Not too shabby, Boy....
Pros:
Perfect picture right out of the box.
Cons:
As expected, digital reception is acceptable, but no better than many other televisions.
The Bottom Line:
I chose a known brand-Panasonic-rather than the LG and Visio type brands. So far, it's a slam dunk television. The party's on in Las Vegas-at my house.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
The title is a reference to a saying that my very best friend-over 50 years-uses to describe something exceptional. A Massachusetts thing, I guess.
And the Panasonic 50 incher qualifies. I ordered the set direct from Amazon.com, and received it a remarkably quick 5 days later. I had priced the set with all the listed dealers on Amazon, and had gone to local dealers as well. I have had several bad experiences buying expensive items from mail order houses, especially those in the Empire State, and was very concerned about buying from them. It turned out that Amazon had the best deal-$2,229 total-no shipping, no sales tax. Right now, Wal Mart has the same set on sale for $2,399 as a thanksgiving special-but remember you need to add $180 for shipping, plus your states sales tax-if you have one. So the set's about $2,600-at Wal Mart!
The delivery people dropped the TV inside my living room-Nice guys, I gave them 10 bucks. A Vegas thing. The box was undamaged, and the set was easy to install on a pedestal. The picture? Well, let's put it this way-I already own a 42" Hi Def CRT (as in a tube type 4x3 240 lb monster), and there is no comparison. The plasma display is awesome-right out of the box. The remote controls are simple-don't need the instructions. I read that a plasma is like a new car-go on it easy for the first 100 hours. So I changed from the Vivid setting to regular for a while. But I cheat when football is on. Amazing. Basketball? You can read the tattoo's on Alan Iverson!
The television weighs 92 LBS, and is easy to move by one person-me. The CRT monster, for comparison, took 2 of my neighbors plus me to move to my bedroom.
The downside? Not much. Hi Def and CD disks are beautiful. I think that the regular digital stations might be a little better on the CRT, so I watch them on the 42" occasionally. Actually, I'm like a kid, trying to use the new toy as little as possible. The 2 built-in speakers are OK, but I have a surround sound system that I'll install soon-no rush.
Overall, I am ecstatic about this TV. Make sure you have your HDTV box ready for its arrival. If you don't have cable or satellite HDTV, you will be disappointed.
