Wednesday’s Wonderful HDTV Deals

Here they are, more great deals on fine HDTV products from various sources:

Newegg has a fine Panasonic TC-P50X1 50″ VIERA 720p Plasma TV for $700 + $20 shipping = $720 total. We’ve covered ad nauseum how great Panny Plasmas are, so grab this one for a song.

BestBuy has the Insignia NSLBD32X10A 32” 1080p LCD HDTV With built-in Blu-ray Player (awesome!) for $599.99 with free in-store pickup too, if you happen to be near one. One of the cooler deals we’ve seen.

Thanks for reading, and please do return!

3D Shootout: Panasonic vs. Samsung, via Consumer Reports

Both Samsung and Panasonic started selling 3DTVs (as you may have heard if you have read this blog in the past two weeks or so, as we’ve covered it extensively) this week, and the reliable folks at Consumer Reports bought both and started testing them, comparing and contrasting the two companies offerings.

Initial impressions seem to confirm the overall feeling and tenor of other reviews we’ve covered in that Panasonic’s 3D has the edge in delivering the best HD 3D experience. Their words: “in the 3D mode, its (Panasonic’s 50-inch VT-20 series) lack of crosstalk and great black levels really made three-dimensional images pop.”

It seems plasma tends to deliver better overall experience with 3D related apps, due to its contrast and black levels, and we agree with the overall community in proclaiming (so far anyway) that Panny is the king of the hill with home 3D right now.

First Review: The Panasonic 3D HDTV

We always look forward to the very first reviews of a new model or technology, and even more so with a tech we’ve sorta been leery about anyway. The very first reviews of the new Panasonic 3D HDTV models are out, and here’s the scoop.

While the rest of us wait to see if its worth the trouble, Gary Merson and HD Guru took a trip to Panasonic’s NJ headquarters to see what they could see.

Here’s a little snippet of his impressions:

The good news is that the 2D picture quality was better than last year’s model and in fact the black level reading was one-half of the V10′s out of the box performance. So as if getting a better HD picture for less money wasn’t enough, Gary says the the 3D image (is) outstanding with considerably more brightness and pop than the motion picture theater 3D movie experience.

So it appears early impressions are quite positive. How excited it makes you depends on where you fall in the 3D viewpoint, but hey, it sounds like a good start in terms of bringing theater quality 3D home.

They’re Coming: Latest Blu-Ray players begin invading retail stores

Are you someone that always gets the very latest and greatest of the electronics stuff? Then you’re probably the sort that would want to know that the latest versions of Blu-Ray players from LG, Samsung and Panasonic have begun showing up in stores now, and their features are most speed and internet connectability.

Once again, Best Buy is in the middle of the chaos, with many of the new models showing up on their shelves first. These models include:  the BD590, BD570 and BD550 from LG, the DMP-BD85 and DMP-BD65 from Panasonic, and the BD-C6500 from Samsung (Sammy plans on more down the road, admittedly). The specs, features and play speed are top-notch (they’re finally getting it right after a few generations now), and the prices are as low as they’ve been yet.

See here for more details regarding the models: Link

Plasma still breathing: Review of the Panasonic G20 HDTV

Here we were, writing off Plasma as a dying technology. It appear to be alive and kicking seeing Panasonic’s latest HDTV release, the G20.

FlatpanelsHD, a well-known HD guru site, took a 42-inch model fresh out of their big new plant we reported on earlier, and ran it through a gauntlet of very thorough tests. The 1080p panel, which includes a 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio destroyed all of the tests, delivering deep blacks, fine viewing angles and rich colors that are the hallmark of Plasma HDTVs, with little to really complain about.

That said, the improvements here over the G10 series are slight for the most part, with black levels and network stuff about the same as the previous incarnation, so if you want the very latest in charged gas HDTV fun, look no further.

Skype Your Life: New Samsung models to release with Skype access

Panasonic and LG announced Skype-enabled TVs, but they won’t be the only ones featuring the popular teleconferencing service; Samsung also is getting into the act soon as well. Now that they’re finished with all of their legal affairs, it’s time to celebrate.

