Holiday Buyer's Guide 2007: Top 7 Plasma HDTV's of '07

The variety of plasma brands, models, size ranges, and prices is becoming nearly impossible to navigate for the average holiday buyer looking for a flat panel plasma TV. Knowing this we've searched far and wide, sourcing some of the best consumer reviewers and reviews in the United States to come up with a guide detailing the best plasma purchases for this 2007 holiday shopping season.

Pioneer KURO PDP-6010FD 60" 1080p Plasma

A full 23% off the list price of $6500 at Amazon.com brings one of the best TV's of all time down to $4989 and is shipped to your door for free. That's over a huge $1500 in savings! The Kuro features full 1920x1080 pixel resolution, a state-of-the-art, advanced cell structure for impossible blacks and amazing detail, and a ully integrated ATSC and Dual NTSC Tuners with a built-in CableCARD Slot. It also includes 4 HDMI inputs making this the perfect centerpiece for your home theater setup. The one major problem with this is the price, although this is a hot deal for a 60" plasma!

Panasonic TH-42PZ700U 42" 1080p Plasma

Imagine what you could do with $630. You could buy some new home theater components? Put some thought into this question, because you'll save $630 on this model and pay only $1370! Regular price: $2000. The TH-42PZ700U features full high-def 1080p, 4096 shades of gradation and a 5000:1 contrast ratio. In other words, prepare to enjoy a crystal clear picture and impressively deep blacks. The plasma will upconvert any feed you send to it, right down to boring old standard definition, features 2 HDMI connections, an SD card slot and Photo Viewer/GalleryPlayer software that let's you view your digital pics on your TV. EZ-Sync technology makes it a piece of cake to configure the included remote to your entire home theater setup so everything can be controlled with one click, making its ease of use a crucial competitive advantage when you make your final buying decision.

Pioneer PDP-5080HD 50" 720p Plasma

The PDP-5080 plasma display sports a resolution of 1365x768 pixels and can display natively at both 720p and 768p. Four HDMI 1.3 inputs are compatible with full 1080p peripherals at a 20fps/60hz response rate and the fully integrated media receiver features a dual NTSC and ATSC tuner. ASIC video processing and scaling upconverts standard definition and other resolutions to 720p and an optical light sensor automatically adjusts the picture's settings to optimize your viewing experience no matter the lighting conditions in the room or the video content on your TV. Now comes for the best part. This Christmas season, you'll save $700 or 20% off the list price of $3500 and pay only $2800 including free shipping.

Samsung FPT5084 50" 1080p Plasma

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Save $700 and pay only $2300 including free shipping, a full 23% off the list price of $3000. The FPT5084 with full high-def 1080p 1920x1080 pixel resolution, 15000:1 contrast ratio, and 18 bit color processing will blow you away with one of the best visual displays on the market. SRS TruSurround XT and built-in surround sound speakers deliver theater quality sound and FilterBright technology enhances the contrast ratio to lighting conditions and provides improved brightness for enhanced picture quality. The environmentally-conscious will also approve of the FPT5084's "blue eye" auto save mode reduces power consumption by up to 25% and is Energy Star compliant.

Panasonic TH50PF9UK 50" 1080p Plasma

One of Panasonic's "professional" 1080p plasma displays, the TH50PF9UK displays absolutely brilliant clarity, exceptional detail and outstanding depth perception. Smooth image display, even in action-packed content, true-to-life color, and 4096 gradations of shade make this the perfect addition to your home theater. The "professional" label doesn't mean professional pricing for this type of quality though. Pay only $2368, saving 43% or $1632 off the list price of $4000. Should be an easy decision!

LG 50PC5D 50" Plasma

You definitely can't argue with the price of this 50 inch widescreen HDTV with a 16:9 aspect ratio. At only $1500, you combine the benefits of a lower-end plasma price with higher-end quality and features. Built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts make this a good entry-level buy for your preparations for the solely digital broadcast transmissions slated for February 2009. A built-in QAM cable TV tuner will also receive unscrambled broadcast with your cable subscription without needing a set-top box. This deal also features 1366x768 pixel resolution and an impressive contrast ratio of 15000:1 for brilliant images, blacker blacks and whiter whites.

Samsung HPT5064 50" Plasma

Save $500 on the HPT5064 this holiday season, paying only $1500 for this 50 inch model; a full 25% off the list price of $2000. You'll feel like you're at the local movie theater with the 1365x768 pixel resolution, 15000:1 contrast ratio, and 16 bit color processing this plasma display boasts. The model also features a 60000 hour panel life, USB 2.0 connection for viewing photos, HDMI connectivity, ATSC and NTSC tuners, and picture-in-picture functionality.

November 12, 2007

Holiday Buyer's Guide 2007: Top 7 Plasma HDTV's of '07