Panasonic 42VT30 v 42ST50

[admin_exported]

 

[Anonymous]

Hi to you all

i was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on these 2 tv's?

I was going to upgrade my blu ray player but have now decided it would be best to upgrade my tv first. Im looking to replace my Panasonic th-42px80 and was thinking about the 42 VT30 which i viewed in a shop yesturday, i then came across a few reviews online saying the 42 ST50 is a better tv then the VT30 (they didnt have a ST50 in the shop so i couldnt view it),they are both in my price range with the VT30 being slightly cheaper and comes with glasses and a 5 year warranty. Coming from just an HD ready tv i guess if i bought either sets i would be more than happy it.

Any feedback would be gratefully recieved.

Regards

Gary

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Hi to you all

i was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on these 2 tv's?

I was going to upgrade my blu ray player but have now decided it would be best to upgrade my tv first. Im looking to replace my Panasonic th-42px80 and was thinking about the 42 VT30 which i viewed in a shop yesturday, i then came across a few reviews online saying the 42 ST50 is a better tv then the VT30 (they didnt have a ST50 in the shop so i couldnt view it),they are both in my price range with the VT30 being slightly cheaper and comes with glasses and a 5 year warranty. Coming from just an HD ready tv i guess if i bought either sets i would be more than happy it.

Any feedback would be gratefully recieved.

Regards

Gary

Yeah I would go for the ST50 - it is a brilliant TV! And yep it is better than the VT30. I think House of Fraser has stock online.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Gel thanks for your input. I wonder if my local branch will have one in the shop i can view,ill take a trip up there next weekend and have look. Cheers

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Yep House of Fraser has stock, and Richer Sounds does too. Richer Sounds are offering a free Blu-ray player too.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that,richer sounds is cheaper to and only £50 more than want the VT30 was going for,although you dont get the 5 year warranty or the glasses thrown in with this one. I wasnt to worried about the 3D or it being a smart tv but im guessing that all the current tvs are so i may as well start to embrace them!

 

[michael hoy]

Hi to you all

i was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on these 2 tv's?

I was going to upgrade my blu ray player but have now decided it would be best to upgrade my tv first. Im looking to replace my Panasonic th-42px80 and was thinking about the 42 VT30 which i viewed in a shop yesturday, i then came across a few reviews online saying the 42 ST50 is a better tv then the VT30 (they didnt have a ST50 in the shop so i couldnt view it),they are both in my price range with the VT30 being slightly cheaper and comes with glasses and a 5 year warranty. Coming from just an HD ready tv i guess if i bought either sets i would be more than happy it.

Any feedback would be gratefully recieved.

Regards

Gary

Yeah I would go for the ST50 - it is a brilliant TV! And yep it is better than the VT30. I think House of Fraser has stock online.

What makes you believe it is better than the VT30.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Hi to you all

i was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on these 2 tv's?

I was going to upgrade my blu ray player but have now decided it would be best to upgrade my tv first. Im looking to replace my Panasonic th-42px80 and was thinking about the 42 VT30 which i viewed in a shop yesturday, i then came across a few reviews online saying the 42 ST50 is a better tv then the VT30 (they didnt have a ST50 in the shop so i couldnt view it),they are both in my price range with the VT30 being slightly cheaper and comes with glasses and a 5 year warranty. Coming from just an HD ready tv i guess if i bought either sets i would be more than happy it.

Any feedback would be gratefully recieved.

Regards

Gary

Yeah I would go for the ST50 - it is a brilliant TV! And yep it is better than the VT30. I think House of Fraser has stock online.

What makes you believe it is better than the VT30.

Hi

Comparing the two. I did have the Vt30 for a while but ended up returning it. The contrast is better on the ST50 and so is the dynamic range.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

And I prefer the way the ST50 handles motion and blacks are said to be better.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Thanks for that,richer sounds is cheaper to and only £50 more than want the VT30 was going for,although you dont get the 5 year warranty or the glasses thrown in with this one. I wasnt to worried about the 3D or it being a smart tv but im guessing that all the current tvs are so i may as well start to embrace them!

Get the Richer Sounds 5 year warranty though, cost 10% of the purchase price, and if you never use it, you can get a full refund within a month (check that) of the expiry date. So you can't possible lose.

 

[bigboss]

Thanks for that,richer sounds is cheaper to and only £50 more than want the VT30 was going for,although you dont get the 5 year warranty or the glasses thrown in with this one. I wasnt to worried about the 3D or it being a smart tv but im guessing that all the current tvs are so i may as well start to embrace them!

Get the Richer Sounds 5 year warranty though, cost 10% of the purchase price, and if you never use it, you can get a full refund within a month (check that) of the expiry date. So you can't possible lose.

Do you mean you get a full refund of the price you paid for extended warranty after 5 years, if you don't use it?

It doesn't say that here:

http://www.richersounds.com/information/warranties

 

[michael hoy]

Thanks for that,richer sounds is cheaper to and only £50 more than want the VT30 was going for,although you dont get the 5 year warranty or the glasses thrown in with this one. I wasnt to worried about the 3D or it being a smart tv but im guessing that all the current tvs are so i may as well start to embrace them!