Samsung has announced its new 7000 and 8000 series HDTV sets will also include access, so you can “call” anyone with Skype right on your TV, which is always awesome. It seems HDTVs are becoming vehicles for delivering other services as well.

Using the embedded Samsung Apps service, it looks like it works with the new HD video processing webcams just like the other models do, so users can log in to or create an account, and then make video calls away from the PC.

Bear in mind: those HD cameras compatible with this service could run as high as $200, so be wary of this when you invest in this set for that purpose. Like the 3D, there’s an extra cost attached – for now anyway.

Panasonic Dust-Up: Black Levels shifting + “Nothing to fix”

It seems many Panasonic plasma HDTV owners are taking umbrage to the shifting (read: better) black levels on more recent models of theirViera line. First, going 3D, now this?

Owners are wanting more details on the “automatic control” and in an email exchange with CNET recently, the company revealed more about this slight fallout.

Those lucky Panny owners hoping for a  patch or action in response to the changes will be pretty annoyed, as VP Bob Perry says, “there’s nothing to fix.” They reserve the right to add or change adjustments to these levels as they see fit pretty much, and said they claim “trade secrets” as to why they can’t speak about it too much. Yes, its a bit of a cop out, but companies and software improves and patches all the time with little notice, so we can’t exactly be outraged. Improved control and black levels are a good thing.

He did offer the Viera Concierge Program as a peace offering, though, so watch for that soon.

3D News: Panasonic migrates Plasma to 3D

Yet more HD 3D news, this time from the world of Plasma: Panasonic is apparently adapting their Plasma HDTVs for the glorious realm of 3D.

Finally making the transition are Panasonic’s (famous?) Viera 3D plasma HDTVs. The company has announced it will be launching two 1080p units late April in Japan, priced at ¥530,000 ($5,932 USD) for the monster 54″ P54VT2 and ¥430,000 ($4,813 USD) for its smaller 50″ brother, the P50VT2.

For your large amount of cash, you’ll be getting the trademark deep blacks and includes an outrageous 5,000,000:1 native contrast ratio, lots of inputs with four HDMI ports, and of course the 3D active shutter glasses are included. Will 3D Plasma be successful? Probably about as much as LCD 3D, however much that will be remains to be seen, we think.

Sunday’s Tempting HDTV Deals

Yet more Sunday HDTV offers to tempt and oogle at:

Target occasionally has some really cool prices on gear, such as this Magnavox 42″ 1080p LCD HDTV for $449 (!!), after our coupon code WH2TEBMD and $35 shipping = $484. For a 1080p TV with 15K:1 contrast ratio? Pretty amazing.

6ave.com is a vendor similar to TigerDirect in that they have lots of electronics for great prices, such as this Panasonic TH46PZ80U 46” 1080p Plasma LCD HDTV for $898.00 with free shipping as well. Goes to show you; prices are definitely trending downward, even for the larger sizes, and that Plasma definitely is not dead yet.

Thanks for joining us, and have a happy Sunday.

Sunday’s Sweet HDTV Deals

Two more great deals for your perusal this Sunday (we last brought you great HDTV deals on a Sunday as well):

TigerDirect.com – Now readers of ours know of our great respect for LG stuff, and this is quite a deal: The LG 37LH20 37” 720p LCD HDTV – Glossy Black for an eye-popping $479.99 – with free shipping. These are sturdy TVs with great pics, and Tiger has been around a long time now, so they’re as reliable as it gets. Grab this one up!

6ave.com – Sometimes this vendor offers some really great prices, and this is one of them: the Panasonic TCP42G10 42” 1080p VIERA HD Plasma TV for $798.00 (use the ‘See price in cart’ thing) – and we include a 6% off code “BONUSBUY” you can use which brings your total to $750.12 with free shipping too. Great deal!

Feel free to visit us for more great HDTV deals in the future.

