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50" tv plasma or lcd?
[Deleted User]
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Hi all
I am wanting to buy a 50" tv but i dont know what to go for ?, plasma or led ? that includes 3d if its here to stay!?
I am wanting to buy a 50" tv but i dont know what to go for ?, plasma or led ? that includes 3d if its here to stay!?
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Very worthwhile paying the extra 10% for 5 year cover.
Panasonic will be releasing their 2013 range next month so you may find this even cheaper soon.
On getting it home, it took me ages to set the thing up properly. Philips had set everything to maximum by default, resulting in a picture that was far too garish to watch. By a process of trial and error, I managed to tone everything down until I was happy with it. Now it delivers superb HD pictures and surprisingly good SD ones. What the manager told me was right. SD doesn't match HD for sheer quality, but it remains perfectly watchable - even on the lower bitrate channels, like Dave. I have YouView and it is possible that the box is lending a helping hand with the scaling, but on the odd occasion when both tuners are being used and I resort to the TV's own tuner, it still looks good.
Not at all - it's complete crap!!
Freeview is digital - splitting it to multiple sets makes no difference to the quality of the picture at all, and for that matter it didn't with analogue either (as long as it was done correctly, which a shop should have been doing anyway).
Is there any good tv rewiew sites online to get some options?
Still not sure on led or plasma?
Think they cost abit more though
A shop is a VERY poor environment to evaluate picture quality, basically because it's far too bright.
What set would you recomend ?
There is so many to choose from!
SAMSUNGPS51E550 Full HD 51" Plasma 3D TV
Have you had a look at the Panasonic ST50 ?
The ST50, GT50 and VT50 Range is coming to an end ready for the 60 range this year.
The TVs were the best of 2012 and offer exceptional picture quality once set up.
CURRYS have one but have a look around......
REMEMBER You cant compare well in shops ! !
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/panasonic-viera-tx-p50st50b-full-hd-50-plasma-3d-tv-13066381-pdt.html?srcid=369&xtor=AL-1&cmpid=aff~CHEETAH+MARKETING~TV%2c+DVD+%26+Blu-ray~13066381&istCompanyId=bec25c7e-cbcd-460d-81d5-a25372d2e3d7&istItemId=mpxlmxxi&istBid=t
The two best makes, by a considerable margin, are Sony and Panasonic.
But if you want a Plasma, Panasonic are one of the few manufacturers who still make them.
Everyone seems to be going with panasonic for best choice?
If you're a big gamer, then Plasma is probably the one to go for, as I understand the screens have a faster response time.
You can't really go wrong with each technology type if you get the best you can afford.
However Plasma does still offer a better picture for the £ and size in comparison to LCD.
If I was going for a TV now, I would go with a Panasonic ST50 or GT50. Plasma. The Samsungs are very good too but have slightly less black levels
Here's the general breakdown...
Plasma pros..
-Excellent black levels which add depth and solidity to the picture.
-Excellent viewing angles. No fade of colour or contrast or introduction of 3D crosstalk off angle.
-Very high response times give less motion blur and smear compared to LCD. Better for sport and gaming.
-Screen generates its own light from the pixels meaning no backlight or contrast issues
-more naturalistic and gritty picture. Good plasmas display exactly what they are given.
-warmer, more cinematic quality to pictures and better black levels mean they are fantastic for movies and dark rooms.
-active 3d gives better viewing angles, less crosstalk and fullHD 3D.
Plasma cons..
-Higher power use compared to LED
-Lower light output and reflective screens mean they struggle in bright sunny rooms.
--can suffer from exposing banding in colours which is both down to broadcast and the way the panels work.
-image retention and in the worse scenario screen burn can still happen.
-active 3d can flicker in bright rooms (not the screen) and glasses are expensive and need charging.
LCD pros
-Bright poppy pictures that are clean and stand up well during the day or sunny , bright rooms.
-Lower power consumption and less weight.
-passive 3D used in most LED/LCD has cheaper glasses that don't need charging.
-Pictures can appear to be sharper and cleaner.
LCD cons
- viewing angles can still cause picture colour, contrast and black levels to fade when viewed off-angle from the middle.
- passive 3D used in most LCD can go crosstalk heavy when viewed off angle from the middle and isn't fullHD.
-black levels aren't as good as Plasma and can cause the picture to loose shadow detail and depth in comparison. Especially in darker rooms for movie nights.
-backlight issues are very common introducing banding, halos, light leaks etc on the picture.
Response times are lower and cause smear, and blur. Heavy processing can be used to smooth out these issues which introduce lag and don't completely remove natural LCD blur.
that gives me a better idea of differnce bewteen both,so pros/cons on both plasma/leds.
so best way to make decision is what tv you get best deal on , the panasonics gt50's seem to be bout £8-900? what model of samsungs come close to the gt50's if any?
Is there much price differnce bewteen 46" & 50" thinking could get better quality tv but not as big screen size?
The GT50 is the better TV. You could also get a smaller VT50 which is Panasonics top range TV and expensive.
I'm not too sure what the Samsung is now but the E8000 plasma is probably in the GT50 and VT50 territory .
I have the GT50 and its stunningly good when set up correctly. Out of the box it's good enough. The GT and VT can be calibrated to near reference status for £250 or so by a pro.
Plenty of settings on AVForums in e Plasma section... Have a look on there as there are dedicated owners threads....
http://www.avforums.com/forums/plasma-tvs/
The ST50 is the same panel but the drive is different and it hasn't got the full set of calibration controls.its also gun metal colour with a clear surround.
If your happy around800-900 the GT50 is definitely the way to go.
The LED equivalent will be e Sony HX853. But it has problems with backlight and not as good a 3d.
I admit years ago LCD's were washed out, but nowadays they have overtaken plasmas by a good margin. And just to add, I'm VERY fussy with picture quality. Watch something like Dragons Den on BBCHD and compare the two. Zero comparison!
Finally, turn off the two screens side by side and look at the colour of the screen. Plasma=Dark Grey, LED/LCD=True Black.
Samsung UE46ES7000
It will blow your socks off! Keep the backlight above 80% and enjoy. No bleed either on dark scenes.