D550/VT20/ST30/LED - Confused on which one to buy ?(<80k)

[Naveen_Reloaded]

For the past 1-2 weeks i have been reading many reviews and threads. Got so much inputs from many friendly members here. Since the current LCD i own is selling at dirt cheap price(<10K)(exchange offer) , we decided to keep the LCD for ourselves .

So now the getting of TV is wide open , unlike the previous time were i can only get a samsung TV for exchange of my current samsung LCD.

I did demo Sammy series in banglore day before yesterday . my expirience on it here

I have shortlisted few. before that , My budget is 65-80 max , cant expand more than that.

1.)Samsung PS51D550
2.)Panasonic 50VT20
3.)Panasonic 50ST30 (not sure whether it will fall into my budget
4.)And good LED (47" and above)

My requirements :

1.)47" and above LED or plasma (I prefer 50" after seeing D550)
2.) PQ is topmost priority
3.) Not much interested in smart apps or stuffs like that. I will be least using it.
4.)3D for to be future proof.
5.)Full HD , Cant compromise on it.

What i watch:

1.)Planning to get a HD-DTH , so HD channels mostly and movies(DVD-RIP and above clarity ONLY).(40%)
2.)40% SD content
3.)20% PS3 Games


So far from my research

1.)Sammy D550 51" Plasma got a "Highly Recommended" and falls well within the budget. downside , reflections on the screen.

2.)Panny 50VT20 , Better PQ , Better reflection control. downside - just worried on the yesteryear TV(no offense though). compared to D550 , which is a 2011 model , Just a little concerned thats all . ( I need to know the downsides of VT20 too..)

3.)ST30 , heard it has better blacks , but little costlier

4.)If any LED can beat the above 3 and still falls into the budget and is 47" and above , please recommend it..



I need some urgent help on it guys. To all those who helped me last two weeks or , so , i am very thankful. I am confused thats why i started this thread.

Waiting for your reply guys.

 

[BLASTO]

Sony 46Ex720 and Samsung 46D6000 are the only LEDs worth looking at. They cost ~90k.
Add it to the list.

 

[Naveen_Reloaded]

Thanks BLASTO . Also thanks for so many helpful replies thus far..

I cant spend 90K at this time , since there is no selling of my current LCD , partly we are at loss.. already we have sony 32" CRT TV(working wonderfully for almost 7 years now) + Aiwa 21" and another sharp 21" . Now this 40" LCD..
Today I enquired the availabilty of D550 to a samsung CC and he responded that "Plasma are old outdated technology and its better to go for LED or LCD" . Also all companies are heavily pushing thier LED lines more than Plasma.

 

[BLASTO]

I cant spend 90K at this time , since there is no selling of my current LCD , partly we are at loss.. already we have sony 32" CRT TV(working wonderfully for almost 7 years now) + Aiwa 21" and another sharp 21" . Now this 40" LCD..
Today I enquired the availabilty of D550 to a samsung CC and he responded that "Plasma are old outdated technology and its better to go for LED or LCD" . Also all companies are heavily pushing thier LED lines more than Plasma.

Is there a question in this post that you want answered? I cant find any.

 

[Naveen_Reloaded]

Is there a question in this post that you want answered? I cant find any.

no, but i need few on VT20 and ST30

Main difference between both and drawbacks of both. Also please tell me is current VT20 is 2011 model or 2010 Plasma`s ? I cant find much details on it.

 

[pannags]

Today I enquired the availabilty of D550 to a samsung CC and he responded that "Plasma are old outdated technology and its better to go for LED or LCD" . Also all companies are heavily pushing thier LED lines more than Plasma.

This is exactly what every sales guy out there will try to tell you (read sell you).

Of course LCDs do have their own USPs, but I suggest you spend some time the net to understand why many AV enthusiasts still vouch for plasma over the other technologies.
Good luck and do make an informed decision.

 

[BLASTO]

no, but i need few on VT20 and ST30

Main difference between both and drawbacks of both. Also please tell me is current VT20 is 2011 model or 2010 Plasma`s ? I cant find much details on it.

Any samsung with 'C' in it is 2010 model. The ones with 'D' are 2011 models.
Any panasonic which ends with '20' is a 2010 model. The ones which end with '30' are 2011 models.

VT20 is the flagship model of the 2010 which was competing with C8000(8 series samsung). 'S' series of the panasonic compete headon with the 5 series of samsung. So ST30 is a direct competetor to D550 this year.

Reds4Ever just last week moved from a 40" LG LED to VT20. You should PM him for his experience.

 

[amol12]

>>Today I enquired the availabilty of D550 to a samsung CC and he responded that "Plasma are old outdated technology and its better to go for LED or LCD" .

Naveen - ask the CC why is Samsung still selling it if its outdated? Why is Samsung bringing newer models?

>>Also all companies are heavily pushing thier LED lines more than Plasma.

Not all. None of the Panasonic brand shops salesperson I met pushed their LCD/LEDs over plasmas!

 

[Naveen_Reloaded]

This is exactly what every sales guy out there will try to tell you (read sell you).

Of course LCDs do have their own USPs, but I suggest you spend some time the net to understand why many AV enthusiasts still vouch for plasma over the other technologies.
Good luck and do make an informed decision.

I just quoted him to say that sales person everywhere are pushing for LED + 3D , may be commission for them is high for these new models. I did demo plasma (D550) and LED`s (sammy) and found Plasma far better in PQ and color reproduction. My short review here

I want to take a decision weighing in on pros and cons of above said TV`s and want atleast 3-5 years of future proof (hard in current fast trend).

 

[Naveen_Reloaded]

>>Today I enquired the availabilty of D550 to a samsung CC and he responded that "Plasma are old outdated technology and its better to go for LED or LCD" .

