Panasonic 50PZ800U 58PZ800U Ranked Best Buy

Panasonic's highly regarded THX Certified plasma display prices are dropping into the Best Buy range. Earlier this year CNet awarded the 50-inch Panasonic TH-50PZ800U their Editors' Choice among 50-inch plasma TVs, and the newly released 58-inch version received equally high praise, with an identical score and Editors' Choice award. Part of the reason has to do with color accuracy, for which the TV's THX Display Certification deserves credit. These THX certified sets look fantastic right out of the box.

If you're shopping for a large-screen plasma, the other high-end option is the 60-inch Pioneer PDP-6020FD. However it's significantly more expensive than the 58-inch Panasonic. The Panasonic's THX-certified color accuracy is a huge plus. Couple that with super crisp picture detail, black levels as deep as the 60-inch Pioneer, and a newly discounted price and you've a no-brainer Best Buy recommendation.

50" Plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1859 at Amazon Best Buy
58" Plasma Panasonic TH-58PZ800U $2408 at Amazon Best Buy

Pioneer PDP-5020FD Price Drop $1999

Stunning Image Quality, Great Low Price

Several online retailers have slashed their price on the great Pioneer PDP-5020FD 50-inch plasma HDTV. The Pioneer Kuro line is known for extraordinary deep blacks, excellent color balance, and exceptional detail. You no longer need to bust your budget to take one of these babies home. The current discounts represent 50% off MSRP $3999. Check out the Pioneer PDP-5020FD at J&R, 6 Ave, OneCall.com, and Amazon.

Pioneer PDP-5020FD $1999 at J&R
Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2049 Free Shipping at Amazon
Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2099 Free Shipping at OneCall

Great Deal on 42-Inch Panasonic Plasma

Best Buy on 42" Plasma"

We've long admired the Panasonic 42-inch 42PX80U Plasma. Top notch picture and great price, available at J&R for $669!

Panasonic TH-42PX80U $669.99

Blu-Ray Disc Blow Out—3 for the Price of 2

Amazon Blu-Ray Disc Sale Extended

You've got the new HDTV and Blu-Ray player, now how about some discs? Amazon is promoting Blu-Ray discs with a 3-for-the-price-of-2 deal. About 250 best-selling discs are eligible for the promotion. Prices on individual discs are already marked down—most single disc movies run from $12.99 to $18.99—so there is great value in this 3-for-2 promotion. Get 3 Blu-Ray movies for about 25-35 bucks! Nice.

Blu-Ray Discs—Buy 2 Get 1 Free at Amazon

Sony HDTV & Blu-Ray Deals at Amazon

Sony is Hot at Amazon

Amazon continues to find creative ways to promote Sony high definition electronics. First there was the Sony High-Def Store, then the Sony HDTV and Blu-Ray Player Bundle, and now the Sony Blu-Ray Player and Disc Promotion.

We're not complaining. We love the Sony 46XBR6 and Sony 52XBR6 HDTVs, and the Sony BDP-S350 and Sony BDP-S550 Blu-Ray players are top notch as well. The newest promotion offers up to five free Blu-Ray discs when you buy a Sony Blu-Ray player in the form of a buy-one-get-one-free deal (ten disc maximum). This deal makes sense. Almost all Blu-Ray player buyers throw in a few discs during checkout. Now they can double their pleasure at no extra cost.

New Price Drops on Panasonic THX-Certified HDTV

Great Price on Panasonic TH-50PZ800U

Several months ago we tagged the great THX-certified Panasonic TH-50PZ800U as the best-value 50-inch HDTV, offering oustanding image quality at a reasonable price. Since then the 50PZ800U price has plunged and it's now available for $1728, less than the smaller 42-inch TH-42PZ800U! The price on the 46-inch TH-46-PZ800U also dropped—more than $400—but is still about $500 more that the 50 inch set. At the current price the TH-50PZ800U is a terrific bargain. The larger TH-58PZ800 also offers great value at about $2600.

42" Plasma Panasonic TH-42PZ800U $1799
46" Plasma Panasonic TH-46PZ800U $2206
50" Plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1728 *** Hot Deal ***
58" Plasma Panasonic TH-58PZ800U $2607

Hot Deal - Panasonic TH-42PZ85U 42-inch Plasma HDTV

The sleek Panasonic TH-42PZ85U produces one of the deepest shades of black we've seen with excellent color balance and outstanding image detail. A perfect example of why Panasonic plasma HDTVs out sell all others. This 42-inch set is an awesome deal.

