Samsung A450 vs Panasonic PV80

[madbullram]

Hi bullram:

I just remembered, Shahs in Adyar had PV8 and 410 and both connected to STB, this was when I was doing my research 4 months back. Please call them if its possible. That might be the last resort for a decent side-by-side comparison. Otherwise, you just have to follow what your heart says.

They had PV8 on a bad SD content and Sammy on Hard Drive

 

[vinod_david]

They had PV8 on a bad SD content and Sammy on Hard Drive

Dead end. I would like to say something now - I love Panasonic and Samsung plasmas more than Sony or other brands. Both Pana and Sammy plasmas can any day blow LCD of great brands out of water IMO. If you do some research in the net or googling, there are lots of good things you can hear about PV80 sold as PX80 in UK; PX80 is still one of the most loved TV in UK just because it does SD very well. Even Samsung 410/450 models have very rave reviews everywhere. I couldn't believe how stunning 450 and 410 were in handling upscaled DVDs, I too liked them a lot. They are indeed very very stylish in apperance. Having said all that, my PV8 after running in, SD looks stunning, and I have every reason to believe 450/410 models would do the same.

The above are my thoughts. Having praised both brands, am still biased to Panny. Just follow your heart from now on.

 

[marsilians]

Hi Madbull

With the budget range most of us are looking at for TVs, there will be slight variations on the experiences with people. More importantly, it will be worthwhile to check the types of connectivity as well as the various resolution options that the TVs support. It is not possible to do a proper comparison even in stores since their feeds and lighting conditions will be dramatically different than your home (hence I never do a review of my choice in a store). Also, with the appropriate calibration both the Panny and Sammy will look absolutely beautiful. Like I said before I own the Sammy and have been very happy with 720P resolution HD feeds. I have friends who own the Panny's and I have enjoyed it as well. You will not go wrong with the choices at thsi time. The rate of failure is within expected limits for both these sets.

Even if we got lot more HD content on STBs then it does not mean that eveything will look phenomenol as most old programming was done in HD (the cartoon simpsons is one and is not that great a deal if its HD or not).

I used Spyder to calibrate my TV and it look great with movie toning (not overly bright) and the anti reflective properties of Sammy is very good even under broad daylight with good curtains acting as barriers.

Also, their HDMI connectors are 1.3 compliant.

Finally, the salesmen saying Plasma is a going away technology are BS'ing. Walk away from such people as they are providing inaccurate statements without any basis. Or better yet ask them to show evidence or speak to their manager re: the facts.

Also LCD manufacturing is cheaper than Plasma since they can leverage the PC/Laptop manufacturing lines to develop TV panels as well.

Good luck and enjoy.

 

[madbullram]

Vinod: Yeap, I am also in the same boat. I am taking my finance' today to see A450 and PV8 (I dont see value in spending 4k extra for PV80). Since I like both of them, I will let her decide.

Mars: You helped with that. I was only worried bcos the Samsung brochure says HDMI 1.3 is not supported by A410/450. Are you sure about that?

Plasma dead technology: LOL that was for everyone's hearty laugh, did you see the finishing statement? He says Blue Ray can be played in regular DVD player and have super clarity, that shows his technical knowledge My heart

 

[vinod_david]

Vinod: Yeap, I am also in the same boat. I am taking my finance' today to see A450 and PV8 (I dont see value in spending 4k extra for PV80). Since I like both of them, I will let her decide.

Congrats! on purchase of Samsung A450 in advance. Style does matter!

 

[madbullram]

Congrats! on purchase of Samsung A450 in advance. Style does matter!

LOLLLLLLLLL....u just showcased my nightmare thought, I am sure she is gonna pick Sammy purely on LOOKS.

P.S: Now, if she does, I am happy cos she picked me also eh

 

[psychotropic]

he he he, don't be so sure....my wife actually liked the look of the panasonic.....

but ya, like everyone's been saying, you can't go too wrong with either model, so whichever she picks, if you get the added bonus of wife acceptance factor (in this case fiancee acceptance factor), that is definitely a consideration

And yes i reiterate vinod's invitation, you can check out the 410 at my place.

couple of more factors i thought of in favour of the samsung:

the PV8 and 410 are comparable both in terms of specs and picture. The 450 has a slightly superior panel, and if you're getting it for the same price as a PV8, there's definitely some value there. Plus you're getting an additional HDMI slot and some other small features.

