Topic: 2009 Christmas flat panel picks!

[Carlo777]

Well it's that time of the year when we set aside our hard earned cash, to go for just one of life's many pleasures. And for this particular board it's T.V's! Flat panels to be exact...

I'll do a swing around a few stores and see for myself what's worth placing under that magic tree. Hopefully, this will also answer the numerous PM's I got while I was away concerning flat panel recommendations.

We will look at 32 inchers to 50 inchers for both plasma and LCD. You guys can also give your Christmas picks, so let's get this rolling

(Do note that these are very subjective observations)

See you guys for my first round tonight.

[Verbl Kint]

The LG 32LH70YR has got to be my 32" pick for x-mas.  Full HD, 120Hz, 2.4ms and bluetooth for under 30k.

[Carlo777]

The 32 inchers:

Toshiba 32AV600

Key features:
1366 x 768 resolution, 1080p ready
18000:1 contrast
2x hdmi inputs

The good:

+vey good color reproduction
+good dvd picture rendition
+good stock sound system
+well priced

The bad:

-tends to blur with fast action scenes
-"whites out" when viewed from an angle

More later

[Carlo777]

Samsung 32B530

Key features:

1920 x 1080 resolution, full hd
3x hdmi inputs

The good:

+very good picture details
+great for blu-ray
+fair dvd picture rendition
+great panel for digital games

The bad:

-overly bright at times
-somewhat pale colors

[Munskie]

I guess I have chosen my pick...

Its the Panasonic Full HD PLasma 50G15.    Coming from a 42in Hitachi PLasma PD9500.... I am happy that there is indeed considerable improvement in overall PQ.

Ill also post my impressions on it.

Only one major caveat:  the TV internal speakers are just not decent enough. Forced me to look into a surround bar.

Ill expound on this later......

Happy picking everyone!!!

[Carlo777]

I guess I have chosen my pick...

Its the Panasonic Full HD PLasma 50G15.    Coming from a 42in Hitachi PLasma PD9500.... I am happy that there is indeed considerable improvement in overall PQ.

Ill also post my impressions on it.

Only one major caveat:  the TV internal speakers are just not decent enough. Forced me to look into a surround bar.

Ill expound on this later......

Happy picking everyone!!!

Very interested in this model, can't wait for your impressions sir!

[cHess]

Hi All, just a suggestion also include the price with the performance...

[av_phile1]

I guess I have chosen my pick...

Its the Panasonic Full HD PLasma 50G15.    Coming from a 42in Hitachi PLasma PD9500.... I am happy that there is indeed considerable improvement in overall PQ.

Ill also post my impressions on it.

Only one major caveat:  the TV internal speakers are just not decent enough. Forced me to look into a surround bar.

Ill expound on this later......


Happy picking everyone!!!

None of the videophiles I know use LCD TV speakers.  For so long they're always been a joke.  Without exception.  You have your AV receivers for that. 

[Munskie]

None of the videophiles I know use LCD TV speakers.  For so long they're always been a joke.  Without exception.  You have your AV receivers for that.  

Yup.  But I was looking for sound quality that would be decent enough for  bedroom viewing, consisting mainly of cable TV viewing, and some non-action movies in highdef.  My previous panel actually did better in this category than the Panny.


On with my simple impressions, not a full-depth review.

Panasonic Full HD Plasma 50G15

For your information, the Panasonic G15 series uses the same plasma panel as the G10, the only difference is the slimmer casing of the G15.


Plus
-Superb Black Level Performance
-Stunning detail in highdef sources, nmt or bluray.
-Natural color rendition in movies, especially in THX mode.
-Superb gaming mode.   With this 1080p model, I get the digitize look I see in LCD sets in terms of gaming, minus the eyestrain.  (I have a 32in LG LH20R, tried gaming with it, and my eyes gets strained a lot.)
-Decent enough SD cable reception.   Same as my previous panel.   Considered going Cignal HD, but went against it. Few HD channels, some are just upconverted, and some in wrong aspect ratio.  
-Decreased screen reflectivity compared to my previous bedroom panel (Hitachi 9500), and it helps that our panel faces a wall.

