tDR Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Considering getting a nice shiny new Plasma TV and have decided 50" is the size for me. Which are the current best models? Is 1080p necessary / desireable / just a gimmick? Where's the cheapest place to buy from - worthwhile importing? Budget is preferably under £1k but will go slightly over if it's worth it. It will be a lounge TV for watching films, Tiscali TV and it will also be used for my X Box 360 gaming. Cheers, Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesmark Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Samsung offer true 1080dp HD. I dunno if 50" will be in your budget though (not checked). But they are gorgeous sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted February 22, 2008 Author Share Posted February 22, 2008 Thanks - are they the glossy black efforts with the lovely blue glow around the power button that makes my other half go "THAT ONE!"??? What's 1080dp? Why is that better and what kinda price are we talking for them - £1.5k? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesmark Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 It is glossy black dunno about the colours, but I know when I seen one I had the big eyes and the pointy finger, till I was reminded about the decorating . 1080dp=1080p got that from Comet in Leeds, just stuck. Dunno about price but a 40" is £1299 from Currys online. http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1472810270.1203713359@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadedgegdlffcflgceggdhhmdgmh.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=156881&category_oid= When browsing I was surprised how nice and sharp LG was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEERSHZ Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 we brought one of these lasted less than 2 months wouldnt turn on!! then took currys 2 weeks to fix does have a great picture, sound quality with built in freeview etc but it continually goes off and on so waiting for them to come look at it again . think we paid 1400 with recordable dvd and stand etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted February 22, 2008 Author Share Posted February 22, 2008 priorities eh - I've still got a kitchen and bathroom to do but my other half has decided we need a nice big modern flatscreen telly for the lounge after seeing some in the shops. Who am I to argue? Which ones get the best reviews, any manufacturer in particular? The Samsung's do look pretty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 A friend of mine picked up a toshiba 50" 1080p jobbie for around £700, he absolutely loves it, I'll see if I can find out where he got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ewen Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I went to see a Pioneer Kuro. That was a mistake in the circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tDR Posted February 22, 2008 Author Share Posted February 22, 2008 A friend of mine picked up a toshiba 50" 1080p jobbie for around £700, he absolutely loves it, I'll see if I can find out where he got it. Sounds promising! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Pioneer Kuro is the best by quite a margin but for 50" its gonna cost you the best part of 5k. I'm going to be on the lookout for a 50" soon enough and the one in my price range is the Panasonic. The samsungs are the best "bang for your buck" but they aren't going to be the best picture. The big question is though, is the difference in quality substantial enough to fork out the extra money. In most reviews they say no. Panasonic model i'm looking at is TH-50PZ700. As you are looking at a 50" TV 1080p, is quite a good idea. The only problem is when the TV upscales the SD signal but that will be the same with all 50" TV's. 1080p is a bit much of a muchness under 42". Scott =op Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 A friend of mine picked up a toshiba 50" 1080p jobbie for around £700, he absolutely loves it, I'll see if I can find out where he got it. 50" 1080p fo £700? Think it fell of a lorry regardless of make Scott =op Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Panasonic-TH50PZ70-Pedestal-3-Year-Warranty_W0QQitemZ300199558014QQihZ020QQcategoryZ3320QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Panasonic-TH50PZ70-Pedestal-3-Year-Warranty_W0QQitemZ300199558014QQihZ020QQcategoryZ3320QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Thats the older model, didn't think you could still get that. There is a slight update in the TH-50PZ700 but i don't know if its worth the £600, oh wait... i do... its not. Scott =op Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Thats the older model, didn't think you could still get that. There is a slight update in the TH-50PZ700 but i don't know if its worth the £600, oh wait... i do... its not. Scott =op Ah fair enough, I don't know that much about the models to be honest, just spotted that on ebay. My mate still hasn't responded yet, but I do recall it did come from ebay... but I'll find out more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzy Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 My g/f recently purchased one of these: Samsung Plasma 50" It came as a package with a home cinema kit for around £1400. The telly on its own can be had for around the £1100 mark. Beautiful picture, can't help but get drawn into it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 We have a 42" Samsung Plasma and we love it. You can get the 50" for £798 here It's a full HD tv but not 1080p - not sure if that's really a necessity to be honest. I don't think anything is broadcast in 1080p is it??