How are these BUDGET PLASMAS?

As a soon to be former owner of the Maxent, I'm going to advise you to stay away from that set, as well! I am returning it and picking up the Panasonic 50" and am sure that I will be much happier with it. The Maxent has a terrible flickering autocontrast that becomes increasingly annoying as times goes on, and skin tones are impossible to get right, as there are no color temperature settings to speak of. You will be much happier with the Panasonic and probably any of the others you listed.

I've heard that Philips, at least in the past, has questionable build quality. The Vizio P50HD at Costco has an uneven overscan issue that people have been detailing in the owners' thread. There is more vertical overscan than horizontal overscan, which makes circles into ovals, etc.

Like I said, if you're going to get a plasma @ Costco, you'll be happiest with the Panasonic.

Justin

While we are at it, how about the Sanyo 42" at Walmart?

They also carry Sanyo LCDs but haven't seen anything here on the boards.

Seriously, if you are even somewhat critical of your display, you will end up returning the Maxent. I still recommend the 42, or, if you can afford it, step up to the 50" Panasonic. That's what I ended up doing anyway. The Maxent is a cheap price for a cheap product. Seems like you really want it, so just buy it and try it out, though. It's Costco and they'll take it back without questions if it doesn't perform well for you. Maybe it will meet your needs. There is a 5020HPM owner's thread here in the forums. Take a look before you buy it.

Justin

I don't think anyone would describe a Panasonic set as being a "budget plasma." They may not be "best of the best" but they're certainly a huge step up from the Maxent, Vizio, Phillips neighborhood.

I'd stay away from Philips, bad news fro a reliability perspective.

Why not get HD from Sat.? Vizio 50" is less then Maxent. EDTV is very good if your looking to save $$$, especially in the 42" range.

Are you sure that it's a plasma? I haven't seen any Sony plasmas this year and was under the impression that they don't make plasmas anymore and have turned to DLP/LCoS and LCDs only.

Justin

Not anymore, Costco has a rebate on the Maxent that puts it lower than the Vizio. But, you get what you pay for...

Justin

You know, I've been reading a few of these "budget" threads now and for the coin that you are going be expending, why not stick with a brand you know or at the very least, has a bit of history to it? With the prices on the 42" plasmas going in the dumper, the brand name ones are making more sense now than ever before.

Sure, Pioneer is a bit more than the others. Panasonics are generally good as are the Samsungs. Hitachi makes a nice set, too. And they all have that "comfort factor" that only a brand name can really give you.

It's your money and of course, it is your choice. But it is also a fair amount of your money and, one would imagine that you want to be watching this set for a good many years, if only to justify the $$ that are being spent on it. So why not go with the guys you know?

The price diff is not that large a deal right now, at least in the 42" range. Sure you can still shell out up to $8K for one, but the vast majority are solidly within your budget.

I noticed you asked this same question over at the Home Theater Forum. Gregg Loewen commented that you should stay away from the Maxent and go with the Panasonic. He knows what he is talking about. Since he has calibrated hundreds if not more sets he knows what can produce a great picture. I have the Panasonic and love it. I would also recommend it.

another plus for panasonic
i love my 42" panny

What more do you need to make your decision? It's simple, really; if you're not very discriminating but only want the largest screen you can buy for the least money, go with the Vizio or Maxent. Are they great sets? No. If you're willing to spend the extra bucks, the Panny is a no-brainer, I think.

Personally, I'd rather spend the same cash buying a quality 42" over a mediocre 50" off-brand.

It is the age old conundrum" Quality vs. Quantity." For some people, the former is the only true indicator for measuring their own self-worth. For the latter, the most bang per inch is the ONLY thing that matters.

But in this case and under these circumstances, why not have your cake and eat it, too? Get a brand name unit (the prices just keep tumbling for the 42" and 50"), prefreably in the 50" range and make it a Panny or a Sammy.

For a very few more dollars you have a Brand name that will let you sleep at night and it will be large enough to give all your friends TV-Envy.

I returned my 50" Maxent and paid more for my 50" Panasonic and it was well worth the extra money. I absolutely LOVE my Panasonic and the only regret I have is missing about a month of my Panasonic fooling around with the Maxent!

Justin

The Philips 9431 is probably the Costco equivalent of the 9531 that I have....great set, can't go wrong with that !

The larger the screen, the less satisfied most guys are with SD on a fixed pixel display. Especially since you'll be wanting to stretch the 4:3 images to prevent damage to your plasma. I've got a 42" and now notice artifcacts that I couldn't see on my 34" Panasonic CRT -- even though my viewing distance is slightly greater.

But, you have Dish .... the 622 gives a fantastic picture and gets you about 30 HD channels. A Big Screen TV just begs for HD.

As an employee at a local BB, I can tell you that Maxents get returned the most. We do not recommend them to anyone, and we have had to send off just about every model we got in this year to be serviced. Especially the 50".
They are not worth the savings when you compare what you are getting.

This is just my opinion, but I look at these displays everyday and Panasonic, Samsung, and Toshiba in the 42" range are all about the same price and offer a much better value than Maxent. I cannot speak for Vizio because we don't sell them.

Good Luck