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deadhoarse posted:I'm interested in that TV as well. Once you play with it for a bit, can you comment on the built-in speakers and if it is silent (or does it have a buzzing sound)? Most reviews tend to gloss over both of those points. Ok so after unboxing and setting up I am blown away by this TV (Panasonic P55VT50, release May 2012). The picture is incredible and the setup was a breeze. I'll post a more thorough review later but to answer your 2 questions: 1) there is nearly no buzz, I can only hear that Plasma Buzz if I put my ear on the back of the TV. 2) The built in speakers are probably a B for sound. Its not exactly deep and meaty, it's more light and airy, probably due to the fact that the speakers project noise backwards instead of right at you. I will likely buy some sort of after market solution for a richer sound but it wouldn't be absolutely necessary. The picture is crazy fantastic. Easily crushes my old Pioneer Elite.
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May 30, 2012 00:23
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My Panasonic Plasma died and apparently will take $550 to fix. Apparently the A board going bad was a pretty common problem with 2009 models, but they will offer a max of $140 to fix it. I really loved the picture on the tv, but unfortunately I'm done with Panasonic.
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May 30, 2012 12:32
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Does anyone have a recommendation for a good deal on a 46" inch set? Tigerdirect seems to have a nice collection of cheap refurbs and this Vizio set looks interesting but I'm not sure if there's something else I should be looking for. This is a secondary TV so I'm not looking to spend a ton of money but I also don't want something that's going to be terrible to use for the next ~3 years.
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May 30, 2012 14:12
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I've got a 32" Vizio that's worked great for about 5 years and I'm looking to upgrade now. I was reading through the OP and the last few pages and it seems that plasma TVs still have some issues with burn-in (although not as bad as it used to be) and they need some sort of calibration for optimal viewing. Compared to a comparable LCD or LED TVs, are plasmas worth it?
Kloaked00 fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Jun 2, 2012 |
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Jun 2, 2012 16:56
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Kloaked00 posted:I've got a 32" Vizio that's worked great for about 5 years and I'm looking to upgrade now. I was reading through the OP and the last few pages and it seems that plasma TVs still have some issues with burn-in (although not as bad as it used to be) and they need some sort of calibration for optimal viewing. Compared to a comparable LCD or LED TVs, are plasmas worth it? Plasmas do have the best picture of all the flat screens out there. What is your size/price range? Are you going to be hanging the TV on a wall?
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Jun 2, 2012 17:06
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ratbert90 posted:Plasmas do have the best picture of all the flat screens out there. What is your size/price range? Are you going to be hanging the TV on a wall? Preferably 42" or higher in the $500-650 range with at least 2 HDMI. Don't need 3D, wi-fi / ethernet would be cool to have but not necessary. It's going to be in an apartment sitting on my entertainment stand, but I'm not sure which direction the windows are as I'm moving in a few weeks and haven't signed a new lease yet. Here's a few that I was looking at Vizio 32" LCD with wi-fi for $550 Philips 46" plasma with wi-fi for $600 (STLPro has it for $500 but has $65 shipping, Amazon is $600 with free shipping) Samsung 52" plasma for $600 RCA 46" LCD for $650 LG 50" plasma for $600
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Jun 2, 2012 17:21
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Ok, well burn in won't be a major concern unless you are plugging a computer into it. I would go with a higher end plasma if a flatscreen is a must. I always get a lot of poo poo for my opinions on DLPs here, but a slightly used DLP always looks nice and goes for cheap also (post 2008). edit* I would go with the LG plasma as I am most familiar with them. 
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Jun 2, 2012 17:38
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Some guy offered to sell me his 55st30 for 600, which is a reasonable price I think. Other than burn ins, cracks, green tints, and buzz; are there any other issues I should look out for in this model? edit: I went ahead and bought it, it looked ok, so whatever, it's only 600bux, not gonna break ya if I was cheated or whatever. Femur fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Jun 2, 2012 |
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Jun 2, 2012 19:11
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So i've decided to move out of the dark ages and finally give up my dinosaur 27" CRT. I'd be using it primarily to watch streamed and downloaded content from an HTPC over HDMI, and connecting to a couple of older consoles. Requirements: - 1080p - 40"-50" - at least 1x component and 1x HDMI - 1x VGA would be a nice bonus so i could dust off my Dreamcast VGA adapter! - 600-1000$ - will be mounted in this : http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/30218111/ Things i really don't care about : - 3D - smart features - sports features (120hz, interpolation whatever) - what type (plasma, LCD, etc) it is I've been meaning to get around to this for months, but every time I try, there are just too many out there. Any recommendations?
