ST50 Owners' Thread - First impressions, Reviews, Tweaks, etc.

[just4kix]

The ST50 comments in this thread should be sufficient to convince anyone for going with this model. The drawbacks of ST50 are as follows:

• Price is very high.
• When watched in a room with bright(er) light, the colours wash out.
• Power consumption.
• Everyone mentions heat dissipation. Yes, there is some but not so great to discomfort.
• While it has great black levels, white levels suffer. The black level is 0.009 cd/m2 while the white level can be 130 cd/m2. This gives native contrast ratio as 13000:1. Compartively, the Samsung E550 is 0.06 cd/m2 and 166.53 cd/m2 respectively (resulting in NCR as 2775:1). As one can clearly see that ST50 not as bright as Samsung.
• If the white level is set high, then bright room viewing becomes watchable but colours become too saturated.

Some of the problems exist with every plasma, by the way.

Be it as it may, the ST50 remains the best buy amongst all Panasonic plasma models as it delivers exceptional quality for the money paid.

 

[just4kix]

Yes, I got an offer for 97k (including HT), but then realized there is no stock.. !! Waiting for stock to come for further nego...

My dealer has quoted 75K without HT in Vadodara. Now, you know there is a scope.

If you have the budget, go for 50". Negotiate for price without HT. HT is not bad and all that, just that it is basic.

 

[gramaphone]

Due to non availability of ST 50 in stock, i am postponing my buying to November, hope by then there may be some fall is price.

 

[kawaii]

If you have the budget, go for 50". Negotiate for price without HT. HT is not bad and all that, just that it is basic.

I recently purchased HT with the same dealer that's why the dealer is ready to negotiate without HT. Some forum users have posted that there is a group buy in Bangalore for 85K, I am expecting my dealer to come close to this. Here, dealers say that taxes are higher so I may have to bear a bigger hole in my bank.

Due to non availability of ST 50 in stock, i am postponing my buying to November, hope by then there may be some fall is price.

I am apprehensive that I will have to do the same...

 

[Lakshminarasimhan]

Due to non availability of ST 50 in stock, i am postponing my buying to November, hope by then there may be some fall is price.

I too think likewise, with no stock available anywhere, its better to wait and watch. Hopefully stocks arrives by then atleast!.

 

[just4kix]

I recently purchased HT with the same dealer that's why the dealer is ready to negotiate without HT. Some forum users have posted that there is a group buy in Bangalore for 85K, I am expecting my dealer to come close to this. Here, dealers say that taxes are higher so I may have to bear a bigger hole in my bank.

I am apprehensive that I will have to do the same...

The mrp of 50ST50 is Rs.118,900. Any dealer will expect to make at least 10,000 as a profit on the sale considering the high cost of carrying the inventory, the lower inventory turn, etc. Dealers have been known to sell this model around 100,000. So a retail price of 85k at the dealer is unlikely unless Panasonic reduces the price.

The 85k price is doing the rounds at Team-BHP forum. It is only possible by direct negotiation with Panasonic with an assured purchase of large number of simultaneous units. AFAIK, the deal has not worked out or at least there is no mention of that.

Then again just because a sale happened at 'x' price somewhere does not necessarily mean it can happen at your dealer too. Definitely bargain a lot and try to bring down the price, but do be realistic about it.

Prices do drop suddenly when new models are introduced and no one wants the older model. I had been looking for a good 50" since 2009 Diwali. Here is my experience:

- In 2009, I negotiated hard for the vt20. The best price I got was 104k.
- In 2011, the gt30 was quoted at 126k and st30 at 114k; I did not negotiate further or pursue deals. The vt20 was offered at 85k.
- During these times, I visited some shopping festivals and checked diwali and other festival deals; although I was not very serious, there were no "real" deals so to speak.
- Finally this year, I took the plunge.

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk 2

 

[thegr8anand]

I have hit the wall as well. Will have to wait as neither ST/GT50 are available here. Hopefully in the next stock we get the 65ST50 which i want!

 

[gramaphone]

I think 85K price for 50st50 is very much possibles without the dvd and speakers offer, for a group buy of 15 or above sets.

 

[gramaphone]

I too think likewise, with no stock available anywhere, its better to wait and watch. Hopefully stocks arrives by then atleast!.

There is no point in negotiating for group buy when supply is lesser than current market demand for ST50. At this point, dealers will prefer to sell the available stocks to customers who can give them better profits. Group buy can be very beneficial when the supply exceeds demand and i think that will be the time to jump into it. My very ambitious target price for 50ST50 is 85K or bellow without any bundle offer. That have to be after considering the stock supply, Economy slow down, last year price trend etc. I only want to keep my entry cost low so that i can upgrade to next technology in next 4-5 years without much loss from this set.

Remember whats on its way
Oled TV - Clear lcd TV - Lazer tv, Hologram tv and more before my aging process turns down my viewing ability.:sad:

 

[just4kix]

I have hit the wall as well. Will have to wait as neither ST/GT50 are available here. Hopefully in the next stock we get the 65ST50 which i want!

As per my grapevine, 65VT50 may be available around Diwali. There is no confirmation on 65" in GT50 and ST50 series.

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[Lakshminarasimhan]

Quote from a member in tea-bhp date 29.08.2012

"I picked it in Trivandrum and made them ship it to me in chennai. I paid 99 including HT (17k).