Panasonic TH-42PZ85U 42-inch Plasma HDTV $899 at J&R

Hot Deal - Samsung PN50A650 50-inch Plasma HDTV

Samsung Hits The Mark With Top Rated PN50A650 Plasma HDTV

Samsung's new PN50A650 1080p plasma HDTV showcases the superb detail of plasma technology. Plasma televisions produce darker-black picture details with truer, more accurate colors than most LCD displays can. They also offer superior consistency in picture with wide viewing angles. And for fast motion action movie sequences and most sporting events, the latest 120-Hz LCDs are still no match for the picture clarity delivered by plasma technology.

The PN50A650 features a robust selection of HD-compatible ports, including four HDMI ports (one conveniently side-mounted) and two component video inputs. For less than $1600 with free shipping this top rated plasma beauty is an awesome deal. Near unanimous five star customer reviews at Amazon.

Samsung PN50A650 50-Inch 1080p Plasma $1565 Free Shipping

Quality Picture, Low Price, Free Shipping 720p HDTV

Great Bargains on 720p HDTV Still Available

1080p is all the rage but there are a few 720p sets on the market that represent great value for the bargain hunting HDTV buyer. At 50 inches and below 720p is perfectly adequate. From a normal viewing distance your eye cannot distinguish the extra pixels. All things being equal a 720p image is just as sharp as a 1080p image. Prices on 720p set have dropped as retailers clear stock to make room for new 1080p models. Here are our 720p HDTV recommendations, all with free shipping:

Panasonic TH-42PX80U 42-Inch 720p Plasma $764 Free Shipping
LG 42PG20 42-Inch 720p Plasma $799 Free Shipping
Samsung PN42A450 42-Inch 720p Plasma $806 Free Shipping
Samsung PN50A450 50-Inch 720p Plasma $917 Free Shipping

Sound & Vision 2008 Editor's Choice Awards

Pioneer PRO-111FD is Product of the Year (Again)

The Pioneer Kuro Elite Pro-111FD keeps it in the family (in 2007 the PRO-110FD was product of the year). No surprise considering the overwhelming praise lavished on this stunning set. In addition to the blackest-blacks the 111FD has outstanding color balance and excellent detail. This is the last in-house generation of Kuros. The plasma screens for future generations will be manufactured by Panasonic. Pioneer says that future sets will be as good or better, but are you willing to gamble? If not, pick up one of the current generation sets. If you can't quite afford the top-of-the-line Kuro Elite consider the excellent PDP-5020FD or PDP-6020FD.

Other top ranked HDTVs include the outstanding Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8, the THX-certified Panasonic TH-50PZ800U (one of our faves), and the top-of-the-line Samsung LN55A950 ($2000 less than the 55XBR8!).

We love their pick for audio product of the year, the Definitive Technology Mythos STS SuperTower home theater speaker system. The previous winner was the Mythos ST system, and the Mythos STS steps it up a notch at a lower price than its predecessor. Nice.

Selected 2008 Products-of-the-Year:

Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO 111FD 50-inch Plasma
Pioneer PDP-5020FD 50-Inch Plasma Free Shipping
Pioneer PDP-6020FD 60-Inch Plasma Free Shipping
Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U 50-Inch Plasma Hot Deal!
Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8 55-Inch LED LCD
Samsung LN55A950 55 inch LCD
Mitsubishi LT-46149 46-Inch LCD
Sony VPLVW70 BRAVIA SXRD Front Projector

Definitive Technology Mythos STS Supertower (Black)
Definitive Technology Mythos STS Supertower (Silver)
Onkyo TX-SR706 7.1 Channel Receiver Hot Deal!

More Sound & Vision Top Picks:

Mitsubishi L65A90 65-Inch LaserVue HDTV
Yamaha RX-V3900BL 7.1-Channel Receiver
Denon AVR-989 7.1 Channel Receiver

$1300 Off Sony XBR HDTV/Blu-Ray Bundle

Offer Extended Thru January 2009

There's still time to take advantage of Amazon's great Sony XBR/Blu-Ray Bundle. The 40XBR6 total discount is $682 (TV) plus $70 (BD player) plus $300 (bundle discount), or $1052 total. Similarly, the 46XBR6 total discount is $1172, and the 52XBR6 total discount is $1284.

