Best Plasma/LCD make?

Dman001

What is the best make tv to get.I am thinkin of a 42" HDTV with HDMI,component and to use with a sky box(not a HD sky box),dvd players and a xbox 360.I was thinking of a Sony or a Panasonic.

big_moe

in plasma - panasonic or pioneer. pioneer are a little more expensive tho. in lcd, the new sony W series is very impressive.

dami0n2006

The best I've seen recently is the Sony KDL-46X2000. The HD picture on this LCD is simply astonishing. Right now, you should be looking for a set that has a 1920 by 1080p resolution. This will support all current and near future HD formats. This should be as future proof as you can get. Apart from Sony, I know you can get both Philips, and Samsung 1080P models in Ireland. Check www.komplett.ie for good deals.

branners69

IMO

Best plasma is pio or panasonic

Best lcd sony or panasonic

Just my opinion, I have a Pio plasma and a JVC lcd.

Definitely go and look at some in the flesh, bring a dvd (something like Sin City which is dark and maybe a Monster Inc which has vivid colours) then make you own mind up!!

Unfortunately your gonna be pretty limited in Dublin! Harvey Normans have probs the best selection but just dont buy anything off them;)

gamer

my advice get ,sony or sharp ,samsung, but i think the plasma tvs ,give a much better standard pal tv picture,than lcd tvs, i notice ,distortion in all the lcds i,ve seen showing standard tv content, they look great showing dvds,and xbox 360.I notice alot of shops are showing dvds with cgi like toystory on their hdready lcds.Get a good brand plasma hd ready with 2scarts and hdmi ,dvi and you,ll be future proof.I,M LOOKING to buy a hdready tv ,and i wont go near any lcd ,not with a bargepole.LOOK at lcd,plasma side by side,there s alot of jaggies /distortion on all the lcds i have seen,especially with fast moving images,in standard broadcast format.

Sparky

Pioneer for plasma, but you do pay top prices.
Samsung, sharp or sony for LCD.

Plasma is CRT like, while LCD is richer in producing colours.

Samsung are launching their new n71 range of LED backlit LCD's, so keep a look out for them.
http://www.htireland.com/showthread.php?t=25501

branners69

dami0n2006 wrote:

...you should be looking for a set that has a 1920 by 1080p resolution.

I wouldnt agree with this unless you have money to p1ss down the drain of course!!

A 40" 1080p Sony LCD will set you back €3000 whilst a 40" 720p Sony LCD will set you back €1700. Whilst 1080p is a requirement for the future it'll be a while yet before it will be a major requirement and by the time it is you will probably be able to buy a 40" 1080p Sony LCD for the €1300 you'll be saving;)

gamer

1080i is fine, its riduculous to pay another 1300 for a 1080p tv.When at the moment you can only use xbox360 or skytv to watch hdcontent ,most 360 games are 720hd format,to give a steady frame rate.

branners69

gamer wrote:

1080i is fine, its riduculous to pay another 1300 for a 1080p tv.When at the moment you can only use xbox360 or skytv to watch hdcontent ,most 360 games are 720hd format,to give a steady frame rate.

Can the xbox 360 output at 1080p?? I thought you needed the hd-dvd upgrade?? I thought the PS3 was the only device to output at 1080p!!

Ciaran500

Since the update a few weeks ago the 360 now outputs 1080p.

xanthor

Ciaran500 wrote:

Since the update a few weeks ago the 360 now outputs 1080p.

....IIRC only thru VGA/DVI with adapter though(??)

gamer

i dont think it has a hdmi connector ,works thru dvi adaptor.I dont think 360 games need 1080p tv anyway,as they are not programmed for that hd resolution.

Jfla

I got a 42" Panasonic Viera last week PV60 model. Over the moon with it. The colours are more realistic than the bright LCD's. I think the colour on some LCDs looks ridiculas, thats just my opinion. The blacks show up very well 10000:1 contrast ratio. By far the best tv for showing standard definition signals, Thanks to a built in chip that up scales regular tv the something like 1080i. Just like HDMI dvd players. Don't see why other manufacturers dont follow suit. The SD picture on other LCDs/Plasmas is horribly pixelated, they doesn't look nearly as good as CRT! Most tv content is shown in this format. Sky HD only has a handful of HD channels. Rip off!

