Suggestions needed on choosing between LG 60PK550R and Panny 50V20D

[c_prabhu]

Hi all,
Wondering if you'd be able to help me out of this predicament - I'm urgently looking to replace my Sony 32" LCD with a bigger (read > 50in screen) with the world cup just around the corner. I saw Panny 50V20D in the showroom last weekend and was quite impressed. The lowest price I could get was Rs 1,06,000.

I was also impressed by the reviews that LG's 60PK550 has got but I haven't yet seen it in action. The best bit about this unit is the price - around 1,20,000 - pretty sweet price to size/performance ratio, I think. I'm a bit worried about the dodgy QC that LG seems to have, based on the feedback in 50PK550 owners' thread.

I'm not a great movie buff - probably watch about 2-3 a week in the movie channels. I don't have a BD player yet, but will soon buy one. I'm more in to sports - Cricket, Soccer, F1, Tennis, NBA, MLB, Rugby etc - well, you get the drift.

So, I feel, and I could well be wrong, that the additional 10" that LG has would be a definite advantage watching sports, given that my viewing distance would be close to 17 ft. I probably have some leeway in reducing the distance but not too much as the missus is against it. :sad:

Now, is there anything inherent in either the Panny or the LG that would preclude it from being the better choice for sports action? Advice from the owners of these TVs and those who have seen them both in action is much appreciated. Thanks!

Prabhu

 

[longshanks]

V20D definitely has better blacks and lesser retention than the pk550 but 60" is hard to resist and pk550 as a tv has very good performance.

Get the 60" pk550 specially since ur viewing distance is 17ft.50 inch tv's are starting to look small for me from 10 feet.

 

[CANDUU]

only for the viewing distance I suggest lg 60" ,always bigger is good ,but performance wise panny v20 is way a head than lg.

 

[c_prabhu]

V20D definitely has better blacks and lesser retention than the pk550 but 60" is hard to resist and pk550 as a tv has very good performance.

Get the 60" pk550 specially since ur viewing distance is 17ft.50 inch tv's are starting to look small for me from 10 feet.

Thanks Rajapraveen! I'm leaning towards LG as well, but there's a little bit of worry in the back of my mind saying - what if the panel wasn't thoroughly QC'd and I end up with a smattering of dead pixels on my screen etc? If it boils down to luck, then I'm about as lucky as MSD in tosses :sad:
That is where the Panny backed by 3 years warranty scores, but I can't have it both ways I guess.

 

[heynownow]

LG has fav after sales support, even if you have the misfortune of being shipped a defective piece, rest assured it will be replaced. My 50Pk550 died on the 1st day 4 months back, touch wood, no problems with the replacement. There are folks here who have got their PK550's replaced 3-4 times. Just be careful in the 1st month, and follow the burn in guidelines, and you'll never regret your purchase decision.

 

[CANDUU]

Msd toss omg!!! Pls dont remind abt it,panny v20 gives u peace of mind mate,no one can doubt the quality of panny ,i used 29 crt tv for 10 years of panny and now I switched to panny lcd....

 

[viper08]

Not talking about the performance here but I feel that after some time ultimately the size has a wining edge over the features for the price point. Considering you have scope for viewing distance, you will always feel to get a bigger size no matter how big your current screen is.

 

[theavdhesh]

Do check out 60PK950 as well. I can vouch for 50PK550 which is a good value for money and a great performer.

 

[haisaikat]

Thanks Rajapraveen! I'm leaning towards LG as well, but there's a little bit of worry in the back of my mind saying - what if the panel wasn't thoroughly QC'd and I end up with a smattering of dead pixels on my screen etc? If it boils down to luck, then I'm about as lucky as MSD in tosses :sad:
That is where the Panny backed by 3 years warranty scores, but I can't have it both ways I guess.

A 60 inch plasma would be good I gues if you are not going to play it throughout the day and only on occassions otherwise its power bill will knock everyone off. However one adavantage that I see in the LG models is that if you compare the 42inch plasma and the 50 inch plasma (U series) of panasonic the power consumptions are 290W and 410W approx. But a 60 inch LG is consuming 249W????????? Not sure why the panasonic ones eat that much of power. Hope it adds some value to the PQ.

 

[longshanks]

Thanks Rajapraveen! I'm leaning towards LG as well, but there's a little bit of worry in the back of my mind saying - what if the panel wasn't thoroughly QC'd and I end up with a smattering of dead pixels on my screen etc? If it boils down to luck, then I'm about as lucky as MSD in tosses :sad:
That is where the Panny backed by 3 years warranty scores, but I can't have it both ways I guess.

LG support is very good as well and i think the 60" ones are imported from korea so no seconds thoughts in terms of quality.

Not sure if Panasonic offers 3 years warranty any more and the build quality of both the tv's must be some what similar.

There is also the pk 950 which is available in 60" for abt 1.25 to 1.35 lakhs India and it is an excellent tv.


I own the v20 and i know its strong points are blacks and less retention compared to other current plasmas.

 

[c_prabhu]

LG has fav after sales support, even if you have the misfortune of being shipped a defective piece, rest assured it will be replaced. My 50Pk550 died on the 1st day 4 months back, touch wood, no problems with the replacement. There are folks here who have got their PK550's replaced 3-4 times. Just be careful in the 1st month, and follow the burn in guidelines, and you'll never regret your purchase decision.

Thanks heynownow.. Is it worth going for the extended warranty or an AMC given its propensity to go kaput? Also, are there any LG approved settings to be used during the break-in period? Thanks again!