5M:1 Contrast Ratio? Panasonic’s upcoming models claiming just that

Plasma (as we have reported is a dying technology but is still being built) has been making a bit of a comeback it seems, and Panasonic in particular isn’t done working on it just yet, it appears. The latest models, debuting recently, claim 5M:1 native contrast ratios and super deep blacks, are a real eye-opener in terms of what Plasma can really do in the hands of a company that believes in it.

The Viera G2 line arrives in just a few weeks, and it promises some pretty gaudy stuff in terms of features, which we look forward to greatly. It will include full 1080p HD, in addition to 3 HDMI ports.

Prices may be less pretty though, as the 50″ top of the line model is expected to sell for $3,500 USD, and $2,400 for the smaller 42″, so these aren’t the super bargains you see on many HDTV shelves these days. 46″ models should appear as well, expected in the $2,800-3K range.

Let The Drooling Commence: The Panasonic 152″ Plasma HDTV

It’s been said common sense is overrated at times. This is one of those times.

The 152″ Panasonic plasma HDTV displayed at CES this year is the stuff dreams are made of.  Yes, it’ll be expensive ($10-15K mark probably) and its probably too big for most living rooms, but hey, why let that stop anyone? We want it, you want it, and hopefully soon, it’ll be within everyone’s reach to own a TV like this (or perhaps one just south of 100″, if your place is small).

The pic here was taken by Engadget, and its truly a marvel to behold. It even supports 3D if you should ever find yourself wanting that as well. As far as the death of plasma as a technology goes, perhaps its death has been exaggerated just a tad bit.

Wide Open Spaces: Sony and Panasonic try to expand storage on Blu-Ray discs even further

Seething at only 25GB per layer on a Blu-ray disc for storage? Not enough for your HD pleasure? It’s appearing Sony and Panasonic agree with you, and have been busy working on ways to boost capacity on discs in a never-ending quest for more, more, more that seems to be the normal operating procedure for tech companies nowadays.

They’ve come up with a way to perhaps do so (not a surprise) called Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation (or i-MLSE — the “i’ is just because its cool to put i in front of things these days, it seems), which is a way to avoid and predict the way discs are read to prevent errors, which in turn allows for more space on the discs themselves.  You’d have to be an engineer to understand it, we’d guess.

Sony and Panasonic are saying the ultimate payoff is that this method may allow up to 33.4 GB per layer, and it may only require a firmware update to allow the feature to work on current Blu-Ray players. Rollout hasn’t been given any sort of date, but expect the technology on discs to begin appearing “soon”, according to both companies.

HD Pie: Sony grabs a piece of new Sharp LCD manufacturing plant

As planned and reported among insider HDTV blogs and mags, Sony has grabbed up a small piece of Sharp‘s new 10g LCD plant built a year or so ago, which should allow Sony to grow its manufacturing muscle for LCD panels quite a bit in the next few years.

For now its small piece only equates to about 7%, but will jump to 34% by April 2011 or so, and other companies are expected to bid for space in the highly-regarded plant over the coming year or so, so expect a good number of HDTV units to originate from the Sakai City facility.

Companies rumored to bid on a piece of the pie: Samsung and Panasonic, as well as possibly LG. Times are good for HDTV companies (and consumers), indeed.

Not Dead Yet: Panasonic opens largest ever Plasma TV plant

We’ve reported that Plasma as a technology for HDTV is slowly dying, but perhaps someone should tell Panasonic. The electronic giant’s latest big time investment in the technology should keep its elite Plasmas shipping to stores for quite awhile. Perhaps Plasma isn’t dead quite yet.

About 5 days ago it opened the doors on its biggest plant in Amagasaki, and reportedly when full strength it’ll be capable of over a million TVs per month or so, which should keep us in Plasma screens for the foreseeable future.

Still think LCDs are cheaper to run and easier on the environment? You’d be right, but future Plasmas (according to Panny anyway) will be more cost-efficient and not skimp on the brightness and color clarity that Plasma has always promised.

Monday’s HDTV Deals

Here we go with some great HDTV deals to whet any HDTV palette:

Best Buy sometimes has great offers, and this highly-rated Panasonic Viera TC-L32C12 32″ 720p C12 LCD HDTV is a fine example of this. This model is going for $399.99 with shipping on the house. Check it out.

