Good choice and price? (1 Viewer)

[Steve Bang]

This is the beginning of my first budget home theater system. After reading this forum for several weeks now and learning a ton, I decided on a Panasonic 47wx42 47" RPTV and Panasonic RP62 DVD player.
After hammering the guys at CC and BB I ended up getting this equipment for:
47wx42- $1325.00
RP62- $150.00
4 year service- $300.00
tax- $121.68
Delivery- $0
Total- $1896.68

The equipment is paid for but won't be delivered untill Monday so I can still back out if I wanted.

My question is, for the money, is there another brand/model TV/DVD with simmilar features and quality for less money?

If it matters, future additions include a surround reciever, 5.1 speaker system, and HDTV tuner.

Thanks

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

For the TV, you won't find a widescreen HDTV for that price, much less any cheaper. I was able to pick up my Hitachi 43" 4:3 HDTV for $1289 as an open box item. The store also had a deal where you got a free apex dvd player (crap) or $90 towards any other dvd player, so i picked up a panasonic rp56 that was open box for $135 ($45 after the $90 deal). I ended up with a 43" HDTV and a Faroujda chipset based prog scan dvd player for just over $1400 after tax. I was elated.

The RP62 is the model that replaced the RP56. I'm extremely happy with my RP56. The remote is a little on the cheezy side, but not a big issue. Also, there is no random option for mp3 playback. Two extremely minor nitpicks. I don't think you can do better than the RP62 for $160. If you're interested in DVD-A, you might consider the Pioneer DV-656A for around $200 online, but you could probably get a RP82 for not much more than that.

Either way, sounds like you've got some pretty good deals and you probably couldn't do much better. Good call on the service plan, especially w/ the panny rptv. I've read that they are prone to minor problems early in their lifespan, but if they make it 6 months w/out any, then they'll probably make it for years. The only reason i didn't get a service plan on my tv was because my dad runs an electronics repair shop and i can get service/parts dirt cheap.

Have fun with your new toys and i hope this helped.