Good taste in TVs. (I have the 50 inch version, and am quite pleased with it as well) The Panasonic px50u series is considered to have some of the best black levels and shadow detail rendition, and they’ve got one of the better internal scalers to convert standard-def to high-def.
As for online dealers - be sure that they’re an authorized seller, or you’ll be in a world of hurt if the thing ever needs service. A lot of those East Coast ultra-cheap places are selling “gray market” product that was not meant to be sold in the US, and the warranty they offer is valid only at their store. Not horribly inconvenient with something small like a camera, but you’d have to foot the bill for truck freight to get a big-screen TV back to them.
No, I don’t know why New England seems to have cornered the market on shady gray market dealers that will bombard you with every possible up-sell of grossly overpriced accessories, and if you don’t bite, your TV will suddenly be on back-order.
We bought a $1600 Akai 50" DLP TV about 8 months ago. (I saw it for $1100 or $1200 just after that) It’s a SAMSUNG with a different sticker on the front. Can I see rainbows? If I stare at a white object on a black background, then look away quickly, yeah, I can. But I figure TV’s are improving slower than their prices are dropping. In 5 or 6 years, a $1000 TV will look better than a $4000 TV does today. So I went in knowing it was a color wheel 720p two-gen-behind TV.
Sure looks great though.
I have some automatically limiting issues: I have a built in hole in the wall that won’t accept anything bigger, and I know at the size and distances involved, 1080p is wasted.
Most manufacturers will have a spot on their website to look up authorized resellers - google up** <brand> dealer locator** will usually get what you need.