Sony 46w4500 or panasonic 46pz81 or pz85

[bullitt]

Im looking change my pana th42px60 its been a good tv but looking a bit bulky and plus its not FULL HD so which of these tvs do you think is better, i thought i wouldnt go for a lcd but you gave the sony really good reviews plus i have a ps3 so this would link up nicely,any suggestions ?

 

[Anonymous]

dont risk a sony , thats my advice , they have shown no respect for the few people that have been landed with a dud 4500 , ie , clouding issues , recommending that the backlight should be turned down , saying the sets are fine , thats nonsence , and everybody knows it , go for any of the pannys and you wont be dissapointed , i have the th46py8b , the lowest spec full hd model , and its brilliant , or you could look at a samsung le46a786 , thats very impressive , thats my opinion anyway , but before you buy a sony , check out the problems some 4500s suffer from and sonys response ... not good ....

 

[bullitt]

I have read about this problem with the 4500 but reading the WHF reviews they haven't had this problem so who do you believe ? plus apparently it has to be calibrated properly so maybe people havn't done this as it should be!, if someone has a sony 46w4500 please clarify if this is correct.

Are you recommending the pz81 or 85 because ive not heard of the th46py8b
thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

hi bullit , im sure the 4500 is great when working correctly , ive seen them and they do look very good , but some of them do have clouding issues , do a google search ( clouding issues with sony kdl40w4500 ) and see for yourself , and maybe a proper calibration does help , but ive read many posts on forums like this , where people vent there frustraion with sony , who , on the whole say the clouding is not a problem , read those and make an informed choice , what hifi received sets for reviews with none of the clouding issues , and thats fair enough , buy lots of people didnt , and thats a gamble i wouldnt take ... regarding the panasonics , they are brilliant in my opinion , the one i have can be got for as little as £800 , a great bargain i think , but with the 46pz81 you get freesat and better contrast ratio 3 hdmi ports and better sound , intelligent frame creation ( which a lot of reveiwers say they prefer switched off ) ,, the pz85 doesnt have freesat but has even better sound again , and the other xtras the pz81 has too , anyway in my opinion the plasmas have a more lifelike picture , and is better with movies and sport , but thats a personal choice ... have a good look around and see what you like , hope this is some help ....

 

[Anonymous]

my set is called th46pz8b by the way .....

 

[bullitt]

Thanks max, i think i might stick with the panasonic which one out of the pz81 & 85 im not sure, i do already have a humax freesat box but ive just seen a good deal on peter tyson 46pz81 and the panasonic dmpbd35 blu-ray for just under £1200, as for the sound im not too bothered as i have a home theatre system.

 

[Anonymous]

You cannot calibrate out backlight bleed if its there its there, unless of course you can calibrate some parts of the screen independantly saying that if you do suffer from bleed you'll rarely notice it unless you look for it but id still go for the pana better picture imo

 

[simonlewis]

Sounds like you've answered your own question, go with the PZ81 & the deal at peter tyson, I wouldn't worry about having two freesat recievers it just makes life easier.

 

[bullitt]

Well not really i did have my heart sety on the sony as it has good reviews but with the clouding prob being reported so much its not worth the risk, so panasonic it is i think!ive not had any problem with my th42px60 its just a bit out of date and no full HD.

How much do you think i might get for my silver 42px60 tv i still have the curvy viera stand aswell ?

 

[Anonymous]

no problem , by the way , the new panasonics are due anytime , a review of one of the 46 inch ones ( prob high spec ) along with 6 other tvs from all the top brands , is going to be in the april issue of what hi fi magazine , ( on sale now i think ) if you can wait you might be better off checking that out , apparently these new pannys are even better , and cheaper than the last range were when they first came out , just a thought .........

 

[bullitt]

Well im not in a rush really,so think ill wait, cheers for your help.

 

[Anonymous]

by the way thats a grouptest of those tvs , and id say the sony 46w5500 will be in it , maybe that wont have clouding issues , but again , if what hifi get good sets without problems , how will you know your possible buy wont have em ?? i think sony have shot themselves in the foot by trying to pull the wool over peoples eyes regarding the 4500 , if they had just exchanged the faulty sets , no quibble , instead of denying a problem , people could buy with confidence .... an own goal i think ....

 

[bullitt]

Well people are entitled to an exchange or your money back if its not fit for purpose even after the warranty runs out its up to the retailer to prove it wasn't like that when they bought it.

 

[Anonymous]

would you want the hassle ? if sony are saying that clouding is not a problem , ie , they knew it affected their sets , but thought it was ok , because you can just turn down the backlight , how would you argue the opposite , i think they couldnt afford to exchange sets too easily , there does seem to be a lot of people with unsatisfactory ones , so they tried to say there is no problem ... i suppose a money back guarantee from the retailer would help , but a salesman will promise all sorts of things to get your dough , then when you look for a refund he suddenly has amnesia

 

[Anonymous]

I have the 46w4500 and it is an excellent set

replaced a 40v2000, and I have re-watched most of my blu rays as the picture quality is beautiful

I don't get the clouding issue, but I may have been lucky. I got mine from PRC direct

 

[bullitt]

Well ive ordered panasonic 46pz81, nearly went for the new txp42g10 but i wanted a 46" next.Any idea on settings for the pz81 ?, and how long do i have to run it in for before i calibrate?

Thanks.

 

[smarky]

Hi can i ask what sort of deal you got on the PZ81?

 

[bullitt]

smarky:Hi can i ask what sort of deal you got on the PZ81?

Hi mate, the best price i found was £999.99 on petertyson.co.uk and thats includ next day del.ive seen the pz81 as much as £1200 on some sites plus del.

 

[smarky]

Hi,

Thanks for that, hows the Panasonic, does it live up to your expectations??

 

[bullitt]

Yes it does mate get one, although if id have had a bit more dosh i might have gone for the 46g10, maybe next year !But im very happy with this .