1080P Plasma recommendation at DVinfo.net

Michael B. McGee · May 17th, 2009, 07:01 PM

i've searched previous threads and didn't really find enough info. so here goes it. what are your opinions/recommendations on 1080P plasma tvs? after doing some research i'd really like a plasma over a lcd. reasons being: better blacks, contrast, saturation, and viewing angles. ideally, i'd like to use this tv for home viewing: Blu-Ray, Cable TV, DVDs and for monitoring HD footage shot from my Sony EX1 1080P camera.

let me know your experiences as well as recommendations.

thanks,
mike

Tim Dashwood · May 17th, 2009, 07:36 PM

Panasonic's PZ800 or PZ850 series are awesome for the price. We have a 42" & 50" PZ800. I highly recommend them.

Michael B. McGee · May 17th, 2009, 07:44 PM

Also, is it true you can't see the benefits of 1080P on sets smaller than 50"? Cnet.com has stated this in several articles that i've read.

Ray Bell · May 17th, 2009, 09:27 PM

Pioneer has indicated that they are getting out of making Plasma TV's...

There is a store in Dallas that constantly has sales of the Pioneer Plasma TV... buy one
get the second one free...

also from what I understand the best TV on the market at this time is the Laser View DLP

Mitsubishi Electric LaserVue® - Beyond Flat TV, Experience True Dimension™

Ethan Cooper · May 18th, 2009, 08:28 AM

Panasonic, Panasonic, Panasonic.

Their 11 Series professional line plasmas are second to none.

If you can't afford the 11 series and all the required accessories their Viera line isn't half bad either.

Michael B. McGee · May 18th, 2009, 10:48 AM

yeah Ethan, I was just on panasonic's website looking at them. the TH-42PF11UK caught my eye. although its gonna run me about $1900.00 USA.

Learn about Panasonic's TH-42PF11UK

30,000:1 Contrast Ratio seems nice. What's up with Pixel Pitch? I'll google it, but can someone here also explain it?

The TH-42PH11UK for about $1000.00 looks interesting even though its only 720P and 15,000:1 Contrast Ratio. Industry leading 18-bit digital imaging processing must be impressive as well. I guess???

I wonder how they handle SD(480i?) Cable TV signals?

John Peterson · May 21st, 2009, 07:53 AM

Here is a list from Amazon sorted by average customer review. Click on each and read the user reviews. They will be very helpful:

Amazon.com: plasma tv 1080p: Electronics

Same for Newegg user reviews:

Newegg.com - Televisions,Plasma TV,

John

John Peterson · May 21st, 2009, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael B. McGee

Also, is it true you can't see the benefits of 1080P on sets smaller than 50"? Cnet.com has stated this in several articles that I've read.

Yes. The larger the set, the more you can notice the difference. 720p are actually the best buys on the market if you are going for something smaller.

Also, don't forget, the 16:9 TVs are smaller than their equivalent 4:3 sets because they are measured diagonally so you may want a larger TV than you think. Go to a store like Best Buy and look at the TVs and pick the size that looks right to you. Then research it as I listed above using user reviews.

John

Michael B. McGee · May 21st, 2009, 10:42 AM

Thanks John. that was helpful. After 4 days of around the clock research, I'm gonna have to agree with Cnet.com.
HDTV resolution explained - HDTV World - CNET.com

1080P is over-hyped.

I visited a bunch of stores this week after researching on-line what tvs to look for. i had my mind set on the new Panasonic TC-P42G10 1080P plasma. Cnet rates this tv very high just below the extremely high priced Pioneer Elite Kuro models. so at the stores i was shocked at what i was seeing out of a 720P set next to all these 1080P models. so, i rotated my view between several 1080P plasmas that were 46"(Panasonic TH-46PZ85U), 50"(Panasonic TH-50PZ850U), 42"(Panasonic TH-P42G10) and this little 42" 720P set. i was blown away at the results. now, i know at the stores the feed is split into dozens of runs thus decreasing the quality of the feed, but the playing ground was even if that's the case and the Samsung out performed all the others. i even got the remotes from the store clerks and tried to calibrate the monitors to my eye. not only did the Samsung PN42B450 out perform all the others in color accuracy it did an amazing job with color saturation, skin tones, and noise reduction as well. another feature the samsung had over the panasonics is Menu functions. you could really tweak the Samsung image where as you had less control over the Panasonic models. the Panasonic TC-P42G10 is a great tv, but at nearly 2x as much $$$ i'll be purchasing the Samsung model.

