Page 1 of Review sites for Plasma TVs

I`m looking to buy a Plasma TV and I`ve come across a good deal on a Philips 42PF9945 - the trouble is I don`t know if it`s any good or not. Are there any respectable sites out there that review TVs?

I was going to buy the Panasonic PW6 which is going cheap on a few sites but by the time I buy speakers and a wall bracket the price goes up quite a bit.

"Life is like oral sex, one slip of the tongue and you`re in the 5hit" - Roy Chubby Brown

The Panasonic Viera range is the really only good ones out there... (unless you have
£!0,000 for a B&O...again Panasonic panel). I looked around for months for a TV, I looked on forums, asked questions & Panasonic win hands down. If you want an all in one (Freeview tuner, Analogue tuner, Camera card imput, VGA computer imput, 3 scarts (2 of which are RGB) Component & Composite inputs) then Viera is the way to go. There are some deals out there for around £2300.00 for the 37" with stand, & a DVD recorder. The 42" with a similar deal is less than £2900.00. Here is a review on the 37" (the one I Have).
This is what was said in a review.

The picture is awesome
Built-in digital tuner
It`s extremely stylish

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/cgi-bin/displayreview.php?reviewid=4571

This item was edited on Saturday, 23rd October 2004, 16:19

Quote:
The Panasonic Viera range is the really only good ones out there
Don`t wanna start an arguement here mate, but personally wouldn`t touch a Viera if you gave me it free!

Seen more of these faulty (especially right out the box) than I have of any other, and that includes the Techwood/Goodmans/El Cheapo brands.
If they work, they`re nice, just I personally wouldn`t want to take the chance.

And, to add to that, my last ever Plassy is hanging on my wall now. They look nice, perform well on an extremely high quality input, but next time round I`m going DLP.

Jimbo : oÞ

I`m happy to say that every other forum including AV Forums (with loads of dealers participating on it) totaly dissagree with you. The Viera is head & shoulders above anything else. I know you give very good advice on this site but I would find it very hard to believe Panasonic Vieras were unreliable. 1. Because thay are Panasonic & 2. This has never cropped up in any forum I`ve read. Problem is you`ve probably sowed the doubt into someone who will probably go on & get something they will regrett if they see a Viera in the future.

I`m happy to say that every other forum including AV Forums (with loads of dealers participating on it) totaly dissagree with you. The Viera is head & shoulders above anything else. I know you give very good advice on this site but I would find it very hard to believe Panasonic Vieras were unreliable. 1. Because thay are Panasonic & 2. This has never cropped up in any forum I`ve read. Problem is you`ve probably sowed the doubt into someone who will probably go on & get something they will regrett if they see a Viera in the future.

Quote:
The Viera is head & shoulders above anything else. I know you give very good advice on this site but I would find it very hard to believe Panasonic Vieras were unreliable.
I`d still rate the Pioneer over the Pannys.
Plus, when you see not ONE, but FOUR in the space of a week, in two different retailers with the exact same fault being returned for repair, it would make you think twice too.

since then, I have seen a number of these being repaired for differing faults. The one I saw the four had was that everything had a green band around it on screen. Like an aura, but to almost every thing of the main image (say two people talking in front of a house, the two people would be encompassed by this aura) on the screen (think one of them the band was a different colour)
It was wierd, wish I had taken a picture of it to show, but it was definitely a major fault with the set.

This may have sown a doubt Paull, but thats the whole idea of "feedback". He now knows there are possibilities of faults, and he will actively look and ask about them before purchasing.

Like I said, I was an early adopter of Plasma technology, the set is fine, works exactly to spec and has no faults. However, as I also said, it`ll be the last Plasma I buy.
(for numerous reasons, picture quality on a "normal" input being the main)

Jimbo : oÞ

I would agree with Jimbo about about the Pioneer being better. We have the 43XDE. Can`t wait till we get Hi-Def in.

All the best,

The 42%er.


It`s not easy being different. It`s not easy being cool....but somehow I manage....

Well your on your own on this one. No other forum including forums with dealers that sell everything has EVER come up with this. I posted in this forum about the Pioneer looking even worse than an LG that was near it. However I have read in other forums that people rate the Pioneer but the overwelming opinion is the Panasonic Viera (also their panels) are the best. The interesting thing for me is I went into loads of shops, dedicated dealers, Currys, small shops & the ONLY consistant Plasma with a PERFECT picture is the Panasonic. Incidently we started out to buy a Hitachi 32" LCD. The other interesting thing is B&O ONLY use Panasonic panels & they go from £8000.00 upwards the latest 42" B&O 5 being around £13,000. The picture on all the B&Os was as good as the Panasonics.
Oh as for picture quality, it is better than any CRT I`ve seen including my last Toshiba picture frame TV that was amongst the best 36" there was. Everybody who has seen our Viera has said the same, it is outstanding. I wouldn`t swap it for anything.

This item was edited on Saturday, 23rd October 2004, 18:13

r8sso. Here are some reviews. Look at them. Look at the plasmas in the shops.Buy what you think is best for you & your pocket.

http://www.avforums.com/frame.html?http://www.avforums.com/forums/index.php

Quote:
Oh as for picture quality, it is better than any CRT I`ve seen including my last Toshiba picture frame TV that was amongst the best 36" there was. Everybody who has seen our Viera has said the same, it is outstanding. I wouldn`t swap it for anything.

Paull, no one is directly attacking your telly mate, so keep yer drawers on! Lol
However, there isn`t a plasma made yet that can rival CRT on a standard input!
It`s an inherrant problem with the technology, and until they make plasmas with stunningly high resolutions, ie: so small you can`t see the gas pockets, it`ll never go away.

I can`t remember the technical term for the artifact like banding that Plasmas suffer from on graduating colours (say for example, a face), which show as almost blocky lines on screen (and yes, I`ve seen it on EVERY manufacturer, including a Viera 37" and 42" in the store I`m in), but the Pioneer is the only one to apply a smoothing technology to fade it through.

I bought my plasma on space restrictions.
I`ve fed it with UHF antenna, Sky digital, Sky +, PS2, Gamecube, DVD player, RGB DVD recorder, Progressive scan DVD player with component output, and as a matter of fact the only two inputs I haven`t tried are DVi in and the PC VGA in!
I`ve also fed the same as above into my old Hitachi 36" which I sold and the Hitachi had a better quality of picture overall, but like all CRT sets, suffered from the jagged edge problems.
Thats why next time I go DLP. The chip is still extremely small, so the magnification lens to give the larger picture doesn`t draw down the quality too much. that, and the additions of DarkChip technology, diamond shaped pixels, 4000:1 contrast ratio capability, six segment colour wheels etc etc and picture smoothing technology with no chance of a screen burn means I`ll save meself a pile and buy one of them.

BTW, have you SEEN the Samsung 50L7XX currently on sale in Currys? Bit of a hefty price tag at £3500, but looks like a Plasma (it aint, it`s DLP) using their Pedestal idea.

Downside: needs somewhere else for your DVD, VCR etc, cant be hung on the wall as it`s still a Rear projection telly but jeeez....I`m tempted...
The Sagem Axium50 is nice too in Comet, but go very very close and you can see the pixel magnification from the chip (OK, you need to be almost on top of it to see it!!)

Jimbo : oÞ
PS: another huge selling point about DLP is the fact that every tv you look at, digital or not, is displaying an analogue picture, which has been through a final stage digital to analogue converter. DLP you`re looking at a digital picture, it`s a light reflection from the chip micromirrors therefore the final digital to analogue converter is your very own eyeball :D