Which HDTV - Shortlist?

WantoN

WantoN

WantoN

Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2003
Posts
10,795
Location
Hampshire
Hi fellas,
Looking to pick up a bargain in the christmas/january sales and I'm trying to put together a shortlist before then :)

Ideally £800 will be my max budget for a 37"-42" set. Still can't decide between plasma and lcd.

Use will be for xbox 360 and SD primarily for the minute. With an interest in blueray for the future. I'd say the split would be 50/25/25 xbox, sd, dvd. Though the set would need to be relatively versatile.


So far I've come up with:

Plasma:
Panasonic px80
Panasonic pz80

LCD:
Sony KDL-40V4000

Id love it if you guys could recommend me a few more TVs in that ballpark to investigate. Also, tips about buying would be great.

Thanks!
Ant :cool:
 
I'm really in the same boat atm. Looking for a 40" dead on though.

Have you considered Samsung? They seem the top of the bunch atm.

The one i am after is the Samsung LE40A656A. It has the Full HD and 50,000:1 contrast.

Connections -

rear-connections.jpg


side-connections.jpg


Just Google the name and you may be able to see that 688 quid deal.
 
Samsung are ok, but they are not top of the bunch. Picture quality can be good, but the quality control from them is dodgy at best, and support from them is non existant in the UK. Plus you have to be lucky to not encounter one of their many niggling faults.

I would lean towards the PX80, as 1080p is pretty useless unless you are within about 5 feet from the set and will be using loads and loads of 1080p footage. 1080p for xbox isn't that important as their are only a few games that are actually 1080p native, and most are 720p and are upscaled, thus a waste.

The pz panny is worse for SD tv than the px, so bear that in mind too with the extra cost.
 
-Ad- said:
Samsung are ok, but they are not top of the bunch. Picture quality can be good, but the quality control from them is dodgy at best, and support from them is non existant in the UK. Plus you have to be lucky to not encounter one of their many niggling faults.

I would lean towards the PX80, as 1080p is pretty useless unless you are within about 5 feet from the set and will be using loads and loads of 1080p footage. 1080p for xbox isn't that important as their are only a few games that are actually 1080p native, and most are 720p and are upscaled, thus a waste.

The pz panny is worse for SD tv than the px, so bear that in mind too with the extra cost.
Click to expand...

Thanks fella.

'll be sat roughly 2 meters from the set. In the interest of future proofing might selecting a 1080p be a viable option?

Also, I was under the impression that the newer PZ sets had better SD than the slightly older variants. Maybe that was heresay (again considering HDTV is becoming more prevalent and I'll eventually move to blueray too, I'm wondering if getting a better HD performance at the cost of SD is such a bad thing).

I was put off by the sammies because of the myriad of options available and a few niggling probs I've heard of.

Also, what about the Sony, good choice for LCD?

Thanks!

Ant :cool:
 
GregI said:
It has the Full HD and 50,000:1 contrast.
Click to expand...

On a list of things that should be ignored any manufacturers claims for contrast ratios comes pretty high. They are largely nonsense numbers which can't be replicated under living room conditions unless you enjoy eye strain and a migrain.

I'd certainly lgo for plasma, given your usage, look at the Panasonics and possible the new LGs (beautiful picture but have heard some negatives).
 
[DOD]Asprilla;12731381 said:
On a list of things that should be ignored any manufacturers claims for contrast ratios comes pretty high. They are largely nonsense numbers which can't be replicated under living room conditions unless you enjoy eye strain and a migrain.

I'd certainly lgo for plasma, given your usage, look at the Panasonics and possible the new LGs (beautiful picture but have heard some negatives).
Click to expand...

Cheers. Could you expand upon why you think plasma is the viable choice fella? I wonder if I was too conservative with my usage, xbox would be the predominant factor by a long way, perhaps even 80/10/10. But it would vary greatly; I'm inured at the mo so no sport or much post-work activity, so the xbox will be hit hard.

Heavy gaming sessions are a possibility. LCD tempted me for the versatility and how varied my use would be. Plasma for its superb blacks/picture quality. Image retention and burn in are worries for me.

Ant :cool:
 
WantoN said:
LCD tempted me for the versatility and how varied my use would be. Plasma for its superb blacks/picture quality. Image retention and burn in are worries for me.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you mean by versatility?