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Jun 2, 2012 19:47
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Forgive my ignorance, but how far along have smart TV's come so far? Are they able to bypass using a HTPC by supporting media on external hard drives yet? I have been thinking of going the HTPC route but figured if a smart TV can (or will eventually) support external hard drives than I would rather go that route.
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Jun 3, 2012 05:13
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leica posted:Forgive my ignorance, but how far along have smart TV's come so far? Are they able to bypass using a HTPC by supporting media on external hard drives yet? I have been thinking of going the HTPC route but figured if a smart TV can (or will eventually) support external hard drives than I would rather go that route. Yes however format support is limited. Your needs may be met by a Rasbery Pi as they work on getting xmbc working better with it.
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Jun 3, 2012 05:34
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HelloNewman posted:So my Panasonic stopped working today and, thinking that the cost to repair will be a few hundred dollars, I've started shopping around new TVs. I'd like to get the best 'quality' 1080P TV I can for under $1,000. I don't think I'll ever use the 3D functions and I have an XBox so the online features aren't really important either. Just yesterday I bought the 50PU54, which I gather is the warehouse version of the retail P50U50, and I really like it so far. I don't give a poo poo about 3D or smart TV features either, so I feel better knowing I paid for exactly what I wanted and nothing more. One day's worth of impressions: The picture quality is very crisp and colors / black levels are great. It's in a room that gets some sunlight in the morning, but I have it situated so that there isn't any glare. When the TV is off or when a scene being played is dark there are reflections in the glass, but really only when the room has a decent amount of ambient light - it becomes far less apparent when I shut the blinds. The only thing that might take some getting used to for me is that apparently the speakers project backwards or downwards, making the audio seem muffled or difficult to hear sometimes. I don't think that it will be enough of a problem for me to return it though. I would be interested to hear from other people on the Panasonic P50U50 / 50PU54 though. owl_pellet fucked around with this message at 14:45 on Jun 3, 2012 |
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Jun 3, 2012 14:40
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Giblet posted:Yes however format support is limited. Your needs may be met by a Rasbery Pi as they work on getting xmbc working better with it. I just got a cheap 42" Panasonic LCD and format support seems to be good. The UI on the other hand is appalling, it displays a list of all the folders with video as giant icons with extremely short descriptions:  (bad photo but you get the idea) Quick question about panel types used in cheap LCD TVs. I've noticed that on my Panasonic screen blacks seem to turn grey if you look from too steep of a vertical angle much more so than TVs of other brands in the same store (it was noticeable as the cheap models I was looking at were all on the bottom shelf). Is this because of the IPS panel that Panasonic uses? If so what panel type do other manufacturers use in their entry level ranges?
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Jun 3, 2012 23:53
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dissss posted:I just got a cheap 42" Panasonic LCD and format support seems to be good. That's odd.....No way to change the titles? Or somehow getting an image in the icons so you know what file is what? I'm assuming these TV's support a keyboard and mouse, correct?
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Jun 4, 2012 17:17
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Any chance someone can make an updated OP? This thread is now 5 years old and 300 pages. If that were to happen it might avoid any repeated questions that could come up.
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Jun 5, 2012 01:03
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Does anyone know if there is a significantly reduced power draw in an LED TV? I want to do a size upgrade, but would like for the unit to use as little energy as possible. From what I understand, plasma uses the most power, followed by LCD and then LED LCD. Is this true or am I misinformed? Also, to LED TV's do that awful strobelight thing like LED christmas lights do? Thanks. TV shopping is a nightmare and I need all the help I can get.
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Jun 5, 2012 15:28
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Lt. Tanaka posted:Does anyone know if there is a significantly reduced power draw in an LED TV? I want to do a size upgrade, but would like for the unit to use as little energy as possible. From what I understand, plasma uses the most power, followed by LCD and then LED LCD. Is this true or am I misinformed? This is an old chart, but yes in general led sets use the least power, and there is no flickering http://reviews.cnet.com/green-tech/tv-consumption-chart/
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Jun 5, 2012 15:54
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Part of the chart being old means it's not taking into account the strides plasma has taken. For example, the new 50ST50 has an energy guide rating of $21 /year. This a far cry from the ~$80 yearly costs in that chart for plasmas in the 46"-50" range. In general, most TVs now are only going to cost you around $15-$25 /year to operate energy cost wise.
