Which 50inch Plasma to buy?

[vartakavi]

Finally decided to lay our old BPL Sanyo 25inch CRT to rest and began looking for a 40 to 50 inch flat screen TV.

Our viewing distance is a little over 2 metres - the living room is fairly large and going over the various posts in this forum, we are inclined to go for a 50" TV, budget permitting.

We are not interested in 3D. Recently subscribed to Tata Sky HD, but most of our time will be spent watching SD channels - I do not see this changing much over the next 3 years. We do occasionally watch movies from DVDs and VCDs - mostly old Hindi and English moveis. Our son has a good store of movies on his lap top and external hard disk, including some Blue Ray rips, which he will want to watch during his holidays.

Went to a couple of stores nearby and began looking at TVs - also pored through this Forum.

Ruled out the LED TVs because we do not want to spend that much. The LCD TVs looked brighter and the picture looked crisper than the Plasmas, but based on the feedback in this forum, it looks like Plasma is going to be a good bet for our kind of usage. And better value for money too.

Panasonic seems to be having the best Plasmas, going by the feedback. One store had the Panasonic 50X30 for 56K, and the 50U30 for 66K.

I did not see much feedback from actual users of either of these models in this forum. There seem to be a lot of satisfied users of the V20, which I believe has been replaced by the X30 and U30.

I checked the specs of both the models - the 50X30 is HD Ready, and 50U30 is Full HD. Now from what I read in this forum, at a viewing distance of 2 metres or more, one cannot make out difference between these two. Are there any other differences between the X30 and U30 that will justify the additional 10K price tag?

Would be glad to have feedback from anyone who has actually bought one of these models to help me in making a decision. By the way, are V20s still being sold or are they out of the showrooms? Is it worth buying a V20 now if it is available anywhere?

 

[just4kix]

I am a plasma supporter but let not my or anyone's opinion dictate your thinking. Determine what appeals to you most - LCD, LED, or plasma.

Also do not stick to demos of Panasonic alone - review Samsung and LG also. But probably you will ultimately find that Panasonic are indeed the best - at the same time overpriced too.

The X30 range is a replacement for X20 range and the U30 for the U20. The V20 has no (equivalent) replacement. But Panasonic is now pushing VT30 instead of V20 because they probably feel that at that price, people desire 3d features also. Have a look at Samsung 51D550 also.

While it is true that at a distance of 2m you will not make out the difference between HD and full-HD, you will be able to watch full-HD at a distance of 1m from TV with no eye strain but not vice versa. So in my opinion, it is worth going for full-HD for a measily 10k over 56k.

V20 is still being sold. It is a notch above the X30 and U30. But these pieces are now the left over balances of the existing stock.

BTW, you will find watching VCD on such flat panels verrry painful. VCD video will be seen very fuzzy, grainny, choppy, etc. on such a large TV.

 

[prabu]

I have checked out Samsung 51D550 and it seems like the screen is quite reflective.
Please take this into account while purchasing the TV, obviously in a darker room, you may ignore this pitfall.

 

[denzong]

you dont really require a very dark room for a plasma.
i have both a lcd and a plasma (pana ofcourse) and i have no regrets taking a pana. i have a 50u20d
go ahead with the purchase and yes i would support buying a full hd rather then hd ready cause going by the dth providers and the GOI, hd would be a mandate within 2-3 years (as india follows a lot on the US for this and its the same in US too). therefore i would suggest go with a full hd one

 

[Kittu]

If you are not in a rush , you can wait for the VT30 or ST30 launch. Specs look impressive.

 

[olly42]

But if you are in a hurry 50V20 is the best bet this comes from another satisfied Pana Plasma user

 

[prankey]

^ yes but other than the panel on 50V20, in comparison I found Samsung picture processing and looks much superior. Also, there might be a catch on Panasonic's warranty as post 1 year, I heard that only repairs and key components like Panel is covered.

I recently discovered that LG seems to be offering an optional upto 5 years extended warranty. You could check that as well.

Also, you could join my thread for GB price of Rs.63k with 1 3D glass (effective cost of just 59K for a 3D plasma with great looks).

 

[awaneesh72]

popular notion of panny being the best plasma panel .. i second..i've 50vt20 and am ecstatic with overall pic reproduction..however flickering may be an issue for very sensitive eyes and too close a watch...
Another thing which irks me is the service support extended by panny...pathetic.atleast in lucknow..keep in mind that
As far as neo PDP plasma panel is concerned..its the best u can buy today..
all the best.

 

[SaurabhK]

Panasonic seems to be having the best Plasmas, going by the feedback. One store had the Panasonic 50X30 for 56K, and the 50U30 for 66K.

Did you get the prices for these plasmas from a Panasonic brand showroom or a secondary dealer as prices in delhi seem to be on a higher side..?Is the U30 readily available? These are for plasma right?

 

[vartakavi]

These prices are from a showroom well known here for its competitive pricing. Sorry, I didn't specifically ask about the availability of the U30, but it was on display.

Today I looked up Reliance Digital and found prices were a bit higher. They had stock of the V20 (both 42 and 50 inch). Also on display were the 50X20D and the 50U20D, both of which seem to be last year's models. We could see a clear difference in the PQ of the V20. But then the 50V20D was priced at 99K:lol:

One LED model from Panasonic 42D25 was on display for 65K. It was positioned just above the Plasmas. The image was probably sharpest and brightest on this model, but colours were a bit washed out as compared to the natural colour rendition on the V20.

 

[just4kix]

You should never go for a TV base on the colours on display models in showroom - be it plasma or LCD or LED.

You should insist on taking the "remote" in your own "control" and set the (video) settings to various settings such as Natural, Dynamic, Cinema, Nuetral, etc. Choose the same setting for all TVs under comparison and then decide.

 

[vartakavi]

Thanks. Yes, probably the dealers set up those sets they are trying to push (more margin?) to look brighter.

I plan to shortlist two or three models and then try them out with similar settings to take a final decision.

So far, we were impressed with Pana Plasma 42V20. We also saw the Sony LCD 46CX520which looked good and appears to suit our requirements.

Price-wise, there is not much difference between these two sets. Sony is larger and slimmer, but the Pana seems to have more features. PQ on both is superb.

Would highly appreciate any feedback those who have already bought a CX520 series Sony.