50' plasma

[dotMac]

I am so disappointed right now. I visited the dealer yesterday to pay the advance. I was bargaining further thats when dealer called the Samsung distributor. He then informed me that Samsung has stopped the offer of free Sun DirectHD :sad:
I was so frustrated that i walked out straight away.

I am not comfortable paying 60K without this offer. I will go for it only if is close to 52K.
So what is the best price you have received for this TV?

The 50C450 is supposed to be cheaper than B450 in the market it is released. So i will wait for it rather than pay 60K now. In India anything can happen though and C450 may be released with a steeper price
It is supposed to be more energy efficient and has one pane of glass less than B450 making it more resilient to internal reflection. But some give opinion that the C series is less bright when compared to B series may be due to newer Energy Star certification.

So if I get really good price for B450 i will go for it. Otherwise would wait for a month and go for 42 Panasonic or 50" C450 if it is in my budget.

 

[Bangalore123]

dotMac,

Did the dealer tell you when the C-series plasma will be available in showrooms? I am interested in the 50C550/590. I wrote Samsung customer care and got strange response: Please provide more conatact details.

 

[dotMac]

dotMac,

Did the dealer tell you when the C-series plasma will be available in showrooms? I am interested in the 50C550/590. I wrote Samsung customer care and got strange response: Please provide more conatact details.

I am not sure whether it will available in India and when. I just learnt about it in other forums. I was curious about it as I wanted to know what i would miss if i go with 2009 model.

IMHO Samsung customer care is pathetic. I do not have experience with others and others may not be different. They are not even interested to talk even when I am saying that I want to buy one of their TV. Only their technical division knows the detail I was asking and technical team is busy with other calls. That was the reply I got !!!
Finally when I got that technical guy, all he did was suggested me to go to the companies outlet in BTM layout, B'lore. He also said they have the distribution office over there and gave me couple of phone numbers. That numbers turned out to be invalid. I am not sure whether he gave me the wrong number or I made a mistake when taking it down. I called them again to get the right number. But technical team was busy. Then I did not bother calling them again. :annoyed:

I was just wondering if this is the attitude towards a potential buyer how would they treat me if i was reporting a complaint about the existing product.

Anyways, if you can visit BTM layout, "may be" they then can answer your queries.

 

[alokbharti]

I am so disappointed right now. I visited the dealer yesterday to pay the advance. I was bargaining further thats when dealer called the Samsung distributor. He then informed me that Samsung has stopped the offer of free Sun DirectHD :sad:
I was so frustrated that i walked out straight away.

I am not comfortable paying 60K without this offer. I will go for it only if is close to 52K.
So what is the best price you have received for this TV?

The 50C450 is supposed to be cheaper than B450 in the market it is released. So i will wait for it rather than pay 60K now. In India anything can happen though and C450 may be released with a steeper price
It is supposed to be more energy efficient and has one pane of glass less than B450 making it more resilient to internal reflection. But some give opinion that the C series is less bright when compared to B series may be due to newer Energy Star certification.

So if I get really good price for B450 i will go for it. Otherwise would wait for a month and go for 42 Panasonic or 50" C450 if it is in my budget.

Without SunHD offer, 60K looks high..

BUT.. since 50b450 is rarely available (everywhere it is out of stock), It is still a good deal..

Try bargaining further since SunHD is not included..I remember few members here got it for ~57K..

Quickly compared c450 specs with b450.. not much difference.. I don't see any other new features except for energy saving and less reflection.. I think it will cost more than b450.. you will get good deal on c450 only during Dussehra/Diwali time I guess..

 

[soulforged]

I was offered Panny 52C10 for 71.2K and LG 50PQ30 for 57K today.

I guess C10 is available for around 69K or so elsewhere...

Keen on picking up the LG TV...fair price for the model? Planning the close the deal tomorrow...

:cheers:

*bump*

any thoughts guys???

 

[BLASTO]

*bump*

any thoughts guys???

Avoid the LG plasmas (period)

 

[alokbharti]

Avoid the LG plasmas (period)

+1

I second BLASTO..

He owned LG plasma for about 2 months...and later replaced it with Samsung.. Do check his comparison thread LGPQ60 vs Sammy B450... Both reviewed at home

 

[soulforged]

Thanx Blasto and Alok...

but the problem is samsung plasmas are not available and panny ones are too expensive (C10 costs 70K)...that leaves me with only the LG plasma (PQ30)...

Looking for a 50 incher...what options do you suggest?

