Which LCD/PLASMA to Buy

[GeoTracks]

The PV8 would score over Full HD LCDs for SD content, no doubt about that. But a TV is not a daily/weekly purchase and I'm pretty sure Full HD content will be taking over, might be slowly but nevertheless will take over eventually. When that happens a Full HD LCD or Plasma will be better than HD Ready. If you plan to get another TV in a year or two then go with HD Ready for now. If Full HD is available for the price of HD Ready right now then go with Full HD. If you'll not be going for a new TV for a while and Full HD prices are comparable to HD Ready then go for Full HD now. All comes down to price and VFM actually.

Excellent! In line with what I was thinking too. Do not intend purchasing another TV in a year for sure.

Looks like, unless I get the Panasonic 42 PV8 at a real good price, a Full HD LCD will be a strong contender. Have an excellent AKAI CRT with stereo speakers. Very good brightness & colors. Plan to move that into the bedroom.

 

[moserw]

Excellent! In line with what I was thinking too. Do not intend purchasing another TV in a year for sure.

Looks like, unless I get the Panasonic 42 PV8 at a real good price, a Full HD LCD will be a strong contender. Have an excellent AKAI CRT with stereo speakers. Very good brightness & colors. Plan to move that into the bedroom.

Perfect! I too have a CRT 29" for my bedroom and watch most TV (Tata Sky) and DVDs and Divx rips on that. CRT is still king for SD content. The PV8 is in the living room and more used when the entire family watches a movie together or for large family gatherings TV watching like we're having now for the IPL matches.

Go with Full HD LCD or Plasma unless the PV8 comes real dirt cheap compared to the others.

 

[nfsfan]

In my view, 720p sets,whether plasma or lcd are a good choice for TV's under 46", if the viewing distance >5 feet. I have demoed samsung 40a550 and pv8 both with a laptop with hdmi out.

On the pv8, colors were not as sharp or "processed" when playing a 720p video as compared to the lcd. They looked much more natural. Else the image was excellent and i would rate it at par with the samsung, better in movies such as the dark knight where there is a lot of black details.

On the other hand i had a movie both in 720p and 1080p on the laptop. Viewing from a distance of 5-6 feet in the shop, i could not tell nay difference on the 40 inch set. There was a subtle difference on the 46", but was only when u looked carefully enough.

Also, everywhere the HDTV broadcast is either 720p or 1080i(1080i is equivalent to 720p in terms of quality), so 720p sets can be well used for 6-7 yrs at least here in India!

The biggest plus point for the 720p sets is that u dont need HD sources for perfect viewing. DVD's and normal cable does do the job very well. So unless one is going to use the 42/40 inch TV as a Pc monitor or play games extensively, i would totally recommend the pv8,or the x10 when it launches.

In my opinion, it is totally worth to wait till june-july for the new models, be it plasma or lcd. So anyone bying now should defer their decision and wait a couple of months.

 

[Ashwin]

Hi Guys,

Just saw the specs of the newly released plasma series(PQ) from LG(march 09) 42PQ30 and 42PQ60 and its reviews by the guys in different forum's across europe and its quite astonishing. They are comparing this plasma with the panny x8 and say that the LG one is on par with the panny x8 as well as better in some other cases.
If any one of you have come across this one, could you please comment on the same.

The 42PQ30's price is 48k on the LG website, so would be available for lot lesser in the shops probably 45k but yet cheaper than the pv8 in the present situation. The PQ series which i feel is far more superior than the pv8 one. It supports USB devices and plays Divx videos too.

One more point its 50inch costs at around 68k which could be a steal as such.

Anyways would post more once i visit E-ZONE and check out the actual prices with the television.

Regards
Ashwin

 

[santhukp]

Hi Guys,

Just saw the specs of the newly released plasma series(PQ) from LG(march 09) 42PQ30 and 42PQ60 and its reviews by the guys in different forum's across europe and its quite astonishing. They are comparing this plasma with the panny x8 and say that the LG one is on par with the panny x8 as well as better in some other cases.
If any one of you have come across this one, could you please comment on the same.

The 42PQ30's price is 48k on the LG website, so would be available for lot lesser in the shops probably 45k but yet cheaper than the pv8 in the present situation. The PQ series which i feel is far more superior than the pv8 one.

One more point its 50inch costs at around 68k which could be a steal as such.

Anyways would post more once i visit E-ZONE and check out the actual prices with the television.

Regards
Ashwin

If your primary viewing is Cable TV then stay away from Plasma and lcd.you will never get the PQ in Plasma and LCD while watching the Cable TV.First you change your Cable TV to DTH and then buy the LCD or Plasma what ever you wanted.

 

[GeoTracks]

Hi Guys,

Just saw the specs of the newly released plasma series(PQ) from LG(march 09) 42PQ30 and 42PQ60 and its reviews by the guys in different forum's across europe and its quite astonishing. They are comparing this plasma with the panny x8 and say that the LG one is on par with the panny x8 as well as better in some other cases.
If any one of you have come across this one, could you please comment on the same.

