whats the best plasma tv available?

[volcomsocal]

Originally Posted by JTKenobi

My Panasonic TC-P50ST30 which I got in May of 2011 is going strong as well! Love that TV.

I have the exact same tv as you. And yeah, mine is still going strong too. Albeit with a little burn-in from playing Destiny for almost 4000 hours lol.

[biggquis]

Finally coming to the point where I may have to get rid of my 65" Samsung. It was the last plasma Samsung made. Got it just before my wedding 8 years ago. Set is still perfect and never had any issues. Just upgraded my game room set, so that TV will be going in the living room where the plasma is. Don't really have space in the master bedroom for the big guy, unfortunately. I'd love to mount it somewhere, but the wife is being weird about it

[Emoto]

Originally Posted by biggquis

Finally coming to the point where I may have to get rid of my 65" Samsung. It was the last plasma Samsung made. Got it just before my wedding 8 years ago. Set is still perfect and never had any issues. Just upgraded my game room set, so that TV will be going in the living room where the plasma is. Don't really have space in the master bedroom for the big guy, unfortunately. I'd love to mount it somewhere, but the wife is being weird about it

Is it 3D?

I'd be tempted to take it off your hands if you are near Massachusetts.

[biggquis]

Originally Posted by Emoto

Is it 3D?

I'd be tempted to take it off your hands if you are near Massachusetts.

Unfortunately it isn't

[Emoto]

Bummer.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Emoto

Bummer.

If you're looking for a 3D TV, check out ebay. Ebay has some listings for 3D TVs for sell by third party sellers. Ebay may be the only place where you can get one.

[Emoto]

Originally Posted by slimdude

If you're looking for a 3D TV, check out ebay. Ebay has some listings for 3D TVs for sell by third party sellers. Ebay may be the only place where you can get one.

Thanks for the tip. I am not really looking for one; my old Panasonic is still performing well. This was more the case of if one was going to fall into my lap, I would pick it up.

[Partyslammer]

Originally Posted by slimdude

If you're looking for a 3D TV, check out ebay. Ebay has some listings for 3D TVs for sell by third party sellers. Ebay may be the only place where you can get one.

Better option especially if you live in a major city is Craigslist. I wanted a back-up for my Panny VT50 65" (which is still running fine) so I've picked up two Panasonic (55" & "65) VT30s and a 65" ZT60 all near-new with super low hours in the past couple years for $350 - $600 cash. All came with at least 2 3D glasses and the 65VT30 came with 4. Aside from what I consider these all decent deals, I was able to demo them when I picked them up myself. That and I didn't have to worry about any shipping issues... unless I somehow screwed up doing it myself (which I didn't).

[jb1085]

I have a Panasonic VT60, and I'd say that's regarded as a top 5 plasma tv. ZT60 and Samsung's F8500 are up there, too.

[RFK]

The Panasonic ZT60 was the last and best of the Panasonic line followed closely by the VT60.

https://www.cnet.com/reviews/panason...60zt60-review/

https://www.soundandvision.com/conte...3d-plasma-hdtv

Nothing like going out with a winner!

[Twm1988]

Originally Posted by RFK

The Panasonic ZT60 was the last and best of the Panasonic line followed closely by the VT60.

https://www.cnet.com/reviews/panason...60zt60-review/

https://www.soundandvision.com/conte...3d-plasma-hdtv

Nothing like going out with a winner!

Though I think technically the VT60 may have slightly outperformed the ZT60 series, as the ZT had a more aggressive anti-reflective/glare filter on it's screen which lowered the overall light output of the panel by 5 ft lamberts more than the VT60 series. I believe all other aspects of the ZT panel's performance was basically identical to the VT.

The VT series also had some pretty decent built-in speakers, and a pop-up camera on the top of the tv... both of which were missing from the ZT I believe.

I've also heard that some people actually even preferred the ST60 series over the VT60 and ZT60, as the ST had even less anti-reflective stuff on the screen and had a noticeably higher light output/contrast level, and didn't really fall that far behind the VT and ZT in very many other aspects of video performance.

A 65" ST60 on the second hand market is probably the best deal you'll ever find on a plasma screen from here on out.

