Panasonic txp42x10b 42" plasma-'hd ready'

[Lyris]

Largo, don't worry about there being too much choice, most of it is crap.
And remember that more expensive doesn't always = better, that's especially the case with those new Samsung "LED TVs" (LCD TVs with LED sidelights). I just reviewed on on AVForums and it was worse in every regard than the £500 Samsung LCD I reviewed before it.

[Largo]

Thanks Lyris, ive been looking at a few samsungs, the LE40B651 to name one, however there seems to be a near identical one, 1080p same size 40" but for around 100 quid cheaper LE40B5(something,something) this is what confuses me, they appear the same on paper etc.

To be honest i wonder if id be able to even visually notice the difference

Was also looking at this Linky

but damn, video games are they worth such a price...think id rather have a holiday....hehe


*edit* oh wait, isnt that link just a link to this topics title tv...just noticed that

And ive just stumbled on Linky#2 the tv that dan settled on (near as damn it) ahh....i planned this...of course

[Lyris]

Out of those two I'd go for the Panasonic G10, but Anephric is quite right: play a game on one first (and set the picture mode to "Cinema" in the menu) and see if the green/yellow trails annoys you. Personally it annoys me much less than the uniform motion blur of an LCD.

I've not reviewed a Sony W5500 LCD, but the last ones I've checked out have never had any outrageously bad faults.

[SuperDanX]

True^ very pleased with my Sony. Largo, if you go with the Sony get the KDL-40V5500U not the KDL-40W5500U Apparently that set suffers from alot of imput lag when gaming.

[Largo]

The W is 100hz + tho, thats good right? Ive read some reviews on hdtvtest.co.uk and it says the input lag is 17-33ms in game mode, which, from looking at other reviews, seems to be pretty much standard across all manufactures.

Aye id like to see a plasma in action, not sure how i could get to demo one, perhaps currys or something might oblige


*edit* Seems that the 40V5500U really is the way forward, thanks dan, looks like this'l be the one (if any, money money isnt funny etc)

[Lyris]

100hz/200hz/50,000,bazillion hertz is pretty much useless. These systems are a band-aid that try work around LCD's response time limitations, and often introduce errors that look worse than the original blur did to start with.

Plus, because they have to analyse multiple frames before showing them, they make input lag worse, which is why they're often turned off when the TV is in Game Mode.

By comparison, Plasma doesn't need to resort to tricks like that for clear motion. Ignore Panasonic's "600hz" advertising, it's just them competing at the numbers game.

BTW, I just remembered, I reviewed both the V5500 and W5500 LCDs (in their 32" versions, but there's rarely a difference):

http://www.avforums.com/reviews/Sony-KDL-32V5500-LCD-HDTV-Review.html

http://www.avforums.com/reviews/Sony-KDL-32W5500-LCD-HDTV-Review.html

[Largo]

Ahh i see, great reviews too Lyris, incredible to think that now the 40 inch version is the same price as the 32's, i guess stores are really pushing the prices down to shift new LED sets?

From looking at your reviews, the calibration parts and the result graphs etc how do you go about collecting and plotting that info?

*edit* DENIED For example

[Lyris]

Hotlink DENIED But thank you for the compliment! The calibration stuff is measured with a colorimeter:



(Spyder2 pictured, for the reviews we use an i1Pro, but the idea is the same).
The software (CalMan in this case) gathers the raw numbers from the colorimeter and draws the graphs and lets us know what to correct.

And yeah, "LED TVs" (LED-lit LCD TVs) are the new marketing push for companies. They seem to be trying to convince people who may have heard of the OLED TVs of the future that they're actually buying one now, which I wish was actually the case.

[Largo]

Ah i had no idea such devices were around. Are they purely for reviewers or for the layman tv owner? Each tv seems to have improved results in any hdtv online test once they have been calibrated although what that process involves ive no idea. There must be stuff available to help a brand new unit owner set it up all sweet and pretty?

[Lyris]

They're for professional calibrators mainly, although they do make cheaper ones (like the one I pictured) for hobbyists who want to learn the tricks themselves.

You can use something like THX Optimizer to set basic controls like Brightness and Contrast, but beyond that basically needs measuring to correct colour reproduction.

[anephric]

If you're near a Richer Sounds,they'll deffo let you demo a plasma and a 360. You'll never see fringing in a lot of games, like Wipeout HD, for example, because they're so colourful, but high-contrast games with subdued palettes like Gears and CoD show it up a lot more.

[Largo]

Decided to order the kdl-V 40" thanks for the help chaps very much appreciated.

Its a lot of money, but i can pass on my old 32 to my mum whos got a 26" crt back at home with an enormous ass end on it, need to be hogan just to lift it. That was my marge simpson-esk buyers justification or some such...


*edit* it buzzes like crazy, very aggravating , think ill try get it replaced, fking hassle