Panasonic's VIERA TH-65PX500 sub 9k 65-inch plasma
By Ryan Block 
posted Aug 26th 2005 3:20PM
posted Aug 26th 2005 3:20PM
Ah, we remember those halcyon days as though they were only last week, when even small plasmas cost about $10,000 US, and a faint hope of the HDTV dream lingered o'erhead as we slept. But Panasonic's announced they're to sell a sub ¥1,000,000 ($9,000) 65-inch 3000:1 contrast ratio 1080p beast of a monster of an HDTV, the VIERA TH-65PX500. Funny how in this market now ten grand'll get you low-end high-end.
I stillhave no TV. I keep waiting for that price war you guys were talking about that is coming.
What will I be able to get for 2k around xmas. I'd love to see an ask engadget about flat TVs that are big and double as media center PC monitors as well as fit for playing xbox and PS.
Buying a TV has never been so stessful. I can't belive that I'm willing to spend 2k and that is not so much these days.
Each time my wife tries to get me to seriously look at getting a new tv (We have a 27" Hitachi) I open our biggest window in our house, which is around 15' by 12'. That's all the entertainment I need. Sure the channel gets boring after awhile, but at least it's High-Def and has the added bonus of being 3D!
hey matt i feel your pain. every tax return i feel like 'maybe this is the year for a tv' but really, 2k is not even worth putting into a tv for what you get - and like you i am in the same price range.
the last tv i bought was a 32" about 5 years ago for $450 and that was considered just fine. now for an edtv its 1.2-2k and basically your buying a piece of junk not ready for the hdtv standards, and even then then new hdtv 1080i or whatever is coming. plasma, dlp, lcd, hdtv, edtv - its insane!
im going to wait some more on this one.
You can get a 42" Panasonic plasma for just under $2,000 shipped. http://www.plasmadepot.com/panasonic_plasma_tv/th42pwd8uk.php Only thing is that this setup is meant to be used with a surround system, so it doesn't have speakers, many inputs (you're supposed to use your A/V Receiver for video switching), a good remote control (use a universal), or a table stand (which you'll throw out if you wall mount it anyways). If you want speakers, inputs, a nice remote, and a table stand, you can go with the consumer model (http://www.plasmadepot.com/panasonic_plasma_tv/th42pd50u.php) for about $200 more.
And life is far more than 1,000 hours. More like 60,000 hours before it's half as bright as it was when new (and still usable).
Thank you Chris, you beat me to it.
60,000 hours until half brightness. At 8 hours a day, that's over 20 years until *half* brightness.
For you guys wanting to get an HDTV for cheap.
One word.
Refurbished.
The amount of money you will spend on a refurbished HDTV from an online vendor and a nice 3 year all inclusive extended warranty will come to about HALF of what you would pay for the tv brand new.
I have a 52 inch Toshiba DLP and I only spent around 1600 total for the tv.
Mike, you mind shedding some light on some places to check out for such refurb deals?
thanks for the encouragement guys.
Glad to know most of the people responding are in the same boat. I'm going to wait until my girlfriend makes me buy one.
OT:
Living without TV has been a totally different experience. I mostly reverted to laptop life but like to think that I when outside more and spent more time hanging out with people.
I do miss xboxing late night with guys but everyone has a TV and so I've found I get plenty of TV time not even trying. I even found I go to the gym more because I can watch TV there.
Aseem, I got my DLP from www.secondact.biz
The amount of money you save depends on what kind of set you are looking for.
Example: HP-P4261 Samsung 42 inch plasms. New is about 2800 dollars. Secondact has them for about 2200. Not a big deal, but 600 bucks is 600 bucks y'know?
At the time when I bought my DLP the model I wanted had an MSRP of i believe about 2700
I got it for a little bit over 1800. So again, just shop around, im sure you can find deals on refurbished equipment. Im very happy with my tv, do a google search on "refurbished hdtv" or "refurbished plasma". There are a ton of refurbished hdtv resellers out there.
My set: http://www.dallasdancemusic.com/photos/data/500/7846DSCF0014.JPG
Mike,
Do you find that your set has enough resolution for computing?
Sub-$10K doesn't impress me. An MTBF of more than three years or so? THAT would impress me! ;)
matthew, its plenty for me, I bought this tv for the sole purpose of using it for console, pc gaming, dvds and web browsing.
Pushing the resolution to the 720p range caused some overscan in the image, but most of that is fixable with powerstrip.
Im waiting for tax time, going to get my return, and thinking of selling this tv on maybe ebay, taking that cash, my tax rerturn and getting one of the natve 1080p sets.
But yes, right now, im very happy with my tv, and yes .... the image I get from my computer on it is perfect.
Dont let my shitty photography skills fool you, the image is stunning.
http://www.dallasdancemusic.com/photos/data/500/7846DSCF0051.JPG
http://www.dallasdancemusic.com/photos/data/500/7846DSCF0042.JPG
http://www.dallasdancemusic.com/photos/data/500/7846DSCF0013-med.JPG