50' plasma

[dotMac]

Guys, has anyone tried the Panasonic VIERA TH-P50S10D Plasma. My dad is planning to get it. The dealers are quoting around 1.2L for it in Bangalore. I guess it is a Full HD Tv.

Please let me know if this is a good buy or are there any other alternatives?

I would highly recommend the V10 instead. Though it retails at 1.5L, it is discounted heavily and available at around 1.2L. V10 was the best 2009 plasma and is considered closest to the Pioneers. If you can wait, V20/V25 is going to be released which is 2010 replacement. It is a THX certified TV. So instead of S10 go for the V10.

But beware; as "Bublu Bhuyan" noted, Panasonic has programmed it to elevate the black level after certain hours of usage. And as per Panasonic it is a feature that would be present even in 2010 models too.

 

[HDFREAK]

@ anm
42"

 

[soulforged]

Went to a couple of Samsung Plazas and one multi-brand outlet (Devi Intl) yesterday with the intention of picking up the 50C450 but nobody had it and nobody had any idea when they could get it for me. I had been going back and forth on the 50 incher for quite some time now so got frustrated and finally bought LG 50PQ30 for 56K. I had previously liked this one but was waiting for the 2010 Samsungs...

At the place I also got an offer for Haier 32' LCD (32S9) for just 21.5K. Since I am looking for a not-so-expensive LCD to be used mainly for SD viewing (Cable). This seemed juicy...any experience on Haier TV's? My research so far has not thrown up much info other than the fact that Haier is one of the largest manuf of TV's.

 

[BLASTO]

Went to a couple of Samsung Plazas and one multi-brand outlet (Devi Intl) yesterday with the intention of picking up the 50C450 but nobody had it and nobody had any idea when they could get it for me. I had been going back and forth on the 50 incher for quite some time now so got frustrated and finally bought LG 50PQ30 for 56K.

Did you check for B450? Even that would have been better.
How is your experience with the PQ30?

 

[soulforged]

No B450...no C450...no C550...in 50'

Not yet taken the delivery...deferred it for next week...will post my impression asap.

any idea of the haier?

 

[BLASTO]

any idea of the haier?

No idea.. But IMO ANY 32" is worth ~20k just for the effort.
And if the TV is not going to be primary, its a no brainer.

More than PQ and stuff, check the reliability and service before jumping in.

 

[dotMac]

The spec of PS50C450 & PS50C550 are now available in the Samsung website.

50C550 : Plasma TV - Television | SAMSUNG

50C450: Plasma TV - Television | SAMSUNG

 

[vchounal]

I have yesterday booked a LG50PK550 for 65K with Croma, Greater Noida (NR). It will be deklivered to me on Sunday.

 

[dotMac]

I have yesterday booked a LG50PK550 for 65K with Croma, Greater Noida (NR). It will be deklivered to me on Sunday.

Do give us a first hand review once you have it
Also watching what Scalet has to say on this.

2009 50" plasma decision was more simpler i guess :
If u have enough money go to Pana v10
If not Samsung. If u could afford 550 go for it. Else 450.
If u dont find a Samsung try the LG.
:lol:

Now with LG releasing a FullHD for 65K with matching performance to Samsung, decision only gets tougher. Panasonic price for 2009 50" was set too high. Hope they take notice of the price offered by Sam/LG.

Waiting for some experts to review 2010 Plasmas.

 

[shuv]

Probably getting the 50C550 today. The dealer has quoted 70k after bargaining (down from 73k).
Anything to check for? They don't have a demo piece anywhere and the TV will come directly from the warehouse (claimed).

 

[BLASTO]

Probably getting the 50C550 today. The dealer has quoted 70k after bargaining (down from 73k).
Anything to check for? They don't have a demo piece anywhere and the TV will come directly from the warehouse (claimed).

Thats great.. You can compare with your G10 and post a review..
BTW, C550 is not displayed for demo anywhere, It is very hard to get a demo piece.

 

[shuv]

Finally! Booked the 50C550 today. Delivery and installation will be done tomorrow. Final price was 70k, all inclusive.

 

[dotMac]

Finally! Booked the 50C550 today. Delivery and installation will be done tomorrow. Final price was 70k, all inclusive.

Did you get a chance to compare it with PK550 side-by-side?

 

[shuv]

@ dotMac - No, none of these plasmas are on display anywhere.

