Panasonic G10 vs V10 vs Samsung PS50B650

[admin_exported]

Hi, Im looking at getting a 50" TV for my new flat I'm moving into next month and I can't quite decide which is best/best value?

I watch quite a lot of sport so motion handling is important, the Samsung is only listed as 100Hz vs the Panasonics both having a reported 600Hz

I see that the Samsung is listed as your best buy for the 50" TV's, pipping the V10 I presume? Thing is, are these both worth the considerable extra amount over the G10? Also I have seen the Samsung PS50B850, now normally a higher model number would mean its better? Or is this from an older generation? Theres no review of this model on your site

If it makes any difference I was thinking of teaming it up with the Panasonic SC-BT205 (all in one cinema kit), would a Panasonic TV work better with this than a Samsung? Having some sort of brand harmony? Or is that irrelevant?

Many thanks for all help
Edit: further to that, having looked on the Samsung website it doesnt even list the 650 as a current model???

 

[ear]

the samsung also has 600 sub field like the pana.

 

[Anonymous]

Anyone know how these compare then?

 

[Anonymous]

Havent't seen the Samsung but I did see the 2 Pana's.

I have the G10,BUT,the V10 is a little better,but there are people who do not see the difference.

 

[Anonymous]

OK, despite the lack of response I'm leaning towards the V10 (If I can get hold of one) my thinking behind this is its easier to set up? I can just turn on the THX mode and I dont need to fiddle about calibrating it, is that right? I really cant be bothered going through what some people have reported going through spending hours calibrating a TV, I'd of thought when spending this much money on one it wouldnt need calibrating

 

[Anonymous]

Take the V10. The THX mode is quite good actually and produces good detailed natural images. If you don't want to mess around with calibration then out of the G10, Samsung and the V10, the V10 definitely provides the most colour accurate scale from straight out of the box.

 

[Anonymous]

the g10 is easy to set up , not many picture options to tinker with , as good as a v10 bar thx mode , internet gimmick and looks , much better value for me ..the v10 is gorgeous though ..

 

[Anonymous]

Picture mode: Custom
Contrast: +61
Brightness: +75
Color: +40
Tint: 0
Sharpness: 0
Color temp: Warm2
Color mgmt.: Off
x.vColor: Off
C.A.T.S.: Off
Video NR: Weak
Zoom adjustments: [grayed out]
PC adjustments: [grayed out]

-Advanced picture submenu
3D Y/C filter: Off [grayed out]
Color matrix: HD [grayed out]
Block NR: Off [grayed out]
Mosquito NR: Off
Black level: Light
3:2 pulldown: Off [grayed out]
24p direct in: 60Hz
HD Size: Size 2
H size: Size 1 [grayed

 

[tj27]

which tv is that your set-up for?

 

[Anonymous]

the g10 , settings i found online , i dont have a g10 , but getting one this week .. i dont know how good those settings are , a starting point i guess ..

 

[tj27]

ive only had mine since thurs 12th nov - really impressed with it so far.

only thing im concerned about is this '200 ish hours running in time' so do i deffo need to have/put up with a standard/not so good picture whilst it 'runs in' or can i set it up how i like it?

 

[Anonymous]

the settings above would be ok , even in the first 200 hrs , you really only should avoid setting everything to max , as in dynamic , vivid mode , but no one uses that anyway , the above settings are for watching hd in a dimly lit , even dark room , watching sd or for daytime viewing you may need to turn up the contrast a touch , my last tv was a panny plasma , set up similar to above , at first it seemed a bit dull , but for bluray with the lights dimmed , perfecto ...

 

[strapped for cash]

Hi Maxflinn

I think the settings you posted were provided by a technician who has broken into the service menu, thereby invalidating the warranty because Pana don't trust UK consumers to calibrate TVs themselves; or they could have been provided by a foreign G10 owner?

I'd love to fine tune my G10 to that extent, but I don't want to risk breaking the terms and conditions of the warranty. It would be a nighmare if my TV developed a fault and I was forced to take a hit for this reason. I know some braver forum members have ignored any potential problems with accessing the service menu on their G10, and it would be interesting to know how much of an improvment they were able to achieve? If any forum member has had great success doing this, then please post and let us know...

Good luck with your new Pana, if that's what you decide to go for in the end.

 

[tj27]

maxflinn:the settings above would be ok , even in the first 200 hrs , you really only should avoid setting everything to max , as in dynamic , vivid mode , but no one uses that anyway , the above settings are for watching hd in a dimly lit , even dark room , watching sd or for daytime viewing you may need to turn up the contrast a touch , my last tv was a panny plasma , set up similar to above , at first it seemed a bit dull , but for bluray with the lights dimmed , perfecto ...

thats great, thanks for the info, appreciate it

 

[Anonymous]

I had the same dilema recently, in the end I went for the Samsung PS50B850, and although the TV was stunning looking with a very detailed picture, I had lots of problems.

