Plasma Screens - Any Experts In the house?

[andyw]

I'm looking at getting a plasma screen for the family as a suprise xmas pressie

Does anyone know enough to recommend the best out of 42" models? I'm currently swaying towards Panasonic as I have had a 28" widescreen Pan for 4 years and it has never faulted

Any advice gratefully received

TIA

Andy

 

[Sp!ke]

Cant really help in terms of which one's best but I work for one of the manufacturers and can get a staff discount. PM me if you want me to find out what I can get it for.

 

[Steve_Perry]

Head on over to http://www.avforums.com/ and take a look in the Plasma section.

What you need to decide is whether you want a Plasma display panel (screen only) or a direct TV replacement (screen, tuner, speakers etc) and obviously set the budget that you are willing to spend.

General opinion favours Panasonic and Pioneer plasma screens though Hitachi and LG seem to have a following too.

I'm a fan of the Panasonic screens and bought myself a 37" Viera back in July. I'm still loving the screen. If you want a simple TV replacement then the Viera is hard to beat, if you want a panel as opposed to a TV then look at the Panny PW7. I'm not sure if High Definition is a factor for you either as this aspect complicates matters further... Both the Viera and PW7 are standard definition screens.

Avoid anything that seems too good (cheap) to be true, e.g. Techwood (Dixons/Currys' own brand) or lesser known brands.

*EDIT* I should add... for all the 'advice' that you get, nothing is a better judge of quality than your own eyeballs. You really must view before you buy and what looks good/bad to you may not be the same for someone else, and whichever forum you post in you will always get the "I bought this, so it must be the best" type of post See? Even I am guilty of that sin

S.

 

[peterchurch]

I am told that you can save the VAT on this by ordering the screen from Dixons channel tunnel branch and collecting it on the way out to get some cheap booze :bannana: I am thinking of doing this for my dad

 

[andyw]

Head on over to http://www.avforums.com/ and take a look in the Plasma section.

What you need to decide is whether you want a Plasma display panel (screen only) or a direct TV replacement (screen, tuner, speakers etc) and obviously set the budget that you are willing to spend.

General opinion favours Panasonic and Pioneer plasma screens though Hitachi and LG seem to have a following too.

I'm a fan of the Panasonic screens and bought myself a 37" Viera back in July. I'm still loving the screen. If you want a simple TV replacement then the Viera is hard to beat, if you want a panel as opposed to a TV then look at the Panny PW7. I'm not sure if High Definition is a factor for you either as this aspect complicates matters further... Both the Viera and PW7 are standard definition screens.

Avoid anything that seems too good (cheap) to be true, e.g. Techwood (Dixons/Currys' own brand) or lesser known brands.

S.

thanks Steve - We have NTHell so I'm assuming I don't specifically require a tuner, and have AV setup with 5.1 surround, so was hoping I don't need speakers

So, if I am correct - I just need a screen, wall mount and optional plug in cards if I require them?

Reading what I have, the PW6 or PW7 are the specific ones I have been researching (read drooling over) - I have read conflicting reports of benefits of HD - higher cost, can't be widely used yet?

 

[scotth_uk]

Anyone care to educate me as to why every plasma/lcd that I have ever seen has a really terrible picture when connected to anything other than a component DVD player.

Sky TV boxes look horrible and pixelated and the picture is far inferior to a glass tv.
PS2's also look terrible.

The whole thing looks like a dodgy mpeg.

 

[DITTRICH]

...I too have been considering getting a plasma screen, and , this is what I was going to do. There is a wonderful little government scheme run by the DTI called the Home Computer Initiative. What this does is this : your employer buys a computer and gives it to you - all you have to do is sacrifice part of your GROSS salary to pay for it. Now all you lot on 40%+1% will see where I am coming from. A 41% discount on a little computer that has a 42" plasma display(!) . Of course you still need the tuner bit, and you need to buy a computer, but a comouter can be very very cheap these days...
Admittedly, it not completely plug and play, but the savings could be quite alot
Regards
Les

 

[Tan]

The Hitachi High Definition units have very good picture quality on DVD playback, have not had a look at it on TV yet. I have been told that SKY will be broadcasting high definitiopn next year.