The 42PQ30's price is 48k on the LG website, so would be available for lot lesser in the shops probably 45k but yet cheaper than the pv8 in the present situation. The PQ series which i feel is far more superior than the pv8 one. It supports USB devices and plays Divx videos too.

One more point its 50inch costs at around 68k which could be a steal as such.

Anyways would post more once i visit E-ZONE and check out the actual prices with the television.

Regards
Ashwin

Looked at the LG website for 42PQ30 & 42PQ60. Attractive prices (VFM) for sure. What is the difference between these 2 models?

 

[nfsfan]

Looked at the LG website for 42PQ30 & 42PQ60. Attractive prices (VFM) for sure. What is the difference between these 2 models?

hi geotracks..could u point me to some of the review?

 

[Ashwin]

There is no difference between the two models except a glass sheet which covers the top of Plasma which they call as frameless plasma as mentioned below which means the below glass covers the whole plasma with the frame too. The same is given below.

"Driven by LG's innovative single layer technology, a sheet of seamless glass covers the entire screen surface providing you with a spectacular streamlined look. "

Apart from this the spec of the two plasma's are the same except the stand.

I have not found too many reviews of the same but here is one at CNET UK.

LG 42PQ6000 Full Review, Television Reviews on CNET UK

Regards
Ashwin

 

[GeoTracks]

hi geotracks..could u point me to some of the review?

Have not seen any reviews so far since these are recently launched LG Plasma models. I merely looked the LG India website. Ashwin has given a link to a review.

Would be curious to know how these new 42" LG Plasmas would compare with the Panasonic 42" PV8/80 models.

The 50" (50PQ30) LG Plasma is also at an attractive price at Rs. 69K on the LG website. Surely the retailers would be selling for slightly less than this amount.

 

[Ashwin]

As far as i have gone through the discussions over different forums, the PV8 is no match to the new LG one. The competition for the new LG Plasma is with the next version of panasonic plasma's which is x which has the spec to compete with the LG plasma's.

One more point the PV8 is a phased out model in most of the european countries as well as in US and as i hear from some of the dealers in here its going to be extint in india in another 1 or 2 months and it would get replaced with the x series. That is one of the reason that panasonic is trying to push the v series plasma's as well as the compatriot LCD's by giving offers such as 50 dvd movies and so on.

This is one of the reason why the PV8's are not available in most of the stores and all these store guys are putting very high prices on the same.

I feel buying a PV8 is not at all a good option with this price at all. panny x series to arrive in india in another 2 to 3 months.

Samsung is also planning to release its next generation of plasma's onto the indian market in a couple of months too.

So either buy the LG one or wait for another 2 to 3 months for the next generation of plasma's to arrive in india.

 

[adder]

well LG plasmas from the past never got the praise like panasonic or samsung plasmas and from the past lg models that i have seen they have poor blacks levels and contrast ,flickering and what not and if a lcd fan boy is thinking about humiliating a plasma what better choice then a lg plasma it would be the one that would fit the bill a easy prey.

anyway panasonic and samsung plasmas still have the edge,infact they do have the edge based on reviews.
here is a review i found a 2009 european models
LG PS8000 series which is a higher end plasma aimed at panny higher end G10 LG 50PS8000 50in Plasma TV Review - TV Reviews - TrustedReviews

and the panasonic X10 50inchplasma
Panasonic Viera TX-P50X10 50in Plasma TV Review - TV Reviews - TrustedReviews

x10 42inch plasma
Panasonic Viera TX-P42X10 42in Plasma TV Review - TV Reviews - TrustedReviews

FHD panasonic G10 NEO PDP panel
Panasonic Viera TX-P46G10 46in Plasma TV Review - TV Reviews - TrustedReviews

and not to forget the G10 lcd rivals
samsung B650 series
Samsung LE40B651 40in LCD TV Review - TV Reviews - TrustedReviews

sony W550A series
Sony Bravia KDL-46W5500 46in LCD TV Review - TV Reviews - TrustedReviews

well see the scores in image quality department since thats what matters for people here in HIFIvision and u can see that lg is no match for any of the tvs above.

 

[nfsfan]

here is a review of our pv80..seems it had got better reviews than what px10 has managed now! :sad:

Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80 42in Plasma TV Review - TV Reviews - TrustedReviews

Here is a comparison between the x10 and x8, or pv8. The contrast ratio of the pv8 was updated to 15000:1.

Products - Compare Products - UK & Ireland

On the power saving front, there does not seem to be much difference(195W vs 215W). So i would say, that apart from the contrast ratio, these 2 sets are almost equal.

Looks like pv8 will be phased out,while pv80 will be replaced by the px10. So panasonic is not going to have sub 45k TV sets in its line up now !

 

[Dushie]

here is a review of our pv80..seems it had got better reviews than what px10 has managed now! :sad:

Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80 42in Plasma TV Review - TV Reviews - TrustedReviews

Here is a comparison between the x10 and x8, or pv8. The contrast ratio of the pv8 was updated to 15000:1.

