New 50"

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Here's hoping someone can make my mind up for me.

I currently have a Panasonic Viera 42" which has just hit it's 5th Birthday. This screen has been a solid performer throughout the years but ever since the mrs decided to pledge the screen (:mad:) leaving behind a mild stain, I've sorta fallen out of love with it.

So I have a bit of spare cash to fund a new set and was wondering if the LG PK590 50" is any good? It's just within budget which makes it appealing and is a little bigger than my current tv which is always good :). I'll be wall mounting my next set so a thin screen is a must. So anyone who has this set...

Does the usb port allow the kids to watch a few movies/series (.avi) on a pen drive?

Is the sound really that bad that I would need a separate 5.1 setup?

Thx in advance.
 
Hi there, I cant comment on the model you want. But i do have the PK350. To be honest i have nothing bad at all to say about the tv so far. Owned it for about a week. You can play films, music and watch pictures via the usb port.
Its a very thin set which for wall mounting will be perfect, I plan to do mine once all my system is sorted.
The sound is pretty decent and doesn't require any av equipment, but you can never have enough bass ETC, but i guess thats your choice really.
One thing i can comment is the screen is like a mirror so if your in a very well lit up room you may suffer with the reflections in the screen.
 
going from a panny to a lg you will deffo note the quality - however i can tell you that lg is a very nice tele and i think you will do right by it
 
going from a panny to a lg you will deffo note the quality - however i can tell you that lg is a very nice tele and i think you will do right by it

Lol, now I'm more confused? Are you saying the LG has a worse picture or just quality in general (buttons/sound etc?).

I do love the pannys and would love to stay with them but the 50" range is lacking around the same price point. I guess you get what you pay for.
 
Guess I may as well stick with what I have then. I've done a bit of searching and have yet to find a way to remove what can only be described as staining (furniture polish) from the screen. It's not visible when the screen is on, just when it is turned off.

Anyone know any hints/tips to remove or lesson the staining?
 
Have you tried regular LCD/TFT monitor cleaning spray.

This is all good advice

* Unplug or turn off your LCD screen or device and closely examine the condition of the screen.

* Take notice of any smudges or areas to be cleaned.

* Use a Microfiber Cloth to remove any obvious dust and gently brush off any dirt particulars.

* Although you can clean any LCD screen with a 50/50 solution of distilled water/isopropyl alcohol, using an old cotton T-shirt or handkerchief, it is recommended that you acquire the proper cleaning solutions and cloths to clean your LCDs. Many of these LCD screens are very expensive items, proper cleaning kits such as Klear or iKlear should be used to clean and keep your LCD displays in a crisp clear pristine condition.

* Never spray any cleaning solutions directly onto the screen, spray it into the your cleaning cloth.

* Very, very gently wipe the screen in a circular motion. Do not press hard on the cloth. Let the cleaning solution do its job.

* Don't press hard or touch the screen with your fingers or you may leave oily prints and smears.

* Don't leave any liquid on the screen, remove all excess moisture as it may damage your screen.

* Let the LCD screen dry thoroughly before you switch it back on.

* For hard to remove stains or ink marks you may have to repeat this procedure several times. Don't apply hard pressure, remember you can also purchase special cleaners for heavy ink marks and the like.
 
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Hi there, I cant comment on the model you want. But i do have the PK350. To be honest i have nothing bad at all to say about the tv so far. Owned it for about a week. You can play films, music and watch pictures via the usb port.
Its a very thin set which for wall mounting will be perfect, I plan to do mine once all my system is sorted.
The sound is pretty decent and doesn't require any av equipment, but you can never have enough bass ETC, but i guess thats your choice really.
One thing i can comment is the screen is like a mirror so if your in a very well lit up room you may suffer with the reflections in the screen.

I might as well have written this myself, exactly same thoughts only I've had mine just over 2 weeks now.
 
Hi there, I cant comment on the model you want. But i do have the PK350. To be honest i have nothing bad at all to say about the tv so far. Owned it for about a week. You can play films, music and watch pictures via the usb port.
Its a very thin set which for wall mounting will be perfect, I plan to do mine once all my system is sorted.
The sound is pretty decent and doesn't require any av equipment, but you can never have enough bass ETC, but i guess thats your choice really.
One thing i can comment is the screen is like a mirror so if your in a very well lit up room you may suffer with the reflections in the screen.

Ive had the above set for ~4 months myself. fantastic set although it has absolutely no bass whatsoever and it also should be noted that it has no analogue out. Just digital. So you cant use phono plugs unfortunately.

@maddog: I dont know of the buzzing noise however I would be more concerned about the rising black levels that appear from 1000 hours. On the above set and its predecessor.
 
I compared the LG and Panasonic panels and found I preffered the LG models with THX mode to the Panny's. Now money was not an issue as I had up to £2k to spend, but it was hard to ignore the value features and minor differences versus costs. I bought the PK590 50" with a five year guarantee and two HDMI leads, and a TV stand for a very reasonable price from RS.

The LG models improve after a couple of hundred hours and I had read over on AV forums about the blacks deteriorating with Pannasonic plasma's, but for me it was simple things like actually prefering the colour balance and picture quality with a movie on, which is where having a THX calibrated set makes a difference to me. Sadly this is where it gets hard to compare as most stores offer pathetic set up's with display models.

Screen retention is slightly more notiveable with the LG over the Panny but it does improve and become less intrusive and noticeable over time. But considering the cost versus performance I could not see where the extra is on the Panny to be honest, it was not better in my opinion, just different.

My biggest regret was not going for the 60" PK590, but at £1k more that extra 10" seemed a little overpriced.
 
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Does anybody have the 50g20? just how bad is the buzzing from it? its the only thing putting me off this tv.
there is almost no buzzing on the G20 but i would stay away from this years panny tvs i owned the 50G20
V20 and VT20 there a motion blur and panning issues
G20-S20 motion blur,waxy faces,bad polarazation and banding issues
and all of this years pannys have the 50Hz Bug which panasonic will not acknowledge which causes most of the polarazation and waxy faces


have a read through some of the threads on AVF

http://www.avforums.com/forums/plasma-tvs/
 
I would agree with woppy101, be very wary of this years panasonic models.

When looking for a new 50" TV last month I realy wanted another Panasonic but I read of too many problems with them that I ended up buying the LG PK350 for £400'ish less than a Panny and figured I could always put the money saved toward getting a Panny when/if they sort out their problems. :)

The LG is a good set for the £600 I payed for it and I have no complaints. I decided on the PK350 as it doesn't suffer from the edge enhancment problem of the other models.
 
The staining is probably the anti glare being removed. Does it look shiny/wet compared to the rest of the screen?

I have this after I tried to remove a scratch from using scrach polisher. It's only really visble when off. The only way to 'remove' it is to go over the whole screen an remove the rest of the anti glare. It'll then be a glossy screen.

Best thing I've found for cleaning the screen is IPA, getting kids handprints and stuff off. Doesn't seem to affect the antiglare in any way.
 
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