Samsung PN42B450 720P plasma
42? widescreen plasma HDTV PN42B450 42" 720p Plasma HDTV - plasma TV - televisions | SAMSUNG

John Peterson · May 27th, 2009, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael B. McGee

Thanks John. that was helpful. After 4 days of around the clock research, I'm gonna have to agree with Cnet.com.
HDTV resolution explained - HDTV World - CNET.com

1080P is over-hyped.

I visited a bunch of stores this week after researching on-line what tvs to look for. i had my mind set on the new Panasonic TC-P42G10 1080P plasma. Cnet rates this tv very high just below the extremely high priced Pioneer Elite Kuro models. so at the stores i was shocked at what i was seeing out of a 720P set next to all these 1080P models. so, i rotated my view between several 1080P plasmas that were 46"(Panasonic TH-46PZ85U), 50"(Panasonic TH-50PZ850U), 42"(Panasonic TH-P42G10) and this little 42" 720P set. i was blown away at the results. now, i know at the stores the feed is split into dozens of runs thus decreasing the quality of the feed, but the playing ground was even if that's the case and the Samsung out performed all the others. i even got the remotes from the store clerks and tried to calibrate the monitors to my eye. not only did the Samsung PN42B450 out perform all the others in color accuracy it did an amazing job with color saturation, skin tones, and noise reduction as well. another feature the samsung had over the panasonics is Menu functions. you could really tweak the Samsung image where as you had less control over the Panasonic models. the Panasonic TC-P42G10 is a great tv, but at nearly 2x as much $$$ i'll be purchasing the Samsung model.

Samsung PN42B450 720P plasma
42? widescreen plasma HDTV PN42B450 42" 720p Plasma HDTV - plasma TV - televisions | SAMSUNG

How did that television work out Mike? The reviews on that set are fantastic.

John

Michael B. McGee · May 27th, 2009, 12:36 PM

ahhhh. unfortunately i was unable to purchase it due to unexpected expenses. this economy really sucks. it looks great in the stores though. if i do happen to get it into my living room, i'll be sure to post the results immediately.

-mike

John Peterson · May 28th, 2009, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael B. McGee

ahhhh. unfortunately i was unable to purchase it due to unexpected expenses. this economy really sucks. it looks great in the stores though. if i do happen to get it into my living room, i'll be sure to post the results immediately.

-mike

Sorry Mike.

Things are really rough these days. Hope it works out for you.

Regards,

John

G. Lee Gordon · July 6th, 2009, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Dashwood

Panasonic's PZ800 or PZ850 series are awesome for the price. We have a 42" & 50" PZ800. I highly recommend them.

Panasonic - VIERA / 42" Class / 1080p / 600Hz / Plasma HDTV

Is this the 42" you are talking about Tim?

G. Lee Gordon · July 6th, 2009, 12:19 PM

Samsung PN42B450 720P plasma

How would you guys rate this for use as a computer monitor?

Bill Ravens · July 6th, 2009, 12:49 PM

I've got an LN46A650 taht I absolutely love. No complaints, except for some 8-bit image banding, which isn't the TV's fault.

May 17th, 2009, 07:01 PM	#1
Michael B. McGee Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Santa Monica, CA Posts: 318	1080P Plasma recommendation i've searched previous threads and didn't really find enough info. so here goes it. what are your opinions/recommendations on 1080P plasma tvs? after doing some research i'd really like a plasma over a lcd. reasons being: better blacks, contrast, saturation, and viewing angles. ideally, i'd like to use this tv for home viewing: Blu-Ray, Cable TV, DVDs and for monitoring HD footage shot from my Sony EX1 1080P camera. let me know your experiences as well as recommendations. thanks, mike

May 17th, 2009, 07:36 PM	#2
Tim Dashwood Wrangler Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 3,637	Panasonic's PZ800 or PZ850 series are awesome for the price. We have a 42" & 50" PZ800. I highly recommend them. __________________ Tim Dashwood

May 18th, 2009, 08:28 AM	#5
Ethan Cooper Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Houma, La. Posts: 1,400 Images: 5	Panasonic, Panasonic, Panasonic. Their 11 Series professional line plasmas are second to none. If you can't afford the 11 series and all the required accessories their Viera line isn't half bad either. __________________ ∅ -Ethan Cooper

July 6th, 2009, 12:19 PM	#14
G. Lee Gordon Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 431	Samsung PN42B450 720P plasma How would you guys rate this for use as a computer monitor? __________________ "Get Er Done!!!"

