I have tried to find the old thread I started a year ago on the same subject but cannot find it. It has been ressurected since then. Anyway I'll start another and if the Mods have more success maybe they can link it.
About a year ago I purchased a Panasonic plasma 42" which Stuartli recommended. At the time it was bigger than the 36" CRT it replaced but now seems to have shrunk :-). I'm up for a replacement and move the original Panasonic into the consevatory. Nice telly I might add.
So the hunt is on. Spent an hour or so having a look round a major retailer with a view to a 46 or 50" LED. Retailers are pushing 3D but frankly I'm not that impressed and consider it a gimmick. The nicer pictures were well over the grand mark which, with a reality check, I
would be reluctant to spend on a TV. Plasma keeps popping up again with good picture quality and some good prices half of the ones I really took a liking to.
Any opinions? Always welcome. Down Zero! :-)
Last edited by: Fullchat on Wed 8 Jun 11 at 22:06
|
I wouldn't dismiss 3D so quickly.
When I had a brief look a couple of months ago, 3D sets were often little more than the equivalent 2D, particularly when sold without the glasses, which you can buy later.
Some things are said to be better than others in 3D.
In sport, boxing is supposed to be really good, but football less so, I think because it's largely left to right.
The BBC are showing some of Wimbledon in 3D - free, provided you have a HD box.
I'm no film expert, but I'm told some of the better directors know how to shoot a film for 3D, which requires different expertise than shooting in 2D.
A couple of people have said to me a good 46", or preferably 50", home 3D is better than the cinema.
I was impressed with 3D I saw in the shop, and when more of the programmes which have been made for the format are shown, I think it will become even more desirable.
|
|
Thanks Iffy for your input.
|
>> I think because it's largely left to right...
I'd say it's more depth of field.
I think it's LG (but might be wrong) that is coming out with a cheap 3D capable TV that does not use active glasses technology. The screen does the polarisation work for the glasses to work. And in doing so reduces the resolution by half! One half shows the image for the left eye and the other half of the alternating lines the other. Whereas the active type setup uses alternate frames.
3D TV is a fad though....
|
A few things that keep being said on here and are still valid:
- Check out Panasonic
- Consider John Lewis Partnership - they do 5 year warranty on TVs and price match
Some good prices can be found (sometimes) at Sound and Vision (Farnsworth near Bolton) and JLP price match those.
If you go for a larger Plasma then do get it delivered. Plasmas have to be moved upright and a larger set isn't going to fit in most cars unless you lie it down.
|
Lots of people say the sound on flatscreens is a bit weedy.
The OP has a newish Panasonic, so could use that as a guide.
A new 46-50" set will probably sound much the same.
|
My older Panasonic LCD has good sound. That's because it's not as slim as the newer sets so has space for speakers :-)
Not as good as the sound on my old Panasonic (and before it Toshiba) CRT... Dolby Digital surround sound with both including subwoofers.
|
...That's because it's not as slim as the newer sets so has space for speakers :-)...
I reckon that's right - speakers have moving magnets, and that requires depth.
When I was more interested in hi-fi in the 70s and 80s, there were several attempts to design and produce a quality flat speaker.
None succeeded, certainly not at a price any of us could afford.
|
Lets be honest, on board speakers are never going to be ideal. They are too close together, and you cant move them around.
If sound is one of your requirements you have to accept separates.
|
>> - Check out Panasonic
>> - Consider John Lewis Partnership - they do 5 year warranty on TVs and price match
>>
Check in store prices. I found the web prices were out of step with the shop price.
I spoke to the salesman in JL and he said their prices can vary day by day, both up and down.
That is exactly what I found. I phoned my order at the right time and got it at a very low price. It went up a lot soon after.
Also check in store re guaranteed price. They printed a quoted price which they said was valid for several days unless of course it went lower.
Dixons online was also consistently showing good prices unlike Tesco.
|
>> Consider John Lewis Partnership - they do 5 year warranty on TVs and
>> price match
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8306722/John-Lewis-alters-never-knowingly-undersold-promise.html
John Lewis has altered the wording of its "Never Knowingly Undersold" pledge informing customers it will not offer a refund on products for which it provides a longer warranty than High Street rivals.
|
I know you gave me an ASBO for this thread, but hey who takes any notice of them.
To be seen in 3D it needs to be a 3D source. There is little or no past 3D source so all you can watch is that which is newly shot. Some stuff in 3D just does not work. AS iffy said, Football for example. One that does work and works really well is Golf.
Anway, its all too new, no real standards (active glasses, passive glasses, no glasses), no idea of longevity so its not a boat I would be leaping on. (but my gut feel says that 3D might make it mainstream at some point)
As for buying a bigger TV, its simple really isnt it?
YOu have a sum of money, you go and look at the shops, and you pick the one with the picture you like best that fits in your sum of money.
Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba - one of the quality makes.
Edit, Oh and these days software updates in the future are vital, so ongoing support is key. So that just leaves Panasonic or Sony,
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 8 Jun 11 at 23:16
|
Got an eshot about this today - Pana plasma 50" £469 until tomorrow night. goo.gl/f9AGx
Not full HD though - £586 for that goo.gl/kue4W
I had no idea prices had come down so much.
No my area of expertise I admit - Mrs Dugong says I'll have to make do with the 26" Sony!
|
|
It's not even HD Ready resolution that first set!
|
|
Not sure what that means - I did say I'm not a TV expert. Every one I look at claims to be HD ready, so I assume not much.
|
Full HD has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (hence 1080P). The lower resolution sets marketed as HD Ready have a resolution of 1280 x 720 (720P).... the spec of the Plasma screen says 1024 x 768. It's a resolution common on computers but does not match HD resolutions.
The set will scale a 1080 or 720P signal though.
|
I have an older Hitachi Plasma - not HD - nice mellow picture and a superb sound quality that shames its replacement Toshiba. The one that sits in my lounge has a decent enough sound but lacks the depth and mellowness of the Hitachi....its predecessor was a Toshiba set (replaced quibble free by JLP's excellent guarantee when it refused to come out of stand-by 7 out of 10 times the remote was punched) had a specific after market sub-woofer that mounted on the back - tacid admission by Toshiba that the bass was feeble as iffy puts it maybe ?
On a separate note the stand-by on the new Toshiba failed, but this was fixed by downloading a firmware update from the web...good enough telly.
|
If you're near a Richer Sounds store they give very good service and are very competitive. Sign up to their vip club and you get discounted e-mails ona regular basis. Saved me £200 on the instore price on my TV.
I bought a new 50" plasma just after christmas. I was going to go down the Panasonic route and teh TV was £1300. However, looking at reviews on the net, I bought an LG PK790. It's a very, very good TV with netcast and lots of (useful) features. Cost £650 with a five year warranty.
|
I have concluded that you can have too big a TV, if your room is not big enough you end up being too close to the screen, on SD broadcasts its rather like standing right next to a bill board, it looks fine from a distance though is all pixelated close up.
Even in HD, say 55" and 40" HD sets are both 1920 x 1080 so the smaller one will seem to be better quality at a distance of a couple of meters, the larger one will come into its own only when you can view it from perhaps 4 meters.
|
>>
>> I have concluded that you can have too big a TV,
At last, someone talking some sense about screen size! Bigger is not always better, it has to be done in relation to your viewing situation.
|
...viewing distances....
The following is only one guy's view, but I'm surprised how close the minimum recommended distances are.
26 Inch – 3.2 feet to 8 feet
30 Inch – 3.8 feet to 10 feet
32 Inch – 4.2 feet to 11 feet
34 Inch – 4.4 feet to 12 feet
40 Inch – 5 feet to 14 feet
42 Inch – 5.5 feet to 15 feet
46 Inch – 6 feet to 16.5 feet
50 Inch – 6.5 feet to 17.5 feet
55 Inch – 7 feet to 19 feet
60 Inch – 7.5 feet to 21 feet
63 Inch – 8 feet to 22 feet
65 Inch – 8.5 feet to 23 feet
There's a short article in the link which expands on the subject:
Read more: www.brighthub.com/electronics/home-theater/articles/34539.aspx#ixzz1OlXtIA2m
Last edited by: Iffy on Thu 9 Jun 11 at 09:37
|
Viewing distance I was ignorant of when we plumped for an HD tv, and I made a mistake.
The given in our situation is that the distance from sofa to screen is 14 feet, and that's your lot - it's not sensibly altered.
So we would have needed a TV about twice the size of the one we got to really benefit.
However, the size we have (a 26 inch screen) is Mrs C's maximum permitted, so for us, HD is of no real benefit as I can hardly see the difference, and Mrs C can't see the difference at all; I could have stuck with our old Panasonic CRT instead of a new HD Panasonic and saved a few hundred quid.
|
...However, the size we have (a 26 inch screen) is Mrs C's maximum permitted, so for us, HD is of no real benefit...
A 40-incher minimum is what you need, according to the table.
The article says you need to be relatively closer to the screen for HD, so tell your lass the correct size for you is 50".
Should go down well.
|
>> has to be done in relation to your viewing situation.
>>
How to choose the right screen size
Is your telly too small - or too big - for HD?
www.reghardware.com/2011/05/19/tv_sizes_deconstructed/
|
Well I bit the bullet and with daughter in tow was pursuaded to go upper end Panasonic 50" Plasma with 3D and SMART :-(
Also bought the 3D Blueray player which was discounted within the bundle.
Now before I go digging round the back with the wiring I could do with some advice.
