New TV/Display Question.

crosstownk

It looks like I'll need to get a new TV/Display soon enough - probably in the post Christmas sales.

I'm replacing a 13 year old Pioneer 50" plasma display that I use for Sky HD, PS3, Apple TV. The display is getting more sensitive to heat resulting in washy green patches every now and then despite the cooling fans switched to 'always on'. Audio is via a 5.1 system fed from the various sources.

I'm looking for some recommendations but bear in mind that I don't really need a full TV. All I need is a display that can handle 1080. Maybe I'll need to just buy a TV but I'm wondering is it possible to just get a display?

Any suggestions? I've a preference for plasma and the screen will need to be minimum 50".

andy1249

The economics of Display manufacturing means that the cheapest sets are the most popular sets, at the moment, that means smart TV,s loaded with tons of features that hardly anyone ever uses.

There are display only models, but because they are not popular they are very expensive, they cost 10k and upwards, they concentrate on superb picture quality, and you need to go to a specialist pro dealer to get them!

Unfortunately, what with the TV market being a popularity contest based on price, quality has taken a major hit, and one victim of this is plasma, which, despite being the best picture quality by far, are no longer available! Panasonic were the last out of the market about a year ago.

This means you are going to struggle to get a display that can compete with the quality of a Pioneer Plasma.

OLED shows promise, LG have a set on the market now which is true OLED and costs about 2K.

Note that OLED is significantly different to other sets cliaming to be LED, which in truth only have an LED backlighting scheme.

OLED sets are your only hope of getting the color accuracy and black level quality of a plasma set these days.

crosstownk

Thanks for the reply, Andy.

From looking on various websites, it looks like plasma is dead and gone.

What about this 4K stuff - should I be future proofing for that or should I wait a year or two?

Maybe I should try and get another year or two out of my Pioneer.....? If possible.

I'm prepared to spend a few quid as its the second most used appliance in the house after the fridge but it needs to last a fair few years.

andy1249

With Display technology , things are very much in flux at the moment.
Its a bad time to be investing in new technology like 4K.
4K may actually turn out to be a dead duck , just like 3D , and even if it doesn't , now is not the time to buy as all the 4K or UltraHD sets on the market are based on unfinished standards and may already be obsolete.

The big issue here is HDMI 2.0 and HDCP2.2.
First off the sets should have at least one HDMI 2.0 socket. But something very few sets have at the moment is HDCP 2.2 , this is part of the hardware design built into the HDMI chip , it cannot be done by a software upgrade , and without it 4K material will not play on the set if and when it ever becomes mainstream.

So the bad news for everyone that has already invested in 4K equipment , it will be useless for official 4K material when it shows up.
See here
http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/hdcp-2-2-what-you-need-to-know/

Note: Netflix is not real 4K material , just so you know.


Im not at all convinced that 4K will take off , you need a screen size of 65 inch or more before you even start to see the benefits and its something most dont have the room for outside of the US.

So , if your going to spend a large amount on a TV anywhere between 50 and 65 inch at the moment , stick with 1080p native resolution , and aim for OLED. You will see no benefit from 4K at those sizes.

Dont bother with 4K sets right now in any case , they are hugely expensive and unless they have both HDMI 2.0 and HDCP2.2 are effectively a waste of money. Manufacturers are to blame here , they are selling sets costing many thousands which are loaded with incomplete technology , anything to get an edge on the competition , and sticking customers with sets that will effectively be useless for the new format they thought they were buying into !

If you can get a couple more years out of the Pioneer , I would do it , at least try to stretch it until HDMI 2.0 with HDCP2.2 becomes finalised.

SmithySeller

Agreed!
Although you can still get both Panny and Samsung Plasmas in some places in the UK.

Sam Mac

I am selling my VT65 55" Panasonic plasma if you are interested. 5 year warranty and barely used. €1500. Best TV you can buy right now.

crosstownk

Thanks for that post, andy1249.

I'll try and stretch the Pioneer for as long as possible. I just need to keep it cooler. The lower centre of the screen turns green if the room temperature is around 20/21 degrees and the display has been on for a few hours. The cooling fans are at the top left and right so are having minimum effect on the centre. I might put a small, quiet fan behind the display so it blows air towords the affected area. Hopefully it will help.

@Sam_Mac: I'll bear that in mind if I make the decision to replace.

DoYouEvenLift

I'd keep using your current TV until there's a bigger breakthrough with OLED and the early adopters get the blunt of the initial issues. There are already pretty affordable OLEDs by lg available now but I'm still holding off for the bigger sizes like 65" and 75" to be affordable (it'll be years lol), but I've seen a poster on another forum with a 55" I think and he said it's only 1080p yet looks better than pretty much all 4k LEDs in shops and friends told him some images look so good that they look 3D/have depth

wandererz

That being said, a TV is there for the experience and to be enjoyed.
I sold my 46" Sony Bravia 1 year ago. In the interim ive been using a 32" no-name brand LED.
I recently got a 55" Samsung HU8500 as a replacement.

This screen is amazing. And as for 3D, with the Sony i watched the 4 movies that came with the blu-ray pack and that was it, didn't think much of it. The 3D on this set however, is unreal. I now want to watch more.

Curved, OLED, 4K. Brains and connectors (HDMI, USB etc) are housed in a separate box so upgrades are possible. Screen mirroring with Samsung/Android phones and tablets is a joy.

My only question is whether i should have gone for the 65". But i think that would have been overkill.

Seriously, go there, do that.