Anyone Compared a Panasonic 50GT60 Against 50VT65?

[strapped for cash]

Are you inextricably wedded to your current stand?

As you note, the 50VT65 is a fair bit heavier than the 50GT50. I managed to unpack several 50GT50s with little effort. The 50VT65 proved more of a struggle.

I bought a BLOK AV cabinet I'm extremely fond of. My system looks very neat with the centre speaker tucked away behind a grille. Cable management is also easy. (There are several slots that toward the rear of the BLOK cabinet you can feed cables through.)

I agree that the VT65 should be you main TV, if that's the way you go. You were lucky (admittedly after two replacements) in getting a GT50 without obvious problems, but the VT65 is undoubtedly the better TV. Having owned both I can state this unequivocally.

Maybe it's time for a new stand, if you can afford it? Your current stand could be relegated to the second room, along with the GT50. Just an idea.

 

[Oldboy]

LOL gel you just can't help yourself can you...!

I can say from experience mate that the VT65 is better in every regard over the GT60 and more than justifies the extra outlay. I demoed both on my trip to the local Panasonic store but very quickly ruled out the GT60 as it just didn't stack up in terms of performance. I didn't find it as dull with contrast as the ZT65 but it was certainly lacking punch compared to the VT and there were obvious differences in black detail and black levels with the VT really digging deep into those blacks to reveal the last ounce of detail. In comparison the GT60 just looked gloomy during the same scene and couldn't go quite as deep or reveal as much black detail.

The GT60 performed well with colour though and was comparable to the VT but it wasn't quite as smooth with motion with some slight instances of judder when compared to the silky smooth nature of the VT65. It's a no brainer mate and if it was me I would go for a 55 inch for full effect, you know it makes sense

I would rather buy a new stand and have a 55 inch VT65 than go for the 50 inch. It's unusual your stand in that most glass units I've seen and indeed owned have a thicker top shelf to take the load of the tv, can you not wall mount it then?

 

[bigboss]

Son_of_SJ's TV is of the same weight as the 55VT65 gel.

That TV would look seriously big on this stand. It is quite high already.

Well, Son_of_SJ's TV is 64 inches!

 

[Son_of_SJ]

As photobucket is still refusing to play ball tonight, despite my doing exactly what I had done recently with success, I've had to open an account with ImageShack. Here is my 3-tier Optimum stand, modelled by my friend Marina Bambino from Los Angeles in June 2012. It's a shame that you can't see the components on the bottom shelf more clearly - an old Sony integrated amplifier, a Humax Freesat HD recorder, a Sony DVD recorder and a Sanyo VHS recorder.

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7772/xnch.jpg

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Are you inextricably wedded to your current stand?

As you note, the 50VT65 is a fair bit heavier than the 50GT50. I managed to unpack several 50GT50s with little effort. The 50VT65 proved more of a struggle.

I bought a BLOK AV cabinet I'm extremely fond of. My system looks very neat with the centre speaker tucked away behind a grille. Cable management is also easy. (There are several slots that toward the rear of the BLOK cabinet you can feed cables through.)

I agree that the VT65 should be you main TV, if that's the way you go. You were lucky (admittedly after two replacements) in getting a GT50 without obvious problems, but the VT65 is undoubtedly the better TV. Having owned both I can state this unequivocally.

Maybe it's time for a new stand, if you can afford it? Your current stand could be relegated to the second room, along with the GT50. Just an idea.

Not really, just never managed to find another stand to accommodate all my equipment. If you could find me a stand, I would look at it.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

LOL gel you just can't help yourself can you...!

I can say from experience mate that the VT65 is better in every regard over the GT60 and more than justifies the extra outlay. I demoed both on my trip to the local Panasonic store but very quickly ruled out the GT60 as it just didn't stack up in terms of performance. I didn't find it as dull with contrast as the ZT65 but it was certainly lacking punch compared to the VT and there were obvious differences in black detail and black levels with the VT really digging deep into those blacks to reveal the last ounce of detail. In comparison the GT60 just looked gloomy during the same scene and couldn't go quite as deep or reveal as much black detail.

The GT60 performed well with colour though and was comparable to the VT but it wasn't quite as smooth with motion with some slight instances of judder when compared to the silky smooth nature of the VT65. It's a no brainer mate and if it was me I would go for a 55 inch for full effect, you know it makes sense

I would rather buy a new stand and have a 55 inch VT65 than go for the 50 inch. It's unusual your stand in that most glass units I've seen and indeed owned have a thicker top shelf to take the load of the tv, can you not wall mount it then?

I know!