With regard to the salespeople who talk about plasma being dead technology, i really feel like slapping them....I actually started out planning to buy an LCD, looked at a lot of LCDs, but when i saw the plasmas i was sure this was the picture I wanted. Of course in a few years I get the feeling that LCD technology will improve at such a rate as to eclipse plasmas, but at the present point in time, for the budgets that we are speaking of, plasmas kick the asses of the LCDs.

LOLLLLLLLLL....u just showcased my nightmare thought, I am sure she is gonna pick Sammy purely on LOOKS.

P.S: Now, if she does, I am happy cos she picked me also eh

 

[vinod_david]

Talking about how uneducated these sales people are with respect to hifi and accessories; here in e-zone at the AV cables section, there is this Nepalee or Sikim girl who stands like a doll ready to indulge you in cable discussion and answer all your queries, but the fact is she doesn't even know what RCA cables are and how they look like. Once it happend i asked her if they have RCA cables, she declined instantly, but I did my own research in that counter to find out they had indeed Profilgold RCA cables, and that too it was hanging right in front of her. So, whenever I go to cable section at e-zone, i ignore her, and do my own research. For that matter, I found out many demo guys at e-zone have very very average knowledge of what is around them, I can only imagine how their justification holds good about 'sirrr plasma dead technology sirrrr'. Suddenly, I find myself like a hifi guru whenever I go to e-zone, thanx to hifivision.com.

Disclaimer: I intend not to hurt any particular community or race in the above post.

 

[madbullram]

Just back, clear winner, Panasonic PV8 in terms of PQ was amazing. Went to Shah thankfully he had both Pv8 and A450 hooked to Tata Sky.

HBO Movie - Torque
Both TVs on std pic mode

A450 - 7/10 - nice colours but lacked clarity
PV8 - 9/10 - no pixalation, nice colour, amazing clarity

To be sure, drove Sammy Brand shop and watched torque and next door was Pana brand shop again watched torque. Still the score was same.

Blue Ray rip (my WD TV with Iron Man in 720p and Dolby)
A450 - 8/10 - Very good picture, nice black level
PV8 - 9/10 Excellent picture, very natural, better black level

Fiance - Dont you even think of Sammy, it looks good but Pana works good and she didnt even like PV80 as the glossy panel reflects light.

So its decided, Panasonic PV8.

Chellamani - 48400 rs
Jayam - 49000 + Cordless Headphone free

Finance scheme 1325 rs extra for processing and documentation and 8 months emi of 4900 rs and down payment of 11k.

Mostly will goto Jayam as its a small shop and I can expect loyalty there.

Thanks a lot to everyone. How do I ensure they dont send the Display piece? They have a display piece in Anna nagar showroom and I hope they dont send that.

 

[vinod_david]

Just back, clear winner, Panasonic PV8 in terms of PQ was amazing. Went to Shah thankfully he had both Pv8 and A450 hooked to Tata Sky.

HBO Movie - Torque
Both TVs on std pic mode

A450 - 7/10 - nice colours but lacked clarity
PV8 - 9/10 - no pixalation, nice colour, amazing clarity

To be sure, drove Sammy Brand shop and watched torque and next door was Pana brand shop again watched torque. Still the score was same.

Blue Ray rip (my WD TV with Iron Man in 720p and Dolby)
A450 - 8/10 - Very good picture, nice black level
PV8 - 9/10 Excellent picture, very natural, better black level

Double thumbs up. The way to go PV8 way. Congrats! and welcome to Panasonic exclusive club. Great piece of review. Your hardwork and dedication really paid off.

Settings - For the first few weeks, be soft on your picture sitting and let your TV run in with small numbers on the setup. Since you are using SCV STB, try and get a better RCA (composite) cable from panasonic or from MX. It will improve your PQ still.