:signthankspin:

 

[aazam]

B450 available for 57k in Bhopal.
with Sun HD it is 60K

i got one in december for 55k (w/0 sun hd)

 

[BLASTO]

Thanx Blasto and Alok...

but the problem is samsung plasmas are not available and panny ones are too expensive (C10 costs 70K)...that leaves me with only the LG plasma (PQ30)...

Looking for a 50 incher...what options do you suggest?

:signthankspin:

For the 50", You pretty much have no choice other than B450 now for the VFM vs PQ sweet spot.

If waiting is an option do that.

Samsung C450 and C550 models are the ones to look for in 50" in 2010.
If my guess is right, the difference in costing between them is going to be marginal this year. (Last year it was ~15k and I assume <10k this year looking at global markets.)

If you wait for a month or so, 50C550 is the best choice IMO followed by 50C450. (If priced within 10k)

For 42" though, there will be tough competetion from panasonic in terms of pricing vs VFM.

Stressing again, You can take home samsung 50C550 (Full HD) for around the price of panasonic 50C10, only if you are willing to wait. Samsung released the B450 by May last year and I don't see any reason why they will delay the launch this year.

I got the LG PQ60 for the same reason (non availability of B450) and later replaced it.

 

[datuca]

This seems to be a really bad time for people wanting a 50" plasmas. I am getting my new house interiors done and have to tell carpenter te exact size of the TV but I can't as none of the TVs are available right now. Though I will shift to the new place by end of May, I just can't give the size of Panny 50" to carpenter and hope it arrives next month. No idea what to do! Crap!

 

[soulforged]

This seems to be a really bad time for people wanting a 50" plasmas. I am getting my new house interiors done and have to tell carpenter te exact size of the TV but I can't as none of the TVs are available right now. Though I will shift to the new place by end of May, I just can't give the size of Panny 50" to carpenter and hope it arrives next month. No idea what to do! Crap!

I am in exactly the same boat as you are

I wish Samsung would hurry up and release the 2010 models...

 

[Dushie]

This seems to be a really bad time for people wanting a 50" plasmas. I am getting my new house interiors done and have to tell carpenter te exact size of the TV but I can't as none of the TVs are available right now. Though I will shift to the new place by end of May, I just can't give the size of Panny 50" to carpenter and hope it arrives next month. No idea what to do! Crap!

Well you can always take an estimate and leave space for the same.

It should not be an exact fit. So for 50" set you can leave at least 55" to 60" space. Personally i feel that would do the job.

 

[dotMac]

Stressing again, You can take home samsung 50C550 (Full HD) for around the price of panasonic 50C10, only if you are willing to wait. Samsung released the B450 by May last year and I don't see any reason why they will delay the launch this year.

Blasto,
I have a confusion here.
I was of the opinion that HD Ready TVs handle SD contents much better than the Full HD irrespective of the upscaling engine. This is due to the native resolution of the HD Ready TVs being much closer to SD content resolution.
Is my opinion wrong?

Because of the above opinion I was deliberately going for the HD ready plasmas rather than the FullHD once. i.e. I would have gone for a X10 rather than a C550. Also I was the opinion that these TVs can render 1080p content by downscaling them and this does not affect the quality by a great deal. No question that rendering would not be vibrant as FullHD but good for most occasions.
Add VFM to the above opinion, I was convinced that HD Ready would be a good choice.

I feel SD (and 720p) content would dominate most of my viewing for another 3 ~ 4 years. If it is so, what would you suggest, Full HD or HD Ready?

All,
On a general note, I need opinion of all members here on when do you think 1080p content (not upscaled content like hindi channels in SunHD) will become omnipresent in India?
My assessment is as follows :
I feel Indian content creation (movies/tv) will not happen at least for another 5 years.
Hollywood movies are already there.
Other western content(sports/tv) will go 1080p in a year or two.
Internet is going to be the major source of these western content for most of us
It would at-least take another year or two for major ISPs in India to make 2Mbps line the minimum (which in my opinion is minimum speed to get HD content). I still have a 256kbps line

So from where I see it, 1080p content will not become a norm at-least for 3 more years. And by then the TV manufacturers would be cranking up 4K resolution TVs and Hollywood movies would possible be in that resolution.

So I dont see any point in going for FullHD now. Off course when money is not an issue, having the best always makes sense. For those who like me do not have such deep pocket whats your opinion Do you think HD Ready set can serve for 5 ~ 6 years from now?

 

[BLASTO]

Blasto,
I have a confusion here.
I was of the opinion that HD Ready TVs handle SD contents much better than the Full HD irrespective of the upscaling engine. This is due to the native resolution of the HD Ready TVs being much closer to SD content resolution.
Is my opinion wrong?

