[Maximus330I]

I am ever so close in convincing the wife that she needs a 42in Panny. My question is, how sturdy is the stand? I plan on putting it on a stand for now and placing it on a dresser in my bedroom. I live in Ca and we have small earthquakes from time to time. I also have a 3yr old son and while he isnt really a problem, he does like swinging his light saber from time to time and may come in contact w/ the panny Thanks in advance.

 

[Hawaii]

the panny manual recommends connecting the back of the unit to the wall with a wire (no provided). the stand is quite sturdy with rubber feet but with enough force it can tip forwards which is what the wire would prevent. i would equate it to the force necessary to raise a car hood.

i don't know how it would hold up to a small quake though. you'd probably want that wire.


as for the young jedi in training, yikes. i only hope he doesn't try to take out count dooku in the screen. not much the strongest stand in the world can do from shattering the glass. he won't tip it over with a strike to the side unless he is the chosen one that no one knew about.

 

[Maximus330I]

LOL! He loves ep 2. He's only 3 but has memorized about half of the movie, especially the lightsaber duels Thanks for the tip. Does the cable connect directly to the set from the back? Is there a loop of some kind built into the back? Thanks again.

 

[Hawaii]

There's a built in screw/loop of some kind. If you haven't already, check out the PDF's here. There are also two carry handles which some people use Panny site


Also, to manage the wife's expectations....


Once you go down the plasma path, there are a bunch of other things to get if you don't have already.


-Component Video Cables - see recent thread for details $50 to $100

-AV receiver with component switching and 5.1 audio capability $500 or less

-Prog Scan DVD - Panny RP82 or CP72 changer are popular with fellow members here. low price $200 + manf rebate available and great video output for $. both uses the popular sage faroudja chip

-Speakers $?

 

[Maximus330I]

Great info. The main problem is that I'm stretching my budget now to buy the panny. I currently have one of those home theater in a box made by pioneer and use Dish Network. I know that this isnt the optimal set up but for now, it is all I have. Once I recover from the purchase of the set, than I will invest in better components. My question is, will these components work? I know it doesnt come with a tuner or speakers but please forgive my ignorance. Will the satellite box and the pioneer theater in a box work with the panny? Or am I going to have to buy all new gear right away? I really need to spell check so I dont hit edit so often

 

[Hawaii]

i think the HT in a Box system will work so long as it has enough RCA inputs and your receiver can switch the video source. the one short coming of the Panny is the limited video inputs. it has 1 set of component input (R,G,B) which you can combine with 1 s-video OR 1 composite input, not both.


so depending on your gear, you might be limited if your Satellite TV uses s-video, VCR uses composite, and dvd player uses composite. you can plug all three into the receiver and plug one cable to the plasma. you would switch the video source via the receiver.

 

[sat_uplinker]

Here's a source for inexpensive quality cables- They are custom made Belden cable (same stuff we use in TV studios for SDI with a 3GHz rating.) Im a little skeptical of $150/meter video cables. Give the belden a try for around $30. You can always dump $$$ later on designer cables when your budget recovers, but this will get you started for watching DVD's and HDTV.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/


Bob

 

[Hawaii]

Bob,

Was that a plug for your product?


This is not a cable discussion. The cable discussion is a few threads down. If you were blind and missed it. Here it is


It irks me that you're sending the discussion towards another path.

 

[Maximus330I]

There was one more route I was thinking of going. CC has an Onkyo surround sound package that includes a set of speakers and a reciever. Its not the best package in the world but ive read great reviews on it. Here's the link:
http://www.circuitcity.com/frame1.js....jsp&oid=53030

Would that be suffice? If I went that route, I would probably buy the progressive dvd player from panny. Thanks again guys for your advice.

 

[Hawaii]

try your HT in a Box first and determine for yourself if that's acceptable. don't feel you have to get everything new even though it's an awesome feeling before the bills come.


there was a huge price error and promotion at CC over thanksgiving. a $500 AV receiver was mis-priced for $300 and they were giving away speakers with it. another forum about CC


from glancing over it, the one you picked out from CC seems like it would work but there are some serious audiophiles here who's definition of what "works" will vary. your wife may also say the large black speakers won't work despite how they sound. again, try your existing system first.


lastly, if you're going to buy from CC read up in that link about using MSN Wallet and getting a 20% store credit back in Feb for new purchases. seems like others are using this MSN thing and doing store pickups.


you might also want to search that forum for discounts from places like goodguys.com (10% off & free shipping) and onecall.com (will price match)

 

[Maximus330I]

I'm on page 5 of that thread. Whew! Hehe. Thx again Hawaii!!

 

[Hawaii]

this is my last post until much later.


remember to charge this purchase to a good credit card. e.g. Citibank's 1% Cash Back Dividend Platinum Card (no annual fee). this way you get an extra year's warranty on the plasma free. if this is news, then go to citibank.com and review the perks of their various credit cards.


the $36 savings will get you a few DVDs or in this case, 5 and $11 for popcorn. see this Great Deal

 

[Maximus330I]

I have the exact citibank cc your talking about, the citi dividend platinum select card. I will definitely use it when I purchase the panny. Take care Hawaii and thank you so much for all your help.

 

[Robert Deckman]

Regarding using a wire to stabilize the plasma screen in the event of an earthquaqe, etc....


I have a 42" panny on the way. Can you let me know the location on the back of the set that has the connection for the wire? I'd like to pre-plan and get the wire, fittings, etc.


Thanks!

 

[Hawaii]

Quote:

Originally posted by Robert Deckman Regarding using a wire to stabilize the plasma screen in the event of an earthquaqe, etc.... I have a 42" panny on the way. Can you let me know the location on the back of the set that has the connection for the wire? I'd like to pre-plan and get the wire, fittings, etc. Thanks!

just click on the link above in my post where i mentioned the PDF file. it has detailed specs on everything.

 

[Hawaii]

Maximus,


here's another thread that mentions how you can get the price and the name of a recommended CSR

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2&goto=newpost

 

[Maximus330I]

That was an excellent deal that Harley received. Thx again Hawaii!

 

[srgilbert]

Can anyone tell me if the Panny table stand you get from Dell has any sort of mounting holes in it? I'd like to be able to drill a couple of holes in my TV stand's top to anchor it. The PDF you linked to shows what looks like holes, but it's a different model number than the one Dell sells.

 

[schex]

Maximus,As a fellow Californian I am familiar with the wire on the back trick . I am wondering (when I get my stand mounted panny) about securing directly to my table through the stand. In other words send 2-3 screws down through the back of the stand (rectangle one) into the shelf on which it will perch. Has anyone done this? It would work better in my case because the back of the display is visible= no wire showing

 

[Hawaii]

ok. i took a peek behind my plasma today for you guys. yes, there are two pre-drilled holes in the base of the stand for you to screw down to a countertop. these holes are behind the plasma after you rest the unit on the stand. the holes do not have particularly large threads. threads look smaller than 1/4". again i'm only eye-balling. the stand i have is the rectangular STY05K (or something like that). to keep the look clean, panny did not pre-drill holes in front of the stand. this should probably be fine for light saber wielding 3 year olds and maybe minor shakes. i don't think they'll hold for larger shakes but it's probably better than the wire running out the back.


hope this helps.