Panasonic 50GT60 gets best buy award

[bigboss]

2013 plasma television reviews have started coming in. Panasonic's GT60 shows promise:

http://www.avforums.com/reviews/Panasonic-TX-P50GT60B-P42GT60B-3D-Plasma-Television-Review_505/Review.html

 

[abacus]

Only 4 stars for the TX-L50ET60B LCD in the latest WHF magazine

Looks like Plasma 1, LCD 0

Bill

 

[mr malarky]

Does look good, though shame its limited to a maximum of 50" so will be interesting to see reviews of the VT65. The existence of that ZT65 is going to create a real dilemma though - would you want to pay the money for a VT65 only to know in the back of your mind it was 'second-best' every time you watched it??

 

[laserman16]

Lets hope its free from the problems that some forum members have reported with their GT50s.

 

[MajorFubar]

Does look good, though shame its limited to a maximum of 50" so will be interesting to see reviews of the VT65. The existence of that ZT65 is going to create a real dilemma though - would you want to pay the money for a VT65 only to know in the back of your mind it was 'second-best' every time you watched it??

Doesn't matter much if you personally are happy with it.

 

[mr malarky]

Guess so, and if it does sell for £4k its creeping in to what's likely to be OLED territory within a year or two. Just know what I'm like, and can imagine buying a VT only to sit there quietly wishing I'd gone the extra mile (though am getting married in November, so the whole subject could be irrelevant unless I want to get divorced very soon after!).

 

[Pindi]

If Panasonic made this in larger screen sizes I would've snapped one up right away! But, I'll just have to wait for the ST60 and VT60 reviews now...

 

[Pindi]

Here's another review...

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/panasonic-tx-p50gt60-201304052795.htm

They've given it 'Reference Status'.

 

[mr malarky]

Pretty impressive review!

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Blimey, two reviews!

Looking forward to seeing it.

 

[StanleyAV]

What is it with people and reviews? :? The reviewers are mostly basing their final result on
the TV post calibration.

THIS is not what the majority of people will EVER see on their TVs without paying more for a
professional to calibrate the TV for each source (and preferably one for day, and one for night).

( Also to be bourne in mind, is this is based usually on one reviewer's visual experience of the
product. WE do not all see the same thing when viewing the natural world and technology
that tries to emulate a similar visual experience. Some viewers may prefer LCD/LED over plasma,
and even then we all see and experience colours and brightness differently. )

THEN we have a panel lottery with some owners getting good panels, some getting poor ones :
this is a big headache if you have to repeat this process!! :shame:

YEAR on year since 2009 (to 2012), Panasonic has had problems with its Plasma TVs.
Its customer service has also been found wanting over this period. It is UNACCEPTABLE
to keep passing off faults as "Within Specification" such that their warranty for
repair/replacement rarely gets honoured.

My own bitter experience with a Panasonic Viera Z1 TV is an example case. It has inherent
design faults causing brightness fluctuation in darker or low contrast scenes. I could not
get a satisfactory resolution from Panasonic UK. The current WhatHifi editor has brought
this to their attention. :shifty:

So let's keep it real here, base your opinions on actual home demonstrations - you are paying
a lot of money for your TVs and should expect the same level of service that other AV or Hifi
products would receive.

YOU should have high expectations and not have to put up with
issues that don't reflect the frequent hyperbole that we are repeatedly seeing whenever
Panasonic products get reviewed. YOU are the customer, NOT the reviewer and
you should expect to be satisified. :wave:

 

[Andy Clough]

We have an exclusive review of the Panasonic VT65 plasma in the June issue of the magazine, on sale May 3rd.

 

[bigboss]

What is it with people and reviews? :? The reviewers are mostly basing their final result on
the TV post calibration.

THIS is not what the majority of people will EVER see on their TVs without paying more for a
professional to calibrate the TV for each source (and preferably one for day, and one for night).

( Also to be bourne in mind, is this is based usually on one reviewer's visual experience of the
product. WE do not all see the same thing when viewing the natural world and technology
that tries to emulate a similar visual experience. Some viewers may prefer LCD/LED over plasma,
and even then we all see and experience colours and brightness differently. )

THEN we have a panel lottery with some owners getting good panels, some getting poor ones :
this is a big headache if you have to repeat this process!! :shame:

YEAR on year since 2009 (to 2012), Panasonic has had problems with its Plasma TVs.
Its customer service has also been found wanting over this period. It is UNACCEPTABLE
to keep passing off faults as "Within Specification" such that their warranty for
repair/replacement rarely gets honoured.

