Panasonic VIERA TC-P50U50 50-Inch 1080p Full HD Plasma TV $599.99@Amazon

Can you post Cliff's Notes on the LG? Earlier in this thread somebody posted that LG is on the "lower end of the spectrum" - this is incorrect. Panasonic, Samsung and LG are the top brands in this price range in 2012.


Panasonic definitely has better blacks but I am interested out of curiosity if LG has extra features other than the extra HDMI?

I ended up buying the LG 50PA6500. I checked out the 60" version at costco and saw the costco version of the p50u50 there as well. I liked the LG's bezel and slimness (I know, nothing to do with PQ - so superficial) more than the Panasonics. The LG has more video controls than the Panny which I liked. It has a 24p cinema mode. I couldn't really tell between panel quality, EVERY SINGLE PLASMA at costco looked like shit, lol. I know better and that's why I'm sticking with Plasma.

I still think that the Panasonic is going to have the best panel but the LG and Samsung aren't too far behind. I avoided the Samsung (e530 I believe) because I've come across too many of them that have developed too much buzzing.

My LG comes in on Thursday... I hope the price drops a little in the next couple weeks

Picked this up for Best Buy price match to Sams Club, $600 out the door. I hope this TV is worth the hype and I won't have to return it.

Local competitors only for price match?

My local Best Buy seems to have this out of stock, but looks like I can have them order it? Does anybody know if you can still price match this way if they don't have it in stock?

It is back in stock at Amazon now. $599 for 50 inch and 899 for 60 inch. Free shipping for Prime members. Ordered mine 15 minutes ago and will be delivered Monday. Also chatting with Dish network to see if they will give me the $100 amazon card since I just ordered dish yesterday.

My Panasonic 42" 1080p is the best TV I've used. It's great. I can only assume this model is just as good or better. The best thing about Plasma is the more natural color. LED backlighting usually has a reduced color gamut and a color cast.

Quote from totalundone : I ended up buying the LG 50PA6500. I checked out the 60" version at costco and saw the costco version of the p50u50 there as well. I liked the LG's bezel and slimness (I know, nothing to do with PQ - so superficial) more than the Panasonics. The LG has more video controls than the Panny which I liked. It has a 24p cinema mode. I couldn't really tell between panel quality, EVERY SINGLE PLASMA at costco looked like shit, lol. I know better and that's why I'm sticking with Plasma. I still think that the Panasonic is going to have the best panel but the LG and Samsung aren't too far behind. I avoided the Samsung (e530 I believe) because I've come across too many of them that have developed too much buzzing. My LG comes in on Thursday... I hope the price drops a little in the next couple weeks

LGs do have a lot of tweaks which is nice but the Pannys are better TVs. Panasonic has a lot of patents on plasma technology the others don't and they aquired Pioneer's technology when they stopped making plasmas making Panasonic the leader in plasma.

Quote from Ponder : There are many reasons for wanting built in wifi, but I actually prefer most parts not have built in wireless and tend to use wireless ethernet bridges(plus a switch) if needed. Trendnet makes some affordable models. Asus(ea-n66) has a model with 5 ghz and 2.4 ghz wifi which is nice. You could also use something like a asus n-16 or even something more advanced if you require. It then allows you to consider models which might save you money over those with wifi as they tend to be heavily discounted. You can easily upgrade your network to new standards. The main negative is the extra networking cables.

I got it what you saying is correct for seamless streaming but as you stated my modem/router is upstairs and I don't want to run the network cable from upstairs to the TV.
On the other hand I guess I would like to use dd-wrt to make the wireless streaming more reliable.
Also even with built-in Wifi you can use Ethernet cable.

Quote from sunseeker : Ready to jump and avoid the Black Friday Chaos, but the necessity of adding a $55 part for Amazon Prime, and Netflix killed it. Still a good deal....just not for me. My husband wants to stick with plasma (sports), I'm up for other options.

I'm pretty sure most blu-ray players have that built-in nowadays.I bought my cheap-o Sony bluray player over 2 years ago and it streams Amazon,Netflix,Hulu,YouTube and others just fine.It was only $80 back then,I'm pretty sure there are slicker deals now. Just an FYI

Bestbuy price matched Sams Club for 549. It was 588 OTD and I didn't have to wait for it to be in stock at Sams. I set it up already and love it! Thanks SD!

Quote from phinol79 : Bestbuy price matched Sams Club for 549. It was 588 OTD and I didn't have to wait for it to be in stock at Sams. I set it up already and love it! Thanks SD!

Did they price match it in store or on the phone?

tempting. what is better this or the 55 inch vizio on black friday at walmart?

i so wish amazon still didnt charge tax.

Man, I just can't decide if we would use 3d enough.

Figure the kids getting older might get a kick out of it - 898 for the 55 ut50 or 899 for the 60 u50. I'd go smaller, but the sofa will be like 14' away.