Insignia HDTV Plasma? (50" plasma) NS-PDP50HD-09

akasixcon · 11-21-2008, 07:38 AM

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1205538043295

I saw this at bestbuy right next to the 50px80u panasonic viera and the insignia LOOKED better.

I am really interested in buying this tv but two red flags stand out; 1 its an unknown brand to me and 2) it might be that its 1080p that it looks better than the Panasonic Viera.

I was wondering if anyone has this tv and if you are satisfied without problems. Currently my Panasonic Viera has problems playing the Xbox 360 with interferance red static so its safe to say that Panasonic Viera produces some flawed TV's as well. I just want to know how reliable Insignia is because its TV that looks better compared to the Panasonic on bestbuy.

Loves2Watch · 11-21-2008, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akasixcon

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1205538043295

I saw this at bestbuy right next to the 50px80u panasonic viera and the insignia LOOKED better.

I am really interested in buying this tv but two red flags stand out; 1 its an unknown brand to me and 2) it might be that its 1080p that it looks better than the Panasonic Viera.

I was wondering if anyone has this tv and if you are satisfied without problems. Currently my Panasonic Viera has problems playing the Xbox 360 with interferance red static so its safe to say that Panasonic Viera produces some flawed TV's as well. I just want to know how reliable Insignia is because its TV that looks better compared to the Panasonic on bestbuy.

Not even in the same league. It's made by a second or third tier manufacturer and uses LG panels, for the most part. Short life spans among other things and high failure rates.

**PFC5** · 11-21-2008, 02:36 PM

They likely made the Panasonic look bad just so they could sell more of the Insignias which BTW is the BB proprietary brand, which is made buy multiple vendors to the lowest bidder usually, just like all store brands.

As L2W said, they are not in the same league.

pacwan · 12-04-2008, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loves2Watch

Not even in the same league. It's made by a second or third tier manufacturer and uses LG panels, for the most part. Short life spans among other things and high failure rates.

Are there any data to back this up specifically for this
50 inch 1080p plasma model?
The price of this Insignia is half of its counterpart.
If we only consider quality and brand name, i would agree
that this is not a good choice but we are talking here of
about $1000 savings. For budget conscious consumers like me,
this is significant. So value for money, a 1080p 50 inch plasma
with a price tag of $1099 for me is a good buy. I've never read a bad
review for this TV and all people who bought it recommend it to other buyers.
The panels used for Insignia are either LG or Samsung so what's
the huge difference ?
The manufacturer's warranty of this product is 2 years so i guess
this is enough to give you a little bit of peace of mind in case you
get a lemon or in case the quality of the Insignia are indeed that bad.

gosmosis · 12-04-2008, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacwan

Are there any data to back this up specifically for this
50 inch 1080p plasma model?
The price of this Insignia is half of its counterpart.
If we only consider quality and brand name, i would agree
that this is not a good choice but we are talking here of
about $1000 savings. For budget conscious consumers like me,
this is significant. So value for money, a 1080p 50 inch plasma
with a price tag of $1099 for me is a good buy. I've never read a bad
review for this TV and all people who bought it recommend it to other buyers.
The panels used for Insignia are either LG or Samsung so what's
the huge difference ?
The manufacturer's warranty of this product is 2 years so i guess
this is enough to give you a little bit of peace of mind in case you
get a lemon or in case the quality of the Insignia are indeed that bad.

IMO - it also matters what you plan on watching on this set. If you spend any time at all watching standard def cable - I'm pretty darn sure the Insignia will give a picture that will not impress you. I bought an Insignia LCD for my son, knowing full well it is not the quality of the Samsung sets. What I didn't bargain for was the inferior picture watching SD programming. If you're just going to watch HD programming - then based on your comments you'll probably be happiest with the Insignia due to savings. But if you plan on watching SD progamming quite a bit - your savings will quickly give way to frustration with low quality picture. IMO.

