# Forum Home Renovation Home Theatres  What TV to BUY

## m6sports

Im looking at getting a new TV for the lounge room  
JB HIFI are having some specials  
Sony LCD 55" EX500 for $2491 with a free PS3  
Panasonic Plasma 50" TH-P50V10A for $1998 with free HIFI system 
im not sure with way to go ive got a 32" LCD panasonic and love it 
but want something bigger  
my budget is $2500 and bigger the better but i still want a good picture  
im also considering LG and Samsung  
Any help or advice would be great

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## Master Splinter

Plasma is still the way to go if you want picture quality and a large screen for that sort of price. 
I've got a soft spot for the Panasonics (they also seem to review well); as far as I'm concerned, Sony burned through their 'quality' reputation in the consumer market years ago; their pro stuff is still ok, but the consumer grade is no better than any other Japanese manufacturer, plus you tend to get silly 'Sony only' formats and other attempted lock-ins (anyone remember the Sony CDs that came complete with a rootkit?)

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## m6sports

the thing i like about the sony is the lower power consumption  
sony 263W 
Panasonic 301W 
i know its not much but the sony is also a larger TV

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## mike_perth

Im from the commercial AV industry and I have three words for you.... 
Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic 
Well I know thats really one word writin three times but everyone in the industry uses them - they are relaible, offer fantastic image quality for their price, have nice looking surrounds/plastics, good easy to use menus, great image refresh rates....what more can I say they are good I own 3 I wouldnt buy anything else....well I would have bought a Pioneer until they decided to pull out of TV's!! 
And finally I second what was said about Sony - they are no linger (in consumer world) the market leader tehy used to be - they are like BOSE (Better Sound through Marketing!) they rely too much on their reputation and fantastic marketing to sell product. 
BTW I am in no way involved with the sale or have anything to do with Panasonic (I work for a distributor of Audio ONLY products) so my opinion is that of mine only. 
Mike

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## Armers

hmmm i agree... panasonic! 
Seems to be the sweet spot for tv these days... As a cable installer i see alot of tvs and i reckon there are more panasonics other there then most other tvs... samsungs / sonys come in close 2nd.  
Take you most loved dvd into the store.. ask them to play it for you on the screen... if it looks good to you then buy it... if the one that looks good to you is a hisence... then so be it  :Biggrin:  
Cheers
Armers

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## jago

Panasonic ... I've the 50" great Tv I think Good Guys have a Panny on sale under $2k with a 38" LCD free

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## barney118

Panasonic, 
Bought 50" 1080P full HD Plasma 18mths ago which are now selling for $2k, at the time they were rated in the top 5 buys other than the Pioneer who are not in the market anymore. The reason I bought it is Panasonic are one of 2 manufacturers of the plasma and they cant make enough of them to satisfy their own market. Samsung was the other, they are asking more $ and getting less with them. Hasnt missed a beat so far, very happy.

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## shrek4

Get the Sony and sell the PS3 to me. I need a blueray to watch my new Avatar movie on.

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## m6sports

i ended up getting the Sony as i prefered the picture instore over the Panasonic 
also its used to play the PS3 and i dont like the idea if image burn
even though its better in the new plasmas LCD dont have that problem 
If anyone interested I ended up paying $2100 so it was only and extra $102 more then the Panasonic and its 5" bigger 
Shrek no probs once i get the PS3 i will be putting it up for sale 
ive already got one so i dont need 2 
here are some pics

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## jago

Re your Sony that's a first a bloke bragging about 5 inches ! Lol 
no seriously how are the LCDs with sport and gaming don't they still streak?

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## m6sports

I played a little bit of PS3 last night to see how the streaking would be
compaired to the TV its replacing a Panasonic 32" LCD 
 it performs alot better then i expected 
i couldnt notice any streak this might change with watching Sports but as it is im really impressed with the picture Quality  
BTW JAGO whats wrong about bragging about 5 inches  :2thumbsup:

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## jago

> BTW JAGO whats wrong about bragging about 5 inches

  Everything !

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## shrek4

Good job. PM me once you get it. I'd definitely be interested in it.

