TV upgrade-any advice?

[admin_exported]

Hi guys,

I recently bought a Panasonic DBT-220, which is showing up my TV as being a bit old. Its a 5 year old Samsung 32" LCD (it says 1080i, but it only has a 720p screen). I'm looking at possible replacements, two good contenders seem to be last years GT30 (£584) and this year's Samsung UE40ES6300 (£658). The former seems like a great deal considering how much they cost a few months ago! I visited my local Panasonic shop and the GT50 looks fantastic, but at £1100 seems quite a stretch for my wallet-how does the GT30 compare to the GT50?

I'm currently leaning towards the Panasonic plasma due to the rave reviews and price, but how does the Samsung LED compare? I was very impressed with my friend's newish Samsung 6 series.

Any help appreciated!

 

[Oldboy]

Get the GT30 as it's a far better tv at a steal of a price, i paid £1000 for mine and i was very happy paying that for it with the quality of image you get. The Samsung is an ok tv but i've only seen the 6800 series and that had issues with motion and black tones and some slight backlight issues on the model i saw in store.

The GT30 represents the best bargain but it has to be said that the Samsung also has it's plus points, it's slimmer and has far better internet content...it's a case of what your main use will be really.

I've seen the GT50 in the flesh and auditioned it a few weeks ago to compare with my GT30 and tbh there really isn't much between the two, the GT50 has slightly deeper blacks and a few extras in the 3D area such as picture modes but i still don't feel short changed with my GT30...it's really close in terms of picture quality.

 

[Anonymous]

cheers for that.

i've just worked out that the £584 price is ex display from a slightly dubious online retailer based in birmingham. they've got a fair few bad reviews! I've also found another ex display one at £699 from sevenoaks, which sounds like it might be a better option.

the 2012 ST50 is around a similar price and is in stock almost everywhere-is that worth a look?

 

[Sizzers]

There were some great deals on the GT30 but guess they've all gone by now (believe it or not there's an ex-display one on ebay going for just under a grand!)

Got mine from Currys in March for £699 and was well chuffed.

 

[toyota man]

Hi jsl20 I bought a 42inch gt30 in jan for my lounge which is a brilliant tv and last week I bought a 50 inch vt 30 which is realy the way to go if funds allow the sound is much better a bit of a handfull when wall mounting I would recomend you get a second pair of hands not the good lady as when tv nearly ends up on the floor the air might be a bit blue

:cheers:

 

[Anonymous]

i think 50 inches might be too big for my lounge-42 is about the biggest size I'd want to go to be honest!

you can still get the vt30 on amazon and in sevenoaks. choice seems to be between the ST50 and the VT30. I'm not too bothered about sound-that's already taken care of, its more the HD picture on blu rays, HD freeview and on xbox games I'm after.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

i think 50 inches might be too big for my lounge-42 is about the biggest size I'd want to go to be honest!

you can still get the vt30 on amazon and in sevenoaks. choice seems to be between the ST50 and the VT30. I'm not too bothered about sound-that's already taken care of, its more the HD picture on blu rays, HD freeview and on xbox games I'm after.

I would go for the st50 having seen both and heard what other people think too.

 

[toyota man]

Hi jsl20 the blue ray picture on both sets is 1st class the hd free view is also 1st class I cannot comment on x box although

my son has a 37inch panasonic which he loves he has a wi xbox kinect star wars and a ps3 he says its much better for gameing than hi old samsung I dont know which model it was (a 32inch hd tv) next time I see/speak to him I will ask him for a written reviewso as to give you a better idea

 

[Anonymous]

well, I decided to part with some cash and bought a 42ST50B. I got a very good deal at House of Fraiser, which would not normally be on my list of TV sellers that I'd approach! It ended up being 10% off for something, then 10% off for something else, and 5 year warranty chucked in for good measure and they had one in stock!

I got it home and it looks fantastic. Mass Effect 3 looks amazing and every blu ray I tried loooked great-lots of detail, great movement etc. SD channels look a bit ropey, but that's what you get for stretching the image over so many pixels on a large screen I suppose.

 

[bigboss]

SD channels look a bit ropey, but that's what you get for stretching the image over so many pixels on a large screen I suppose.

It generally happens when you upgrade to a bigger screen. Your eyes will get used to it soon.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

SD channels look a bit ropey, but that's what you get for stretching the image over so many pixels on a large screen I suppose.

It generally happens when you upgrade to a bigger screen. Your eyes will get used to it soon.

bigboss is, as usual, correct. I'm just glad that somebody has been able to actually see one of the Panasonic ST50 plasmas! (See my complaints in the discussion thread "2012 Panasonic TV reviews"). I wouldn't have thought of House of Fraser either! I'm glad that you are pleased with your set. In its June 2012 issue Home Cinema Choice magazine's review of the 50" version of your set included the paragraph "Actually, there were times while watching the P50ST50 where I felt as if I was watching one of the brand's flagship 2011 plasmas. High praise considering the ST50 series is a mid-range 2012 model". Enjoy!