dhho1 said:1080p is the deal. I won't waste $ on the 720p stuff.
Oh, phuuulease don't start arguing about 1080p and 720p!!!
Why does every thread on a 720p HDTV invariably land up into this discussion point? I would suggest that every time a new post is made, FW should prompt..."Are you going to post about how great 1080p is compared to a 720p? If so, please click on this link and rant yourself at this thread till hell freezes over. Thanks for your understanding"

club stores = STRIPPED down models,versions,quality..
that they
try to PASS OFF to their usual UNIFORMED CLUB MEMBERS..

Does anyone know how long these "newer" plasma TVs last? 3 years? 5 years? Longer? The older sets from pre-2007 would malfunction and stop working pretty early on. There were some that were only expected to last 2 years--according to the manufacturer. I was working for Panasonic back in 2004 and the engineers steered me away from these plasma tvs because of the short life spans.

The technology is changing so rapidly that a deal like this is the way to go.. It should last 3-4 years or more trouble free.
Then just dump/sell it, to upgrade in a few years when the newer technology in HDTVs becomes available!

Well I jsut saw a 720p Sony in Target today, & to my eyes 720p looked pretty good, well on that one anyways. Sometimes the cheaper brands even look better to my untrained eye. But quickave, explain what you mean exactly regarding stripped down models at big box stores- so long as model numbers are the same at two differnt stores everything shoudl be identical rigth (featrues & specs etc.)? For instance Costco & electronics stores?

sartor said:The technology is changing so rapidly that a deal like this is the way to go.. It should last 3-4 years or more trouble free.
Then just dump/sell it, to upgrade in a few years when the newer technology in HDTVs becomes available!

Which fundamentally sucks for the average consumer, since CRTs would easily last 10-15 years with little obsolescence. Yeah...I know, apples and oranges compared to modern tech innovation. I just find it interesting that the average household used to fret over spending $300-$500 on a 27" or 32" CRT, but now more and more people fork out $1,000+ for rapidly changing tech, hoping it holds up for at least a few years.

Sorry for the rant. Green for OP.

GatorBigB said:...In addition to the differences noted above between this set and the one at Sears/Amazon, the one at Costco has a contrast ratio of 15000:1 (the Sears/Amazon ones have a contrast ratio of 30000:1).A couple of weeks ago, when I was reading everything I could find on the TC-P42X1, I recall reading a post (most likely on the AVS Plasma Forum) that the Costco TC-P42X14 was NOT a custom version of the TC-P42X1 but of the TC-P42C1 (lower quality).

Since I don't have a Costco membership, it didn't matter to me (I was just reading thread after thread), but if you're considering this deal, I'd suggest GOOGLEing it.

UPDATE: (Found the thread...)

gdog2004 said:The X14 series sold at costco is not an X series...its a "C" series...which is the absolute bottom of the line for panasonics 2009 models. And yes the contrast is half of the X series(15000 vs 30000)...I would imagine once they get to their 1080p models it will be the "U" series not the S series.
lame. I will not be buying a tv from costco...unlike in previous years they are not giving you apples to apples quality with the "warehouse" models. these are actually scaled down models with a worse picture. It would be one thing to eliminate the SD port or something but when you start messing wiht the picture its no longer a "bargain" ...Costcos price is no better than what Sears sells a REAL X1 for when they have a sale.Reference: AVS: The Official Panasonic TC-P50X1 and TC-P42X1 Owner's Discussion & Information Thread

hakujin41 said:Does anyone know how long these "newer" plasma TVs last? 3 years? 5 years? Longer? The older sets from pre-2007 would malfunction and stop working pretty early on. There were some that were only expected to last 2 years--according to the manufacturer. I was working for Panasonic back in 2004 and the engineers steered me away from these plasma tvs because of the short life spans.

This is at odds with my personal experience and with everything I've read online. Maybe it would help if you could clarify which model numbers you're referring to. I purchased a Panasonic 42" 720p plasma back in Thanksgiving 2006, and have been thrilled with the purchase (well, except that the $1,100 "deal" I found back then doesn't seem so "hot" anymore!). In fact, I persuaded my in-laws to get the 2008 model for ~$700-800 this past fall, and as I noted in the above post, I just purchased the TC-P42X1 for $650 so I can move the 2006 model into my bedroom.

I want to confirm for anyone interested that burn-in has absoslutely not been a problem on my 42" Panasonic. I have "tested" this on several occasions when I've passed out playing video games and left it on overnight with the screen frozen. I was a bit worried once last fall when an overabundance of Madden 2008 playing led to some very faint burn in that was visible when the screen was entirely black. In fact, I was a bit terrified, because I really did not want to see faint score lines on the bottom of my screen. But, GLORIOUSLY!, the set seemed to fix itself when I put on a movie afterward! By the time I finished Pirates of the Caribbean, the burn-in was gone!

The only issue of any note is that my set does appear to have lost some of its brightness over time. I would guess it's about 80-85% (not 85-95%) as bright as it was originally. But I've tortured this set for 30-60 (not 300-600) hours every week, and it's to be expected. Oddly, even though I can adjust the brightness up to compensate for this, I just haven't, because it's not an issue. In fact, my uncle (he of the ginormous 50" lcd) came over about a month ago, and after seeing the tv in action for the first time, was truly impressed with the picture quality of a golf game we were watching.

hakujin41 said:
That was what I needed to make my decision. In for one! Thanks for the advice and evidence to back it up!!

Good to hear!

I finally got the Sears 42" version set up and was just checking it out a bit. I've never owned a plasma before, only lcds. I connected SD card, looked great, but when I put on a dvd movie (tried a few), i felt like the movie opening and closing credits were a little blurry and the picture wasn't as clear as my lcd (i was viewing from 6 feet away and was basing my comparison to my previous 32" Envision LCD that was there). Any idea why this would happen or how to fix? I'm kind of annoyed by it. Overall, good picture, but I feel it is not as good as even my 32" Envision LCD from Staples. If I breakin will that help? I can't understand why there would be clarity issues on the movie, but not my sd card pictures.