My own bitter experience with a Panasonic Viera Z1 TV is an example case. It has inherent
design faults causing brightness fluctuation in darker or low contrast scenes. I could not
get a satisfactory resolution from Panasonic UK. The current WhatHifi editor has brought
this to their attention. :shifty:

So let's keep it real here, base your opinions on actual home demonstrations - you are paying
a lot of money for your TVs and should expect the same level of service that other AV or Hifi
products would receive.

YOU should have high expectations and not have to put up with
issues that don't reflect the frequent hyperbole that we are repeatedly seeing whenever
Panasonic products get reviewed. YOU are the customer, NOT the reviewer and
you should expect to be satisified. :wave:

So you're saying all reviews are rubbish, & we should never read them! :O

 

[bigboss]

We have an exclusive review of the Panasonic VT65 plasma in the June issue of the magazine, on sale May 3rd.

:cheers:

 

[pioneer7]

I dont think Stanleyav was saying reviews are rubbish and should not read them, but he does have a point all reviews should be a guide, I read reviews on products that I may be interested in, but will always try to dem, thats the golden rule especailly spending loads of money on a Tv, I think he is trying to explain that most reviews the good ones anyway, are calibrated and tested to the limit which is good, this gives a good indication what can be acheived with the Tv if some one wants to get it calibrated, but most can not afford this nor want to...It may be the Op has a beef with Pana on his personal experience with them, so feels agreaved some way. But I dont think he was saying reviews are rubbish big boss, trouble is some times you can be on a mission and the text you wright comes across not as should..[maybe] However he should know that most good reviews state that out of the box setting are pretty good if not excellent, so its not all about calibration, but it is good to know what can be done to fine tune a Tv.

And I am not having a pop 8)

 

[bigboss]

This has been the advice here all along: always demo before purchase. The thread is about discussing early reviews of the TV. Nobody has given any opinion on the TV in this thread yet, so I don't understand his comment of "let's keep it real here, base your opinions on actual home demonstrations". His opening sentence in bold letters rubbishes reviews in general, doesn't it? At no stage has he mentioned that reviews should act as a guide. I'm well verse with StanleyAV's style of posting, and his agenda is to dissuade people from buying the Panasonic. It is useful to know his experience with Panasonic, but that does not mean reviews are rubbish.

With regards to calibration, I do know that What Hi Fi does not calibrate TVs to reflect real world use by most customers. However, for those who want the very best and want to calibrate, there are reviews available to satisfy their needs. TPS in Manchester offers professional calibration for only £99 if you buy a TV from them.

 

[Andy Clough]

With regards to calibration, I do know that What Hi Fi does not calibrate TVs to reflect real world use by most customers.

Err, don't we? We frequently use the THX calibration found on some Blu-ray and DVD discs, and we certainly calibrate every set we test to get the most natural-looking picture we can, which is presumably what most 'real-world' users want. We certainly don't rely on the 'out-of-the-box' settings, which are usually far too bright and designed to impress in an overly-lit shop environment.

 

[mr malarky]

What is it with people and reviews? :? The reviewers are mostly basing their final result on
the TV post calibration.

THIS is not what the majority of people will EVER see on their TVs without paying more for a
professional to calibrate the TV for each source (and preferably one for day, and one for night).

( Also to be bourne in mind, is this is based usually on one reviewer's visual experience of the
product. WE do not all see the same thing when viewing the natural world and technology
that tries to emulate a similar visual experience. Some viewers may prefer LCD/LED over plasma,
and even then we all see and experience colours and brightness differently. )

THEN we have a panel lottery with some owners getting good panels, some getting poor ones :
this is a big headache if you have to repeat this process!! :shame:

YEAR on year since 2009 (to 2012), Panasonic has had problems with its Plasma TVs.
Its customer service has also been found wanting over this period. It is UNACCEPTABLE
to keep passing off faults as "Within Specification" such that their warranty for
repair/replacement rarely gets honoured.

My own bitter experience with a Panasonic Viera Z1 TV is an example case. It has inherent
design faults causing brightness fluctuation in darker or low contrast scenes. I could not
get a satisfactory resolution from Panasonic UK. The current WhatHifi editor has brought
this to their attention. :shifty:

So let's keep it real here, base your opinions on actual home demonstrations - you are paying
a lot of money for your TVs and should expect the same level of service that other AV or Hifi
products would receive.

