Help with buying my first Plasma TV

[Hawkeye379]

Hey there everyone.

I am considering a 50" Plasma, I am going to be sitting around 6.5-7 feet away from it. I went and saw some 50" Plasma's in FutureShop and Best Buy and measured the distance I would be sitting and it seems to be a nice distance.

All the Panasonic plasma's I've seen don't properly display 24p Blu Ray movies. Reviews and reports online all say they have unwatchable flicker.

Right now I have my sights set on the LG 50PK550, which has gotten good reviews, and if all goes well with something I'm selling, I should be able to get one near the end of this month. Any opinions on the LG 50PK550?

Or, I could (very painfully) wait for the 2011 Panasonic Plasma's which are supposed to pass the Pioneer's in black levels and hopefully have proper 24p playback. Panasonic is apparently going to fully implement the Pioneer tech into their 2011 lineup. (They bought Pioneer's tech right?) Or maybe all of what I just said is untrue?

But why wait if I can get one in a few weeks? It will be my very first "Big Screen TV", my current TV is a 23" Samsung LCD. I am sure I would be blown away by the picture quality.

As for what I will be using the TV for, I will be watching Blu Ray's, the occasional DVD and playing lots of video games.

Sorry for long post, all help is appreciated.

[DragonSarc]

id only go with panasonic and samsung - if you can get any elites out there go for it.

[lghaze42]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye379

Hey there everyone.

I am considering a 50" Plasma, I am going to be sitting around 6.5-7 feet away from it. I went and saw some 50" Plasma's in FutureShop and Best Buy and measured the distance I would be sitting and it seems to be a nice distance.

All the Panasonic plasma's I've seen don't properly display 24p Blu Ray movies. Reviews and reports online all say they have unwatchable flicker.

Right now I have my sights set on the LG 50PK550, which has gotten good reviews, and if all goes well with something I'm selling, I should be able to get one near the end of this month. Any opinions on the LG 50PK550?

Or, I could (very painfully) wait for the 2011 Panasonic Plasma's which are supposed to pass the Pioneer's in black levels and hopefully have proper 24p playback. Panasonic is apparently going to fully implement the Pioneer tech into their 2011 lineup. (They bought Pioneer's tech right?) Or maybe all of what I just said is untrue?

But why wait if I can get one in a few weeks? It will be my very first "Big Screen TV", my current TV is a 23" Samsung LCD. I am sure I would be blown away by the picture quality.

As for what I will be using the TV for, I will be watching Blu Ray's, the occasional DVD and playing lots of video games.

Sorry for long post, all help is appreciated.

I have a Panny 800u and have no flicker issues.I am sure the one's who are experiencing this have a heinz 57 system.Mine is run through a Panny SA-BX500 receiver and BD-30 B-R player.Get a Panasonic you will not be disappointed.Don't take my word.Web search #1 plasma TV and see what comes up.

[Rebel6666]

Well I'm like you scared a bit not knowing too much about Plasmas, but a friend of mine is very knowledgeable about all Techs in the TV business and Told me ot go with the Panny G20 54 Inches, it as a great valut vs prince and the quality is great.


Here is a Link to a topic I made on this tv: https://forum.blu-ray.com/plasma-tvs...panny-g20.html


Now for me the G20 54 Inch is perfect as I will be sitting at around 10 feet

[bigpapy]

I just purchase the Samsung PN58B650 beautiful PQ also support 24p playback no flickering at all and you can get it for about $1700 this was also my first plasma i always own LCD and you can tell the diference on PQ

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye379

Hey there everyone.

I am considering a 50" Plasma, I am going to be sitting around 6.5-7 feet away from it. I went and saw some 50" Plasma's in FutureShop and Best Buy and measured the distance I would be sitting and it seems to be a nice distance.

All the Panasonic plasma's I've seen don't properly display 24p Blu Ray movies. Reviews and reports online all say they have unwatchable flicker.

Right now I have my sights set on the LG 50PK550, which has gotten good reviews, and if all goes well with something I'm selling, I should be able to get one near the end of this month. Any opinions on the LG 50PK550?

Or, I could (very painfully) wait for the 2011 Panasonic Plasma's which are supposed to pass the Pioneer's in black levels and hopefully have proper 24p playback. Panasonic is apparently going to fully implement the Pioneer tech into their 2011 lineup. (They bought Pioneer's tech right?) Or maybe all of what I just said is untrue?

But why wait if I can get one in a few weeks? It will be my very first "Big Screen TV", my current TV is a 23" Samsung LCD. I am sure I would be blown away by the picture quality.

As for what I will be using the TV for, I will be watching Blu Ray's, the occasional DVD and playing lots of video games.

Sorry for long post, all help is appreciated.

What is your budget?

I picked up a 50" Panasonic plasma (the G20) on Saturday and sit the same distance away that you do. There is no "unwatchable flicker", though.

