panasonic txp42st50b a good choice?

HouR

HouR

HouR

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Hi guys,
My parents are lookin to buy the following tv:
panasonic txp42st50b
From looking into it seems about a £800 budget going on what that sells for.
Anyone with some knowledge on the subject suggest if this is a good buy?

There upgrading to sky hd, want It about 42" based on where is has to go.
Should plasma be forgotten now everything is led?

Oh and doing this one my phone at work with not great signal so appoligies if you get these threads 10 times a day but I can't search well at the mo!

Thanks for any assistance,
Cheers ash
 
hdtvtest.org have this tv reviewed and it gets amazing reviews every where. Richer sounds have it £699 I think for a few more days. Plasma gives the better colours compared to LED/LCD certainly that Panasonic will over just about everything else at that price range and maybe some above it.
One thing to note from Plasma though from what I have been reading is in rooms where the light can be an issue reflecting off the screens plasmas don't always deal with it as well as LCD/LED tvs. So if you have a light source like a window which will reflect on the tv it is worth bearing in mind.
 
FeFiDoh said:
One thing to note from Plasma though from what I have been reading is in rooms where the light can be an issue reflecting off the screens plasmas don't always deal with it as well as LCD/LED tvs. So if you have a light source like a window which will reflect on the tv it is worth bearing in mind.
Click to expand...

It's not just reflections, it has to do with how bright the room is. Plasma's aren't as bright as LCD/LED's so in a room with a lot of light the picture can appear washout out- it's one of the reasons that most people walk out of shops with the impressive that LCD/LED's produce a better picture.
 
Cheers guys - Think they have been looking at richer sounds but will make them aware :)
Dont think the light should be an issue in the lounge so it sounds like a good buy
 
Really good tv I just bought the 50" and it great for gaming, movies and tv.

Also people commenting on the reflections these st50's have infinate black pro a special screen coating that stops almost all reflections. Mine has almost no reflections and is much better in a well lit room than any of the leds I have in the house.
 
Somnambulist said:
Good TV (as good as the top-tier VT30 from last years range)... you need to calibrate it though.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree on mine true cinema mode was the best straight out the box but even that had far too much green tint and all other modes had too much blue.

The guys at hdtv test helped me get it correct but still I'm saving up for a proper calibration.
 
imginy said:
Yes I agree on mine true cinema mode was the best straight out the box but even that had far too much green tint and all other modes had too much blue.

The guys at hdtv test helped me get it correct but still I'm saving up for a proper calibration.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm the same. After using the hdtv calibration settings I was shocked at the difference. It's even more shocking considering the bulk of owners likely won't go near the calibration settings.
 
imginy said:
Really good tv I just bought the 50" and it great for gaming, movies and tv.

Also people commenting on the reflections these st50's have infinate black pro a special screen coating that stops almost all reflections. Mine has almost no reflections and is much better in a well lit room than any of the leds I have in the house.
Click to expand...

Isn't that more about stopping blacks becoming washed out greys when there is a lot of ambient light? So even if turned off, the tvs with the infinite black pro panels look black, whereas the cheaper models look grey?
 
krooton said:
Isn't that more about stopping blacks becoming washed out greys when there is a lot of ambient light? So even if turned off, the tvs with the infinite black pro panels look black, whereas the cheaper models look grey?
Click to expand...

Yes the screen coating stops reflections and improves black levels during ambient lighting.

It costs an extra £200 over the ut50 but I think it's worth it.
 
The UT50 also apparently doesn't go as bright as the ST50, it also doesn't have the slim panel.

I got my ST50 today, it makes my 4 year old Panasonic Plasma look like a bag of crap, such an improvement in picture quality, black levels and contrast are immense.
 
Clairvoyant said:
How much does that cost.
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I have never calibrated a tv but I have been asking the same thing on another forum and from what I have been told to get a professional to come and to your house and do it then it's around £300.

Or you can buy the equipment and do it your self and from everyone has been saying the "i1 Display Pro meter" for £160 will do a very good job. (I will be getting the i1 diplay pro meter for christmas)
 
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imginy said:
I have never calibrated a tv but I have been asking the same thing on another forum and from what I have been told to get a professional to come and to your house and do it then it's around £300.

Or you can buy the equipment and do it your self and from everyone has been saying the "i1 Display Pro meter" for £160 will do a very good job. (I will be getting the i1 diplay pro meter for christmas)
Click to expand...

Want to loan it to me after.

I do remember 1 forum member did a loan thing of his equipment for monitors.
 
Have had my ST50 for the last few weeks now and after fully calibrating each input (Freeview,PS3,3D etc) - I have yet to see a TV that can reproduce it's picture in any of my friends or relations houses.

It just makes the LCD's picture appear so overexposed / false - even in LCD's that cost around £2000.

One thing I'm not sure about is the DLNA streaming. I have my main house PC hooked up over ethernet - along with the TV. I can see/play my MP3 files stored on the PC - but i'm unable to see or play MKV files or FLAC files even though i can access and play them via a USB stick ?

The manual states the TV can play these files over DLNA and my PC has the codecs to play these files - but i just cant see them on the network link.

Any ideas...
 
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