Bigger is Better...

Do check out avsforum.com, you will find NEC being mentioned as one of the best and on par or better than Panasonic by many.

I have a NEC 42VP4, 42" EDTV, bought it while Panasonic was out of stock 6 months ago. With a little tweaking (and all monitors need a little tweaking out of the box), PQ is equivalent to Panny and I am only using component input. NEC also makes its own glass, and they are still made in JAPAN, not like the newer Panny which is coming from China if avsforum.com threads are accurate.

Best part is NEC monitor has lots of input option, unlike Panny professional version which needs optional "blade". Consumer version will not have this issue, but cost a lot more with the added ATSC tuner, speakers, and stand, so still a good deal.

Anybody buy from Plasma Concepts? Called them to ask a few questions. Prices seem to be excelllent, but I'm new in the plasma kingdom. Suggestions for other places to buy? Bestbuy I hear is good. Yes? Thanks again...

I bought my plasma from plasma concepts. They were very easy to work with, but the proof is generally when things go wrong. In my case, everything went right--delivery showed up on time, everything worked, no dead pixels. They also got points in my book when I ordered the separate panny DVI card and a DVI cable over their website, and they called me to let me know that the DVI card came with a decent DVI cable. A lot of internet retailers would have just shipped it; they lost out on $90 by being attentive. I appreciated that.

I'd note that they also had a special "AVSForum Members Price" on the panny I bought, just for the asking... Check the threads over at AVSForum.

Labtec--I'd be careful of blanket statements like HDTV via CATV being bad. It is highly dependent upon a lot of factors. I've tried to summarize some of the relevant factors in a post here:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?bhome&1083566550&openusid&zzEdesilva&4&5#Edesilva

YMMV.

Thanks for that, Ed. What's the "dead pixels" thing? Sorry, I'm a complete doofus with this video stuff. What would constitute (in dead pixeldom) reason to send it back?

Dead or "stuck" pixels are pixels that are constantly white, like little tiny "stars" in the sky that is your screen. This can be annoying when watching a movie. If you get a screen with stuck pixels, you should send it back.