I just had delivered a 60" HD RPTV. It's still in the box.
We are closing on a new house on 10/17, and hope to move as much as possible on 10/18-10/19. I figured it would be easier/safer to move this tv in its original packaging.
However: this is a BIG-ARSE box. It's probably 5.5 feet high, 6 across, and 3.5-4 deep. And heavy. The two delivery guys got a workout just dropping it off in the house.

Would I be better off unpacking it and moving it to the new house outside of its original packaging? The new house is only about 3 miles away. I don't know if the tv has casters or anything, but we have a hand truck, a Uhaul, a couple pickup trucks, and maybe a furniture dolly. I certainly don't plan on dropping it, in or out of the box, but how fragile are these TV's? It's still not small when it's unpacked, but it's a heck of a lot smaller, and probably 40 lbs. lighter, than in the shipping box.
Plus if I unpack, I'd have to test it out ; )

Keep it packed. Trust me you would much rather move it with all of that extra packing around it. All of the styrofoam will help absorb the bumps and the box will protect from scratches. When you move it use moving straps on each side with two people carrying it unless you have a moving dolly to roll it on but avoid the bumps when you roll it. You don't say what brand it is but when you get it to the new house and so unpack it it migth be easier to get in the house if you split it in two pieces. Many people never know that these sets split apart for easier moving around corners and up stairs.

yep i second the leaving it in the original packaging.. if you don't have to take it out, don't.. one slip with the screen and you'll wish you had..

How come you just didnt have them deliver the tv to you're new house a day or two after the closing date?

I bought a 47" Panny two months before my new house was done and then had it delivered to my new house a day after I moved in. I figured if I pay for delivery I might as well make them put it where I want it instead of moving it twice.

Oh yes...LEAVE it packed. I just moved and I had a to get a 55" Mits out of my basement. That sucked ass!!!! Luckily I was not moving far, so the ride over was ok once we strapped it in.

Moving TV's sucks.....

I broke the screen on one driving it in the back of my truck. I even taped cardboard over the front and it still broke.

Keep the pack for moving!

I recently moved a 55" Mits 700 miles. I paid Mayflower to do it, and all they did was wrap the sucker with furniture pads and plastic wrap. As they pointed out, these things are built for transportation to and from the Mits warehouse. It survived the long drive, however, it sustained some minor cosmetic damage right at the end: the movers had to roll it down a ramp to get it down some stairs, and the angle was steep enough that the bottom edge chipped a bit when it reached level ground. It's hardly noticeable because I was able to glue the small chips back onto the unit. I guess the main thing is the electronics survived all the bumps along the journey. That's my story.

Thanks for your input;

JoeSchmoe--that's kinda what I'm thinking. Obviously they do get moved around, from factory to warehouse to retail to consumer, and even once it gets opened, it's still possible it'll get moved again or resold.

We went ahead and left it packed. It's in a big-ass box, but we are getting a big Uhaul and we're only going down one step, about a 4 mile truck ride, and up about five steps, so hopefully it won't be that big a deal. It is heavy, but so is a lot of our other furniture.

The reason we didn't have it delivered straight to the new house is I got a deal and a promotion on it, that required it to be delivered by a certain date.

There was a fantastic article in November's issue of Home Theater Magazine about the manufacturing process at Mitsubishi's New Mexico factory, that touched on the issue of transporting big screens. They torture those suckers to make sure they don't get damaged in shipment. By all means, leave it in the box.