Most people would not realise Panasonic didn't make them though which is why I expect they are happy to do it.

My mate have a Philips 4k telly and SD on the is the shittest i have ever seen in my entire life so spending a lot is no guarantee your going to buy something that can get SD looking half decent.

I can have 3 vestel sets for the price of the Sony so in the long term you are no better or worse off.

Like i said in my post the Sony TV is better in every way but for £169 it is very hard to criticise the Vestel.

That's the point I'm making about being a double edged sword. If you bought one of these sets thinking "it's a Panasonic, they're a well know brand name with a good reputation, it's going to be a good TV", there is a good chance you'd be disappointed with it's performance & if you were, that would tarnish the name of a brand, that until that point, you thought was good quality & reputable.

Well Philips have always been pretty poor anyway, but now it's just a name used by a cheap manufacturer (rather like Sharp who have also sold their name).


Apart from you've got a better picture and better facilities


You're hardly 'comparing like with like' though, a dumb TV with the 'smartest' one you can find, which is also considerably larger.

That's what happened to me. Bought an entry-level Panasonic thinking I was buying a Panasonic but I've encountered picture issues about four months into ownership, as described in my thread here.

What numpty bumped a very old thread....

Oh hi kAL_EI



my Panny plasma is in with John Lewis at the moment, it's just in its 5yr warranty, phew!

So on the off chance its not getting repaired
I've done as you have and strated looking at replacments.
Was going to just buy a panny in the 430/400/300 ranges until i also read they were rebadged Vestels.

As i read it on the AVForums site, you're looking at the 680 range
http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-v...wi-fi/p1961457
For a ''true panny!'' .

Also something i noticed whilst looking at these LCDs (obviously won't see it on a Plasma) walked upto a none 4K one and you can see the pixels
Look at a 4K one and you can't.
So my logic, after reading on the internet, is a 4K screen even though not outputting true 4k yet, would still give a better picture?

It will give a higher resolution image (not always a better picture!) but bear in mind you're only seeing the pixels on the Full HD set because you're standing that close to the sets. Compare them both at your normal viewing distance and work out if the extra cost for a 4K model is worth it yet.
The base & mid range 4K sets I've seen in the shop here (imho) exhibit more processing issues and motion issues than the Full HD models at a lower cost.

This has put me off buying a Panasonic. The reason I would buy a Panasonic or Sony would be because I perceive them to be better quality and reliability but now you have to try and find out who really makes it.

Not really just don't buy an entry level Panasonic...it's that simple.

Second that, they do still make some great kit, you just need to do a bit of research first before buying panasonic.

Same with any make though

But as suggested, the Vestel/Panasonics are best avoided - as you could buy the exact same same much cheaper with a different label on it.

Except that you now have to find out which is the "entry level" and which is the real one, what about the next batch and how far up will "entry level" go?

This won't actually stop me buying another Panasonic but it will tilt the balance towards Sony. When I bought my current Panny 50" plasma I saw it in the shops, liked it and had no hesitation buying it because it was a Panasonic, that wouldn't happen now and I'd go home and check.

Including poorer quality items under the brand name will taint the brand.

It's pretty obvious when you see them in store which are the Vestel ones and which aren't - the remote control and OSDs are a giveaway.

You can also look at the country of origin - I bought a genuine Panny last year and it's made in the Czech Republic, not Turkey.

Trouble is people less well informed will buy these and then moan that Panasonic's are crap. They should just rename them Panasonic Everyday brand or some such.

And at they end of the day they're all genuine Panasonics where ever they're made, after all your paying Panasonic prices.