40" LCD Sony KDL-40XBR6 $1,052 Off, Free Shipping
40" LCD Sony KDL-40XBR7 $570 Off, Free Shipping
46" LCD Sony KDL-46XBR6 $1,172 Off, Free Shipping
52" LCD Sony KDL-52XBR6 $1,284 Off, Free Shipping

Last Day - Sony HDTV/Blu-Ray Bundle

Offer Extended

There's still time to take advantage of Amazon's great Sony XBR/Blu-Ray Bundle. The 40XBR6 total discount is $682 (TV) plus $70 (BD player) plus $300 (bundle discount), or $1052 total. Similarly, the 46XBR6 total discount is $1172, and the 52XBR6 total discount is $1284.

40" LCD Sony KDL-40XBR6 $1,052 Off, Free Shipping
40" LCD Sony KDL-40XBR7 $570 Off, Free Shipping
46" LCD Sony KDL-46XBR6 $1,172 Off, Free Shipping
52" LCD Sony KDL-52XBR6 $1,284 Off, Free Shipping

2008 Top Rated HDTVs

Amazon Ranks the Best of 2008

Amazon has ranked the top rated HDTVs of 2008 by Editor's Picks, Highest Customer Reviews, and Best Selling HDTVs. Many high ranking sets are currently available at substantial discounts with free shipping.

40" LCD Samsung LN40A550 $949
40" LCD Samsung LN40A650 $1240
46" LCD Samsung LN46A650 $1518
52" LCD Samsung LN52A650 $1944
52" LCD Samsung LN52A850 $2456
52" LCD Samsung LN52A750 $2053
50" Plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1749
50" Plasma LG 50PG60 $1917
60" Plasma LG 60PG60 $2919

Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO-111FD Product of the Year

Sound & Vision Magazine has awarded the 50-inch Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO-111FD plasma HDTV product of the year for 2008. Sound & Vision called the PRO-111FD "the best all-around TV that money can buy." We love the PRO-111FD but it's a bit pricey and the same great picture quality can be had at lower cost with the outstanding Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD.

Also honored in the video categories are the Sony XEL-1 11-inch OLED TV, Samsung’s LN55A950 55-inch LCD HDTV, the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U 50-inch plasma TV, Panasonic’s DMP-BD55 Blu-ray Disc player, the Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8 55-inch LCD HDTV and Sony’s VPL-VW70 SXRD front projector.

The Pioneer PRO-111FD is the top-of-the-line 50-inch Pioneer Kuro. Outstanding picture quality including incredibly deep blacks is a hallmark of the Kuro line. Related models include the 50-inch PDP-5020FD, and the 60-inch PRO-151FD and PDP-6020FD. Sound & Vision prefers the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U to the Pioneer PDP-5020FD, but we rank the PDP-5020FD slightly higher.

The 50-inch Panasonic TH-50PZ800U is one of four THX-certified sets in the PZ800U line. The others are the 42-inch TH-42PZ800U, the 46-inch TH-46PZ800U, and the 58-inch TH-58PZ800U. Picture quality is uniformly excellent across the PZ800U line. In an interesting pricing quirk the current prices for the 50-inch and 58-inch sets are less than the smaller 46-inch model, and the 50-inch set is also priced below the 42-inch model! If you have the space go for the larger 50-inch TH-50PZ800U or 58-inch TH-58PZ800U.

Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO-111FD $4399
Sony XEL-1 11-Inch OLED Digital TV $2499
Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1749 Hot Deal
Sony KDL-55XBR8 $6149
Panasonic DMP-BD55K Blu-ray Disc Player $399
Sony VPLVW70 Home Theater Front Projector $7299

Related Models:

50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2773 at Amazon
50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2499 at J&R
50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2799 at OneCall

60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3812 at Amazon
60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3999 at J&R
60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3999 at OneCall

42" Plasma Panasonic TH-42PZ800U $1779
46" Plasma Panasonic TH-46PZ800U $2608
50" Plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1749 *** Hot Deal ***
58" Plasma Panasonic TH-58PZ800U $2694 *** Hot Deal ***

$1300 Discount Sony/Blu-Ray Bundle

Last Two Days

Offer Extended

There's still time to take advantage of Amazon's great Sony XBR/Blu-Ray Bundle. The 40XBR6 total discount is $682 (TV) plus $70 (BD player) plus $300 (bundle discount), or $1052 total. Similarly, the 46XBR6 total discount is $1172, and the 52XBR6 total discount is $1284.

40" LCD Sony KDL-40XBR6 $1,052 Off, Free Shipping
40" LCD Sony KDL-40XBR7 $570 Off, Free Shipping
46" LCD Sony KDL-46XBR6 $1,172 Off, Free Shipping
52" LCD Sony KDL-52XBR6 $1,284 Off, Free Shipping

$1300 Off Sony HDTV/Blu-Ray Bundle at Amazon

Up To $1300 Off Sony Bundle

Offer Extended

Amazon has bundled select Sony HDTVs with select Blu-Ray disc players with an extra $300 discount for the package. Given that Sony HDTVs are already marked down up to $1000 these bundles are exceptional deals (for instance, almost $1300 off the 52XBR6 bundle!). If you need an HDTV and a Blu-Ray player now is the time to pounce!

