LED or Plasama

m5rcc

InsideInsurance wrote: »

You can get the TV online for £400, would give you a £100 to spend on other stuff.

Comet is almost always much more expensive.

The irony is that £100 won't get far on other stuff....

OP will be better off with any of the three suggestions I made which are better than than the OP's choice.

harrpau7

m5rcc wrote: »

The irony is that £100 won't get far on other stuff....

OP will be better off with any of the three suggestions I made which are better than than the OP's choice.

The first one looks awesome but I think that offer is only via the web.

I actually have to go in shop with old tv and then they will do the swap there and then.

Also, silly question, if I went for the first one, can it still be watched in 2D? I really don't want to watch tv in 3D.

InsideInsurance

3D comes in two varieties:

1) True 3D sources, some blue rays, Sky3D for example, these can only be viewed in 3D

2) Converted 2D sources, the TV can take 2D TV and approximate 3D on the fly

For 1, it has to be in 3D, if your TV supports 3D you will see it in 3D, if your TV doesnt then you simply cannot watch it, Sky3D you;d see 2 side by side squished pictures if you tried to watch it on a normal TV

For 2, it is optional if you turn it on or off, on most TVs its a single button to switch.


By having a 3D TV you have an option you can use but no obligation to. I use 3D occasionally for blu rays that I've got in 3D but dont ever bother with the conversion.


The Panasonic GT is very good. I would have its big brother the VT were it not for the window directly behind my sofa which makes plasma unsuitable for my room.

m5rcc

harrpau7 wrote: »

The first one looks awesome but I think that offer is only via the web.

I actually have to go in shop with old tv and then they will do the swap there and then.

Also, silly question, if I went for the first one, can it still be watched in 2D? I really don't want to watch tv in 3D.

Barter - speak to them, negotiate....

harrpau7

I want this television http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Plasma-TVs/buy-PANASONIC-TX-P42ST30B-Plasma-TV/707384 but I have read a couple of reviews about the 2D picture, this stuck out to me.

'During casual viewing, we recognised that the images being put out by the P42ST30 were very subtly blue-tinted (although not by anywhere near as much as the “Normal” or “Dynamic” default modes). With black and white material, we could also detect some pinkiness seeping into highlights (you’ll notice by looking at the chart that there is too little Red in darker areas of the image, but a slight excess in brighter tones). Of course, we doubt that we would notice these subtle errors were we not constantly viewing calibrated HDTVs, and it’s safe to say that the ST30 delivers good Greyscale tracking quality for a preset mode, with fairly subtle tinting.'


and


'One point of slight concern for us related to the TX-P42ST30B’s Gamma tracking. In this context, “Gamma” refers to how much light the Plasma display outputs relative to the video signal being sent to it. We felt from pre-calibrated viewing that the ST30 was “rising out of black” too aggressively, revealing slightly too much shadow detail. This meant that, although the Plasma television can produce a very deep shade of black, dark scenes could sometimes appear a little less punchy than would be ideal. The Gamma Tracking measurements gave us some hard confirmation on what was happening. If you take a look at the 10% stimulus section, you’ll see there is a not subtle dip downwards. Most of Panasonic’s 2011 plasmas have revealed a little too much shadow detail in this fashion, but this is particularly the case on the P42ST30B.
The Gamma tracking behaviour of Panasonic Plasma displays seems to be a little unpredictable by design. It appears that during largely dark scenes, the panel exaggerates shadow details moreso than with slightly brighter ones. In other words, the Gamma tracking is not consistent and the display’s behaviour changes depending on the scene being viewed'


Is this cause for concern?

m5rcc

harrpau7 wrote: »

I want this television http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Plasma-TVs/buy-PANASONIC-TX-P42ST30B-Plasma-TV/707384 but I have read a couple of reviews about the 2D picture, this stuck out to me.

'During casual viewing, we recognised that the images being put out by the P42ST30 were very subtly blue-tinted (although not by anywhere near as much as the “Normal” or “Dynamic” default modes). With black and white material, we could also detect some pinkiness seeping into highlights (you’ll notice by looking at the chart that there is too little Red in darker areas of the image, but a slight excess in brighter tones). Of course, we doubt that we would notice these subtle errors were we not constantly viewing calibrated HDTVs, and it’s safe to say that the ST30 delivers good Greyscale tracking quality for a preset mode, with fairly subtle tinting.'


and


'One point of slight concern for us related to the TX-P42ST30B’s Gamma tracking. In this context, “Gamma” refers to how much light the Plasma display outputs relative to the video signal being sent to it. We felt from pre-calibrated viewing that the ST30 was “rising out of black” too aggressively, revealing slightly too much shadow detail. This meant that, although the Plasma television can produce a very deep shade of black, dark scenes could sometimes appear a little less punchy than would be ideal. The Gamma Tracking measurements gave us some hard confirmation on what was happening. If you take a look at the 10% stimulus section, you’ll see there is a not subtle dip downwards. Most of Panasonic’s 2011 plasmas have revealed a little too much shadow detail in this fashion, but this is particularly the case on the P42ST30B.
The Gamma tracking behaviour of Panasonic Plasma displays seems to be a little unpredictable by design. It appears that during largely dark scenes, the panel exaggerates shadow details moreso than with slightly brighter ones. In other words, the Gamma tracking is not consistent and the display’s behaviour changes depending on the scene being viewed'


Is this cause for concern?

A better review here. Never heard of hdtvtest.co.uk

Millionaire

m5rcc wrote: »

A better review here. Never heard of hdtvtest.co.uk

HDTV.co.uk is one of the best TV review sites. They do very in-depth reviews.

Notmyrealname

harrpau7 wrote: »

Is this cause for concern?

99.99999% of the viewing population would never notice. You have to remember these reviews are done by professional people using very expensive measuring and calibration gear. They're the type of people who would think nothing of buying a TV, putting it in their living room then paying someone £1500 to come and calibrate the colour, brightness and contrast settings for each input source.

See about a Panasonic Viera TX-P42G20B if you can find one. It is a THX certified display and is as good as it gets apart from a no longer manufacturered Pioneer that used to be classed as a reference model.

Humphrey10

I've got a Viera TX-P42V20B, I'm very happy with it. One step up from TX-P42G20B if I am understanding Panasonic's numbering system right. It's last years model or the year before so I don't know if you'll be able to find one, but if you can I recommend it.

vyle

For the money, I'd go ST30. And I should point out that the ST30 has significantly better blacks than the S30 (its 2d only brother). From fiddling about, it appears that panasonic realised that the overall picture clarity on the s30 wasn't good enough to simply add the 3d capabilities, so upped the overall picture quality in the 3d model, so even if you never use 3d, it's still much better.