**PFC5** · 12-04-2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacwan

Are there any data to back this up specifically for this
50 inch 1080p plasma model?
The price of this Insignia is half of its counterpart.
If we only consider quality and brand name, i would agree
that this is not a good choice but we are talking here of
about $1000 savings. For budget conscious consumers like me,
this is significant. So value for money, a 1080p 50 inch plasma
with a price tag of $1099 for me is a good buy. I've never read a bad
review for this TV and all people who bought it recommend it to other buyers.
The panels used for Insignia are either LG or Samsung so what's
the huge difference ?
The manufacturer's warranty of this product is 2 years so i guess
this is enough to give you a little bit of peace of mind in case you
get a lemon or in case the quality of the Insignia are indeed that bad.

Where do you get the $1,000.00 in savings on the Insignia 50" plasma (at $1,199.00) over the Panasonic plasma or the Samsung? The Samsung 1080p model is $1,499.00 while the Panasonic is $1,799.00 right now at Best Buy but was lower 2 weeks ago when you posted this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1205538043295
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1206141605017
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1200703056434

You should know that Best Buy dropped the 50pz80u which could be had for around $1,599.00 at BB and less (around $1299.00) at online sellers last week, and now here:

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Vier...8440609&sr=1-1

That includes free shipping BTW.

WHO would buy a store brand over one of the best plasma brands to save less than 10% ($100.00)?

Does that make any sense to anyone?

Hawaii007 · 12-04-2008, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gosmosis

IMO - it also matters what you plan on watching on this set. If you spend any time at all watching standard def cable - I'm pretty darn sure the Insignia will give a picture that will not impress you. I bought an Insignia LCD for my son, knowing full well it is not the quality of the Samsung sets. What I didn't bargain for was the inferior picture watching SD programming. If you're just going to watch HD programming - then based on your comments you'll probably be happiest with the Insignia due to savings. But if you plan on watching SD progamming quite a bit - your savings will quickly give way to frustration with low quality picture. IMO.

From what a BB floor guy told me, that is an important component, the tuner of the TV. It is something that a lot of companies overlook because of the advent of the HD boxes and HDTV. He said that the SD is dependant on the tuner hardware of the TVs, and a lot of brands cut costs there. Although he did consider Panasonic for SD below Samsung and Sony. But he did consider it third on his list.

pacwan · 12-04-2008, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFC5

Where do you get the $1,000.00 in savings on the Insignia 50" plasma (at $1,199.00) over the Panasonic plasma or the Samsung? The Samsung 1080p model is $1,499.00 while the Panasonic is $1,799.00 right now at Best Buy but was lower 2 weeks ago when you posted this:

You should know that Best Buy dropped the 50pz80u which could be had for around $1,599.00 at BB and less (around $1299.00) at online sellers last week, and now here:

That includes free shipping BTW.

WHO would buy a store brand over one of the best plasma brands to save less than 10% ($100.00)?

Does that make any sense to anyone?

I am based here in Canada and what i'm quoting are Best Buy
prices for 1080p plasmas here in Canada. Note that these are in Cdn$.
I'm not allowed to post URL's here until i attain 5 posts so
you can confirm at Bestbuy.ca website. These are current prices.

Insignia: $1099
Samsung: $2099
Panasonic Viera: on sale $1799 (originally 1999)

Even if the price difference is $500, that's still a lot.
I bought a named brand Sony LCD and after a year when warranty expired, a rainbow line appeared across the screen.
I have a so-so brand Proview LCD monitor 2.5 yrs ago and up to
now it is still working fine without any quality issues.

If you have the money to buy named brands, go ahead and buy them.
To each his own

pacwan · 12-04-2008, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gosmosis

IMO - it also matters what you plan on watching on this set. If you spend any time at all watching standard def cable - I'm pretty darn sure the Insignia will give a picture that will not impress you. I bought an Insignia LCD for my son, knowing full well it is not the quality of the Samsung sets. What I didn't bargain for was the inferior picture watching SD programming. If you're just going to watch HD programming - then based on your comments you'll probably be happiest with the Insignia due to savings. But if you plan on watching SD progamming quite a bit - your savings will quickly give way to frustration with low quality picture. IMO.

