Best 42" flat panel TV (Plasma) under 65k

[flared]

PS42A410C1 plasma TV - television SAMSUNG

PS42A450P1 plasma TV - television SAMSUNG

I picked up the info here.

 

[psychotropic]

that seems to be a mistake on the samsung website, because the advertised contrast ratio for the 450 is 10,00,000:1 , as opposed to 1,00,00:1 for the 410, i would presume that native contrast ratios would be proportionately lower. I remember reading somewhere about the native contrast ratio of the 410 being in the region of 15k:1.

 

[reignofchaos]

The native contrast ratio on both is 10,000:1. Atleast thats what the Samsung brochure stated.

 

[flared]

Reign: Which Panasonic did you audition?

 

[reignofchaos]

Reign: Which Panasonic did you audition?

The Pana PV70. Still to check the PV80.

 

[psychotropic]

Here are the pictures of my Plasma (taken with phone camera)....it's quite nice and the picture is looking very good, I haven't calibrated it fully but hte "movie" setting out of the box itself was tolerable.....i've fiddled a bit with that.....more details soon

 

[flared]

Looks cool. Chance of any pics with the TV on?
Did you audition the 42A550 LCD too?

 

[sanjit.randhawa]

The Panasonic 42 TH PV80 is available now for Rs 60-65k and the 42 TH PV8 is available for around Rs 4-5k less.

 

[psychotropic]

those could be Delhi prices ....in chennai....and i've asked around a fair bit....the best price for a PV8 was 64-odd.......and PV80 i didn't even bother asking.....

The Panasonic 42 TH PV80 is available now for Rs 60-65k and the 42 TH PV8 is available for around Rs 4-5k less.

 

[sanjit.randhawa]

Yes these are Delhi prices but these are quotes from Panasonic dealers. But I am still undecided between the Panasonic 80H and a Pioneer 428XG, although the Pioneer costs much more at Rs 105k, it really is damn good despite not being a full HD spec. In fact I found the Pioneer much better than a lot of other sets which claim to be full HD. Amongst all the others the Panasonic would be my first choice and it is a great VFM option.

sanjit

 

[Dushie]

Even in Bangalore the price is 60k for PV8 and 65 for PV80

 

[flared]

From my online research Image Retention seems to be the only issue in pV80h (not restricted to Panasonic plasma) or else it seems to be a good VFM Plasma tv. I was pretty impressed with the TV when I did a quick audition.
If and when I buy a tv I think it would be frontrunner unless Samsung A450 impresses me more.

 

[psychotropic]

ah well at least i saved 4.5k ...and the set itself is a lot better looking....and oh yes.....reignofchaos certifies that it handles HD better .....either ways i am extremely happy with the picture on this.....especially the upscaled pictures from my SOny NS708 DVD player....even pictures frmo the tata sky are handled very well.....and football looks beautiful!!

Even in Bangalore the price is 60k for PV8 and 65 for PV80

 

[psychotropic]

I watched Letters from Iwo Jima yesterday. Outstanding performance from the DVD player and the TV. I still haven't calibrated it properly, but for an uncalibrated thing it's looking damn good....it has a lot of dark scenes and the blacks were superb.....and skin tones and the colours were very natural and beautiful.....

the Sony NS708 has a TV surround mode that uses the TV speakeres to create a virtual surround which is seriously very impressive. The gunshots and bullets were sounding to my sides and whizzing past my head. Of course not even close to a proper home theater, but very very good considering that you only have a TV for sound.

 

[flared]

Great to know that you are enjoying the tv. Any more pics to share?

 

[psychotropic]

the problem is my camera is out of service which was why i had to take thos grainy shots with my phone and put it up....maybe i'll take some more grainy shots with my phone and put it up!!

 

[anuragn]

Hi all,
I traded my 5 month old 32" LG LCD for a new Panny PV8. It's simply superb in performance. Got it for 54K (in exchange for old CRT).
Much better blacks, very less judder visible in tickers, colours appear better, and even the sound is much better. The surround sound mode also enhances the sound to some extent using Tata sky. But the picture appeared grainier, probably due to very low Signal Strength & Quality in the STB.
@ Tata Sky users: By the way, how much signal strength & quality do you generally get? Mine shows strength reading of 110 (appx 30%) and quality is around 30-40%. Initially, when I got it installed, I used to get 80-90% in both the parameters, but now it has degraded.

 

[psychotropic]

hey anurag, how do you check that (the signal strength and quality)? With regard to the drop in the parameters, I would suggest you call the Tata Sky helpline, they are generally very helpful and guide you through whatever you need. But ya, on a 42 inch plasma the Tata Sky is only going to look reasonable.....firstly it's 4:3 and unless you want to watch it with bars on the side, you'll have to stretch it.....and secondly it's an SD image over a composite cable....in addition to that if there are signal strength issues, then this problem would be compounded.....although one quick tip to improve your Tata Sky picture would be to reduce the contrast a bit on the default setting for your composite input....

 

[square_wave]

hey anurag, how do you check that (the signal strength and quality)? With regard to the drop in the parameters, I would suggest you call the Tata Sky helpline, they are generally very helpful and guide you through whatever you need. But ya, on a 42 inch plasma the Tata Sky is only going to look reasonable.....firstly it's 4:3 and unless you want to watch it with bars on the side, you'll have to stretch it.....and secondly it's an SD image over a composite cable....in addition to that if there are signal strength issues, then this problem would be compounded.....although one quick tip to improve your Tata Sky picture would be to reduce the contrast a bit on the default setting for your composite input....

Will the "big tv" by relience be any better than the tata sky ? They claim mpeg4 transmission. The signals we have is SD. So how will mpeg4 make a difference ?

 

[anuragn]

hey anurag, how do you check that (the signal strength and quality)?

Go to Organiser> Option 5 > Option 7

Will the "big tv" by relience be any better than the tata sky ? They claim mpeg4 transmission. The signals we have is SD. So how will mpeg4 make a difference ?

In Tata sky, compression artifacts can be seen very clearly around channel logos. While in anaogue signal, I don't think these would be visible.
Since Big TV uses a better compression tech, maybe overall PQ should be better. I've seen a demo of Big TV, and it did appear much better than my Tata Sky, although it might not have been an apple-apple comparision due to various other factors.