Advice on Plasma TV needed?

alexjohnson

millwalll wrote: »

I would not really worry about HD too much as it maybe soon replaced with HDbase a new format. However most TV are HD or HD ready these days so I would go for the cheaper version.

In case anyone else is following this, this is not correct.

HDbase-T has just been announced - so don't expect it on new TV's until January's CES trade show, with launches (probably at the high end) nine months to a year from now. And, it's a new type of connector, not a new transmission standard. It proposes to replace HDMI. But even then it will be backwards-compatible.

Where confusion may lie is that it is compatible with the next big thing, which is 4K (as it's known, that isn't a marketing term) which is a picture with four times as many pixels as 1080p HD.

But we are far, far away from that. This is how many cinemas with digital projectors project films. Not one broadcaster has made any annoucement. Why? because they're thinking about 3D.

Where the poster is correct is to say that it's quite hard not to buy an HD-ready screen now. Broadcast TV is 1080i in the UK. And, you will definitely notice the difference, whether on plasma or LCD.

alexjohnson

Inactive wrote: »

A good quality plasma TV will be so good at displaying SD material, that there really is not a significant difference from HD material, I did say that the same does not apply to LCD TV's.

I honestly believe all of this HD hype is just that, mainly hype.

I completely disagree. On a resonable-sized screen the difference is immediately apparent. It won't make a bad programme good, but it will make a good one much more immersive.

rizla01

Well I hope that the Lg 42PJ650 doesn't disappoint as I am committed now.

Problem I see is that my Dvd recorder/surround Sys will be a problem as it has no DVI - Only Scart. The Sky box (Not PLUS) has only scart. There is only phono input on sound sys (no Optical).

So changing from my trusty CRT will now mean :-
£350 for the TV (don't ask)
£100.00 for the cabinet.
£50.00 for insurance (which I am told is a MUST despite a life-long dislike of insurance for anything)
£225 for a Humax twinSat 320Gig recorder (Might as well)
And who knows - probably another £200 - £250 for a decent sound system.
Plus a couple of decent connecting leads for good measure.

And these are just the basics.

Approx £1000.00 to replace my old CRT.

And all that for Coronation street and Big Brother (yeah Right) or a load of repeats. (Good job I'm getting old and that the memory is already failing so I can enjoy them again, isn't it?)

Inactive

alexjohnson wrote: »

I completely disagree. On a resonable-sized screen the difference is immediately apparent. It won't make a bad programme good, but it will make a good one much more immersive.

Well mine is a 42" and I find it almost impossible to see any significant difference between HD and SD transmissions, in fact some good quality SD programmes look better than some poor quality HD stuff.

Inactive

rizla01 wrote: »

Well I hope that the Lg 42PJ650 doesn't disappoint as I am committed now.

Problem I see is that my Dvd recorder/surround Sys will be a problem as it has no DVI - Only Scart. The Sky box (Not PLUS) has only scart. There is only phono input on sound sys (no Optical).

So changing from my trusty CRT will now mean :-
£350 for the TV (don't ask)
£100.00 for the cabinet.
£50.00 for insurance (which I am told is a MUST despite a life-long dislike of insurance for anything)
£225 for a Humax twinSat 320Gig recorder (Might as well)
And who knows - probably another £200 - £250 for a decent sound system.
Plus a couple of decent connecting leads for good measure.

And these are just the basics.

Approx £1000.00 to replace my old CRT.

And all that for Coronation street and Big Brother (yeah Right) or a load of repeats. (Good job I'm getting old and that the memory is already failing so I can enjoy them again, isn't it?)

(1) Play.com are selling them for £199.00 delivered in their sale.

(2) Don't waste money on expensive HDMI leads, most items have them included anyway.

alexjohnson

rizla01 wrote: »

Well I hope that the Lg 42PJ650 doesn't disappoint as I am committed now.

Problem I see is that my Dvd recorder/surround Sys will be a problem as it has no DVI - Only Scart. The Sky box (Not PLUS) has only scart. There is only phono input on sound sys (no Optical).

