I think I’ve shared here the story of how I bought my husband a Blu-ray player for his birthday, thinking I was totally awesome, only to discover that it wouldn’t work with our (ancient) television. So I ended up buying us a new TV, too.
Um. Oops.
The television I got was this 50″ Panasonic Viera when it was on a Black Friday deal at Amazon, and it’s currently just $625 shipped from Buy.com, plus you can grab a $25 instant coupon, so it’s just $600!
Which is $100 less than I paid. Not that I’m bitter, or anything.
Panasonic is evidently discontinuing the Viera line, but I don’t know why. Although this model is only 720p (not 1080p), even my very visually critical husband is wowed. I think it’s a heckuva set. Of course, I also am fairly overwhelmed by it’s size and shininess, so there’s that, too.
Blu-ray, which plays 1080p video, is wasted on 720p sets. Movies will still look great, but you’re still missing out on some of the resolution available to you. 720p is fine for almost all your needs, including broadcast HD video via cable or satellite, but you do not need Blu-ray for it.