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## president_ltd

> I played a little bit of PS3 last night to see how the streaking would be
> compaired to the TV its replacing a Panasonic 32" LCD 
>  it performs alot better then i expected 
> i couldnt notice any streak this might change with watching Sports but as it is im really impressed with the picture Quality

  the "motion flow" stuff on Sony is enabled by default and combined with 120Hz/240Hz pretty much mitigates any "streaking" or the "3 ball" issue that originally happened with sports on ealier LCDs. 
to be honest there isn't a lot of difference these days between plasma, LCD, its really a matter of personal preference. 
i think plasmas still look "more vivid" in terms of dynamic colour range, blackest-of-blacks etc, but LCD has caught up a long way there with LED backlighting and multi-LED-zones.  LCD still gives a much 'crisper' image and typically has a lower power consumption compared to plasma but again latest generation plasmas are pretty close power consumption & heat generation too. 
in either case, competition has been good for the consumer here.

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## Uncle Bob

Just a heads up. LG's have a bad reputation in the service industry. That goes for everything they make.

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## Terrian

> Just a heads up. LG's have a bad reputation in the service industry. That goes for everything they make.

  really, I have a LG flatron lcd monitor, have been no problems in the few years that I have had it.

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## 2x4

> Just a heads up. LG's have a bad reputation in the service industry

  Sony, vodaphone, Fiats, Labor. :Biggrin:     
.

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## barney118

Seriously you cant beat a Panasonic, most of the other hype is marketing crap, who in thier right mind would even consider a 3D tv? since I bought my 50" Plasma I cant say the technology has moved that far (that you could pick with the naked eye).
Jago, just noticed your comment, great minds think a like - scary   :Biggrin:

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## Jazz_84

we got a Samsung 50" a month ago and it's brilliant, cost around $1100 and compared to the Panasonic the image quality was the exact same, we actually had a Samsung 42" and the screen went on it after about 3 years but they were very good about it and we upgraded to the 50" 
we only got the 720p tv if your wondering about the cheaper price, as it's only used for TV/Foxtel and the blu-ray is hooked up to the 1080p projector

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## Boeing777

Worked in the electrical retail industry for 8 years, my advice would be Panasonic. I could count the number of DOA Panasonic TV's on one hand in my time there, and their after sales support is very good. 
The worst IMHO is Samsung (average product, industry's worst service, 8 weeks for a repair would be a good turnaround) and LG...well we called it "Lucky if it Goes" - but good profit and spivs for the salespeople so they'll tell you whatever you want to hear about it. 
I've got a Panasonic 54" Plasma and a 37" LCD, both are excellent units.

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## ringtail

If the info that I have been given is correct, there are only 2 manufacturers of LCD panels - Samsung and Sharp. I was told by the retailers that pana use a samsung panel ?? I bought a 42 inch Sharp LCD and its brilliant. Bonus thing is, because its LCD it can be used as a computer monitor, therefore it is now a very large tax deduction.

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## Oldsaltoz

> the thing i like about the sony is the lower power consumption  
> sony 263W 
> Panasonic 301W 
> i know its not much but the sony is also a larger TV

  The thing I hate about Sony is no parts available after 3 years, I will never buy another Sony product. :Yikes2:

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## Oldsaltoz

I purchased a very nice new TV from Kogan, it's an on line store with very pricing. 
A few weeks later my PC monitor was showing signs of giving up the ghost so I visited all the normal outlets and most PC monitors wer around $200.00, 
I logged onto the Kogan site and found an HD TV with built in recorder (BVR) for under $200 and it doubles as a PC monitor.   
They purchase direct from overseas and use screens made by the same people who sell high end units, as I understand it there are only 3 manufacturers in the world, all 3 make different grades of LCD/LED screens. 
Good luck. 
No connection, just a happy client.

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## Boeing777

> I was told by the retailers that pana use a samsung panel ??.

  There are about 8 actual OEMs for LCD panels, Panasonic panels come out of a factory called IPS Alpha which was started as a joint project between Panasonic, Toshiba and Hitachi (but has since changed its name to Panasonic Liquid Crystal Display Co., Ltd, and no longer supplies to Toshiba).  and is based in Chiba, Japan. 
Samsung panels come from a joint facility started by Samsung and LG in South Korea, and they also source from a joint facility they started with Sony. 
Retailers will tell you anything in order to sell the product that they have the most stock of / make the most commission out of.

