LCD and Plasma Bargains and Discussions thread

Hi. I've read through the last many pages looking for current bargains on plasma displays and would like some advice before laying out the cash. I watch b/ray, dvd and mkv rips. I have an Xbox and a HTPC. I don't have DSTV. My viewing distance is between 1.5 to 2m in low light conditions. The Samsung 550 seems to be the one to beat but I'm curious to know if there is something available in a smaller size without 3D and maybe a bit cheaper. I'm also concerned that a 50' will be a bit oversized for gaming at such a close viewing distance. Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
adviseme said:
Hi. I've read through the last many pages looking for current bargains on plasma displays and would like some advice before laying out the cash. I watch b/ray, dvd and mkv rips. I have an Xbox and a HTPC. I don't have DSTV. My viewing distance is between 1.5 to 2m in low light conditions. The Samsung 550 seems to be the one to beat but I'm curious to know if there is something available in a smaller size without 3D and maybe a bit cheaper. I'm also concerned that a 50' will be a bit oversized for gaming at such a close viewing distance. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Budget?
Any brand restrictions?
 
adviseme said:
Hi. I've read through the last many pages looking for current bargains on plasma displays and would like some advice before laying out the cash. I watch b/ray, dvd and mkv rips. I have an Xbox and a HTPC. I don't have DSTV. My viewing distance is between 1.5 to 2m in low light conditions. The Samsung 550 seems to be the one to beat but I'm curious to know if there is something available in a smaller size without 3D and maybe a bit cheaper. I'm also concerned that a 50' will be a bit oversized for gaming at such a close viewing distance. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Nope there's nothing else. Only HD Ready/720p plasmas. For close viewing distance you'll want Full HD/1080p. 51" FHD plasma will be fantastic, would go with the Samsung PS51E550.
 
Thanks for the reply. Are you aware of any specials? And is the E550 as good as the previous D550?
 
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Went to Cats, Game and Hifi corp' today. Best price is R11,999. What I did notice was that the cheaper HD ready series 4 Samsungs were actually remarkably good. Starting to wonder if FHD is worth the extra few K.
 
adviseme said:
Went to Cats, Game and Hifi corp' today. Best price is R11,999. What I did notice was that the cheaper HD ready series 4 Samsungs were actually remarkably good. Starting to wonder if FHD is worth the extra few K.
Click to expand...

Overpriced.

Depends on your viewing distance. Since most people sit far away FHD does tend to be over rated. Contrast ratio > resolution. And plasmas have higher contrast ratios generally, especially at the lower end.
 
Tag11 said:
If I go for this: http://www.catsdigital.co.za/60e550-.html

What am I missing compared to the DOUBLE-THE-PRICE 64e8000 ?
Click to expand...

Generally it'll be a better engine in the higher end sets, better motion handling, narrower bezel, SMART functions, etc.

I haven't seen the E8000 plazzie but I'd say it's not worth the R20k premium. E550 is already brilliant and smokes similarly priced mid range LED-LCDs.
 
Thanks... And in terms of playing media over wifi and USB? Does the E550 play everything?
 
The e550 has built-in wifi. No dongle required. So far I have not encountered a video file format that does not work as well.

Truly awesome TV.
 
Badprop_za said:
The e550 has built-in wifi. No dongle required. So far I have not encountered a video file format that does not work as well.

Truly awesome TV.
Click to expand...

Thanks, how good is the SD up conversion? With such a big screen I'm concerned that Sky News, Action, and Series channel will look very bad. I don't expect miracles, I understand bad source equals bad picture quality, but generally I've found plasmas to be more forgiving, and the quality of certain models is much better than others.

Is DVD acceptable too?
 
Tag11 said:
Thanks, how good is the SD up conversion?
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The optimal setup is actually for the TV to do zero scaling at all. That is an HDPVR set to upscale to 1080i and TV set to 1:1 pixel mapping mode (Screen Fit).

Tag11 said:
Is DVD acceptable too?
Click to expand...
Again dependant on the competence of the source device. I use a PS3 which upscales DVDs very well to 1080p. Again best with the TV's Screen Size set to Screen Fit.
 
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Howzit,

currently my TV is not set-up for upscaling as mentioned by Roman. I am still using a SD PVR (Have not bought a HD PVR yet), and the pq is alot better that it was on my CRT.
 
Badprop_za said:
I am still using a SD PVR
Click to expand...
You cannot avoid upscaling (by the TV) with an SDPVR. It can only output SD 720x576, so the TV must be upscaling the picture to its native resolution. What TV model do you have?

Badprop_za said:
pq is alot better that it was on my CRT.
Click to expand...
But this is still short of how good it could be (for SD). Even more than the scaling, your pq is being compromised by the digital-analogue-digital conversion from the SDPVR's analogue outputs (RF or RCA). Only HDMI is full digital end-to-end.
 
Roman4604 said:
The optimal setup is actually for the TV to do zero scaling at all. That is an HDPVR set to upscale to 1080i and TV set to 1:1 pixel mapping mode (Screen Fit).

Again dependant on the competence of the source device. I use a PS3 which upscales DVDs very well to 1080p. Again best with the TV's Screen Size set to Screen Fit.
Click to expand...

Thank you... that is exactly the same as my current setup too (except I have my HD PVR set to 720p instead of 1080i... cannot see a difference between the two)

And from your perspective, the SD channels viewed via the HD PVR are more than acceptable on this screen?


Badprop_za said:
Howzit,

currently my TV is not set-up for upscaling as mentioned by Roman. I am still using a SD PVR (Have not bought a HD PVR yet), and the pq is alot better that it was on my CRT.
Click to expand...

Thanks... that pretty much confirms that SD footage is handled pretty well by this lower-end Samsung model.

I had a salesman (not your typical dumb salesman, but a very experienced and knowledgeable guy) give me an analogy between the 64E8000 and the 60E550: An M5 versus a 3-series BMW. Both do the job, but the E8000 is in a different class in terms of processing power and features. He acknowledged that the E550 is an absolute bargain for what you're getting, but the E8000 is worth the extra cash. It's making me more confused than ever!

Does the E550 not have any of the SmartTV features at all?
 
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