[Partyslammer]

Well after barely 2 years of use and maybe only 2500 hours on it total, my ZT60 crapped out with the 7 blinking lights of doom. I had a local electronics shop trouble shoot it and it appears the "Y Board" is at fault. Of course, since Panasonic long ago stopped making plasmas and stocking replacement parts, if I want to keep this tv going, I need to find out the correct part number and track down the proper board to replace. Aside from eBay, anyone have any good suggestions where to find parts?

[antennahead]

^ Mine crapped out after barely 3 years, blinking lights of doom and I knew it was a power failure issue on one of the boards, so I bought "slightly used" boards on Ebay, basically new boards taken from ZT60s with broken/damaged screens in shipping.

It was a hassle taking the back off the unit and replacing all the boards (I decided to replace them all as other owners on AVS had seen issues with different boards), but since I had it apart, I figured what the heck.

It worked great for 9 months, then the blinking lights of doom returned, and the unit was dead again. At that point I scraped it.

The failure rate of these units, relative to the price point, is abysmal. I loved the picture, but was not going to replace all those boards a 2nd time. Bought a 75" Sony 940E.

[Partyslammer]

Originally Posted by antennahead

(snip)

The failure rate of these units, relative to the price point, is abysmal. I loved the picture, but was not going to replace all those boards a 2nd time. Bought a 75" Sony 940E.

Yeah, it's strange but my several year older VT30 is still going strong with daily use, no burn in or any other issues. I don't know what the deal was with Panasonic, but it seems like they cut corners on hardware and qc the last couple years of manufacturing plasmas despite the ZT60's having arguably the best picture of any plasma.

[antennahead]

Originally Posted by Partyslammer

Yeah, it's strange but my several year older VT30 is still going strong with daily use, no burn in or any other issues. I don't know what the deal was with Panasonic, but it seems like they cut corners on hardware and qc the last couple years of manufacturing plasmas despite the ZT60's having arguably the best picture of any plasma.

+1 Their attempts to keep the price competitive most likely played a large part in the high failure rates.

[stonesfan129]

My main TV is a Samsung 65-inch 4K Crystal LED. I mainly got it because I wanted to upgrade to something bigger and it was a BF deal.

I moved my Panasonic 46-inch Viera 1080p into the upstairs bedroom.

I compared some Vudu streams and Blu-rays back and forth between them and I have to say, the Panasonic has a better picture. I don't know, do Samsungs just suck? Is anything short of an OLED just a waste of money? I noticed a lot of banding in dark areas with the Samsung whereas the Panasonic the picture looks nice and sharp.

And I don't know how to adjust the settings on the Samsung to look more like my Panasonic. The Samsung is way too bright on the stock settings and it's like I can't get it to look just right.

[Stanis]

The main reason I haven't moved to 4k is my Pano Plasma is still running hard, hours a day, since 2010...

I'm both looking forward to and dreading it's demise

[stonesfan129]

Why do plasmas look better than the majority of LED TVs I've seen? Do they still beat OLEDs in terms of a more natural picture? I don't like the way Sony OLEDs look, but perhaps an LG might be better.

[Twm1988]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

Why do plasmas look better than the majority of LED TVs I've seen? Do they still beat OLEDs in terms of a more natural picture? I don't like the way Sony OLEDs look, but perhaps an LG might be better.

I think it's just the way the new TV's are designed and the type of video presentation they give out. New TV's, whether LED/OLED ect, are really more like giant computer screens. Every time I go into an electronics shop and see the newest and best OLED/ect, where they are demoing some sort of nature show, documentary, Planet Earth ect, it looks stunning... the brightness, contrast, sharpness and fine inner detail/resolution cannot be matched by Plasma. But when it comes to actual movies/films and tv series, the plasma's are the only thing that looks correct to me.

My Panny VT60 is the only thing I trust in that regard, and I'm not sure what to do when it eventually gives out, apart from trying to find another one of the ST/VT/ZT60 models on the second hand market... or trying out a projector and screen setup.

[Rottweiler30]

Originally Posted by stonesfan129

Why do plasmas look better than the majority of LED TVs I've seen? Do they still beat OLEDs in terms of a more natural picture? I don't like the way Sony OLEDs look, but perhaps an LG might be better.

Because todays TVs are all about brightness and Colour to appeal to Joe Public. Sadly the days of natural, authentic, cinematic pictures are all but gone.

TVs cant even display motion properly now which is surely the most important factor when in comes to motion pictures.

LED/OLEDs are beautiful for slow motion shots of Polar Bears in the snow though.