For me, and it's purely subjective, plasma is better for all TV and gaming and only looses out to LCD if you are going to be connecting it up to a PC and using it as a desktop for extended periods.

Plasma has better motion handling and better blacks, which for me are the foundations of a good picture. I also think that plasmas have more lifelike colour reproduction.

Retention and burn are risks, but they are much less likely to happen than they were five years ago (you'd probably have to go on holiday for two weeeks leaving your xbox and TV on to do any serious damage, in which case house burn rather then screen burn might be more pressing). As long as you are careful and treat the screen properly, such as turning down the brightness and contrast in the first 200 hours, it will serve you well for many years. I've left mine on the sky menu overnight before and there wasn't even the faintest hint of retention.
 
After those opinions i am not to sure on my choice. I did find it weird that on one Samsung LCD they had it with a 2,000,000:1 Contrast ratio.

Can i find a Sony TV that is better than the KDL40V4000 mentioned above for under 750?
 
I have a TH42PZ80.

Xbox Original Media Centre + 350 meg AVI = Beautiful

Upscaling Yamaha DVD Player (1080p) = Beautiful

Freeview = Variable bit watchable (although I watch very little TV)

Sky, Sky HD, Xbox 360, PS3 => All to come, I am in no hurry, but I can't wait!

General coments:

- Black level, colour, motion are excellent and at time of purchase no other LCD compared favourably

- Sound not the greatest, but very acceptable. Again the option for expansion is there (in fact I just hooked up a hand-me-down receiver + speakers [stereo] system this weekend and there is an amazing difference - which is down to the output power of the larger speakers)

- Z80 has one HDMI port on the front panel of the TV which many find annoying. I personally do not.

- Plasma as a technology has to be handled slightly different than LCD. For the first week or two you should run at lower intensity.

Overall I love my TV. My only regret? I wish I had bought the same model in 46 or 50 inches!
 
Reality Bites said:
6-7 feet from the TV and you need a 37" + TV?
Click to expand...

That's actually about the right distance for full HD on a 42" set. I sit 9' from a 42" TV and as a result I went for a 720p panel, 1080p would have been wasted.

WantoN, I'd suggest you actually measure the distance properly as it's pretty important and most people, me included, are rubbish at estimating.
 
Last edited:
I'll have a measure up when I get back tonight Asprilla. 7-8 feet does sound spot on though :)

I suppose versatility was crap :p What I meant was that I could use it with a variety of formats without having to worry about burn in.

However, comments about burn in being much less likely have eased my worries a little. I have heard warnings about 3 hours gaming 5 nights a week. I'm injured at the moment, and so with a lot of spare time that's a definate possibility :p Should I be concerned at all?

So are the two pannys the only really viable options? If the more expensive sets come down after christmas they'd be a possibility, but I can't seem to find many that are more highly rated than the pannys mind (Kuro aside :p)

I'm torn between the two anyway. 1080p on the PZ, but better SD on the PX.

Ant :cool:
 
Best thing to do is find an indy retailer and give them both a side by side demo. The difference in SD might not mean as much to you when you see them. Watch as many different inputs as you can. At the end of the day it's entirely subjective and it's you spending the cash, not us
 
Yup 7-8 ft should be good for a 42, but still pushing being able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p at that distance. Try and have a look at *** sets for yourself.

But if nearer 8ft i say go mad and get a 1080p plasma :D:D:D:D Adam, calm down you twit :)
 
I looked at loads, went into the shop to buy a Pana PZ80 and came out with the Sammy A656.

Much better looking screen, better picture on the Blu Rays they were showing. Also as I game a lot it was more suited to my use. Game Mode looks great on the Xbox.

Blacks looks blacker than my mates 37PX80 too....
 
Just popping in here to say my TH-42PZ80 arrives on Tuesday and I'm very excited :D

Just missed out on the 5 year warranty deal at that well known pricematching high-street retailer, but nevermind...
 
Having got both a Samsung LCD and a Panny PZ80 i have to say im not keen on LCD's anymore. The Plasma is far better!

My mate bought a 52" Sammy LCD the same time as me and i have to say he gave it back after seeing my PZ80 50" in action. He now also has a Panny PZ80 :)

happy days
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom