The Panasonic TXP50X10

L1ght · 27 Jul 2009 at 19:07

Hi, I'm considering buying this plasma TV as its so cheap and supposed to have a great picture. Has anyone got the set? Or seen it first hand? Because I could'nt find one when I was in town on saturday and wondered if anyone could give me any advice about the set.
Cheers

Metalface Mark · 27 Jul 2009 at 19:26

Yeh, i have it.

Replaced my 42PZ85 (which has retired to my bedroom).

I cant fault the 50PX at all, it upscales to 1080p (obviously its a 1366x768 panel), but if anything it displays a better picture than the 42PZ85 in everything.

I got it for £679.99, about £500 less than i paid for the 42", which had me worried that it would be terrible, but its a been a superb buy. Buy it online and you can return in within 7 days under the DSR if you cant get on with it. Can take some pics if you want.

Go for it

Locke · 27 Jul 2009 at 19:33

£679.99? That IS a bargain, if you find it for that price, I'd buy another!

On to the TV though, I have had one since it replaced my old 50" Samsung from last year and I can only say that it's amazing compared to that, probably the best plasma I've had (I don't buy the 1080p / Freesat / 600 Hz or whatever ones

) - so I would deffo recommend it

- the only gripe I have with it is that it doesn't auto switch to whatever inputs :s.

L1ght · 27 Jul 2009 at 19:33

Thanks Metalface Mark, yeah that would be cool if you could get some pics up sometime. I've read that the HD stuff is supposed to be quite good on the set, but how is the freeview? I'm not expecting it to be amazing but I'm hoping that SD looks good aswell.
I've found a deal from a retailer for £770 with a 5year warrenty which I thought isn't a bad deal. I was also considering getting the G10 but at an extra £200 and minus 8inchs of viewable screen, I think the TXP50X10 might be the better buy?

Metalface Mark · 27 Jul 2009 at 19:54

I dont watch freeview, but its fine on sky.

You can get it cheaper than that, £694.99 with the possibility of a £30 or £20 voucher off if theres any floating about (there usually is for that site).

azamc · 28 Jul 2009 at 00:19

is that 695 with the 5 year warranty?

Metalface Mark · 28 Jul 2009 at 22:50

No, thats the standard warranty (think panasonic is 2 years).

L1ght · 29 Jul 2009 at 22:20

Cool thanks for the advice guys. Well I've found a place where I could pick it up for £699, which I'm guessing would come with the standard 2 year pany warrenty.
Would anyone advise paying an extra £180 for a 5year warrenty or to just stick with a standard 2year warrenty? All the TV's I've had have never really broken down within a 5 year time frame. But I've had no experience with Plasma Tech before, and only had CRT TV's.

capriboy1978 · 29 Jul 2009 at 22:26

panasonic's reliability record is superb, but some poor sod still gets one that breaks down out of warranty. Depending on age / fault and having a dealer that gives a damn panasonic can be usually relied on to help out if thats the case.

Is 180 worth it for 3 extra years warranty? It'r just insurance- could you afford to repair replace it if it broke in year 3?

Metalface Mark · 29 Jul 2009 at 23:25

To be honest, if it dosent break in the first few months, it probably wont.

Once things are running they tend to run without problems, you generally only get problems at the start and end of a products life.

capriboy1978 · 30 Jul 2009 at 08:33

true fot a lot of consumer electronics but I wouldn't say probably won't. I've had major problems with BIG name suppliers and whole product ranges unintentionally 'designed' with faults that croppped up anywhere from a few months in to 2 years down the line. I'm not talking about sammy or philips etc here but £1500 32" widescreen tv's from a major manufacturer.

Participant · 30 Jul 2009 at 12:43

capriboy1978 said:
panasonic's reliability record is superb, but some poor sod still gets one that breaks down out of warranty. Depending on age / fault and having a dealer that gives a damn panasonic can be usually relied on to help out if thats the case.

Is 180 worth it for 3 extra years warranty? It'r just insurance- could you afford to repair replace it if it broke in year 3?

Consumer electronics insurance is often a notorious rip-off, unless it's included in the purchase price a la John Lewis. Even then JL's prices are generally reflective of this extra warranty, unless you can get them to price match.

Let's say for every three TVs you own, one breaks after the manufacturer's warranty has expired. I consider this pessimistic as I don't think I've ever had a TV that's developed a fault past any faults that presented themselves immediately after purchase.

If the three years extra insurance costs you £180 for each TV, you would have saved enough to by a new (and very good) TV by the third purchase had you not purchased the extra insurance. If one of your TVs breaks on day one after the (let's say) two year manufacturer's warranty has expired, then you write off your losses, go down the skip, and go and buy another TV. You're still quids in compared to purchasing extended insurance, as long as your next two TVs last five years fault free.

Of course I'm ignoring the psychological aspect of consumer peace of mind in this and concentrating on probabilities and expected outcomes, but for me the adverse psychology of paying for extra product cover outweighs the concern that it might break.

Metalface Mark · 30 Jul 2009 at 13:13

Robbie G said:
Consumer electronics insurance is often a notorious rip-off, unless it's included in the purchase price a la John Lewis. Even then JL's prices are generally reflective of this extra warranty, unless you can get them to price match.

Let's say for every three TVs you own, one breaks after the manufacturer's warranty has expired. I consider this pessimistic as I don't think I've ever had a TV that's developed a fault past any faults that presented themselves immediately after purchase.

If the three years extra insurance costs you £180 for each TV, you would have saved enough to by a new (and very good) TV by the third purchase had you not purchased the extra insurance. If one of your TVs breaks on day one after the (let's say) two year manufacturer's warranty has expired, then you write off your losses, go down the skip, and go and buy another TV. You're still quids in compared to purchasing extended insurance, as long as your next two TVs last five years fault free.

Of course I'm ignoring the psychological aspect of consumer peace of mind in this and concentrating on probabilities and expected outcomes, but for me the adverse psychology of paying for extra product cover outweighs the concern that it might break.

Most people also have house insurance that covers stuff like tv's, should it break, its easy enough to claim on the insurance anyway.

capriboy1978 · 30 Jul 2009 at 17:02

i'm not an advocate of breakdown insurance but like all products it's right for some ppl.

For what it's worth i was the first independent dealer in our region to include a 5yr warranty on pana and jvc ty's and maintain competitive pricing. Had good support from both firms sales managers and it increased pana sales nearly 3 fold.

L1ght · 30 Jul 2009 at 19:22

Hhhmmm. I see what you guys mean and the psychological factor is always there especially when your spending around £699. Because the £180 for a 5 year warrenty could always go towards a blu-ray player or freesat reciever. Hhmmm. Then theres always the option of waiting until christmas and seeing what deals crop up. The Panasonic PX80 came down to around £550 with a free 5 year warrenty!

Metalface Mark · 30 Jul 2009 at 19:33

You could always get John Lewis to price match bud, then you would get your warranty anyway and the cheaper price