Which of these sub £850 TV's? It's driving me insane!

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Which of these sub £800 TV's? It's driving me insane!

Now things have got confusing! I had decided on the 40" Samsung 750 but now i think i want something bigger so i am looking at:
Samsung PS50C680G5 Plasma for £770
Samsung LE46C650 LCD for £700
LG 50PK590 Plasma for £626
Panasonic TX-P50S20B Plasma for £678

Orignal OP:
First of all ~£800 is the absolute top end of my budget, meaning i don't really want to spend that but if i will gain massively from spending that extra bit then i possibly will...

Anyway, i currently have a 3 or 4 year old Samsung LCD HD ready TV but i'm really not happy with it any more so i have decided to get a new with the christmas and birthday pennies i will get :D Oh and one thing, i know a lot of people will say get a G20 but when i was in Richer Sounds the other day it looked very poor compared to the others around it. In comparison the colours were pretty flat/neutral and the black levels were more grey.

The TV will primarily be used for watching films (DVD and Blu-ray) and then some xbox gaming, it will also be used as a 2nd monitor on my PC for streaming and maybe the odd bit of PC gaming. Oh and good black levels are important as you can imagine. I am not particularly interested in 3D because i think it belongs on a biiig screen and not a TV.

Below I have listed quite a few Samsung's although i have heard the LE's can be quite juddery when it comes to films. Because i have said it will be connected to my PC, internet TV and what not is not overly important. Also, i know that many of the LED TV's are only side lit so back light bleed may be a problem.

So here is the list (in some sort of order) :

  • Samsung LE40C650 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 100Hz Motion Plus Allshare Internet LCD TV with Freeview HD @ £550
  • Samsung LE40C750 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 200Hz Motion Plus Allshare 3D Ready Internet LCD TV with Freeview HD @ £789 with free Samsung BD-C5900 3D Blu-ray Player Wifi Ready (Dongle Required) or £710 somewhere else.
    Or from another shop: LE40C750 40" Full HD 3D Ready LCD TV with Free Shrek 3D- The Complete Collection, Free 3D Blu-ray player and 2 pairs of 3D glasses @ £898
  • Samsung UE40C6530 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 100Hz Slim AllShare LED Internet TV with Freeview HD @ £737

  • LG 42LE7900 42-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 100Hz LED Infinia Internet TV with Freeview HD @ £776
  • LG 42LX6900 42-inch Widescreen LED 3D Internet TV with Freeview HD @ £799

  • Sony Bravia KDL40EX503U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 100Hz LCD Internet TV with Freeview HD @ £679
  • Sony Bravia KDL40EX403U 40-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD Internet TV with Freeview HD @ £584
So there it is, sorry for the long list :D

I am drawn to the LG 42LX6900 purely because it's of how good it is or the Samsung LE40C750 because of the free £180 blu-ray player although it is 2" smaller than the LG.
Click to expand...

New OP:

Pestilence said:
At that price, you'll want to stretch to the Panasonic 42" G20 plasma. Best in that range there is.

If you're willing to compromise a LITTLE on quality, you could nab a slightly larger LG (790 or 990) at that price too.

From the list you've provided, I'd weigh it between the Samsung C750 and the Sony EX503.
Click to expand...

glen8 said:
from that list the C750 all day long. This is coming from someone who has just sold a 42" Panasonic V10 THX Plasma for it.

Just so you know where I'm coming from...SNIP

Remember, LEDs TVs are still LCD with EDGE LED backlighting. To make matter worse though is that samsungs 7000 and 8000 use local dimming which for some (including me) is very annoying.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input guys :) To be honest i think i was leaning towards the 750 anyway. So glen, you'd definately say the 750 over a Samsung UE40B8000? I ask purely because there is a a display model available in near me for £799 (i thought the TV looked brilliant whilst playing Slum Dog Millionaire). Also, would you say the the 750 was much better than the PS50C680G5? I only ask because there is a little part of my which wants something bigger then 40" but i don't want to lose quality and this can be had for £806 with the Samsung Blu-ray player.

If i was to go for the 750 which of these deals would you go for:
LE40C750 with free Samsung BD-C5900 3D Blu-ray Player Wifi Ready (Dongle Required) @ £789
LE40C750 40" Full HD 3D Ready LCD TV with Free Shrek 3D- The Complete Collection, Free 3D Blu-ray player and 2 pairs of 3D glasses @ £898
Or just get the TV alone for £700 and get a seperate Blu-ray player? If i do this i was thinking a Pioneer player.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot people,

Flare
 
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Panasonic all the way

oh and get Plasma forget LED and LCD and I wouldnt bother with 3D either at that size screen/this early in development.
 
mattyg said:
Panasonic all the way

oh and get Plasma forget LED and LCD and I wouldnt bother with 3D either at that size screen/this early in development.
Click to expand...

Like i said in the OP, i'm not fussed about 3D but the TV, say the LG 42LX6900, would still be great when not in 3D mode.

So which Panasonic's would you recommend?
*edit* The PANASONIC VIERA TXL42D25?
I know the G20 is highly recommended but i really wasn't impressed with it when i saw it (Panasonic TX-P42G20B 42-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 600Hz Neo Plasma TV with Freeview HD and Freesat HD).
 
