£2300 to spend on tv, Need advice?? Sony, pionner,Panasonic or Philips

[admin_exported]

Got about £2300 to spend on a tv. Looking at the 46-50" sizes. Have done quite a bit of research on both LCD and Plasma and the top brands that stand out for me are the Sony and Pioneer. Cant view latrest Philips yet ??

I have viewd the Pioneer 5090, and whilst it looked good I found it handled motion and paning shots badly considering whats under the bonet!!!! Quite a bit of Judder !!! ( Surprised ) Most reviews seem not to pic this up?? But which magazine did. I used Wall-e and Ironman. Struggled on both. Is this a common problem with this model? I have seen reviews on the KRP 500A, Another price hyke, but is it any better at handleing motion???? Not seen it in the flesh yet.

Next I looked at a sony 40Z4500 ( would go for the 46 version if I bought it. ) That seemed pretty good at everything in one shop and very poor in sony`s own shop. ( Lots of noise using the same films ) Have tried since and its a varialbe as far a quality is concerned. Tried a few Panasonics and found the PZ800b ( I think it is ) to be very good a motion handling, most others not the case.

I will hook it up to SKy+HD and a Pioneer 51FD blue ray, so not for games at all. Any help and advice would be appreciated.

Cheers  

 

[Anonymous]

KandS:

...Next I looked at a sony 40Z4500 ( would go for the 46 version if I bought it. ) That seemed pretty good at everything in one shop and very poor in sony`s own shop. ( Lots of noise using the same films ) Have tried since and its a varialbe as far a quality is concerned. Tried a few Panasonics and found the PZ800b ( I think it is ) to be very good a motion handling, most others not the case.

Where was this? Didn't know Sony had any shops?

Might be an idea to wait and see how all the new models from the likes of Sony and Panasonic perform before parting with your money.

 

[pioneer7]

Not sure why you had a bad expereince with the pioneer, but this is the one to go for, but be quick as these will become harder to find over time, this an excellent plasma and will be a great partnership with the Blu-ray player buy with confidence, if you can get to see the pioneer elsewhere try to do so, as this is the best plasma out there, but dont take my word for it just read the reviews, What HiFi can back this up to

Hope thishelps a little.

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info so far.

The sony shop was in wolverhampton. The 5090 Pioneer that i viewed was in a comet store and sefridges. Both had motion judder.I used the same wall-e disc on a panasonic bd 35 and a rubbish sharp blue ray. Had a quick play with some of the settings, but didnt seem to eradicate the problem. I did try an old Philips 42 9603D next to the pioneer. This was spot on. Great picture and motion was fluid.ÿ

Both sets get good reviews and the Pioneer is widely praised. That motion judder would put me off though.Maybe its a rare thing and down to bad settings, not sure.ÿ

There are a lot of new Tv`s out soon, will try and hold out, but you know how it is with technology! Never can keep up and cant keep waiting, otherwise I will never get one.

Cheers all.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

I have the KRP500-A and i don't see any motion judder at all, i've also seen the 5090 setup and hadn't seen this issue either. It could just have been a bad setup in the demo room.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi ALexDB

Quite interested in the KRP 500M, dont need the extra box. seen plenty of reviews, all mention how good it is out of the box, Ie close to ISF calibration. Some statement. Thanks for your Input. I think your right and its a bad setting or two. Found nothing major so far on the internet research travels.ÿ

Cheersÿ

 

[drummerman]

Don't count out Samsungs higher end large screen LED/LCD's. Superb and imo better than any current sony's other than Xseries. Phillips are lovely too. As to your choice, the pioneer is very good and motion judder is not normally a problem (Pure cinema Advance, Drive Mode 1 for BR/Films).

Whole rafter of new sets coming to the shops soon so you'll have more choice but as someone mentioned, don't hang around to long if you want a Kuro. Pioneer promised stock until the end of the year but that may not be the case the way they shift them at present.