As has already been said, your eyes are the best judge. I was a big fan of the Panasonic until i saw the hitachi next to it.

Richer sounds store have a good range of screens at good prices. John Lewis also have an impressive range of screens that all come with a 5 year warranty, so well worth having a look for comparitative purposes.

 

[smartbrabus]

Anyone care to educate me as to why every plasma/lcd that I have ever seen has a really terrible picture when connected to anything other than a component DVD player.

Sky TV boxes look horrible and pixelated and the picture is far inferior to a glass tv.
PS2's also look terrible.

The whole thing looks like a dodgy mpeg.

Thats 'cos it basically is! The Sky and Freeview broadcasts are MPEG-2, IIRC, and the physics of large screens means they normally have to upscale them (till we get high def). Hence the apparent blockiness.

 

[SEM]

Take a look here you might change your mind and squeeze in a Zenith P60W38 Plasma Television

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/

 

[Shude]

Sky TV boxes look horrible and pixelated and the picture is far inferior to a glass tv.

The bigger the screen the more distortion is visible! The biggest TV in my house is a 14" portable and the picture quality is perfect

 

[scruffy]

I have an lcd in the kitchen and was interested in a plasma for the lounge but the picture and sound are so poor I got a standard toshiba digital flat screen which is a fabulous picture and thoroughly recommended at a fraction of the cost.

 

[glojo]

I was told a while back that the picture quality of a Plasma screen does not compare to a top quality 'conventional' TV and to wait until LCD??? improved in quality as they would then jump ahead of the other two types.

Is this advice correct, or have plasma screens improved? Is it the contrast measurement that should act as a guide?

My television is my outside world so am very interested in this thread.

Regards,
John

 

[andyw]

I was told a while back that the picture quality of a Plasma screen does not compare to a top quality 'conventional' TV and to wait until LCD??? improved in quality as they would then jump ahead of the other two types.

Is this advice correct, or have plasma screens improved? Is it the contrast measurement that should act as a guide?

My television is my outside world so am very interested in this thread.

Regards,
John

John, I've heard this too, however current size vs cost - the plasma is the best at the minute - I don't believe there is an affordable 42" LCD screen around yet?

Someone tell me I'm wrong

 

[fuzzer]

plasma has the look and the price at the moment.

any woman can be won over into buying one simply by saying it can be wall mounted and saves space in the living room .....

 

[Steve_Perry]

@andyw,

If you have nthell and a 5.1 surround sound system/amp then it sounds like a panel will be the ideal solution for you. The PW6/PW7's come with a VGA connector plus spare bays for optional connection cards. So you could buy a RGB -> VGA converter cable/box and do away with buying the optional cards too.
---
@Scott,

It depends upon how the PS2/Sky box is connected, if the picture is that bad then my guess is that the console/digibox has been connected using composite cables which will give a really crap picture. To get decent quality the plasma must be fed either a component or RGB signal, S-video at a pinch. I have my NTL digibox connected via S-video and the picture is really good. Also bear in mind that the box itself has to be set to RGB or S-video output. Also the UK TV channels broadcast at really crap bitrates, channels like BBC/SkyOne etc are okay but others can really show the Mpeg compression artifacts on the picture quality. My PS2 is connected via RGB SCART and the picture is awesome. Here's a couple of piccies of my current set-up, click the pic for a bigger image...


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@Tan,

The Hitachi's resolution is listed as 1024x1024 and most people assume that this is high def BUT the ALiS panels are interlaced, NOT progressive like other plasmas or LCD screens so only 512 lines are lit at any one time, they are more akin to a CRT in terms of technology. This isn't really true high def, I'm not dissing ALiS screens... some, like Sony, get really good quality pictures using this technology but people read specs and compare 1024x1024 vs. 853x480 and think larger numbers mean better specs.

