Panasonic plasmas, plus some general questions

[JamesS]

I'm looking to replace my 32" Wega CRT with a HD plasma TV. I've held off getting an HDTV, as I'm not overly keen on the look of LCD, but plasmas seem more affordable these days, and I prefer the look of them (they seem a bit closer to CRT in terms of blacks and the general look of the image).

The main thing that's currently putting me off is all this talk of lag, particularly when playing SD games. The TV I'm currently looking at is a Panasonic TH42PX70. Anybody got any experience of this TV, and in particular how well it deals with interlaced SD sources? Or, alternatively, can anybody suggest a TV that does SD particularly well?

I still play quite a lot of SD games, so I'm worried about getting something and finding that older games are unplayable due to the processing delay of the TV. Plus, my amp doesn't have a delay function so lip sync would be a concern for DVDs (10 years of doing graphics coding for games has made me annoyingly perceptive of small glitches, sync problems and the like).

Another thing I'm unsure about is whether a 42" set would actually be too big. I find it quite hard to judge sizes in the shops. 32" TVs look quite small in the showroom, but it seems pretty large to me at home. I'd be sitting around 10-12 feet away, so I wonder if 37" might be more sensible?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[KJH]

I have a Panasonic plasma that gives good SD quality, compared to LCD.

Best advice is just to try yourself in the shop and see how it looks.

[fragmast3r]

ive got that telly, theres no lag while playing, lag is more to do with lcd's than plasmas, use mine for hd dvd, blu ray and hd gaming, but ive also got my ps2 and gamecube hooked up via rgb scart and find the picture perfectly acceptable (it does show the blockyness of games) but my acceptable will be different to others, also some sd telly looks blocky on it, mainly the kids channels so again i tolerate it

as for lip sync , i do notice it sometimes on some dvds or tv, but ive just upgraded my amp so can sort that through that, again even with the sync issues was still perfectly acceptable.

take a couple of your consoles with you to your tv shop and ask to try them to see what it looks like

oh by the way, not sure where your buying from but from here its £630 and £65 delivery so £695

http://www.digitaldirect.co.uk/products_moreinfo3/index.asp?product_id=12738

was going to upgrade to a 50" but at the prices they are now id be lucky to get £400 second hand for mine

[fragmast3r]

www.avforums.com have a great plasma forum, luckily your asking about a panny plasma, not a samsung or lg or such (dont worry my dry sense of humour you will se what i mean when you look at there forum) but search the bashing and theres a wealth of knowledge there

[Profit]

Check out the noise level before buying. Some models have fans and plasma buzz a lot more than LCD units.

(http://www.av-sales.co.uk/q_plasma.php)

[Salsa Party Animal]

also check out resolution as 1920 x 1080 is ideal for 1080P

[EvilBoris]

I think that most plasma Tvs are going to give you a similar quality for sd content, if you are concerned though, find a shop that stocks your shortlist and take along your wii or something and give them a go.

As for the size I think you would get used to it very quickly, I think that if you are sitting 10-12 feet away a 50" set would be nice!

[JamesS]

Thanks for all the help. I've had a look at them in the shops, but it's really hard to tell what the quality's like there (why do they always demo TVs with the worst SD image they can possibly find?), so I'll take your advice and go in with a console of my own and see if they'll let me hook it up.

The avforums have been quite a useful place to search for info too, so thanks for the reminder about them.

[IanE]

AVForums is the worst place in the world for this, you just end up arguing with yourself because opinions are lambasted all over the place. Do yourself a favour, just order that Panasonic 42PX70 from that Digital Direct link, I paid £900 for mine a few months ago, it's amazing and accepts a 1080p signal, looks gorgeous. On that link it's £630, an utter bargain, including the stand too! That usually retails for £100..

[Super Monkey Balls]

Keep a CRT for your old stuff, seriously.

[joe90]

The panny is a excellent tv.. get it.. you will not regret it.

/edit i have brought at least 8 tvs (friends/family) from digital direct, and there service is excellent, even the one bust tv was replaced in a couple of days.

[Womble9]

Keep a CRT for your old stuff, seriously.

I'd second that. On both my 32" samsung and my 50" Panny plasma old stuff in RGB is poor at best compared to the quality I get from my 28" Hitachi flat screen.

[Salsa Party Animal]

It is only practial to keep CRT if you have the space. ie not your bedroom only.

[Super Monkey Balls]

I have a 15" portable in the games room and a 43" plasma in the lounge and I'd rather play my retro games on the portable

[JamesS]

Ordered the TV now, cheers all for the advice. I can't really keep the CRT and the new TV in my living room, but I might see if I can make room for it somewhere, if SD stuff doesn't look great.