Choosing an HDTV

Tech, TV, Mobile, Internet and Geek Corner
1
I know that Richdog loves his Panny TX-P50G10...and Kevlegs just ordered one for 1500chf! I somehow missed this deal and they are now selling from about 2320chf

Looking at a Samsung PS50B650 or an LG 50PS8000. Both are about 900chf cheaper and seem at least close in quality. The LG is even THX certified. Wondering if anyone has any experience with either model? I currently have a 42" Panasonic Viera, but it is only 480i, and no HDMI, so ready for retirement.

Thanks for any feedback.

fduvall...eagerly awaiting Cablecom's HDTV and Fiber Power 50!

2
he have the samsung led 46" 6000 series, thats really quite good spent ages comparing pics with led and plasma and this beat them all hands down. only down side is we can't use our surround sound system with it, as it included the dvd player, which isn't hdmi, so when the tv upscales it the sound ends up being slightly ahead of the picture. Which forced me to get the matching samsung bluray player as well

3
I have a Samsung 32" which I bought in England. I am really happy with it, especially the contrast. I have it connected to my laptop for full screen YouTube stuff and to my Swisscom (Bluewin) set top box via HDMI. I would recommend Samsung as having the most versatile connections and good styling.

4
I too have the Panasonic 50" plasma (in England - £800 inc. VAT). It's lovely and chosen after a thorough search.

Plasma offers better contrast in terms of greyscale, and the refresh rate on the Panasonic is excellent. I play my Mac Mini running BBCiplayer HD through it as well as bluray and broadcast HD. Worth getting a decent 5.1 or 7.1 system in as well...

The Phillips came a very close second.

The two things to check for are stutter and blacks. LCD tends to stutter on fast pans such as you get in sports coverage. It's also a bit more contrasty. But some people like that brighter look...

5
Samsung plamas = dodgy... many reports of failed/buzzing powerpacks. Plus image retention is not great... and colours also are not great even when calibrated. Black levels pretty weak.

LG plasmas = much better colour reproduction and calibration controls and build quality. Image retention decent. Black levels decent.

Panasonic = the best without spending silly money. I would personally buy nothing less from a plasma.

6
I have a 46" Samsung 8000. Works a treat - 4 HDMI but the interface I use the most is.....

Ethernet.

Fantastic picture.

7
I had a 42" LG Plasma 2 years ago and it died after 12months. The screen went funny and I was told it was terminal.

I switched back to Pana's and have not had a problem since.

Currently have a Pana 42" Viera which will move into my games room when the 50" arrives...

8
We picked up a LG 50PS3000 from Digitec for 1400.- late last year and we're pretty happy with it. Picture quality is great, especially in HD, and the stereo sound is excellent.

9
I have a SHARP LC-52XL2S TV and am very satisfied.

10
All these answers make me think that the question should be posted in a different way: Have you had a bad experience with your TV? if so, what is the model/brand?

11
I also did a lot of research. Nearly bought a Samsung but read that sound is not so great and picture not as good as plasma. I went for a Philips 8664 (47" 8 series). It is an LED backlight TV - with ambilight technology (see Philips website if interested). The picture and sound are excellent. I would certainly recommend it. The newer Philips 9 series are supposed to be superb, so I've read - but they are very pricey.

12
Not really a productive way of doing a "which tv shall I buy" thread to be honest, but good to hear the disadvantages I guess.

13
I find the picture on tvs by phillips to look too electronic somehow.

i have a sony w series lcd which i am happy with. I like the look of the thin samsang led/lcds, and the picture looks good to me too.

14
ok on the negative, the tv before our new samsung led was a re-badged samsung 40" lcd (rebranded as vitze) that semi-failed after a couple of year, HD stopped working but low res was fine, I think its some sort of power issue. I took it apart to see if it was somthing obvious and everything inside was samsung. Now its used for the wii.

15
ok - let me change the question a bit...

What is the best TV you could buy for 2000 chf. I might be open to LCD/LED. But really want the most bang for the buck.

Digitec has the Panny 50" G10 for 1998chf out the door. That is my benchmark! But the Samsung and LG Plasmas mentioned above are still 500+ chf cheaper.

Is there and LED/LCD that I should consider?

thnx

16
I like them panasonics plasmas. But there seem to be nothing wrong with the Samsung. In fact it won the What Hi-Fi best 50in TV award for 2009:

http://whathifi.com/Review/Samsung-PS50B650/

I don't really like to spend too much money on LG simply because of its lack of pedigree... but that is only my own opinion. Samsung is also a newcomer compared to Pana but it has built itself a strong track record.

http://whathifi.com/Review/LG-50PS8000/

Seems to me that the samsung is better, but LG provides more bang for your buck.

For me, Panasonic pics look more natural. Samsung looks a bit too plasticky so cartoons on Samsung looks great... but then again, the way the screens are set up in show rooms do not do them any justice.

As for LCDs, I think for the larger TVs (bigger than 46), plasma is still better. LCDs are catching up though...

17
axman, you state one of the most important things - playing with the settings. I took an hour or two to change settings on my 8000. Now it's spot-on.

I also remember a friend I visited and he was going to take his TV back to Best Buy as it had a terrible picture. I sent him out to get beer and modified the settings. The TV stayed.....

With regards to size - do you want the TV to dominate the room? It's not as bad with large screens as it used to be but I do think the sweet point is now 42-52".

The processing my 8000 does on SD signals via HDMI is astonishing.

Also, I can play a file from my server via XBOX360 and natively on the TV and is it visibly better when played by the TV. This may or may not be important for you.

It's still coming in at around 2500 delivered though....which makes me happy as I dropped 2700 on it six months ago

18
Yup, calibration is very important. Once you get your TV, go to avforums and look up the best setting for your TV. In fact, look it up now because for some TVs you also get "showroom settings". Armed with this, I went to MediaMarkt and annoyed a few of the sales persons by fooling around with the settings. But the difference it makes was obvious.

I think a lot of it boils down to personal taste. I spent 2 weeks over x-mas in my brother's place watching his top-of-the range Sony 50in Z series and thought wow that is a great TV, better than mine. Then I came home to my ehem.. Pioneer, and ahh... nope it is not better, just different. Mine just looks more natural and had a certain warmth to it. Then again, I paid a certified expert to come over to do some ISF calibration. With the built in light sensor, my settings change if my living room lights are on, or when the sunsets, etc...

19

can you come and setup my samsung 6000, I don't have a clue what I'm doing and always seem to make the picture worse.

I agree re playback, the tv does a much better job upscalling etc then my pc running vlc. Not tried playing anything from the sd card slot yet.

20
What Hi-Fi "reviews" are laughable, and derided on just about every major AV forum there is. YOu need to be looking at sites like:

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/

http://hdtvorg.co.uk/

http://www.hdtvreviewlab.com/

These sites actually use methodology behind their testing. What Hi-Fu reviews are wholle subjective and usually consist of about 200 words. Their rating for the Samsung is highly amusing.