Products - Compare Products - UK & Ireland

On the power saving front, there does not seem to be much difference(195W vs 215W). So i would say, that apart from the contrast ratio, these 2 sets are almost equal.

Looks like pv8 will be phased out,while pv80 will be replaced by the px10. So panasonic is not going to have sub 45k TV sets in its line up now !

Well Pv8 will get phased out but PV80 prices will come down to PV8 levels, and will become cheaper

 

[nfsfan]

Well Pv8 will get phased out but PV80 prices will come down to PV8 levels, and will become cheaper

i seriously doubt that. trusted reviews lists the x10 as 622 pounds. that is roughly the same price as pv80.

 

[adder]

here is a review of our pv80..seems it had got better reviews than what px10 has managed now! :sad:

Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80 42in Plasma TV Review - TV Reviews - TrustedReviews

Here is a comparison between the x10 and x8, or pv8. The contrast ratio of the pv8 was updated to 15000:1.

Products - Compare Products - UK & Ireland

On the power saving front, there does not seem to be much difference(195W vs 215W). So i would say, that apart from the contrast ratio, these 2 sets are almost equal.

Looks like pv8 will be phased out,while pv80 will be replaced by the px10. So panasonic is not going to have sub 45k TV sets in its line up now !

well i believe the ratings haven't been changed with respect to new tvs,i mean a product that scored lets say 10 on 10 a year ago may be equal to something like 9 on 10 in today standards.so i believe trusted reviews hasn't touched their old reviews ratings after they reviewed them.

 

[nfsfan]

actually i was referring to the actual review,not the points scored.

an exapmple is this :

he P50X10 shares the colour issues noted with the P37X10. Tones sometimes - quite often, actually - don't look entirely natural or convincing, especially when watching standard definition. Reds and skin tones can look a bit orange, for instance, and greens occasionally look rather sickly too, especially during dark scenes.

The set also tends to judder a little when watching 24p sources. Not excessively, but enough to catch your eye during slow camera pans such as those on show during the opening credits of Casino Royale on Blu-ray.

But there were no such remarks made for the x80 AFAIK.

 

[adder]

actually i was referring to the actual review,not the points scored.

an exapmple is this :


But there were no such remarks made for the x80 AFAIK.

well yes that part is true but i guess there is a slight improvement in power effeciency and contrast.the color issue is there even in the flagship NeoPDP plasma like g10 but they do have a significant improvement in contrast.

 

[Ashwin]

Hi Guys,

I went and saw the demo the new LG Plasma 42PQ60 and 42PQ30 in Devi today and to say the first impression of the same is not at all good.

I first told him to see the Full HD source and i could see the lot of grains on the same as well as the contrast was not at all constant. The picture quality was really pathetic.

The same HD input was shown on the sony with some mpeg4 noise cancellation off and it displayed the same grainy stuff but when the mpeg4 resolution was put to high i saw a highly refined picture without any grains and it was quite amazing to see the clarity of the same.

Then i tested with the airtel DTH input and it viewed a lot better than the Full HD input but it was no where near the 40" sony's placed by the side.

The audio effect was quite ok but one more time not comparable to sony bravia 26".

He quoted me a price of 45k but still negotiable too.

Of all the showrooms i visited in bangalore, the guy in Devi (srikanth) was very sensible with the technology of LCD and plasma and really showed some good demo stuff.

He then showed me the demo of all the LCD's of sony in comparison with LG and Samsung and so on and really the sony rocked. It handled both the inputs well as well as the sound output was amazing, no words to describe.

The other two compared to the sony were good only on paper.

For me after seeing all the different sony models and its features with different inputs the 40" W series was just amazing and was absolutely marvelous and it handled all kind of different inputs and so on absolutely well. But to my bad luck i do not have such a huge budget, so nearly decided to go for the 32" S series of sony.

The new S series s550 launched would be costing me around 39.9k but the panny pv8 would cost me somewhere around 46.5k. So thinking of going to the panny tomorrow and would try to but it in Devi as they gave me an excellent demo for nearly 4 hours.

My only problem is the distance to view the panny 42". So if some panny pv8 viewers could suggest me what would be the minimum distance to have a comfortable viewing of the pv8 it would be quite helpful as i have a viewing distance of around 6 to 8 feet if not i would go for 32" S Series from sony.

 

[marsilians]

6 - 8 ft is fine for 42 inch TV.

Hi Guys,

My only problem is the distance to view the panny 42". So if some panny pv8 viewers could suggest me what would be the minimum distance to have a comfortable viewing of the pv8 it would be quite helpful as i have a viewing distance of around 6 to 8 feet if not i would go for 32" S Series from sony.

 

[moserw]

Yup the distance is fine and also for any SD content you're better off with a HD Ready set rather than a Full HD set. Also, plasma PQ scores over LCD for SD content.