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New plasma ordered: Panasonic TH-50PZ77U

Posted on February 22, 2008 by Jeremy Toeman

I wrote an article many moons ago about getting a new flatscreen.  Upon reviewing that post, looks like I stayed within my original criteria.  I have to say, this was one of the least pleasant purchasing decisions I’ve made in quite some time – harder that buying a new computer (easy choice: anything but a Vaio!) or a car.   It made me really look into some major flaws in the process of learning about consumer electronics products, which I will discuss in a moment.

First, I was about ready to drop the budget down to about $1500 to pick up a 46-47″ LCD from either Sharp or Samsung.  My friend Ryan Block is a big fan of the Sharps, and the reviews were pretty solid across the board.  Also, after sharing my CES flight with Bob O’Donnell (the displays analyst from IDC), I had given up on requiring 1080p in my set of needs, mostly because my room isn’t big enough for me to visibly tell the difference.

I researched across Amazon and CNET for reviews.  I even made a little spreadsheet with candidate models to compare prices, reviews, etc.  A Toshiba Regza floated into the mix, and after a chat with EngadgetHD’s Ben Drawbaugh, the Pioneer Kuro popped in as well.  This was a new one, as I had basically ruled out plasmas due to potential sun-brightness.  He has one himself, and after some more research, it seemed to be a winner virtually everywhere I looked (including this very interesting contrast article at Gizmodo).

I put the Kuro (5080HD) in my Amazon cart, updated my Facebook profile, then went to sleep ready to finalize the order.  Guess what I found out?  It got discontinued.  Yesterday!  Augh!  While on the phone with one online vendor (who confirmed the Kuro’s discontinuance), I was recommended the Panasonic unit (although he tried to upsell me some random stuff, so I went back to Amazon).  I chatted with Dave Zatz about it too, as he has a similar unit, and he also felt it was a no-lose option.  Order placed, thank you everybody who helped out!

In doing this research I realized (again) how terribly difficult this must be for random consumers.  I search across dot-coms like Amazon and shopping 2.0 sites like Wize and Retrevo, and all had similar flaws.  No site let me make a perfectly custom search (46-52″ screens, $1500-$2100 budget, etc), which was very disappointing.  No site has perfect data on release dates (Amazon lists the Panny as coming out in 2005, which seems more than a little odd).  No site has good crossindexing for customer support or services information, although Amazon does display an advertisement with a local installer (since I’m going to wall-mount it).

At least when you buy a car you can go to Edmunds, get the right price, have all the info, and know when the new models are coming.  Why is this so hard to duplicate in the consumer electronics world? Seems like quite an opportunity…

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Posted in Video/Music/Media | 11 Comments
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11 thoughts on “New plasma ordered: Panasonic TH-50PZ77U”

  1. Ben Drawbaugh says:
    February 22, 2008 at 12:39 pm

    Contgratz on your purchase, I can’t wait to hear your impressions.

    Reply
  2. tivoboy says:
    February 22, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    Funny, i ordered the 720p version of this set back in december. Works great, looks nice. 1350$ OTD at the time.

    Reply
  3. Jeremy Toeman says:
    February 22, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    I was close to going with that unit too, but decided if I was going to spend this much, I might as well make sure I have the latest… probably overkill…

    Reply
  4. Andrew Eisner says:
    February 22, 2008 at 3:09 pm

    Hey Jeremy, yeah that’s the TV that Consumer Reports said was the best TV they ever tested. We like that one too at Retrevo. Going with 1080p was probably also the right way to go especially if you’re going to get a Blu-ray player or hook up a PlayStation otherwise most programming is still at 1080i or 720p. My only issue might be with Plasma vs LCD but that’s a longer discussion. Also good comments on Retrevo – we think we’ve got a very useful site now but always looking for ways to make it better.

    Reply
  5. Dave Zatz says:
    February 22, 2008 at 4:10 pm

    Can’t go wrong with a Panasonic plasma! CoD4 will look better on your plasma than it does now… bigger, too!

    I’m stressing about the movers next month…I’m paying for extra insurance. Cross your fingers.

    Reply
  6. Avi Greengart says:
    February 24, 2008 at 12:34 pm

    You won’t regret your decision. However, I agree with Bob at IDC; you could have saved some money on the resolution (I bought the 720P version of this set). That said, you still probably won’t regret your decision – you can always skootch up real close any time you put in a Blu-ray. 🙂

    -avi

    Reply
  7. Jeremy Toeman says:
    February 24, 2008 at 1:09 pm

    Avi – I agree, it came down to wanting to have the most current version – the few hundred dollars buys me a bit of peace of mind. Maybe stupid, but this is the biggest ticket item I’ve bought with no buyer’s remorse in a *LONG* time!

    Blu-ray? When it’s $99 and there’s a huge library… maybe.

    Reply
  8. tivoboy says:
    March 4, 2008 at 1:11 pm

    This puppy has been 1599$ for the past few days at outpost, free shipping. Maybe time for a price match? Have you received it yet?

    Reply
  9. Pingback: Jeremy Toeman’s LIVEdigitally » Blog Archive » TH-50PZ77U: should it stay or should it go?

  10. Pingback: Jeremy Toeman’s LIVEdigitally » Blog Archive » MacBooks will take 50% of notebook market share within a year

  11. Keith says:
    May 28, 2008 at 8:38 pm

    just bought the same t.v. just waiting for it to get to my house

    Reply

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Jeremy Toeman is a seasoned Product leader with over 20 years experience in the convergence of digital media, mobile entertainment, social entertainment, smart TV and consumer technology. Prior ventures and projects include CNET, Viggle/Dijit/Nextguide, Sling Media, VUDU, Clicker, DivX, Rovi, Mediabolic, Boxee, and many other consumer technology companies. This blog represents his personal opinion and outlook on things.

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