Minus
-Very Thin sounding internal speakers.   This panel will be used with the intention that it will not be paired with a HT audio system, I have a separate HT room for that.   Though I knew this was a weakness beforehand, I thought it would just be at par with my previous panel, but no.  Just didnt cut it.   Even the wife was complaining of the sound, when all shes watching was those local telenobelas.   The Polk surroundbar SDA solved the problem for me (Was impressed with this instant home theater).
-Ive read other reviews that it is still susceptible to green phospor lags.  Thank God, I dont have the eye to see them (so might as well, a breakeven for me).

Overall, Im pretty impressed with this unit.  I was in HK last week, and did my comparisons between the G, S and C series.  Without looking at the G, the S and C series are very good on their own.  Its just that the G series is on another level of its own.

[trigo]

can't make up my mind on which to get, but am pretty sure it will be a panasonic.  looking at the 42x10 instead of the 42c10... 

[Carlo777]

LG 32LH70

Dvd performance:

Using a Pioneer DV-600 connected via HDMI and set to 1080p, the LH70 gave us an average performance for DVD. Watching the movie "The Day After Tomorrow", the model gave off fair color tones and was marred by being a bit on the bright side. The LH70, however, handled fast action scenes from movies like the "Transformers" without a hitch! On lesser units, these fast moving scenes will display motion blur and very mild pixelation - The LH70 had none of those issues.

Blu-Ray:

This is where the LH70 trumps! I tested the LG with the movie "Dark Knight" and it was a grand performance. Dark scenes were rendered with minimal screen unevenness and cloudings were kept to a minimum (I saw another unit with heavy cloudings, but it seems to be confined to particular sets). Chase scenes were well done with no signs of the LH70 trying to play catch up with these extremely fast moments.

PS3:

LCD remains my choice for digital games and the LH70 was sweet all the way. Displaying 1080p native games like Metal Gear with crisp and vibrant graphics. No hints of ghosting and input response times were felt or seen during the demo.

Pro's
+Great high definition performance (Blu-Ray)
+Fast response time
+Stylish looks
+Good stock sound system
+Great for digital games

Con's
-Fair, just fair dvd performance even though the unit is at full 1080p
-Overly bright and certain colors come off as dull

Next will be the Sony 32S550 and the Panasonic 32C10. Then we can move on to bigger sets

[fakuryu]

@ Carlo777

with regards dun sa panny 32c10 na irereview mo, c10x po ba?

[Verbl Kint]

And there's the 99w 32C10x2...

[csr2]

The 32 inchers:

Toshiba 32AV600

Key features:
1366 x 768 resolution, 1080p ready
18000:1 contrast
2x hdmi inputs

The good:

+vey good color reproduction
+good dvd picture rendition
+good stock sound system
+well priced

The bad:

-tends to blur with fast action scenes
-"whites out" when viewed from an angle

More later

I have this LCD TV and what you say about it is really true. It does tend to blur with fast action scenes...
But still, overall, i'm satisfied

[babed95]

ol i want for xmas is 50 inches led samsung t.v and 50 inches sony lcd with 200 hz motion flow and my two front teeth!

[Clondalkin]

Yup.  But I was looking for sound quality that would be decent enough for  bedroom viewing, consisting mainly of cable TV viewing, and some non-action movies in highdef.  My previous panel actually did better in this category than the Panny.

Panasonic strategy is to install a good quality sound system in their topmost model only.  Last year, it was the PZ800/PZ850 - pretty impressive 6-speaker configuration.  This year, they installed a 4-speaker system sa 1" Z series while all the rest of neo-PDPs have rather pathetic 2-speaker down firing system.  This still baffles me as the direct successor of the PZ800 is supposed to be the V series - they even look almost identical.  So while the V series has improved IQ over the PZ800, it's not even close in terms of SQ.   Also, high end LCD models of Sharps and Sonys have undoubtedly superior, full-bodied built-in sound.