May 17th, 2009, 07:44 PM	#3
Michael B. McGee Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Santa Monica, CA Posts: 318	Also, is it true you can't see the benefits of 1080P on sets smaller than 50"? Cnet.com has stated this in several articles that i've read.

May 17th, 2009, 09:27 PM	#4
Ray Bell Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,414	Pioneer has indicated that they are getting out of making Plasma TV's... There is a store in Dallas that constantly has sales of the Pioneer Plasma TV... buy one get the second one free... also from what I understand the best TV on the market at this time is the Laser View DLP Mitsubishi Electric LaserVue® - Beyond Flat TV, Experience True Dimension™

May 18th, 2009, 10:48 AM	#6
Michael B. McGee Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Santa Monica, CA Posts: 318	yeah Ethan, I was just on panasonic's website looking at them. the TH-42PF11UK caught my eye. although its gonna run me about $1900.00 USA. Learn about Panasonic's TH-42PF11UK 30,000:1 Contrast Ratio seems nice. What's up with Pixel Pitch? I'll google it, but can someone here also explain it? The TH-42PH11UK for about $1000.00 looks interesting even though its only 720P and 15,000:1 Contrast Ratio. Industry leading 18-bit digital imaging processing must be impressive as well. I guess??? I wonder how they handle SD(480i?) Cable TV signals?

May 21st, 2009, 07:53 AM	#7
John Peterson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Monroe, NY Posts: 703	Here is a list from Amazon sorted by average customer review. Click on each and read the user reviews. They will be very helpful: Amazon.com: plasma tv 1080p: Electronics Same for Newegg user reviews: Newegg.com - Televisions,Plasma TV, John

May 21st, 2009, 10:42 AM	#9
Michael B. McGee Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Santa Monica, CA Posts: 318	Thanks John. that was helpful. After 4 days of around the clock research, I'm gonna have to agree with Cnet.com. HDTV resolution explained - HDTV World - CNET.com 1080P is over-hyped. I visited a bunch of stores this week after researching on-line what tvs to look for. i had my mind set on the new Panasonic TC-P42G10 1080P plasma. Cnet rates this tv very high just below the extremely high priced Pioneer Elite Kuro models. so at the stores i was shocked at what i was seeing out of a 720P set next to all these 1080P models. so, i rotated my view between several 1080P plasmas that were 46"(Panasonic TH-46PZ85U), 50"(Panasonic TH-50PZ850U), 42"(Panasonic TH-P42G10) and this little 42" 720P set. i was blown away at the results. now, i know at the stores the feed is split into dozens of runs thus decreasing the quality of the feed, but the playing ground was even if that's the case and the Samsung out performed all the others. i even got the remotes from the store clerks and tried to calibrate the monitors to my eye. not only did the Samsung PN42B450 out perform all the others in color accuracy it did an amazing job with color saturation, skin tones, and noise reduction as well. another feature the samsung had over the panasonics is Menu functions. you could really tweak the Samsung image where as you had less control over the Panasonic models. the Panasonic TC-P42G10 is a great tv, but at nearly 2x as much $$$ i'll be purchasing the Samsung model. Samsung PN42B450 720P plasma 42? widescreen plasma HDTV PN42B450 42" 720p Plasma HDTV - plasma TV - televisions \| SAMSUNG

May 27th, 2009, 12:36 PM	#11
Michael B. McGee Major Player Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Santa Monica, CA Posts: 318	ahhhh. unfortunately i was unable to purchase it due to unexpected expenses. this economy really sucks. it looks great in the stores though. if i do happen to get it into my living room, i'll be sure to post the results immediately. -mike

July 6th, 2009, 12:49 PM	#15
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	I've got an LN46A650 taht I absolutely love. No complaints, except for some 8-bit image banding, which isn't the TV's fault.