I've been doing some research on HDTV. Looked around and saw that plasma was the best deal next to microdisplays. Here are the sets I'm deciding on. The criteria was that the set needed to have dual HDMI and dual component. Plus it needed to be from a name brand.
Panasonic TH-42PX60U
Samsung HP-S4253
Toshiba 42PH66
1.Which one of these sets gives the best image quality?
2.And for those who one one of these sets, how is the build quality?
3.Would Best Buy or Circuit City match a price from Amazon or an online retailer?
Thanks for the help!

Can anyone help here?

Pioneer 42" is the best. Otherwise, go Panny.

The Pioneer is a great display. But it's a little too expensive for my budget.

As far as price matching cc or bby, you should be able to get bby to price match it, they may add in amazons s&h and tell you they will match that (I did that, when I worked there) but even this can be haggled on. If you deal with someone competent (which can be hard, I know) and dont go in with a bad attitude it can be done. Of the three you chose, I would go with the panasonic but see what they will do on a pioneer, thats what I have and love it. Good Luck

Thanks for the help. Well I sort of already knew that BB would match another retailer's prices, but I didn't know what their policy was on TVs. Also, do you have any suggestions on A/V furniture?

If buying it at bby, check out their init brand which is a house brand and can be had for cheaper than most

In-house brands use older generation panels which are cheaper, but less reliable. If you ever try CS, that will be a pain. That's why I try to stay away from the BBY house brand (Initia) because of that.

The Pioneer is a great display. But it's a little too expensive for my budget.

You can't go wrong with a Panasonic.

If you want another model that might be better than the Samsung/Toshiba entries for your price range, check out the Philips 9631 models. Excellent PQ, lots of features, and Ambilight. :)

Yes, I was looking at the 9631. But I couldn't find them in stock.

My choice was the Samsung HP-S4273. To my eyes it easily beat the pannies and the pioneer's 940. The spec and all the hype suggest pioneer and panasonic respectively. My eyes were sold on the Sammy's true to life color rendition, whites, especially snowy images. I could easily see variations of white where the pioneer didn't.
Bottom line is your eyes, pocketbook, and warranty have to make the ultimate decision.

If buying it at bby, check out their init brand which is a house brand and can be had for cheaper than most
I was talking about furniture, I would never buy a cheap off brand television, let alone a high dollar plasma

Panasonic or Samsung. Also look into the Panasonic TH-42PX600U, just a little more than the 60U and worth the extra $ in looks alone.

This TV will be integrated into a rebuild of my home theater. So it's important that this is a good purchase. I'll be going down to Best Buy to look at the image quality sometime soon.

Have you also considered the Hitachi 42HDS69. It has a great picture, the highest vertical resolution (1080) of any 42" plasma, and has 3 HDMI inputs. Cosmetically it's a nicer looking set than the panny. I was also about to buy the panny and then just bought this one instead. The panny only beats it in black levels. It's a steal right now at Circuit City - cheaper than any online retailers even.

I've been doing some research on HDTV. Looked around and saw that plasma was the best deal next to microdisplays. Here are the sets I'm deciding on. The criteria was that the set needed to have dual HDMI and dual component. Plus it needed to be from a name brand.
Panasonic TH-42PX60U
Samsung HP-S4253
Toshiba 42PH66
1.Which one of these sets gives the best image quality? Panasonic
2.And for those who one one of these sets, how is the build quality? Panasonic is best.
3.Would Best Buy or Circuit City match a price from Amazon or an online retailer?
Thanks for the help!No, a quick check indicates the delivered price from BB & CC is identical, so much for the competition. :rolleyes: I'd recommend waiting until this spring when the next generation of PDPs become available. As the existing stock of PDPs dwindles... big box retailers tend to jack-up their prices closer to the MSRP. Why pay top $ for old technology?

I've been doing some research on HDTV. Looked around and saw that plasma was the best deal next to microdisplays. Here are the sets I'm deciding on. The criteria was that the set needed to have dual HDMI and dual component. Plus it needed to be from a name brand.
Panasonic TH-42PX60U
Samsung HP-S4253
Toshiba 42PH66
1.Which one of these sets gives the best image quality?
2.And for those who one one of these sets, how is the build quality?
3.Would Best Buy or Circuit City match a price from Amazon or an online retailer?
Thanks for the help!


Buy Hitachi!!! by far the best plasmas!!!!!

Yes, I was looking at the Hitachi. But I'm just going to hold off until the next generation of plasmas come out.