Sony HDTV/Blu-Ray Player Bundles at Amazon

The discount prices on the following bundles (Sony HDTV plus Sony BPD-S550 disc player) are particularly notable:

40" LCD Sony KDL-40XBR6 $1,052Off, Free Shipping
40" LCD Sony KDL-40XBR7 $570 Off, Free Shipping
46" LCD Sony KDL-46XBR6 $1,172 Off, Free Shipping
52" LCD Sony KDL-52XBR6 $1,284 Off, Free Shipping

Sharp LC46D65U 46" LCD HDTV $1029

Fantastic 1080P Picture, Free White Glove Delivery

Amazon has a sweet deal on the top rated Sharp LC46D65U. With sharpness, contrast, color balance, and black levels as good as any top end LCD on the market the popular LC46D65U is a terrific bargain, several hundred dollars less than similar sets from Samsung and Sony. Amazon currently offers free white glove delivery on this set. This Sharp has five HDMI inputs(!) and very low power consumption. Overall a very nice set at a great price.

Sharp LC46D65U 46-Inch LCD HDTV $1029, Free Shipping

Panasonic THX Certified HDTV Price Drops

Great Prices on 50" and 58" Sets

Prices have dropped on the highly regarded THX HDTVs from Panasonic. CNet ranks these sets above the so-called World's Best HDTV, the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD and PDP-6020FD.

At Amazon the 50-inch TH-50PZ800U is currently available for $1859, less than the 46-inch TH-46PZ800 and about the same price as the 42-inch TH-42PZ800U. The 58-inch TH-58PZ800U is currently available for $2699, about the same price as the 46-inch TH-46PZ800U. At these prices the TH-50PZ800U and TH-58PZ800U are terrific bargains.

42" Plasma Panasonic TH-42PZ800U $1779
46" Plasma Panasonic TH-46PZ800U $2608
50" Plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1859 *** Hot Deal ***
58" Plasma Panasonic TH-58PZ800U $2699 *** Hot Deal ***

For reference here are some prices on the Pioneer Kuro:

50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2382 at Amazon
50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2499 at J&R
50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2799 at OneCall

60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3999 at J&R
60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3869 at Amazon
60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3999 at OneCall

Amazon Top Selling LCD HDTV

Sony is taking a big chunk of the LCD HDTV market away from long time leader Samsung. Boosted by huge price drops the Sony Bravia XBR6 LCD HDTVs shake up the standings. The 52XBR6 leaps up to 3rd, the 40XBR6 up to 6th, and the 46XBR6 up to 7th. Another big mover is the Samsung Series 700 LN52A750, jumping up to 8th.

Great picture quality, low price, and free shipping make these the best selling LCD HDTVs at Amazon (January 2009):

1. Samsung LN52A650 52-Inch LCD HDTV
2. Samsung LN46A650 46-Inch LCD HDTV
3. Sony KDL-52XBR6 52-Inch LCD HDTV
4. Samsung LN40A550 40-Inch LCD HDTV
5. Samsung LN32A450 32-Inch LCD HDTV
6. Sony KDL-40XBR6 40-Inch LCD HDTV
7. Sony KDL-46XBR6 46-Inch LCD HDTV
8. Samsung LN52A750 52-Inch LCD HDTV
9. Samsung LN46A550 46-Inch LCD HDTV
10. Samsung LN40A650 40-Inch LCD HDTV

All Amazon Top Selling LCD HDTV

Amazon Top Selling Plasma HDTV

Great picture quality, low price, and free shipping make these the best selling plasma HDTVs at Amazon (January 2009) :

1. Panasonic TH-42PX80U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV
2. Panasonic TH-42PZ85U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV
3. Panasonic TH-50PZ800U 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
4. Samsung PN50A550 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
5. Samsung PN50A450 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
6. Panasonic TH-50PZ85U 50-inch Plasma HDTV
7. Panasonic TH-46PZ85U 46-Inch Plasma HDTV
8. Panasonic TH-58PZ800U 58-Inch Plasma HDTV
9. Samsung PN50A650 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
10. Samsung PN42A450 42-Inch Plasma HDTV

All Amazon Top Selling Plasma HDTVs