Panasonic TC-P55UT50 Plasma reduced to $699 at Costco B&M YMMV

Quote from puddnhead : Oops, sorry, thanks for correction. I think I got "UT" and "U" confused. You can tell I was only looking at ST & up. Windows to worry about If I am right, the basic difference here are (besides anti-glare/step down in panel), no wifi built in?

Right, no anti-glare and it's wifi capable but you have to buy the wifi adapter for it to get it to work. I have it sitting a few feet behind me, it's my baby ;-). I couldn't justify spending an extra 1k for the anti-glare feature, especially when I don't find too much time to spend on the TV, although it would be nice :-)

Quote from executivedealer : Right, no anti-glare and it's wifi capable but you have to buy the wifi adapter for it to get it to work. I have it sitting a few feet behind me, it's my baby ;-). I couldn't justify spending an extra 1k for the anti-glare feature, especially when I don't find too much time to spend on the TV, although it would be nice :-)

Understood, but just to correct, no reason to pay $1k more. I only paid $350 more that this price for my p55st50 -- and I think amazon had it $50 less at one point (I gambled it would go lower & lost). But yeah, that is still almost 50% premium, so general point taken.

UT also has considerably less inputs I believe? I remember looking at the back panel when considering this TV and found it to be pretty sparse looking.

Came down to this TV or the 60" U50. In the end, I didn't care about smart/3D features and opted for the bigger screen size. But it was very much a win/win scenario for me I think.

Quote from puddnhead : Understood, but just to correct, no reason to pay $1k more. I only paid $350 more that this price for my p55st50 -- and I think amazon had it $50 less at one point (I gambled it would go lower & lost). But yeah, that is still almost 50% premium, so general point taken.

I never saw the 55ST50 for $1050, where did you get that deal?

Quote from codeyf : UT also has considerably less inputs I believe? I remember looking at the back panel when considering this TV and found it to be pretty sparse looking.

Right, that's the other difference vs ST50, only 2 HDMI, one component, and no side HDMI input. If I get another source I'll have to buy a switcher (using component for Comcast right now).

Stand doesn't swivel either.

Quote from VarmintCong : I never saw the 55ST50 for $1050, where did you get that deal?

Panasonic EPP. I thought amazon also had it for ~$1000 in early November (after figuring in their amazon rewards credit promotion), but my memory may be faulty.

Quote from puddnhead : Panasonic EPP. I thought amazon also had it for ~$1000 in early November (after figuring in their amazon rewards credit promotion), but my memory may be faulty.

You're right, it was like $1070 on EPP, can't remember if that was before or after tax. Amazon wasn't that low though, or I'd have bought it.

Quote from VarmintCong : You're right, it was like $1070 on EPP, can't remember if that was before or after tax. Amazon wasn't that low though, or I'd have bought it.

Before tax. And you are right also, amazon was not $1000. Camel says lowest was $1129, minus the 2% rewards deal they were running (amazon rewards is a s good as cash to any true SDer), it was just over $1100. But no tax for me, it would have been better than the EPP price because of that (and not taken SO D@MN LONG to ship to me either, lol).

The true deal (for my needs) that I let pass by was the P60ST50 from EPP for $1375 ... sigh. That price I remember VERY clearly

Well, I guess I will wait for GT or VT to come down couple of hundreds bucks and then I will pull the trigger.
I would be all over this if this only has build in WiFi, cant go through that adapter .

I've been looking at this TV for awhile now, but I'm having a really hard time pulling the trigger because I have a bright room. I know Costco has their 90 day return policy, but is the necessity for having a controlled light environment overrated, or does it ring true for this line of plasma models?

Quote from VarmintCong : I never saw the 55ST50 for $1050, where did you get that deal? Right, that's the other difference vs ST50, only 2 HDMI, one component, and no side HDMI input. If I get another source I'll have to buy a switcher (using component for Comcast right now). Stand doesn't swivel either.

The UT50 also lacks some picture controls like gamma, and white balance is only adjustable through the service menu.

Quote from puddnhead : Before tax. And you are right also, amazon was not $1000. Camel says lowest was $1129, minus the 2% rewards deal they were running (amazon rewards is a s good as cash to any true SDer), it was just over $1100. But no tax for me, it would have been better than the EPP price because of that (and not taken SO D@MN LONG to ship to me either, lol). The true deal (for my needs) that I let pass by was the P60ST50 from EPP for $1375 ... sigh. That price I remember VERY clearly

The lowest the 55ST50 went was $999 from Frys for a week in October

Second lowest was $1024 from Panasonic EPP around Black Friday, but was gone in a few days.

I was following the price of the 55ST50 all year, thinking it would get down to $799 like the 55ST30 from last year, but it never did. I ended up picking up an open box 55ST50 from Best Buy

Quote from nl2134 : I've been looking at this TV for awhile now, but I'm having a really hard time pulling the trigger because I have a bright room. I know Costco has their 90 day return policy, but is the necessity for having a controlled light environment overrated, or does it ring true for this line of plasma models?

I've had a Panasonic plasma for 10 years, and thought the lack of anti-glare filter on the UT50 was overrated. How could it be worse than my old plasma? But in fact it was. Beautiful picture at night with the lights out, but trying to watch in the daytime, or with the lights on behind me, and there was mirror-like glare, especially in dark scenes.

I ended up returning the UT50 and getting an ST50. If you cannot control the light in your viewing environment, you might want to skip the UT50 and get at least an ST50

Quote from soobaerodude : I've had a Panasonic plasma for 10 years, and thought the lack of anti-glare filter on the UT50 was overrated. How could it be worse than my old plasma? But in fact it was. Beautiful picture at night with the lights out, but trying to watch in the daytime, or with the lights on behind it, and there was mirror-like glare, especially in dark scenes. I ended up returning the UT50 and getting an ST50. If you cannot control the light in your viewing environment, you might want to skip the UT50 and get at least an ST50

Thanks a lot. Appreciate the insight. I had a feeling, especially since even my Samsung LCD from around 5 years ago had some glare in my super bright room.

Quote from Prince01 : Well, I guess I will wait for GT or VT to come down couple of hundreds bucks and then I will pull the trigger. I would be all over this if this only has build in WiFi, cant go through that adapter .

You know you can solve the lack of built-in WiFi with a WiFi gaming adapter or media bridge right? These devices take a WiFi signal and convert it to a wired ethernet connection.

A while back I picked up several TRENDnet TEW-647GA for $25 each to have just in case I run into something like this. You could also step up to the TEW-640MB model which has 4 ethernet ports built-in. Those are nice for an entertainment center where you may have multiple devices without built-in WiFi that need an internet connection.

The glare is the only issue I have with this set. I've been looking for an led/LCD to put in my living room, but so far, I haven't found one with near the picture quality of this plasma. It may be the signal, but there is just too stuttering of motion when I look at the led/LCD picture at the stores. Hoping the ST50 goes down or I'll wait for the ST60 and then have the UT50 as a great home theater set for the basement! Right now this works fine if I close the blinds or view the tv a little off angle but perpendicular with a light source behind you and a dark movie, you get a pretty big mirror effect.