NEW PANASONIC!!

[Piglet]

this has been partially covered in another post but i have just been to a pre screen demo of the 32pb50. it is panasonics new answer to the designer television market. there is also a nicam only version without the extra speakers which is a better alternative as it allows the inclusion od separates and keeps the price down. the 28pb50/32pb50 is astonashing, it was shown side by side with the sony designer tv (32fq75) and the difference was remarkable. there was absolutly NO image lag or smearing with side scrolling objects and text. test was fast moving from left to right, while the sony suffered, the panasonic displayed it perfectly. region 1 dvd's were playing constantly and it has a mode similar to sony's DRC, which fills in the missing lines. there was even MORE detail on offer compared to the sony. the sony's is considered the best picture on the market at the moment and certainly is a superb set, but the new panasonic range shames it, and get this...at a lower price! even the 28PB50 with its external speakers and dolby decoding is only £1200, and the nicam version will be even less. perhaps as low as £1000. panasonic official dealers will be getting the tv's in first and ive already ordered mine, which will be getting in in a week or so, but i think the 28" wont be out for 2 weeks. there seemed to be no trade off for the digital motion enhancements, dteail was kept strong and colours were vivid. finally it looks like theres a 100hz set at not too big a price with no problems, and gorgeous looks. if anyone else has witnessed it then please share your thoughts.

[Piglet]

sorry i made a little mistake in that first post. the nicam version of this series is actually the 28PL10 not the 28PL50, they all use the same picture tube but they just have different sound capabilities. but expect them to retail at £200 less that the sonys. ive also heard that they may be up for tv of the year, and HCC was at the opening at bragg, as well so expect an update in a couple of weeks. *drools*

Is there a 36" version and what's the cost?
Also I hope this uses a diferent chassis to the poor PG series?
What's the cabinet like is it narrow like the previous Pany's

[rimmers]

The cabinet is of an open design. If you go to www.panasonic.nl (Hollands site) and navigate to the TVs you will see the TV with the stand. Looks very nice. And there is a 36" version called the TX36PB50.

Neil

[Piglet]

yeah there are 36" versions. they have a blue line down each side and the 28 " version is pure silver, looking very much like philips sets actually. they have different codes depending on wether they are nicam only or dolby with speakers. but the one im getting is the

TX28PL10

So similar looking to a Phillips set it's uncanny! On first impressions the Phillips look a bit better than this but I suppose you need to see them both in the flesh to compare properly.
I read they were based on the PG series chassis. I would be very wary about moire patterning on NTSC images as Panasonic don't know what causes this so you can't expect them to have fixed it! I own a 36PG50 and i'd say if you want the look of this set you're possibly better off looking at the Phillips range.

[Piglet]

just you wait for the reviews to come out...

So when are the reviews of the new series designer Pannies are coming out?
From what I have been reading its the answer to a perfect picture.

[Tim Ashdown]

I noticed on the site the words progressive scan, as is on the PG50. Correct me if I'm wrong but as I understand it, the only way to utilise this feature with the progressive output on a capable DVD is if the TV also has component inputs, ala Toshiba. Does anybody know if it will carry component. From what I've been hearing, this TV is so good that surely if it had this it would easily be crowned the new king of CRT's!

[einpagu]

Hi Tim!

The PG30/PG50 has NOT component inputs, just the traditional SCART-contacts. The TV processes the interlaced input signal to a progressiv.

This means that you can choose if the TV should display the source at 100Hz(PAL)/60Hz(NTSC) interlaced or 50Hz(PAL)/60Hz(NTSC) progressiv.

BR, Per-Anders.

[rimmers]

That is correct.

You don't really need a DVD player with progressive scan because the TV will do it for you.

Its probably not as good as the progressive scan circuitry in an expensive DVD player.

Also people say this TV is brilliant but from what I gather (even though I have the TX32PB50 on order) it is exactly the same as the PG series(I also had one of those) apart from the designer looks, so I would expect many of the picture problems to appear on the new TV.

I also think that in interlaced mode NTSC is scanned at 120HZ not 60HZ.

Forgive me if i'm wrong.

Neil

[Piglet]

its a standard 100hz. the only time the DRC like mode kicks in is with region 1 dvd's, and it fills in the missing lines, far more convincingly that the sony set too. its bassicly like the sony designer set which has the best existing picture on the market today, but done so much better with no lag problems, authentic skin tones and the kind of sharpness asscociated with 50hz sets. at a lower price too.

im not sure when the reviews will be out. obviously sites wont want to print reviews before the actual mag is out in the shop so it could be a while. i called panny who said the new range will be out mid to late august. unfortunatly you can expect them to stagger the release of the different models. i have no idea which will be out first. maybe the dolby versions with speakers which i doubt very few of you would be interested in as anyone who buys a tv that good will want an external amp/speaker set up.

does anyone know if the screen tube will be pure flat? the pk's screen is 'flat' but the actualy tube underneath convexs at each side slightly. this range uses the letters: PL and PB.

[Piglet]

Originally posted by rimmers:
<STRONG>That is correct.

You don't really need a DVD player with progressive scan because the TV will do it for you.

Its probably not as good as the progressive scan circuitry in an expensive DVD player.

Also people say this TV is brilliant but from what I gather (even though I have the TX32PB50 on order) it is exactly the same as the PG series(I also had one of those) apart from the designer looks, so I would expect many of the picture problems to appear on the new TV.

I also think that in interlaced mode NTSC is scanned at 120HZ not 60HZ.

Forgive me if i'm wrong.

Neil</STRONG>

no it isnt like the PG series at all. the PG series have problems, this does not. why create a new tv range which beats out the problems if it is only going to use old technology?

[einpagu]

What kind of "serious" problems does the PG-series suffers from?

BR, Per-Anders.

[ 25-07-2001: Message edited by: PEGE ]

[einpagu]

Hi Neil!

I think I am right about the interlaced scanning frequency for NTSC. That's why the TV preferes to use 60Hz progressiv for NTSC instead of interlaced... But when it's PAL input the TV chooses 100Hz interlaced automatically.

This is the common way for 100Hz PAL TV:s to handle NTSC signals.

Please, correct me if I'm wrong...

/Per-Anders.

[ 25-07-2001: Message edited by: PEGE ]