This is very true.
In my case, i will be enjoying that savings because i don't
watch SD programming anymore. Based from the reviews that
i've read from Insignia owners, they are happy and satisfied with
their units when playing HD content and media.

Affion · 12-05-2008, 01:42 AM

I purchased the Panansonic TH-50PZ80U for only 1399.99 just last week at Best Buy.

Loves2Watch · 12-05-2008, 09:08 AM

Don't say we didn't warn you.

Whistler225 · 08-11-2009, 08:55 PM

I bought this TV last week for about a thousand dollars. So far, the picture is fantastic, the contrast level is very good (I think the thing gets 30,000:1 if memory serves plus has a 600 hz refresh rate so movement is handled a bit better than you would find with an LCD which typically gets anywhere between 60-120 hz). So far in this thread the only real argument I'm hearing is that the TV is "second or third tier," whatever that's supposed to mean. The fact is that unless you can find a bunch of people who say the thing failed on them in short order (I haven't), I wouldn't take such generic arguments too seriously. The parts of the TV are made by the same people who make the components for the more expensive models. Also, I've owned many generic brand televisions and have never noticed much difference in reliability between them and name brands. I owned an Emerson 19" tv for years and never had a single problem.... I've seen the power supplies go bad on Sony Trinitrons after a couple of years. Nowadays the most important thing about choosing a tv is the features it offers versus your particular use. If you have HD signals to feed the tv, you should be very happy with it as I am. SD tv looks like crap on most HD tv's.... it's just a fact of life.

my only real complaint about this set is the fact that it doesn't auto-adjust to the incoming format. Luckily I own a Harmony remote so I can overcome most of these kinds of issues. Just make sure you get the remote that comes with the tv if you need to use the SD card reader or the USB connection, as I haven't found a way to program the button you need to press on the remote to my Harmony and I bought a floor model with no remote.

people poo-pooed the Vizios when they first came out too.... Insignia's been around a bit longer than Vizio as far as I know. I'd say they probably have most of the bugs worked out by now....

**PFC5** · 08-12-2009, 01:05 PM

The problem with the 2nd/3rd tier brands is they usually do not make the actual main components and they get them from the major mfg of those components. You might think that is great, but what they often do is use either a lower spec'd part, or older overstocked parts that are not as good as the current year parts.

1.5 years ago I bought (and returned) a Sanyo 747 50" plasma for my bedroom that had a panel made by Samsung, and it was horrible. The current Samsung models where so much better and judging by how bad the black levels were, it looked like a 2-3 year old panel part used. So even though it was a tier 1 mfg of the panel it was way behind in performance to what you could get for the same tier 1 mfg brand. It also had poor SD PQ that was really horrible.

Sometimes you get what you pay for.

11-21-2008, 07:38 AM	#1
akasixcon High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 60	Insignia HDTV Plasma? (50" plasma) NS-PDP50HD-09 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1205538043295 I saw this at bestbuy right next to the 50px80u panasonic viera and the insignia LOOKED better. I am really interested in buying this tv but two red flags stand out; 1 its an unknown brand to me and 2) it might be that its 1080p that it looks better than the Panasonic Viera. I was wondering if anyone has this tv and if you are satisfied without problems. Currently my Panasonic Viera has problems playing the Xbox 360 with interferance red static so its safe to say that Panasonic Viera produces some flawed TV's as well. I just want to know how reliable Insignia is because its TV that looks better compared to the Panasonic on bestbuy.

