Many of the Black Friday deals to come have leaked over at BlackFriday.info. Want to know the trend I’m seeing? If you keep up with my daily posts, you can get deals as good or better without waiting in the cold/rain/snow/locusts while still recovering from a turkey and football coma. 

From now until Thanksgiving my ongoing mission will be to “Beat Black Friday” ... or at least come close while avoiding the hordes trying to grab a copy of Goodfellas on Blu-ray for $7.99. 

Today’s installment of “Beat Black Friday” takes us to big-box king Best Buy for the Samsung PN50B430P2D 50” Plasma display. Priced at $710 with free in-store pickup, comes in at about $175 less than any other authorized price.  This is a somewhat basic 720p model, and it’s showing up on Black Friday for $699 at Best Buy and Sears, respectfully, (as well as K-Mart on Thanksgiving Day). While I’ll normally go out of my way to save $10, getting trampled into the pavement outside of a strip-mall in West Georgia isn’t high on my list. 

In terms of performance, put this in the good enough for the living room camp. Its 1024x768 panel won’t win any resolution contests against 1080p sets, but it will provide deep blacks and rich colors, which you’re more likely to notice at average viewing distances anyway. Two HDMI inputs, two Component Video inputs, and a single Composite Video input will keep you fairly well connected, and the hundreds of dollars you saved compared to a similar 1080p set will fill a cabinet full of Blu-ray discs and a fridge full of eggnog. 

Stephen Hopkins

Stephen Hopkins is chief technology editor for EH Publishing. He writes product reviews, features, and focuses heavily on 3D TV, iPhone and iPad apps, and digital content.