Panasonic TH-50PM50U arrived today  

First I would like to thank the members of the AVS forum. This site has so much information, almost too much. We were in the market for a 50" PDP and we went to many stores to see the displays in person but really never got a chance to really tweak with them. In one store one the X would look better than the Y and Z and in another store Z would look better than X but not Y and so on. Well with all of the positive posts about the Panasonic that's what we settled on. We purchased the TH-50PM50U from Costco. The price was very fair and we heard ( also on this forum) that Costco has a great satisfaction policy. We ordered the set on the first day of the sale (01/09) and although the site said that it would take 20 working days for delivery it only took 7, needless to say we were pretty impressed. When we fired the set up I brought all of the picture levels down (again per this forum) & even at the lower levels it looks great. We have satellite (via component) and our HD is due this weekend so I'll have to update when that is online. On some feeds the picture is fair when you are up close and on others it's pretty good, but at normal viewing distances it looks good and very good. I expected this as it is the same on our 34" Toshiba CRT. For kicks I put on the Batman Begins DVD (which is also hooked up via Component as we are waiting for the HDMI cables) and was totally blown away. Even with the levels turned down the picture was awesome. We couldn't be happier. A few things that are so true that I've learned from this forum are:

1. The display does look bigger in your house than in the store.

2. All of the good PDP's will look awesome when it is in your house because there isn't another one right next to it to compare it with.

3. If you are in the market for a set just buy one. Sure next year's model will have this that or whatever that this year's doesn't, but it also won't have what the year after will have. When does it stop? Life's too short, enjoy it.

For the other people who ordered the TH-50PM50U I really think that you'll be happy with it.

Thanks again AVS.

Ordered it from Costco online on the first day.... 01/09.

Can't wait to see HD on it. I wonder if my wife will be able to see the difference? I still have the Vette. It's in the shop right now getting painted. Can't wait to see that done as well. I know how you feel about your (ex) car. This is my second '67 BB roadster. I sold my last one and never got over it. After 8 years my wife said just find another one already and shut up. I lucked out & found a 435 roadster (NOM) that needed work but was solid for a steal. These PDP's are actually cheap compared to these old cars! I can't believe how much the prices have gone up on '69 Camaro's. Unreal.



It showed shipped 2 days later 01/11



I took a few pictures but I'm not sure how to post them.

From what I hear about HD I'm sure that would be awesome. It looks very good in SD as it is. I've been watching bits and pieces of it on the new Panasonic but that red speed logo in the corner really bothers me. Maybe I'm being overly cautious but until I get 100 hrs. + on it I'll do my extended viewing of Barrett Jackson on our old set.

I ordered it on the 9th and it was delivered on the 18th (we're in Northern CA). I think the name of the company was Bekins Home-something. They were great. They offered to mount it on the stand but I declined as we were mounting it onto the wall. The PDP actually arrived 6 hours before the wall mount did (go figure). The guys even helped me carry our 34" Toshiba CRT up stairs to the Master bedroom, no easy feat as that thing weighs a ton. I think if we sell the house we'll just leave it here! You'll be stoked on the display when you get it.

I have the dish connected to the display via component and you can stretch it to fill the screen. As stated earlier we won't have our HD feed until tomorrow (Sat.). I haven't tried it with the HDMI cables as they just arrived from Monoprice.com yesterday & I haven't had a chance to mess with them.

I missed the BJ yesterday but I'm sure that they got crazy money for them. My car was originally Goodwood green on green (yuck!) with a black stinger. Since I don't have the original motor and I'll probably keep this car I'm having it painted Tuxedo black with a red stinger per my own tastes. The interior has already been changed to black. It's probably going to be a little warm on those nice sunny days!