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Jun 5, 2012 17:37
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Just upgraded from an old 27" CRT to a P50ST50. Everything's been amazing so far except that every time you turn the set on, there's a banner ad on the bottom of the TV, which lasts for a few seconds. Is there a way to turn this off? Is this seriously a thing now? Not only do I have to watch commercials but my actual TV set is starting to bombard me with ads?
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Jun 6, 2012 02:21
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I have a different model Panasonic, but it probably works the same. There's a non-obviously named setting to disable it. It's something like VIERA Pane or VIERA Status Bar or something like that. Just troll through the menus and you'll figure it out. I was definitely pretty ripshit about it til I found the setting, though. I just dropped a grand on this thing and I have to watch ads? Seriously? vvv yeah it shows a little box at the bottom of the screen when you first power up the TV, sort of like a banner ad on a website. Luckily it can be toggled off or this thing would be headed back to the store. Docjowles fucked around with this message at 02:44 on Jun 6, 2012 |
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Jun 6, 2012 02:42
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minute posted:Just upgraded from an old 27" CRT to a P50ST50. Everything's been amazing so far except that every time you turn the set on, there's a banner ad on the bottom of the TV, which lasts for a few seconds. Is there a way to turn this off? Is this seriously a thing now? Not only do I have to watch commercials but my actual TV set is starting to bombard me with ads? The TV is actually showing an ad? Can you take a picture?
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Jun 6, 2012 02:42
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Docjowles posted:I have a different model Panasonic, but it probably works the same. There's a non-obviously named setting to disable it. It's something like VIERA Pane or VIERA Status Bar or something like that. Just troll through the menus and you'll figure it out. I was definitely pretty ripshit about it til I found the setting, though. I just dropped a grand on this thing and I have to watch ads? Seriously? Ah okay. Yea, it was under "Advanced settings > Viera Connect Banner". Yea, thank god this is toggleable, otherwise that would definitely be a deal breaker. messiercup posted:The TV is actually showing an ad? Can you take a picture? Yea it's an actual ad. Very much like the ones Youtube has.
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Jun 6, 2012 03:12
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minute posted:Just upgraded from an old 27" CRT to a P50ST50. Everything's been amazing so far except that every time you turn the set on, there's a banner ad on the bottom of the TV, which lasts for a few seconds. Is there a way to turn this off? Is this seriously a thing now? Not only do I have to watch commercials but my actual TV set is starting to bombard me with ads? Menu > Setup > Advanced setup > VIERA Connect Banner. Set it to off. I love my 55ST50. It's an incredible TV. Edit: Damnit, I need to keep up!
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Jun 6, 2012 03:20
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thanks to my yearly bonus paying out big I am now in the market for a new TV. I'm gonna go for around a 60 inch set, no 3d or any of that jazz - the main thing for me is the trueness of the picture. I was visiting my brother and we watched Inception, and it did this thing where it takes out the noise and smooths it out or something. It looked like it was shot on a Handycam. It drives me loving insane, whatever this is. I watched Super 8 at my father-in-law's house and it had the same thing. This poo poo is a plague on televisions. I want my TV to display movies like they appeared in the theater, with the film grain and everything. I see all these features like "Cinema Smoother" and I want to know which of these to avoid when I am shopping for a new TV. I know the best way to do this is to go to the store and to look at the TV myself but i'm probably going to want to pick something up online because deals and if I end up with one of these loving things with these stupid poo poo features I will go on a multi state murder spree.
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Jun 7, 2012 02:05
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You want to avoid 120Hz or 240Hz then. It might be called Smooth Motion, TruMotion, etc. but look for those numbers. Stick with 60Hz if it's an LCD or LED. Ignore the 600Hz on plasmas, that's an electrical property called sub-field drive that they all need to work anyway, it's been misappropriated by marketing.
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Jun 7, 2012 03:41
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Lovie Unsmith posted:You want to avoid 120Hz or 240Hz then. It might be called Smooth Motion, TruMotion, etc. but look for those numbers. Stick with 60Hz if it's an LCD or LED. Ignore the 600Hz on plasmas, that's an electrical property called sub-field drive that they all need to work anyway, it's been misappropriated by marketing. For most TVs you can just turn that off though.
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Jun 7, 2012 03:48
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Parachute Underwear posted:For most TVs you can just turn that off though. Most, yes. My Hannspree I can turn it off and I see no effects of it. My parents' Vizio though, it seems to randomly turn back on depending on which channel they're on, or if they're watching a Blu-Ray. Really wish I'd got them the 60Hz model.