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 We have a 42" Samsung Plasma and we love it. You can get the 50" for £798 here It's a full HD tv but not 1080p - not sure if that's really a necessity to be honest. I don't think anything is broadcast in 1080p is it??? Nope but bluray is and it will only be a matter of time. Oh and that ones not full HD its HD ready Samsungs are best bang for buck but panasonic is the happy medium for me. Scott =op Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 It's a full HD tv but not 1080p - not sure if that's really a necessity to be honest. I don't think anything is broadcast in 1080p is it??? I must be honest, I had a choice between 720p and a 1080p 42" when I was in the market, and I did compare both with a good known source and while there was a difference, I wouldn't have said enough to justify the cost difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conrad Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Oh and that ones not full HD its HD ready That doesn't really make any difference though does it? Good point on the Blu Ray though. My plasma is 720p, will there really be that much difference when playing a Blu Ray disk on that compared to a 1080p screen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiten55 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 we just got the 42" version of this: http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=television&type=television&subtype=plasma&model_cd=PS50Q97HDX/XEU to say we're amazed is an understatement, and we got it for just under £750 from the official samsung shop on tottenham court road (central london). the cheapest ive found the 50" is here: http://www.digitaldirect.co.uk/products_moreinfo3/index.asp?product_id=12876 really cant stress how pleased we are with this. also bought a samsung 40" lcd tv and a home cinema kit (surround sound and dvd). my mate bought a 37" lcd at the same time too (we felt rich that day for some reason ). no complaints so far. no regrets either. also worth checking out http://www.avforums.com/ - but be warned - it gets expensive once you go on there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Panasonic TH-50PZ70B - Brilliant ***** (5 Stars) Panasonic TH-50PZ700 - Same as above but with better speakers and more questionable performance with 24fps/100hz mode. Scotster, the 700 is older but higher specced...if you have a decent sound system there is no reason to buy it over the 70B. Samsung screens just don't produce natural colours. The Panny's are brilliant at upscaling, so normal SD tv looks good. As for the Kuro's, well I can honestly say I prefer the picture from the Panny (in a side by side test in a shop)...maybe the shop Kuro I saw was rubbish, it's just never wowed me like what others seem to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supra steveo Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 ive seen a nice samsung plasma 50" for 1,300 euros Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiten55 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 We have a 42" Samsung Plasma and we love it. You can get the 50" for £798 here It's a full HD tv but not 1080p - not sure if that's really a necessity to be honest. I don't think anything is broadcast in 1080p is it??? theres a difference in the models, the c96 is basically a lower model (the c is the model code and the 96 is the model variant). the new ones the Q97 (i.e from the Q range and the latest model as theres no Q98). for the extra money (less than £200) id go for the Q97. but thats just me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Panasonic TH-50PZ70B - Brilliant ***** (5 Stars) Panasonic TH-50PZ700 - Same as above but with better speakers and more questionable performance with 24fps/100hz mode. Scotster, the 700 is older but higher specced...if you have a decent sound system there is no reason to buy it over the 70B. Samsung screens just don't produce natural colours. The Panny's are brilliant at upscaling, so normal SD tv looks good. As for the Kuro's, well I can honestly say I prefer the picture from the Panny (in a side by side test in a shop)...maybe the shop Kuro I saw was rubbish, it's just never wowed me like what others seem to get. Really? Every review i have read said the 700 replaced the 70. Pretty sure i read that on the panasonic website too. Seems strange that they would take features away and take away an HDMi connection for the newer model. I think the pioneers are meant to be difficult to set up properly but once you get it done right its 2nd to none. Just going with what i have read though. Scott =op Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgyRog Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Panasonic TH-50PZ70B - Brilliant ***** (5 Stars) Panasonic TH-50PZ700 - Same as above but with better speakers and more questionable performance with 24fps/100hz mode. Scotster, the 700 is older but higher specced...if you have a decent sound system there is no reason to buy it over the 70B. Samsung screens just don't produce natural colours. The Panny's are brilliant at upscaling, so normal SD tv looks good. As for the Kuro's, well I can honestly say I prefer the picture from the Panny (in a side by side test in a shop)...maybe the shop Kuro I saw was rubbish, it's just never wowed me like what others seem to get. I have a Panasonic TH-50PZ700 and a 46 Samsung and the Panny's quality shines through with every picture source including Xbox 360, You will need a good quality sound system thou. Try your local Panasonic shop, they are getting very competive now and offer a five year warranty free if you push for it, they do the repairs in there own repair centre and pick it up from you if you get a problem. Much better than any crapy Comet or Currys warranties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.