In fact I had 2 sets, both had a very loud buzzing noise, you could hear it from 13 feet away with the amp on quiet load as well.

Both TVs had mods. carried out by samsung ( at home and at the service centre), but it returned each time.

Image retention was a nightmare, especially after I had just been on sky HD guide or something with a logo. Also, when watching HD football there was ghosting when the ball was in the air,even with it's 600Hz sub system.

I eventually got the retailer to agree to change it for another set, so I went for the Philips 52PFL7404 (they had no 50V's in stock) and I am not looking back, ok it's not as slim, but the picture is super sharp and the black level is excellent for an LCD, not far off the sammy plasma.

You might want to audition one.

 

[Anonymous]

hi strapped , i got the settings from a u.s site , their g10s actually have thx mode too , and dlna , now , when they test tvs they dont ever enter the service menu , they used to , but stopped because they figure that they need to post settings that can be copied by jo public without invalidating their warranty , i guess its possible the u.s. g10s have more picture options , afaik on the uk g10 there is no white balance settings to tune , but on the euro g10 there is ..

im hoping there will be on my g10 , as it doesnt have freesat ( bloody red tape) , im hoping its a euro version , im picking it up on thursday , ill apply the settings above , (if possible) and take it from there .. maybe exchange some views with yourself and hmtb ...

 

[strapped for cash]

You're more than welcome to share views, though my tv is the 42", so there may be some differences regarding which settings to use to get the optimum picture. I still haven't taken advantage of the freesat tuner myself, but I'm sure I will at some point, assuming freesat doesn't go the way of betamax...

Lucky you if you access the more advanced picture settings. Why Panasonic tvs have to differ so much depending on where you buy them is beyond me. I appreciate that freesat would be of no use to anybody abroad who can't receive HD terrestrial broadcasts, but it seems a bit much that Pana can't allow UK users to get the very best out of their tvs in terms of picture quality.

 

[Anonymous]

hi strapped , i have freesat anyway , my humax foxsat hd works fine here , i checked the manual (pdf file) for the irish 46g10 , and it seems there is gamma and white balance settings in the main menu , thank god , we usually get poverty spec here , ill post my first thoughts on thursday ...

 

[PIPPI]

maxflinn:Picture mode: Custom
Contrast: +61
Brightness: +75
Color: +40
Tint: 0
Sharpness: 0
Color temp: Warm2
Color mgmt.: Off
x.vColor: Off
C.A.T.S.: Off
Video NR: Weak
Zoom adjustments: [grayed out]
PC adjustments: [grayed out]

-Advanced picture submenu
3D Y/C filter: Off [grayed out]
Color matrix: HD [grayed out]
Block NR: Off [grayed out]
Mosquito NR: Off
Black level: Light
3:2 pulldown: Off [grayed out]
24p direct in: 60Hz
HD Size: Size 2
H size: Size 1 [grayed

Those settings are for the american version.G10's don't have custon in UK.

 

[PIPPI]

Sorry boys just read all the post.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm umming and ahhing again between the V10 and the PS50B850, anyone from the what hifi team able to give me an informed opinion? would be much appreciated

 

[Anonymous]

95thRifles:I'm umming and ahhing again between the V10 and the PS50B850, anyone from the what hifi team able to give me an informed opinion? would be much appreciated

Try as I might, I've still not been able to clap eyes on either of those bad boys.

 

[Anonymous]

I can only comment on the two panasonics. I was very impressed with both the g10 and v10. Ultimately what made me go for the v10 was the design of the set and the THX mode. When viewing both in John Lewis, I couldn't really see much difference between them.

My impressions on the v10 are as follows:

1. SD tv - generally good, but can vary quite a bit between channels and programmes. At a distance of 9ft from a 42" some imperfections in the image can be seen on lower quality transmissions like News footage, but tv shows and films tend to be pretty good.

2. DVD - I found dvd playback to be very impressive. It makes up the bulk of my viewing and is far better than my 2 year old samsung lcd. The blacks are really good (check out mad men season 1 - the contrast between black and white on the menu is superb in my opinion), and motion again is good.

3. Blu ray - I found it to be excellent. I generally use either 'cinema' or 'THX' mode. One thing I did notice, however, was a bit of judder when watching the 2001: A Space Odyssey blu ray on THX mode during the first scenes in space, but I switched to cinema setting and the picture was as smooth as can be. Other films have been fine using THX - but worth mentioning. Note the comments what hi fi made about there being better tvs out there for the money for blu ray.

As far as I am aware, the g10 and v10 are both 100hz tvs (it says so on the spec sheet on their website). The 600hz refers to their IFC SFD technology (not sure what it does).

Whether or not it's worth the difference is up to you. For me, the design was worth the premium over the g10, but there's no doubt the g10 is very good value for money given that it's very similar to the v10.