Amazon has yet another Panasonic and a tribute to how cool Plasmas are deal wise sometimes: how about a TC-P50X1 50″ VIERA High-definition 720p Plasma TV for $699 with free shipping as well. 30,000:1 contrast ratio? Yes indeed.

Thanks for joining us and have a great day/night!

Early ‘Black Friday’ Action: Wal-Mart fires first shot in HDTV war

On Saturday November 7th, Wal-Mart fired a huge early shot in the prequel to Black Friday with some pretty amazing HDTV deals on certain models that will definitely set a huge bar for other chains to beat, and many of them won’t be able to, to be frank.

The 1-day deals included a 42” Sharp LCD, the LC42SB45UT for $498. Its a 1080p television that offers a 2,000:1 contrast ratio and 4 HDMI inputs that’s about $200 cheaper than many online retailers such as Amazon sell it for. Or maybe a 46” Plasma from Panasonic (TC-P46U1) for $788 is more your style? With a eye-popping 30,000:1 ratio and $300 or so off the usual price, it was a huge bargain.

Let the HDTV pricing wars begin!

HDTV Deals Jumbo Weekend Post

We haven’t had any HDTV deals in awhile, so we’ll do a jumbo sized post to catch up a bit:

dbuys.com – Want a jumbo sized HDTV? How about an LG 60PS60 60” 1080p HDTV for $1,795 with free shipping too? Yes, we love it.

BestBuy – Yes, its their brand, but what a deal: the Insignia NSLCD52HD09 52” 1080p LCD HDTV + Free Hook-Up Kit as well for $999.99 – and free shipping. Now that’s tough to turn down!

B&H Photo Video – Free shipping on this Panasonic TCL37S1 37” 1080p LCD HDTV for $574.99 takes the cake for our last deal of the day. Well reviewed and solid TV for any room of the house at a great price!

Shop to your heart’s content, and we’ll see you tomorrow at Screen Sleuth for more breaking HDTV news.

Dying Breath for Plasma?: The Panasonic Z1 Plasma HDTV First Look

Plasma may be dying, or on life support, but hey: they do make for beautiful TVs sometimes. Take the example of the Panasonic 54″ TC-P54Z1, which amazed convention-goers when it was displayed at CES several months ago.

HD Guru recently took this thing for a test drive in their home, and the results were pretty amazing, if the article is to be believed.  It took a 1-hour setup process, but then the gawking was definitely in line after that. Their engineers have the panel down to 1″ wide, really amazing and slick to look at.

Yes it does retail for over $5,000, but its (almost) worth it according to the review, with “outstanding” color and deep black levels not normally found in LCDs.

Read here for a complete unboxing and detailed review, for a look at technology that’s truly sad is going the way of the dinosaur these days.

3-Dimensional Dreams: The Panasonic Plasma 3D HDTV Spotted in Captivity

Engadget HD is reporting having glanced upon the Panasonic 50″ 3D Plasma HDTV to be debuting soon. It was spotted at the electronics trade show CEATEC and they recorded these comments:

At this point, Panasonic’s 50-inch 3D plasma is just another one joining the fray, but considering how highly hyped the technology behind this was, we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to throw our eyes on it for a bit at CEATEC. The 1080p panel was strikingly thin (or well mounted to give that impression), and the viewing angles were fantastic. The glasses that Panny provided, however, were relatively annoying (no surprise there). It should be noted that the actual spectacles sit pretty far off of your face, which simultaneously enables those with actual glasses to partake in the 3D experience while frustrating those without by giving them a cute blue rim that refuses to leave the periphery. As for image quality, the G-Force demo looked downright stunning, with depth being easily perceived and fast moving action whisking about seamlessly. Still, we’re having a hard time believing a family of four would sit down and use these glasses for a two-hour presentation, but hey, we’re not going to give up on the marketing squads just yet.

We’re salivating just a little at the hope of true, easy 3D being within reach, but we’ll wait and see how well they pull it off in the real world.

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