**UPDATE 9** 50" Panasonic 1080P plasma TV- $499 at the store - NOT ONLINE ANYMORE

I just picked up the last set on shelf at the Costco in Beltsville, MD. Yesterday there were four sets on the shelf.

polishdreamer said:   startover said:   I haven't followed the latest TV tech since I purchased my Panasonic V10 plasma 3 years ago. At the time of my purchase the V10 was a high end model featuring THX and 96khz 24p etc. I wonder how much of an improvement is a model like this compared to my V10?
3 years in TV technology is like 10 years in cars.

i remember the days of buying a tv and it lasting at least 15 years

ricoscoro said:   i remember the days of buying a tv and it lasting at least 15 years

That hasn't changed. The big change happened with digital TV, and there are a world of options out there to make it work with older TVs. If you buy a quality TV today, there's no reason why you shouldn't expect many years of service out of it. Panasonic rates their plasma panels to last 30 years.

Yes, technology keeps changing. Flat screens, HDTV standards, and smart TVs are the three main drivers. Just because a manufacturer adds another bell or whistle doesn't mean that your TV stops working.

kain9i6 said:   polishdreamer said:   kain9i6 said:   Nice. I picked mine up for $599 in early Oct. I'll have to go in and see if they'll price adjust, or at least do a return/rebuy for the new price.

And here I thought I was going to be without beer this thanksgiving! Huzzah!

LOL, you get 90 days to price adjust it. So you're starring at $100, which in Costco goes fast.

Thanks again Polish! I went back to Costco and they told me that the Price Adjust is 30 days and since I was both outside of the 30 days AND had purchased the TV at another Costco, I was probably out of luck. I then asked "Well do you take returns from other stores?" and when he said yes, I asked if I could just buy one of the TVs they had there and return it with my old receipt. He paused for a minute and said that would probably work. So I went ahead and did that and walked out of Costco with a 3 year warranty on my TV for 30 dollars, new (needed) windshield wipers for my car and 48 beers richer! AND I got a new receipt with the 499 price, so if the price just so happens to drop again (doubtful), I can get another price adjust.

Cheers!

You're welcome, I'm glad to hear it worked out this well for you. This is the best TV deal of the year on a great set. You also get the security of the big box warranty that basically assures you years of use without huge expenses or hassles. Buying stuff from 3rd party sellers is great but I like the traditional I can lay a hand on the seller type deals on bigger purchases.

Syrinx2112 said:   Was planning on picking one of these up at Sam's today for $499. Had to renew my membership. However, they had none of these in sight and the TV sales guy I spoke with didn't know anything about the TV at all.

:confused:

You're 2 posts in, so this is to be expected. J/K.

Call another Sams or go to Costco, Costco also has this online as well (unlike Sams).

qwarlock said:   Ordered this TV from Amazon on Monday for $599 since I missed the $550 Amazon deal. Amazon listed delivery as today, but I just got a call from the delivery company and they said it wouldn't be delivered until next Tuesday. I just got off the phone with Amazon CS and they knocked $120 off the price for the mix-up, so I got it for $470 before tax including free delivery. Fairly happy now, although I wish I had my TV for the holiday!

Can't beat that, unless of coures the TV breaks in 366 days. Then you lost out & will be well behind after the technicians beatdown.

dogmeat said:   It should be noted that you can still buy the Square Deal warranty from Costco for a TV that is not purchased there. It's $30 for three additional years for an under $500 item. You miss the one year Costco adds, but still a good buy IMHO.

polishdreamer said:   qwarlock said:   Ordered this TV from Amazon on Monday for $599 since I missed the $550 Amazon deal. Amazon listed delivery as today, but I just got a call from the delivery company and they said it wouldn't be delivered until next Tuesday. I just got off the phone with Amazon CS and they knocked $120 off the price for the mix-up, so I got it for $470 before tax including free delivery. Fairly happy now, although I wish I had my TV for the holiday!

Can't beat that, unless of coures the TV breaks in 366 days. Then you lost out & will be well behind after the technicians beatdown.

It's 4 years of protection, so it's really a great deal. You know that this TV will break 4 years & a day, it's the nature of warranties for me.

Syrinx2112 said:   polishdreamer said:   Syrinx2112 said:   Was planning on picking one of these up at Sam's today for $499. Had to renew my membership. However, they had none of these in sight and the TV sales guy I spoke with didn't know anything about the TV at all.

:confused:

You're 2 posts in, so this is to be expected. J/K.

Call another Sams or go to Costco, Costco also has this online as well (unlike Sams).

Thanks. I'll check another Sam's. The nearest Costco is 30 miles from me plus I would have to pay for membership which is $55. Kinda kills the deal...

Actually both Sam's and Costco have this TV online but not for $499

If you have a problem after buying it at one Sams', you can always take it back to your local one.

Syrinx2112 said:   polishdreamer said:   If you have a problem after buying it at one Sams', you can always take it back to your local one.

Yeah I know that however the problem is finding it at ANY Sam's.
According to the Sam's Club android app none of the stores in my area have this TV

Just call them up brother, it'll save you the gas.

Deal is on!!

polishdreamer said:   slickdeal45 said:   ricoscoro said:   i remember the days of buying a tv and it lasting at least 15 years

That hasn't changed. The big change happened with digital TV, and there are a world of options out there to make it work with older TVs. If you buy a quality TV today, there's no reason why you shouldn't expect many years of service out of it. Panasonic rates their plasma panels to last 30 years.