Ah cheers for the feedback, the VT65 it is. I could possibly wall mount, but hadn't previously considered it. It is an option though! Cheers

 

[Deleted member 2457]

As photobucket is still refusing to play ball tonight, despite my doing exactly what I had done recently with success, I've had to open an account with ImageShack. Here is my 3-tier Optimum stand, modelled by my friend Marina Bambino from Los Angeles in June 2012. It's a shame that you can't see the components on the bottom shelf more clearly - an old Sony integrated amplifier, a Humax Freesat HD recorder, a Sony DVD recorder and a Sanyo VHS recorder.

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7772/xnch.jpg

Wow! Cheers for the picture. Still can't believe you have a 64 inch TV on it! Makes me a lot more confident about going for the TV now. Thanks.

 

[bigboss]

.....and additional things on the same shelf.

 

[j4mm3r]

When I purchased my 50gt60 i spent about half an hour comparing it to a 50vt65 and me and the missus could see any difference lol perhaps we not got the best eye for these things! I went for the gt for several reasons: with the same settings the gt was slightly brighter, the gt was lighter so i wouldnt need a new wall mount and after 30 minutes i thought i could save £400 coz i cant see the any difference and the frame design was quite nice.

I do like the one sheet design of the vt but dont care for the speakers on the side (got a sound system anyway) plus as uve mentioned its heavy.

we watched various stuff but mainly bbc hd motor bike racing, plenty of motion in that and neither tv had any issues, with the added brightness and £400 saving my mind was made up.

but as u've gotta gt already maybe a step up to a vt would be too irresistible.........

 

[Son_of_SJ]

Hello j4mm3r, your reasons for choosing the 50gt60 rather than the 50vt65 are probably in the minority here, but nonetheless valid . As various people have now mentioned the weight of the 50vt65, I must check it from the Panasonic site, with and without desktop stand.

 

[j4mm3r]

Hi Son_of_SJ, yes its all a bit subjective, as long as your happy with your purchase thats all that matters :dance:

ive gone from a samsung led to a panasonic plasma and wish i made this decision last time :boohoo:

 

[Deleted member 2457]

When I purchased my 50gt60 i spent about half an hour comparing it to a 50vt65 and me and the missus could see any difference lol perhaps we not got the best eye for these things! I went for the gt for several reasons: with the same settings the gt was slightly brighter, the gt was lighter so i wouldnt need a new wall mount and after 30 minutes i thought i could save £400 coz i cant see the any difference and the frame design was quite nice.

I do like the one sheet design of the vt but dont care for the speakers on the side (got a sound system anyway) plus as uve mentioned its heavy.

we watched various stuff but mainly bbc hd motor bike racing, plenty of motion in that and neither tv had any issues, with the added brightness and £400 saving my mind was made up.

but as u've gotta gt already maybe a step up to a vt would be too irresistible.........

Thanks for the feedback. I do like bright TVs too. Something to consider. Cheers.

 

[strapped for cash]

If you want to go up in screen size, a wall mount sounds like a sensible solution, as Oldboy mentions. It'd be cheaper than a new AV rack/cabinet. If you want a larger TV, this would also render the GT vs. VT debate immaterial, since the largest GT60 is 50", as you know.

If you want to stick at 50", you'll only really know by auditioning. I didn't audition a GT60 before buying, because there were things the VT65 offered that were useful to me, particularly timer record and dual tuner functionality. However, I'm aware that you have Sky, so this is probably less relevant in your case. There's honestly no issue with the VT65 and brightness.

Is there a retailer anywhere near you that stocks the GT60?

If you can make it work financially, I'd go for a 55" VT65, wall mounted, and professionally calibrated.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

If you want to go up in screen size, a wall mount sounds like a sensible solution, as Oldboy mentions. It'd be cheaper than a new AV rack/cabinet. If you want a larger TV, this would also render the GT vs. VT debate immaterial, since the largest GT60 is 50", as you know.

If you want to stick at 50", you'll only really know by auditioning. I didn't audition a GT60 before buying, because there were things the VT65 offered that were useful to me, particularly timer record and dual tuner functionality. However, I'm aware that you have Sky, so this is probably less relevant in your case. There's honestly no issue with the VT65 and brightness.

Is there a retailer anywhere near you that stocks the GT60?

If you can make it work financially, I'd go for a 55" VT65, wall mounted, and professionally calibrated.

