Panasonic TH42PZ80/85 cooling fans

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I am planning to buy a 42" TV in the near future and had a look at the new Panasonic plasmas today (PX80, PZ80 and PZ85).

I was all set to buy the PZ80 until I walked around behind and saw 4 cooling fans running at the back of the set!

The PZ85 appears to have 5 and the PX80 appears to have none at all.

As someone who uses a PC with 'silent' fans, my experience is that cooling fans are pretty quiet for the first few months and then become progressively louder and louder until they are unbearable after a year or so.

Does anyone have any info about noise ratings from the current / previous Panasonic plasmas and more specifically details about whether they get much noisier with time? I have 2 young children and so will be doing a fair bit of low volume TV watching after they go to bed. My viewing distance will be between 5 and 10 feet.

Cheers,

James

 

[SpiceWeasel]

Hi there, I have the 42" PZ85 and the fans are virtually silent. Unless your stand right next to the tv you won't hear a thing. Also the tv will run alot cooler after the 1st 50-100 hours of use, as the phosphurs in the screen are at their hottest/brightest. After that the tv runs alot cooler so the fans run even slower and quieter.

Regarding PC fans becoming noisey, well I've had my new pc for over 1.5 years and the fans are as quiet as when it was brand new. I think it all depends on the quality of the fan. I do have a decent case with dust filters on the air intakes so that deffinately helps to keep the dust out. My old case had no dust filters and the gfx card died after the fan got clogged up with dust. I used to hoover it out pretty regulary as well.

Im wondering if you wouldn't be better off with a smaller screen size. On my 42" you need a min viewing distance of 7 ft to get a decent quality picture with SD content. Get closer than that and you really start to notice a drop in picture quality. You might be better off with a 37", although everyones tastes are different. So if you can try and have a look at 37-42" in a local store at your viewing distance, and make sure to check the SD quality as well. Football is a good test for motion handiling.

You could get a 37" PX80 plasma for around £570 ish, if you decide on a smaller size. That would leave you a big chunk of change for some other goodies.

HD and upscaled dvd's through the PS3 look stunning. No matter how close you get to the screen.

Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your help. I'll take a look at the 37-40" range tomorrow. It just seems that the 37" range are a lot smaller for not a lot less money. I guess the best thing is to see them in person.

James

 

[SpiceWeasel]

You might be fine with a 42", but if you can have a look at your viewing distance and check out the sd quality as well.