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You won't have been impressed with it because it was in SUPER DUPER STORE DEMO MODE. Ask for it to be turned on normally and watch some decent HD content through it ;)
 
A random name said:
You won't have been impressed with it because it was in SUPER DUPER STORE DEMO MODE. Ask for it to be turned on normally and watch some decent HD content through it ;)
Click to expand...

Well all of the TV's on the wall (a lot of TV's!) were all playing the same blu-ray DVD and it just didn't look good at all compared to some of the others. Admittedly I did have to look up a bit to watch it but then again I also had to do that to view the TV's next to it which looked a lot better. Is there any chance it could have just been that panel because I have pretty much heard nothing good about the TV so that surprised me!
 
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At that price, you'll want to stretch to the Panasonic 42" G20 plasma. Best in that range there is.

If you're willing to compromise a LITTLE on quality, you could nab a slightly larger LG (790 or 990) at that price too.

From the list you've provided, I'd weigh it between the Samsung C750 and the Sony EX503.
 
from that list the C750 all day long. This is coming from someone who has just sold a 42" Panasonic V10 THX Plasma for it.

Just so you know where I'm coming from I've owned five different models of Panasonic Plasma over the years and two other LCDs. I've been into AV for the last 15 years and spend most of my internet time over on AVForums.

The issue at the minute with Panasonic is the rising black levels and little annoying bugs. Flickering and most importantly (other than the shocking blacks after 12 months of use) is the image retention (not to be confused with screen burn). They are still a pain and after the first year IR with dreadful blacks really turn what could have been one fantastic TV into something on a par with a sub £500 shops own brand TV.

The Samsung on the other hand (yes it falls into the budget category) is significantly better 'in the long run' after you have installed the latest firmware. Read the HDTVtest review, they rank it as being better than the more expensive LED C7000 and C8000.

Remember, LEDs TVs are still LCD with EDGE LED backlighting. To make matter worse though is that samsungs 7000 and 8000 use local dimming which for some (including me) is very annoying.
 
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Pestilence said:
At that price, you'll want to stretch to the Panasonic 42" G20 plasma. Best in that range there is.

If you're willing to compromise a LITTLE on quality, you could nab a slightly larger LG (790 or 990) at that price too.

From the list you've provided, I'd weigh it between the Samsung C750 and the Sony EX503.
Click to expand...

glen8 said:
from that list the C750 all day long. This is coming from someone who has just sold a 42" Panasonic V10 THX Plasma for it.

Just so you know where I'm coming from...SNIP

Remember, LEDs TVs are still LCD with EDGE LED backlighting. To make matter worse though is that samsungs 7000 and 8000 use local dimming which for some (including me) is very annoying.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input guys :) To be honest i think i was leaning towards the 750 anyway. One quick thing i've just noticed is that some places list it as the 750R2, is this the same tv or a second revision? So glen, you'd definately say the 750 over a Samsung UE40B8000? I ask purely because there is a a display model available in near me for £799 (i thought the TV looked brilliant whilst playing Slum Dog Millionaire). Also, would you say the the 750 was much better than the PS50C680G5? I only ask because there is a little part of my which wants something bigger then 40" but i don't want to lose quality and this can be had for £806 with the Samsung Blu-ray player.

If i was to go for the 750 which of these deals would you go for:
LE40C750 @ £789 with free Samsung BD-C5900 3D Blu-ray Player Wifi Ready (Dongle Required)
Or just get the TV alone for £700 and get a seperate Blu-ray player? If i do this i was thinking a Pioneer player.
 
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I know this does completely throw a spanner in the works but are there any 46" screens that are up to the standard of the Samsung 750?
 
Just to throw this in as well, you can pick up a Samsung PS50C680G5 50-inch 3d Plasma for £800 if you wanted to go down the 3d route.
 
My G10 is a year old now and still looks as good as day one, out of all the g20's ive sold ive not once had a complaint about buzzing, or heard it myself.

i wouldnt buy any other brand tv now.
 
Thanks for the input but i just don't think i want a plasma, i like the brightness and the colours of LCD's.
 
Panasonic plasmas can also do silly bright colours and brightness, you just cracnk them up in the settings.

Do you want to watch a film like it should be watched and was produced to look like or do you want to crank everything up to make it look silly, punchy and just downright wrong?

If the former then get yourself something like a nice panny plasma and read up on settings, if the later, then waste more money on an LED set and stick it in dynamic mode.



*if you do the later then don't come back here for advice ;)
 
Aha, that is a good point you have there sir! My parents have a pioneer plasma which i do think is brilliant. I think the reason for me wanting an LCD is purely because in brightly lit shops they look much better than Plasmas do because obviously Plasmas aren't suited to bright lights! What do you reckon to the Panasonic TX-P50S20B? My only doubt about it is that the price of it is too low to be a really good tv for that size, silly i know!
 
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I was thinking that but it is out of stock on Amazon and as far as dispatch goes it says "Usually dispatched within 1 to 2 months." =/
 
I'm currently torn between the Panasonic TX-P42G20B and the LG 42LE7900.

Both great feature wise, the former the better IQ, the latter the better aesthetics... hmm.
 
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