HD TV Advice

TYR said:
Well, seeing that picture quality was important enough for me to go and spend R40K on a panel, I think I am actually in a position to answer your question. I bought a R30K Samsung fullHD 50" plasma when they first came out. I was NOT happy with its overall performance (contrast levels, image processing when panning sideways across scenes etc.) I eventually paid another R10K in and got a 50" HD ready Pioneer KURO. I still think that was the best 10 G's I have ever spent on my theatre. ... and yes I do watch a lot of BluRay's running off an Oppo BDP-83. The KURO's superior image processing and deep blacks puts any other panel to shame. I sit 3m away from a 50" panel, believe me, you will not see a difference on 42" panels at that distance, even with a side-by-side fullHD and HD ready setup.

So, you decide whether you want to spend the extra bucks so you can answer 'yes' to every uninformed oke who will ask you "Wow, is it full HD?" ... or wheteher you rather want to spend the extra bucks where it makes a real difference.
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yeh, sure...that's why I have R30k Dynaudio bookshelves.....

been in this boat and I almost pulled the trigger on a R60k Mark Levinson surround processor.....hmmm....

you can't compare a Pioneer Kuro to a R7k panel.....its criminal

I have a R7k 32'' Panasonic HD-ready LCD panel. It has its flaws, but I can't get myself to blow a huge amount of cash on something that is replaced in 2 months time...its like buying a laptop to check you emails and generate ".doc" files....

what I can say is that you would want a BIG screen....the 42'' FHD LCD looks good....but it has its flaws...
 
Interesting article:
http://www.cnet.com/hdtv-resolution/

..."According to the Imaging Science Foundation, a group that consults for home-theater manufacturers and trains professional video calibrators, the most important aspect of picture quality is contrast ratio the second most important is color saturation, and the third is color accuracy. Resolution comes in fourth, despite being the most-cited HDTV specification....."
 
Kheiron said:
plasma handles SD much better than LCD/LED so if you can, definitely take that option.
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Problem is that there are only three plasma manufacturers left standing.... the rest have baled out
as there is no longer any long term sustainability in this technology.
 
Thank you all for you input: The verdict is - Don't worry about 1080p vs 720p, rather worry about image quality...

I see Nashua Electronics are selling the Samsung PS42C430 42 inch HD Ready Plasma TV for R500 less than Game (Both of them have the "Found it cheaper" policy)

Would you say this is a good buy or should I rather look for an equivalent LCD?
 
ice4444 said:
Thank you all for you input: The verdict is - Don't worry about 1080p vs 720p, rather worry about image quality...

I see Nashua Electronics are selling the Samsung PS42C430 42 inch HD Ready Plasma TV for R500 less than Game (Both of them have the "Found it cheaper" policy)

Would you say this is a good buy or should I rather look for an equivalent LCD?
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I would say that is a good buy, yes, but take the quote to Game, they'll probably give you a further R200 - R300 off in the form of a voucher. That is what they usually do when someone beats their price.
 
TYR said:
I would say that is a good buy, yes, but take the quote to Game, they'll probably give you a further R200 - R300 off in the form of a voucher. That is what they usually do when someone beats their price.
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game will beat nashuas price by 10% of the difference - so by R50
 
Kheiron said:
Not true at all unless the screen size is bigger than 50". Smaller than that and you're not going to notice the difference.
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Not true unless you're sitting further than the recommended distance from the TV.
 
ice4444 said:
Interesting article:
http://www.cnet.com/hdtv-resolution/

..."According to the Imaging Science Foundation, a group that consults for home-theater manufacturers and trains professional video calibrators, the most important aspect of picture quality is contrast ratio the second most important is color saturation, and the third is color accuracy. Resolution comes in fourth, despite being the most-cited HDTV specification....."
Click to expand...
They do that because it is easily quantifiable.
 
TYR said:
I sit 3m away from a 50" panel, believe me, you will not see a difference on 42" panels at that distance, even with a side-by-side fullHD and HD ready setup.
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Well 3m is nearly 50% over the THX maximum recommended distance a 42". It's even over the maximum recommended for a 50".
 
noxibox said:
Well 3m is nearly 50% over the THX maximum recommended distance a 42". It's even over the maximum recommended for a 50".
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Yes, it is ... not gonna go look it up now, but the max I think for 50" is around 2.7m, mine is actually 2.8m (room is actually setup according to THX specs)... any closer just felt really uncomfortable ... either way I did the side by side tests and unlike all the okes falling for marketing hype and saying things like "Don't waste your money on HD ready" without giving good reasons, I have actually put my money where my mouth is and bought the more expensive HD ready set over the full HD set (also not a piece of junk at R30K, mind you) ... and I couldn't be happier.
 
TYR said:
Why is that a problem? You need exactly ONE manufacturer to make you a tv.
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Do you know what happened to Betamax when only Sony manufactured that standard/technology?
 
For you guys who are looking for a blue-ray player A Phillips one is going for 1500 at both Game and Pick N Pay
 
dbnnet said:
Do you know what happened to Betamax when only Sony manufactured that standard/technology?
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Yeah, makes perfect sense ... When everybody else have LCD's I guess I'll have to just throw out my plasmas because I won't be able to watch anything on it ?!?!?! ... plasma and LCD use different HDMI standards then ????? C'mon dude.
 
greg_SA said:
That depends on the size of the screen... for most people Full HD is where the money is wasted :)
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Reminds me of 16bit and 24bit . Most people said that you cannot make out the difference between them. But I could. Thruth be told the only people that will notice the difference between them on 32inch screens will be people use to watching full hd.
 
TYR said:
... When everybody else have LCD's .....
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That is the point - Plasma is a technology at the end of its life. Only 3 manufacturers left, next year there will only be two.
No one should waste their time buying them anymore. I certainly never said they won' work... just that it fast becoming replaced by other technology. Don't waste your time and money with Plasma.
 
Ok so this is an honest opinion from someone who has seen both.
I bought a Samsung series5 550 40" LCD on Tuesday. My father in law has a Panasonic 42" plasma that he bought 6 months ago.
SD signals are not even comparable on the two tv's the plasma is much better. HD signals when it gets to full hd the LCD is better.
Its seriously annoying watching the soccer on SD broadcast where my old CRT tv had better clarity. Its not that I bought a bad LCD, it was R9500 so its a pretty decent.

I think the clear defining rule for them is:

TV and DVD/HD DSTV = Plasma
Gaming(xbox,ps3 etc),Blu-ray, HTPC = LCD

Im still happy with the LCD because I intend to use it for what its meant to be used for. I could have bought the equivalent in plasma for R1500 less though.
 
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