Samsung TV. 3D or not?

VoucherMan

Having decided to get a new TV (changing from Freeview to Freesat so thought I'd get a new TV at the same time) I've more or less settled on the Samsung 43" plasma (models PS43D450 or PS43D490). It seems fine for my limited viewing has reasonable reviews & is fairly cheap:).

The best deal at the moment seems to be Amazon where the 3D model is cheaper (£399.98 v £399.99) than the 2D version.

I've no real interest in 3D at the moment but is there any downside to getting the 3D model to watch 2D TV - will any of the other specifications be lowered to accommodate the 3D, or is it the same TV but with 3D added?

Hammyman

No downsides if it is a good 2D TV other than wasting your money on something you're hardly likely to use if you pay more for it. At 43" if you're viewing at over 6ft away you're going to find the 3D experience quite underwhelming. There is only one place I watch 3D and thats at Bradford Imax because you've a screen that is so big the best viewing spot is on the back row and it fills your entire peripheral vision. 3D works on that.

As for lowering the spec, there is a review for a new Sony 3D TV where they say it has cracking 2D but mediocre 3D thus indicating that manufacturers still build 3D TVs with good 2D.

http://www.reghardware.com/2011/06/04/review_sony_bravia_kdl_40ex724_3d_led_tv/

andy208833

My mate just bought a 50" Samsung 3D TV and although i was a sceptic beforehand i cant recommend it enough!! The tv shows the normal 2D picture then if you wish you press a button to convert to 3D, so you only have 3D if/when you want it.

The only downside was that it only came with one pair of glasses free, worth getting a couple pairs if you can.

Am jealous of my mates TV

kaya

3d tv's operate at 200hz, 2d operates at 50hz, to say the picture quality on 3d is 4 times better is an understatement!

VoucherMan

Thanks for replies.

I have been looking at the 51" version, but I'm not sure I could find a good place for it in living room. I'll have to get the tape measure out again.

penrhyn

kaya wrote: »

3d tv's operate at 200hz, 2d operates at 50hz, to say the picture quality on 3d is 4 times better is an understatement!

I think you will find that the frame rate is 24 frames per second, for both systems.

Enterprise_1701C

We have the PS43D490 - we bought it because at the time it was cheaper than the 2D equivalent, bought it when it first came out.

The 2D picture is FANTASTIC, even better when hooked up to a HD source, the sound is very good, it is a very good TV.

Have been looking at getting the glasses - should be able to get them for around £30 on Ebay but in no rush.

One thing we did not realise, and have not tried yet due to lack of glasses, is that it is a 3D upscaler - this means it does not need a 3D source but actually converts 2D picures to 3D.

No regrets at all about buying this, apart from buying early and paying a little more!

David1200

I think HD from sky is a waist of time, They only have a selected number of channels you can watch in HD, not worth the extra £10 a month

paddyrg

For what it's worth, 3D tellies have been slow sellers, representing about 4% of TV sales and 3D is quite a long way down the list of desired features of most buyers right across the world (incl USA and Japan), behind size, LED backklighting etc.

VoucherMan

Well I've had the tape measure out & there's no way I can fit a 51" TV in for now so it looks like I'm going for the 43" 3D option.

Wonder if the price will drop any more.

Enterprise_1701C

Just one note - we have Freesat HD, definitely worth consideration. Not the amount of channels you get on Sky, but still a good clear signal.