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Jun 7, 2012 04:04
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I guess the biggest question is the pricerange. If money isn't an object, the Panasonic 65VT50 or 55VT50 (there is no 60" model) is going to give you the most film like picture out pretty much any TV out there today. The 55" is about $2k on amazon and the 65" is $3700 or so.
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Jun 7, 2012 05:31
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bull3964 posted:I guess the biggest question is the pricerange. If money isn't an object, the Panasonic 65VT50 or 55VT50 (there is no 60" model) is going to give you the most film like picture out pretty much any TV out there today. The 55" is about $2k on amazon and the 65" is $3700 or so. I'm not like a crazy videophile, I just want to have a consistent experience that mirrors the quality and texture of film. That poo poo with the vizio that Lovie mentions is unacceptable. Parachute Underwear mentions that you can turn these features off, but I need to know for sure that turning them off will deliver the experience I want before I get it home.
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Jun 7, 2012 06:11
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Triumph of the ill posted:I'm not like a crazy videophile, I just want to have a consistent experience that mirrors the quality and texture of film. That poo poo with the vizio that Lovie mentions is unacceptable. If you want to mirror film as closely as possible, you don't want 60Hz. Film is 24 frames per second, so you want a refresh rate that's a multiple of that, like 96 or 120Hz. However, you want to make sure it doesn't use interpolation to create extra frames, or that that feature can be turned off. I think this is usually indicated by saying the TV does true 24p playback.
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Jun 8, 2012 04:18
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Was hoping to get a recommendation for a new tv here. Just moved to a new place with MY GIRLFRIEND and the only tv we have is a 29" and I would like to upgrade. It would mostly be used for gaming (PS3), and occasional movies. The room it will be in has a large adjacent window facing south so glare will be an issue, though there won't be direct sunlight. Poor black levels are a pet peeve of mine, and I would love a good contrast ratio. Otherwise I don't give a poo poo about a smart tv or 3d. I'd like to keep it around $500 if possible and would prefer 46-50". Any recommendations?
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Jun 8, 2012 06:07
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owl_pellet posted:Just yesterday I bought the 50PU54, which I gather is the warehouse version of the retail P50U50, and I really like it so far. I don't give a poo poo about 3D or smart TV features either, so I feel better knowing I paid for exactly what I wanted and nothing more. One day's worth of impressions: Bumping this. I saw the pu54 in costco for $650. If its really the bees knees as far as picture quality I'd be willing to spring for it. My only concern is that in my apartment has a north facing window that basically takes up the whole wall, so while there's no direct sunlight I'm still concerned about glare given the large amount of ambient light.
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Jun 9, 2012 02:43
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I'm not sure if this is the place to ask, but I'm just looking for a little advice on wall mounts. I'm wall-mounting a 46" samsung 550 (mounts with VESA 600x400). My only requirements are a) low profile, b) not too expensive, and c) not really visible from the sides. I have full access to the unfinished backside of the wall I'll be mounting on, so running cables through that won't be a problem. I just want to make sure I don't accidentally buy something lovely. I have amazon prime, so if it's available through that, bonus. Don't need to be able to tilt it or anything, and while I've seen that some mounts allow you to lock the thing down, I don't think that's needed here. Currently, I'm looking at something like this, with a 1.1" depth. Thoughts/suggestions?
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Jun 9, 2012 02:48
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My boyfriend and I are in the market for a TV upgrade for when we move into our new apartment in a few weeks. Usage: *AppleTV, XBox, BluRay player, digital cable. *Sports and gaming are the two biggest things, but we also watch a lot of movies. *Sound doesn't matter, we're looking to buy a decent audio set up at the same time. *No shits are given about 3D or "Smart TV" features. Location: *We're moving into a condo in downtown Toronto, which is to say that our living room is pretty small (about 9'X14'). *We're going to mount it on the south wall of a room that has west facing windows. *Viewing distance will be 6-8 feet. Is 42" is a good size, or will we be kicking ourselves for not going bigger? We're also leaning towards plasma and looking to spend about $800. Any recommendations?