[svinepelz]

I'd wait for reviews of Samsung's 2010 plasma models before deciding anything. The G20's probably a great TV, but it doesn't seem like that big of a step up from last year's G10. I've got a Samsung B850, and I think it's a fantastic TV - it will be very interesting to see how Samsung compares with Panasonic this year.

[Hawkeye379]

The current budget would be about $1300 I could spend on the TV itself. As I said in my OP if I do happen to sell something I'm currently trying to sell, I would have about $800 and my parents will pay the rest.

Or I could wait until next year and see what Panasonic brings for their 2011 lineup. Waiting until then would give me a higher budget, I'll just save up money until I buy whatever TV next year.

I'm very tempted to wait because Panasonic's 2011 plasmas are supposed to surpass the 9G Kuro's black levels and should not have rising or floating blacks, and hopefully proper 24p playback. (72hz or 96hz).

It is a long way off to wait, the 2011's will probably be announced at CES and go on sale in March/April. I really hate waiting but it's awfully tempting.

It will be my first plasma or big screen TV for that matter if I wait or not.

Ugh, hard choices.

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye379

The current budget would be about $1300 I could spend on the TV itself. As I said in my OP if I do happen to sell something I'm currently trying to sell, I would have about $800 and my parents will pay the rest.

Or I could wait until next year and see what Panasonic brings for their 2011 lineup. Waiting until then would give me a higher budget, I'll just save up money until I buy whatever TV next year.

I'm very tempted to wait because Panasonic's 2011 plasmas are supposed to surpass the 9G Kuro's black levels and should not have rising or floating blacks, and hopefully proper 24p playback. (72hz or 96hz).

It is a long way off to wait, the 2011's will probably be announced at CES and go on sale in March/April. I really hate waiting but it's awfully tempting.

It will be my first plasma or big screen TV for that matter if I wait or not.

Ugh, hard choices.

If waiting is truly an option, then I'd do that. It will give you more time for thorough research and more time for the manufacturers to make better equipment. Win-win.

I had no option to wait, my 40" LCD went kaputt on me and I needed to replace it. The G20 seemed like a great option (loved the demo display in-store, and was just a couple hundred bucks over my 1 grand budget).

[Hawkeye379]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

If waiting is truly an option, then I'd do that. It will give you more time for thorough research and more time for the manufacturers to make better equipment. Win-win.

I had no option to wait, my 40" LCD went kaputt on me and I needed to replace it. The G20 seemed like a great option (loved the demo display in-store, and was just a couple hundred bucks over my 1 grand budget).

Waiting is a (painful) option, but it is an option. I'm probably the worst person when it comes to waiting, but I don't want to buy a TV now, and then next year have Panasonic release plasmas that pass the Kuro's spec wise.

Plus, I know Panasonic makes the best Plasmas now that Pioneer doesn't, but Panasonic has Pioneer's tech and should be fully implementing it into their 2011 plasma lineup.

The things I will use the TV for is watching lots of Blu Ray movies, playing lots, and I mean lots of video games and the occasional DVD, TV show. Is it ok to be playing lots of video games on a Plasma? If I pause a game I always turn my LCD TV off and will do the same with a plasma.

But I could forgo waiting and just buy a TV now and be happy with it until the next time I upgrade. Which will be when I have a job and can buy my own TV and give my old one to my parents or something.

[Rebel6666]

Originally Posted by SDon1969

What is your budget?

I picked up a 50" Panasonic plasma (the G20) on Saturday and sit the same distance away that you do. There is no "unwatchable flicker", though.

OK so you have the G20 50 inches I'm looking to buy the 54 inches G20, my question to you is when you talk about no "unwatchable" Flicker, do you mean there is or there is not?

Could you make me me and the members on this forum a little review of your new purchase

[SDon1969]

Originally Posted by Rebel6666

OK so you have the G20 50 inches I'm looking to buy the 54 inches G20, my question to you is when you talk about no "unwatchable" Flicker, do you mean there is or there is not?

Could you make me me and the members on this forum a little review of your new purchase

I do not have an issue with flicker. I know that 24p playback is a huge plus but I have never seen it in action. Therefore I have no point of reference.

All I can say is that my new G20 handles screen judder way better than my 60Hz LCD did. When my Sammy LCD panned side-to-side the image was quite poor, not fluid. Much better now with the 600Hz plasma. Is that even related to "smooth, 24p playback"? I have no idea.

[Rebel6666]

Thanks for your reply Don,

I'm not too sure about the 24p playback thing, I've been searching on the net for more information and seems like there are 2 differet Techs in: The 3:2 24p Playback and the Cinematographic 24p the latedt is better. It's not on the G20 Model, but it will probably be on the V series which will only be in 42 and 46 inches, it will also include the Infinate Black Pro Panel as the G20 as only the Infinate black one.

I don't want to go in the VT series as I don't want the 3D tv. But I would have liked to have every feature the G20 as but with the Cinematographic 24p. It's a shame they didn't added it

[maygit]

Samsung PN50B850 can be had for around $1150. Beautiful picture in person, thin as the LED LCD sets, and CNET still has it rated as like the 2nd or 3rd best tv.

