Plasma Television

LG 50" Plasma HDTV** (50PQ12) @ Futureshop $1099.99 (sold to us for $999.99)We bought a new plasma TV on Sunday. This model was on sale last week for $999.99 but my dad got them to honour the sale price even though it was selling for $1099.99 this week. The TV this plasma replaces is an old 52" rear projection by Sony that was bought 8 years ago back in 2001 so even though it is only 720p, the display is much better than what we are used to. The colour and contrast of the old Sony was wearing out. We don't have HD programming but DVDs play very well on this LG model. The shift from 4:3 to 16:9 did take some time getting used to, it fattened everyone. If all new TV's on the market are 16:9, why do they still broadcast in 4:3?

LG 50" PQ30 Series Plasma HDTV: 50PQ30 @ Visions $985.00
On Monday, I went onto RedFlagDeals.com, and found out that Visions was selling this model for $985.00. I did a comparison between the model we bought and this one at Visions. The one @ Visions is a higher end model as it has PC inputs, USB inputs, and one HDMI input on the side. The model we bought, has nothing, just two HDMI inputs and everything is behind. Two is cutting it kind of close, it is like the bare minimum. The display is essentially the same, 720p at 600Hz.

LG 50" Plasma HDTV** with XD Engine (50PQ60) @ Future Shop Exclusive $1149.99 (Sold to us for $985.00)
The model on sale at Visions is not sold at Futureshop, they only have this exclusive model. Because we had already bought our first TV from them, we went back and told them about the situation, just to give them a second chance. "Visions has this model, the PQ30 for $985, we bought the PQ12 for $999, which is a lower end model. I know you don't carry the PQ30 and only carry the PQ60, what can you do for us?" They sold us the highest end 720p model for $985.00 which has 4 HDMI ports in total and the single glass pane design. In early August, FS did sell the PQ60 for $999 but never at $985. The sales associates were very friendly and thanked us for coming back first. We felt it was only polite to do so. We still have to return our first TV to them tomorrow, but we're enjoying the new addition to our living room.

I'm really interested in getting a PS3. They've recently released a newer slimmer model at a slimmer price of $299, which puts it on par with the Wii and Xbox. However, what you also get is a Blu-Ray player which still sell for at least $250, a 120 GB hard drive for videos, photos and music, and internet on the TV. Since school is just around the corner, I'll have no time to enjoy it, but it would be worth looking into as a Christmas present, hopefully prices would go done even further or include a game or two.