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Jun 10, 2012 21:01
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Bad Munki posted:I'm not sure if this is the place to ask, but I'm just looking for a little advice on wall mounts. I'm wall-mounting a 46" samsung 550 (mounts with VESA 600x400). My only requirements are a) low profile, b) not too expensive, and c) not really visible from the sides. I have full access to the unfinished backside of the wall I'll be mounting on, so running cables through that won't be a problem. I just want to make sure I don't accidentally buy something lovely. I have amazon prime, so if it's available through that, bonus. Don't need to be able to tilt it or anything, and while I've seen that some mounts allow you to lock the thing down, I don't think that's needed here. http://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Fashion-Bracket-200x200-300x300/dp/B003M83OXM
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Jun 10, 2012 21:42
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So it looks like I'm biting the bullet this coming Friday because my old 37" is most definitely dying. It's basically down between a 60" LG Plasma that I thought was in the bag or a 55" LED which will cost a little more but I was impressed with in the store. Pretty much the only thing I'm wringing my hands about with the LG plasma is the recurring complaint online about the glare. While there will be no light directly opposing the screen, I do have a rather large window area on one side of the room, and usually leave a light on at the other side. I don't drive so if it turns out to be a huge problem when I set it up it will be a huge bitch to return. I know people have been saying words like "reasonable light control" and "very bright room" but I have absolutely no clue where my living room fits under those considerations.
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Jun 11, 2012 00:19
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Lovie Unsmith posted:You want to avoid 120Hz or 240Hz then. It might be called Smooth Motion, TruMotion, etc. but look for those numbers. Stick with 60Hz if it's an LCD or LED. Ignore the 600Hz on plasmas, that's an electrical property called sub-field drive that they all need to work anyway, it's been misappropriated by marketing. How is this poo poo STILL being spread around? The "smooth motion" "trumotion" and all that jazz is NOT 120Hz or 240Hz. Those are two totally different features. The "smooth motion" stuff is image interpolation (which results in the "soap opera" effect). Refresh rate is something different. If you're going for "image trueness" then you DO want 120Hz or 240Hz as it allows for Blu-Rays to be displayed in native 24p formats with out pulldowns. Triumph of the ill posted:I'm not like a crazy videophile, I just want to have a consistent experience that mirrors the quality and texture of film. That poo poo with the vizio that Lovie mentions is unacceptable. You absolutely want at least 120Hz. You don't want 60Hz. That image interpolation poo poo is an entire different feature that can be turned off if it's even included. BonoMan fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Jun 11, 2012 |
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Jun 11, 2012 01:41
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Bamabalacha posted:My boyfriend and I are in the market for a TV upgrade for when we move into our new apartment in a few weeks. I just bought the 47" Panasonic e50 led for similar purposes and I love it. It was on a memorial day special for like $800 on Amazon so that helped, but it's been outstanding.
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Jun 11, 2012 04:57
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Docjowles posted:I just bought the 47" Panasonic e50 led for similar purposes and I love it. It was on a memorial day special for like $800 on Amazon so that helped, but it's been outstanding. Amazon actually has the 47" of that tv on sale for $759 right now: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-VIE...nasonic+e50+led Or the 42" for $629
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Jun 11, 2012 19:57
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I am borrowing my friends 42" Vizio VO420E (60Hz 100000:1). I have been using it on my HTPC and would like to pick one up for myself. This HDTV is really quite something. I even used it to play Guild Wars 2 and have zero complaints. I would just go buy the exact model, but I can't seem to find it anywhere.  It seems there are quite a few 42" models though. Can anyone recommend which of these I should look more into? I understand the risks of refurbs, and I have found a few of the models new at around the same prices seen on these sites. Which of the following would be most comparable to my friends? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889262097 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889262118 http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Vizio-E420VA-42-inch-1080p-LCD-TV-Refurbished/6238080/product.html#none http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2021938&CatId=5989 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1728226&CatId=3650 His is a few years old if that helps. Would I benefit from the 120Hz over the 60Hz when playing PC games? Would LED be a better option? I read somewhere that LED tends to make small text fuzzier, but I haven't seen an LED used on a PC before. As it stands my friends Vizio is absolutely capable of displaying text from my PC in 1080p perfectly readable as if it were on a smaller LCD monitor. The main uses will be PC and PS3 gaming, light internet browsing and video watching either via PS3 or my PC. Here is a pic of a colorful anime in 1080p running on my PC. Sorry for the quality (and closeness) of the pic, I had to take it from my phone as my camera is M.I.A.  E: SPELLING IS HARD.  Also if I should post this in the HTPC thread let me know and I'll move it there if that place is more appropriate. Kabuki Shipoopi fucked around with this message at 08:53 on Jun 13, 2012 |
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Jun 13, 2012 08:46
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