So changing from my trusty CRT will now mean :-
£350 for the TV (don't ask)
£100.00 for the cabinet.
£50.00 for insurance (which I am told is a MUST despite a life-long dislike of insurance for anything)
£225 for a Humax twinSat 320Gig recorder (Might as well)
And who knows - probably another £200 - £250 for a decent sound system.
Plus a couple of decent connecting leads for good measure.

And these are just the basics.

Approx £1000.00 to replace my old CRT.

And all that for Coronation street and Big Brother (yeah Right) or a load of repeats. (Good job I'm getting old and that the memory is already failing so I can enjoy them again, isn't it?)

You probably know you won't get a decent sound system for £200. You can get upscaling Blu-Ray all-in-one systems now and I think you will be surprised what a difference upscaling makes on standard DVD's, for maybe £200 or so more. Lovefilm is a pretty cheap way to experience Blu-Ray.

Not that it's the big ticket item but I think insurance is crazy, especially at a premium of almost 15%. Most electronics fail early in their lives (due to heat on loose compontents or, perhaps, having been dropped in transit) so if it's going to break, it will break early. If it does, you have the store warranty. This is in contrast to things like washing machines with big moving parts, water, and wear and tear.

I don't know whether the TV is good or not. For £350 I'd guess it's not awesome and will probably give you a worse SD picture than your Sony did. Plasma is however more forgiving than LCD (because the bright pixels fool your eye more by appearing to blend into each other a bit more) so that's probably wise. HD content will be fine and a vast improvement over what you have now. So it's a bit of swings and roundabouts. BBC1 and ITV1 will both be in HD in prime time by the autumn on Freesat for just about everything. But it will use more power than LCD and be aware that plasma screens weigh a ton. It is not like a big version of your PC monitor.

Hammyman

Inactive wrote: »

Well mine is a 42" and I find it almost impossible to see any significant difference between HD and SD transmissions, in fact some good quality SD programmes look better than some poor quality HD stuff.

Assuming you're actually watching HD content and not upscaled SD, you must be blind or using a small TV and looking at it from the other side of the house. Sky One's "Smarter than a 10 year old" is a good one for showing up the differences and can be done as a side by side comparison. On non-HD, you cannot read the writing that well on the displays at the bottom of the plynths. On HD, the writing is crystal clear.

Inactive

Hammyman wrote: »

Assuming you're actually watching HD content and not upscaled SD, you must be blind or using a small TV and looking at it from the other side of the house. Sky One's "Smarter than a 10 year old" is a good one for showing up the differences and can be done as a side by side comparison. On non-HD, you cannot read the writing that well on the displays at the bottom of the plynths. On HD, the writing is crystal clear.

Of course I am watching HD, not from Sky tho', I would not give Murdoch one penny piece, I have already stated that I use a 42" Plasma.

Whilst I agree that HD is significantly better on an LCD TV, it is not significantly better on a good quality Plasma.

I am also not blind, I have 20/20 vision.

alexjohnson

Inactive wrote: »

Whilst I agree that HD is significantly better on an LCD TV, it is not significantly better on a good quality Plasma.

I'm not sure on what basis you are making this assertion given that very few people would be able to tell the difference between an LCD panel and a plasma panel on sight alone with a well-lit HD picture on current generation screens. Plasma is still better for very dark images, but that's about it. LCD is better in very bright rooms - or at least it was until LED backlighting which I assume takes a lot of that away. Motion blur hasn't been an issue on LCD for several years. As I noted above on SD I think there is, at the margin, still an advantage to plasma but not so much I would pick the one technology over the other for some judgmental reason.

moonrakerz

I am absolutely astounded by ANYONE who says that they cannot see the difference between HD and SD TV pictures !!! The usual reason for people saying this is that:

1. They are watching it from the wrong distance
2. They have a SCART lead feeding the TV
3. They think that ALL programmes on an HD channel are in HD

I have a 42" Panasonic Plasma TV - SD picture is good, HD is excellent.

If anyone thinks there is no difference - YOU have wasted your money - I haven't !!