whats best , sony kdl46w5500 or panasonic 46gseries plasma

[admin_exported]

i have a panny th46pz8b plasma , while its a good all rounder for the money , i feel im not getting a good enough hd picture , so its being sold at a 250 euro loss , even though im aware of the sony clouding problems , im willing to put up with it as the hd picture is glorious , ive seen clouding on a friends 46v4000 and i reckon i could live with it , my question is , how does the new panasonic g series compare ? , ive read that they can display a brighter ( more lcd like ) picture than the pz series , im impressed by panasonic quality , but i feel i need the lovely sharp and bright picture lcds have . where i live its not possible to view side by side with a decent hd input , so i may have to decide on reviews and any help would be great , the samsung 46b650 might fit the bill too . anyone ??

 

[drummerman]

This is probably of no great help as I can't remember the model # but I recently compared a Samsung 46" 7020W (available for around £1600)with one of panasonics new plasmas (retail £1400). I'm sorry to say the panasonic looked lacklustre, despite claims of contrast ratio of 2'000'000:1 or something like that with a red/green tint which we were not able to completely remove. A haze which really prevented the picture from looking clear. It's not the first time I found the picture of panasonics wanting. The pro tv's, especially the new 8k 65" are another matter but that does'nt concern you or me unfortunately. Perhaps it was just faulty but it did'nt look much different to other consumer models of the brand ... ?

I'd rate the Samsung at least par with the Sony Z series, possibly closer to the X though short of Pioneer Plasmas. It would be my choice for an LCD above 42" at present if Sony's X model is out of reach, otherwise it would be philip's 'essence' model. My opinion only and you may disagree.

 

[Anonymous]

Well the Sony W5500 got 4* and the Pannny G10 got 5* on this review site. You have the 46PZ8, which was the bottom of the range of the 1080p models last year, the PZ80 was better and this years G10 is even better than that. There are several detailed reviews of the 42G10 on the internet which give the G10 "Highly Recommended"

 

[TKratz]

I agree, the G10 is quite a lot better than the W5500. But I of course also prefer the picture of plasma sets, I know a lot of people prefer the brighter LCDs.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks guys , i have yet to see a g10 , i live in ireland , havnt seen g10s anywhere , i think they may not even have freesat here ( the 46pz81 wasnt sold here ) , some red tape freesat thing , so for now i can only go on reviews , i couldnt afford a 46 samsung 7 series , but i can get a le46b650 for 1400 euros or the sony 46w5500 for 1560 , its between those two and a panasonic ( if i can get one ) i love the deep blacks and better sd you get with a plasma , but really like the pop you get from a good lcd , and with the black levels and sd apparantly much better on the current lcds i think i may opt for one , even my friends sony v4000 has gorgeous hd pics when watching bbc hd , better i feel than my plasma , and the current lcds are better than that , im not sure what to do , i do like to watch tv at night with the lights off , so any clouding may be a bit more noticeable , going on reviews the sammy is as good as the sony , with no clouding that i have heard of , and i guess i will need the backlight at least halfway to get the bright picture i like , mmmm , sounds like im talking myself into getting the sammy , ill post here either way ....

 

[ear]

Just came from the shops and saw a B550 (figure the same brightness that the B650) next to a 7 series and the 7 series is much brighter.Don't know if its brightness was on the higher level, but I still think the B650 has better image than the new pannys.As said above I also think the panny's are a bit lacklustre.

 

[Anonymous]

it seems obvious i know , but ive turned up the contrast on my th46pz8b , and i get a much punchier picture , more like an lcd , but still have good blacks , albeit with a little less detail , damm this hd thing is addictive , i priced a pioneer kuro plasma today , in ireland 2600 euros including basic pedestal stand and speakers , having only paid 950 for my plasma , and with a picture more to my taste , i think ill keep it , hard to believe its 1650 euros inferior to a kuro , i know their good , but that good ?