YOU should have high expectations and not have to put up with
issues that don't reflect the frequent hyperbole that we are repeatedly seeing whenever
Panasonic products get reviewed. YOU are the customer, NOT the reviewer and
you should expect to be satisified. :wave:

Totally agree that when your spending that amount of money on something you need to demo it yourself, and not just rely on someone else's opinion (after all, everyone's opinion is by definition subjective). However, reviews are useful as a filter in terms of deciding which products you'd like to review; otherwise, with the plethora or models now on the market, by the time your demo'd them all you'd have forgotten what you thought of the first one you tried.

Also have a lot if sympathy with the frustrations about Panasonic customer service levels after having had a long battle with them a few years back about a brand new viera 50" plasma that started turning itself off at random after a week (eventually got a replacement delivered, but not without doing the full Victor Meldrew routine!). But let's be honest, there are plenty of us out there waiting for a viable replacement for our now ageing pioneer displays, and if something is coming along that could better them for picture quality there's bound to be a lot if interest in reading people's first impressions.

 

[bigboss]

With regards to calibration, I do know that What Hi Fi does not calibrate TVs to reflect real world use by most customers.

Err, don't we? We frequently use the THX calibration found on some Blu-ray and DVD discs, and we certainly calibrate every set we test to get the most natural-looking picture we can, which is presumably what most 'real-world' users want. We certainly don't rely on the 'out-of-the-box' settings, which are usually far too bright and designed to impress in an overly-lit shop environment.

Oh, maybe I misunderstood then. I thought one of the reviewers posted on here saying they don't calibrate TVs.

 

[bigboss]

With regards to calibration, I do know that What Hi Fi does not calibrate TVs to reflect real world use by most customers.

Err, don't we? We frequently use the THX calibration found on some Blu-ray and DVD discs, and we certainly calibrate every set we test to get the most natural-looking picture we can, which is presumably what most 'real-world' users want. We certainly don't rely on the 'out-of-the-box' settings, which are usually far too bright and designed to impress in an overly-lit shop environment.

Oh, maybe I misunderstood then. I thought one of the reviewers posted on here saying they don't calibrate TVs.

By "calibration" I meant calibrating using professional equipment (a signal generator, a spectrophotometer and a computer). I did not imply that What Hi Fi uses "out-of-the-box" settings. Of course, the settings will have to be changed to get the best picture quality. But the settings employed by What Hi Fi are the ones which the reader can do at home without spending too much money. I was talking about professional calibration you pay a lot of money for.

 

[TnA200]

Hands on with the Panasonic Viera ZT60 3D plasma TV | Digital Trends

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/hands-on-with-the-65-panasonic-zt60-3d-plasma-the-end-of-an-era/

The ZT60 showed up to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral with the best looking image this reviewer’s ever seen on a consumer-level 1080p HDTV. Take that Samsung. The long-standing “Is it blacker than Kuro” debate has finally been resolved. ...Pioneer Elite Kuro panel up against the ZT60....

So I guess since Pioneer retired its Kuro, Panasonic Plasma's are the ones to go for... My VT30 will have to last a few years before a Panasonic projector takes over duties in our house!

 

[Robert090273]

Hi,

First time posting here after lurking for many months. I was an owner of a Panasonic 50GT50 Last year and couldnt live with the many faults which are well documented on many forums. But credit to them this year had my 50GT60 for 2 days now and it has no issues what I can see at the moment which plagued the GT50 which i seen from day one. So go Demo you wont be dissapointed. :dance:

 

[rocketrazor]

Hi,

First time posting here after lurking for many months. I was an owner of a Panasonic 50GT50 Last year and couldnt live with the many faults which are well documented on many forums. But credit to them this year had my 50GT60 for 2 days now and it has no issues what I can see at the moment which plagued the GT50 which i seen from day one. So go Demo you wont be dissapointed. :dance:

welcome to the forum Robert, out of interest where did you get your gt60 from. I've been advised they are not available yet?

cheers

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Hi Robert and welcome!

i was also thinking (but had not been told) that the GT60's were not about yet but only base on John Lewis not stocking yet and a lack of user reviews, until yours of course!

Did you get the set from a large chain or smaller retailer?

 

[Robert090273]

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the welcome, got it from an independent retailer who we buy all our electrical appliances from. They only got a small amount 2 or 3 I think, I had reserved one from them a few weeks ago before they where launched. Extermly happy with this new model over the GT50

Thanks

Robert