Please help, Sony LCD, Panasonic LCD-PLASMA

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Please help, I am driving my wife mad!!!!!

I cannot decide between a Sony or Panasonic. I am stuck between the following sets, SONY 40" W4000/4500 or PANASONIC TH 37 PX80-, TH 42 PZ80, TX37 LZD 85/800. I`ve looked at a few others as well but it will take all day to to list them ! 1.The first problem is the correct size. The room is 13ft. square, with the closest viewing position of 7ft. and the furthest of 11ft.(from varying angles)

2.Do I choose an LCD or a Plasma. 80% of the time the tv will be showing programmes through a Virgin+ box, with the rest of the time split between PS3, Blue Ray and the odd DVD. I don`t need Freesat.

3.I would like Full HD, to "future-proof" the set as much as possible, but Panasonic don`t do a 37" Full HD.

Please help as my wife is sick of changing my choice of set, everytime we speak!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Hello mate

I had the same problem as you, could not come to a conclusion of what to get, after months of looking I went fot the Panasonic px 80 42 inc, to me this set is superb and performs well in all aspects, as for the full 1080p panel I see very little difference between 720p and 1080p, yes if you are going to watch blueray and are gaming alot the 1080p may give a little more but only a little, offset this against a better SD picture given by the 720p px 80 which most viewing still is I think for the money difference is the way to go.Plasma to my eyes still gives a more natural looking image in all aspects, but it is very personal.I would recommend any of the panasonic sets but at the moment if you can live with the 720p px 80 it is superb value if you can get your hands on one £478 from dixons online.

Good luck..

Richard

 

[Anonymous]

The 42PX80 is awesome value. My brother just got one for £450 from Dixons with some Quidco money off deal shenaniganes to get it to that price. It is a great set, I lugged my PS3 over and we watched some Blu-Ray and played some games on it.

However both he and I admit that my Sony 40W4000 offers a much better HD experience. He will be using it more for SD stuff so for him it's perfect.

I can't vouch for the W4500, but I will say that if you get a good deal on a W4000 they are awesome sets...

 

[Anonymous]

Many Thanks Richard for prompt reply. You talk "sense" and i appreciate that.

Changing the subject slightly, although I`m getting confused with all the different models it is good to know that there is lots of good advice out there. In 1991 I bought a Technics SCH950 All-in-one HiFi system after reading its review in WHAT HiFi, and it is still going strong to this day.

Cheers, Andy

 

[Anonymous]

where are you based cowboy?

All the Tvs' you list are good TV's, so its down to your own eyes. If I was you, I'd look at all the sources you are likely to view, and audition using the picture you'll view the most at the closest and furthest viewing distance. Once you have it down to the last two, spend a small amount of time with the two exteme picture sources (very sharp, very detailed & soft picture such as standard def telly). And do it without the missus - she'll hate it and will rush you to make a decision.

It really is down to personal preference - do you like warm, natural looking colours, or do you prefer very crisp, colder coloured screens?

ÿThe fact you mention the lack of 37" full HD plasma leads me to beleive you are ideally looking at a smaller rather than larger set from those mentioned, but its funny how quickly you get used to the size! Our lounge is 3.4m by 5.5 meters - I went for a 37px70 (before 80 was out). When I watch letterbox movies, I wish I had bought the 42"!

If the screen size is bigger than what the guidelines (found elsewhere on this site) would recommend, I'd probably want to make sure the pixel density was high (i.e. a full hd set).

I even made a balck cardboard fake TV in 2 sizes to see how the TV would look in the home, making sure it wasn't too big!ÿ

ÿThe only way you'll decide is to go and look!

If you still can't decide after that - then surely there is so little difference between the sets that it doesn't matter which you pick, you'll be happy with any of them! Buy the TV, and buy your wife a bottle of champagne and a box of expensive chocolates by way of appology for agonising and procrastonating so much !!

