[jackman]

Hey AC,

I just wanted to pass this along to my AC friends.  I stopped by my local Best Buy to do some early Christmas shopping (I'm off this week because I start a new job next week) and happened to walk by the television section and noticed a really good price on the HD Panny 42" plasma, Panasonic TH-42PX60U Television.  It was listed on sale for $1,419 for the 42" HDTV which seemed strange because the smaller version, the 36" was $1,500.  Also, I applied for the BB credit card for no interest for 18 months. 

Because I'm a cheapskate, I decided to save $80 on shipping by borrowing my father in law's pickup (the box was too large to fit in my wife's Honda Pilot).  I'm going to work on the install later today and will try to take pictures.  It's going above my fireplace but we decided not to put the cables in-wall because they should be relatively easy to conceal.  I'm going to run the wires along the edge of the mantle and may make a color-matched trim piece to hide the wires if necessary.  If it looks bad, I've got an electrician ready to cut holes in my wall (to hide the wires) next week.  There is also a $200 rebate available on-line for this TV to cover installation. 

Anyone with experience installing a plasma tv above a fireplace, please feel free to give me your advice.   

I'll keep everyone posted on how it works out! 

Jack

[PhilNYC]

Congrats! 

One suggestion is to get it ISF calibrated...or at a minimum, use the Avia calibration DVD.  FAR better than the default settings...

[jackman]

Congrats! 

One suggestion is to get it ISF calibrated...or at a minimum, use the Avia calibration DVD.  FAR better than the default settings...

Thanks Phil,

How do I get the ISF calibrated?  I'm going to get the Avai DVD but I'm not familiar with ISF.  Does this require a professional?

Cheers,

J

[PhilNYC]

ISF calibration requires a professional who is ISF-certified.  These people are trained/authorized to access your TV's service menus without voiding your warranty.

There have been a few discussions of good people that do this here on AC.  Do a search on "ISF" to see some of the discussion...I had mine done by Chad B:

http://www.hdtvbychadb.com/default.htm

[Mathew_M]

I own a Panasonic plasma also (non-HD model) and find that they look great out of the box.  Avia is nice to have but most THX certified DVD's now have a basic calibration setup included.  ISF calibration used to be a bigger deal with RPTV's since they would get so thrown out of whack during shipment but the newer digital sets, at least from my experience need less tweaking.

[PhilNYC]

I own a Panasonic plasma also (non-HD model) and find that they look great out of the box.  

Interesting...both of my Panasonic plasmas looked pretty mediocre out of the box.  One is a 42" edv from 2002, the other is a 50" hdtv bought in July.  Both are the "commercial version" (no built-in speakers or tuners)...and both had initial brightness set way too high and the picture looked somewhat washed out.  Initially on both, I eyeballed some changes in the picture menu and made things better.  The Avia DVD helped even more, but the ISF calibration really took it to another level, particularly with color accuracy...(I only ISF-calibrated my 50" screen)...

[brj]

For those that aren't aware of it, www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com has started to include ISF calibration settings (excluding service menu settings) for various TVs in their reviews.  For example, the Panasonic TH-42PX60U review has these settings about 1/3 of the way down the page.

Now if someone had a suggestion for a good 42" TV of any kind that was half that price...

[BobM]

This seems to be a very popular TV these days. Mine should arrive on Tuesday from here: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TH-42PX60U-42-Plasma-HDTV/dp/B000F6SR0O/sr=8-1/qid=1165585380/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-7606135-6937726?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

Good prices on-line for this, but I can definitely understand paying a little more from a local distributor, just in case it needs to be returned. The ones around me were about $400 more, plus tax, so I opted for Amazon (with a generous holiday return policy extending until 1/31/07).

Thanks for the ISF calibration link. I'll definitely print this one out in case I need it.

Bob

[JoshK]

I'm considering the 58" Panasonic @~ $3400, I just can't justify the $9K on the 65" 1080p. My 42" is from 00 or 01....so I think its time for an upgrade. 

[Levi]

ISF Calibration by Chad, definitely a worthwhile investment after purchase. 

[RoadTripper]

Hey Jackman,

Are you concerned about what a fire in your fireplace will do to the TV? Or is your fireplace retired?

[Levi]

I would pay a professional to do the plasma installation.  You can also put a frame around it.  Then you have no worries.  It is well worth it, if you want a peace of mind.

[Biggalo]

ISF Calibration by Chad, definitely a worthwhile investment after purchase. 

Is there any calibration to be done to the Dlp units? I just purchased a 67" Samsung and the picture was hot, right out the box. Unbelievably sharp!!!!

[Double Ugly]

Is there any calibration to be done to the Dlp units? I just purchased a 67" Samsung and the picture was hot, right out the box. Unbelievably sharp!!!!

Absolutely.  Chad took my 57" Sammy DLP to a whole 'nother level.

And yes, the picture was very good before he worked his magic.

[Levi]

Congrats!

Here is my color tracking before and after with Chad's Pro ISF calibration.