Ciaran500

xanthor wrote:

....IIRC only thru VGA/DVI with adapter though(??)

There's no DVI and it works through component and VGA with games and VGA only with HD-DVD.

gamer wrote:

i dont think it has a hdmi connector ,works thru dvi adaptor.I dont think 360 games need 1080p tv anyway,as they are not programmed for that hd resolution.

Current games can be upscaled to 1080p but future games can be developed at 1080p if devs want.

Jfla wrote:

By far the best tv for showing standard definition signals, Thanks to a built in chip that up scales regular tv the something like 1080i. Just like HDMI dvd players. Don't see why other manufacturers dont follow suit. The SD picture on other LCDs/Plasmas is horribly pixelated, they doesn't look nearly as good as CRT

All screens must do this to be able to display a SD picture on a HD screen, some just do it better.

Dman001

I may go with a Sony 40" lcd but where is the best place to buy one.Sony Centre?

racso1975

IMO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I think the sony centres are amazingly over priced compared to other brick and mortar stores never mind on line stores

aubreym

got one last week for 1900 in soundstore, blackpool in cork, where there was a sale on. 2100 everywhere else. also got the free dvd recorder thrown in.

Dman001

I am thinking about getting a Samsung.Any recommendations?

aubreym

Went for the sony bravia in the end...from what I could gather, there isn't a lot of difference between them...just user preference,

branners69

Dman001 wrote:

I may go with a Sony 40" lcd but where is the best place to buy one.Sony Centre?

Have heard Arnotts have offers on Sony, might be worth cheching out!!

gamer

I think samsung is the best maker of plasma tvs,panasonic has lcd tvs that upscale standard broadcast tv,to higher resolution.See posts here in the last week.I,D SAY samsung ,or sharp are good lcds ,to buy.theres a 32inch lcd for sale,look at aldie.ie ,699euro hdready,with hdcp enabled.Sony have nice lcds,but are overpriced.Check specs carefully re :upscaling sd tv.

Ciaran500

gamer wrote:

I think samsung is the best maker of plasma tvs,panasonic has lcd tvs that upscale standard broadcast tv,to higher resolution.See posts here in the last week.I,D SAY samsung ,or sharp are good lcds ,to buy.theres a 32inch lcd for sale,look at aldie.ie ,699euro hdready,with hdcp enabled.Sony have nice lcds,but are overpriced.Check specs carefully re :upscaling sd tv.

Every LCD on the market upscales SD images to HD. It couldn't display them if it didn't.

gamer

Do plasma hdcrts upscale SDTV like lcds, i heard that re panasonic tvs ,some models have chips to improve sd tv,apart from upscaling on plasma tvs, V REAL ,chips in certain plasma tvs.I RECOMMEND PANASONIC,SAMSUNG OR SHARP plasma tvs,hdcrt tvs give a much better picture than any lcd tv even a 3grand lcd,on sdtv or ntl cable or skydigital.Get tv that has hdmi,plus 2av and rca analog connectors.VGA is handy for pcs or xbox 360.

SouperComputer

Every LCD on the market upscales SD images to HD. It couldn't display them if it didn't.

/pedant

Thats not entirely true, you would just have an image in the centre of the screen of roughly 720x480 pixels with the rest being a black border. You are right of course that they all upscale!


To the OP, I havent read through the whole thread, but screens and image quality can be a very subjective and personal thing. Go see as many as you can in the flesh, pick one out and get it online.

I also echo what others have said about Sony. There's nothing wrong with them as such, but like BOSE speakers you can get just as good or even better for the same spendage.

gamer

theres a 42 inch plasma in harvey norman, 999euro, november sale.It has dvi,rca,2 av, no HDMI CONECTOR,i think it has a vga/pc connector.I think its hd compatible,whatever that means,its not hdready .You may get matsui,40inch hd ready tv plasma tv in powercity,around 1100 euro whens there a sale on.ITS not a brand,like sony,sharp, unknown brand to me like ocean.