Second Hand Panasonic TH-50PY800AZ Advice Please

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Second Hand Panasonic TH-50PY800AZ Advice Please

KiwiMagpie

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#89697 7-Sep-2011 18:01

Hi all. I'm new to the whole full HD, Bluray etc scene. I'm looking at a new Panasonic TH-P50U30Z full HD plasma. It fits my budget and i like the picture. I have been offered a used Panasonic TH-50PY800AZ that is in new condition for 1/2 the price of the new unit. Bearing in mind comments about new Pana's being Chinese made vs Japanese - is the older tv still a good buy or should i fork out for the new one? What I'm really interested in is spec and picure quality etc. Cheers everyone.

B1GGLZ

1961 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 136

#518251 7-Sep-2011 19:28

KiwiMagpie: Hi all. I'm new to the whole full HD, Bluray etc scene. I'm looking at a new Panasonic TH-P50U30Z full HD plasma. It fits my budget and i like the picture. I have been offered a used Panasonic TH-50PY800AZ that is in new condition for 1/2 the price of the new unit. Bearing in mind comments about new Pana's being Chinese made vs Japanese - is the older tv still a good buy or should i fork out for the new one? What I'm really interested in is spec and picure quality etc. Cheers everyone.

From just a quick look at the specs for each online the new one has a digital tuner and the used one doesn't
SO - you'll need a STB for Freeview with the used one and it will virtually be redundant after Dec 2013 without a STB when Analogue disappears.
The new one would be a better buy IMO.
Unless of course you are outside a Freeview Terrestrial area and use Freeview Satellite box or Sky.

KiwiMagpie

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#518265 7-Sep-2011 19:57

Hi - many thanks for the reply. At present we have TiVo and will be getting MySky hdi later in the year. that being the case would that make the digital tuner point redundant? I don't normally like buying used gear but at $800 it seems okay ish.....

clevedon

1059 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 205

#518355 8-Sep-2011 07:34

KiwiMagpie: Hi - many thanks for the reply. At present we have TiVo and will be getting MySky hdi later in the year. that being the case would that make the digital tuner point redundant? I don't normally like buying used gear but at $800 it seems okay ish.....

We've got two of the 50PY800's and they have been great, used with Blu-ray, PS3 and MySky HDi for the last three odd years. Great picture and no problems.

Is $800 the first offer made by them? If so, try a counter offer - you never know until you try.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9996

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#518364 8-Sep-2011 08:01

They are great TV's but personally I think $800 is more than it would be worth. You can pick up brand new 50" IDTV Plasma's for under $1000 now, which potentially do offer better specs than a model a few years old.

B1GGLZ

1961 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 136

#518374 8-Sep-2011 08:29

sbiddle: They are great TV's but personally I think $800 is more than it would be worth. You can pick up brand new 50" IDTV Plasma's for under $1000 now, which potentially do offer better specs than a model a few years old.

+1

JB have got LG 50" at only $888 (and you should be able to haggle for about 15% off that) with built in Freeview and probably similar specs so I would be looking to pay considerably less than $800 for an older used Plasma.

KiwiMagpie

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#518381 8-Sep-2011 08:39

Thanks for the replies - I think I'll go with gut feel and buy a new one....
Cheers, Darin

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

gumdigger

429 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 3

#518407 8-Sep-2011 09:23

Proud owner of PY800, It simply cannot be compared to the U series even though U has a digital tuner. I think there is a huge (eye noticeable) contrast difference too.

bfginger

1330 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 191

#518747 8-Sep-2011 19:57

The $888 model has only 1024x768 resolution, under 38% of the 50PY800AZ's

steve98

1400 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 252

Trusted

#518785 8-Sep-2011 21:47

I have this model - it's outstanding, wouldn't hesitate to recommend. Don't let others compare it to the sub-$1000 panels, the one you're looking at is full HD and picture is as good as it gets.

KiwiMagpie

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#518815 8-Sep-2011 23:01

Can the PY800 be wall mounted using the VESA style bracket? eg 400x400 etc...

WolfmanNZ

148 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 41

#518894 9-Sep-2011 09:42

clevedon:

We've got two of the 50PY800's and they have been great, used with Blu-ray, PS3 and MySky HDi for the last three odd years. Great picture and no problems.

Is $800 the first offer made by them? If so, try a counter offer - you never know until you try.

I only have one of them, but what he said.

We went like this. he went like that. I say "Where'd he go?" Hollywood says "Where'd WHO go?!"