TVs - help please

I am going to purchase a TV either today or tomorrow. This will be the first one since 2003...I know we are way behind technology. I have it narrowed down to a Panasonic 50 inch plasma. Either the Viera S2 Full HD Plasma or the Viera G25. Both will come with a blue ray for free. My question is does either of these TVs allow you use a laptop to where the TV will be your monitor? The sales guy could not give me a straight answer for some reason.

I know the G25 has the capability of using Netflix directly to the TV without having to go through the blue ray or another device.

The price difference is $200 between the two. Any help would be appreciated and thank you in advance.

Scott

If your computer has an HDMI out, then they'll both support monitor display. The G25 however has a VGA input, whereas the S2 doesn't. VGA is your old school monitor plugin, octagon shaped, 15-pin connector. I'd suggest the G25, especially if you're a Netflix user. that "straight to tv" function is really nice. From what I've heard from others, as well as personal experience, those free Blu-Rays that come with them aren't the most reliable. They like to have delayed loads, where it can't process the disc info quick enough, so the screen will black out in the middle of a movie for a second or so. Even though its just a quick flash of black, it gets annoying after awhile. OR you could always go with the S2 and buy a good Blu-ray player with the couple hundred bucks you save. and sell the free one they give you. Options! Enjoy that new tv man. BIG step up from 2003's tvs!

Thanks Ben! I have actually never used Netflix, but I think that option would be great. How does it work? Do you basically order movies at will as if it was pay per view, but you only pay the monthly fee? How much is it? I am betting we could save a ton by canceling all the movie channels we currently have with Direct TV...except for HBO since I am hooked on a couple of their shows. Thanks for the help!

Netflix has a catalog of movies that are free to stream as long as you have a $9 subscription that also includes one rental out at a time. The movies are not the latest release but between the tv shows and movies the selection is pretty good. I saw a news blurb that said 80% of the evening internet traffic is netflix streaming. That's seems crazy.

I bought the G20 about two months ago based on the recommendations of one of my biggest customers (Best Buy TV corporate buyer). The picture and reliability are among the best around for the price.

If you get the Blu-Ray with the TV, a place like Best Buy will let you upgrade to a better Blu-Ray by paying the difference in retail price. I have the LG BD590 in two of our home systems. It has wireless connectivity to your home network. It streams movies wirelessly and has no issue with latency or picture chopping.

I will inquire about upgrading the blue ray and paying the difference. That is good advice.

Not sure what your price range is but the IT guy at work picked up a 60" Sharp Aquos LED for the office 2 weeks ago for $1900 from Best Buy. He went to a couple different ones found one that was hurting for sales and got a nice discount on it. The $1900 was after tax and it came with a free blu ray player. Just something to think about.

Not sure if you want to wait, but I was reading a couple weeks ago that the prices of TV are suppose to drop on Black Friday. You are only two or three weeks out. Do some google searches on what is projected.

Scott, I got the S2 today. I haven't received the TV yet but the BR player that comes with it is great. I just bought the wireless adapter for it rather than "upgrading" it. The Netflix works great, you simply go onto the webite and load shows, movies, etc. in your queue then they show up on your Netflix queue on your TV. The quality is good and they even have Blue Ray streaming movies for $2 more a month. The reason I didn't care to have the TV integrated Vierra Cast is because in the near future I intend to get Google TV in the near.

Thanks for all the help. I ended up getting the G25 and got it all setup last night. It looks great. This one did not come with the blue ray like I originally thought. Oh well.
Now I just got to go pick up the LAN adapter.