Do the optical cables carry picture and sound or just sound? Im thinking its just sound
Next question is, as I see it my Blueray Home Theatre System (HTS) will still have to be attached to my new TV and the additional 3D Blueray introduced into the system.
My existing wiring is that the Sky box is connected to TV by HDMI and co-ax also to the HTS by optical. Thereby allowing me to get Sky sound out through the HTS system. The HTS is connected to TV by HDMI. Thereby sending disc pictures to the TV.
The new 3D Blueray player will connect to TV by HDMI. Therefore the sound for the 3D player will go from the player to the TV and back to the HTS for output through all the speakers via HDMI. Or do I put in an additional Optical cable for sound from 3D player direct to HTS?
There is currently no Optical link to the TV which has only one Optical connection. There are however two Optical connection on the HTS.
Have I got this right or is there a better way of doing this? My head is starting to hurt just typing this.
|
...pursuaded to go upper end Panasonic 50" Plasma with 3D and SMART :-(...
Nice telly.
I'll be interested to hear how you get on with 3D.
My audition in the shops wasn't very thorough, but the Panasonic impressed me the most.
Not much broadcast content yet, but you have the Blu-ray player, and I think 3D discs are not much dearer than 2D ones.
Then there's 3D gaming - just to complicate your wiring a little further.
I can't help with that, but I'm sure someone will.
|
>>Some good prices can be found
I haven't read all of this thread, but on the price front it is well worth checking any deals that your local stockists may have. I made a worthwhile saving a few months ago when I bought my 42" Panasonic TV and BluRay recorder locally.
Last edited by: Clk Sec on Sun 12 Jun 11 at 08:35
|
>> Also bought the 3D Blueray player which was discounted within the bundle.
>> Now before I go digging round the back with the wiring I could do with some advice.
>> Do the optical cables carry picture and sound or just sound? Im thinking its just sound.
Yes, optical is just sound.
Later versions of HDMI can carry surround sound and pictures, but (AFAIK) a sky box doesn't provide it - you need to use optical for that, as you already do.
>> There is currently no Optical link to the TV which has only one Optical connection.
>> There are however two Optical connection on the HTS.
The optical on the TV is most likely audio out, but you'd need to read the manual to be certain.
Opticals on the HTS are likely to be inputs, but, again, the manual beckons.
Quickest "surround" solution is probably just optical from new player to second optical on HTS (and HDMI from new player to the TV).
Best/most elegant solution depends on what the various bits of kit will do.
|
Ours is 32inch Toshiba vieuwing distance about 3 meters plus.
Ihave seen far to large tellys into small rooms which look daft in my opinion.We where thinking of plasma at the time which is reckoned better vieuwing for films at nighttime.We got LCD and the picture is nice even with bright sunlight in the room (when we get it)
John Lewis gave us a good deal 5 year quarantee.Telly is two years old now.Iam no expert on televisions just watch.
|
Re modern TV sound. The Panasonic I have (presumably it's the same as that of Fullchat) does have good sound - if you stand behind it...:-)
The sound is fired downwards and backwards, which is not much use when the TV has to reside in a fireplace alcove.
Eventually I bought a pair of these Roth Charlie 2.1 speakers (black in my case to match the TV):
tinyurl.com/3ccxyhh
and the transformation was well worthwhile.
I paid £129 for them from Dabs. They came down to £115 a few weeks later, but are now even cheaper from various outlets. You can also get them as a 2.0 alternative.
Review for anyone interested:
tinyurl.com/2ege4dw
|
|
I haven't really noticed any difference between the sound of my new Panasonic 42" and the 28" Sony CRT it replaced. Both quite adequate in my opinion.
|
I dont see any point having extra loudspeakers on a television but everybody to their own.
A hifi system yes if you are into music.Our television is loud enough without extra speakers.
|
I was watching (and enjoying) Camelot on Ch. 4 last night on my 32" 100Hz Panasonic via a Humax freesat HD jobbie and I was more-than happy with the sound & picture but - I had to turn it off after 40 minutes as I have an allergic reaction to adverts!!!
Shame really, as I was really into it, I'd speak to my GP about it (if I had one!)
|
>>I dont see any point having extra loudspeakers on a television but everybody to their own.>>
In my case, the alcove affects the sound distribution through high frequencies being "bounced" in various directions (the TV's menu has a setting for Less than 30cm from a wall and Normal).
Switching between the two emphasises the effect from a normal viewing distance.
As I stated earlier, the actual sound from the Panny is fine - from the rear...
This link details the Viera V-Audio system:
www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/426639/index.html
|
>
>> Quickest "surround" solution is probably just optical from new player to second optical on HTS
>> (and HDMI from new player to the TV).
As he says
or
Does either of the BlueRay boxes have additional HDMI in? In which case just HDMI chain one into the other.
|
TV Dilema - Again :-S - Iffy