Totally agree with you about John Lewis and Richer Sounds. I got my TV from Richer Sounds, I would have gone the JL route for the 5 year warranty but there are no stores in my neck of the woods.
---
Funnily enough with current standard definition broadcasts you'll get a slightly better image from a SD screen performing down-scaling than you would from a high def screen having to up-scale a TV signal. Just think of downsizing and upsizing jpeg images, same issues. However, when fed a high def signal obviously a HD screen will win the day.
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@Shude,

True for CRT's mate, not true for plasma or LCD displays, due to the way the plasma or LCD works they cannot suffer from poor geometry issues in the same way that CRT's will. Having said that LCD/plasma suffer from their own picture quality issues such as colour banding (solarisation) or poor brightness/contrast ratios (washed out images and grey blacks).
---
@glojo,

As I posted in my earlier thread, best to view with your own eyes and form your own opinion. However plasmas (and LCD) have moved on quite a bit in terms of picture quality within the last year and prices have plummeted, especially within the last 6 months. CRT's will always have the crisper image but suffer from poor geometry (getting a perfectly flat square tube). Plasmas and LCD's still lag behind CRT's in terms of contrast ratios but should have great geometry.

I wouldn't place much stock in manufacturers quoted contrast ratio figures as there is no standard way to measure this figure. Some manufacturers measure their figures with the TV switched off in a darkened room just so that they can quote a higher rate spec for their panels.
---
@Andyw,

Big LCD's are way more expensive when compared to equivalent plasmas but they usually have much better/higher screen resolutions so should be high def ready.
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Phew!! Sorry monster post, but I did one heck of a lot of reading before finally plumping for my new plasma TV, and when I was first looking I originally swore I would never buy a plasma but would instead get myself a 36" CRT. Best laid plans of mice etc.

S.

 

[glojo]

@glojo,

As I posted in my earlier thread, best to view with your own eyes and form your own opinion. However plasmas (and LCD) have moved on quite a bit in terms of picture quality within the last year and prices have plummeted, especially within the last 6 months. CRT's will always have the crisper image but suffer from poor geometry (getting a perfectly flat square tube). Plasmas and LCD's still lag behind CRT's in terms of contrast ratios but should have great geometry.

Hi Steve,
Thanks for a very informative message, unfortunately I cannot get out to use my eyes and hence tend to ask a lot of questions, especially on this forum because I have learnt that there is 'much' sense spoken here.

At present I have a 36" CRT, but would love to go bigger, but only when 'bigger' is going to be better.

What size screens are they in your message, and when do you believe that LCD will become a practical option, and what is the largest LCD size? I suppose I will be looking at something that must fit into a 48" space.

You have certainly amassed some informative information for which I for one am grateful.

Bye for now,
John

 

[Alfie]

Personally, I've a few friends who went out and bought whopping great big plasma TV's of various brands only to find that the plasma breaks down after a couple of years (just after the warranty expires!) and hey presto you've got a duff screen which you paid £x,000 for. I've heard the same story in the trade too.

My suggestion for what its worth is to wait for a decent sized LCD to be within your price range.

 

[sasha]

42" hitachi platara 1024 x 1024 is a very good model at the mo

plasmas, either they have the pixels or they dont, prog scan or not is splitting hairs

however, be warned, if one buys a hi-res plasma then until you upgrade your source (i.e. your DVD) or get hi-def broadcast signal, then you will suffer worse pic quality

hi-def is due on sky from 2006 (claimed) and errrr, that's it

so widespread adoption will be late 2007???

some people are buying a good low def model (say) from LG or samsung at 800 x 400 for about £1.5K, knowing that they will bin it in about 3 years when hi-def becomes more widespread - then buy a hi-def for the same amount which means a total outlay of £3K and always optimised pic quality.

Rather than future proofing by getting a good hi-def now for £3K.

also be critical about the distance you sit away from the screen - plasma up close is rubbish - do not get tempted in extending your screen with a big screen

also get the speaker bundle, watching eastenders or the news through 5.1 can be a little "overwhelming," obviously not the case for movies...

 

[gary350]

Steve I am in similar position with 42 in being the smallest I would have, a friend of mine that is in the screen making business told me that LCD will take over from plasma and quite soon but as you say the cost is still too high the new Sony range of 42 in LCDs starts at over 5K, I also like Panasonic they last forever. It might be a case of buying a cheapy plasma until the LCD costs come down. Another friend who sells plasmas/LCD says that in general plasmas have always had a problem with durability but the panasonics have a good warranty and a good record. Anyone with a five year old and over plasma with normal usage might tell you if this is true or not.

gary

I have just read Alfies comments I agree.