11-21-2008, 02:36 PM	#3
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,349	They likely made the Panasonic look bad just so they could sell more of the Insignias which BTW is the BB proprietary brand, which is made buy multiple vendors to the lowest bidder usually, just like all store brands. As L2W said, they are not in the same league. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

12-05-2008, 09:08 AM	#11
Loves2Watch SPAM Police Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: AZ, NM, TX, MX Posts: 13,928	Don't say we didn't warn you. __________________ Theater 1 - Panasonic TH-85PF12U Plasma TV, 6 Conrad Johnson LP275M Amps, Anthem Statement D-2 Pre/Pro, 6 Thiel SCS4 Speakers, 2 REL T-1 Subs, Infinity Interlude 120S Sub, Simaudio MOON Orbiter Universal Disc Player, ELP Laser Turntable, 2 Dish Network ViP 622 DVR's, Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player, Onkyo DV-HD805 HD DVD Player. Friends don't let friends buy Korean brand TV's.

08-11-2009, 08:55 PM	#12
Whistler225 What is HD? Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 1	I own one I bought this TV last week for about a thousand dollars. So far, the picture is fantastic, the contrast level is very good (I think the thing gets 30,000:1 if memory serves plus has a 600 hz refresh rate so movement is handled a bit better than you would find with an LCD which typically gets anywhere between 60-120 hz). So far in this thread the only real argument I'm hearing is that the TV is "second or third tier," whatever that's supposed to mean. The fact is that unless you can find a bunch of people who say the thing failed on them in short order (I haven't), I wouldn't take such generic arguments too seriously. The parts of the TV are made by the same people who make the components for the more expensive models. Also, I've owned many generic brand televisions and have never noticed much difference in reliability between them and name brands. I owned an Emerson 19" tv for years and never had a single problem.... I've seen the power supplies go bad on Sony Trinitrons after a couple of years. Nowadays the most important thing about choosing a tv is the features it offers versus your particular use. If you have HD signals to feed the tv, you should be very happy with it as I am. SD tv looks like crap on most HD tv's.... it's just a fact of life. my only real complaint about this set is the fact that it doesn't auto-adjust to the incoming format. Luckily I own a Harmony remote so I can overcome most of these kinds of issues. Just make sure you get the remote that comes with the tv if you need to use the SD card reader or the USB connection, as I haven't found a way to program the button you need to press on the remote to my Harmony and I bought a floor model with no remote. people poo-pooed the Vizios when they first came out too.... Insignia's been around a bit longer than Vizio as far as I know. I'd say they probably have most of the bugs worked out by now....

08-12-2009, 01:05 PM	#13
PFC5 Super Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 28,349	The problem with the 2nd/3rd tier brands is they usually do not make the actual main components and they get them from the major mfg of those components. You might think that is great, but what they often do is use either a lower spec'd part, or older overstocked parts that are not as good as the current year parts. 1.5 years ago I bought (and returned) a Sanyo 747 50" plasma for my bedroom that had a panel made by Samsung, and it was horrible. The current Samsung models where so much better and judging by how bad the black levels were, it looked like a 2-3 year old panel part used. So even though it was a tier 1 mfg of the panel it was way behind in performance to what you could get for the same tier 1 mfg brand. It also had poor SD PQ that was really horrible. Sometimes you get what you pay for. __________________ Denon AVR-887 Klipsch RP-5 Pwred Towers (mains) (525 watts peak each 12"Subs) All Klipsch RC-25(ctr),(2)SS1(surr),(2)SS1(rearSurr) Toshiba (2)HD-A20,PS3,BD35 For SACD/DVD-A Samsung HD-841 Panny 50pz80u plasma SETTINGS RCA HD50LPW162 50"DLP w/HD2+ SA 3250HD 47" LCD+Yamaha5790+HD-A1(bedroom) Harmony 680 + (2) 670s (amazing remote/support) Game room with Onkyo receiver & B&W Speakers The_Cable_Game Take the high ground and be happier

12-05-2008, 01:42 AM	#10
Affion What is HD? Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 2	I purchased the Panansonic TH-50PZ80U for only 1399.99 just last week at Best Buy.

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