Help me replace my TV
April 23, 2014 1:31 PM Subscribe
So I recently moved to San Mateo, CA from Chicago, hurray! Pretty much everything has been great and the move quite smooth. What sucks is that in the move my beloved Panasonic ST60 60 inch was broken, likely during the drive out here. I had moved who packed it up and delivered it to UPack, then moved who unloaded it from there and moved it into my house. Sadly it didn't survive. Now I need to start looking or thinking about a replacement BUT Panasonic stopped making plasma's altogether and I wasn't expecting to have to buy a TV again so soon. What should my next TV be?
Ideally I'd love to buy a replacement, but googling and calling around to a number of different places has yielded 0 backstock which I could purchase. So barring a miracle it looks like it needs to be a different model. Which is good now? I've read that now that Panasonic is out of the plasma market, you're pretty much stuck with an LED TV, is that true? Should I wait if there's a new class coming out? I usually do a fair bit of research and then buy based off of that and I wasn't expecting to be out a TV so soon so I feel a bit behind the 8 ball.
(Bonus points if you can tell me who I should talk to about submitting a claim, ABF UPack or my renters insurance which also would cover this)
Ideally I'd love to buy a replacement, but googling and calling around to a number of different places has yielded 0 backstock which I could purchase. So barring a miracle it looks like it needs to be a different model. Which is good now? I've read that now that Panasonic is out of the plasma market, you're pretty much stuck with an LED TV, is that true? Should I wait if there's a new class coming out? I usually do a fair bit of research and then buy based off of that and I wasn't expecting to be out a TV so soon so I feel a bit behind the 8 ball.
(Bonus points if you can tell me who I should talk to about submitting a claim, ABF UPack or my renters insurance which also would cover this)
You may be able to still find a new ST60, otherwise you're only comparable option for plasma is a much more expensive Samsung.
I'm largely in the same boat as you, I'm going to hang onto my well-loved GT30 until OLED sets are more affordable.
posted by Oktober at 1:44 PM on April 23, 2014
I'm largely in the same boat as you, I'm going to hang onto my well-loved GT30 until OLED sets are more affordable.
posted by Oktober at 1:44 PM on April 23, 2014
Response by poster: Good call on the wirecutter, that was one of the reasons I decided to get the ST60. But pretty lukewarm on the other options (or they're much more expensive). Any tips on finding a new ST60?
posted by Carillon at 1:52 PM on April 23, 2014
posted by Carillon at 1:52 PM on April 23, 2014
If you do a Google Shopping search, there appear to be some out there. Newegg, among others, shows one in stock.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:09 PM on April 23, 2014
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:09 PM on April 23, 2014
Oops, never mind. I searched for the ST60, but it gave me the LED one.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:10 PM on April 23, 2014
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:10 PM on April 23, 2014
Okay, getting nowhere search for the 60 inch, but if you really like that model and don't mind a slightly smaller one, the Tied Shop has a 55 inch.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:14 PM on April 23, 2014
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:14 PM on April 23, 2014
I bought my TV from Video Only on recommendation from a friend and had a good experience there. They have a location in San Mateo. They're pretty no-frills, salespeople were friendly but low-pressure. Warning: the website is atrocious!
posted by radioamy at 2:19 PM on April 23, 2014
posted by radioamy at 2:19 PM on April 23, 2014
I picked up a Samsung 50" plasma for around $700 a few weeks ago. The store also had some LG plasmas at around the same price.
Whatever you do DO NOT buy a "smart TV". We bought one for the den and it spends most of its time crashing or installing upgrades or freezing.
posted by monotreme at 2:32 PM on April 23, 2014
Whatever you do DO NOT buy a "smart TV". We bought one for the den and it spends most of its time crashing or installing upgrades or freezing.
posted by monotreme at 2:32 PM on April 23, 2014
I've had two panasonic plasmas, i loved both of them. And the new models(like the ST) were even better than the ones i had when i checked them out.
Don't buy a samsung plasma. They look good, but samsung doesn't give a crap about anything lasting more than a couple years before it breaks in an expensive way, with their plasmas at least. I never had a single issue with either panasonic i had, besides cracking one like you did. One of them lasted 7 years and is still going.
I replaced mine with an LED(samsung f7100), but it's definitely not as good at anything but still looking decent on a bright sunny day and deflecting glare. In a dark room the panasonic destroys it without even trying.
Looking around, it seems that a lot of places only have the 55 or 65in(which best buy recently had a sale on). Personally, i'd just hunt around on craigslist and buy a lightly used one.
After looking at everything that's out there, nothing was actually as good as the panasonic plasmas. I ended up getting something that i felt was good enough, and there's some really good stuff like the 8000 series samsungs and the sony w900... but if you looked at them side by side, or were very used to what you'd get from the panasonic it was just sort of most of the way there but not the same. I wouldn't not buy a w850/900 or a similar samsung if the price was right though, but it better be less than a panasonic.
posted by emptythought at 3:05 PM on April 23, 2014
Don't buy a samsung plasma. They look good, but samsung doesn't give a crap about anything lasting more than a couple years before it breaks in an expensive way, with their plasmas at least. I never had a single issue with either panasonic i had, besides cracking one like you did. One of them lasted 7 years and is still going.
I replaced mine with an LED(samsung f7100), but it's definitely not as good at anything but still looking decent on a bright sunny day and deflecting glare. In a dark room the panasonic destroys it without even trying.
Looking around, it seems that a lot of places only have the 55 or 65in(which best buy recently had a sale on). Personally, i'd just hunt around on craigslist and buy a lightly used one.
After looking at everything that's out there, nothing was actually as good as the panasonic plasmas. I ended up getting something that i felt was good enough, and there's some really good stuff like the 8000 series samsungs and the sony w900... but if you looked at them side by side, or were very used to what you'd get from the panasonic it was just sort of most of the way there but not the same. I wouldn't not buy a w850/900 or a similar samsung if the price was right though, but it better be less than a panasonic.
posted by emptythought at 3:05 PM on April 23, 2014
Best answer: Seeing that you're in San Mateo, I just have to share the magic that you get that no one else does. There's a secret Costco outlet in the East Bay. I waited until there was a Samsung TV I had to have at Costco and then bought it $600 cheaper on an actual credit card at the outlet. (They also sell outdated gift baskets and those weird Kirkland pajamas. It's one of the strangest shopping experiences of my life.)
That may change your perception of the TV economics at least.
posted by Gucky at 3:49 PM on April 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
That may change your perception of the TV economics at least.
posted by Gucky at 3:49 PM on April 23, 2014 [3 favorites]
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posted by crocomancer at 1:43 PM on April 23, 2014