I think Viveks Tambaram has stock for the 50ST50. Let me check and confirm.

Also between ST and GT i personally didnt feel the dual core would matter to me and 20K premium was high and my limit was around 1L. I took the finance and i am paying around 5K a month after some initial payment.

Shipping costed me around 3K for both TV and Speakers. THe quoted price here in chennai was 109 so 99 was good enough for me and the availability was the biggest factor for me."

Well, I am sure prices that we could negotiate should be somewhere between 85K- 90K [Max] and we need atleast min of 7 -10 buyers. If you look at the prices quotes earlier in team-bhp, 92K was the price for 50ST50 [with about 5 buyers] & 72 K for 42 series.

So we could push for a asking price of 99k-17k = 82K :licklips::licklips::licklips:

Also we need to note that AFAIK, not many jump for plasma tvs and more over, dealers other than panasonic brandshops are not willing to demo a plasma tv. They are more interested to push for LED's. So that should help us a little bit.

 

[just4kix]

Well, I am sure prices that we could negotiate should be somewhere between 85K- 90K [Max] and we need atleast min of 7 -10 buyers. If you look at the prices quotes earlier in team-bhp, 92K was the price for 50ST50 [with about 5 buyers] & 72 K for 42 series.

Dealers will not drop prices unless there is "no demand" situation. And that is unlikely to happen because of the shortage of stocks all over. "Why should anyone reduce price when there is demand?" is the simple equation. When there is no demand and dealers have stocks then dealer will dip into their own margin to get rid of non-moving stock.

So we could push for a asking price of 99k-17k = 82K :licklips::licklips::licklips:

Also we need to note that AFAIK, not many jump for plasma tvs and more over, dealers other than panasonic brandshops are not willing to demo a plasma tv. They are more interested to push for LED's. So that should help us a little bit.

I very much doubt whether it will work that way. The offer of HT is from Panasonic. The HT bundle is a ploy to get rid of non-moving stock and at the same time drive TV sales + counter the offers of rivals like Samsung. If dealers started offering TV without HT and yet reduce price, then they (and not Panasonic) will end up having stocks of non-moving bundle items (and "bundle" is a right word when used as colloquial slang in Hindi).

Further 17K is the MRP. The retail price is more likely to be 15K.

The best way is to except the HT and sell it privately if you can (at a docount) and then offset the sale value against the TV purchase price. I sold my HTiB for 7,500.

I am speaking this from personal experience as stated in my earlier post.

 

[rana_kirti]

The ST50 comments in this thread should be sufficient to convince anyone for going with this model. The drawbacks of ST50 are as follows:

• Price is very high.
• When watched in a room with bright(er) light, the colours wash out.
• Power consumption.
• Everyone mentions heat dissipation. Yes, there is some but not so great to discomfort.
• While it has great black levels, white levels suffer. The black level is 0.009 cd/m2 while the white level can be 130 cd/m2. This gives native contrast ratio as 13000:1. Compartively, the Samsung E550 is 0.06 cd/m2 and 166.53 cd/m2 respectively (resulting in NCR as 2775:1). As one can clearly see that ST50 not as bright as Samsung.
• If the white level is set high, then bright room viewing becomes watchable but colours become too saturated.

Some of the problems exist with every plasma, by the way.

Be it as it may, the ST50 remains the best buy amongst all Panasonic plasma models as it delivers exceptional quality for the money paid.

would the above also apply to GT50 ?

 

[miniwarmth]

What are ST50 owners using for power protection for their sets? Do you have a dedicated UPS, or voltage stabiliser connected? Or are you relying on your main UPS to cover the set.

 

[just4kix]

would the above also apply to GT50 ?

Yes. More or less same applies to GT50 also.

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[just4kix]

What are ST50 owners using for power protection for their sets? Do you have a dedicated UPS, or voltage stabiliser connected? Or are you relying on your main UPS to cover the set.

My TV set, is connected to normal power outlet. No stabilizer or spike guard. But the apartment is having inverter based ups. I think that a stabilizer is recommended.

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[Lakshminarasimhan]

Yes I completely agree with you Just4kix. my comments were only an effort to try to push for the best negotiated price.

 

[miniwarmth]

My TV set, is connected to normal power outlet. No stabilizer or spike guard. But the apartment is having inverter based ups. I think that a stabilizer is recommended.

Thanks. The inverter/UPS in my flat went kaput yesterday during some massive power fluctuations . Anyway, It will give me a reason to upsize my capacity. I have a separate, small, UPS for my computer gear and am wondering if I should do the same for the HT setup as well.

'Mains->Inverter UPS->Local UPS->TV'

 

[miniwarmth]

Btw, just go my add'l 5 pairs of 3D glasses (samsung ssg-4100gb). I really tried to get them locally (as y'all have seen from previous posts) but in the end it didn't happen and I got them from someone coming from the US.

As others have reported they do work with our TV's. They aren't as solid as the Pana ones and don't block out as much side light but they are cheaper and are fine for light controlled rooms. The box and owners manual weigh 3x more than the glasses but they do come with a useful polishing cloth.

 

[kawaii]

Quote from a member in tea-bhp date 29.08.2012

"I picked it in Trivandrum and made them ship it to me in chennai. I paid 99 including HT (17k).

By the way, the quotes at ShopByChoice.com are lower than Flipkart. Moreover, it seems that ShopByChoice.com has stock. Here is the link.