Display TV - Oh, don't worry, Panasonic won't spoil their name by sending a display model, even I had the same doubt. But you will a huge box, and inside that a brand new TV fully factory sealed.

 

[madbullram]

Another interesting update, a friend called from HYD and said J D Electronics is ready to ship to Chennai also.

Guess what, they are offering PV8 for 39,900 on exchange of a 29 inch working colour tv with remote. So put my purchase on hold to get full details on the J D guys offer.

 

[vinod_david]

39k. But you are in Chennai and shop in Hyd., so please consider after- sales support from the shop guys. If its within city its good, but if another city, need lots of phone calls, etc., hope you can understand what am trying to tell.

 

[madbullram]

The delivery will be from Panasonic themselves and they will install at home. Thats why I was thinking about it. Some of our friends had got it from Devi Bangalore like this when he had offered PV8 for 50K 2 months back

 

[madbullram]

Another update, J D Electronics is there in Chennai, and they are willing to give the same offer as I had struck the deal already.

I am going to J D Now to buy PV8. In exchange of my 2 yrs old Onida oxygen 29, the final bill price is 39,900 rs + 2% for credit card.

The Usha finance scheme has 0% interest with 1400 rs processing charge. So it makes sense to buy in 0% finance as I will anyway pay 800 rs service charge for my credit card.

Will update when I am back

 

[Tron05]

^^ did u ask the best price without the exchange offer??

 

[vinod_david]

Brilliant. Now, get ready to see some stunning PQ from your SCV STB. If you watch Star Movies, HBO, Animal Planet, you will be amazed by the depth in color and movie like experience.

 

[madbullram]

Okay guys, its done. It was a very pleasant experience. This is what I paid:
Down payment - 14580 Rs (1260 is processing and doc charges) I paid this on my card and he didnt take any processing fee for this.
EMI X 8 = 3333 Rs

This is in exchange of my 29 Onida. The person in charge, Vaibhav was very polite and professional. I have spoken to him about our forum and he said he will work out a good deal and let me know for our forum. Have informed him that we get PV8 for 48400 in Chellamani and 48000 from Devi electronics.

Once I get the details I will post the exclusive offer from J D Electronics. Also good news is he said he can deliver anywhere in India. So, the price will not be just for Chennai. So far my experience with them has been very very polite and professional when compared to Jayam, Chellamani, Vasant and et all.

Will update as soon as I get the list.

My TV should be home by Wednesday.

 

[venkatcr]

Congrats Madbull.

Couple of points. I read in this thread about a DVD Player. Do you already have one, or are you planning to buy one? I believe all Pioneer product are going to be available in Indian from 15th Jan. Pioneer makes excellent DVD Players at dirt cheap rates.

Secondly to add to our woes regarding Sales guys knowledge - the other day I went to Viveks at Mylapore. Was checking a Philips DVD Player, and asked a sales guy at what resolution is it capable of playing. He looked at me as if I was a from Mars or Venus, and very confidently told me, 'Resolution is for TVs, not DVD Players.' I just smiled at him and asked him to show me the box to get the information I need.

Cheers

 

[moserw]

madbullram,

Congrats. You will enjoy great PQ for years on the PV8. Great VFM.

PS - When and where is the party???

 

[madbullram]

Congrats Madbull.

Couple of points. I read in this thread about a DVD Player. Do you already have one, or are you planning to buy one? I believe all Pioneer product are going to be available in Indian from 15th Jan. Pioneer makes excellent DVD Players at dirt cheap rates.

Secondly to add to our woes regarding Sales guys knowledge - the other day I went to Viveks at Mylapore. Was checking a Philips DVD Player, and asked a sales guy at what resolution is it capable of playing. He looked at me as if I was a from Mars or Venus, and very confidently told me, 'Resolution is for TVs, not DVD Players.' I just smiled at him and asked him to show me the box to get the information I need.

Cheers

Thanks mate. I have a Philips HTS 4750 capable of 1080i for DVDs.

But whats really going to be my primary player is WD TV which would be playing all my HD movie content and DVD rips which I would be ripping and storing on my 1TB hard drive.

Before buying anything, do check with J D Electronics for pricing. I am working with them to give our forum members for a good deal.