Prabhu

 

[c_prabhu]

Not talking about the performance here but I feel that after some time ultimately the size has a wining edge over the features for the price point. Considering you have scope for viewing distance, you will always feel to get a bigger size no matter how big your current screen is.

+1 to that viper08.. Within a couple of weeks of getting my 32" Sony in 2006, I felt that I should've at least gone for a 40 incher. Is there an end to a man's greed?

 

[Kittu]

Prabhu , go with V20... Try to check shah electronics or vasanth & co for best prices... I am sure you would want to upgrade to a 120" screen soon ..

 

[c_prabhu]

LG support is very good as well and i think the 60" ones are imported from korea so no seconds thoughts in terms of quality.

Not sure if Panasonic offers 3 years warranty any more and the build quality of both the tv's must be some what similar.

There is also the pk 950 which is available in 60" for abt 1.25 to 1.35 lakhs India and it is an excellent tv.


I own the v20 and i know its strong points are blacks and less retention compared to other current plasmas.

I couldn't see the PK950 in the LG India website but it seems to be THX certified unit.. Are you sure it's going for 1.25L to 1.35L? The price quoted by the LG guy for PK550 is 1.23L. I'll probably be able to get it down to around 1.1 to 1.15L.

I'm going to demo the 50PK550 tomorrow in Velachery, and if I like it I'll probably pull the trigger on the 60 incher.. hopefully it works out..Thanks!

 

[c_prabhu]

Prabhu , go with V20... Try to check shah electronics or vasanth & co for best prices... I am sure you would want to upgrade to a 120" screen soon ..

Thanks Kittu.. 120" screen? :licklips: I was actually thinking about going for a HD projector like Epson 8350 or something similar and doing away with a TV altogether.. I might even be able to get a friend or a relative to bring it from the US for around Rs 60k. With an average lamp life of 3000 hrs, I might be blowing a bulb every year, which means an operating annual cost of around 12k. For 5 years, I would've spent around 1.2L on a 100" full HD display, which compares favourably to any LED/Plasma TV out there in the market today.. Apart from possibly lighting I can't see any issues with this arrangement.. something to think about, eh??

 

[Kittu]

Thanks Kittu.. 120" screen? :licklips: I was actually thinking about going for a HD projector like Epson 8350 or something similar and doing away with a TV altogether.. I might even be able to get a friend or a relative to bring it from the US for around Rs 60k. With an average lamp life of 3000 hrs, I might be blowing a bulb every year, which means an operating annual cost of around 12k. For 5 years, I would've spent around 1.2L on a 100" full HD display, which compares favourably to any LED/Plasma TV out there in the market today.. Apart from possibly lighting I can't see any issues with this arrangement.. something to think about, eh??

Well since you have 32 inch sony for routine viewing , I'd say in the long run if you like to watch lot of sports, movies in hd go with the projector setup.. A full hd one with nice screen. 3 to 4 years is avg runtime of the bulbs..Unless you are 24/7 ... So no issues with replacing bulb also.. Give it a thought go for a setup which you want for longrun? ......I dont know if bulb is that expensive, with more people moving towards this setups and imports are becoming slightly cheaper... bulb price shld be coming down... go for one.

 

[c_prabhu]

A 60 inch plasma would be good I gues if you are not going to play it throughout the day and only on occassions otherwise its power bill will knock everyone off. However one adavantage that I see in the LG models is that if you compare the 42inch plasma and the 50 inch plasma (U series) of panasonic the power consumptions are 290W and 410W approx. But a 60 inch LG is consuming 249W????????? Not sure why the panasonic ones eat that much of power. Hope it adds some value to the PQ.

Thanks for that Saikat.. yes, I've to be wary of the power consumption as well, as on an average the TV is on in my household for about 12 hrs everyday...

 

[c_prabhu]

Well since you have 32 inch sony for routine viewing , I'd say in the long run if you like to watch lot of sports, movies in hd go with the projector setup.. A full hd one with nice screen. 3 to 4 years is avg runtime of the bulbs..Unless you are 24/7 ... So no issues with replacing bulb also.. Give it a thought go for a setup which you want for longrun? ......I dont know if bulb is that expensive, with more people moving towards this setups and imports are becoming slightly cheaper... bulb price shld be coming down... go for one.

Yes, I should've told you that I'm already using a projector - Optoma Movietime - the resolution is fine, it puts out nearly 96" diag image and serves the purpose for marquee sporting events... But a very good full HD projector would be in a different league altogether.. as you said, something to be given a serious thought.. Thanks!!

 

[longshanks]

I couldn't see the PK950 in the LG India website but it seems to be THX certified unit.. Are you sure it's going for 1.25L to 1.35L?

PK950 is not in their website but is available for sale, i confirmed this by calling LG shop in chennai and they quoted 1.4 lakhs and was open for bargaining so i guess i would have got it easily for 1.3 lakhs.

here is a thread which has some details of the pk950 in india.

http://www.hifivision.com/television/11459-lg-50pk950-availaibility-pricing.html

60" pk950 or its replacement in 2011 is definitely on my list of things to buy.Since lg is not that familiar as Panasonic or Samsung in India the price is very reasonable and performance of the pk950 is very good.

 

[c_prabhu]

PK950 is not in their website but is available for sale, i confirmed this by calling LG shop in chennai and they quoted 1.4 lakhs and was open for bargaining so i guess i would have got it easily for 1.3 lakhs.

Could you please let me know which LG showroom in Chennai you called and the no. if you have it handy? I'll check in Velachery tomorrow if they have one on display.. Thanks.