50" LG plasma at Game?

[milomak]

yeah i've seen numbers range between 150 and 200 hours.

 

[PoiZoNouZ]

I have the LG PG5070FR, full HD plasma, and I have loved it since the day I got it. I had a Scarlet 42" LCD before that, and the realism and quality of the plasma smacks it hands down!

Screen burn does not seem to be an issue nowadays, I have a 3 year old Samsung 42" in the bedroom, zero screen burn it. Always have the pixel orbiter on, and you will be fine.

 

[sand_man]

Screen burn does not seem to be an issue nowadays, I have a 3 year old Samsung 42" in the bedroom, zero screen burn it. Always have the pixel orbiter on, and you will be fine.

I also got a 42" Sammy in the bedroom. The sets were bought around the same time IE about 2 months ago and the set in the bedroom is 100%, no issues at all.

The 50" monster in the lounge is a different story though...

 

[iceman23]

@iceman23

It is always a concern with plasma, but I think the technology has matured a lot since the late 90's and I'm not too worried about the burn-in.

You must be very excited. I'm envious already. How much are you paying for yours? And are you taking an extended warrenty?

Was offered 20 700 by two stores but they didn't offer extended warranties. Eventually got it for 21 500 by a store which offers the warranties.

 

[Trix]

hey iceman and ipodman and anyone else.
I have 2 mates, one who is keen on getting a 50b450 and the other 42b450. Can you please recommend a place that offers extended manufacturer warranty and free delivery in cape town?

Was offered 20 700 by two stores but they didn't offer extended warranties. Eventually got it for 21 500 by a store which offers the warranties.

 

[ipodmusicman]

@Trix, I haven't done much research as to where I am going to buy my TV, but Tafelberg Furnatures comes to mind. They generally have really good prices, are willing to negotiate and I'd think that they offer extended warrenties. Negotiating free delivery is a good option too.

I might get the TV at Frontosa (PC wholesaler - don't sell to the public) for around 20k (perhaps less), but I seriously doubt they'll be able to offer an extended warrenty, so I might have to shop around as well.

For me the extended warrenty is a must!

But please do let me know where you decide to buy the TV and what the experience was like.

Those models you mentioned - I popped in at Hifi Corp at Canal Walk at the Boulevard shopping complex on the edge of CW and saw them there as well. Can't recall any prices though, but worth a shot.

I also believe that Ster Furnatures are also negotiable too.

Time to get on the phone and call 'em all up.

 

[iceman23]

You can get the 50B450 from Game. They had it for 13000 last week I think and they offer the warranties. The B450 is HD Ready though. They have the B550 which is full HD for 17000 as well.

Makro had a 50 inch samsung plasma for 11999 a while ago - not sure if they still have it. We also have a couple of other stores here but I dont think you have them there. DionWired, Hirschs, Kay Makan - All of them offer extended warranties.

 

[ipodmusicman]

Apparently a DionWired opened at Somerset Mall in Somerset West.

 

[Trix]

Thanx for all the tips guys!

My mates somehow organised a good deal through a distributor at but without the extended warranty. I saw some posts on this forum where their panels (mostly LCD i think) had problems just after 12 month warranty expired and so I recommended to my mates that they should perhaps buy from a place that may give them extended warranty.

 

[PeterCH]

i think my contrast and brightness are around 50. I can only see the image retention when I move close to the screen and there is a white image.

So every two weeks I run the white screen protection (though I find these days i probably do it every 3/4 weeks). and even then I think it is more out of paranoia than absolute need.

my daughter also watches a lot of cbeebies and i don't notice any image retention. i also will spend weekends watching sport and the SS logo doesn't retain.

Don't run the white screen protection. It just degrades the whole screen. There's no real reason to run it. Burn in, if any, usually goes away by itself.

 

[iceman23]

@Trix, I haven't done much research as to where I am going to buy my TV, but Tafelberg Furnatures comes to mind. They generally have really good prices, are willing to negotiate and I'd think that they offer extended warrenties. Negotiating free delivery is a good option too.

