Which TV in the 40-45k range to buy ?

[max123_ind]

Now for the fianl piece in my HT setup.

I have an Oppo player and a not-so-great Onkyo HT system. I need to buy a TV, 42" is ideal for my room size so I have narrowed down to Plasma as the Samsungs and Sony LCDs are around 64-69K for the 40 inch 100Hz models and ppl @ home watch standard cable TV.

I wanna go for a Plasma from LG or Panasonic (as Samsung are costlier). In Panasonic is it better to go for the X10 or the X20? The v20 is out of my budget.

Please advise.

Just ran a side by side comparison and I see a lot of things missing on the newer X20 comapred to it's younger bro X10.. what the heck?..

 

[VSG12777]

The LG 2010 range plasmas are excellent value for money products. The 42PJ350 from LG can be purchased for around 36-37k here in Chennai and looks very good, both for SD and HD content. It's a 720p panel only and not full HD. Resolution is 1024x768. My friend and I had compared the PJ350 and Panny X20 side by side and the LG looked better. It has a more reflective screen, but the picture quality is better and colours look more natural. If you watch a lot of TV programs or DTH and would like better sound, then you can go for the PJ560 which has 2-way 10-speaker system side mounted. I just picked up a 50PJ560 and am more than thrilled with the sound from the tv speakers. Very nice for watching tv programs and negates the need to turn on the AV receiver to get the sound.

Plus the Pannys have the problem of the black levels reducing after a while (which has not been fixed in the 2010 plasmas, and which would make the Pannys worse than Samsung or LG plasmas in terms of black levels, after a certain number of hours)

X10-X20: Yes. The X10 was a better plasma in terms of specs than the new X20. Many people say it's better to avoid Panasonic plasmas till next year, in the light of this reducing black level problem that has not been fixed yet by the company. People have reported problems even with the fully loaded 42V20 which costs more than 60k. So I'd really stay away from Panasonic for now, if I were you. Also, people expect that Pioneer's Kuro technology would be incorporated into Panny plasmas only from 2011 onwards.

---Venkat

 

[longshanks]

For your budget the only bet is a Sony E series 42" LCD from grey or a Panasonic x series or a Samsung plasma.\

HD ready plasma will definitely be better for SD viewing compared to any full HD lcd.

Try auditioning both and find which you prefer before buying.

 

[max123_ind]

I read in this forum that LG plasma (at leasy budget ones) lacks a lot of details and Dark Knight does not show details/textures.. in that case even if Panasonic loses black slowly it's better right?

I gotta go in for a demo to confirm myself.

 

[VSG12777]

Max, it's not even half as bad as mentioned. Consider this view point. If you start looking for defects, you will see only defects. On the whole, black levels in LGs and Samsungs are a bit less than Panasonic plasmas but they are still fantastic value for money products. And features wise, they are far better than Panasonic, even service wise. Ultimately, you have to decide based on what looks nice to your eyes. Let your eyes be the judge. Demo the various brands and models and see which one you like.

---Venkat