[Hawkeye379]

Originally Posted by maygit

Samsung PN50B850 can be had for around $1150. Beautiful picture in person, thin as the LED LCD sets, and CNET still has it rated as like the 2nd or 3rd best tv.

FutureShop and Best Buy here in Canada don't have that Plasma on their sites. I don't know where I should be looking for that particular samsung. They have a Samsung PN50B530 and the Samsung PN50B540. These seems to be 2009 models.

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye379

Hey there everyone.

I am considering a 50" Plasma, I am going to be sitting around 6.5-7 feet away from it. I went and saw some 50" Plasma's in FutureShop and Best Buy and measured the distance I would be sitting and it seems to be a nice distance.

All the Panasonic plasma's I've seen don't properly display 24p Blu Ray movies. Reviews and reports online all say they have unwatchable flicker.

Right now I have my sights set on the LG 50PK550, which has gotten good reviews, and if all goes well with something I'm selling, I should be able to get one near the end of this month. Any opinions on the LG 50PK550?

Or, I could (very painfully) wait for the 2011 Panasonic Plasma's which are supposed to pass the Pioneer's in black levels and hopefully have proper 24p playback. Panasonic is apparently going to fully implement the Pioneer tech into their 2011 lineup. (They bought Pioneer's tech right?) Or maybe all of what I just said is untrue?

But why wait if I can get one in a few weeks? It will be my very first "Big Screen TV", my current TV is a 23" Samsung LCD. I am sure I would be blown away by the picture quality.

As for what I will be using the TV for, I will be watching Blu Ray's, the occasional DVD and playing lots of video games.

Sorry for long post, all help is appreciated.

I've had the 50PK550 for almost 2 weeks now and just love it to bits ...

I posted my impressions here --

https://forum.blu-ray.com/plasma-tvs...od-review.html

The full avs thread is here --

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1235720


Beware, currently the LG 750 and 950 models have some kind of firmware problems, the 550 is the one to get, that one works great.

[Hawkeye379]

Originally Posted by Teazle

I've had the 50PK550 for almost 2 weeks now and just love it to bits ...

I posted my impressions here --

https://forum.blu-ray.com/plasma-tvs...od-review.html

The full avs thread is here --

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1235720


Beware, currently the LG 750 and 950 models have some kind of firmware problems, the 550 is the one to get, that one works great.

Yea I'm aware of the problems with the 750 & 950 models. They have some image "enhancement" or image processing you can't turn off.

Have you played any video games on yours? I can sometimes play for like 5-8 hours at a time. But if I do need to pause the game or leave for a bit, I always turn off my LCD and would do the same with the plasma.

Also, would I be ok watching 2 and a half hour movies with those black bars? Quite a few of my blu rays have those black bars.

How's the image retention? Will it go away if you play some full screen content etc?

[SamC]

Originally Posted by Teazle

I've had the 50PK550 for almost 2 weeks now and just love it to bits ...

I posted my impressions here --

https://forum.blu-ray.com/plasma-tvs...od-review.html

The full avs thread is here --

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1235720


Beware, currently the LG 750 and 950 models have some kind of firmware problems, the 550 is the one to get, that one works great.

Looks like the 550 is going to be a strong competitor to samsung and panasonic. This will make life harder for some folks (including my dad) in the coming weeks when they out to buy a new plasma.

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye379

Have you played any video games on yours? I can sometimes play for like 5-8 hours at a time.
...
Also, would I be ok watching 2 and a half hour movies with those black bars? Quite a few of my blu rays have those black bars.

How's the image retention? Will it go away if you play some full screen content etc?

1. Yes -- click the links posted above for details
2. black bars fine
3. LG temporary IR "bad" i.e. worst of the 3 plasma makers. Not a prob. in my experience though some people assert it bothers them. Yes it goes away quickly, more details esp in the AVS thread

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by SamC

Looks like the 550 is going to be a strong competitor to samsung and panasonic. This will make life harder for some folks (including my dad) in the coming weeks when they out to buy a new plasma.

Of the 3 (LG, Samsung, Panasonic) LG prob. had the most to prove in 2010 as their plasmas in 2009 and back were pretty bad (were easily the industry worst).

All 3 have screw-ups this year. IMHO LG screwed up the least (by far).

Screw-ups by plasma manufacturer:

Panasonic: floating (inconsistent) blacks (changes during the movie), rising blacks (goes up over time), no 24p or flickery 24p on all but most expensive models

Samsung: ridiculous new "screen door effect" -- this year they "painted" the rows between the pixels black!! (idiotic!!), some temporary IR, some input lag, no 24p on low end models

LG: lots temporary IR, pretty bad input lag (for a plasma), firmware presently busted on US 750/950 (hopefully they'll fix this)

To my way of thinking the Panny and Samsung PQ screw-ups are SO bad that LG comes out on top this year. Screen door effect? Black levels varying in the middle of the show/movie? Come on, those are really obtrusive defects which threaten to wreck the viewing experience.

Incredibly, this year LG is cheaper and better.