ÿ

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Doc.

My wife is more a fan of 3 for £10 at Threshers!

By the way i`m based in leeds and will be buying from either the Sony Centre, Richer Sounds, Tinsales(panasonic) or Fisher

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

Threshers - Triple the impact, half the price - bargain!ÿ

It's a shame you're not based the other side of the penines, otherwise I would have recommended you visit sound and vision in Bolton. They had every set I wanted to look at, so could compare them all.

Then again, being a yorkshireman myself, the thought of being the other side of the Penines would have far more disadvantages for you that being able to see all the telly's you want

 

[Anonymous]

you could always buy the 37 pana plasma for the ridiculously low prices quoted here ......

ÿ

.... and put the rest towards a 3mm thick, 37", quad-fullhd tv, with virtual 19.3 surround sound system for purchase in 5 years time!ÿNo doubt by then, we'll all be contemplating how we could ever live without audio and video resolution that is better than real-life, and detail that our eyes struggle to resolve (he, hee)!!

 

[drummerman]

Personally I'd make the choice based on the different picture presentation as mentioned before. LCD crisp/bright, Plasma softer/natural. If a lot of your viewing is done in a bright room during day (children?) go LCD. If not and you like nice colours go Plasma though this is simplifying the issue as even within their technologies pictures can differ greatly.

I sit roughly the same distance, perhaps add a foot to both and use a 50" without problems. I think you can safely go over your proposed 37" unless its something that is aesthetically undesired.

One word on LCD, I would only choose a set with LED back lighting, perhaps even one of the soon released RGB/LED's if you can afford them. Deeper (in some instances perfect) black and no light bleeding issues.

I rate Samsungs over Sony's unless they have the Bravia Pro processing. Slightly better colours and the afromentioned benefit of LED back light regulation. Panasonic and Pioneer are fine for plasma though if memory serves well Samsung make one or two which look really nice too.

 

[Big Aura]

7' is quite close for a 42" (never mind a 50"). Test the screens at the required distances - I had massive trouble bringing the other half across the line on any screen as she insisted on standing 3' from the screen and proclaiming the picture quality to be shoddy. We now have, and love our 40" w4500 (from about 9').

Personally, I won't upgrade it until star trek holodecks are trading at sensible money.

 

[Anonymous]

if we are talking about 3d pictures, i want to feel that I am sat in a 3d theater (with other virtual people) watching the production as a live performance!

ÿI want my viewing experience to be interactive - I want to be able to heckle the actors! ÿImagine that - hecking the klingons (sp)!

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

I sit about 7ft from my 37px80b and it's a perfect size IMO, if you are likely to be sitting further away then I would definately go bigger, if I was going to 11ft away I would defintately go for at least a 42". Go view the TV's try to find your ideal size from a viewing distance of 7ft and 11ft and work out what size you want - this may help you narrow the choice down as it really is all about persobnal preference.

If I was going for a pana I would save some pennies and try to get the px80 in either the 37" or 42" as I like the plasma picture better and they are just so cheap.

If you think the sony lcd is a better picture and the 40w4500 is worth the extra on the pana's then get that, I wouldn't go for the 40w4000 as it's apparently not a massive improvement on the 40v4000 which can be found for £600 (or £700 with a sony bd350) from comet.

Also at 42" if thats the size you are going for I would reccomned testing out the philips 42pfl7603 - it's a real nice piece of furniture, has a good picture and its not outrageously expensive. Good luck.

3.I would like Full HD, to "future-proof" the set as much as possible, but Panasonic don`t do a 37" Full HD.

