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Costco Panasonic 60" Plasma 3D. Opinions please.

Joined
13 June 2005
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Location
West Coast Florida
I currently have a 50" 1080P Panny Plasma that I absolutely love. I would like a larger plasma for the family room to watch movies, play xbox and wii.

I really have no interest or opinion about 3d but I don't want to be left behind. I like Costco's liberal tv return and warranty program. This TV is WIFI ready and the model number is TC-P60ST30.

Here is the link to the Costco sale:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&topnav=
 
I have the gt which is the step up and it is excellent. I don't think you can go too wrong with a panny plasma.

I am actually considering the 55" version for my main room so I can share the 3d glasses between tvs.
 
IMO Plasma's will be phased out over the next year. The GT is a better tv VS the ST however I'm not sure it's worth about 50% more.
 
I'd say go for it! The only downside to a Plasma IMO is the power draw and the overall weight of the TV over the LCDs, but the picture quality more than makes up for it.
I have a 58" Panasonic Plasma from a few years ago and absolutely love it.
 
64" Samsung plasma 1080p, 3D, wifi at Alibaba.com for $875 shipped. Hard to beat, but some risks. Shipped directly from China (30 days). Alibaba.com is an escrow company that holds the money until the buyer verifies receipt and condition of product to allow payment to be released.
 
IMO Plasma's will be phased out over the next year. The GT is a better tv VS the ST however I'm not sure it's worth about 50% more.

I think you are wrong on plasma being phased out any time soon. They still have the best pq and don't need tricks like 120hz to get no motion blur.
 
I think you are wrong on plasma being phased out any time soon. They still have the best pq and don't need tricks like 120hz to get no motion blur.

I'm not a big fan of plasma, but the one area that really pisses me off about LCD is the horrible "soap opera" effect introduced by interpolated frames at 120hz when viewing film content. To me, it makes watching a movie completely unbearable and it's a setting I always disable. It's meant to solve film judder, which sucks, but the industry is moving to digital capture at higher frame rates anyways, so hopefully this will become a problem of the past.

I haven't personally seen it, but Sony showed a prototype at CES this year using a separate R, G and B LEDs for every single pixel on a 1080p screen. This should provide significantly better picture quality than a traditional LCD or LED-backlit TV. Not sure if they can take this technology to 4k though, which is where the industry is moving in the next couple of years.
 
I'm not a big fan of plasma, but the one area that really pisses me off about LCD is the horrible "soap opera" effect introduced by interpolated frames at 120hz when viewing film content. To me, it makes watching a movie completely unbearable and it's a setting I always disable. It's meant to solve film judder, which sucks, but the industry is moving to digital capture at higher frame rates anyways, so hopefully this will become a problem of the past.

I haven't personally seen it, but Sony showed a prototype at CES this year using a separate R, G and B LEDs for every single pixel on a 1080p screen. This should provide significantly better picture quality than a traditional LCD or LED-backlit TV. Not sure if they can take this technology to 4k though, which is where the industry is moving in the next couple of years.

OLED will be the next big thing, but plasma is still IMO the best bang for the buck and will reproduce the most accurate "FILM" picture for movie watching.

4K is great, but you need a REALLY big TV or sit really close to notice the difference. I think projectors will be the only big benefit for 4K.
 
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OLED will be the next big thing, but plasma is still IMO the best bang for the buck and will reproduce the most accurate "FILM" picture for movie watching.

4K is great, but you need a REALLY big TV or sit really close to notice the difference. I think projectors will be the only big benefit for 4K.

I dunno about OLED -- they still have significant manufacturing challenges.

Wait til CES2013 -- you'll see an explosion of 4k proto's. Everyone's working on them, and they'll be driven by next-gen consoles and digital cinema. I agree that larger screens are where you'll see the most benefit.
 
I dunno about OLED -- they still have significant manufacturing challenges.

Wait til CES2013 -- you'll see an explosion of 4k proto's. Everyone's working on them, and they'll be driven by next-gen consoles and digital cinema. I agree that larger screens are where you'll see the most benefit.

Will we ever see 4K broadcast though? I thought 1080P was about as good as they can get right now.
 
Will we ever see 4K broadcast though? I thought 1080P was about as good as they can get right now.

I'm sure eventually. The first adopters will be the consoles, then probably video over IP where they aren't constrained by the same broadcast standards.

Speaking of high resolution broadcast, they are actually planning on broadcasting select events at the 2012 olympics in 8k ultraHD!!
 
I have 2 pannys, 55 and 65. Love them both and still prefer the picture over LCD or LED TV's. I can't believe how cheap plasmas have gotten over the past couple of years.
 
You won't go wrong with a Panasonic plasma. Excellent TV's.
 
I just picked up another Panasonic Plasma at BB this weekend. They have a new combo package that includes a 55" GT31, 2 sets of 3d glasses and Avatar 3d. I also used $150 worth of rewardzone points and get triple points on the purchase.

Looking forward to getting it.

I just watched a couple more 3d movies this weekend on my 65" inch Panny GT, and it is just beautiful.
 
I say go Sharp. Had a 50" Sharp LED TV 1080P wonderful quality. Ended up getting a 55" Vizio when they broke into our home and absolutely hate it!

I have a 32" Sharp LED in my room hung on the wall using a mount and love the TV. Lightweight perfect quality. Everything you want.
 
Panasonic is in the process of discontinuing its 2011 line and replacing them with its 2012 line. You can find details about all the new models, including reviews of most of them, at this site (scroll down the page for the 2012 models). The 2012's are not yet available in stores, but most will be available in the next month or so.

The TC-P60ST30 is part of their 2011 line. So you're getting a smokin' deal because it's the end of their model year and the model is about to be replaced with an improved model. If you want it, go for it right away, because they'll be gone soon.

Plasma has a bunch of advantages over LCD, including motion display, and visibility at an angle. They're not going away any time soon.

Will we ever see 4K broadcast though? I thought 1080P was about as good as they can get right now.
Actually, broadcast is 720p right now; you need Blu-Ray to get 1080p. As for 4K, you don't need it for home viewing, according to this article.
 
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It's the time of year where everything will get replaced. I don't really recommend sharp unless you want to go over 70".
 
Costco is no longer selling this 60" Panny online. If you want one, they are only available at the store and will not be replenished when they sell out.

I saw one and the 3D is amazing!!!!! I just hope more and more programming becomes available in 3D over time.
 
Well I went to Costco and purchased the 60" ST 30. I have it set up but have not turned it on yet. Apparently the AV forums suggest, for the best picture to go through a slide burn in process for a few dozen hours. I wonder where I can get the Disney WOW DVD?



Costco is no longer selling this 60" Panny online. If you want one, they are only available at the store and will not be replenished when they sell out.

I saw one and the 3D is amazing!!!!! I just hope more and more programming becomes available in 3D over time.
 
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