Full HD televisions

[Daniel Weston]

Hi guys
It's time to change my plasma. Some of you may have read before that I have a very basic Panasonic plasma, no HD, not HD ready, just a screen without speakers. The picture has been great and its worked perfectly from day one but I would like to get the best out of my other pieces of equipment and it's just annoying connecting things like my PS3 and Mede8er and still having to use rca cables etc as the screen doesn't support the technology. My Onkyo amp doesn't upscale and my plasma has no connectors apart from an S video cable so it's really basic.

I have a budget of R10k to spend on something. I guess what I need to look for is a full HD television and if I like the 'look' of my current plasma, I guess it probably makes sense to look for a 42" full HD plasma? Is there anything else that I need to look for when shopping for an HD television in terms of internal technology differences per brand?

Has anyone recently purchased something that they could recommend? I spend my time watching DSTV, DVD's and more recently, gaming on my PS3.

I've seen the following tv on bid or buy, I know there has been some good comments made on this forum about the Panasonic tv's. Is anyone familiar with this model?

http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/29716921/Panasonic_42_HD_Plasma_TV_BRAND_NEW_SEALED_IN_BOX.html

Cheers
Daniel

[naughty]

if you look around you can get a samsung full HD plasma for around R10k - when it comes to plasma the bigger the better IMHO - ive gotten a quote for a full HD plasma at R9995 - the thing is that i always get great discounts but if i can get that TV at R10k then most people should get it there or thereabouts ..... probably around R11k as a worst case scenario

[Daniel Weston]

Thanks for the reply. I went and had a look around today at Makro and some of the other retail outlets and it's quite confusing. It certainly seems that lcd and lcd led televisions are the most popular right now and as expected, each sales person has their own view on what is better. Most of the advice given is hogwash so I am going to take my time on this one and do some homework.

What makes it worse is that in the back of your mind, you've got this grim understanding that the televisions probably aren't hooked up properly or perhaps some models are better connected than others in order to lure you into choosing that particular product so ja, I guess it might become a tedious exercise!

[naughty]

sorry - just reread my reply and what i meant to say initially is that you can get a 50" plasma from samsung at R10k - so if you want a huge TV then thats as good as it gets - the panasonics of that size are generally quite substantially more

the main disadvantages of plasma are that in high lighting conditions you will get a bit of glare - and possibly the burn in and image retention problems are the other obvious issues - if you dont mind that i reckon the advantages over LCD ie comparative lack of motion blur due to infinite response times and just generally a better picture (IMHO) so i still prefer plasma

Panasonic does make some of the better plasma models right now because the older pioneer engineers are now at panasonic (pioneer used to be the king of the hill when it comes to plasma) so they definitely will be producing the best plasma's but for the price i cant really fault the samsung full HD plasma's

there are loads of LCD fanboys out there and they are not wrong because LCD does have distinct advantages as well ie it uses less electrical power to work and is lighter and slimmer (thinner screens) so at the end of the day a good LCD wont be a bad choice either - and in circumstances where you are in brightly lit rooms they make a bit more sense because you wont get much glare from the matt screens

[Daniel Weston]

Ja, I'm also a fan of plasma screens, to me they just look better but saying that, I did see one or two lcds yesterday that impressed me!
I will wait a bit and see what specials come out as we get closer to the 25th!

[NoSnipeLimit]

HiFi Corp has BDESIGN 46" Full HD screens for R7800 with 4 year warranty, friend of mine bought one this weekend.

Might be something to look at

[Shonver]

LCD does have distinct advantages as well ie it uses less electrical power to work

I got a huge skrik when I first felt all the heat radiated from the plasma I brought home.

I first tried a plasma screen. My living room gets a lot of light, and it actually performed worse than the old CRT TV in these conditions (too much glare, too little brightness; must I wait for night time to enjoy my new acquisition?). Then, checking the LCDs in the shops, it always struck me how much better the LCDs always looked. I asked my self, "So, after following the superior wisdom of the techie geeks, what has plasma really got you?" and, I must admit, I did not like the answer. So, I duly swapped out the unit for a Samsung 100Hz LCD, albeit at significantly higher cost, and have not looked back since. I think now (almost a year later) an LCD of similar spec would probably cost no more than R10K.

[Daniel Weston]

Thanks Shonver
Light is no issue for me as my HT room has thick suede curtains that are always closed. Half of the one wall is glass bricks (also covered by a curtain) so the amount of light getting in is pretty low.
I think I will try and find a 42-50" screen as I also don't want to change the wall bracket and I believe that a 42" bracket will cater for screens up to 50".

[Tachyon]

The Panasonic on bidorbuy is natively HD Ready - it will accept a 1080p signal but the panel resolution is only 1024 x 768.

Having said that, I personally prefer a plasma (assuming weight and power consumption are not an issue). In a dark room they look more natural and fluid with better blacks. On the floor of a brightly-lit shop like Makro etc LCDs do tend to look superior, but once you get to a light-controlled room a plasma will show its merit. Since you have heavy curtains I reckon plasma is the way forward 

[placebo]

Thanks Shonver
Light is no issue for me as my HT room has thick suede curtains that are always closed. Half of the one wall is glass bricks (also covered by a curtain) so the amount of light getting in is pretty low.
I think I will try and find a 42-50" screen as I also don't want to change the wall bracket and I believe that a 42" bracket will cater for screens up to 50".

I own a Samsung HD ready Plasma which in all respects is not as good as a Panasonic Plasma which can be Full HD even in 42" size but you will pay for the quality.I would not buy from Makro or Bid and Buy but rather look at speciality stores for your purchase.The very new Sony's HD LCD sets are also very good they run a range of 100 mhz Sony's.Shop around and pay a little bit extra and stay away from Makro etc.It is worth it.