 

[Anonymous]

Well I would spend £899 on the Panny P50X10 and save lots of pennies!.

 

[Anonymous]

pioneer7:

Not sure why you had a bad expereince with the pioneer, but this is the one to go for, but be quick as these will become harder to find over time, this an excellent plasma and will be a great partnership with the Blu-ray player buy with confidence, if you can get to see the pioneer elsewhere try to do so, as this is the best plasma out there, but dont take my word for it just read the reviews, What HiFi can back this up to

I agree.

I have the Pio 5090 and it's great. No motion blur at all.

It must surely be set up wrong, especially in Comet's. I'd go to a Pioneer dealer and view it properly set up and you'll probably walk out with one.

 

[matthewpiano]

I am very surprised you found issues with the Pioneer. It is a stunning piece of TV engineering.

Any TV is only as good as the way in which it has been set up. I'm surprised the Z didn't look as good in your local Sony Centre as Sony UK's expectations of in-store set-up and demonstration are exceedingly high (and rightly so). The Z4500 is an excellent set and well worth another look.

Otherwise, its wait and see what the new models have in store. The Z4500 will run for a while yet, but the new W5500 is hitting Sony Centres in 37" size this week and you should see the 40s imminently.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with Matthew's comments. I took delivery of a Z4500 on Saturday and it is absolutely stunning and I couldn't recommend it highly enough. The picture is stunning (especially Sky HD and BD, although fine in standard def too) and no motion judder or blur at all - tested using Sky News/ Sports rolling information bar. I have seen a few comments on the forums regarding colour bleed on the Sony TVs, but from my experience there is no issue here at all with the Z4500 and the 80,000:1 contrast ratio makes the blacks very black (even compared with the Pioneer). I would also add that the inbuilt sound speakers in the TV are pretty good too, a lot better than the sound quality I have heard on other LCD/ Plasma TVs.

I bought my set from my local Sony Centre in Cardiff and they have been absolutely excellent in their customer service. They delivered, installed and set up the TV, rack and BDP for me (the guy even helped me to calibrate the picture!), as well as connecting the stuff to my existing amp. Couldn't recommned Sony Centre highly enough from my experience. I also got a 5 year warranty in the price and they worked out a fair few quid cheaper than John Lewis (the bdp 350 blu ray player was also free, but I upgraded to the S550 for £50).

I really can't comment on the Pioneer TV's but would definately recommend that you took another look at the Z4500 and spoke to the guys in the Sony Centre.

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

Those two Pioneer sets you saw in Comet and Selfridges must have been set up incorrectly. The Pioneer actually avoids judder better than pretty much anything else out there. With the correct settings (Pure Cinema > Advance, I think), it actually changes refresh rate to 72Hz for 24p, which means no judder whatsoever. Before you rule it out, go and see a calibrated set at a proper AV dealer.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all

ÿThanks for all your comments, much appreciated. I agree that settings could be wrong to. was surprised to see judder given the excellant reviews across the board.Cheers for the settings to. Will revisit.ÿ

My sony dealer were nice enough, but were stumped as to what to do to eliminate the noise issue. ( Surprised ! )ÿ

I like the philips and I not affraid to mess with the settings, I read that they need constant tinkering to get the best, Dont mind this but dont want to be doing it every other Film. having said this I viewed the 9603D and was impressed by the picture detail and brightnessÿ

I have a samsung 40A656 at the mo.After messing with the settings using a HD callibration Blue ray, the resultswere pleasing. The blacks are ok but not inspiring. Overall a good TV. Have looked at several reviews on the 856, seem pretty good and the the 956( I think ! ) with the LED back light. These didnt favour as well. maybe due LED being so new. Samsung as brand though are very good and massively on the up to. Good inovative tech at good prices. Want to spend my money as wisely as possible, I want the best I can get for the cash. I have never been able to do this before, Now I can. Want to make the right choice.

Cheers all again for your incite and advice. ÿ