 

[BLASTO]

@ dotMac - No, none of these plasmas are on display anywhere.

Wow, you got a lot of courage to get something without demoing.

 

[HDFREAK]

I took a demo of 50C550 on last Friday. I brought 3 movies in my external hard disk. 1080p, 720p and a Hindi movie in DVD SD standard.
All 3 were played through inbuilt USB port of the TV set. Here are my observations:
- The difference between 720p and 1080p files was not distinguishable. I was watching from around 6 feet distance. The PQ was impressive for both HD files. Colour reproduction was superb. The pixels from this distance was not visible.

- What I felt most disappointed was the contrast level. I requested the sales man to make the contrast high, and to my surprise I found that contrast was 100, full. I am not sure whether it is because of the shop's high ambient light or because of the video settings. The setting was "Dynamic". The sales man suggested that I should switch to LED TV, for more contrast. But the contrast level of the demo blue-ray video was quite high. Any C550/C450 owner, could you please share your experience on this?

- The shop did not have a 50C450, which is actually in my 1st place of preference. However I compared the 50C550 with the 42C430 (720p) and I find no difference in PQ with the demo blueray video on.

- The price quoted for 50C550 was 75K and for 50C450 was 62 K. Seems the Kolkata dealers are charging much higher that what I see in this forum.

 

[BLASTO]

- What I felt most disappointed was the contrast level. I requested the sales man to make the contrast high, and to my surprise I found that contrast was 100, full. I am not sure whether it is because of the shop's high ambient light or because of the video settings. The setting was "Dynamic". The sales man suggested that I should switch to LED TV, for more contrast. But the contrast level of the demo blue-ray video was quite high. Any C550/C450 owner, could you please share your experience on this?

In home conditions, 80 seem so high for contrast. Dynamic is a bad setting for home.

In any case dont get the samsung LEDs. Get the comparable LCDs instead if you are not satisfied with plasmas. Get a home demo if possible before you decide.

 

[sanjay0864]

The difference between 720p and 1080p files was not distinguishable. I was watching from around 6 feet distance.

Using downloaded rip files as a comparison between 720p and 1080p is not advisable. Simply because the authencity of the source resolution cannot be verified. My advice would be to use a good quality Hollywood Blu-ray to make this comparison. In any case, in my experience even some of the best quality 1080p downloaded rips are inferior to original Blu-rays.
Also, 50" is not really a big enough size to be able to discern the real difference between 720p and 1080p, a point I have tried to make in many a post. But at a distance of '6 feet' you should still be able to tell the difference. My guess would be that the 1080p file is not ripped from a true 1080p source. By the way, were the two files of the same program?

- What I felt most disappointed was the contrast level. I requested the sales man to make the contrast high, and to my surprise I found that contrast was 100, full. I am not sure whether it is because of the shop's high ambient light or because of the video settings. The setting was "Dynamic".

A normal TV showroom is no place to accurately judge a TV. The high ambient light, specially due to their jewellery showroom type lighting, is not fit for judging the picture quality of a TV, specially not a Plasma. In fact this is one of the major reasons, most people are attracted to LCDs in the showroom. You should ask the salesman to turn off all the lights, atleast in the area above and around the plasma. Also, Dynamic/Vivid is generally the worst preset setting to watch a TV in.

The sales man suggested that I should switch to LED TV, for more contrast.

In any case dont get the samsung LEDs. Get the comparable LCDs instead if you are not satisfied with plasmas.

There is no commercially available LED TV yet. They are simply LCD TVs that use LEDs as the source of light instead of the commonly used CFLs. LED TV is a misnomer and it is an unethical marketing term, being used to mislead customers into paying more. Atleast on a forum such as this, we should stick to calling apples as apples and oranges as oranges.

 

[dotMac]

Wow, you got a lot of courage to get something without demoing.

Even if I get a Plasma, I would not be getting a chance for a demo.
In my places Plasmas are like endangered species. Rarely see them. Even if it makes to the showroom, it will be a 42" C10. Guess Panasonic is pushing those to clear off their inventory.

So even I am waiting for someone here to do a 50K550 vs 50C550 review in this forum. And when I buy I will probably seeing the TV only once installed on my wall

 

[shuv]

So, the C550 was installed about an hour ago. Firstly, no buzzing! Haven't had the chance to play around with the settings as parents are watching a movie. At a glance, SD (Tata Sky) looks better than my G10.