I might get the TV at Frontosa (PC wholesaler - don't sell to the public) for around 20k (perhaps less), but I seriously doubt they'll be able to offer an extended warrenty, so I might have to shop around as well.

For me the extended warrenty is a must!

But please do let me know where you decide to buy the TV and what the experience was like.

Those models you mentioned - I popped in at Hifi Corp at Canal Walk at the Boulevard shopping complex on the edge of CW and saw them there as well. Can't recall any prices though, but worth a shot.

I also believe that Ster Furnatures are also negotiable too.

Time to get on the phone and call 'em all up.

Just to update you. My PS50B650 arrived yesterday.

I'll start you off with the bad first.

1) There is no optical audio output like there is in the American / European version. You have to make do with normal Audio out.
2) No Video out (Any types of video out)(I need this for my old LG DVD recorder)
3) The remote is as long as my forearm and not very good looking.
4) I wish I had gone for a bigger model

As you can see, not much bad , now the good.

This TV is fantastic. The standard definition via my SD PVR is terrific. I expected to be good but not this good. The only DSTV channel that looks bad is Trace TV. It has tons of inputs as well. I plugged in my hard drive and it pretty much plays everything, even of a NTFS drive. I also have no buzzing as yet. Also can't say anything about IR as I was constantly changing channels .

The internet functionality wasn't as sluggish as mentioned. Only have two widgets for some reason though, Weather and Youtube. Both work pretty well though. Will try and install more later today. I haven't even tried the DLNA functionality yet. Didn't want to wast my time starting up the laptop.

I would really love to test a B550 now and check the differences. I am sure that the picture engine on the B650 really helps the SD content and therefore is worth the extra money. That as well as the internet / DLNA features and the ability to play movies of a hard drive etc. It also looks better than the 550 with the glass over the bevel and the glass over the stand. The stand also has a glass stalk and the buttons are touch sensitive not that you'll ever need it.

Overall, I love it and I only played with it for a couple of hours. I can see why it was rated the no 1 50 inch plasma on consumer reports. (In terms of functionality vs affordability vs picture quality)

Also, Any Samsung TV purchased from now to December will carry a 3 year warranty. So got my TV + 3 years warranty for 21.5 K and paid another 2K for an extra two years. On second though I probably shouldn't have taken the extra two years but I already did the deal when I ordered so wasn't going to back down from it.

If you need any other info, just let me know...

 

[marco79]

Where can I find out more about the 3 year warrentee?

 

[iceman23]

I told the shop I was purchasing from to phone Samsung who then confirmed it. Dont take NO for an answer

 

[ipodmusicman]

@iceman23 Thanks for the initial impressions of the B650. With buying a flat screen TV, I always have at the back of my mind, the worry that SD (which I watch most of the time with DSTV) wouldn't look that great, but with plasma, I have that better peace of mind that SD would look acceptable. I'm glad that you confirmed that.

As for the bad, for me the lack of an optical output isn't a deal breaker since I'll be getting a media device which I'll be hooking up to my amp for that purpose. HDMI 1.4 will address this issue in the future though. I won't be using its DLNA, YouTube, etc capabilities. I'll probably use the weather widget though.

The remote. I'm definately getting a Harmony One. My wife won't be too chuffed if I have to tell her to set the TV to one source and the amp to another. She finds the current setup complicated enough. One button must do all. My amp does not have any HDMI support so I'll be plugging the HD-PVR's HDMI to the TV for video and the digital coax for audio to the amp. That is, when I get the HD-PVR.

You mentioned that you wished you had gone for a bigger model - is that in size or for the 8 series? I believe the 50" plasma is offered in the 8 series too. Do you know the difference?

But I'm looking forward in hearing about your long term use with the TV. But it does confirm my decision to go for this model in addition to the reviews and other research I've done online.

