Hi

Just about to replace my old 32" Toshiba CRT with a new set. I use a Phillips 5980 DVD player and SKY+ box. No gaming, but may go for SKY HD at some point. We watch a lot of sport, kids tv and BBC/ITV etc.

Think i've decided on the Panasonic 37PX80B, but few questions if anyone can help

1. Slightly concerned about image retension / burn and general screen problems and product life as its a plasma. Anything to worry about.

2. Few people say plasma's use a lot more electric than LCD, but other reports say they similar?

3. As i'm using SD sources only, is it right plasma should be better but maybe not quite as good if i use HD sources in future?

4. Lastly, can anyone recommend this model or otherwise, especially if anyone using it for SD sources and can give me an idea of what its like

Sorry for so many questions, thought buying a new set would be easy

I appreciate any help

Gary

1. Slightly concerned about image retension / burn

Maybe if you were using it for PC gaming it might be an issue, but normal tv use should be fine


3. As i'm using SD sources only, is it right plasma should be better but maybe not quite as good if i use HD sources in future?

Plasma ideal for SD, XXpx80 highly respected for quality of SD/Freeview
HD depends as much on your viewing distance as much as actual TV/resolution - to appreciate HD you have to be sitting pretty damm close
Generaly better for sports/football etc than LCD

4. Lastly, can anyone recommend this model or otherwise,

Have the 42" version myself, would recommend to anyone - was a sceptic having seen various flats screens in shops etc over the years, convert now.

1. Not been an issue for me.

2. Power consumption I think is 225 watts, old 32" CRT was 155 watts so yes it does use more power but older plasmas were upto about 500 watts.

3. Both SD and HD (Freesat) with mine. Picture is fine on both.

4. Bought the 37" a few months ago, highly recommended it.

Regarding power consumption - don't get too hung up on it, the difference between plasma and LCD is like leaving a light bulb switched on.

Also remember that nearly all of the energy consumed by your TV is converted to heat, which warms your living room. Most of the year, this isn't wasted, as your main heating system will have less work to do keeping the living room warm.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the 37PX80B - had mine for two weeks ago and it's excellent (well, it's actually faulty and will be getting returned - loud buzzing noise, but other than that!). SD picture quality (even on Freeview channels with questionable bitrates) is great at my viewing distance (~9ft).

For SD I'm convinced there's no LCD that'll come close.

Think i've decided to go for the 42PX80

thanks for you advice

Whats your viewing distance? and how fussy/good is your eyesight?

With a 42" set you not only up the power consumption but also begin to sacrifice picture quality for size. Moving from a CRT you might be sensitive and notice the pixel/digital noise artifacts that plague digital television on a big screen. - This is seen on the PX80 although its much better at processing this away than a LCD.
Also bare in mind you may notice some motion blur on a bigger screen close up (yes plasmas DO have motion blur).

The PX80 is a fantastic TV however and a good choice.
As for the image retention issue just bare a few things in mind:

1- When you first get the TV it will set itself to the Dynamic picture mode. You need to switch this to Normal or Cinema and reduce the contrast to around 50%. This not only gives a better more natural picture it will also prevent bad image retention from occuring.

2- There are a few posts on the net about the best picture settings for your TV. I have found these listed below to be the best for a RGB input like sky or freeview.....

A RECOMMENDED PIC SETTING (Note: set your sky box to 16:9 RGB out. These settings depend on your input source and personal taste. I find this gives me the best pic for Freeview TV so it might on sky)

mode: Normal
contrast 40 clicks from 0
brightness 32 clicks from 0
colour 28 clicks from 0
sharpness 3-4
colour temp: Normal

3- Image retention may occur in the first 200 hours or so on things like letterbox dvd movies and news tickers/ on screen logos. Image retention will normally fade within 1-2 mins of watching normal TV- it wont ever lead to Burn-in unless you abuse your set.
Most people dont notice it but some things make it worse than others like the BBC sport red button (the yellow bar saying choose sport)
Just dont leave your TV on a channel with a static bright logo for hours on end, especially during the first few hundred hours.

Viewing distance - closest is about 7', furthest away about 13'. Eyesight not perfect for me and i sit the closest

We tried it in shop on sd source from about 6', and it looked okay to me. Certainly a lot better than the other 2 LCD's we looked at.

Thanks for the settings, i'll make sure i check them out. I was reading about the 200 hours as well so i'll make sure i do that.

1 last question. i'll be connecting up SKY+ via scart, and my phillips 5980 via HDMI. Is it right i need to change the settings for each source?

Thanks

Gary

Quick thanks to those who answered my questions on this. I got my 42PX80 today and all setup and working.

Very impressed with everything on it so far. Glad i chose the 42", it looks better than i thought.

Cheers
Gary

Only if you set it to SHOP rather than HOME in the install process, otherwise it defaults to NORMAL.

CINEMA gives the most accurate picture.