No. Your opinion is correct.
But there can be inconsistencies in some individual cases because, TV companies typically write upscaling firmware optimised for 1080p and port it to 720p.
The display quality is dependant on upscaling engine of the TV. But it is visible only between two different brands. Within the same brand, it is minor.

Because of the above opinion I was deliberately going for the HD ready plasmas rather than the FullHD once. i.e. I would have gone for a X10 rather than a C550. Also I was the opinion that these TVs can render 1080p content by downscaling them and this does not affect the quality by a great deal. No question that rendering would not be vibrant as FullHD but good for most occasions.
Add VFM to the above opinion, I was convinced that HD Ready would be a good choice.

If C550 and X10 are priced in the same levels, I would still pick the C550 just because X10 is not worth so much. 50" panasonic plasma prices are goofed up here in India.

But the logical conclusion holds good. 720p will outclass 1080p for SD and 720p and 1080p TV will eat 720p TV for breakfast when it comes to 1080p content.

There is also another problem in hand which is 1080i which is becoming the norm in HD transmission now (1080p is far far away!!). 1080i -> 1080p conversion is straight forward and pretty much lossless while 1080i -> 720 requires some processing. I assume both will be on par but never know.

I feel SD (and 720p) content would dominate most of my viewing for another 3 ~ 4 years. If it is so, what would you suggest, Full HD or HD Ready?

HD Ready obviously.
A media player with good HD playback chip can do wonders.

All,
On a general note, I need opinion of all members here on when do you think 1080p content (not upscaled content like hindi channels in SunHD) will become omnipresent in India?
My assessment is as follows :
I feel Indian content creation (movies/tv) will not happen at least for another 5 years.
Hollywood movies are already there.
Other western content(sports/tv) will go 1080p in a year or two.
Internet is going to be the major source of these western content for most of us
It would at-least take another year or two for major ISPs in India to make 2Mbps line the minimum (which in my opinion is minimum speed to get HD content). I still have a 256kbps line

So from where I see it, 1080p content will not become a norm at-least for 3 more years. And by then the TV manufacturers would be cranking up 4K resolution TVs and Hollywood movies would possible be in that resolution.

So I dont see any point in going for FullHD now. Off course when money is not an issue, having the best always makes sense. For those who like me do not have such deep pocket whats your opinion Do you think HD Ready set can serve for 5 ~ 6 years from now?

It all depends upon the difference in costing between them. For instance, the difference in 4 series and 5 series plasma in US is ~$100. For the most part, it is almost throw away money for people in the US and considering that there is already 1080i/p transmission there and is fast becoming the norm, you might wonder why the hell 720p TVs are produced. But it tends to find customers anyway.

It all boils down to one basic question,
"What will you pick if both HD ready and FHD plasma TVs of a same brand and size are available for the SAME price in India".

I say that there will be customers for 720p TV even then and it is the logical conclusion to select a 720p even then given the contents in India. But will I select the 720p TV in that case even after having complete knowledge of the situation? No I will not. Atleast to avoid explaining to every house guest on why 720p TV is better. hyeah:

 

[dotMac]

Just in case if someone is tracking this thread for 50" plasmas, Samsung 2010 pricelist has been posted in another thread : http://www.hifivision.com/television/9603-price-list-new-2010-samsung-lcd-tvs.html

MRP of 50C550 is 85000 (DP: 79900)
MRP of 50C450 is 69000 (DP: 64000)

Note that the price list quotes 70000 as DP for 50B450 while you easily get it for 60K.

So good news is that the MRP of 50" 4 series plasma is slashed by 6K :yahoo:

Complete price list (link to image from above post):

 

[Notorious_M]

greetings ppl

am too torn between the pq70 and the c450(albeit the 42 " one)

the c450 also seems to have the divx movie thru usb functionality(not able to confirm this)
still have to get a demo.

but the c530 lcd(the new b530) had both divx and mkv directly off the usb!!!

am offered the c450 for 42ks and the pq60 at 42k too

i just want to know tht the sound from the samsung is not downright pathetic...and wud be good for general tv viewing..
atm i dont have a decent ht system...
wud connecting my AL mx 5021 to the plasma be advisable

and the rest i understand from this thread is tht sammy has better pq and also less susceptible to IR.

 

[oracle1974]

Hi

50" C450 is for 55,500 in mumbai

 

[soulforged]

Hi

50" C450 is for 55,500 in mumbai

that's a very good price...is it out in stores now???

 

[oracle1974]

it is not on display. dealer said he can get it in 2-3 days.