Naveen - ask the CC why is Samsung still selling it if its outdated? Why is Samsung bringing newer models?

>>Also all companies are heavily pushing thier LED lines more than Plasma.

Not all. None of the Panasonic brand shops salesperson pushed their LCD/LEDs over plasmas!

I was about to ask that CC fellow , but thought it was totally waste to ration with them.

As for the second part , I was about to include Panasonic as exception .. my bad..

anyway , any help on clearing my doubts on making the decision ?

 

[BLASTO]

any help on clearing my doubts on making the decision ?

Did you read my post?

 

[Naveen_Reloaded]

Any samsung with 'C' in it is 2010 model. The ones with 'D' are 2011 models.
Any panasonic which ends with '20' is a 2010 model. The ones which end with '30' are 2011 models.

VT20 is the flagship model of the 2010 which was competing with C8000(8 series samsung). 'S' series of the panasonic compete headon with the 5 series of samsung. So ST30 is a direct competetor to D550 this year.

Reds4Ever just last week moved from a 40" LG LED to VT20. You should PM him for his experience.

sorry i missed this post..

VT20 Vs ST30 , what does VT20 miss ? And main drawbacks of VT20 ?

I will surely PM reds4ever.

VT20 got "Reference" award from hdtvtest website , highest possible award.

I just little worried on the year aspect (2010). already now we are at end of 2011 . dont take me wrong , its just a feel we all have .. to have latest..

 

[Kittu]

sorry i missed this post..

VT20 Vs ST30 , what does VT20 miss ? And main drawbacks of VT20 ?

I will surely PM reds4ever.

VT20 got "Reference" award from hdtvtest website , highest possible award.

I just little worried on the year aspect (2010). already now we are at end of 2011 . dont take me wrong , its just a feel we all have .. to have latest..

Wait for 3 more months , you can buy 2012 models.

Since you have 90k budget , you can buy 50ST30 during Diwali time. It is now available for best bargain around 96k. I am sure another 5k is possible during festive time.

 

[amol12]

I was about to ask that CC fellow , but thought it was totally waste to ration with them.

As for the second part , I was about to include Panasonic as exception .. my bad..

anyway , any help on clearing my doubts on making the decision ?

1. 50ST30 is out of your budget (it available for >98k the last I checked).
2. Good LEDs are also out of your budget for the size you are looking for.
What remains is 51D550 and VT20

 

[pannags]

I want to take a decision weighing in on pros and cons of above said TV`s and want atleast 3-5 years of future proof (hard in current fast trend).

Fair enough. The only problem is that the video display arena is spearheading disruptive changes in AV technology, while the content and broadcast needs have a lot to catchup with.

Future-proofing is always tricky; either its way too expensive or very nascent to commercialize!

Having said that, going by hundreds of reviews and umpteen demos, for a 50 incher, I would recommend the Panasonic 50VT20 as a great buy.

 

[Naveen_Reloaded]

Wait for 3 more months , you can buy 2012 models.

Since you have 90k budget , you can buy 50ST30 during Diwali time. It is now available for best bargain around 96k. I am sure another 5k is possible during festive time.

As i said in the OP .. my max is 80 K , to be honest its around 70K mark , I might convince my mom to add another 10K , not more at this moment.

well I have already waited nearly a year to change this crap LCD. and some one pointed the release cycles of TV somewhere and if IIRC new models might comes on Q1 .. so new models might take anywhere from 3-5 months now to be announced.


As for the yesteryear model worrying part ,

1.) IR / Burn-ins are fixed or improved in newer models
2.) 3D cross talk
3.) Bug fixes.

 

[amol12]

Wait for 3 more months , you can buy 2012 models.

Since you have 90k budget , you can buy 50ST30 during Diwali time. It is now available for best bargain around 96k. I am sure another 5k is possible during festive time.

Kittu, his budget is 65-80K. So may be Jan2012 or surely next Diwali!

 

[Kittu]

Kittu, his budget is 65-80K. So may be Jan2012 or surely next Diwali!

My bad..... Under 80k , the best is VT20.

 

[amol12]

As i said in the OP .. my max is 80 K , to be honest its around 70K mark , I might convince my mom to add another 10K , not more at this moment.

well I have already waited nearly a year to change this crap LCD. and some one pointed the release cycles of TV somewhere and if IIRC new models might comes on Q1 .. so new models might take anywhere from 3-5 months now to be announced.


As for the yesteryear model worrying part ,

1.) IR / Burn-ins are fixed or improved in newer models
2.) 3D cross talk
3.) Bug fixes.

With respect to IR, 50VT20 does not have the pixel orbitor/ scroll present in 50ST30. So during first 200 hrs you will have to be careful w.r.t. IR.
I am not sure if 51D550 has these or similar functions.
Edit : Scroll can be simulated using a DVD player/slideshow I believe. I have not yet delved in this matter in detail though. I am just ensuring there is no static images by zooming.

 

[Naveen_Reloaded]

1. 50ST30 is out of your budget (it available for >98k the last I checked).
2. Good LEDs are also out of your budget for the size you are looking for.
What remains is 51D550 and VT20

that summarizes pretty much ..

Fair enough. The only problem is that the video display arena is spearheading disruptive changes in AV technology, while the content and broadcast needs have a lot to catchup with.

Future-proofing is always tricky; either its way too expensive or very nascent to commercialize!

Having said that, going by hundreds of reviews and umpteen demos, for a 50 incher, I would recommend the Panasonic 50VT20 as a great buy.

Thanks , can you point me to the drawbacks of VT20. Jsut want to weigh n between D550 and 50Vt20