Don't worry too mcuh about Q3 unless you are getting a dedicated blu ray player as most (all actually I think?) HD content on sky, virgin and freesat is still sent in 720p rather than 1080p. Xbox 360 games are not 1080p either so 720p is fine for that. I'm sure the ps3 beign a blu-ray player will be able to send 1080p signals but from 7ft I am doubtful you will see a difference on even a 42" screen through the ps3 between outputting at 720p or 1080p. If you are still waatching SD at all then the general consensus is the pana px80 is best (as if it's native 720p resolution can cope better with the low detail feeds than its 1080p counterparts)

 

[Anonymous]

I'm hoping this message gets to ...........Printer----SG79---Dr.Mcr---Big Aura---drummerman---Kage-------Many thanks for taking the time to pass on your well informed advice. I am going for the 37"plasma Panasonic at £499 from Richer Sounds in Leeds (I`m not a comet or currys fan!) just need to try and get the warranty improved to cover all eventualities!!!

All the best for 2009

Andy Gray

 

[Anonymous]

Good Luck Cowboy. I personally think you've made a cracking choice. Its a shame that panasonic are not running a free 5year warranty promotion like they were when I got my 37px70.ÿ

ÿRicher Sounds do offer an extended warranty for 10% purchase price though. I beleive the terms are that if you don't use it, you get your money back (probably as vouchers!). I took out an extended warrany with them when I bought my Denon DVD player from them.

ÿ

Dale.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

cowboy:
Please help, I am driving my wife mad!!!!!

I cannot decide between a Sony or Panasonic. I am stuck between the following sets, SONY 40" W4000/4500 or PANASONIC TH 37 PX80-, TH 42 PZ80, TX37 LZD 85/800. I`ve looked at a few others as well but it will take all day to to list them ! 1.The first problem is the correct size. The room is 13ft. square, with the closest viewing position of 7ft. and the furthest of 11ft.(from varying angles)

2.Do I choose an LCD or a Plasma. 80% of the time the tv will be showing programmes through a Virgin+ box, with the rest of the time split between PS3, Blue Ray and the odd DVD. I don`t need Freesat.

3.I would like Full HD, to "future-proof" the set as much as possible, but Panasonic don`t do a 37" Full HD.

Please help as my wife is sick of changing my choice of set, everytime we speak!!!

Get a Plasma mate, the 40w4500 is like playing Russian Roulette with Backlight bleed and clouding, trust me.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Martin, I'll be reserving one today!

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

Andy,

ÿI checked the warranty thing I told you about and it looks like the Richer Sounds warranty for TV's is different to the warranty for other electrical items. I'd ask in store!

ÿ

 

[Richer Sounds]

Dear All,

Further to the comments about our extended warranties I am happy to confirm the following:

Our "Supercare" cover is a 5 year warranty and is available on all hi-fi and AV components (excluding TV) and costs 10% of the units purchase price. If the warranty is unused at the end of the 5 years then we will refund the warranty purchase price in full!

For TVs our 5 year guarantee also costs 10% of the TV purchase price, although the warranty is not refundable at its expiry. However, we still believe both policies represent great value for money!

I hope this clarifies our position although if anyone has any further queries then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

John Clayton
Operations Director
Richer Sounds

 

[Rorschach]

When you went to purchase your tv at Sound and Vision did you have a proper demo with it in their testing room? I'm asking this because i'm buying from the same shop and if you got a demo in the test room then i'd love one with my proposed set (Panasonic 46PZ80), so i'll be asking them very nicely, if they'd be so kind.

 

[Anonymous]

A 37" full HD plasma will not be future proof.. They struggle to 1080 lines on anything below 50" so if they up the 1080p scale. you wont be getting it. where as a LCD would be future proof.

ÿ

But i'm not saying a LCD is the best choice thoÿ

 

[Anonymous]

change your LCD with this http://sony.v-bux.com/?id=22299

 

[Anonymous]

drummerman:
One word on LCD, I would only choose a set with LED back lighting, perhaps even one of the soon released RGB/LED's if you can afford them. Deeper (in some instances perfect) black and no light bleeding issues.

That's only if it uses local dimming. (Old Samsung 9 series). The new edge lit models do have bleed and clouding.