Yes, technology keeps changing. Flat screens, HDTV standards, and smart TVs are the three main drivers. Just because a manufacturer adds another bell or whistle doesn't mean that your TV stops working.

Nice.

I agree in general, but i don't think people are really getting the full life expectancy out of the plasmas and LCD's, between image burn in, dimming screens, and failures after 3-5 years. Just seems to be a shorter life expectancy.

Got the last one at Costco Westminster, CO. Thornton was already sold out.

Has anyone gotten this to pull any QAM channels off Comcast?

NoMoneyInMyWallet said:   dbphillips said:   Has anyone gotten this to pull any QAM channels off Comcast?Comcast has 82,367 different configurations across the country, so what someone else can / cannot do most likely doesn't apply to you.

Probably right, but maybe someone in the Denver area has one. I'm visiting, but my 27" Westy pulls hi-def OTA channels from Comcast coax just fine east of Seattle.

* For some reason it worked the second time. Got quite a few channels, well beyond basic OTA.

slickdeal45 said:   Signal levels on coax can and do vary thought your house. If a QAM tuner can't pick something up, it's likely in your wiring. Sounds like yours is marginal.

The FCC just gave cable operators permission to encrypt local stations, so expect the QAM freeloading to come to an end soon.

Foiled again!

mschueler said:   I have last years ST 60 model. I highly recommend it, I got my 60" for $999 about a year ago.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have 3D. So I'm looking to upgrade to the GT this year. Unfortunately, this is the best deal I could find:

$1899 from Amazon for the 60"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00752VL8G/

Anyone seen it cheaper?

So you posted this on a $499 TV thread ?

I have the U54 Costco version and am on the fence about the picture quality. Some of the programing displays fine, however, I've noticed some pixelation on some HD channels/shows and in particular, I've noticed when watching NFL football, there is a hazy, greyish halo around the players outline. This is my first HD tv and from reading these and other forums online, I see that people tweak the settings quite a bit to get the picture to their liking. I have it set to vivid and thats about all the tweaking I've done. Has anyone else experienced similar picture as I've described or can recommend settings that I can tweak to improve the picture quality.
Thank you

polishdreamer said:   Deal still available!
What did you have for lunch today? Please post

Sach said:   I have the U54 Costco version and am on the fence about the picture quality. Some of the programing displays fine, however, I've noticed some pixelation on some HD channels/shows and in particular, I've noticed when watching NFL football, there is a hazy, greyish halo around the players outline. This is my first HD tv and from reading these and other forums online, I see that people tweak the settings quite a bit to get the picture to their liking. I have it set to vivid and thats about all the tweaking I've done. Has anyone else experienced similar picture as I've described or can recommend settings that I can tweak to improve the picture quality.
Thank you
Try searching for the TV model on avsforum. Undoubtedly, someone there has posted a good configuration.

Hoogineer said:   Sach said:   I have the U54 Costco version and am on the fence about the picture quality. Some of the programing displays fine, however, I've noticed some pixelation on some HD channels/shows and in particular, I've noticed when watching NFL football, there is a hazy, greyish halo around the players outline. This is my first HD tv and from reading these and other forums online, I see that people tweak the settings quite a bit to get the picture to their liking. I have it set to vivid and thats about all the tweaking I've done. Has anyone else experienced similar picture as I've described or can recommend settings that I can tweak to improve the picture quality.
Thank you
Try searching for the TV model on avsforum. Undoubtedly, someone there has posted a good configuration. I haven't noticed any halo or pixelation at all in the 5 months or so I've owned it, but I don't really watch much HD cable tv, some, but not much - mostly xbox, mlb.tv, Amazon, Netflix. When I do watch cable tv (QAM), it's college football or NFL.

These are the settings I use, which is a slight modification of what I found on avsforum:

Contrast - 78
Brightness - 56
Color - 48
Tint - 0
Sharpness - 0
Color Temp - Warm 1 (guy on AVS forum suggested Warm2, but I like warm 1 better)
Color Mgmt - Off
C.A.T.S. - Off
Video NR - Off

HDMI Settings

RGB Range - Auto
Content type - Graphics (probably the most important setting to change, colors too saturated left OFF/Auto)

Advanced

Block NR - Off
Mosquito NR - Off
Motion Smoother - Off (Weak showed little to no artifacts)
Black Level - Light
3:2 Pulldown - Auto

Or pull out the rear seat of your 4 door 97 Camry and slide it right in - upright!

$500 is ridiculously good.

My first Plasma and tried a Samsung and LG before and been underwhelmed with the brightness, this one is great and I am very pleased with the picture. Much more natural than LCD and I PREFER it. Shadows are great and there are no exaggerated lines between objects.

Some mention they like a warm setting, but I like Cool 1.

Cinema is the best out of the box setting for me, especially Netflix HD, but you have to get used to the lack of unnatural pop from the LCD screens. I do use the Game setting for some shows, and I have one Custom setting starting with Game which is slightly less bright.

If this is the U50 - here is my receipt from October 2012
Date of Order: 10/01/12

This deal must have been some really special deal at the time and I thought I got it though a Fatwallet link from Panasonic direct and without an EPP account (luck/accident?).

TC-P50U50 NEW! VIERA® 50" Class U50 Series Full HD Plasma HDTV (49.9" Diag.) Ships in 1-3 business days 1 $574.99
Subtotal $574.99
Shipping $0.00
Discounts $0.00
Recycling $0.00
Tax $46.00
Total $620.99