Pana Plasma or Sony LCD?

[strapped for cash]

I've got a limited budget (roughly £600) to buy a 32-37' flatscreen. Would prefer plasma, as I watch a lot of sport and hopefully images would be more stable. I also own a PS3, B&W 600 speakers and an Onkyo receiver for surround sound. As Pana seem to be the only reputable manufacturer sticking with plasma technology for the moment, I'm tempted to go for one of their TVs, but their most respected models (e.g. TH-37PX80B) are discontinued, and I looked at the TX-37X10B but the screen seemed really dim compared with its 42' counterpart. Can't go any larger than 37' given the size of my living room, and don't want to buy LCD because of colour/motion tracking problems and annoying picture artefacts. Can anyone advise me of a good deal that would suit my budget? There's another Pana model on Amazon -- TH-378BA -- for £499 with good customer reviews, but no expert reviews online or in What Hi Fi buying guide. Or should I just go for a Sony 1080p 32' LCD model? Getting any retailer to let you view several TVs with freeview, DVD, and blu ray, isn't particularly easy! Thanks.

 

[Alec]

id stick with the plasma. im puzzled that you found the smaller one dimmer than the 42" one, maybe it was the lighting/poor calibration?

Reading your question, you seem to answer it yourself...

 

[strapped for cash]

Thanks for the info. The dim display on the 37" Pana (despite its reportedly high contrast ratio) is a criticism I've seen elsewhere, and I viewed both the 42" and 37" side by side and the difference was immediately apparent -- enough to put you off buying the 37". If anyone knows anything about the £499 model available at Amazon, I'd appreciate any feedback, as I can't find this same model for sale anywhere else (let alone any expert reviews). Cheers.

 

[D.J.KRIME]

The TH378B that you have seen on Amazon is a old model and was a lower spec model under the TH3780B which have both been replaced by the current TH37X10.

You say that the 37" was clearly not as bright as the 42" model when side by side, was the 42" of the same "X" range of TV's? I have had a look on the Panasonic web site and according to them both the 37" and 42" versions have a native contrast ratio of 20,000:1(in a dark room) but strangely Panasonic omit any referance to either models Brightness.

A shop floor is not a ideal place to assess any TV's real world proformance and more often than not a Plasma may apear dim when viewed in these brightly lit enviroments, try and find the 37" Panasonic in stock somewhere where you can have a proper deom of the Tv in a demo room with some of you own discs before deciding on your new TV. Also more often than not the TV's on display on the shopfloor are very poorly calibrated (often fiddled with by muppets!) and thiis will result in a adverse effect upon the pictures brightness dramatically as a good balance of Contrast and brightness is essentual to achieve a vibrant picture.

 

[strapped for cash]

Useful to know the TH378B is an older model. Yes, both 37" and 42" were X models (if I remember rightly, the 37" X model received a 4* What Hi Fi review, compared with a 5* review for the 42" Pana X... and the review made a point of the poor brightness of the set. Perhaps I should just get the 42" and hope it doesn't look too imposing in my living room. If anyone can advise me of a better TV out there within an admittedly limited budget of £600, then I'll draw up a short list for auditioning? Any What Hi Fi staff able to comment? Thanks for the post!