42" for under £600

TriedandTested

TriedandTested

TriedandTested

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Hey all

I'm stuck so looking for help. I've found this Samsung: Samsung PS42Q97HDX, good price and great review.

However, I've also found this one a little cheaper: Samsung PS42A456P (PS42A457P1DXXU)

Can anyone advise me which is the better one to get, or something completely different around that price range?
 
Ignore the samsungs

Check out th panasonic PX80 plasma

What distance will you be viewing from and what will you be using the tv for ?
 
We'll be up to 10 feet away, depending on how we arrange the house (moving in soon).

It'll be mainly for the PS3 (and therefore DVDs) and watching digital TV (not HD as we're going with Virgin Media).

Thanks for the info, I'll look in to that model. Is there a reason you discount the Samsungs and/or suggest that TV instead?
 
Gaming and tv/movie usage I would definately suggest panny plasma over a samsung, actually any samsung. It will handle the motion better and should have deeper blacks.

Im not a fan of samsung as they have no UK tech support engineers, and resort to firmware realeases to try to address a multitude of problems. Not something other good tv manufacturers need to do.

You pay for what you get with tvs :)
 
I had issues with two panny plasma's and had to send them both back. I now have the Samsung A456 42". Really good TV, no issues at all. Great for gaming, blu-ray, freeview.

I would say the panny had abit better black levels but was totally useless as a tv for me as it would always lose freeview signal if i left a hdmi device left on & then turned the tv off.

Apparently its not an isolated incident with the panny. Maybe they fixed the issue i dont know, haven't looked at tv's since march.
 
I wouldn't buy a Samsung, LCD or a Plasma. Had both and now spending £2500 on a Pioneer. Should tell you something. And I'm not exactly well off.
 
Sorry for the slight derail, but I'm wondering since the PX80 (and most 42" plasma's) are only 1024x768 doesn't that make it horrific for gaming / movies due to non the widescreen and a kinda low resolution?
 
Amazingly not, I've viewed a 7th gen Pioneer 50" at 6' and you can't see the pixels. At least I think it's a 1024x768, it's a 7th gen model.
 
I would probably get a Panasonic TH42PX80B.
£599 :)

Edit: Which is basically what everyone else is saying... I should probably read the thread first.
 
TriedandTested said:
I'm edging towards this one now. Any one gonna stop me?!
Click to expand...

No, go for it.

No tv will ever be perfect, the closest being the pioneers. The panasonics are excellent value for money with the 42 PX80 an absolute steal at around £600.

Samsungs are best avoided, plenty of happy people, but there are plenty who are not so thrilled. There is no denying their problems as well, and as I said before you really do get what you pay for :)

Don't worry about the resolution, I had pioneer 4280XD (still a £1.2k tv), and it is better than anything else I have seen on the market other than the latest pioneers.
 
I have a query though. Will 42" be too close for me?
It's to go in my bedroom where I already have a 32" LCD. I'm sitting about 2m (maybe less) away from the screen. I have a feeling it is too big because the 32" is perfect at the moment. I just want to get the best screen for the money, but it won't be worth it if I can see each pixel in front of me :)
 
42 might be a little big, but then again the 37 will shrink with age. All tvs do then you want to upgrade to bigger :p

Maybe think of the 37inch PX80 instead, but at 2m i would still get a 42, bigger is better and you should not be able to see the pixel structure at 2m.
 
And the 42" is still only 40 quid more than the 37"... Depends if I want headaches or not. I guess I should add it to the fact that my current wall bracket only holds up to 37" screens!
 
flibby said:
Sorry for the slight derail, but I'm wondering since the PX80 (and most 42" plasma's) are only 1024x768 doesn't that make it horrific for gaming / movies due to non the widescreen and a kinda low resolution?
Click to expand...

Horrific lol.
From 10ft away games look great at that res, most people will say 1080p is indistinguishable.
I've been massively enjoying GT5 prologue on my PX80. Plus it is widescreen. Plasmas have different pixel shape or something.
If I had full access to the internet I'd load up some pics to prove how nice it is. Plus motion is super smooth :)
I'm pretty amazed with my TV (42" version). Especially how well it does SD tv and upscaled DVDs
 
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