Television Question. What is the difference between these two.

[ringway]

rHi People,

I'm taking the plunge and I'm going to buy a flat screen TV for our sitting room (not that I watch much TV).

I have next to no idea about these things but having had excellent reliability and customer service from them in the past I've made up my mind to buy a Panasonic.

THIS 42" TV comes with a free blue-ray player, something which I doubt we'll use in the near future.

THIS 42" TV (I like this price) seems to be the same sort of thing apart from the slight variation in the model number.

I dont want a blue-ray player, so should I buy the cheaper 42" TV?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

TIA.

Paul.

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

I've been asking similar questions on AVForums.com Home but can't seem to get the answer I'm looking for, I admit I gave up pretty quickly.

 

[mekon]

easy one, biggest difference is picture frequency, standard TV (cheaper one) works at 50hz, this frequency will give an acceptable picture however the human eye is able to pick up the refreshing of the image at a subconscious level and over time the eye is tired out by this (ever noticed that under flourescent lights you can sometimes see flickering on your phone screen or a computer screen? the lighting makes it more noticeable), the more pricey TV has a 400hz picture this means the picture is drawn on the screen about 8 times faster, too fast for the eye to notice even subconsciously, therefore for extended viewing such as films the second tv would be more pleasant to watch

god im a geek

 

[mekon]

oh also the the more expensive one is a plasma tv, this means that after about 5 years the picture will be half the brightness it was when new

(theres plenty of other differences aswell but i have to get ready for work so just scanned the items briefly)

 

[Druk]

A few reports on here, same price as well.

Buy PANASONIC TX-L42S10B | 42" lcd tv - Television | Comet

I wouldn't stray far from a Panny though. Great build quality. Ask to handle the remote if you can. Ours is badly designed and a fiddle to handle.

 

[verytalldave]

If I was going to buy a new TV now, I would buy one with built-in freesat.
Just a thought if you live in an area of fringe reception.

 

[whitenemesis]

Agree with VTD

The latest Panny is 600hz with freesat and true cinema mode, and can be had for similar prices quoted above

 

[timskemp]

oh also the the more expensive one is a plasma tv, this means that after about 5 years the picture will be half the brightness it was when new

(theres plenty of other differences aswell but i have to get ready for work so just scanned the items briefly)

Aha! an LCD evangelist.

My plasma is 5 yrs old and runs 6 hrs per day, that's about 10,000 hours at the moment, no problems.

Friend just bought the panasonic G10 50 inch, £900 ish from many places, 600hz (it divides by 50, 60 and 24...), high contrast. The only LCDs I've seen that come close picture wise are 3x the cost (Sony LED backlit...)

 

[renault12ts]

Buy one with an anti-glare screen. That way you'll be able to see the telly instead of all the lights in the room reflected in all their glory. There aren't many out there. Also if your tv room is south facing ask how the sunlight will affect your ability to watch during the day. Anti-glare all the way!!

 

[grober]

PANASONIC's expertise lies in PLASMA TV's rather than LCD so my gut feeling is you would get better TV technology for your money with the plasma. VTD's advice of getting a slightly better Pany with built in Freesat [it will have a terrestrial freeview tuner also don't worry] is sound.

 

[ringway]

Many thanks for the information.

Am I correct in thinking this is the model to buy then?

It has the built in freesat and I like the idea of the John Lewis 5, year guarantee.

Hopefully it will come back into stock.


Thanks,

Paul.

 

[Druk]

That's quite a price hike from your £549 original. Also, for Freesat you'll need a dish somewhere. Extra cost and ugly thing on the house wall. Personally I'm happy with freeview. We have an 32" LG plasma in the lounge and the picture is good to fantastic depending on what we're watching but no better than the Panny 26" LCD in the bedroom. The LG remote is streets ahead of the Panny though. It is a small point but worth consideration.

 

[ringway]

Thanks Druk.

I have Sky Digital (hate the dish though) and don't watch it that much.
Maybe I could ditch Sky and use the freesat then?

I have found a local TV shop that price matches its competitors and the idea would be to buy the TV from them (5, year guarantee also included) without the blueray player, thus hopefully bringing down the price of the set.

 

[whitenemesis]

Many thanks for the information.

Am I correct in thinking this is the model to buy then?

It has the built in freesat and I like the idea of the John Lewis 5, year guarantee.

Hopefully it will come back into stock.


Thanks,

Paul.

That's the one I would go for. Cheaper elsewhere though. If films are your thing the V10 is better (but more expensive again..)

 

[Druk]

What I don't get about..this is, it says £799 at the top and £699 at the bottom.

 

[ringway]

What I don't get about..this is, it says £799 at the top and £699 at the bottom.

Well spotted.

 

[grober]

The TX-P42G10B would be a good choice and your Sky dish should be fine. All you need to do is to plug in the coax F connector from the Sky Dish LNB into the back of the Panasonic and viola HD TV.

 

[whitenemesis]

The TX-P42G10B would be a good choice and your Sky dish should be fine. All you need to do is to plug in the coax F connector from the Sky Dish LNB into the back of the Panasonic and viola HD TV.

Only if you already have Sky HD? Would you not have to change the LNB and the coax? If you upgrade from Sky to Sky HD the fitter will do this.

 

[Merc Owner 2B]

Just spotted your thread. Some great advice for there.

Prices tend to be very volatile this time of year and webstores struggle to keep prices up to date, especially on items that are out of stock. This could be the new price of stock when it arrives. The £699 looks like an old offer.
I agree that you should buy local. Tell them it's £699 at JL's for the price match!

 

[Merc Owner 2B]

The TX-P42G10B would be a good choice and your Sky dish should be fine. All you need to do is to plug in the coax F connector from the Sky Dish LNB into the back of the Panasonic and viola HD TV.

At least with Feesat you will get ITV HD which isn't available on SKY without fiddling with the settings and even then I don't think they can be scheduled to record.