I really think I should get the TV before the end of Dec to get the 3 year warrenty. Decisions, decisions.

 

[iceman23]

@iceman23 Thanks for the initial impressions of the B650. With buying a flat screen TV, I always have at the back of my mind, the worry that SD (which I watch most of the time with DSTV) wouldn't look that great, but with plasma, I have that better peace of mind that SD would look acceptable. I'm glad that you confirmed that.

SD Looks good, seriously. I currently have the SD PVR connected to it so I am not sure if that's boosting the signal or not but it really is good compared to the LCD's I've seen in shops and at my bro-in laws house.

As for the bad, for me the lack of an optical output isn't a deal breaker since I'll be getting a media device which I'll be hooking up to my amp for that purpose. HDMI 1.4 will address this issue in the future though. I won't be using its DLNA, YouTube, etc capabilities. I'll probably use the weather widget though.

Nah, its not a deal breaker for me as well. Was just a bit annoyed that the Americans get it and we don't, not to mention that this same tv was going for $1024 last month with white glove delivery. Lucky mo-fo's. I have the old Sony 6.2 systems (the grey one) so I wanted to run the sound from the tv's usb drive to that but AV will be fine. I will try DLNA this weekend and see how that goes.

The remote. I'm definately getting a Harmony One. My wife won't be too chuffed if I have to tell her to set the TV to one source and the amp to another. She finds the current setup complicated enough. One button must do all. My amp does not have any HDMI support so I'll be plugging the HD-PVR's HDMI to the TV for video and the digital coax for audio to the amp. That is, when I get the HD-PVR.

The remote is big and doesn't look so good but is quite functional. I also have 5 remotes in the lounge so maybe I should get a universal one. How much are you getting the Harmony for? Also waiting for the HD-PVR. I am hoping they will release this one at a special introductory price as they did previously.

You mentioned that you wished you had gone for a bigger model - is that in size or for the 8 series? I believe the 50" plasma is offered in the 8 series too. Do you know the difference?

No, I am just being silly. I saw the PS63B680 in the shop when I went to pay for the TV. That is massive. Could never justify the money though (55K). Also, I cant see what more the 850 could bring that I would need.

But I'm looking forward in hearing about your long term use with the TV. But it does confirm my decision to go for this model in addition to the reviews and other research I've done online.

I played a few scenes from Wanted that was recorded on my SD-PVR. It was the first time I actually appreciated the car chase scenes. Even the wife was impressed.

Really loving this tv for the little bit I have had it. Cant wait for the weekend when I get two whole days to play with it.

I really think I should get the TV before the end of Dec to get the 3 year warrenty. Decisions, decisions.

Yeah, you should probably take advantage of the warranty but it depends on circumstance I suppose. I was also supposed to get this around Christmas but I was driving the wife crazy with all the research so she told me to get now to prevent her going insane

 

[ipodmusicman]

Ja, I'm always peeved at the yanks for having such good prices on TV's. For what we are paying for this model, we'll be able to get an LED backlit LCD for the same price! Insane!

As for the remote, I can get the Harmony One for around R1800 or so. From what I've heard, it is probably one of the best investment decisions you'll ever make on your entertainment system. I simply cannot wait. I might just pick one up at the end of this month.

My wife put the limit on 50". Anything bigger is just too big according to her, but for me, the bigger the better. I think this model hits the sweet spot, but so far, all the researching and talking about it all the time is starting to wipe off on her too, which is a good thing. I simply cannot wait.

 

[iceman23]

Re: Backlit LED vs Plasma. I actually saw then side by side in the shop playing the same source and I still preferred the Plasma. Even a colleague who was with me who wanted to buy an LCD changed his mind when he saw the difference.

I can't believe I used to be a LCD fan boy before. 6 months ago, I used to think people who bought plasma's were uninformed and outdated. I am glad I am able to admit I was wrong.

I also used to be a Sony fan boy before. No longer though...