation is the web, but you could pick up anyhting from the site locally if you give them advance notice. Seems they have a warehouse in Brooklyn, where they ship from.

 

[Tony Martin]

The 53" version is available at Best Buy for $1299, with $170 in rebates... final cost $1129 + tax!

 

[John Stone]

I've had the 53" set since January and couldn't be more pleased. Jump on one of those deals! But make sure you pick up Avia and a good progressive scan DVD player if you don't already have them. Follow all of Man-Fai's excellent advice (above) and you will be very happy with the results.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

The 53" version is available at Best Buy for $1299, with $170 in rebates... final cost $1129 + tax!

What??? You mean Best Buy is running a clearance deal right now? $1300??? Wow! Makes me want to go run out and buy one for my in-laws just because of the great deal. :wink:

Are they also running such deals for HDTV tuners?

_Man_

 

[TedE]

Tony,

Pray tell, at which Best Buy did you find the 53" for $1299?!?! Was this the advertised price before the rebates? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Tony Martin]

Best Buy in Plano, TX... and $1299 was their advertised price before the rebates.

 

[Aurel Savin]

Looks like I will pass up this deal ... burn in worries got me.

I will be watching cable half the time and I cannot stand the streched image, so I am afraid a 4:3 image would cause burn in.
Plus a 47" is way too big for my space right now.

I sit 6' away from the TV and I don't think this would be ideal.

Might just have to go with that 30" Samsung.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

What do you watch on cable? Mostly major network stuff? If you get HD cable service and watch mostly major network stuff, that would help reduce burn-in risk since the HD channels don't just do 4x3 framing even for non-HD content.

I don't stretch the image on my 53" either.

Also, whether 6ft is too close for a 47" is entirely up to you. I use ~8ft eyes-to-screen for the 53". Would probably go w/ ~7ft for a 47" myself, but that's eyes-to-screen, not front of my couch or the like.

_Man_

 

[Aurel Savin]

Man ... I watch mostly Discovery, ESPN, OLN, HBO and the like. I do watch network once in a while also, so for this is would be great.

Here is how my room layout is:

http://www.wiseasswear.com/ht.htm

 

[Chris Drenner]

man,
what is the risk of burn in from satellite tv...if i use the svideo output?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Aurel,

I suggest trying to see about getting Dish service given what you watch unless you need the YES channel. Dish offers Discovery HD (for $8?) and will probably offer ESPN HD very soon (don't know pricing). They also offer HBO HD as part of their normal HBO package.

And Dish will be the first to come out w/ an HD-capable PVR (ie. TIVO-like box) w/in the next few months, if you need that.

Have no idea what Time Warner's timing is for any of this stuff. I use TWC and get HD service w/ no extra cost for the most of the locals plus HBO HD.

Chris,

Burn-in risk is the same whether satellite or cable or regular over-the-air (OTA). Burn-in is just uneven phosphor wear and is a function of what content you watch, not what source.

For the most part, you want to keep the TV contrast/white level as low as you find acceptable AND don't want any individual fixed image on screen for a large percentage of your total TV usage time--not just one or two long sittings. Fixed images include network logos, fixed portions of a video game display, channel guides, news ticker bars, sports scoreboard, black or grey bars in the same location, etc. As long as each particular fixed image does not stay on screen for a large percentage of usage time and contrast/white level is kept low, you should be ok.

_Man_