Panasonic PT-53WX53 53-Inch Widescreen HD-Ready Projection TV
Panasonic PT53WX53 or PT47WX53. Why pay more, for less?
If you want a nice HDTV and have the room, I recommend the 53\\" rear projection PANASONIC.<br />Take a look at the Amazon reviews, Circuit City (or Best buy, can't remember which has reviews between BB and CC).<br />The reviews were so stellar that I actually bought it sight unseen and shipped it from Amazon. And man!, were they right....the features and clarity is amazing (remember to lower brightness and no game systems for 1st 100 hours to avoid burn-in...also, avoid playing in 4x3 mode with vertical black bars for same reason).<br />When you do all the math, it is cheapest to buy from Amazon (but only with an Amazon Credit Card) becuase it sells for $1499 at Amazon plus $119 for shipping... but then there is NO TAX (most states) and with the Amazon CC you get Triple point for Amazon purchases (and for every $2500 points you get a $25 Amazon Gift code in the mail), so that gets you *almost* enough points for $50 in Gift codes.<br />Even with free shipping promo's or the $100 GC from BB, Amazon beats them becuase of the no sales tax.<br />IMPORTANT: Everything I have read and heard from tech people in the industry (not you minimum wage CC or BB sales clerks) say that Plasma is too young of a technology, doesn't generally come with a tuner or speakers, costs a ton more and has a lifespan measured in hours (instead of years). My research suggests your plasma will last 5 years (and start to get fuzzy in about 2) and the rear-projection will last approx 20 years (but will of course need some maintenance over that time frame).<br />Also, I have also heard that you should stay AWAY from LCD Projection TV (just get the standard 3 gun projector type) becuase the LCD type is driven by a bulb that costs $200-$300 and blows out every 5000 to 8000 hours (but indications are that your first one will happen in approx one year...which seems even faster than the the hourly guestimate). In fairness the bulb (on some models) is user replacable and the bulb may come down in price if the technolofgy catches on, but i wouldn't bet on it.<br />The panasonic 53 inch has a native resolution of 1080 (and I believe you need a converter box to scalle the 720 broadcasts....it does regular old cable without a box , but becuase it is digital the picture ain't amazing with regular cable...but that doesn't matter to me...I wanted the HDTV for DVDs and when I eventually feel like shelling out more $$ for HDTV cable.).<br />BTW, My last box was a rear-projection and died in about 6 years, so I was NOT ready to buy another rear-projection. But after research I found that my old box was notorious for a very high failure rate...there was even a class action lawsuit. I would mention the manufaturer, but it wouldn't matter becuase it was branded under multiple names and they don't make it anymore, so I don't want to prejudice people against a brand becuase of one particulr (defective) 6 year old model. However, I will say the manufacturer was NOT Panasonic.<br />Suffice it to say, that I was all gung-ho for plasma and NOT looking for rear-projection, but after all the research and info I got, rear-projections in general, and the 53\\" panasonice model specifically, won the contest hands down !<br />If you have info that counters all this, please post for others to see...These are just my opinions based on my experiences/research and this is a big purchase...the more opinions the better.<br />Panasonic Part Number: PT53WX53 (They also make the same unit in 47 inch: PT47WX53)if the technolofgy catches on, but i wouldn't bet on it.<br />The panasonic 53 inch has a native resolution of 1080 (and I believe you need a converter box to scalle the 720 broadcasts....it does regular old cable without a box , but becuase it is digital the picture ain't amazing with regular cable...but that doesn't matter to me...I wanted the HDTV for DVDs and when I eventually feel like shelling out more $$ for HDTV cable.).<br />BTW, My last box was a rear-projection and died in about 6 years, so I was NOT ready to buy another rear-projection. But after research I found that my old box was notorious for a very high failure rate...there was even a class action lawsuit. I would mention the manufaturer, but it wouldn't matter becuase it was branded under multiple names and they don't make it anymore, so I don't want to prejudice people against a brand becuase of one particulr (defective) 6 year old model. However, I will say the manufacturer was NOT Panasonic. <br />Suffice it to say, that I was all gung-ho for plasma and NOT looking for rear-projection, but after all the research and info I got, rear-projections in general, and the 53\\" panasonice model specifically, won the contest hands down !<br />If you have info that counters all this, please post for others to see...These are just my opinions based on my experiences/research and this is a big purchase...the more opinions the better. <br />Panasonic Part Number: PT53WX53 (They also make the same unit in 47 inch: PT47WX53)