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## jago

As Boeing said there are only a couple of OEM out there Matsushita Electric Industria being the main one (Panansonic etc) its a pity Pioneer left the market. 
NEC - Nec is a OEM manufacturer and is now owned by Pioneer.  Although owned by Pioneer they still operate under a separate label.  NEC has commercial units and home units. They also supply screens to Marantz Runco and several other companies. NEC sold their plasma factory to Pioneer and now buys their panels from Pioneer and installs their own electronics. 
Panasonic - Makes the complete units, Supplies Toshiba, JVC, Fujitsu and more 
Pioneer Plasma - Pioneer owns NEC and has switched production to the NEC lines. The new 50 inch and the 42 inch units are all NEC glass.  To tell if a 50 inch is Pioneer or NEC, check the resolution, If 1280 it is Pioneer , If 1365 it is NEC . 42 inch Pioneer Plasma TV is NEC . 43 inch Plasma TV is Pioneer Glass 
Fujitsu Plasma  - Only makes their own 42 inch in partnership with Hitachi . 50 and 61 inch Fujitsu Plasmas are Panasonic and NEC but the 42 inch are their own. Note Hitachi plasma screens are identical to Fujitsu and cost thousands less, 55 Inch Fujitsu is same as Hitachi, 
Sony Plasma TV - Makes their own boards and chips but uses Fujitsu/ Hitachi plasma screen glass for 42 inch, 50 inch is NEC, 42inch EDTV is NEC 
Hitachi - Owns 50% of plasma screen factory with Fujitsu. Makes own internal components. 42 Alis screens are Hitachi as is the New 55, 50 inch are Pioneer  and 42 EDTV is a NEC screen 
Philips - Uses Fujitsu/ Hitachi glass screen and most internal components as well. However, Philips makes its own bezel with built in speakers.  
LG / Zenith - Make their own glass in Korea 
Samsung - Makes its own components in Korea

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## phillta

The argument that "there are only x companies who manufacture panels so you may as well buy the cheap one" is often trotted out. That's usually countered by someone pointing out that the panel is only one part of a television, and if the other components are rubbish then your final product (picture) is rubbish.  
I've been window shopping for a TV for about six months and I keep giving up in a blubbering quagmire of options and opinions.

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## ringtail

Everyone forgets about sharp. Im sure they make their own panels and do not on sell to anyone. Could be wrong, most unlikely though - chuckle

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## mike_perth

I know its been said a few times on this thread but Panasonic is without doubt the one I would choose every time. Ive been in the AV industry for 15 years and yes I have seen Panasonics fail but the number of failures is tiny compared to most other brands we have used (Commercial AV so very high useage typically 24/7/365) their image quality is well and truely in the top 2 or 3 Pioneer certainly beats them in this area but at a significant extra cost can you justify the money for the increase for me no. 
It all comes down to your perception of a "good" image and how long you want it to last  - if your happy to be down at the local Hardly Normal every 2 years getting a new TV then the cheapest panel you can find with an image your happy with is the one you want, though if you want something that will last a bit longer and deliver a nice image then pay the extra and get a Panasonic/Pioneer/Hitachi (if you can find one) 
Mike

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## Moondog55

OK so we just bought a new TV
Yes it is a Panasonic and just DFR'd, but what blows us away is how cheap they are, we paid too much I suppose as we were not planning on buying a new TV and did no research
We bought a VIErA  *TH-P50VT20A* 
; can I please have some opinions before it gets delivered tomorrow cos we can change our minds until it gets put on the truck or we unpack it

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## Master Splinter

It's fine.  The Panasonics are an easy no-brainer choice in plasmas.

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## GraGra

Hi Moondog,
You will be very happy with the Panasonic We too have recently purchased a TH-P50V20A and they are fantastic. IMO without doubt they deliver the best picture of all brands.
G

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## Moondog55

Couple of weeks  in and so far very happy with the buy. Good colour and the jitter isn't too bad except when watching soccer ( which we don't but thought i would mention) maybe a tiny bit on the small side for blockbuster movies but huge in the room.

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## Matt1970

Been in this thread a few times and it's interesting to see how much the TV landscape has changed especially over the last couple of years.  Prices have dropped quite a bit and you can get some awesome deals. 
We recently bought a 55" LG LED and I can honestly say the picture quality absolutely amazing !!!  Cannot fault it at all.  Father just bought the latest Samsung LED and I would say picture quality is on par with the LG, very hard to split them. 
I guess buying a TV is really a personal choice but it does help reading peoples feedback and experience with certain brands and models.  
Cheers....

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## tricky4000

I would never buy anything but a Samsung and plasma is definitely the way to go still, in my opinion...there is never a right or wrong answer here because every brand has its pros and cons.
Tricks

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## m6sports

My father in-law is looking for a new tv at the moment and I've been out shopping with him and my pick would be the 
New samsung 55" 7 series

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## tricky4000

Definitely!  A very nice set.

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