strapped for cash said:
I understand your concerns, Ben.
Would 51" not be a large enough step up in terms of size? The F8500 might be a step up in other regards, too. If the picture is that good, you might not miss those extra four inches. The 51" F8500 would still be 23cm larger than your current TV (diagonally speaking, of course).
That said, if Panasonic can sort their screen uniformity problems out, the ST60 might be excellent value, too.
We're at that time of year when we start speculating about new products and scouring the internet for scraps of information. I read a Polish (Google translated) ST60 review last night, which was very positive, if a bit heavy on photos and light on prose.
Hi strapped.
I imagine the picture would / will be a step up from what I have. After all, I'm still operating in the steam age of 'HD ready', albeit with an 8th gen kuro. Having said that, when I saw the gt50 and vt50 in John Lewis I thought they were no better than what I have, but of course there are signal and settings issues which mean I would probably get a superior picture at home.
However, any improvement in quality is unlikely to make up for not getting a bigger screen, if I'm honest with myself. No doubt, for a period I would be delighted with the increase. But I know that after time I would regret having spent a large amount of money and still feel that I was on an intermediate step to the size I wanted. As well as seeing larger screens in places like JL I recently helped a friend upgrade various bits of AV kit, and he went with a 55st50. Whilst it was a little large for the corner it was in, the screen acreage itself was something I wouldn't in the long term want to have less than. As you'll see from my setup pics, I have plenty of room for a 55" on my stand / cabinet, and I sit a fair distance away, which would make at least 55" perfectly realistic.
So if Samsung had released a 55" TV which matched panasonic's finest and was available at some point in its lifespan for £1500-£1750 then that would have been deeply attractive. That isn't going to happen though. That price is also almost certainly unachievable with the zt and vt ranges, so I'd be left with the st. Given what's happened to this year's panasonics, I'm not terribly interested in reviews, save to check whether the potential is high. Clearly the real issues will only come to light a few months into their distribution cycle. I suspect I'd be a bit like you in your reaction to problems with a TV, and I've got too much on to piss about with changing TVs repeatedly, no matter how good the retailer's customer service.
The alternative is a PJ. I think my heart may be more in that than a new tv anyway, as my existing tv would be great for everyday duties, with the pj used for DVD and blu ray. I also feel a decent pj and screen would match my fairly premium audio setup, and have the large 'field of vision' wow factor. But the reality is I can't afford the sort of PJ setup j would like at the moment, nor do I know if / when I will be able to. So for now, I'll follow the travails of others, safe in the knowledge that whilst I don't have the size of TV I'd ideally like I at least have one I've paid for, that I'm very pleased with and that I know is reliable.
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