If I was to wall mount the biggest I could go is 50 inches in the space I have, unless I removed a light. I will try and demo the GT60 prior to purchase but no stock close by at present. Shouldn't be long now before I purchase the 55 Blu-ray player so I will see if they now have stock.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

They say that the devil makes work for idle hands. I found myself with ten minutes to spare this early evening, and so I thought that I'd explore the weight topic that several folk have mentioned. From the Panasonic UK website, I discovered (the first weight mentioned is in Kg without the desktop stand, the second weight for each television is in Kg with the desktop stand:

50GT60 22.5 26.0

50VT65 26.0 31.5

55VT65 31.5 38.5

65VT65 42.0 50.5

and from the Samsung website, the discontinued product,

Samsung PS64D8000 35.0 38.3

So yes, the VT65 is 4 to 5 kg heavier than the GT60. And the 55VT65 is almost exactly the same weight as my 64" Samsung, so Gel, when you buy your 55VT65, your existing Optimum stand, which will be the same as mine bearing the 64" Samsung, will be just fine. No need to wall mount it, don't listen to that bad boy Strapped for Cash! He's just trying to make you spend (even!) more money!

Another point that arises is how much lighter the Samsung quad or "claw-foot" desktop stand is than the Panasonic desktop stands .... I'll be developing this in a new thread about desktop stands within about a week or so. Lastly, relevantly for only me, perhaps I will after all have to take a little care with my Optimum stand when I replace my Samsung with the 65VT65, because the Panasonic is 12.2 Kg heavier - and no, I won't be wall-mounting it! The wall behind the TV really doesn't seem very solid, so I wouldn't want to hang anything much heavier than a photograph on it, certainly not a £3K television.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

They say that the devil makes work for idle hands. I found myself with ten minutes to spare this early evening, and so I thought that I'd explore the weight topic that several folk have mentioned. From the Panasonic UK website, I discovered (the first weight mentioned is in Kg without the desktop stand, the second weight for each television is in Kg with the desktop stand:

50GT60 22.5 26.0

50VT65 26.0 31.5

55VT65 31.5 38.5

65VT65 42.0 50.5

and from the Samsung website, the discontinued product,

Samsung PS64D8000 35.0 38.3

So yes, the VT65 is 4 to 5 kg heavier than the GT60. And the 55VT65 is almost exactly the same weight as my 64" Samsung, so Gel, when you buy your 55VT65, your existing Optimum stand, which will be the same as mine bearing the 64" Samsung, will be just fine. No need to wall mount it, don't listen to that bad boy Strapped for Cash! He's just trying to make you spend (even!) more money!

Another point that arises is how much lighter the Samsung quad or "claw-foot" desktop stand is than the Panasonic desktop stands .... I'll be developing this in a new thread about desktop stands within about a week or so. Lastly, relevantly for only me, perhaps I will after all have to take a little care with my Optimum stand when I replace my Samsung with the 65VT65, because the Panasonic is 12.2 Kg heavier - and no, I won't be wall-mounting it! The wall behind the TV really doesn't seem very solid, so I wouldn't want to hang anything much heavier than a photograph on it, certainly not a £3K television.

I still can't believe we have the same stand!

Some things to definitely now consider. Cheers.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

This should be my last word about the Optimum AV stand! Here is a closer picture than previously (again, taken on my ancient - 2006 -1.3 Megapixel mobile phone camera) of the stand itself. Unfortunately, my friend Marina Bambino couldn't fly in from Los Angeles to model it this time!:

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/6776/v936.jpg

And this is a side-on picture of the top of the stand.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9693/g1ft.jpg

 

[Deleted member 2457]

This should be my last word about the Optimum AV stand! Here is a closer picture than previously (again, taken on my ancient - 2006 -1.3 Megapixel mobile phone camera) of the stand itself. Unfortunately, my friend Marina Bambino couldn't fly in from Los Angeles to model it this time!:

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/6776/v936.jpg

And this is a side-on picture of the top of the stand.

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/9693/g1ft.jpg

Ah cheers. It does look the same for sure. You have yours on wheels? Your second tier is the same as my first and second. Mine is big on the bottom and top. You know Optimum told me if you customise it like we have then the weight limit is 70kg. Spoke to them on the phone too.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

So mine is taller than yours.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

I'd typed in more about the castors, that the Forum software lost when I clicked on save, grrr! |( Yes, mine is on castors and just now I'm at the limit of what the castors will take, so when I get the Panasonic 65VT65 I'll have to change for the solid (no castors) very bottom legs. I'm sure that the extra 12 kg of the Panasonic will be no problem for the top shelf, but it will be for the castors.

70kg cannot be correct for the total weight of all the shelves, because I have about 50kg on the top shelf, about 34 kg on the middle shelf and about 20kg on the bottom shelf.