Get the Richer Sounds 5 year warranty though, cost 10% of the purchase price, and if you never use it, you can get a full refund within a month (check that) of the expiry date. So you can't possible lose.

Do you mean you get a full refund of the price you paid for extended warranty after 5 years, if you don't use it?

It doesn't say that here:

http://www.richersounds.com/information/warranties

BB

I believe you get the price you paid for the warranty back, a friend of mine has just claimed his back on a freeview recorder.

 

[bigboss]

Hmmm....now that's very interesting!! :?

 

[laserman16]

I thought it applied to most things except TVs.

Then again I may be wrong.

 

[bigboss]

Copy pasting this from AV Forum's website in reply to a post (dated 11/1/11):

Hi all,

I saw the comments on this thread and wanted to this opportunity to clarify.

We offer two types of extended warranties depending on which product you are buying.

Our 5 year Supercare warranty, available on most product categories excluding TV, is a fully refundable if not used (ie free!) guarantee, with many additional benefits such as a free loan unit and routine servicing!

We also offer a fantastic value 5 Year TV Guarantee on TV’s only. This warranty is not refundable at the end of the 5 years, although it does give you a full “at home” service saving you from having to return your TV to the store.

In addition, both guarantees can be cancelled at any point within the 5 years where you will receive a pro-rata refund for the unused portion.

The full terms and conditions can be found on our website via the link below.

www.richersounds.com/information/warranties

In the meantime, I hope this clarifies our position although if I can be of any further help then please contact me directly.

Many thanks,

John Clayton
Operations Director
Richer Sounds

 

[Son_of_SJ]

What makes you believe it is better than the VT30.

If you look at the Trusted Reviews website, the review of the 65" ST50 plasma says

"Immaculate black levels
The depth and purity of the black level performance from the P65ST50 feels pretty much in line with if not slightly better than the black level performance of last year’s flagship VT30 Panasonic plasmas. Plus it beats the black level efforts of any LED TV into a cocked hat and even, yes, its blacks appear to get deeper than that of Pioneer’s final released KURO generation."

(But do take time to read the whole review, and also those of the smaller sizes in the ST50 range.) Similar endorsements can also be found in the AV Forums website and reviews, and on the hdtvtest website. Three different sources say that this year's Panasonic ST50 series is at least as good as last year's flagship VT30 series. BUT, this year's Panasonic plasmas don't have a 15-pin VGA input for connecting to an older computer, so if your PC is as old as mine and you want the computer input, you'll have to budget for an extra £55 at Maplin for a VGA to HDMI converter.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

What makes you believe it is better than the VT30.

Also today I came across the Cnet review of the Panasonic TX-P42ST50B, you can see it in full here http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/tvs/panasonic-tx-p42st50b-review-50007490/, but the conclusion began with:

"There's little to fault with the TX-P42ST50B's picture quality. Its black levels are among the best I've seen on plasma TVs -- certainly comparable to last year's very pricey VT30 -- yet it also produces brighter images and punchier colours."

.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

There's a brilliant clip on YouTube of the 50ST50 here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIM1VRLEhLo&feature=related

 

[michael hoy]

Copy pasting this from AV Forum's website in reply to a post (dated 11/1/11):

Hi all,

I saw the comments on this thread and wanted to this opportunity to clarify.

We offer two types of extended warranties depending on which product you are buying.

Our 5 year Supercare warranty, available on most product categories excluding TV, is a fully refundable if not used (ie free!) guarantee, with many additional benefits such as a free loan unit and routine servicing!

We also offer a fantastic value 5 Year TV Guarantee on TV’s only. This warranty is not refundable at the end of the 5 years, although it does give you a full “at home” service saving you from having to return your TV to the store.

In addition, both guarantees can be cancelled at any point within the 5 years where you will receive a pro-rata refund for the unused portion.

The full terms and conditions can be found on our website via the link below.

www.richersounds.com/information/warranties

In the meantime, I hope this clarifies our position although if I can be of any further help then please contact me directly.

Many thanks,

John Clayton
Operations Director
Richer Sounds

Thanks for the update BB, still a good warranty though.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I stand corrected.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

I realize this is a relatively old thread, but would like to point out that some of the Panasonic Centres offer the best deals around .

My TX-P42ST50 came with the DMP-BDT320 Blu Ray Player, 3 free Blu movies, and the factory 5 year warranty for £899 from Panasonic Centre North in July.

Pretty much unbeatable value I thought.

Cheers,

Jack

p.s. Just to clear up any doubts that may arise, I don't work for the Panasonic centre, or Panasonic in any way, shape or form.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Hello all,

I realize this is a relatively old thread, but would like to point out that some of the Panasonic Centres offer the best deals around .

My TX-P42ST50 came with the DMP-BDT320 Blu Ray Player, 3 free Blu movies, and the factory 5 year warranty for £899 from Panasonic Centre North in July.

Pretty much unbeatable value I thought.

Cheers,

Jack

p.s. Just to clear up any doubts that may arise, I don't work for the Panasonic centre, or Panasonic in any way, shape or form.

I know, The Sweeney isn't it?

 

[strapped for cash]

I know, The Sweeney isn't it?

You're showing your age there, though as a child of the '70s I'm not too far behind...